10 Best Fantasy Shooters Of All Time
From the classic Heretic to the Borderlands spinoff Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, great fantasy shooters are more common than you might think.
Fantasy shooters are a type of genre that seems small and specific but is actually loved by a large and dedicated group of people. Heretic, which came out in 1994, is arguably the first shooter with a fantasy setting. Though it might just be the first fantasy first-person shooter.
Even though Heretic did a great job of combining RPG and FPS elements. That doesn’t mean that every fantasy shooter has to do the same. Modern takes on the genre, like AMID EVIL, show that fantasy first-person shooters can be just that, and that they don’t even have to be story-driven or build a world.
Warhammer: Vermintide 2
Warhammer: Vermintide 2 can be played as a shooter, but that’s not exactly accurate. This first-person, co-op, survival action game takes the core gameplay of genre staples like Left 4 Dead and Killing Floor and adds a unique melee twist.
Players can completely personalize their Vermentide 2 experience by selecting the right class. Fortunately, each party can use one or two ranged classes. The Bounty Hunter, the easiest ranged class, and the Waystalker, with her passive ammo regeneration, are the best ranged classes for new players.
Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath
Most fans of the Oddworld series are only familiar with the first two games, both classic PS1 platformers. Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath, the fourth game in the odd universe, is a mix of first-person and third-person shooters.
The setting of the show, Oddworld, is not a typical type of fantasy. But even though this world has some technology, it is definitely more like traditional fantasy than science fiction. Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath also spends the least amount of time in dirty factories and industrial plants of all the games in the series.
Paladins: Champions Of The Realm
Paladins was Hi-response Rez’s to Overwatch’s enormous success. Since its release, this fantasy hero shooter has received regular updates, which has helped it keep a sizable audience to this day. Elves and humans face off against a living bomb and a turtle with a cannon for a hand in this unique character-driven game.
Paladins is not Hi-Rez Studios’ first MOBA shooter. Since the release of Smite in 2014, the studio has been a powerhouse in the genre. Even the battle royale genre got a tryout with Realm Royale, which isn’t really fantasy.
Heretic
Heretic is a classic DOS shooter from 1994. It was made by Raven Software, which made Quake 4, and published by id Software. Which is a big name in FPS games. In Heretic, players take on the role of an elf wizard who fights hordes of undead monsters and closes the portals that let them in.
Some players might not be interested in Heretic at all just because they saw the release date. The level design is experimental and out of date, as is the engine, which is a remake of DOOM’s original. The setting and sense of place that the levels convey, on the other hand, have held up surprisingly well.
Project Warlock
In Project Warlock, players take on the role of the titular Warlock and help him get rid of the monsters that live in each dungeon. Some people might not call this a fantasy shooter because the main character uses modern guns and wears a leather jacket. On the other hand, the game might say, warlocks and monsters don’t exist.
Hexen is mentioned in the first line of Project Warlock’s Steam description, and for good reason. Still, this is a much more creative game than most retro shooters, with a unique level-up system and 38 weapon types. Which is way too many.
Graven
Graven is a retro-shooter that was influenced by games like Heretic and Hexen. Some of the people who worked on the game came from the golden age of shooters, like Chuck Jones, who created the characters for Duke Nukem 3D. The main character of Graven, who was once a priest, must find out what caused the plague that has spread across the land in order to find eternal peace.
Graven doesn’t just copy the look of old shooters; it also updates the formula with unlockable skills and exploration-focused backtracking. Graven is still in early access, but it has received stable updates since its beta release. It’s still not clear when early access will end.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is the follow-up to the Borderlands 2 DLC Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep. Like the other games in the Borderlands series, this one is a team-based looter shooter that can be played alone but is best with one or two friends.
The fantasy setting of Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is a joke on the classic tabletop RPG Dungeons and Dragons. Which the game calls “Bunkers & Badasses.” For the first time in the series, players can make their own characters from scratch. Character creation and leveling up are very open-ended, especially when it comes to choosing skills from different classes.
Hexen: Beyond Heretic
Hexen: Beyond Heretic is an indirect sequel to the popular first-person shooter series Heretic. But it was so popular that it started its own series. This game introduces a number of characters, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. With its updated engine, players can even look up and down without the world changing around them.
Hexen: Beyond Heretic can be played on modern computers without any trouble. Unlike most classic shooters and old PC games in general. You don’t even need a DOS Box. And unlike its rivals, it supports controller inputs and can even be played on Steam Deck, as long as players use the GZDoom version.
Hedon Bloodrite
In a fantasy “crystalpunk underworld,” Hedon Bloodrite is a retro shooter with adventure game sensibilities. While it undoubtedly draws inspiration from genre classics like Heretic and Hexen. It also has PC RPG and immersive sim elements.
The original Hedon and its sequel are included in Hedon Bloodrite, which is actually two games in one. This is by far the best way to start the series for the least amount of money. Those who want to spend less money can always get the original as a stand-alone product and upgrade to the combined product later.
AMID EVIL
AMID EVIL is one of the most popular retro shooters made by New Blood Interactive. Which also made Dusk and ULTRAKILL. 8 Ball Pool game is without a doubt the most popular fantasy first-person shooter game of the last few years. Even in terms of all time, it probably wouldn’t be as good as the Hexen and Heretic series.
AMID EVIL has 7 different worlds that can be played over and over again, a lot of unique weapons, and a fast and fun core gameplay loop. There are no RPG elements and no real world-building, so this is a game for FPS fans.