At a certain point in the late 2010s, first-person shooters suddenly started to double down on mobility, taking lessons from classics like Quake. The indie scene thrives on fast-as-heck FPS games that combine movement and gunplay to create a ridiculously satisfying gameplay loop, at least when executed correctly.
Obviously, movement shooters have been around for decades, but single-player games are nowadays plentiful enough to qualify as basically a subgenre. Few things are as satisfying as executing a perfect wall run into a soaring leap over an enemy while unloading a shotgun clip right into their skull, and that’s one of the simpler moves you might be able to pull off in great shooters that let you move like a complete machine.
I’m only interested in a game’s single-player content, so I’m not taking any multiplayer modes into account. That’s why Quake isn’t part of the list, as its movement shines far more in multiplayer than in the single-player campaigns.
6
RoboQuest Is Like An FPS Tony Hawk, In The Best Possible Way
Stopping Should Never Be An Option
While perhaps more popular as a co-op option, RoboQuest is not only playable solo, but also ranks comfortably among the best roguelite FPS games on the market. If I had to describe its movement through a comparison, it is like a combination of classic Doom and extreme sports games like Jet Set Radio or even Tony Hawk, where levels shift from corridors with non-stop action to arenas shaped like skater parks. You move with no friction whatsoever.
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Something you learn quickly playing any mobility shooter is that you should always be moving, and few games make the act of stopping feel as terrible as RoboQuest. Seriously, the second a player stops rolling, they instantly lose any sense of rhythm, and they need to find it quickly if they don’t want their run to come to an abrupt end. While you only start with one class, RoboQuest actually has 7, and all of them feel suitably different.
5
Echo Point Nova Is The Best Open-World Movement FPS Game
Soar Across The Sky And Execute A Kill Shot
Echo Point Nova continues on nicely from RoboQuest, as they both fit that “FPS but extreme” mold; however, Greylock Studio’s project ramps things up by introducing an open world, a hoverboard, wall-riding, a grapple slingshot, and even skiing. Despite the “open world” part, this 2024 game is very much a sprint and not a marathon, as you basically speed-run through the 5-hour campaign while going at a million miles an hour.
Echo Point Nova‘s core mobility options would be enough to earn it a spot in this article, but its progression system constantly builds upon this rock-solid foundation to supercharge your momentum. You gain the ability to slow down time in the tutorial, and that’s really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to your movement kit.
4
DOOM Eternal Turns Doomguy Into A Movement Demon
The FPS Genre’s Godfather Takes Lessons From One Of Its Contemporaries
Doom is the grandfather of all FPS games, but it didn’t lay the groundwork for mobility shooters, as that honor goes to John Carmack’s Quake engine. Except for Doom 3, every game in id Software’s juggernaut franchise prioritizes “speed,” but that isn’t the same thing as movement. The original Doom builds its circle-strafing gameplay around Doomguy’s ability to make tracks, but his movement options are very limited (he cannot even jump).
2016’s Doom naturally expanded the player’s mobility options to match modern demands, but it’s still very much an arena shooter. Nothing wrong with that, but it isn’t the focus of this topic. However, Doom Eternal is just straight-up a movement shooter, and it came out when that genre was only really starting to become established. The entire game revolves around punishing player hesitation or fear, and the movement kit constantly pushes you to get right in a demon’s face, as that’s the only way you can survive.
The Super Shotgun Meathook serves as the game’s crowning mobility achievement, as it not only lets you hook onto an enemy and pull yourself towards them, but also greatly shakes up your movement along the way. It’s fantastic.
3
Turbo Overkill Is A Mobility FPS Game On Cybernetic Steroids
Rev Your Chainsaw Leg, It’s Time To Play
A day shall come when I’ll grow tired of talking about Turbo Overkill, but my god, today isn’t that day.
For those who have never played or even heard of Trigger Happy’s relentless cyberpunk shooter, the only thing you need to know is that you start with a chainsaw leg that moves like a dream while massacring enemies in the process. Yeah, that’s Turbo Overkill‘s inception point, and the campaign doesn’t hesitate to hand out overpowered weapons that annihilate cybernetic monstrosities AND movement tools to ensure you can get around them. Yes, that includes a grappling hook.
Although not an RPG, Turbo Overkill features surprisingly robust character customization, allowing you to slot two upgrades for each of the protagonist’s body parts. Some of these enhance your standard arsenal, while others unlock optional movement possibilities (like a wall jump). I will say, the game takes a while to really show its brilliance, especially in the movement department, but it ramps up so incredibly well.
2
Ultrakill Removes Any Limitations And Restrictions
An FPS Game That Wants You To Accomplish The Impossible
Ultrakill is the definitive modern movement shooter. A few AAA releases aside, this subgenre is almost entirely dominated by experimental indie projects, and some of them refuse to place any shackles on players. Ultrakill makes you feel like, well, a killing machine, as that is exactly what you are. This goes beyond weapons (and coins), as mobility is the player’s biggest superpower.
More so than any other game in this article, Ultrakill really makes it seem like there is absolutely no ceiling on how fast you can go, how high you can jump, and what stunts you can pull off. I mean, you can literally freeze a rocket and jump on it, and that’s just one example of the nonsense at your fingertips.
1
Titanfall 2 Is Just Immaculate
Movement, Perfected
Unsurprisingly, the developer behind the multiplayer shooter with the best movement is also responsible for the best single-player variant. Titanfall 2 is the gold standard that all modern releases should be held to, at least when it comes to big-budget projects. Built on a modified version of Valve’s Source engine (which traces back to the Quake engine), Titanfall 2 brings that freeing old-school movement into a highly polished, curated campaign without any lulls in the action.
The fundamentals – wall-running, air-strafing, double-jump, slide-hopping – are all perfect, and they are elevated by level design that not only lets them constantly shine, but also shine in new ways. While other games have come close, Titanfall 2 still represents the absolute peak for seamless velocity.
