Counter Strike is perhaps the most popular first-person shooter game ever made. The simplicity makes it what it is, along with the minimal system requirements needed to run the game in all its glory. No backstory or campaign mode. Instead, players are thrown into battles with just their ammo and teammates, with just one goal – to beat their opponents.
Now, we do not think any other game can replicate what Counter Strike can do. Having said that, there are games which have taken inspiration from it and have become the shooter games that they are today. So, the following is a list of the 10 best games like Counter Strike that we think deserve your attention:
1. Overwatch
Overwatch is an excellent mix of design, artistry, and gameplay. The game is based on a 6v6 multiplayer, objective-based gameplay with many goodies and characters to choose from. Unlike traditional shooter games like Counter Strike, this game broadens the traditional skill set. Overwatch does not value someone with just the perfect aim that hits the bullseye every time, or someone with perfect strategy. This game equalizes the worth of all these skills, and this translates into a beautiful multiplayer game. It also has a suite of different characters, each with individual skills with no two characters being the same.
Download ($59.99)
2. Borderlands 2
Borderlands 2 is an fps game at its core, but with some features borrowed from RPG’s, such as the ability to skin your character. Borderlands 2 takes what was already fun in Borderlands 1 and enhances it. Things like narratives, the loot, the fluidity were all parts that were improved in this sequel. One of the main features of this fps game is the loot. You simply cannot get enough of it. The loot mainly consists of guns, which is nothing to complain about, as almost all the time you will be looking for different ways to kill, conquer, and enjoy the loot.
The game’s class skill customization is another feature we can’t pass up mentioning. The game has four different classes, with each class working in a separate way than the other. The classes can further be customized to each player’s own liking, but with the primary function remaining the same.
Download ($19.99)
3. Left 4 Dead 2
Left 4 Dead 2 is the sequel to Left 4 Dead and is overall a much better and complete game than the first one. Left 4 Dead 2 features five full and more interactive campaigns, several tweaks and settings to tinker with, more modes, and overall, it is something the first one could not be. The game focuses on team style combat against the infected. The game is set in a zombie apocalypse, where a group of people must work together and survive. The game forces you to work together to beat the opponents. All the team members need to be in constant contact with each other, notifying everyone about every movement.
Perhaps the highlight of this game is the artificial intelligence which controls it. This AI is known as the Director. The director changes the gameplay according to the player’s skills. For example, if a player is stuck somewhere, the director can change the path to make it easier. Similarly, herds of zombies can come from anywhere to ambush the player and make the gameplay harder if the player is getting by too easily.
Download ($19.99)
4. Battlefield 1
Battlefield 1 is a game which recreates one of the world’s fiercest wars – World War 1. In this game, you are thrown into battle, reliving the fates of the soldiers who fought in this war. Battlefield takes a simple approach to its gameplay. There are no special skills or characters, but it is the hauntingly beautiful reality of the game’s story which makes it so good.
The story mode includes five war stories, with each one staying true to what happened and not being exaggerated, along with an exceptional multiplayer mode, which uses all the old-school arsenal of World War 1 with excellence and a well-balanced combat style.
Download ($59.99)
5. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
This game is another fantastic shooter game, which combines the first-person genre with the role-playing one. This game does not have a proper combat multiplayer mode, but that does not mean that the game does not deserve your attention. This iteration of Deus Ex is set in Prague with a beautifully designed map and gadgets.
The game has you play along with multiple part quests, with a well-thought plot which binds the entire game together. This game includes many new experimental augments, which can be attached to the protagonist – a cyborg. This story, along with an interactive gameplay makes this iteration one of the best ones out there.
Download ($59.99)
6. Titanfall 2
Titanfall 2 is set on the planet typhoon, with the main characters being a human and a Vanguard-class titan BT-7274. The single player story consists of nine chapters, covering everything from massive factories to natural forests, showcasing the game’s beautiful designs. Titanfall 2 merges natural shooter movements with astounding new puzzles and mazes.
The player is expected to combine the different skills acquired to beat several different courses. For instance, using cranes to manoeuvre, or jumping wall to wall. With each passing course, different mechanics are introduced to keep the game fresh. The game is not limited to its single player mode. It also has a well made multiplayer mode with different Titans to use and fight against.
