Post-Apocalyptic First-Person Shooty RPGs

Dying Light, Image Source: Techland Publishing

Dying Light exists in a world in which a Zombie Apocalypse has wiped out society as we know it.

You take on the role of Kyle Crane who has the dubious duty of infiltrating a quarantine zone to find a file stolen by a corrupt politician (as if there were any other kind).

You find other survivors in the fallen city of Harran (not a real place) and must choose between aiding them or completing your mission.

Dying light is relatively unique in that the campaign can be completed cooperatively and combat is mostly melee focused.

Also of note, the zombies present in Dying Light become significantly more dangerous and aggressive at night, which is a pretty neat mechanic.

Fallout 3, Image Source: Bethesda

Fallout 3 diverges from the top-down isometric perspective of Fallouts One and Two, instead shoving the camera deep into the eye socket of your new protagonist and allowing you to explore the world as if you, yourself, were in the blasted landscape.

Fallout 3 follows a similar plot path to Fallout 1.

You are a vault dweller who escapes your relatively happy life in Vault 101 after your father goes missing.

You journey again into the blasted wasteland of the United States, post-nuclear scourge, and will join or battle with various factions across the region.

Though your goal is to find your father, like all Bethesda Games, you will soon forget this completely as you take on dozens of side and faction quests instead.

Fallout: New Vegas , Image Source: Obsidian Entertainment

Fallout: New Vegas was created by Obsidian Entertainment. It is widely touted as one of the best Fallout Games of all time, to which I agree.

Obsidian is well known for its heavily story-driven narratives, and its ability to implement a variety of solutions to most of the game’s challenges.

It should be noted that this game was heavily riven with bugs upon launch, though most have been fixed by now.

In FO: NV, you do not take on the role of a Vault Dweller, but instead you are a Courier. As a Courier, you are tasked with carrying a package to New Vegas.

Unfortunately, this goes poorly for you and you end up getting shot in the head. You survive somehow and begin a rampage through the Mojave Desert in order to find the people responsible.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl, Image Source: GSC Game World

Shadow of Chernobyl is the first of a trilogy of S.T.A.L.K.E.R games released in 2007, 2008, and 2009.

In this universe, people are doomed to repeat past mistakes when they decide to repopulate the area around Chernobyl.

Another Meltdown occurs and bad things happen to the area (known as “the Zone”) again. This game takes place mostly outside and features truly beautiful graphics for its time.

You find yourself thrust in the role of an amnesiac explorer known as the Marked One, and you have one simple mission – to Kill Strelok. You will take on numerous missions to try and find out about your target and also your memory.

But it is never as easy as it sounds on paper, you will be facing off against deadly mutants and other factions as you desperately try to figure out who you are.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Clear Sky, Image Source: GSC Game World

Much like the first S.T.A.L.K.E.R, you will be exploring “The Zone”. Clear Sky, however, is not the sequel to Shadow of Chernobyl as you would expect, but instead a Prequel. This game features the addition of faction wars, which allow you to aid a particular faction of your choosing, unlocking better items.

You will also be exploring anomalies, like the first game, and there are a variety of weapons and armor to choose from depending on your playstyle.

In Clear Sky you take on the role of Scar, who has the rare ability to survive anomaly blasts, which present as emissions.

You are set on a path to discover what is causing the disruptions, and along the way you will find other Stalker groups, factions, towns, and the normal role-play things.

Your journey will lead you into the heart of Chernobyl for a pretty spectacular ending.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Clear Sky, Image Source: GSC Game World

Unlike the first two S.T.A.L.K.E.R games, Call of Pripyat does not take place near Chernobyl, but instead near the town of Pripyat (go figure).

This game is generally considered to be more tactical than its predecessors, requiring careful management of medical supplies and equipment to prevent it from breaking.

It also has a very limited economy, meaning you should be sparing with both your goods and your currency.

In Call of Pripyat, you take on the role of Major Alexander Degtyarev, who is sent to investigate the loss of five helicopters during a failed attempt to scout the area in preparation for an invasion by the Ukrainian government.

Your goal is to figure out what happened to the helicopters and their crews and to try and figure out what is happening in the Zone. Good Luck!

Post-Apocalyptic Third-Person Shooty RPGs

The Division, Image Source: Massive Entertainment

No one can deny that the first Division suffered some problems throughout its lifetime, but the premise of the game was pretty solid.

The game revolves around a paramilitary group known as the Division as they desperately try to unite and secure a world shattered by the “outbreak”. The world of the division lies in shambles with the focus of this game being centered in Manhattan.

The Division offers both PVE and PVP gamers tasks and goals to advance their characters, but the end-game primarily revolved around PVP battles.

This was extremely problematic because a lot of the game data is handled client-side, which makes it incredibly easy to hack or use exploits.

I would recommend playing through the first Division simply for the story, and then move onto the Division 2, which will hopefully address this incredibly glaring error in developer judgment.

The Division 2, Image Source: Massive Entertainment

The Division 2 is fairly obviously a sequel to the first Division. This time the story is set in the ruins of Washington, D.C. and is centered around the White House.

