Best FPS Games That Respect Your Time

The modern FPS is in a much different spot from where it was when I was growing up. These days, it feels like it's primarily about keeping players within one specific game for as long as possible in order to prove to investors and shareholders that a title was worth it, and therefore should become a serialized franchise to drive into the ground.

It didn't always used to be this way, however. And in fairness, there are still some shooters that buck the trend from time to time in the modern space, though that feels rarer with each passing year.

So today, let's give special recognition to nine special FPS titles that didn't care so much about making their game your new lifestyle/"forever" game. These are FPS games that value your time and present you something you can get into, thoroughly love, and get back out of just as quickly.

9 Prodeus

Retro-Inspired Heat

Probably the lowest-profile game on this list, Prodeus is quite possibly the best game heavily inspired by OG DOOM that's come out in the last few years. Take a look at some gameplay or screenshots, and you wouldn't be blamed one bit for just assuming this was some kind of id Software spin-off title or retro remaster.

Still, incredibly obvious influence aside, Prodeus is much more of a love letter than a rip-off, and it just so happens to rip just as hard as anything else like it. In fact, as much as this might be video game blasphemy, I'd say you're better off just playing this game than going back for OG DOOM if you don't really have the nostalgia for it anyway.

Prodeus is frantic, wicked fast, and has all the gore and slick-feeling guns that you'd want from a game of this style. What's best, for those looking for a bite-sized FPS experience, you can get in and out of it in about 7 or so hours.

8 Superhot

Paging Keanu Reeves

There are a couple of ways to Superhot, and you can't go wrong with either. It's available on a traditional flatscreen, but also has a dedicated VR version that is absolutely incredible. For my money, I prefer VR for Superhot, but however you can play the game is still a worthwhile choice.

The game is only a couple of hours long, but it's also absurdly replayable, too. If you don't know the pitch by now, enemies only move when you do, so each room becomes a puzzle of using everything at your disposal to clear it out before you fall victim to one of the bright red antagonists.

There aren't very many video games, let alone FPS titles, that make you feel just as cool as Superhot does.

7 Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

The Good Fight

One of the "longer" titles on this list, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is a bombastic FPS romp through an alternate version of history where the Nazis managed to win World War II. As such, it's your job as B.J. Blazkowicz to set things right as quickly and violently as possible.

Still, the game comes in just under 12 hours, and though there is an occasional (incredible) cutscene or two, for the most part, you're doing one thing, and one thing only. Wolfenstein II is a roller coaster, and it does an incredible job of whipping you through its campaign.

The gunplay is also the best it's ever been in the franchise here, and is quite easily my top recommendation if you want to see what this classic series is all about. Just be prepared for a section or two that will push you to your FPS limits.

6 Battlefield 1

From the Trenches

Of course, Battlefield is known for its large-scale multiplayer suites of content. Still, if you're just wanting to experience an amazing FPS campaign before jumping into something else, BF1 does it better than almost anything else out there.

The entire campaign is only about 6 or 7 hours, but it is excellent. What's even better for those of you looking for bite-sized experiences is that it's also split up into several, short vignettes, which break the game down even further into easily digestible, but still incredible missions.

The variety here is great, and it's fun to work through each story and figure out which one you liked the most yourself. World War I hasn't historically been the most represented conflict in video games, so BF1 is special and unique from that perspective as well.

5 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

The Phenomenon Begins

Including a Call of Duty game on a list of titles that respect your time feels a bit hilarious with the modern state of the franchise, but CoD 4: Modern Warfare comes from an age where this series still had some dignity. Yes, CoD was growing ever popular with each release back in the day, but OG Modern Warfare was the real reason the series blasted off in the stratosphere.

There's a good reason why this title from 2007 (and not to be confused with the much later "Modern Warfare" from 2019) is still many players' all-time favorite in the entire series. The six-hour campaign, to this day, is possibly the best we've ever seen.

Yes, this is also around the time when CoD multiplayer became the ultimate focus of the franchise moving forward, but single-player gamers that didn't want their time wasted had an absolute banger to go out on before things started to shift.

4 DOOM (2016)

All (Chainsaw) Gas

Sure, DOOM (2016) did technically have a multiplayer component, but nobody really cared. Instead, this 2016 semi-reboot of the long-running franchise proved in a time when it didn't seem possible that if you make a freaking cool enough FPS campaign, people will notice.

This game is an absolute, bloody, gory joy. Of course, it also helps that it has possibly the best video game soundtrack ever, courtesy of Mick Gordon's Drop F#, 9-string guitar. Those that are musically inclined out there know just how absurdly brutal this setup is.

Everything about DOOM 2016 is simply cool, and it plays like an absolute dream. It'll keep you around for about 12 hours, but time flies when you're filling demons full of lead.

3 BioShock

Circus of Values

Is it wrong to categorize BioShock as an FPS? To be honest, I understand why there's a debate. But also, it's a first-person game played primarily with guns, so here we are.

If you're a gamer that hasn't played BioShock in the year 2026, I do not know what you're doing with your life. This game is a masterclass in world-building and vibe, and it's frankly ridiculous how well it still holds up a staggering 19 years later.

The gunplay isn't the tightest in the world anymore, but you won't notice as you unravel the story of just what went wrong in Rapture. Though it respects your time and gets you on your way after a manageable campaign, you'll be thinking about it for decades to come.

2 Halo 2

Truly Elite

You can kind of take your own personal pick for whichever early Halo game you'd want to appear in this spot on the list. Combat Evolved is a classic, ODST and Reach are some of the best spin-offs of all time, and 3 is another most-beloved title for good reason.

I'm picking Halo 2, but really, you can't go wrong with anything mentioned above. I've always been an Arbiter mission apologist, but I understand that's probably a bit of a hot take among the fanbase.

No matter either way. If you've played classic Halo, you know why it appears here on the podium of the list. These are tight, no-nonsense campaigns that are all gas, no breaks 100% of the time. Blast your way through the Covenant and Flood, revel in all the glorious sci-fi action, then do it all again, and repeat for the rest of your life.

1 Titanfall 2

This One's Got Everything

Pound for pound, I'd put Titanfall 2 up against anything in the debate of best, pure FPS campaign of all-time. On all fronts, this is a game that succeeds in every way imaginable.

The gunplay rules, the story is fun, the titans are cool, the boss fights memorable, the time travel sections amazing, and the mission structure consistently stellar.

It's only 6 hours, but that's all you need for Titanfall 2 to embed itself in your brain as the best FPS game ever that allows you to simply have an incredible, expertly-packaged gameplay experience, no strings attached. It's nuts that the OG game didn't have a campaign at all when 2's managed to be this darn perfect.