PlayStation Plus underwent a major revision in 2022, changing from simply offering free games and online multiplayer access into a service with a back catalog of games in its more expensive tiers. For PlayStation Plus Extra subscribers, you can play a whole bunch of games from the PS4, while Premium subscribers also gain access to an even bigger catalog with many PS3 games as well as some classics from even older PlayStation consoles. Lots of these games are first-person shooters, but which are worth your time?
We went through the entire list, picking the very best first-person shooters on PS Plus Extra and PS Plus Premium. What we found were a whole bunch of critically acclaimed games from a wide variety of franchises, and some also include hybrid genres like role-playing and vehicular combat. And don't worry, as we left the true stinkers off this list so you can be confident knowing if you pick any game here, you're almost certainly going to have a good time. Just don't blame us if you find yourself eagerly awaiting new entries in each respective series after you've finished playing all the catalog has to offer. Or you could blame us, as we guess that would kind of be our fault.
These are the best FPS games on PS Plus.
Deathloop
A first-person shooter and immersive sim hybrid from the masters at Arkane Studios, Deathloop won our Game of the Year award in 2021, and for good reason. Not only does the gunplay feel excellent, especially when mixed with the game's special powers, but it utilizes a terrific time-looping mechanic that makes every encounter feel important and satisfying. Finally having the perfect run and seeing all your work pay off is super exciting, especially when one particular target has been giving you fits and sending you back to the very beginning over and over again. Definitely don't pass this one up.
Doom
This is how you reboot a beloved franchise. After more than a decade away from Doom, id Software had the unenviable task of not only modernizing the series to keep up with the times, but also retaining its essence: that special sauce that has always made Doom so incredibly fun. It certainly did so with 2016's rebooted Doom, a semi-sequel set on a research facility overrun with demons. Doom emphasizes constant movement and aggression over the cover-focused gameplay of its contemporaries, making you feel like a complete killing machine all while retaining a solid challenge. Plus, who doesn't love cutting a demon in half with a big chainsaw?
Far Cry 3
The game that revolutionized the series' open-world shooting action and established a template for the next decade, Far Cry 3 remains one of the best first-person shooters on any platform--subscription or otherwise. After finding themselves stranded on a mysterious tropical island being hunted by the menacing criminal Vaas, chaos ensues, and spoiled rich brat Jason Brody has to rescue his friends. Its protagonist is unlikable in a sort of endearing way, like you don't really care if something terrible happens to him, which gives you less pause to cause massive explosions and go guns-blazing into a battle with grenades and rockets.
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon
A spoof of '80s action movies--complete with a neon color scheme and a protagonist named Rex "Power" Colt"--Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is a standalone game rather than an expansion for Far Cry 3. It's intentionally cheesy and eye-roll-inducing, but it also doesn't overstay its welcome as you blast away baddies and cause massive explosions. If you've played the other Far Cry games after 2, you'll be familiar with the basic combat loop, but Blood Dragon's style and irreverence are still unique for the series a decade after it released. Oh, and it features '80s action star Michael Biehn, who played Kyle Reese in Terminator and Hicks in Aliens.
Far Cry 4
The sequel to Far Cry 3--at least as far as sharing its gameplay elements--Far Cry 4's story is completely separate from its predecessors and thus a great starting point for newcomers. Taking us out of tropical paradise and into snow-covered Himalayan mountains, the game's narrative feels more cohesive, with a more believable conflict between villain Pagan Min and protagonist Ajay Ghale. The game world is still filled with classic Far Cry activities like outposts to liberate and radio towers to climb, along with lots of vehicles to traverse both on the ground and through the air.
Get Even
Don't get mad: Get Even! A mix of mysterious supernatural thriller and first-person shooting, Get Even was a sleeper hit when it launched back in 2017, primarily because the developer's previous games had largely been terrible. Get Even, however, surprised players with its unique structure and gritty, intriguing tone. It certainly isn't the first game to make use of in-universe technology for a variant of augmented reality, but its approach went far beyond lore-expansion or world-building and instead is crucial to the central narrative. Of course, having some enemies to blast to smithereens in between these moments is nice, as well, and you can do plenty of that in Get Even.
