[Top 15] Shooter Games With a Great Story

Get some snacks and settle into your seats for these great stories!


Everyone loves a good story, right? Everything from mysteries and uncovering lost treasure to surviving an apocalypse, we love to hear about it all! If nothing else, it's always nice to have a reason to shoot stuff. 

It’s difficult to track down the perfect game, but luckily for you, we’ve gathered up some of the best stories in gaming. From shooters to strategies, and survival horror to mystery, there's something here for you!

 

15. Red Dead Redemption 2

Red Dead Redemption 2 is the newest Open World Shooter from Rockstar, focused on a grand story about Cowboys, Redemption as well as a healthy dose of Action. 

Red Dead Redemption 2 is a game that has won a variety of awards for its story, and after playing even a little bit of it, it's very easy to see why! It’s a long, winding campfire tale about one man’s path from a violent outlaw to true hero, filled with moments of award winning voice acting and talent.

In game, You’ll take control of an outlaw named Arhut Morgan, taking on bounties and staging heists to survive in the wild west.this is a game heavily focused on an immersive story, with countless little stories to discover in your travels, everything from uncovering a murderer to helping a son find his way back to his parents. 

You won’t go hungry for cowboy action, but if you want some quiet moments, there's plenty there too!

 

14. Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is an Open World RPG Shooter, taking place in a sci-fi dystopia where crime and chaos are rampant in the streets. 

The game is well known for its A-list casting choices, such as Keanu Reeves as the Robotic Rockerboy and Revolutionary Johnny Silverhand. In game, you’ll play as the gangster V, searching the dystopic Night City from top to bottom for a cure to a faulty computer virus that's slowly killing you after a job gone wrong. This story is as punk as it gets, all about ragin’ against the machine and topplin’ the corrupt. 

If you’re looking for quick, snappy gameplay paired with a well written story and a healthy dosing of Punk-Rock or Techno flair, you can’t do much better than Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty.

Cyberpunk 2077: home to cool bikes, cool guns, and plenty of places to use em

 

13. Call of Duty®: Black Ops III

Call of Duty®: Black Ops III is a team based shooter game, with a compelling story about a futuristic cold war and cyborg soldiers, all well giving you the subtle hints that not everything is as it should be…

After a messy mission in Ethiopia, you’ve been fatally wounded and put under the good ol’ cybernetic knife to recover, coming out the other side a full-fledged cyborg. You’ll have to track down the baddies who did this to you and put a stop to the dangerous AI program only known as Corvus, before it's too late and the world collapses around your ears! (and with luck, you’ll be done in time for dinner).

The Call of Duty® franchise is well known for its competitive multiplayer scene and surprise hit Zombie Survival game mode, but the story of these games are remarkably well made, full of fun characters and action packed moments. Black Ops III is one of the best in the series, and if you love it half as much as we do, it’ll be easy to see why!

killer robots, because of course there’s killer robots

 

12. Fallout 4

Fallout 4 is an Open World RPG shooter set in a post apocalypse, chock full of zombies, raiders, and more mutated bugs than you can shake a sharpened stick at!

When you start the game, you’ll be on the run from a nuclear bomb, and get unknowingly stuck in a cryo tube alongside your spouse and child. When you wake up a few hundred years later, the world’s all but dust, and someone nabbed your kid! Suit up and get out there, and keep your eyes out for anyone suspicious if you want to take him back. 

Fallout 4 is unique due to its open-ended story, often giving you time and space to explore whatever you want, and experience parts of the world in whatever way you think is best! With countless quests, weapons and building mechanics to uncover, in the words of the creator, “Just Work”, without any complications, it's easy to fall in love with Fallout 4.

Big guns, Big armor, because you never really can go wrong with either

 

11. UNCHARTED™: Legacy of Thieves Collection

The UNCHARTED™ game franchise is a series of Action-Adventure games, featuring stories about finding lost cities and treasures. In the Legacy of Thieves collection, you can play through two of the latest games in one!

Pick up the controller and play as Nathan Drake, a retired explorer who is dragged back into the life of danger and adventure after a drug lord puts pressure on him to find a long lost treasure of a mysterious pirate he’s been searching for his entire life. 