The Green Poison has pretty much wiped out society and it is up to you as a Division Agent to try and renew hope among the people of D.C. This won’t be easy.

Much like the first game, Division 2 offers a mixture of PVE and PVP encounters, with the latter being limited to Dark Zones.

You will also be facing off against four semi-unique factions, the Hyenas, The True Sons, The Outcasts, and the Black Tusk.

Each of these enemy nations has their own specializations and fighting styles, but for the most part, you will be mowing down bullet sponge mobs a lot.

The Last of Us, Image Source: Naughty Dog

One of the few PlayStation Exclusive games to make the list, The Last of Us is perhaps a shining example of amazing story-telling and compelling gameplay.

Much like every other zombie or monster outbreak type game, The Last of Us falls back on the familiar trope of mutated fungus spreads across the land and destroys society.

You take on the role of Joel, a smuggler. You come into contact with a rebel militia group known as the Fireflies and are given a mission to escort a teenager (Ellie) outside of the quarantine zone.

You follow this unlikely pair through harrowing adventures and terrifying enemies only to realize that your goal is at odds with your own morals. It is a beautiful story that I think everyone should play at least once.

Post-Apocalyptic First-Person Shooty Games

Far Cry: New Dawn, Image Source: Ubisoft

It may surprise some people to discover that the first Far Cry was developed by Crytek in order to premiere their CryEngine Game Engine way back in 2004.

The initial five Far Cry games were not really Post-Apocalyptic by any means, but with New Dawn, it seems the series has decided to weigh in on the chaos of shattered society.

You do not have to have played any of the previous Far Cry games in order to play FC: ND, but it is set around 20 years after the story of Far Cry 5. All of the expected tropes are in the game, nuclear war, warring factions, lots of guns, and mayhem.

Like most Post-Apocalyptic games, you will take the role of savior to the world and your job is to try and bring a little order to chaos. Good Luck.

Half-Life, Image Source: Valve

It should surprise no one that Half-Life made this list. Created by Valve in 1998, Half-Life is among the most iconic post-apocalyptic games ever made.

You take on the role of the mute hero Gordon Freeman, a nerdy scientist with a penchant for beating things to death with crowbars and having excellent shooting skills despite working in a laboratory for presumably his entire adult life.

Unlike most of the other games on this list, you are not thrust into the ruins of a shattered world, you are actually a witness to the beginning of the end. In fact, you are the bringer of the end… good job.

You will have to battle your way through aliens and soldiers while also navigating a research facility on the brink of collapse. In the end, you don’t even get to go home to a cozy bed. Sad.

As an aside… if you want a version of this game with better graphics, get Black Mesa.

Half-Life 2, Image Source: Valve

Some six years after the release of Half-Life, the masterpiece of Half-Life 2 was bequeathed upon us from the all-mighty Valve.

Half-Life 2 still stands today as a nearly perfect example of pacing and level design. There are suitable points of action and rest littering a diverse landscape of both interior and exterior areas.

The story of HL2 begins an unknown number of years after the events of Half-Life. Our world has been invaded by the Combine, whose ruthless nature and vast technological edge utterly shattered our world’s defenses.

We begin our journey in the desolate and decaying City 17. As Dr. Freeman, we are not to be crushed beneath the heel of an oppressive militaristic police force, and so we start killing and never stop.

Left4Dead, Image Source: Valve

Long ago, near the dawn of the internet, there was a time where Valve actually made video games. Half-Life and Half-Life 2 were spawned from their genius, but another type of shooter was also brought forth from those hallowed halls, Left4Dead.

This four-person zombie shooter is perhaps one of the best examples of its genre to this day.

You take on the role of one of four survivors, desperately trying to find their way to safety. The campaign levels usually encompass 5 acts, with the final act leading to the survival (or death) of the players.

Throughout these acts, you will face off against hordes of zombies, as well as several types of special infected, each with their own abilities, strengths, and weaknesses.

Left4Dead 2, Image Source: Valve

Running on the same game engine as L4D, L4D2 will be familiar to anyone who played the first one.

Something to keep in mind, however, is there are amazingly powerful melee weapons in L4D2, as well as a Magnum pistol for those who like to blast zombies apart with a hand cannon.

You again take on the role of one of four survivors (though different survivors than the first game) and your goal is again to find safety and eventually be rescued.

The gameplay is nearly identical to the first one, with new forms of special infected along with the old classics.

Metro 2033, Image Source: 4A Games

Metro 2033 is a survival horror game set in the ruins of Moscow following a nuclear war. There is a mixture of enemies and challenges present throughout the game as you explore the labyrinth of tunnels in which the remnants of humanity live.

You can, and on occasion have to, go to the surface, but the blasted landscape is heavily radiated and offers certain death to those without proper protection.

In Metro 2033 you take on the role of a survivor named Artyom who lives in the northern station of VDNKh (“Exhibition”), which comes under attack by the Dark Ones. You are tasked with traveling to the new capital of Polis and thus your journey begins.

