Top 20 best first-person shooters on PC: from classics to new favourites

Online shooters have become one of the most popular categories in the world of computer games. Their history dates back to the 90s, when the first multiplayer projects appeared, allowing players to compete with each other via local networks. Virtual adrenaline, reaction and the ability to act in chaos – this is what makes shooters so attractive. With the development of technology, online shooters have turned into a full-fledged genre, which not only occupied its niche, but became the main driver of the computer games industry. For example, games such as Doom and Quake became the founders of the genre, laying the foundation for the concept of single and multiplayer battles. Today, shooters involve hundreds of millions of players around the world, uniting communities and forming an eSports culture.

Online first-person shooters – what makes them special?

First-person games, or FPS, create a unique sense of immersion when the player sees the world through the eyes of the character. This genre offers dynamic gameplay and requires lightning-fast reactions, making it one of the most adrenaline-pumping computer games. Online first-person shooters capture attention from the very first minutes thanks to the opportunity to feel like you are in the center of events.

The games Half-Life and Counter-Strike set the bar high and set the standards for all subsequent projects. Realistic graphics and sound design also play an important role, allowing players to feel like part of virtual reality. When playing first-person shooters, a person literally “falls” into the chosen universe, feeling every shot and step.

Multiplayer games: online shooters as part of a larger world

Cooperative gameplay allows players to interact and compete with each other, which brings special dynamics to the gameplay. Multiplayer games provide an opportunity not only to show off their skills, but also to participate in global tournaments ESL Pro League and Faceit Major, where players compete for titles and large prizes.

Esports have taken multiplayer games to a new level, turning them into a real show for millions of viewers. It is thanks to the element of competition and team play that online shooters continue to gain popularity among gamers of all ages.

The best online shooters: top games for true fans

Among the many online shooters, there are several truly iconic projects. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS), Call of Duty: Warzone, Apex Legends are just a few examples that have gained popularity due to their dynamic gameplay and high playability.

Each of these games has its own features: CS – teamwork and tactical thinking, Warzone – large-scale battles on a large map, Apex Legends – heroes with unique abilities. These projects allow players to prove themselves, reveal their skills and enjoy victories.

Online shooters are easier to master for beginners. For example, Overwatch and Paladins offer heroes with different abilities, which allows you to gradually master the basics of the genre. These games also provide a tutorial to help you get the hang of it, and having community support makes the process more enjoyable and less stressful. The main goal is to allow players to get used to the dynamics and learn basic skills before moving on to more complex titles.

Online Shooters: What’s New in 2024?

2024 is turning out to be an interesting year for fans of the genre. New online shooters have already been released, and developers promise to amaze players with innovative technologies and a new level of immersion. Among the most anticipated new products, it is worth highlighting Battlefield: Reboot, which promises to return to the roots of the series with an emphasis on realism and tactics, and Project Omega, which will use artificial intelligence technologies to create dynamic events in real time.

Free online shooters – what to choose?

Free online shooters have become an excellent option for those who want to get a quality gaming experience without spending money. Warframe, Valorant, PUBG Lite are examples of games that offer excellent gameplay without having to buy a license. Free projects have their advantages: accessibility and a wide audience, but they can also contain in-app purchases, which sometimes affect the balance. Nevertheless, thanks to high dynamics and exciting gameplay, they hold the attention of millions of players.

Online shooters on PC and consoles: what to choose?

The choice between online shooters on PC and consoles often depends on the player’s preferences. PC provides more flexibility in graphics settings and controls, while consoles offer convenience and accessibility. Call of Duty and Fortnite are popular on both platforms, and each has its own advantages. PC gamers can enjoy high frame rates and precise control with a mouse and keyboard, while console players get stability and optimization for specific hardware. Both options have their fans, and the choice depends on what is more important to the player – performance or convenience.

Online shooters with low PC requirements

Not everyone has the opportunity to play on powerful computers, and it is for such cases that online shooters with low PC requirements exist. Counter-Strike 1.6, Team Fortress 2, Warface – games that work great even on weak hardware, but still offer exciting gameplay. These projects demonstrate that you do not need the most powerful computer to enjoy the game – an exciting gameplay and good balance are enough.