Download ($59.99)
7. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
Rainbow six siege is an attack vs. defense shooter game. The aim is simple, blow holes in your opponents. Chaos and destruction have no limit in this game; with powerful guns and gadgets to detect your opponent’s presence, blasting through walls is nothing but pure thrill. This might sound like that no strategy is needed, but that’s not the case. The game requires tactics to win.
The player has a variety of characters to choose from – twenty, to be exact, with ten attackers and ten defenders. All twenty characters have different skills, and it is the combination of these skills that may determine the winner. The game focuses more on multiplayer, but it does offer ten missions, which serve as excellent tutorials as well.
Download ($49.99)
8. Doom
Doom is perhaps the oldest game in the Counter Strike format, which finally got a new version with HD graphics in 2016. For any of those who are not aware of doom; this game is a fantastic first person shooter with an unusual campaign mode, which follows one rule: if it moves, it dies. That is the philosophy of the main character – the doomguy. The game is set on Mars, with the objective being to kill the demons with barely the amount of ammo required. There are health pickups scattered across the maps to help with the growing difficulty.
Being an fps game, it features a unique way of killing which might not be that ubiquitous with first person shooters – the option to rip off the limbs of demons and beat them with it, which makes the game more exciting. The game also has a multiplayer mode, but it is the campaign mode which makes it stand out.
Download ($59.99)
9. Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Call of Duty is perhaps the biggest franchise when it comes to fps gaming. Now, many other COD games have come out, each with their own unique story. But we think MW2 is the best iteration of the franchise. The game’s single player mode is fantastic, being short but intense. This game also introduced the spec ops mode which is a co-op mode. This game improves the features of the first modern warfare and does so beautifully. The storyline along with little to no bugs in the gameplay make this game a thrill to play.
Download ($19.99)
10. Shadow Warrior 2
Shadow Warrior 2 follows a unique story in which a young woman gets trapped in the main character’s body (a male), and the goal is to get her back in her body. The gameplay plays out similar to Doom’s, where in order to progress you need to kill several demons and robots. One of the highlights of this game, apart from the character’s banter, is the diversity of the maps. You can expect to be anywhere from Japanese gardens to urban cities, with the transition making sense rather than it being abrupt.
The game offers fast paced action requiring you to quickly change between weapons, which can be upgraded using skill points.
Download ($39.99)
11. Half-Life 2
Half life 2 might be a little old, but the gameplay and story surely make it a treat to play. The game features an extremely well-thought story with mesmerizing visuals and dialogues. The game picks up from exactly where the first one left off, so we suggest to give the first Half-Life a whirl too. The game is controlled by AI, which offers life-like aggression and reactions from your surrounding that make the game all the more fun.
Unlike Counter Strike: Global Offensive, this game focuses on the single player mode with numerous twists and turns, but just like Counter Strike, it offers a fun way to experience the world – shooting your opponents. It is the experience these games share which makes them so fun to play.
Download ($9.99)
12. Killing Floor 2
This list might seem like a list of sequels, but that is not the case. Killing Floor 2 is a fun co-op game, which tries to be bold and succeeds. It has aggressive enemies, with fast paced action and different classes. The game consists of two online modes with ten classes, each with their own perks. The combination of these classes determines if you fail or succeed. The more you play, the more abilities you unlock, which keeps the game fresh, as you play for hours and hours.
The game’s Versus Survival mode is where it gets tough. Players are divided into two teams: Humans and Zeds. Zeds are creatures in the games, which would be enemies in the other mode. Creating chaos and shooting these monsters, indeed make up for a fun game.
Download ($29.99)
13. BioShock Infinite
BioShock Infinite is another sci-fi shooter, which offers amazing gameplay. The game is set in the early 1900’s in a fictitious city called Columbia. It is a traveling city, which uses balloons, propellers and other such means of transportation to travel. The game offers an open world setting and allows you to explore the mysterious flying city, as you are trying to find the woman captured and kept here.
The game showcases beautiful cinematic scenes and loads of guns. The guns and weapons are traditional rather than magical, but, the game does give the main character magical abilities as the story progresses. The story has a few plot holes, but the cinematics and the overall gameplay make you forget about it.
Download ($29.99)
14. Dying Light
Dying Light is set in a post-apocalyptic world, with an open world setting, but it is not at all depressing. The atmosphere consists of a vivid wasteland, where everything can be interacted with. The game is initially extremely hard to play, what with the zombies easily destroying you. But as you progress, a skill set is developed which makes zombies toys to experiment with.
