Post-boomer shooters

15 games  

In the late 90s I think we can identify a split in the FPS genre:

  1. Adventure-FPS. Following in the steps of SW: Dark Forces and Duke3D, games like SW: Dark Forces 2 JK, Unreal and eventually Half-Life gradually diverged into a separate sub-genre. The focus here is the adventure, the situations the game puts you in, often involving exploration and puzzle-solving.
  2. Between Call of Duty and Halo there were beginnings of what would eventually become the template for console/multiplatform shooters that would later dominate the genre. Often characterized by regenerating health, two/three-weapon limit, linear level-design, emphasis on hiding from enemy fire instead of dodging it.
  3. Military shooter kinda overlaps with console shooter, but is also a separate category. For example, games like Delta Force, Vietcong and Operation Flashpoint are very different from Call of Duty and from each other. One constant is the attempt to depict realistic warfare.
  4. These, what I'm calling post-boomer shooters, are games that still largely followed the formula of Doom and Quake, but built upon it with improved physics, level-design, AI, etc. Sometimes even took it in some wild directions.

The distinction, as I see it, is that post-boomer shooters did not deviate from their roots, or at least not a lot. They added the cinematic/immersive elements that began to permeate the entire industry, but did not sacrifice any of the mechanical depth for them. In many cases only increased it. By the late 2000s these shooters had died-off for the most part, and same can be said about adventure-FPS.

Ordered by release date. More will be added.

Game

Shogo: Mobile Armor Division
Bangumi
other title: 升刚:机动装甲师 / 昇剛: モバイルアーマーディビジョン 1998-10-15
genre: FPS platform: Windows / macOS / Linux / Amiga
Shogo: Mobile Armor Division (昇剛: モバイルアーマーディビジョン, Shōgō: Mobairu āmā dibijon) is a Mecha first-person shooter video game released by Monolith Productions in 1998. It was the first game to use Monolith's flagship Lithtech engine. As well as performing missions on foot like other conventional FPS games, the game also allows the player to pilot a large mech. Shogo features a mix of both standard on-foot first person shooter action, and combat with anime-style bipedal mechs. Unlike mech simulator games such as the MechWarrior series, the mechs in Shogo are controlled essentially the same as in first-person shooter games. An inherent feature of the combat system in Shogo is the possibility of critical hits, whereby attacking an enemy will occasionally bring about a health bonus for the player while the enemy in question loses more health than usual from the weapon used. However, enemy characters are also capable of scoring critical hits on the player.

Game

SiN
Bangumi
other title: 原罪 / SiN: Gold … 1998-11-09
genre: FPS platform: Windows
SiN is a first-person shooter video game developed by Ritual Entertainment and published by Activision in 1998. It uses a modified version of the Quake II engine. SiN is set in the dystopian future of 2037, where John Blade, a commander in a security force named HardCorps in the megacity of Freeport, is tasked to rid the city of a recreational drug that may be tied to the rival biotechnology megacorporation, SinTek. SiN was released to generally positive reviews, with praise going towards its level design and premise, but criticism for technical issues that resulted from a rushed release. It sold poorly as a result of competition with Half-Life, but grew to have a cult following. Nightdive Studios acquired the rights to SiN in 2020, and in March 2020 republished the title, along with the Wages of Sin expansion pack, as SiN: Gold. Furthermore, the studio announced plans to release a remastered version, titled SiN: Reloaded, in 2021.

Game

Blood II: The Chosen
IGDB
Monolith Productions 1998-11-25
genre: Shooter platform: Windows publisher: GT Interactive Software
In a time of turmoil and decay, a dark organization with a sinister agenda casts its shadow over the world. But as their plot unfolds, an even greater evil pushes its twisted being at the very bindings of reality... Filled with hate and vengeance, Caleb has returned to face the Cabal and its minions once again - and this time he's not alone. Can he hold the Chosen together long enough to reclaim the Cabal and the heart of his one true love? Or will his actions destroy them all? Blood started it all with its blend of terrifying monsters, powerful weapons, fast-paced multiplayer action, and enough macabre humor to get a mummy cackling. Blood II: The Chosen improves upon the realm of Blood by combining a cutting-edge 3D game engine, horrifyingly nightmarish creatures from another dimension, and more blood than Blood.

Game

Soldier of Fortune
Bangumi
other title: 命运战士 2000-02-29
genre: FPS platform: Windows / DC / PlayStation 2
Soldier of Fortune is a first-person shooter video game created by Raven Software and published by Activision on February 29, 2000 for Microsoft Windows. It was later released for the PlayStation 2 as well as the Dreamcast. Soldier of Fortune was best known for its graphic depictions of firearms dismembering the human body. The GHOUL engine enables depiction of extreme graphic violence, in which character models are based on body parts that can each independently sustain damage (gore zones).

