You know that old stereotype about Texans loving to own and shoot guns? Well I’m a born-and-raised Texan who owns and loves shooting guns.
As such, shooters are some of my favorite games and have been since I was a kid. I love the excitement and intense action sequences that shooters are known for. They get your heart pumping and after a while, you find yourself leaning side to side in your chair as you attempt to dodge incoming fire.
I’m not alone in this either. For years, Call of Duty held the title of fastest-selling video game for a reason — until being dethroned by Grand Theft Auto V, which itself is largely a shooter as well.
And today, shooters, particularly first-person shooters, are possibly the most popular game genre in the world. They’ve spawned many types of sub-genres like horror-shooter, sci-fi shooter, and military-shooter. But regardless of their settings, they all have one thing in common: guns.
Being a reasonably well versed operator of real-life firearms (I’m no expert, but I have been shooting for nearly twenty years), this is a list of video game guns that are similar to their real-life counterparts.
But we’re not looking at just any guns. This is a list of guns from shooters made by indie developers who don’t have the budget and connections to go to military bases — and get all the good research — like Infinity Ward.
Receiver
Platforms: PC/Mac OSX
Developer: Wolfire Games
Receiver is a first-person shooter in which you have only a gun and cassette player as you make your way through a mysterious complex full of turrets and drones.
What makes it unique is the level of detail in the guns. The Colt 1911 and Glock 17 both have a workable slide and you must load your magazines one bullet at a time. And speaking of magazines, you have a limited amount of them. No more dropping infinite magazines as you reload.
On that subject, when you reload, the clips retain their bullets upon loading a new one, meaning if you remove a clip that still has two rounds inside it, they will not automatically go back into your ammo pool. You must refill that magazine or remove them to use every single round and maximize your shots per encounter and avoid having to reload individual rounds mid-fight.
Similarly, the Smith & Wesson Model 10 requires you load the cylinder one bullet a time as is typical of a revolver. Seeing it actually roll open for loading is a very cool detail often overlooked as a brief animation in most shooters and adds a new level of planning when reloading is a time-consuming process. The guns also have safeties, which I have never seen in a game before, but are absolutely critical in shooting in reality.
Verdun
Platforms: PC
Developer: M2H/Blackmill Games
Verdun is a World War 1 first-person shooter known for its harsh, sometimes punishing, realism. The guns aren’t amazingly accurate and have bullet physics that take into account drop over distance and minute player movements, causing a miss that emphasize the importance of standing still when firing. Recoil in automatic weapons is high and each must be fired in a controlled burst to retain accuracy. On top of that, stances, such as crouch and prone, will affect your gun’s sway as well.
Reloading is stressfully slow when you’re in the heat of battle, and waiting even a split second to rechamber a round with your bolt action rifle can cost you a kill. And there will be many kills. Damage is suitably high for a game aiming for realism, with a one-hit-kill anywhere on the body when using a bolt action rifle (which is the most popular weapon of choice). And trust me, you will die very often.
Compared to Battlefield 1, Verdun is slower, weightier, and very tense. You feel more like a solider burdened with a full kit of gear, lugging a rifle through Hell. There’s little for you to vault over, and you certainly won’t be leaping in and out of burning buildings. There are no vehicles or huge destructible environments either, just you and your gun. You also have to aim-down-sights at someone to know if they’re friendly or not, making you more cautious when seeing someone at a distance. And caution is key in a game where a respawn counter can go up to an insane 25 seconds.
It’s not the prettiest or best sounding game, but for realism, Verdun is hard to beat.
Escape from Tarkov
Platforms: PC/Linux
Developer: Battle State Games
Escape from Tarkov is an interesting title. It’s a Russian MMO/Shooter known for its hardcore realism and high difficulty. In addition to survival aspects such as food and water, the combat is intense and players are easily killed.
Damage is high, recoil is severe if not managed, gunshots are deafening, and muzzle flash is blinding, particularly with handguns that have very short barrels. The game has no crosshairs, meaning hip-firing (which is generally frowned upon in real life and can even get you kicked out of a gun range) is very difficult without a laser sight and pushes you to aim down sights.
Mods and attachments are available, such as different sights and grips, and guns will actually wear down over time and use, meaning you must repair them or face the consequences. Poorly kept guns, just as in reality, are likely to jam, forcing you to manually eject the pinched round in order to fire.
The game has amazing ballistics, using bullet drops, sway, penetration, and even implements ricochets through materials that include the human body. The system can be frustrating as you might miss a shot you thought you would make, but that’s a hurdle shooters must overcome through practice until it becomes a skill.
Even a classic staple of FPS such as using a scope has a more realistic presentation here, as moving will blur the image, making it harder to line up your shot properly, and warping the magnification around the center just like a real scope does.
This game still has no set release date, but pre-orders are available if you’re looking for a hardcore shooter to kick your teeth in.
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These games aren’t fast twitchy shooters like most gamers are accustom to and don’t have big set pieces to marvel at. These games are hard. They’re genuinely difficult as they’re not designed to attract the general masses. Indie developers seem to have found their niche with hardcore shooters that casual players may not appreciate, but if you’re looking for a challenge that will test your skills, give these a look.