You will be scavenging for supplies and competing with both monstrous and human enemies. Be prepared for the horror setting in this game as it is very dark and you will only have a flashlight to guide your way.

Metro: Last Light is a sequel to Metro 2033, and takes place a year after the events of the previous game. Much like the first game, you will be exploring a labyrinth of tunnels, however, the areas are generally larger than in Metro: 2033 and usually offer multiple paths to reach your goal.

Metro: Last Light, Image Source: 4A Games

You again take on the role of Artyom, but in this case, you are actually on the side of a Dark One child. This brings you into direct conflict with other human factions, including the Fourth Reich (which are just as evil as they sound) and the underground successor of the Soviet Union.

During the game, you must make the difficult choice between your loyalty to humanity and your morality as a human, all while delving into the dark, twisted corridors of the Metro.

Best Post-Apocalyptic Strategy Games

While not technically set on earth, the world of They Are Billions is “Earth-Like” enough to make the list. Like most strategy games, They Are Billions will have you constructing cities, raising armies, and gathering resources. Arrayed against you are the innumerable hordes of undead. Also, the Victorian Steampunk aesthetic is beautiful.

They Are Billions, Image Source: Numantian Games

You think you are safe behind your high walls and soldiers? Think again. They Are Billions is a challenging game to learn and master, but deeply rewarding.

Careful management of limited resources to upgrade your city and improve your defenses will either lead you to victory or death against vast invasions. This is one of the few games where you may find your few defenders standing bravely against a literal ocean of enemies. It is truly breathtaking and horrifying to behold.

Frostpunk, Image Source: 11 Bit Studios

I, admittedly, have not played as much Frostpunk as I would have liked. This city-building survival game tows the line between making the hard calls and delighting in describing your decision was a bad one.

It is a game where the bad almost always outweighs the good, and the world itself is your enemy.

You take on the role of the leader of a city huddled around a generator to power and heat its citizens. You have to manage resources, people, and laws in order to make the most of your limited supplies.

You will be able to expand your technology to make your city function more effectively and find more resources, but you might have to do so on the backs of child labor or 24-hour work days.

Finding this balance is the difference between a dead leader and a great leader.

Editor’s Choices

Torment: Tides of Numenera is the much-expected spiritual successor to Planescape: Torment. Though it never managed to surpass its bigger brother, Numenera did manage to deliver exactly the things that made Planscape a modern classic – captivating dialogue, interesting characters and a weird, surreal, post-apocalyptic world. These are the reasons why we considered it’s worthy of a spot in our top best fantasy RPGs of all time.

Torment: Tides of Numenera, Image Source: inXile Entertainment

Tides of Numenera takes place in the distant future where, after the rise and fall of numerous civilizations, humanity has regressed to a medieval state. People live in small, simple settlements, with little to no technology, surrounded by relics of the past called ‘’Numenera’’.

These so-called relics can vary from nuclear generators, to banal day-to-day household items like toasters and microwaves. Regardless of their complexity, they are beyond the level of understanding of most humans, who consider them to be magical in nature. It’s not your regular, mutant-infested post-apocalyptic world

Fun fact, one of the designers of Numenera was Brian Mitsoda, who you may know as the lead writer of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines and its upcoming sequel.

The Long Dark, Image Source: Hinterland Studio

In The Long Dark, you play as a crash-landed pilot struggling to survive in the Canadian wilderness after a geomagnetic storm disaster rendered all of the planet’s electronics and infrastructure useless.

In this game, you won’t be fighting against mutants, but Mother Nature herself, who will make sure that your unexpected visit is as short and miserable as possible.

The gameplay is a survival simulation that revolves around managing your character’s body temperature, caloric intake, fatigue and hunger/thirst.

Your objective is to survive as long as possible by exploiting whatever resources you find in the world, which are randomly spawned with each subsequent playthrough.

Wolves, bears, blizzards, and a host of other environmental factors will make your job even harder.

Elex, Image Source: Piranha Bytes

The story of ELEX takes place on Magalan, an Earth-like futuristic planet that was reset to a quasi-medieval state after it was struck by a comet. The people who survived the disaster are left to fend for themselves and survive in a seemingly perpetual war between the four major factions.

At the center of their conflict is an element called ELEX, a limited and precious resource that can be used to power machines give magical powers. Each faction has its own views on how or even if ELEX should be used, and it’s up to the player to decide which faction to support.

To be perfectly clear, ELEX is far from being a perfect game. ELEX suffers from the usual Piranha Bytes caveats and has been repeatedly criticized for its unresponsive controls, frustrating combat mechanics and flat protagonist.

But what ELEX lacks in, well, most things, makes up with fascinating lore and an intriguing post-apocalyptic world that features a mix of futuristic and medieval locations. And with a sequel reportedly on the horizon, it’s clear that Piranha Bytes has enough confidence in its IP to give it another shot despite the lukewarm critical reception.

Conclusion

This brings an end to our list of some of the greatest Post-Apocalyptic games of all time. If there are games missing from this list, please feel free to comment below and maybe they will be added or placed in a new list of post-apocalyptic games we missed! Thanks for reading.