Game

Serious Sam: The First Encounter
IGDB
Croteam 2001-03-21
genre: First-person shooter platform: Windows publisher: Gathering of Developers
A first person shooter extravaganza where you take the role of Serious Sam, a badass killer whose goal is to defeat monsters commanded by Mental, an extraterrestrial entity that wants to destroy humanity. Serious Sam is a high-adrenaline arcade-action shooter heavily focused on frantic arcade-style single player action. In a world where cyberpunk meets fantasy-fiction and advanced technology is mixed with black magic and psycho-powers, Sam travels through the beautiful world of ancient Egypt and several diverse planets, confronting countless Mental's minions on his way to the Mental's base.Key Features Frantic Arcade-Style Action - Fight your way through 15+ nightmarish warriors in Mental's army, including the charging Sirian Werebull, screaming Headless Kamikaze and other crazy monsters, and finally challenge the multi-story Ugh-Zan boss!
Mike Arrani Takes Doom's formula in a different direction. Kinda its own sub-genre.

Game

RtCW
Douban Steam
★ 8.0 10 ratings
Gray Matter Interactive Studios, Inc. / Gray Matter Interactive … other title: 重返德军总部 / Return to Castle Wolfenstein 2001-11-19
genre: Action / Shooter platform: Windows / macOS / PlayStation 2 / Xbox publisher: id Software / Zenimax Media Inc
Originally released in 2001, Return to Castle Wolfenstein is an action/horror first-person shooter, and reboot of the Wolfenstein series. Powered by the Quake III Arena engine, it features a single-player campaign and team-based online multiplayer. Story World War II rages and nations fall. Himmler’s German SS Paranormal Division has Hitler's full backing to twist science and the occult into an army capable of annihilating the Allies once and for all. As US Army Ranger William “B.J.” Blazkowicz, you're on a solo mission to pierce the black heart of the Third Reich and stop Himmler...or die trying. Features Experience a blend of action and horror in the single-player campaign. Wield a combination of classic WW2 and fictional, sci-fi-inspired weapons. Fight against Nazis, the undead, and experimental mutant soldiers. Compete as Axis or Allies online, objective-focused and team-based multiplayer.

Game

Serious Sam: The Second Encounter
IGDB Douban
Croteam / Croteam Ltd. other title: 英雄萨姆:第二次遭遇 / 英雄萨姆 2002-11-10
genre: Action / Shooter platform: Windows / Xbox 360 publisher: Gotham Games / Gathering of Developers
英雄萨姆(Serious Sam)为克罗地亚开发公司Croteam开发的一款带有浓厚的幽默气息的第一人称射击类游戏,目前的版本有:《英雄萨姆:首次出击》(Serious Sam: The First Encounter)、《英雄萨姆:第二次遭遇》(Serious Sam: The Second Encounter)、《英雄萨姆2》(Serious Sam II)《英雄萨姆HD:首次出击》(Serious Sam: The First Encounter HD)以及英雄萨姆3: BFE (Serious Sam 3: BFE,Before First Encounter) 首次出击,二次遭遇以及英雄萨姆2都是超爽,充满乐趣的游戏, 英雄萨姆3是垃圾
Mike Arrani Takes Doom's formula in a different direction. Kinda its own sub-genre.

Game

Soldier of fortune 2: Double Helix
Douban Bangumi
other title: 命运战士2:双重螺旋 / 佣兵战场2:双重螺旋 … 2002-05-20
genre: Shooter platform: Windows
Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix is a first-person shooter video game developed by Raven Software, a sequel to Soldier of Fortune. It was developed using the id Tech 3 engine. Once again, Raven hired John Mullins to act as a consultant on the game. Based on comments and criticisms of the original game, Raven Software developed Soldier of Fortune II to be a more "realistic" game, with tactical shooters like Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six as inspirations rather than Quake.

Game

Doom 3
WikiData IGDB Bangumi
id Software other title: 毁灭战士3 / Doom 3: BFG Edition … 2004-08-03
genre: Shooter platform: Linux / Windows / Xbox / macOS publisher: Activision
A massive demonic invasion has overwhelmed the Union Aerospace Corporation's (UAC) Mars Research Facility, leaving only chaos and horror in its wake. As one of only a few survivors, you must fight your way to hell and back against a horde of evil monsters. The path is dark and dangerous, but you'll have an array of weapons--including a pistol, a chainsaw, grenades, and more--to use for protection.

