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Author Topic: Single-player shooters with good stories  (Read 1771 times)

tonnot98

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Single-player shooters with good stories
« on: July 23, 2024, 06:07:18 pm »

Have there been any good and engaging single-player campaigns without RPG mechanics in any recent shooters? I'm talking about things similar to FEAR, or Half-Life. Or the fun, cinematic campaigns of Halo and Call of Duty. I just wanna shoot some bad guys and have a good story, I don't wanna bother with multiplayer or grind for anything.

I've played and enjoyed:
CoD4:MW 1-3 + Black Ops 1
Halo 1-4 + Reach
Half-Life 1-3 + A bunch of source mods
Black Mesa
Space Marine
FEAR 1-3 (Yes 3 was good)
Spec Ops: The Line
Max Payne 1-3
Hatred
Star Wars Battlefront 2
Titanfall 2 (RIP to my homie BT)
Boltgun
DOOM 1-2
New DOOM 1-2
Battlefield: Bad Company 2

Bad Games:
Turok 1-2 + Evolution
Doom 3
Counter-Strike: Condition Zero
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Not sure if dying of old age is an honor or a shame for weaponmasters. On the one hand, it means they never got the opportunity to die in glorious battle. On the other hand, it means nothing could beat them in glorious battle.
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None

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Re: Single-player shooters with good stories
« Reply #1 on: July 24, 2024, 03:30:27 pm »

DUSK DUSK DUSK DUSK DUSK DUSK

it has as much story as DOOM 1-2 does, but it's about as tight as it gets for the boomer shooter genre; there's no upgrades or experience points, just your handful of guns, your handful of levels, and your handful of bad guys.

Honorable mention goes to Northern Journey, which is a shooter in abstraction (you start with a sling and get a small assortment of medieval projectile weapons) and absolutely drips atmosphere. Probably not close enough to what you're after, but maybe?

rip turok though

i might also reco-

I've played and enjoyed:
...
Half-Life 1-3+ A bunch of source mods


excuse me how did you count past two

« Last Edit: July 24, 2024, 03:34:54 pm by None »
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tonnot98

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Re: Single-player shooters with good stories
« Reply #2 on: July 24, 2024, 10:13:11 pm »


I've played and enjoyed:
...
Half-Life 1-3+ A bunch of source mods


excuse me how did you count past two
don't worry about it

Anyway yeah DUSK looks sick. I haven't played Northern Journey, but I saw a full playthrough and I think that's enough for me. Quite a nice game! That music for the dancing scene was surprisingly funky.
« Last Edit: July 25, 2024, 10:14:36 am by tonnot98 »
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Not sure if dying of old age is an honor or a shame for weaponmasters. On the one hand, it means they never got the opportunity to die in glorious battle. On the other hand, it means nothing could beat them in glorious battle.
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Great Order

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Re: Single-player shooters with good stories
« Reply #3 on: July 25, 2024, 08:43:44 pm »

excuse me how did you count past two
Hush hush, three doesn't exist. It's OK.
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Mech#4

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Re: Single-player shooters with good stories
« Reply #4 on: July 26, 2024, 03:39:59 am »

Link to Ashes 2063 on ModDB

If you like original Doom and games like Fallout 3 and S.T.A.L.K.E.R., "Ashes 2063" is really good. It doesn't have the RPG elements of Fallout, though it does have simple weapon upgrades, and it's got huge levels to explore and scavenge around, a neat story and a really good soundtrack.
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Scripten

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Re: Single-player shooters with good stories
« Reply #5 on: July 26, 2024, 09:57:10 am »

Yeah honestly the GZDoom mod scene is a great place for classic-style shooter experiences. Even if you're not getting a TC, individual mods and maps can be combined together for a multitude of different experiences - some with fun stories and interesting changes to the Doom formula.
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Stench Guzman

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Re: Single-player shooters with good stories
« Reply #6 on: July 27, 2024, 01:09:52 pm »

Hrot
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pisskop

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Re: Single-player shooters with good stories
« Reply #7 on: July 27, 2024, 07:36:46 pm »

:\  back when it first came out I liked Doom 3 so much I would play it on the hardest difficulty and treat it as an action horror.  Very satisfying.