Killzone: Shadow Fall
The fourth game in the series on console, Killzone: Shadow Fall was a launch title for PlayStation 4 and thus includes some, let's say extraneous features that make use of the DualShock 4 controller. That being said, it's still a totally solid first-person sci-fi shooter, and unlike a whole lot of other explosion-filled action games, it actually has a well-written story that deals with the false "good and bad" dichotomy we often see in war. Weapons have noticeable heft to them, and some of the environments you explore during the later stages of the campaign are stunning. One downside, however, is the excellent competitive multiplayer mode was taken offline in 2022, rendering this a strictly single-player experience.
Prey
A first-person immersive-sim game with as much emphasis on avoiding combat as engaging in it, Prey is one of the most creative games from Arkane Studios, and that's despite it taking very light inspiration from the 2006 Prey game for its basic "aliens versus humans in outer space" premise. Deciding when it's worth it to destroy the Typhon in your way versus when you should use your ingenuity to escape undetected is at the core of its gameplay loop, but when push comes to shoot, you have plenty of weapons at your disposal. Prey isn't a game for everyone, but those it gets its hooks in will have a very hard time putting it down, and may even want to play through it a second time and make new story decisions.
Shadow Warrior 3
Goofy without being grating, the rebooted Shadow Warrior games have only gotten better over time. The latest of these, Shadow Warrior 3, is a very new game, and you can get it via PlayStation Plus. Swapping between high-speed movement, first-person shooting, and melee, Shadow Warrior 3 is the ultimate power fantasy for players who are good enough to master its systems. Similarly to Doom, you can also unleash brutal finishing moves on your enemies, and with a new grappling hook added for the third installment, there's no telling what you're capable of, even in the most demanding gunfights.
Wolfenstein: The New Order
An unexpected gem that released near the beginning of the PS4's lifespan, Wolfenstein: The New Order is a somewhat-sequel and reboot for the long-running shooter franchise, but it ditches much of the supernatural elements of its predecessor for a disturbing look at Europe in a world where the Nazis won WW2. BJ Blazkowicz is a little more introspective and soft-spoken this time around, but he's no less efficient at killing nazis. In fact, he's perhaps never been more skilled, with brilliant stealth-action sequences giving way to all-out shootouts with everything from assault rifles to extremely powerful shotguns. With multiple endings and terrific supporting characters, it's an absolute must-play.
ZOMBI
First released as a Wii U exclusive under the name ZOMBIU, Ubisoft's survival-horror shooter ZOMBI isn't an all-out action game, nor is it a traditional narrative-focused horror game. Instead, it's something of an anomaly, with permadeath causing you to shift to another character whenever you die and leaving any of your possessions with that now-undead character for you to then find. Any time you check your inventory, the game keeps moving, leaving you open to attack from zombies and demanding you work quickly and efficiently. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but its unique take on survival and resourcefulness makes it worth checking out.
All games from this point onward are only available via the PlayStation Plus Premium tier.
BioShock Infinite
The third BioShock game drastically changed the series in some respects--while secretly keeping things more similar than what you see at first glance. Set in the floating city of Columbia, BioShock Infinite is another twist-filled thriller with plenty of science-fiction to wrap your head around, but it also features one of the coolest first-person mechanics we've seen in years: the Skyhook. Using a rail system located throughout the city and the handheld Skyhook tool, you can soar around and land unpredictable attacks. When you do touch down, the numerous high-powered weapons and almost-magic Vigors at your disposal make for some very creative kills.
Borderlands: The Handsome Collection
Containing Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, you definitely get a whole lot of explosions and silly quips in Borderlands: The Handsome Collection. It's named as such because both games feature Handsome Jack, the franchise's most recognizable villain, and they also both contain the series' signature blend of shooting and looting. With cooperative play and plenty of different characters to choose from across the two games, they're very replayable, and great choices to play before jumping into the newer Borderlands 3.