This collection has some of the best adventure content of all time in gaming, and it's unique for its seamless transition between emotional cutscenes and explosive gameplay so smoothly you’ll be immersed from start to finish!

 Duck!
 

11. RoboCop: Rogue City

You’ll play as Alex Murphy, everyone’s favorite robot cop. You’ll progress through long, sprawling levels, full of criminals waiting in ambush to take you down. Keep an eye out, because you never know where the enemy is coming from! When the supringing attack on your co-detective leads you into a spiraling investigation, it’ll be up to you to uncover the shadowy conspiracy and fight off the crime, all while fighting off glitches and bugs in your systems. 

We love this game for its unique approach to Shooter gameplay, making you take a slower, more tactical approach to the fight. 

 That guy’s gotta spend a fortune on armor polish
 

10. Control

Control is a third person sci-fi shooter, focused on using psychic powers and alien firearms to shoot your way through a supernatural dungeon. 

You’ll play as Jesse Faden, a psychic who’s been tasked with taking control (get it?) of The Oldest House, a creepy dungeon hidden in New York where everything is not as it seems. When the story begins, you know next to nothing about what's going on, but by the time you make it out of The Oldest House, you’ll know more than you ever thought possible. (we won’t spoil the mystery of it all for you, but we promise you’ll never guess the twists!)

We love Control for its destroyable environments and great mystery story, where you can honestly say “Didn’t see that coming!” again and again. 

 Back off, creep!
 

9. Metro: Exodus

Metro: Exodus is a story focused open world shooter, where you’ll sneak your way through a frozen russia after a good old fashioned apocalypse. 

Stay quiet and stay on your toes, because there's always something or someone out there, and if you’ve heard them, they have most certainly heard you. You’ll need to rely on a variety of busted old firearms, some quick thinking, and a fair bit of skill if you want to survive, but if you can, you’ll discover one of the best apocalypse stories in gaming!

you’ll play as the experienced survivor Artyom, finally taking his way out of the snowy wastelands, fighting his way to a train called the Aurora and going on a continent-spanning journey of survival, doing everything you can do to see the sun rise again. 

We love Metro: Exodus for its unique approach to gameplay, with more quiet, tense exploration than bombastic shooting gameplay, without becoming boring for even a moment. 

Yeah…that guy didn’t make it home

 

8. METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN

METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN is an open world stealth action shooter, full of detailed mechanics and a story so insane it wraps back around to being genius. 

As the last true entry in the legendary METAL GEAR series, this is one of the best games on the market for its genre.Sneak and shoot your way through the deserts and the ruins of the world, completing objectives from rescuing soldiers to adopting a puppy, all with complete player freedom. Want to enter a compound in the dead of night like a ghost? Go for it! Want to launch a full frontal assault? Absolutely! 

This game is all about politics and conspiracy, with giant robots and an engineered virus threatening to plunge the world into chaos. 

We love METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN for its completely open game world, as well as its surprisingly emotional mystery story. (also, if you’re a fan of synthy music, you’ll get a variety of officially licensed tracks that’ll fill your needs!)

Vroom vroom

 

7. Mafia: Definitive Edition

You’ll play as an up-and-coming mobster in the 1930’s, doing anything and everything to make a name for yourself. All the while, you’ll play through an immersive crime drama, with action and story blended perfectly together. 

When Tommy Angelo gets sucked into a bit of mob conspiracy, he decides to try and make a name for himself, and a long time later when he gets in too deep, he’s gotta fight like hell to get back out. 

We love this one for its mayhem and crime action gameplay, not to mention the beautiful graphics and intriguing story!

 Just look at that lighting!
 

6. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

Resident Evil 7:Biohazard is a tense, wonderfully gross survival horror shooter, full of that classic Residen Evil tension and zombie action, refined to near-perfection. 

You’ll play as Ethan Winters, drawn to a ruined house after a letter from his missing wife shows up in the mail. Of course, it doesn't go smoothly, and you’ll have to fight for survival if you want to make it out alive! There's a terrifying story here, full of mutated monsters and broken families, with a classic dose of conspiracy and corrupt companies, because it wouldn't be a Resident Evil game without it!

