I prefer most of my gaming in first-person so it's hard to choose, but probably immersive sims. Yes it is a distinct type of game design. (fuck you razorfist was wrong)
Also cockpit games like someone else said, flightsim, racing.
I think horror really benefits from being first person. Brings you more into being there in the moment as that character, rather than a detached observer, makes things far more scary when they jump out at ya
And yet Silent Hill 2 remains the apex of the genre.
Jump scares are not the same thing as horror. I think this is a mistake that a lot of people make, both in games and in movies. Sudden movement and noise startling someone isn't what makes the genre. Look at something like the original Alien. The horror comes from the creeping dread of the atmosphere and not knowing what's out there, or knowing what's out there but not knowing where it is. It isn't the jump scares that stick with you, it's those times where you could hear Pyramid Head's rusty blade dragging along the ground in the distance but he wasn't on screen and didn't show up for another hour or two of gameplay. Just knowing he's out there but being completely unsure of when or where he'll show up...that is the essence of the genre. The dread, not the reveal.
you're not wrong in that most of it is in the build up and dread, but still, for me that reveal is enhanced by it being first person.
Tightening the pov and making it feel as though something is behind you the whole time, all the time that the dread is being built, that is also enhanced by it being first person imo.
No disrespect to the SH franchise but personally I think first-person Alien Isolation nailed down horror perfectly (until it fucks everything up at the end) and you're mileage may vary but I have to imagine the immersive first-person plays a role in that.
Even with Resident Evil I'm an apologist for the new first-person games when it comes to the horror aspect, even though RE4 and below are my personal faves from a "fun exploration puzzle resource management shooter" aspect.
That's a fair rebuttal, though I'd still argue that Alien Isolation still emphasizes the dread and that said dread is always more important(and effective) than the jump scare.
Jumpscares are an important part of the puzzle, but lazy devs treat them as the entire thing.
A properly executed one is there to make the build up and dread actually lead to something. No matter how well equipped you are or confident in the game, its an attack on you the player, meaning its always effective. Without the "jumpscare" portion, the sound of Pyramid Head scrapping in the background loses all fear because after the first go around you know its meaningless filler and cannot actually harm you.
The apex of the Genre still is and will always be Condemned 2's multiplayer, because it actually managed to incorporate both the "building dread" and the "jumpscare" portion into part of the actual gameplay instead of just player feelings. The constant dread means you don't move as fast as you should in fear of an ambush or getting spooked and you keep your flashlight off so they don't see you coming, lighting is so powerful that players can be jumpscares if they choose to by turning off their flashlights and waiting for you to come by (because you turned yours off to not be seen, you can't see them either), and the low TTK and sensitive controls means that someone who just got jumpscared won't be able to land the necessary hits to win a brawl.
It even manages a game mode to do the RE style, where you have a gun with a lot of ammo and health but your supplies are finite, while the enemies have instant respawns and low health to Bum Rush (name of the mode) you to try and chip you down. So its the growing fear of knowing every missed bullet or small damage will add up.
Simple FPS. I don’t want to slide and wall run. I typically don’t like ADS unless it’s like a sniper or something. Doesn’t have to be fast paced if the atmosphere is well done. Think Doom 3, F.E.A.R., Quake, etc.
There’s no point in bothering to make such a game online minus maybe a friend play mode. Nothing that isn’t full of advanced movement or building, or basically some mechanic other than shooting they can figure out how to git gud at from their streamers gets any attention anyway.
I'm not a huge first-person fan, and many of the ones I do enjoy I might very well enjoy more as third-person. I don't play them a whole lot, and actually had to look through my library to pick out examples for some categories, so make of this what you will. Also, this will be a bit long, since I'm just going through and pulling up various categories, to try and work through it to give a good answer. Kind of funny that I'm not really a fan, but just spit out a bunch of games. Oh well, it's a fun thought experiment.
The first-person categories I have and/or do enjoy, though:
Your classic straight shooter, usually with multiplayer focus; the early Battlefields and CoDs, for example, Team Fortress 2. Favorites of these being the original CoD Modern Warfare (Peer2Peer servers for the win, too), and Battlefield Bad Company 2.
