By Blaise Santi & Mark Sammut
The 1990s created first-person shooters. Sure, some prototypes predate the decade, but the FPS genre truly came to be in 1992 when id Software released Wolfenstein 3D, followed by Doom the very next year. After that, the industry exploded with new shooters that sought to capture the magic of those early masterpieces, leading to the creation of all-time greats that are still fun to play today. Throughout the '90s, the genre was constantly in a state of evolution, as new games sought to push forward, adapt, innovate, and experiment. It was the golden era for FPS games.
While the decade started slowly, by 1994, multiple fantastic shooters were hitting store shelves each year, some of which are still beloved to this very day. Let's take a look at the era that created, defined, and cemented the FPS genre, highlighting the best game of each year.
Honorable mentions will be included, as there are just too many important '90s FPS games.
1990 – Xenomorph
A Bold And Innovative Take On Alien Horror
Xenomorph took heavy inspiration from the blockbuster Alien film franchise, which had two films, several novelizations, and several video games dating back to the Atari 2600 under its belt by 1990. However, Xenomorph, which debuted on personal computer systems like the Atari ST and Commodore 64, sought to take the Alien horrors to a more personal level.
This unique and engaging experience features a user interface resembling the likes of Dungeon Master. Though it's a far cry from everything the FPS genre would eventually become, it shows a glimpse at what early developers were attempting in order to give players a more lifelike horror experience. It also boasts some ahead-of-its-time 3D graphics to boot.
Other Notable 1990 FPS Games
- Corporation – Another precursor to the FPS genre, and a pretty ambitious project for 1990. Like Xenomorph, there isn't really a point in revisiting Corporation, but it is a very cool historical piece.
- The Super Spy – While SNK's game has aged pretty poorly (and might not have been that great in 1990 either), its gameplay is slightly closer to what the FPS genre would become than Xenomorph or Corporation.
1991 – Hovertank 3D
Creative Raycasting-Fueled Tank Carnage From The Soon-To-Be Creators Of Doom
Hovertank 3D was a huge step forward for the first-person shooter, as the technical predecessor to many influential games from the genre's early days. This time around, it took the aspects of first-person and shooter quite literally, as players control a tank navigating through cities, attacking enemy machinery, mutated creatures, and zombified humans.
This was also the first FPS to utilize raycasting technology in its level design. While the sprites and graphics were all 2D pixels, they were raycasted in a 3D environment to allow players a full range of freedom to navigate. The game itself might not be the most revolutionary premise, but technologically, it set the bar high for future FPS games in the '90s. The sophisticated and highly replayable FPS games of today owe a lot to this one, as it set the stage for Wolfenstein and eventually Doom.
Other Notable 1991 FPS Games
- The Terminator – A respectable attempt at a fairly open action game with first-person combat. Although not fun to play nowadays, as is the case with a lot of DOS classics, The Terminator was a pretty impressive attempt in the early 90s. Fun Fact: Bethesda developed this game.
- RoboCop 3 – The Amiga/DOS version is pretty darn impressive, at least for its era. The game is split into different gameplay styles, with one section serving as a first-person shooter. Honestly, I would recommend trying this one.
1992 – Wolfenstein 3D
A Truly Iconic Shooter That Marks The Beginning Of The FPS Genre For Many
The true start of the first-person shooter genre is often considered to be this 1992 MS-DOS classic, Wolfenstein 3D. This time, the shooting comes with a complex story; players control a U.S. soldier escaping from the titular prison during World War II, undergoing a series of missions to brutally fight their way out. Emphasis on the word "brutal."
Wolfenstein 3D was highly-regarded by video game critics upon its release, commending its violence and revolutionary FPS gameplay. Even retrospective reviews have been kind to the game's legacy, with many considering it to be the forerunner of the entire FPS genre. Sadly, future games in the Wolfenstein franchise have yet to escape the first game's shadow, but that just demonstrates how influential this title was (and remains).
Other Notable 1992 FPS Games
- The Terminator 2029 – Bethesda's sequel improves upon the first game in nearly every way, and its first-person perspective was not that different from the version found in id Software's Wolfenstein 3D and Doom, although the latter were superior. While its predecessor isn't worth checking out, The Terminator 2029 is still pretty cool.
1993 – Doom
One Of The Most Beloved And Iconic Video Games Of All Time, Period
Doom,another id Software release, followed in the footsteps of Wolfenstein 3D to produce an incredibly violent demon-fighting sci-fi journey. It was as popular as it was controversial, and no one can deny its influence even to this day.
While Wolfenstein 3D pioneered many of Doom's features, Doom is the more beloved of the two FPS games. The only downside to the experience is its notorious difficulty, forcing players to endure horrors to complete it. While Doom is not for the faint of heart, fans around the world will continue to honor its legacy. With its satisfying and varied arsenal of weapons, wide assortment of ghastly beasts into which to unload them, and secrets-laden levels, just about every element of the original game was tuned to perfection. It would spawn several sequels and reboots to underscore that, with the likes of Doom 3 and Doom (2016) refreshing the core gameplay loop to successful results.
Other Notable 1993 FPS Games
- Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold – Experimental take that emphasizes storytelling and worldbuilding more than typical for the era.
- ShadowCaster – More RPG than FPS, ShadowCaster was probably the first game to try to combine the two, something that would become relatively common in the future. Also, you get to shapeshift into different monsters that have unique abilities, which is just fun.
1994 – System Shock
A Tremendous Influence On The Development Of Sci-Fi Horror
By 1994, the popularity of Wolfenstein 3D and Doom from id Software made many other game developers leap at the opportunity to release their own FPS games. LookingGlass Technologies was one such company. In 1994, it released System Shock for PC, which sought to make the FPS genre more immersive than its predecessors.
As a result, System Shock made more use of wireframe 3D, dropping players into an empty steampunk environment with the mission of dispelling robots as their adventure is continuously impeded by a rogue A.I. Not only did System Shock move the FPS genre forward technically, but it can be considered to have inspired many future espionage games like Metal Gear Solid as well.
Other Notable 1994 FPS Games
- Doom II: Hell on Earth – An argument could be made that it is even better than the first game, but it is obviously not as influential. Still, more Doom is never a bad thing. Also, Super Shotgun.
- Heretic – Goodbye guns, hello magic weapons. Heretic is one of the best first-person action games of the decade, and it expands on some of the ideas of ShadowCaster (as Raven Software developed both). Besides just being awesome, it proved without a doubt that the Doom formula was not limited to guns.
- Marathon – Bungie's FPS laid the groundwork for story-driven FPS design, which later culminated in Halo.
- Rise of the Triad – Takes Wolfenstein 3D's ideas and ramps up the absurdity, introducing weird powers like Dog Mode and more outlandish weapons. It has aged relatively well, too.
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This article originally appeared on GameRant and is republished here with permission.