Game

Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil
Douban Bangumi
Zenimax Media Inc / Threewave Software Inc. other title: 毁灭战士3:邪恶复苏 / 毁灭战士3邪恶复生 … 2005-04-03
genre: Shooter / Action platform: Windows / Xbox publisher: Activision / Zenimax Media Inc
Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil is a horror first-person shooter video game developed by Nerve Software and published by Activision. It was released for Microsoft Windows on April 3, 2005, as an expansion pack and sequel to Doom 3 and on October 5, 2005, for the Xbox video game console. The Xbox version does not require the original Doom 3 in order to play, and includes The Ultimate Doom, Doom II: Hell on Earth and Master Levels for Doom II. The video game features eight multiplayer game modes. Resurrection of Evil features twelve new single-player levels, six new enemies including the hunter, four new multiplayer maps as well as new weapons such as the double-barreled shotgun originating from Doom II.

Game

F.E.A.R.
Douban
★ 8.3 6 ratings
Wargaming West / Monolith Productions, Inc. other title: 极度恐慌 / 超能特警组 2005-10-17
genre: Shooter platform: Windows / PlayStation 3 / Xbox 360 publisher: WB Games / Sierra
《F.E.A.R.》将带领玩家从第一人称的角度,进入一场满载动作元素和丰富剧情的秘密军事任务中,并透过多变的环境设定,让您导出属于自己的精彩动作巨片。 故事起源于一件价值数十亿美元的太空计划案,遭到不明恐怖组织的劫持,但该组织却未提出任何释放人质的条件或要求。政府立刻派遣特种部队前往,但却因怪异的信号乾扰而失去通联。当事件引起的风波稍稍缓和后,这批派遣出去的特种部队却遭到极度恐怖的命运:屠杀,恐怖组织在士兵完全无法反应的情况下,将士兵们直接分尸,并将过程整个拍摄起来,公诸于世人面前… 身为F.E.A.R.的一员,玩家将前往解决这项无人可解的难题,任务非常简单:不计任何代价,清除每一个潜在的威胁;查出神秘的讯号来源;并赶在阴谋扩大到无法控制前,将其彻底根除。

Game

Q4
Douban Bangumi Steam
id Software / Raven Software other title: 雷神之锤4 / Quake 4 … 2005-10-18
genre: Shooter platform: Windows / Xbox 360 publisher: Activision / Bethesda Softworks
Developed in 2005 by Raven Software in collaboration with id Software, Quake 4 is a narrative-driven, sci-fi, military-style first-person shooter and direct sequel to Quake II that also includes arena-style multiplayer modes. Story After the successful assassination of the Strogg’s leader, Earth’s military reignited its attack on the hostile aliens’ homeworld of Stroggos. As Marine Corporal Matthew Kane of the elite Rhino Squad, your mission is to spearhead the invasion. But, in this desperate war for humanity’s survival against an unrelenting enemy, you may discover that the only way to defeat them...is to become one of them. Features Experience the direct sequel to Quake II in this narrative-driven campaign. Upgrade and wield an arsenal of advanced weaponry as you battle the Strogg army. Tear through the Strogg ranks with mechanized walkers and hover tanks. Compete in online multiplayer as a Strogg or Marine in Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, and Capture the Flag.

Game

Serious Sam 3: Before First Encounter
Douban Melon Log
★ 6.2 5 ratings
Croteam Ltd. / Croteam other title: 英雄萨姆3:BFE / SS3: BFE … 2011-11-22
genre: Shooter platform: Windows / macOS / PlayStation 3 / Xbox 360 / Linux publisher: Devolver Digital
Serious Sam 3: BFE is a first-person action shooter, a glorious throwback to the golden age of first-person shooters where men were men, cover was for amateurs and pulling the trigger made things go boom. Serving as a prequel to the original indie and Game of the Year sensation, Serious Sam: The First Encounter, Serious Sam 3 takes place during the Earth’s final struggle against Mental’s invading legions of beasts and mercenaries. Key Features Frantic Arcade-Style Action – Hold down the trigger and lay waste to a never-ending onslaught of attackers or face being overrun by Mental’s savage beasts. No cover systems, no camping – it’s just you against them. All of them! Fearsome Enemy Creatures – A new battalion of unforgettable minions including the rumbling Scrapjack and towering Khnum join the legendary Headless Kamikaze, Gnaar and Sirian Werebull to create the fiercest opposition you’ve ever had the pleasure of mowing down! Spectacular Environments – Battle across the expansive battlefields of near-future Egypt bursting at the seams with total chaos. The shattered cities of tomorrow lined with the crumbling temples of an ancient world become your destructible playground! Destructive Arsenal – Unleash Serious Sam’s arsenal of weapons including a scoped assault rifle, the double-barreled shotgun, the explosive automatic shotgun, the punishing minigun, and the almighty barrage of flaming cannonballs! Carry all of Sam’s weapons at once and switch between each gun on the fly for maximum firepower! Brutal Melee Attacks – When the going get’s tough, the tough take matters into their own hands! Rip out the eye of a closing Gnaar, twist off the face of the hideous Scrapjack or snap the neck of an Arachnoid Hatchling for an instant kill! Co-Op Multiplayer – Go to war against Mental’s horde with up to 16 players online and annihilate everything that moves across 12 single-player levels of mayhem in Standard Co-Op, Classic Co-Op, Coin-Op Co-Op, Beast Hunt and Team Beast Hunt mode. Survival Singleplayer & Multiplayer – Try to survive alone (offline) against wave after wave of enemies with specially created levels in Survival mode or have your online friends join two teams, fighting both each other and enemies, in the relentless Team Survival mode! Versus Multiplayer – Fight against each other or other teams in various multiplayer versus modes like Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, Last Man Standing, Last Team Standing, Instant Kill and My Burden, along with Team Beast Hunt and Team Survival! Split Screen Modes – Play local (offline) split screen co-op and multiplayer versus modes with up to four players on one screen! It even includes the support for multiple keyboards and mice! Level Editor * – Create your own levels, MODs, textures and other content with the inclusion of the fully featured Serious Editor 3.5! Steam Workshop – Submit your content creation or download new player-created content and modifications for Serious Sam 3! Misc Game Options – 5 difficulty levels, quick-save, auto-save, multiple save slots, 3rd person view, co-op gameplay tweaking options, game controller support, localized with subtitles, parental blood & gore control including hippie mode, various color schemes, tons of advanced graphics options to tweak, cheats, console, Steam trading cards, achievements, leaderboards and cloud and much, much more! * This item is only available on PC
Mike Arrani Takes Doom's formula in a different direction. Kinda its own sub-genre.