Roguelites; these often work pretty well as FPSs, with a relatively short but dynamic gameplay loop. A lot you can do with the basic medium. e.g. Gunfire Reborn, Roboquest, Immortal Redneck.
RPGs; this one falls in the 'I'd probably prefer third-person,' but it can sometimes work.
A bit loose, but 'thematic' shooter; Bioshock, System Shock, Deus Ex, etc. These work really well in first-person, and would be pretty hard, perhaps impossible, to do in third-person with as much feeling or atmosphere. While not my favorite category of the bunch, I would say this is near the top when it comes to utilizing the first-person perspective.
Open world, exploration/looter/etc.; e.g. the Far Cry series, Dead Island. Newer Fallouts, although these could go in the 'RPG' or 'Thematic' categories too.
Team-based survival; Left 4 Dead, Vermintide/Darktide, Deep Rock Galactic, etc. Another category that, while not my favorite, lends itself to first-person.
Doom-like; e.g. Doom. Sorry, couldn't help it. Don't play this category much, but I should. I've heard good things about some of the newer Dooms, I should give it a go. I enjoyed the older ones decade(s?) ago.
Battle royale; not really my thing (I hate the mostly obligatory very long TTK, among other things), but have had some fun with it in the past.
Survival; Subnautica. I know it gets some hate because the devs are woke retards, but I think it's an interesting and unique take, that at least does its own thing because it's in an underwater environment.
Unique; a bit of a loose category, to say the least, but things that play differently or add interesting hooks can be very interesting in first-person. Whether that's a puzzle like Portal (or any of the copycats), or time manipulation like SUPERHOT, there's plenty of room to add some unique twists.
Vehicle games; racing, dogfighting, spacedogfighting, mechdogfighting, what have you. Another category that really lends itself to the first-person perspective.
Lastly, not sure where to put this, but Guns of Icarus Online. I'd almost forgotten about that one, but played it a bunch back in the day. Another one that lends itself to first-person, and wouldn't feel as tight in third-person.
Anyway, now that I have that wall of text...which ones do I actually like best? Probably classic shooters and roguelites, and the occasional open world and stealth/tactical.
I love slow paced, methodical first-person games that feel weighty and impactful. Design wise, Escape From Tarkov is right up my alley, I'm just not into the whole online PvP thing. If they had a proper single-player mode like S.T.A.L.K.E.R., it would be hard to peel me away from it.
TheHunter: Call of the Wild has almost all the guns I love from FPS games and it's definitely slow and methodical, but I'm not too keen on just hunting animals. I almost thought about getting back into it, but I'm reminded of the previous dinosaur hunting game I played like 20 years ago that was just so goofy and broken.
Hunt Showdown also has the kind of FPS mechanics I adore, but Crytek went woke and it's yet another online PvP game.
Sadly they just don't make the kind of FPS games I used to really enjoy. I loved games like Soldier of Fortune and Corridor 7. Most milsim FPS titles keep trying to mimic Call of Duty, which I abhor, and sci-fi FPS games these days all try to be "hip" and "cool" and fast-paced, or extremely samey, uninspired and repetitive like the remake of Prey.
That really is it. It's funny because games these days have all these buttons to press and use, but they just aren't very fun.
I was just recently thinking about that because back in the day games like Doom, Wolfenstein and Blake Stone only had shoot and use buttons, yet they were a ton of fun to play due to the intricate and very elaborate level designs and enemy placements.
These days most FPS games either have "realistic" levels that are blockaded off and extremely static with no destructibility (something that I really appreciated about Black on the PS2, making shootouts feel dynamic and weighty thanks to the physics), or they are fantasy levels with zero ingenuity, designed around arena play and -- as you mentioned -- repeatable play experiences to sell cosmetics.
I'm still enjoying Prodeus for what it is, but the levels still aren't quite as inspired as classics like Duke Nukem 3D or Shadowrun. They still feel like the devs are trying to be clever with the layouts, rather than focusing on playing up the strengths of the game's mechanical design.
Honestly? Third person games.
Most first person games tend towards being twitchy and that's just not my style. Plus I like to play dress up in games, I enjoy seeing my character.
If I had to choose my favorite first person game is Phasmophobia.
Maybe cockpit type games? Who doesn't love some MechWarrior or Descent. Second place, probably Myst and its clones.
