12 Best FPS Games of the 2020s (So Far)

First-person shooter titles have been cornerstones of the gaming industry since the early 1990s, with several FPS series and individual games going on to help revolutionize the gaming medium overall and becoming some of the most popular games of all time.

As gaming inches closer and closer to the 2030s, here's a look back at some of the best multiplayer and single-player FPS games released in the 2020s so far based on their critical reception, innovation, and popularity.

12 Valorant

Riot Games' FPS Multiplayer Domination

Riot Games is famous for their massively successful MOBA game League of Legends, which is still the most watched esports game nearly 17 years after launch according to Esports Charts, but in 2020, the American developer strove to dominate the field of multiplayer FPS games with Valorant.

A free-to-play tactical hero shooter inspired by Counter-Strike, Valorant has gone on to become a global phenomenon of its very own with it being the eighth most watched competitive game according to Esports Charts, winning multiple Best Esports Game of the Year awards, and being played by millions daily.

11 Ready or Not

A Fantastic Old-School Tactical Shooter

VOID Interactive went through a lot of controversy with Ready or Not. The game almost didn't make it out the door when a deal with Team17 fell through a few months before early access, and Steam briefly delisted it in its first year, but that didn't stop Ready or Not from becoming one of the best tactical shooters out there.

Ready or Not is the spiritual successor of the old-school Rainbow Six and SWAT games, and honors that legacy brilliantly. Whether you want to play tactical Barbie with friends or be all serious about it, this is the game to do it.

10 Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

A Truly Great COD Campaign

Things haven't always been smooth at Call of Duty, but Treyarch managed to pull out one of the most fun entries in recent years with Black Ops 6.

What made Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 stand out was a campaign that addressed the awkward period between the end of the Cold War and the beginning of the War on Terror. Sure, there was a decent dose of nonsense sprinkled in there, and the multiplayer inevitably fell to the goofy collab skins, but it doesn't stop this from being the most memorable Call of Duty game of this decade.

9 Black Mesa

One of Best FPS Remakes Ever Made

Revolutionary games are great and all, but sometimes, all you need is a good remake of a classic to get by. That is the case with Black Mesa, a 2020 fan remake of Half-Life.

Black Mesa has the same old amazing story and gameplay from Half-Life, but remade from the ground up to take advantage of the Source engine for both visuals and gameplay. I still believe you should play the original one before that to get a feel for it, but objectively speaking, Black Mesa beats it in every conceivable metric.

8 Deep Rock Galactic

Mining With Friends in Space

Dwarves, with guns, in space. It's the kind of concept that appeals to anyone aged 1 to 100, and Ghost Ship Games nailed the execution to a fault.

Deep Rock Galactic managed to get a generational co-op experience going while keeping it engaging for solos and avoiding all of the 'friendslop' pitfalls. Beyond the excellent game design, it is also home to one of the most welcoming communities in the shooter space, so there's no excuse not to dive in.

7 Doom: The Dark Ages

Ripping and Tearing Through the Past

Any good modern first-person shooter is infused with Doom's DNA, so it's only fair that the franchise would feature here (more than once, but we'll get there later). Doom: The Dark Ages tells the story of how it all began, mixing modern gameplay with the same old demon-slaying goodness I grew up with all those decades ago.

The main thing that sets The Dark Ages apart is just how many ways you have to rip and tear. It almost makes you feel like an artist, with your weapons as brushes and demons as a seemingly infinite supply of paint. Bob Ross would have loved this.

6 Halo Infinite

Master Chief's Grand Return

Things haven't always been smooth around the development of Halo under 343 Industries, but thankfully, the developers managed to pull through with the end result of their latest mainline entry, Halo Infinite, following the six-year hiatus after the controversial Halo 5: Guardians.

There is a lot of discussion about whether Halo Infinite lives up to the legacy of titles like Halo: Reach, but five years after its launch, it features an excellent free multiplayer and paid campaign with a decent number of modes, a solid player base, and plethora of impressive community-made content.

5 Deathloop

Arkane's Best Game Since Prey

It's unfortunate that Arkane fumbled Redfall as hard as it did, because the studio was on a fantastic streak thanks to Deathloop. Arkane took a massive gamble with Deathloop, putting forth an original concept that is leagues ahead of the safe industry shots.

The gameplay occasionally gets repetitive, but that's kind of the point, isn't it? Deathloop really comes together once you understand how to affect things in each run.

4 Mullet Madjack

A Glorious Love Letter to 90s Anime

Many FPS games released in the past decade or so have been sequels, remasters, and remakes, but there are still a few brand-new FPS titles that standout from the crowd with engaging twists on pre-established gameplay concepts, with one such game being the 90s anime-inspired roguelite Mullet Madjack.

Being Hammer95 Studios' debut title, Mullet Madjack is a perfect blend of Doom's fast-paced gameplay with the gritty yet colorful futuristic style of Akira and Ghost in the Shell, with Jack Banhammer being able to quickly blast through enemies in intense but fun speedrunning-like maneuvers.

3 Turbo Overkill

Duke Nukem's Modern Successor

Developers at Apogee Entertainment and Trigger Happy Interactive have a long history with FPS titles going all the way back to the 90s with games like Duke Nukem and two years ago they finally released a proper successor to the Duke Nukem series with Turbo Overkill.

Turbo Overkill may play like many 90s FPS games of old and feature a similar cyberpunk style as Mullet Madjack, but it's elevated beyond its counterparts by featuring an awesome, engaging story following the cyborg bounty hunter Johnny Turbo spending the last moments of his life striving to free humanity from an AI overlord.