Games are a lot more subversive and meta these days, but back in 2007? It’s an atmosphere that can be difficult to cultivate in a high-impact genre like shooters, and BioShock did a great job both building it while keeping its gunplay fun and engaging. Most classic JRPG franchises made the leap from 2D to 3D around the turn of the century, but that’s not to say that there aren’t still a few fantastic 2D role-playing games around today.
Let’s dive into some of the greatest single-player third-person shooter campaigns that truly stole the spotlight. Pokemon, for all its popularity, has never really had a great PC equivalent—until now. Temtem is a “loving homage,” by which I mean it’s as close to Pokemon as you could get without being sued. It’s not easy running a country, but Crusader Kings III is significantly easier on newcomers than its beloved—but dense—predecessor. The deep tutorial is a much-needed improvement, but Paradox also added a heavy coat of polish that makes the game feel much more friendly. Wasteland 2 was our favorite game of 2014, heralding a glorious return to form for CRPGs.
Middle-earth: Shadow of War
That all being said, Dragon’s Dogma 2 is a great game when it runs well, featuring a unique RPG experience that is unlike most titles on the market. Quests can easily be missed if you aren’t paying attention, and battles can be difficult if you don’t have the right Pawns with you. As long as you’re using our Dragon’s Dogma 2 guide, you should have a great time playing the game. Featuring one of the most iconic set pieces in gaming history, the seemingly never-ending barrage of angry villagers should have you sweating in no time. Before you know it, you’re being chased by a man wielding a chainsaw as you desperately search for somewhere safe to hide. Just like the original, the game has been designed for multiple playthroughs in case you start to feel like you’ve mastered the combat.
Despite a rocky launch, Cyberpunk 2077 has evolved into one of the standout games of the decade. As V, a mercenary navigating the chaotic streets of Night City, you’re thrown into a high-stakes adventure after a heist gone wrong leaves you with the engram of Johnny Silverhand living in your head. The game hooks you with its gripping narrative and the rich, neon-soaked world it builds. Every mission, every relationship, feels deeply personal, making Night City feel alive at every turn. The Phantom Liberty expansion takes things even further, adding a thrilling new story and a fresh area to explore. Whether you’re new or returning, Cyberpunk 2077 is proof that redemption is real—and it’s worth every second.
It’s proof that a tiny team can create a shooter with a skill ceiling higher than the Burj Khalifa. Before Monolith gave us orcs, they gave us the smartest cannon fodder in FPS history. Forget the spooky ghost girl (though, yes, she’s terrifying); the real legacy of F.E.A.R. is its enemy AI… These Replica soldiers felt like they were being controlled by a rival player.
You don’t always need to reinvent the game to be one of the best in the genre. As the follow-up to one of the best games already on the PS5, Astro’s Playroom, Team Asobi managed to create a bigger, grander and more challenging platformer while maintaining everything that made the original such a delight. Sony has had no shortage of inventive and interesting IPs over the years, but most of these titles fell into a familiar formula. Guerilla Games’ Horizon Zero Dawn not only broke this tradition, but also gave fans a brand-new heroine to stand alongside the likes of industry icons like Lara Croft. Combat was also more intuitive, allowing players to target specific body parts while also utilizing a myriad of gadgets to accent their encounters and keep every battle feeling fresh and consistently thrilling.
The 20 BEST Single Player Games of the Decade (So Far)
Splinter Cell or also known as “Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell” is an award-winning series of Action, RPG, Shooter and Stealth video games. The series offers a number of popular titles and keeps on with the standards that every game in the series offers. The Splinter Cell series offers biggest hits such as Blacklist and Conviction packed with all the blasting action, unique mechanics, and countless new elements.
If you want a dense, rewarding RPG experience, then Rebirth is the game for you. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a rip-roaring adventure, that’s a slightly different kind of game than many were expecting. For one, it sure ain’t no first-person shooter, and is much more focused on stealth and immersive sim elements than all-out action.
Our Top Picks for Best Wolfenstein Games
The game follows an older and wiser Kratos, now done tussling with Greek gods on Mount Olympus and instead setting his sights on the Norse pantheon. Just like previous God of War games, this one is an action-packed experience from beginning to end, with a compelling story to boot. God of War takes us back to the nostalgic hack-and-slash platformer days, albeit with vastly improved graphics, story, and overall gameplay experience compared to its pre-2014 predecessors. Did we miss your favorite single player experience of the last decade? By having two main characters, Spider-Man 2 allows for a gripping interplay where different approaches to the superhero lifestyle play out across the story. What’s more, we see a darker side of Peter Parker thanks to the appearance of Venom, an alien symbiote that has a negative influence on him – an influence the rest of the cast has to contend with in no small way.
The game packs more creativity into its short runtime than many longer games. Days Gone, Sleeping Dogs, and Judgment are just a few titles in this massive list. Fallout 4 is the second Bethesda title on this list, and that should come as no one’s surprise. They are, after all, the best when it comes to crafting detailed open-world single-player games, even though it doesn’t seem like they’re on top form lately with their more recent releases.
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While it’s not a traditional shooter in every sense, the third-person gunplay is smooth, realistic, and packed with grit. Back 4 Blood, the spiritual successor to the Left 4 Dead series—by L4D developers Turtle Rock, no less—offers a surprisingly long campaign, and like past games the replayability value is very high in this one. Adding to the tried-and-true zombie shooting is a new card system that mixes up the combat encounters in many ways for both you and your teammates. It’s a tougher experience that requires more patience to get through, but the payoff for clearing a level is just that much greater.
And once you have gotten to the end, there’s a series of challenges game guide as well as higher difficulties to indulge yourself in. It’s an experience that no one should miss, especially if you’re a fan of shooters and Platinum’s franchises. To ramp up the excitement in each loop, players can be invaded by a real person playing as Julianna.