MechWarrior 5 is good, and MechWarrior 5 clans is coming out in a couple months which will be even better
I second this. there are few things that beat the immersion of a first person cockpit, especially in a dog fighting game.
I prefer most of my gaming in first-person so it's hard to choose, but probably immersive sims. Yes it is a distinct type of game design. (fuck you razorfist was wrong)
Also cockpit games like someone else said, flightsim, racing.
I think horror really benefits from being first person. Brings you more into being there in the moment as that character, rather than a detached observer, makes things far more scary when they jump out at ya
And yet Silent Hill 2 remains the apex of the genre.
Jump scares are not the same thing as horror. I think this is a mistake that a lot of people make, both in games and in movies. Sudden movement and noise startling someone isn't what makes the genre. Look at something like the original Alien. The horror comes from the creeping dread of the atmosphere and not knowing what's out there, or knowing what's out there but not knowing where it is. It isn't the jump scares that stick with you, it's those times where you could hear Pyramid Head's rusty blade dragging along the ground in the distance but he wasn't on screen and didn't show up for another hour or two of gameplay. Just knowing he's out there but being completely unsure of when or where he'll show up...that is the essence of the genre. The dread, not the reveal.
you're not wrong in that most of it is in the build up and dread, but still, for me that reveal is enhanced by it being first person.
Tightening the pov and making it feel as though something is behind you the whole time, all the time that the dread is being built, that is also enhanced by it being first person imo.
No disrespect to the SH franchise but personally I think first-person Alien Isolation nailed down horror perfectly (until it fucks everything up at the end) and you're mileage may vary but I have to imagine the immersive first-person plays a role in that.
Even with Resident Evil I'm an apologist for the new first-person games when it comes to the horror aspect, even though RE4 and below are my personal faves from a "fun exploration puzzle resource management shooter" aspect.
That's a fair rebuttal, though I'd still argue that Alien Isolation still emphasizes the dread and that said dread is always more important(and effective) than the jump scare.
Jumpscares are an important part of the puzzle, but lazy devs treat them as the entire thing.
A properly executed one is there to make the build up and dread actually lead to something. No matter how well equipped you are or confident in the game, its an attack on you the player, meaning its always effective. Without the "jumpscare" portion, the sound of Pyramid Head scrapping in the background loses all fear because after the first go around you know its meaningless filler and cannot actually harm you.
The apex of the Genre still is and will always be Condemned 2's multiplayer, because it actually managed to incorporate both the "building dread" and the "jumpscare" portion into part of the actual gameplay instead of just player feelings. The constant dread means you don't move as fast as you should in fear of an ambush or getting spooked and you keep your flashlight off so they don't see you coming, lighting is so powerful that players can be jumpscares if they choose to by turning off their flashlights and waiting for you to come by (because you turned yours off to not be seen, you can't see them either), and the low TTK and sensitive controls means that someone who just got jumpscared won't be able to land the necessary hits to win a brawl.
It even manages a game mode to do the RE style, where you have a gun with a lot of ammo and health but your supplies are finite, while the enemies have instant respawns and low health to Bum Rush (name of the mode) you to try and chip you down. So its the growing fear of knowing every missed bullet or small damage will add up.
Simple FPS. I don’t want to slide and wall run. I typically don’t like ADS unless it’s like a sniper or something. Doesn’t have to be fast paced if the atmosphere is well done. Think Doom 3, F.E.A.R., Quake, etc.
There’s no point in bothering to make such a game online minus maybe a friend play mode. Nothing that isn’t full of advanced movement or building, or basically some mechanic other than shooting they can figure out how to git gud at from their streamers gets any attention anyway.
I'm not a huge first-person fan, and many of the ones I do enjoy I might very well enjoy more as third-person. I don't play them a whole lot, and actually had to look through my library to pick out examples for some categories, so make of this what you will. Also, this will be a bit long, since I'm just going through and pulling up various categories, to try and work through it to give a good answer. Kind of funny that I'm not really a fan, but just spit out a bunch of games. Oh well, it's a fun thought experiment.
The first-person categories I have and/or do enjoy, though:
Your classic straight shooter, usually with multiplayer focus; the early Battlefields and CoDs, for example, Team Fortress 2. Favorites of these being the original CoD Modern Warfare (Peer2Peer servers for the win, too), and Battlefield Bad Company 2.
