• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Why don't you like first person shooters?

Why don't you like FPS games?

  • I hate the camera.

    Votes: 20 11.4%
  • I game using a controller mainly and the FPSs i tried played horribly with one.

    Votes: 4 2.3%
  • I just don't like western devs in general (and by extension FPSs since most of them are western)

    Votes: 5 2.9%
  • I associate specific subtypes of FPSs i dislike (military, retro, etc) with FPS games in general

    Votes: 3 1.7%
  • I played very few to none of them, and just can't bring myself to try

    Votes: 2 1.1%
  • I don't know

    Votes: 4 2.3%
  • Some other reason

    Votes: 22 12.6%
  • I like them but i want to vote the poll

    Votes: 114 65.1%

  • Total voters
    175

Guilty_AI

Member
One curious thing i often notice on occasion. I've seen plenty of people saying they don't like FPS games, which is fine if taken at face value - just a matter of taste after all - but then i start noticing weird patterns when observing particular player tastes in games, here or in other places.

For starters, many FPS games can have very similar loops to other third-person games. You can draw plenty similarities between DOOM 3 and post-RE4 games for example, or common third person RPGs with Bethesda games, Deux Ex games, System Shock games or Cyberpunk.
Yet, i've seen people who, for example, enjoy horror shooters like Callisto Protocol or RE4R, yet draw the line when it comes to games like DOOM 3, DUSK, Half Life, etc; Same when it comes to certain RPGs.

Heck, there are 2 newer Resident Evil titles that are first person, are those fine then? Maybe not?

Another example is with From games, where a person likes all of the stuff they put out but refuse to play a Kings Field game, or anything similar, because its first person.
Or someone who has been liking every Metroid game, yet as soon as it gets to Metroid Prime they give up on it... because its first person.

On the other side of the spectrum are people who say they don't like FPS, but still open up exceptions on occasion for certain games, but not for others despite them also being within genres they like. Why?

Keep in mind i'm not trying to convince people to play X game they don't want to, i'm just genuinely intrigued by why just a camera perspective shift can cause some people to have such drastic changes of view (lmao).

Pun aside, i've put up a poll of possible reasons i can think of.
 

Guilty_AI

Member
But I do like them!
d347dbc8-e6b8-4f85-bb64-8dcb234f5730-1674067639225.jpg
 

Banjo64

cumsessed
I do.

IMO we’re just currently in a poor period for the genre.

We peaked in this time period:

Halo 3 2007
MW 2007
MW2 2009
Halo Reach 2010
Battlefield 3 2011

Haven’t touched the quality of any of those games since.

Apex Legends good concept but I don’t like BR games. Titanfall I didn’t like the bots, mechs or low population. CoD has never been better than those 2 games since and Battlefield is a joke now.
 

Dream-Knife

Banned
I do like them.

Single player FPS games usually don't do it for me anymore, but that's because there hasn't been any in over a decade.
 

Guilty_AI

Member
I do.

IMO we’re just currently in a poor period for the genre.

We peaked in this time period:

Halo 3 2007
MW 2007
MW2 2009
Halo Reach 2010
Battlefield 3 2011

Haven’t touched the quality of any of those games since.

Apex Legends good concept but I don’t like BR games. Titanfall I didn’t like the bots, mechs or low population. CoD has never been better than those 2 games since and Battlefield is a joke now.
So i assume you're refering to MP FPSs specifically? Because i'm speaking about FPS games in general, including certain stretches like Cyberpunk 2077 and System Shock.
 

Dream-Knife

Banned
? Aren't we in the middle of a boomer shooter renaissance? Unless you dislike those specifically.
My apologies, I was talking about AAA.

Yes we are. Ultrakill is my favorite currently.

You also mention first person RPGs. Yes, I won't play those. I also hated the perspective of older SMT games.
 
Last edited:

Banjo64

cumsessed
So i assume you're refering to MP FPSs specifically? Because i'm speaking about FPS games in general, including certain stretches like Cyberpunk 2077 and System Shock.
Oh yeah sorry, FPS campaigns are pretty boring IMO. Love online FOS because I love that every match is it’s one story but campaigns are just so-so for me. And I’ve played a fair few.

It’s hard to say why.
 

Montauk

Member
I am going to use my post to continue my personal campaign to get New Blood Interactive to finally release DUSK on the Xbox consoles!

Please god. Please. I will give you money. It has been five and a half years guys!
 
Last edited:

64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
One curious thing i often notice on occasion. I've seen plenty of people saying they don't like FPS games, which is fine if taken at face value - just a matter of taste after all - but then i start noticing weird patterns when observing particular player tastes in games, here or in other places.

For starters, many FPS games can have very similar loops to other third-person games. You can draw plenty similarities between DOOM 3 and post-RE4 games for example, or common third person RPGs with Bethesda games, Deux Ex games, System Shock games or Cyberpunk.
Yet, i've seen people who, for example, enjoy horror shooters like Callisto Protocol or RE4R, yet draw the line when it comes to games like DOOM 3, DUSK, Half Life, etc; Same when it comes to certain RPGs.

Heck, there are 2 newer Resident Evil titles that are first person, are those fine then? Maybe not?

Another example is with From games, where a person likes all of the stuff they put out but refuse to play a Kings Field game, or anything similar, because its first person.
Or someone who has been liking every Metroid game, yet as soon as it gets to Metroid Prime they give up on it... because its first person.

On the other side of the spectrum are people who say they don't like FPS, but still open up exceptions on occasion for certain games, but not for others despite them also being within genres they like. Why?

Keep in mind i'm not trying to convince people to play X game they don't want to, i'm just genuinely intrigued by why just a camera perspective shift can cause some people to have such drastic changes of view (lmao).