How to choose an online shooter?

To choose the entertainment to your liking, you need to consider several factors:

1. Graphics: how realistic and exciting is the visual component of the game.
2. Gameplay dynamics: the speed and intensity of the gameplay.
3. Difficulty level: ease of learning for beginners or a challenge for experienced players.
4. Availability of multiplayer: the ability to play with other people and compete in real time.
5. If tactics and teamwork are important – Rainbow Six Siege.
6. If large-scale battles are important – Battlefield.
7. For beginners, simple games such as PUBG Lite are suitable.
8. Experienced players can test themselves in Escape from Tarkov.

For Russian-speaking players, a comfortable gaming experience is important, and online shooters in Russian provide exactly this. Warface, Crossfire, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare – all of them have high-quality translation and voice acting, which makes the game process more convenient and understandable. The ability to play in your native language allows you to better understand the plot and gameplay features, as well as interact with other players without a language barrier. Russian language in the interface and voice acting is an additional advantage that makes the game more accessible to a wider audience.

Conclusion

Genre games continue to remain at the peak of popularity due to their accessibility and variety. Every player can find an online shooter that suits their needs – whether it’s large-scale battles, tactical team missions or quick matches. Thanks to the choices available and the constant development of technology, the genre continues to push its boundaries and attract more and more fans. Now is the time to choose a game and immerse yourself in the exciting world of online battles, where everyone will find something different.

The Doom shooter series set the standard for the genre back in the 90s. Each release restarted the canons, increased the tempo, upgraded the mechanics and tested the hardware for strength. The new Doom Project: The Dark Ages does the same thing, but with a radical turn towards dark fantasy. Gothic spires, catacombs, hand—to-hand weapons, plate-armored demons, and mystical artifacts are a concept the world has never seen before. Instead of urban science fiction, medieval metal, blood magic, and dark chronicles of the fall of humanity.

In the article we will talk about the release date of Doom.: The Dark Ages, although this is just the tip of the iceberg. The release hides an innovative engine, thoughtful optimization, flexible system requirements and a philosophy of hurricane gameplay. We’ll talk about that too.

Doom: The Dark Ages release date, release window, and distribution format

Doom: The Dark Ages is preparing a large-scale campaign to launch on several platforms at once. The developer has scheduled the release for the end of the second quarter of 2025. The final window shifted towards May-June to avoid overloading the spring season and ensure a smooth launch. This step opens up space for marketing pressure, cross-platform partnerships, and a steady stream of patches.

The project will be released simultaneously on PC and current generation consoles. For the first time in the history of the series, full support for game streaming platforms is provided, including cloud hubs with the ability to broadcast RTX graphics without local hardware. Doom release Date: The Dark Ages is connected not only with the calendar, but also with the transition to a new model of consumption — hybrid, mobile, highly accessible.

Engine architecture and technological foundation

Instead of the classic id Tech engine, the game uses a customized version that focuses on destruction geometry and magic effect physics. The focus has shifted from lighting to the simulation of materials, armor, blood, organic matter, and the reactions of armored demons to attacks and fire. The game features tessellation of destruction, generative shaders, and particle tracing technologies in fog, smoke, and precipitation. The release date of Doom: The Dark Ages is directly dependent on the final stabilization of these systems, as most of the effects place a significant strain on the graphics card and RAM.

Doom the Dark Ages: system requirements

The full range of engine features supports a flexible scale from minimal settings to ultra-high quality with full 4K and DLSS 3. In this regard, the system requirements are divided into three levels.