The whole 'flashlight thing' is silly enough sure, but if youre treating the game as a deadly and horror-filled experience it was trying to be it's forgivable.  It never bothered me that much since since it was part of the atmosphere.

Doom 3: RoE was just mediocre trash though.


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tonnot98

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Re: Single-player shooters with good stories
« Reply #8 on: July 28, 2024, 10:34:18 am »

if youre treating the game as a deadly and horror-filled experience it was trying to be it's forgivable.

Most recently I picked up the early access for Ultrakill, I like the combat enough though it's meant to be played fast.  Im currently finishing up on the second playthrough on hard and also toying around with a fist-only run.  I got turned onto it via the 7th layer soundtrack, violence.
Doom 3 definitely would've been better if it wasn't a DOOM game.

Ultrakill is pretty fun, but trying to P-rank all the missions is a real pain. I really wanna fight those secret bosses :(
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Radsoc

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Re: Single-player shooters with good stories
« Reply #9 on: July 28, 2024, 10:40:42 am »

Shadow Warrior (1-3, 1-2 are the better ones)
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Stench Guzman

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Re: Single-player shooters with good stories
« Reply #10 on: July 29, 2024, 08:49:14 am »

Strife: Quest for the Sigil
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McTraveller

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Re: Single-player shooters with good stories
« Reply #11 on: July 29, 2024, 08:27:02 pm »

Quite old now, but I think you can still get them: the Marathon trilogy.

An ok puzzle-shooter, but a fantastic story and world building. And some very memorable sound bites... ("Frog blast the vent core!")

I can still remember the theme music...

It's what kicked off Bungie as a developer for the most part.  I'm still bitter that Microsoft bought them; one of the earliest purchases of a game dev and made their previously cross-platform work Microsoft-exclusive.
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Re: Single-player shooters with good stories
« Reply #12 on: July 29, 2024, 10:08:58 pm »

Turok might have been fucking stupid but it was fun as hell when you're 14.

I'd actually almost like to get ahold of a copy of them again.
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Mech#4

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Re: Single-player shooters with good stories
« Reply #13 on: July 30, 2024, 08:03:44 am »

Quite old now, but I think you can still get them: the Marathon trilogy.

An ok puzzle-shooter, but a fantastic story and world building. And some very memorable sound bites... ("Frog blast the vent core!")

I can still remember the theme music...

It's what kicked off Bungie as a developer for the most part.  I'm still bitter that Microsoft bought them; one of the earliest purchases of a game dev and made their previously cross-platform work Microsoft-exclusive.

I played through the Marathon series recently. They're still quite playable if you're used to older FPS design. There's some levels that are tedious (mostly the level "Colony Ship for Sale Cheap") but overall I found them quite enjoyable.

They're free to download and play too. You can either get them from the AlephOne website or get them on Steam as they're currently in the process of being added there, for free still too. Though only Marathon 1 and Marathon 2: Durandel are available so far.

The Steam versions are the same as the ones you can download from the AlephOne website, they just have achievements and maybe some other slight changes to default settings.
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Kaypy:Adamantine in a poorly defended fortress is the royal equivalent of an unclaimed sock on a battlefield.

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tonnot98

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Re: Single-player shooters with good stories
« Reply #14 on: July 30, 2024, 09:37:38 am »

Turok might have been fucking stupid but it was fun as hell when you're 14.

I'd actually almost like to get ahold of a copy of them again.
Turok Evolution was actually one of the first FPS games I've ever played. I only recently tried it again and even nostalgia couldn't save it for me.
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Not sure if dying of old age is an honor or a shame for weaponmasters. On the one hand, it means they never got the opportunity to die in glorious battle. On the other hand, it means nothing could beat them in glorious battle.
Meow.
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