Fantasy shooters are one of those genres that look niche and hyper-specific but are actually loved by adedicated and substantial audience. 1994’sHereticis arguably the first shooter with a fantasy setting, though it might just be the first fantasy first-person shooter.
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Even ifHereticincorporatedelements typical of RPGs into the FPS formulato great success, that doesn’t have to be true for every fantasy shooter. Modern takes on the genre likeAMID EVILshow us that fantasy FPSs can be just that and that they don’t even need to be story focused or do any worldbuilding at all.
10Warhammer: Vermintide 2
CallingWarhammer: Vermintide 2a shooter isn’t entirely accurate, but it can be played as one. This first-person, co-op, survival action game takes the core gameplay of genre staples likeLeft 4 DeadandKilling Floorand gives it a unique melee twist.
By choosing the right class, players can highly customize their experience withVermentide 2. Thankfully, every party can use one or two ranged classes. The best ranged classes for beginners are the Bounty Hunter, the simplest ranged class, and the Waystalker, for her passive ammo regeneration.
9Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath
Most fans of the Oddworld series are only familiar with the first two games, both classic platformers in the PS1 catalog. The fourth game set in the odd universe,Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath, is instead a hybrid first and third-person shooter.
Oddworld, the setting named after the series, isn’t a common flavor of fantasy. But even if this world displays a certain level of technological development, it is certainly closer to traditional fantasy than science fiction. What’s more, of all the entries in the series,Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrathis the one that spends the least time in grimy factories and industrial plants.
8Paladins: Champions Of The Realm
Paladinswas the Hi-Rez response to the incredible success ofOverwatch. This fantasyhero shooterhas been consistently updated for years since its release, maintaining a large audience to this day. A highlight of the game is the unique character roster that sees elves and humans go head-to-head with a living bomb and a turtle with a cannon for a hand.
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Paladinsisn’t Hi-Rez Studios’ first time publishing a MOBA shooter. The studio has been a powerhouse of the genre since they releasedSmitein 2014, to critical and commercial success. They even gave the battle royale genre a spin withRealm Royale, though that would hardly count as fantasy.
7Heretic
Hereticis a classic DOS shooter from 1994, developed byQuake 4’s Raven Software and published by FPS powerhouse id Software. InHeretic, players take the role of a wizard elf, fighting offhordes of undead monstersand closing up the portals that called them.
To some players, just seeing the release date might be enough to writeHereticoff entirely. Admittedly, some things haven’t aged so well: the level design is experimental and outdated, and so is the engine, an adaptation ofDOOM’soriginal. Meanwhile, the setting and the sense of place that the levels communicate hold up surprisingly well.
6Project Warlock
InProject Warlock, players take the role of the titular Warlock as he cleans dungeon after dungeon of its fantasy monster inhabitants. Some, understandably, might not call this a fantasy shooter, with its modern guns and leather jacket-wearing protagonist. On the other hand, the game might argue, warlocks and monsters aren’t real.
Project WarlocknamedropsHexenin the first line of its Steam description, and for good reasons. Still, this is a far more innovative game than the standard fair of retro shooters, with an original level-up system and a frankly excessive 38 weapon types.
5Graven
Gravenis a retro-shooter inspired by the likes ofHereticandHexen. Some of the talent behind the game even comes from that classic era of shooters, like team member Chuck Jones,character designerforDuke Nukem 3D. Once a priest, the undead protagonist ofGravenmust discover the cause of the plague that has infested the land to earn eternal peace.
Gravendoesn’t stop at replicating the design of the shooters of old but modernizes the formula with unlockable skills and exploration-focused backtracking.Gravenis currently in early access, but it has seen stable updates since its beta release. It’s still unclear when it will leave early access.
4Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlandsis a standalone sequel of theBorderlands 2DLC,Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep. Just like the rest of the Borderland series, this is a team-based looter shooter that can be played solo but shines when one or two friends are tagging along.
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The fantasy setting inTiny Tina’s Wonderlandsis a spoof on theclassic tabletop RPGDungeons and Dragons, referred to by the game as Bunkers & Badasses. For the first time in the series, players can create their own character from the ground up. Creating a character and leveling up is very freeform, especially how skills can be selected from different classes.
3Hexen: Beyond Heretic
Hexen: Beyond Hereticis an indirect sequel of the classic FPS seriesHeretic, but it became so popular as to spawn a series of its own.Hexenintroduces multiple characters, each with their strengths and weaknesses. With its updated engine, players can even look up and down without the world warping around them.
Unlike most classic shooters (and old PC games in general),Hexen: Beyond Hereticcan be played on modern machines without issue, no DOS Box required. And unlike its contemporaries, it allows controller inputs and can even be played on Steam Deck, granted that players use the GZDoom version.
2Hedon Bloodrite
Hedon Bloodriteis a retro shooter with adventure game sensibilities set in a fantasy “crystalpunk underworld”. While it certainly takes some inspiration from classics of the genre likeHereticandHexen, it has somePC RPG and immersive simDNA too.
Hedon Bloodriteis actually a two-in-one package including the originalHedonand its sequel. This is by far the best value for money for players looking to get into the series. Those who are looking to spend a bit less can always get the original as a standalone product, with the option of upgrading it to the combined product later on.
1AMID EVIL
AMID EVILis one of the most successful retro shooter projects published by New Blood Interactive, ofDuskandULTRAKILLfame.AMID EVILis easily the biggest fantasy FPS title of the last few years. Even on an all-time basis, it would probably come second after theHexenandHereticseries.
AMID EVILboosts 7 wholly different andhighly replayable worlds, a large set of unique weapons, and a fast and satisfying core gameplay loop. There are no RPG elements and no real world-building to speak of, making this a game for dedicated FPS fans.