Game

Serious Sam 4
Douban Steam Eggplant.place
Croteam / Croteam Ltd. other title: 英雄萨姆4 2020-09-24
genre: Shooter / Action platform: Windows / Xbox One / PlayStation 5 / Xbox Series X|S / Stadia publisher: Devolver Digital
Digital Deluxe Edition Expand your Serious Sam 4 experience with the DIGITAL DELUXE EDITION which includes the game and the Digital Deluxe Pack. The Deluxe Pack includes: The exclusive Classic Tommy Gun in-game weapon skin. The original game soundtrack composed and mixed by Damjan Mravunac in .mp3 and lossless formats. A digital art book full of concept art, model renders, and exclusive glorious poster art. About the Game Humanity is under siege as the full force of Mental’s hordes spread across the world, ravaging what remains of a broken and beaten civilization. The last remaining resistance to the invasion is the Earth Defense Force led by Sam “Serious” Stone and his heavily-armed squad of misfit commandos. Croteam returns with a high-powered prequel to the Serious Sam series that scales up chaos to unprecedented levels. The classic Serious Sam formula is revamped by putting an unstoppable arsenal up against an unimaginable number of enemies that requires players to circle-strafe and backpedal-blast their way out of impossible situations. HORDES OF INVADERS The iconic cast of alien invaders returns with some new reinforcements! Fight your way through unbelievable numbers of Mental's minions including the iconic Headless Kamikaze, Beheaded Rocketeer, Kleer, Scrapjack, Werebull, and Khnum! Square off against brand new enemies and towering monsters like the frantic Processed, repulsive Belcher, the hard-hitting Zealot, and more. EXPLOSIVE ARSENAL Armed with a slew of devastating weapons, pick your tool for any situation. Lay waste to Mental's Horde using the powerful double-barreled shotgun, the punishing minigun, the powerful chainsaw launcher, a brand new auto shotgun, and the iconic cannon. Upgrade your toys, and enjoy the violent beauty of the lock-on rocket launcher, and the mighty laser beam of death. COOPERATIVE MAYHEM Smash through the action-packed campaign with friends in 4-player online co-op mode! Tackle exciting primary missions and thrilling side quests in modified difficulties for an extra challenge. LEGION SYSTEM Serious Sam 4 unleashes some of the biggest moments in the series’ history with the new Legion System and battlefields teeming with thousands of enemies!
Mike Arrani Takes Doom's formula in a different direction. Kinda its own sub-genre.

Game

英雄萨姆:西伯利亚狂想曲
Douban
other title: Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem 2022-01-26
genre: Shooter / Adventure platform: Windows / PlayStation 5 / Xbox Series X|S / Xbox One publisher: Devolver Digital
欢迎回到《英雄萨姆4》的世界,体验萨姆·斯通冒险故事中的全新独立篇章“西伯利亚狂想曲”。你要穿越光脑的俄罗斯大地,追讨总是先你一步的叛徒布兰德将军。道阻且长,沿途风光无限好。 《英雄萨姆:西伯利亚狂想曲》由Timelock Studio和Croteam共同开发,以不为人知的故事、尚待探索的地域,以及英雄萨姆标志性的“抗疯牛”枪炮大乱斗,让大家耳熟能详的故事老树开新花。参战吧,同志!
Mike Arrani Takes Doom's formula in a different direction. Kinda its own sub-genre.
July 13, 2026