We love this one for its new take on a classic formula, managing to stay horrifying without forcing you out of fighting back. 

 Watch out for the locals!
 

5. Gears 5

Gears 5 is the newest and best of the Gears of War franchise, full of the best cover shooter gameplay on the market and a story full of surprisingly relatable characters. 

In the game, you’ll play as an elite team of soldiers taking down an alien adventure with a variety of weapons, from a rifle with a chainsaw to a satellite that fires lasers from orbit. along the way, you’ll learn more about the characters and the world, without skimping out on that classic gory action. 

Primarily set from the perspective of Kate Diaz, the newest of a group of legendary soldiers well known from the Xbox 360 days. As you're running, gunning and sliding into cover, you’ll find yourself engaging in a story about moving on from trauma and making the right choices, even when you seem to be the only one who is going to. 

We love Gears 5 for its gameplay-first approach to its story, giving you a fun story without bogging you down in the details. 

Putting on a tough guy accent while playing is optional, but highly recommended. 

 

4. Alan Wake 2

Alan Wake 2 is a horror shooter, set from the perspectives of two people fighting for their lives in a mysterious, horrifying world.

This one is full of that good ol’ horror action, with some of the best graphics ever made and terrifying enemies and tight, desperate combat. There’s two stories going on, a murder mystery and a supernatural thriller, with a well done balance to keep them both interesting. 

After best-selling novelist Alan Wake gets trapped in a nightmarish alternate world for thirteen years (long story, don’t ask), he starts using his skills and the odd nature of the world he is trapped in to write a story about an FBI agent, transporting her into reality to attempt to escape his own world. 

We love Alan Wake 2 for its refreshing take on a fantastic gameplay idea, and it’s an auto-pick up for survival horror fans. 

Good ol’ New York, the place really  never changes

 

3. BioShock Infinite

BioShock Infinite is the last of the core bioshock series, managing to keep things interesting and providing a new take on the established world of BioShock. 

You’ll play as the mysterious mercenary Booker DeWitt, sent to a flying city to retrieve a girl capable of hopping dimensions from Zachary Comstock, the leader of a terrifying cult. You’ll have to fight your way through countless genetically modified enemies and monstrous robots, as well as tracking down the mysterious founder of the city if you want to make it home, but every moment is filled with fun gameplay! The story is perfectly done, with tons of twists and reveals that will leave you shocked. 

We love Bioshock Infinite for its endearing story, made with love, and its wealth of time-traveling, dimension-hopping shenanigans. 

 Fireworks, but more fun!
 

2. Terminator: Resistance

Terminator: Resistance is a RPG shooter with a tense, choices-matter story. 

You’ll fight as part of the resistance against a robot apocalypse, blasting your way through the terrifying armies of Skynet, an AI gone mad with power and intent to crush humanity.

After that AI turns its sights on you and turns your home to dust, you’ll play as Jacob Rivers as he is forced on the run from the forces of skynet, all the while being pursued by a relentless killing machine. Playing through this tense story is one of the best ways to experience the Terminator series, where you’ll very quickly understand why the humans are losing the war so badly. 

We love this game for its tense take on the classic Terminator movies, full of Hackin’ and Sneakin’ in an iconic world. 

 Now would be a good time to run
 

1. HITMAN 3

HITMAN 3 is a stealth assassination game, full of open-world fun.

In the game, you’ll play as the legendary assassin Agent 47, tasked with the elimination of well protected bad guys. Every level has a million different approaches, and everything from disguising yourself as a chef and poisoning food to acting as a golfing instructor and luring your target into a trap is on the market for you! 

And all the while, you’ll slowly uncover a globe spanning conspiracy that ties all of your targets together. Better keep looking over your shoulder, because you can’t be sure how deep the rabbit hole goes. 

We love HITMAN 3 for this unique approach, with an intriguing story about betrayal, corruption, and good old-fashioned spy action filling every spare moment!

Nice and quiet, they’ll never expect it

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Author, Writer, Gamer and DM Extraordinaire
Gamer Since: 2010
Favorite Genre: RPG
Currently Playing: Resident Evil 4, Doom Eternal, and StoneHearth
Top 3 Favorite Games:The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, DOOM, Resident Evil 4 Ultimate HD


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