Summary
- Heretic was a story-focused FPS that pushed the boundaries of atmosphere and 3D environments, offering a unique experience.
- Marathon was a pioneer in story-driven FPS games, its complex narrative and deep world-building set it apart from other shooters of its time.
- Half-Life was a game that popularized storytelling in FPS games, showcasing its impact through the eyes of the protagonist, Freeman, and influencing future titles in the genre.
Story-heavy FPS games are a rarity now and were even moreso when the genre was still in its infancy. Even if the way modern games tell stories is vastly different from before, that doesn’t mean that older games didn’t have a solid narrative or that story-focused games didn’t exist. They just take a little longer to find among the mass of arcade-like experiences of the time.
Another thing that makes old boomer shooters with a focus on storytelling hard to find is that the way they tell their story is often different from what we would expect. For every storytelling classic ahead of its time, like Half-Life, there are a thousand dated games like Marathon. Here are the best boomer shooters that had a focus on bringing a story to life.
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7 Heretic
Ambience-Focussed Successor of Doom
Heretic
- Released
- December 23, 1994
- Developer(s)
- Raven Software
- Platform(s)
- PC
- Genre(s)
- FPS
While it’s hard to believe now, Raven Software’s Heretic was once one of the biggest shooters out there. It was published by id Software and produced by John Romero, clearly presenting it as a worthy successor to Doom, especially when you consider it was even built on top of the original Doom engine.
While Heretic’s story is simple enough, it’s clear how much Raven Software tried to push the game’s storytelling outside what was typical of the genre. This is one of the very first shooters to focus heavily on atmosphere, using ambiance sounds and rich environments. It’s clear that a lot of work went into building a believable 3D environment. The team even modified their game engine, Doom’s own id Tech 1, to allow players to look up and down.
6 Heretic 2
Third-Person Game-Changer
- Platform: PC
- Released: 1998-11-24
- Developer: Raven Software
- Genre: Third-Person Shooter
Heretic 2 is the second Heretic sequel, following the events of the original game and Hexen. The player takes the role of Corvus, the protagonist of the first Heretic, as he comes back home after the final battle of the first game. Upon his arrival in the city, he finds it has been taken over by a curse and the inhabitants are either dead or extremely hostile.
Unlike the rest of the series, Heretic 2 is a third-person shooter, this time based on the Quake 2 engine instead of Doom’s id Tech 1. Because of this, it plays unlike anything else from its the time. But this is also what allows it to give the story more space: the change in perspective and pacing also allow Heretic 2 to have what resembles modern cutscenes.
5 Marathon
A Pioneer of Story-Driven FPS Titles
Marathon (1994)
The importance of Marathon in story-focused shooters can’t be understated, yet the series itself is not really that well-known. That’s probably because, for a long time, the first game in the series was a Mac exclusive. And while the source code and the assets were eventually released as freeware, there has never been an official Windows release for any game in the series.
Marathon follows the story of Colony Ship Marathon, which is about to make its way toward an unexplored solar system when it is attacked by unknown alien forces. The story soon gets complicated, with AIs fighting over control of the ship, alien factions switching sides midway through the battle, and the protagonist’s nature being called into question.
4 Half-Life
An Iconic Story Through The Eyes of Freeman
- Platform: PS2, PC
- Released: 1998-11-19
- Developer: Valve Corporation
- Genre: FPS
Half-Life isn’t the original story-focused FPS and what it adapted to shooters was already tradition in dungeon crawlers. That said, its popularity is what made those tropes unavoidable for years to come. System Shock might have been the first shooter with a silent protagonist, but its influence on the genre was nowhere near that of Half-Life.
One wholly unique thing about Half-Life is how every major story beat is seen through the eyes of Freeman, the protagonist. It is often through him that the story moves forward; if not, he at least gets to witness it. This means that the levels and gameplay have to move to follow the story and not the other way around.
3 Quake 2
Redemption For A Franchise With Potential
Quake 2
- Released
- December 9, 1997
- Developer(s)
- id Software
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation (Original), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Nintendo 64, Nintendo Switch, PC
- Genre(s)
- FPS
Quake as a series isn’t well-known for its story and for good reasons. The first game isn’t even sure who or what Quake is, as the game seemingly changes its mind from chapter to chapter on whether it’s a person or a place. Quake 2 is an exception to this rule.
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Quake 2 takes a distinctly different approach from the original game. For one, a strong setting holds the story together. Humanity is caught in an ongoing struggle against the Strogg, the half-machine, half-organic alien race from the first game. The fight takes the shape of a predictable but consistent war story that is more reminiscent of modern military shooters than other id Software games.
2 Marathon 2: Durandal
A Unique Story-Telling Method
- Platform: Xbox 360, PC, Mobile
- Released: 1995-11-24
- Developer: Bungie Inc.
- Genre: FPS
If the release of Marathon imposed a new high for storytelling in FPS games, Marathon 2: Durandal brings the stakes even higher. Bungie’s second sci-fi shooter almost brings the story on par with that of the well-known Halo series.
What keeps Marathon 2: Durandal down is the presentation: events are rarely played or even seen. And even when it happens, it’s hard to tell what’s happening. The game just isn’t built for that. Instead, the story is illustrated in what amounts to a mix of writing on the wall and emails from angry AIs. Even if it’s not elegant, it's an interesting and unique way to tell a story.
1 Marathon Infinity
An Abstract But Entertaining Tale
- Platforms: iOS, Classic Mac OS, iPadOS
- Released: 1996-10-15
- Developer: Bungie Inc
- Genre: FPS
Marathon Infinity is plagued by the same problem that haunted the rest of the series: the story is mostly conveyed through dialog, and all dialog happens inside ugly and busy computer terminals. But right as the series came to an end during this third installment, Bungie seems to have learned to use the setup to its maximum extent.
The best thing one can say about Marathon Infinity is that it loves to try new things. The writing is just as good as it was before, but there’s so much more to draw upon. Some levels are implied to take place inside the protagonist’s dreams. The writing itself becomes much more abstract than before; interpreting it is not just busywork but becomes actually entertaining.
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