Hero shooters have become a mainstay of modern gaming. Everything’s a hero shooter now! Call of Duty, Battlefield, even Bungie’s upcoming revival of an old franchise, Marathon, will have a cast of heroes with different abilities and play styles, something fans are not happy about. Needless to say: hero shooters are everywhere.
But, this growing number of games in the genre has left a lot of people exhausted. Many gamers wince at the sound of “hero shooter”. Yet, some are so good, that no amount of genre saturation stops people from playing them.
Here are some of the best PC hero shooters I always find myself going back to, and I highly recommend you play even if you don’t like the genre.
5
Overwatch 2
The one that started this entire trend.
What is there to say that hasn’t already been said about Overwatch, both good and bad? Though not the first hero shooter ever created, this is the game that brought them into the mainstream. It was a phenomenon. Even people who never touched a video game in their lives played Overwatch.
This was thanks to the cast of colorful characters that resonated with pretty much everyone. If you didn’t want to play as a cyborg ninja, you could play as a time-skipping, smack-talking pilot. If you don’t want to play as her either, just pick the African warlord with a power fist.Still not convinced? Go for the elderly German man in a suit of cybernetic knight armor, wielding a rocket hammer.
In 2022, the original Overwatch was shut down and Overwatch 2 was released as a free-to-play sequel, a decision that puzzled many fans.
Despite the changes, Overwatch 2 retained all the elements that resonated with millions around the globe. Overwatch 2 makes you feel like the hero regardless of which character you picked. It felt like you were the main character in a Saturday morning cartoon. The heroic music that played during the Play of the Game, those awesome team fights, and the perfectly timed ultimates were the magic that made Overwatch a staple of modern gaming.
The hype for Overwatch has since died out. Fans were left disappointed when the original was shut down to make way for the sequel. Genre fatigue also took its toll, since many grew tired of the hero shooter genre. And there were also the numerous controversies of Blizzard, leading to many boycotting their games. The life of Overwatch and its sequel has been a roller-coaster ride and not always a fun one.
Today, Overwatch doesn’t seem to be as big a part of mainstream culture as it once was. Sure, player numbers are still quite high, but new rivals are popping up left and right. Will Overwatch 2 maintain its firm grip on the hero shooter genre, or has its time already passed?
What Made Overwatch so Popular?
- Colorful cast of characters that all play differently.
- Incredible art direction, charming designs, and animation.
- Plenty of room for incredible teamplay.
4
Apex: Legends
A fun blend of battle royale and hero shooter.
I never much liked Apex: Legends. This was mostly because I felt burned by how the incredible Titanfall series being so unceremoniously canned.
Apex is “supposedly” a spiritual successor to the franchise, but it never captured the spirit of what made Titanfall so much fun. It’s a battle royale, it has a single map with a single mode, and it doesn’t have those awesome mechs.
When you look at Apex: Legends through this lens, yeah, it’s a very underwhelming game. However, when you put all your hurt feelings to one side and take Apex: Legends for what it is, you find that it’s a very fun blend of hero shooter and battle royale.
Play any other battle royale game today, and you’ll find that every match plays pretty much the same way. Each game in Apex: Legends is wildly different from the next. This is all thanks to the fun hero abilities, mixed with the unique weapons and the varied map design. In some cases, you’ll land in a tall building and have a vertical firefight. Other times, you’ll be running through an open field, jumping over bottomless pits.
Coupled with the exhilarating movement system and the really powerful guns, Apex: Legends is one of those hero shooters that always keeps things fresh. And though it won’t fill the hole in my heart that Titanfall 3 would, it’s still a pretty fun game in its own right.
What gives Apex: Legends its winning formula?
- Fun hero abilities.
- Vast map with tons of variety.
- Powerful weapons that are satisfying to shoot.
3
Team Fortress 2
The charming classic that still holds up.
Ok, let me be completely transparent with you: Team Fortress 2 is my favorite game on this list. End of story. I’m not going to hide my bias: when it comes to hero shooters, TF2 is my favorite without a doubt.
I’ve played Team Fortress 2 since 2009 (my God, it’s been a long time), and I find myself downloading it every year or two. What’s even more absurd, is that Valve isn’t giving up on it, and even promises to release updates.
What do I love so much about TF2? No, it’s not the easy-to-learn but hard-to-master combat. It’s not the cast of hilarious characters, nor the uniquely charming setting. It’s also not the wide range of weapons and equipment that can significantly alter the way each of the 9 classes are played. It’s the goldmine of memes that has had an immense influence on internet culture.
As for the gameplay, it’s a lot of fun. There are 9 distinct classes that all play differently, with a wide assortment of weapons that can change up your playstyle even further.