The game offers several different ways to kill the zombies; such as slicing them or blasting them. Apart from that, the game offers a first-person parkour experience as well. The game also includes a massive single player mode, with a fun co-op mode as well, where one player is a zombie and the rest survivors.
Download ($59.99)
15. Crysis 3
Crysis 3 takes off 24 years after Crysis 2 in New York City. The game focuses a lot on story this time around, with an impressive gameplay to back it up. The story revolves around the fight against the CELL Corporation and the alien Alpha Ceph. The main character dons a nano suit with impressive abilities, which helps him to conquer any opposition he may face. The gameplay is fast and fun with the focus being killing and slaughtering anyone in your way.
The game incorporates RPG style of play, as well as other elements to make it more entertaining. For example, using the nano suit can be used to hack objects. The single player mode might be the star of the game, but the multiplayer mode is no slouch either, offering an impressive gameplay similar to Call Of Duty’s multiplayer mode.
Download ($19.99)
16. PlanetSide 2
PlanetSide 2 is a massive game. It has thousands of futuristic tanks, machines, fighter jets, soldiers, everything. The game has it all, along with the record of having the biggest FPS battle of all time. The game features three continents to choose from, with six classes being the same in all three. The game is so massive that at first, it might be confusing as to what to do, but with a little dive in the menus and everything becomes clear. The objective is simple – destroy the others.
The massive multiplayer game allows you to easily take part in any squad within the chosen faction and then demolish your opponent. The game even allows riding in tanks and jets to attack from the land or sky. The chaotic and intense battles make the game what it is, with no other game being comparable to PlanetSide 2’s massive gameplay.
Download (Free to play)
17. Payday 2
Payday 2 is a co-op bank heist first person shooter game. In it, the objective is a little different than the average fps game. Here, money is the objective. The main mode of this game is crime.net in which you are paired up with other players to pull off heists. If all the team members cooperate, the game becomes even more fun to play, with intense and raging gun battles. The game rewards stealth over mindless gunfights, but the gunfights which do occur are intense, long and rewarding. The game is best played with others, as the single player mode AI lacks the versatility and fun of real players.
Download ($19.99)
18. Red Orchestra 2: Rising Storm
Rising Storm is a grueling military combat fps game. It is a squad-based multiplayer game where different teams need to use different tactics to get through all the maps. Rising storm does not include massive vehicles or gigantic man-made machines to destroy; instead, it offers what many may love – a man versus man first person shooter combat, just like Counter Strike. The graphics might be a little old for some people’s taste, but the details are there.
The game takes you to a lot of American battles, which showcases the different sceneries of the game quite well. With each of these maps comes equally unique obstacles, which require a well-thought game-plan to win.
Download ($19.99)
19. Metro: Redux
Metro Redux is a horror fps game. The game features beautiful graphics with mysteries and monsters. The game is set in a post-apocalyptic world, where humans live in fear of monsters. The gameplay is fantastic, with a dark and eerie atmosphere. The game makes you experience many different parts of this world filled with monsters; from cramped tunnels to vast abandoned cities.
The game has a survival mode and a spartan mode. Survival mode is pretty self-explanatory and has similarities with the earlier release of Metro, Metro 2033. On the other hand, Spartan mode is a fast paced no holds barred mode that is similar to Metro Last Night.
Regardless of each mode, the gameplay is a treat. Fluid movements, and the thrill to destroy monsters contribute to the game’s appeal.
Download ($19.99)
20. Evolve
Evolve is a multiplayer monster hunting game set on a planet called Shear. The multiplayer part focuses on a four versus one style gameplay, with four players being hunters, and the one being a monster. The players have options from 4 different classes, each with their unique abilities and hunters. This makes for a total of twelve different hunters and four different monsters. The monsters are not limited to their base stats; as you progress, the monsters evolve into something more powerful.
With monsters becoming more powerful, shooting them with the various weapons becomes even more satisfying and rewarding. The game could not have been this good without its attention to detail. The monsters are all well made, with even their footsteps being precise and fluid.
Download (Free to play)
SEE ALSO: 15 Cool Games Like ROBLOX You Can Play
Best Counter Strike Like Games You Can Play
Well, these were the best games like Counter Strike you can play on your Windows PC, Mac, Xbox One or Sony PS4. Sure, none of these can match Counter Strike and not all of the games in the list might be first person shooters, but that does not mean these are not exceptional games. So, check them out and let us know your favorite shooter games in the comments section below.
