The best first-person shooters, according to hackers
24 first-person shooters were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and November 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 12 earn the Hacker Approved badge.
Top picks
The three most recommended first-person shooters with the badge. Each figure is 10 people. RecommendsCriticizes One comment
Groundbreaking engine technology
A landmark shooter praised for its groundbreaking engine, moddability, smooth competitive movement and LAN multiplayer; some find it less compelling as a game than as a technical feat.
Culturally significant genre milestone
A landmark shooter praised for fast, fluid gameplay, smooth performance and a huge modding scene; critics find its plot thin and lacking heart.
Addictive, hours-consuming gameplay
Fast arena shooter with strong bots, big maps, easy custom maps and replayability. Caveat: unbalanced maps and few new players.
All 24 first-person shooters, ranked
Select a column heading to sort. Approval share is recommenders out of everyone who gave an opinion; the tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs. Months counts the months, out of 13, in which someone recommended it.
| Rank | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quake | 118 | 29 | 80% | 12 | 28 yrs8 owners | Approved |
| 2 | Doom by id Software | 102 | 24 | 81% | 12 | — | Approved |
| 3 | Unreal Tournament 2004 | 51 | 12 | 81% | 6 | — | Approved |
| 4 | Quake III Arena | 49 | 3 | 94% | 10 | — | Approved |
| 5 | Half-Life | 42 | 7 | 86% | 10 | — | Approved |
| 6 | Unreal Tournament 99 GOTY | 33 | 5 | 87% | 10 | — | Approved |
| 7 | Duke Nukem 3D | 24 | 1 | 96% | 7 | — | Approved |
| 8 | Wolfenstein 3D | 19 | 4 | 83% | 9 | — | Approved |
| 9 | Call of Duty | 17 | 38 | 31% | 7 | — | — |
| 10 | Unreal (1998 video game) | 16 | 4 | 80% | 9 | — | Approved |
| 11 | Titanfall 2 | 13 | 1 | 93% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Tied 12 | .kkrieger | 12 | 0 | 100% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Tied 12 | No One Lives Forever | 12 | 2 | 86% | 4 | — | Approved |
| 14 | Doom 3 | 10 | 8 | 56% | 2 | — | — |
| 15 | Sauerbraten | 9 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 16 | Crysis | 8 | 2 | 80% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 16 | Chex Quest | 8 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 18 | Halo 3 | 7 | 0 | 100% | 6 | — | — |
| Tied 18 | S.T.A.L.K.E.R. | 7 | 3 | 70% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 20 | Doom II | 6 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 20 | Doom Eternal | 6 | 2 | 75% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 22 | Destiny 2 | 5 | 7 | 42% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 22 | Dusk by New Blood Interactive | 5 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 22 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 | 5 | 8 | 38% | 2 | — | — |
How we rank
Rank is the number of separate people who recommend a product in a Hacker News comment over the past year. Someone who praises the same first-person shooter in five threads counts once.
The badge goes to first-person shooters that at least 10 people recommend, with recommenders outnumbering critics at least 2 to 1, recommended in at least 4 of the 13 months.
Rankings are never for sale. We may earn a commission when you buy through our links. It never changes the order.