TF2 leans into the humorous setting by implementing a lot of absurd mechanics, such as rocket jumping, throwing jars of piss, and killing opponents with emotes.
Now, TF2 does have its problems. There has been a lot of hackers in recent years. The way you unlock new weapons and equipment is archaic. And the community can be… gauche, to put it mildly. But regardless, TF2 is still fun, and despite releasing almost 2 decades ago, it remains one of the most-player games on Steam.
How does Team Fortress 2 still reign supreme?
- Incredibly charming characters and setting.
- Tons of maps, modes, and guns.
- Nine unique classes that play very differently from one another.
2
Marvel Rivals
Play as your favorite heroes from Marvel.
The newest of the bunch is also the one that’s putting up quite a fight: it’s Marvel Rivals. Saying that the MCU is popular is the understatement of the century. The MCU is now a regular part of our everyday lives. So, it’s pretty surprising that no multiplayer Marvel games have become wild successes over the years.
Marvel Rivals fills this power vacuum with its own (somewhat) different take on the hero shooter genre. It still has a lot of the genre-defining features, such as skills you’ve probably seen in other games, classes or roles, the “push this thing forward” objective, etc. But it does a few things differently.
Unlike all the other games on this list, Marvel Rivals is 3rd person. It features environmental destruction, which allows heroes to carve their own paths through the map. Some characters also synchronize if they have an in-canon connection, such as Scarlett with Magneto (he’s her dad), Thor, Loki, and Hela (they’re siblings), and the Fantastic 4 characters (they’re the Fantastic 4, what else did you expect). On top of that, it also features tons of melee-only characters, so players who suck at shooters can also contribute to the team effort.
The limited game modes and maps are among the few things that dampen the fun in Marvel Rivals. The matches are super quick, so you’ll constantly see the same loading screens, on the same maps, where you’ll be playing the same objectives. For now, it’s quite repetitive.
However, its large roster of fan-favorite characters fully realized as multiplayer shooter heroes makes up for the repetitiveness. Despite the genre fatigue, tons of gamers were relieved to find that Marvel Rivals is actually a ton of fun.
Marvel’s Free-to-Play Shooter Doesn’t Suck and I’m So Relieved
Move Over-watch, Marvel’s got a revolutionary new hero-shooter that is surprisingly good!
Marvel Rivals is a surprisingly fresh take on the genre that is quite replayable thanks to its big roster of heroes, and with plenty of new ones on the way.
How Marvel Rivals changed the formula.
- The large cast of comic book characters.
- Each character looks and feels true to their comic book and film counterparts.
- Destructible maps add a unique twist to the standard hero shooter formula.
1
Rainbow Six: Siege
A tactical hero shooter with a slow pace.
Let’s end things off with the most hardcore game of the bunch. Rainbow Six: Siege is my second most played game on this list. And I will admit: I have a love-hate relationship with it.
I started playing Siege because I always wanted a tactical multiplayer experience, somewhat reminiscent of the old Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon games or today’s Ready or Not. Needless to say, Rainbow Six: Siege was not the hardcore tactical game I wanted it to be, but it has a winning formula of its own.
It’s much, much harder than your standard Call of Duty, Battlefield, or Counter-Strike. Just a couple of bullets from pretty much any weapon, or a single headshot, could take you down. So not only do you need to mind your surroundings, but you have to use them to your advantage.
The maps in Siege are (almost) entirely destructible. This means you have the opportunity to create lines of sight from unsuspecting angles. On top of that, you have a huge selection of operators, each with their own weapons, gadgets, and skills that change the way you play each match.
So, if there’s so much to love about R6: Siege, where’s the hate? Initially, Rainbow Six: Siege had a more gritty approach to its character design, both in terms of their appearance and kits. Though by no means a milsim, Siege was grounded in reality, and all the operators could easily have existed in real life. But then came holograms, wasp drones, goo-filled shurikens, and I just lost interest.
Rainbow Six Siege has reliable servers, intense gameplay, interesting maps, and superb graphics. – Dalton Cooper, GameRant
Again, Rainbow Six: Siege was never meant to be a super-gritty, realistic take on hostage rescue or bomb defusal. But with how crazy the gadgets have gotten, players started to rely more on their character kits, and less on clever tactics, the use of destructible environments, or teamwork.
So, while today Rainbow Six: Siege is not my favorite hero shooter, it is still tons of fun with friends, and I do recommend you try it out.
Why do players love the slower pace of Rainbow 6: Siege?
- Huge variety of operators.
- Separate attack and defense stages.
- Fully destructible maps.