Metro 2033
When it looked like the Stalker series may have been gone for good, 4A Games stepped up to the plate with its own brutal post-nuclear-apocalypse first-person shooter: Metro 2033. Based on the book by Dmitry Glukhovsky, the game combines stealth and survival with occasional bursts of brutal combat, with every single bullet and resource you have crucial to success. As the name suggests, much of Metro 2033 takes place in a Russian subway system, where air is breathable and humanity hunkers down, but there are several points when you will need to go to the surface. Here, the true effect of a nuclear war are most visible, and the story takes some very surprising turns in the game's final moments.
Metro: Last Light
The sequel to 2033, Metro: Last Light is even better than its predecessor. As protagonist Artyom is forced to deal with the fallout from his decisions in the first game, he finds himself thrown unwillingly into a political war between the various factions vying for power underground. Metro: Last Light was clearly made by a developer with a little more confidence and expertise, resulting in better first-person shooting and excellent pacing from beginning to end. Having to decide between using your last ball bearing to fire an air rifle into the back of a neo-nazi's head or allow them to live so you can sneak through undetected is a common occurence, as is having no choice but to go all-out and alert every enemy in the region.
Rage
It's mostly known for the Doom and Quake series, but id Software has occasionally dabbled in other first-person shooters, as well. One of these was Rage, an underrated take on the post-apocalypse that feels like a cross between Mad Max and Borderlands. Alongside the excellent first-person shooting you'd expect from the studio, the game also puts a huge emphasis on driving combat, making traversing the open wasteland much more fun than having you simply run across and occasionally deal with enemies. It's on the short side and the sequel is arguably a better-realized vision, but the first Rage is still absolutely worth playing today.
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles
As arcades shrank in relevance and number, so too did the proliferation of great first-person on-rail shooters. However, they didn't die off entirely, and Capcom released a few of them for the Wii and PS3 during the consoles' early days. The Umbrella Chronicles plays like a classic lightgun game, letting you blast hordes of undead as you progress through the story rather than spend time solving puzzles or finding secrets. It's a great jumping-on point for newcomers to the series, as well, as the story includes key moments from Resident Evil, the prequel Resident Evil Zero, and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. For even more, you can check out Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, which primarily focuses on Resident Evil 2's and Resident Evil: Code Veronica's events.
Resistance 3
It's primarily known these days for the Spider-Man games and Ratchet & Clank, but there was a stretch there for a minute when Insomniac Games had gone full on "dark and gritty reboot." The Resistance games were among the best exclusives on PS3, and Resistance 3 capped off the series with a somber and very violent conclusion. Despite not having the same lighthearted tone as Insomniac's other work, Resistance does retain the studio's excellent action gameplay, and for those who had been following the series' story since the very early days of the PS3, it was a fitting send-off. Just make sure you catch yourself up to speed with the game's two predecessors, as well, so you have some idea of how the battle between the Chimera and humanity started.
The Darkness
A cult-favorite shooter based on the comic series of the same name, The Darkness is a supernatural game that blends the criminal underworld with magical forces in a truly unique combination. It was developed by Starbreeze, the same company that would go on to create the much-less-magical but very-much-criminal Payday series. The Darkness did receive one sequel, though it didn't release for several more years, so you may want to jump in and try it out as well if you love the original.
Fallout 3
Nowadays, a first-person Fallout game is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you hear "Fallout," but it wasn't always that way. After acquiring the franchise rights, Bethesda turned what was once a traditional CRPG into a first-person shooter RPG hybrid, taking the knowledge it had gained from developing the Elder Scrolls series and applying it to a nuclear wasteland. The results were successful, to say the least, and the game went on to win numerous Game of the Year awards and inject new life into what was once a relatively niche franchise.
Fallout: New Vegas
Bethesda Game Studios wasn't the only developer to take a stab (or time-frozen shot, as it were) at the Fallout series. Obsidian Game Studios followed up Fallout 3 with Fallout: New Vegas just a few years later, and it was arguably even more successful. With a new Companion Wheel to make it easier to deal with followers and more options for making the experience your own, it was a worthy follow-up game and was Obsidian's last entry in the series. Since then, the company has become a sibling studio to Bethesda under the Microsoft umbrella, meaning it's very unlikely another Fallout game will be coming to PlayStation from Obsidian.
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