Roguelites; these often work pretty well as FPSs, with a relatively short but dynamic gameplay loop. A lot you can do with the basic medium. e.g. Gunfire Reborn, Roboquest, Immortal Redneck.
RPGs; this one falls in the 'I'd probably prefer third-person,' but it can sometimes work.
A bit loose, but 'thematic' shooter; Bioshock, System Shock, Deus Ex, etc. These work really well in first-person, and would be pretty hard, perhaps impossible, to do in third-person with as much feeling or atmosphere. While not my favorite category of the bunch, I would say this is near the top when it comes to utilizing the first-person perspective.
Open world, exploration/looter/etc.; e.g. the Far Cry series, Dead Island. Newer Fallouts, although these could go in the 'RPG' or 'Thematic' categories too.
Stealth/tactical; Sniper Elite, Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts.
Team-based survival; Left 4 Dead, Vermintide/Darktide, Deep Rock Galactic, etc. Another category that, while not my favorite, lends itself to first-person.
Doom-like; e.g. Doom. Sorry, couldn't help it. Don't play this category much, but I should. I've heard good things about some of the newer Dooms, I should give it a go. I enjoyed the older ones decade(s?) ago.
Battle royale; not really my thing (I hate the mostly obligatory very long TTK, among other things), but have had some fun with it in the past.
Survival; Subnautica. I know it gets some hate because the devs are woke retards, but I think it's an interesting and unique take, that at least does its own thing because it's in an underwater environment.
Unique; a bit of a loose category, to say the least, but things that play differently or add interesting hooks can be very interesting in first-person. Whether that's a puzzle like Portal (or any of the copycats), or time manipulation like SUPERHOT, there's plenty of room to add some unique twists.
Vehicle games; racing, dogfighting, spacedogfighting, mechdogfighting, what have you. Another category that really lends itself to the first-person perspective.
Lastly, not sure where to put this, but Guns of Icarus Online. I'd almost forgotten about that one, but played it a bunch back in the day. Another one that lends itself to first-person, and wouldn't feel as tight in third-person.
Anyway, now that I have that wall of text...which ones do I actually like best? Probably classic shooters and roguelites, and the occasional open world and stealth/tactical.
I love slow paced, methodical first-person games that feel weighty and impactful. Design wise, Escape From Tarkov is right up my alley, I'm just not into the whole online PvP thing. If they had a proper single-player mode like S.T.A.L.K.E.R., it would be hard to peel me away from it.
TheHunter: Call of the Wild has almost all the guns I love from FPS games and it's definitely slow and methodical, but I'm not too keen on just hunting animals. I almost thought about getting back into it, but I'm reminded of the previous dinosaur hunting game I played like 20 years ago that was just so goofy and broken.
Hunt Showdown also has the kind of FPS mechanics I adore, but Crytek went woke and it's yet another online PvP game.
Sadly they just don't make the kind of FPS games I used to really enjoy. I loved games like Soldier of Fortune and Corridor 7. Most milsim FPS titles keep trying to mimic Call of Duty, which I abhor, and sci-fi FPS games these days all try to be "hip" and "cool" and fast-paced, or extremely samey, uninspired and repetitive like the remake of Prey.
That really is it. It's funny because games these days have all these buttons to press and use, but they just aren't very fun.
I was just recently thinking about that because back in the day games like Doom, Wolfenstein and Blake Stone only had shoot and use buttons, yet they were a ton of fun to play due to the intricate and very elaborate level designs and enemy placements.
These days most FPS games either have "realistic" levels that are blockaded off and extremely static with no destructibility (something that I really appreciated about Black on the PS2, making shootouts feel dynamic and weighty thanks to the physics), or they are fantasy levels with zero ingenuity, designed around arena play and -- as you mentioned -- repeatable play experiences to sell cosmetics.
I'm still enjoying Prodeus for what it is, but the levels still aren't quite as inspired as classics like Duke Nukem 3D or Shadowrun. They still feel like the devs are trying to be clever with the layouts, rather than focusing on playing up the strengths of the game's mechanical design.
dungeon crawlers
Russian tactical shooters: stalker, tarkov, eventually Road to Boston. Edit: lmfao Boston??!? Road to vosdok