Minimum configuration (1080p, 30 fps):

1. Processor: Ryzen 5 2600 or Intel i5-9600K.

2. RAM: 16 GB.

3. Graphics card: GeForce GTX 1660 or Radeon RX 590.

4. Disk space: 70 GB.

5. OS: Windows 10 64-bit.

Recommended requirements (1440p, 60 fps, high settings):

1. Processor: Ryzen 7 3700X or Intel i7-10700.

2. RAM: 32 GB.

3. Graphics card: GeForce RTX 3060 or Radeon RX 6700 XT.

4. SSD: required.

5. DirectX 12.2 support.

Ultra Settings (4K, ray tracing, 120+ fps):

1. Processor: Ryzen 9 7900X or Intel i9-13900K.

2. RAM: 64 GB DDR5.

3. Video card: RTX 4080 / 4090.

4. NVMe SSD: 2 TB of free space.

5. OS: Windows 11.

The mode selection affects not only the graphics, but also the physics of interactions — on ultra settings, the game generates a simulation of object deformation, flying shards, and realistic fluid dynamics.

A gameplay twist: close combat and medieval mechanics

Developers have always promoted the concept of a non-stop shooter. Doom release Date: The Dark Ages marks an era of new dynamics: an emphasis on close combat, physical confrontation, and the use of artifacts. An arsenal of cold steel weapons is introduced into the game — war hammers, rune-engraved blades, shields with the function of energy reflection.

The finishing system has become part of the tactic: the player activates chain reactions, sets fire to a group of enemies, causes landslides, floods, or directs reflected projectiles back at the target. Rage mode transforms visuals and mechanics: the screen turns red, and time speeds up, creating the effect of combat blindness. It is in these episodes that the engine unleashes its power — with light distortions, chromatic aberrations, and texture vibrations.

Artwork and audio design

The visual style of the project forms an independent artistic universe. Doom release Date: The Dark Ages accompanies not just the launch of a shooter, but the release of a full-fledged aesthetic platform. The designers abandoned technofuturism and turned to images that arouse subconscious fears. The visual code is based on a combination of religious symbols, anatomical hyperrealism, and architectural crudeness. Each location conveys a sense of oppressive grandeur: sharp spires, layered Gothic facades, scenes of executions in the background, statues of saints with empty eye sockets.

The palette highlights the dim glow of candles, the reflections of magma in the cracks of the earth, as well as the colors of oxidized bronze, bloody iron and ashen stone. Special effects highlight the physical pain of the location — the walls are falling down, the fabrics of the space are tearing, the spirits are whispering. The audio component complements the visual images. The composer combines medieval motifs with an industrial sound. The parts include looped prayers passed through glitch modulators, excerpts from Latin hymns, the clang of fetters and the gnashing of bones. The basis is created by an electronic rhythm that turns into dissonance at the climaxes of the battle waves. Individual compositions are accompanied by choral inserts from real monastery archives, processed by the synthesis of the reverse phase. Doom release Date: The Dark Ages will also mark the return of sound design, as mechanics of fear, not scenery.

Variability and campaign settings

The game structure demonstrates a high level of adaptability to the passing style. The player gets access to a mosaic world map, where each region is activated in an independent order. This approach creates the illusion of freedom in a strictly set rhythm and tempo. For example, the same dungeon changes the type of enemies, resources, traps, and even plot inserts at different times of the day.

Each mission offers additional objectives: freeing prisoners, activating cursed artifacts, burning relics, or destroying gates between worlds. Doom release Date: The Dark Ages opens not just one plot, but dozens of its interpretations. The design of the levels supports changing wind direction, flooding of rooms, and geometry transformation. If necessary, the player causes temporary collapses, blocks entrances, and reshapes the route on the fly.

The modification system is implemented at the engine level. The tools include graphical templates, an AI behavior editor, an animation script system, and a physics constructor for objects. The release is also accompanied by a library of custom scripts available in a shared catalog with the ability to sort by genre, difficulty, rating, and duration. Users will be able to create full-fledged campaigns with their own cutscenes, voice acting, art, and even mechanics — for example, a survival mode in a cursed temple with a running out torch or a stealth mode in catacombs with relic spirits.

Conclusion

The project is positioned not as a continuation of Doom Eternal, but as its ritualistic opposite. The pace has remained, but the presentation has changed: instead of techno-punk, there is a black medieval. The Martian stations have been replaced by cursed valleys, temple cemeteries, and underground alchemist laboratories.

Now, we are waiting for the release date of Doom: The Dark Ages to enjoy this masterpiece game.