Pun aside, i've put up a poll of possible reasons i can think of.
I know you made this thread specifically for Danjin44 Danjin44 , not everyone here is him lol
 
Last edited:
I luv em on both controller and mouse & keyboard! That said, I've been playing too much on console these past 3 years, so even when I rarely get to game on PC, controller is my main input method for FPS titles.
 

Husky

THE Prey 2 fanatic
That's presumptuous! I happen to really like FPS! :lollipop_winking:

However, I will say that I'm not a fan of many new FPS. I think FPS peaked in 2004-2009, and declined when the games became more console-oriented. The map design became more linear and less imaginative, levels lost physics and interactivity, and worst of all, the gunplay felt so much weaker. Feels... mushy. I like gunplay with a sense of impact, but I don't feel that at all in many FPS that were made for consoles first. TPS happened to work out differently, those have improved greatly since 2009.
 

64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
personally i love first person shooters but can't seem to really stand first person RPGs like most of what Bethesda makes. Mostly because while a lot of emphasis is placed on the RPG aspect in those games, the shooting is almost always mediocre. IDK why, but when i'm placed in a first person perspective (with very few exceptions) i expect a game that has really good shooting and combat, and Elder Scrolls/Fallout don't seem to have that for me. I hope Starfield breaks that cycle but people say the gunplay in that game isn't very good either so not exactly super psyched... But, it has a third person mode so i can see myself trying that.
 
Last edited:

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
For me personally I like good animation in games and want to see my character I’m controlling move, fight and interact with environment. I find it First Person view incredibly boring and less immersive, it feels like I’m just controlling floating camera rather than actual character.
 
Last edited:

MiguelItUp

Member
It's my favorite genre, personally. Ever since I played Wolfenstein 3D for the first time. The DOOM increased my feelings even more so.

Even to this day I would consider it my favorite genre, but I will say I was really annoyed by the period of every FPS title having modern weaponry, etc. It just made everything feel old. I love it when games have more unique weapons, something that allows different games to make themselves feel more unique. Game types in MP too!

I hate that older FPSs were great packages of campaign, multiplayer, and even co-op. But now it's just a thing of the past. I feel like the genre has gotten worse and worse as we've gotten older. :(
 

Markio128

Member
1st person shooters used to be one of my favourite genres, with the original Halo, HL2 and Goldeneye as the holy trinity in my eyes. I also have fond memories of RFOM and Killzone 2.

Unfortunately, it seems like the genre has mostly resorted to GaaS and Multiplayer games.

I’m also not really into the Doom/Wolfenstein games - too fast paced for my tastes.
 

SHA

Member
Some people just like shallowness and simplicity in video games, complexity in gameplay is too much for them to handle, it doesn't add real value from their perspective.
 

Skifi28

Member
It's an immersion thing mostly. Some people feel really immersed from a first person view imagining they're that character. I just see floating hands and need to actually watch my character and his/her animations in order to be immersed. Having said that, I still play the occasional FPS but they're not my first choice.
 

Aion002

Member
I can play games like Destiny, CoD and Apex Legends for hours.... But I simply couldn't play 10 minutes of Borderlands on the ps3 without feeling pain.


I hate some first person games for a simple reason: low fow, camera shake and headbobbing. And if the game also has frame drops and screen tearing, like Borderlands on the ps3 has, well...

In Hell Swerk GIF


I love and hate arkane games, Dishonored is so cool, but I just can't play more than 20 minutes without feeling sick.
 

Roufianos

Member
I just don't like the perspective, I can play first person games but there's probably none in my top 20 GOATs.

I'd have loved Cyberpunk probably 5x more if it had a 3rd person mode. I was mildly enjoying Oblivion until my mind was fucking blown off when I realised their was a 3rd person option.

Not sure what the reasoning is, probably has to do with not having an early exposure to them.
 
Last edited:
They're OK if they have a story like Cyberpunk but the perspective takes away much of the fun. For me it's never as immersive as the third person perspective.

When it comes to pure FPS shooters, they're just not fun for me. Uninteresting.
 

64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
I was mildly enjoying Oblivion until my mind was fucking blown off when I realised their was a 3rd person option.
bethesda third person modes typically ain't all that because of how mediocre the avatar animations are... the ones in New Vegas are so fucking awful (I know, it's an Obsidian Project)

Starfield is the first game where the third person animations look actually competent and interesting to use
 

Justin9mm

Member
FPS' are my favourite genre but I've been longing for games with more realistic hit animation physics. Off the top of my head, examples like Black, Killzone 2, Max Payne 3. Maybe Last of Us Part 2, even though that's not an fps. I think in this generation it should be possible
 

Justin9mm

Member
They're OK if they have a story like Cyberpunk but the perspective takes away much of the fun. For me it's never as immersive as the third person perspective.

When it comes to pure FPS shooters, they're just not fun for me. Uninteresting.
I'm the opposite because for me it's all about the shooting in first person perspective. Shots on target/enemies and accuracy is the fun part for me . I own guns and am a competition shooter in real life. So i guess I have a different level of enjoyment.
 

ssringo

Member
Primarily a PC gamer for most of my life so I always played them with kb/m but as I got older, and support got much better, I started using a controller for PC gaming more and more. The transition wasn't really a thing with 3rd person shooters as I'd been playing them on consoles since the likes of Syphon Filter and, more importantly, Resident Evil 4. But I just couldn't do it with fps. It felt wrong and I hated how inaccurate everything felt and controller aim assist also felt bad.

In short: I play on PC with a controller and don't like using a controller for fps.

In a funny twist of logic I don't like fps on controller and would rather use kb/m but also don't like 3rd person shooters on kb/m and would rather use a controller. What the fuck brain?
 
- Don't like the camera. I want to see my character. Really don't understand the point when game like cyberpunk let you create your character then you don't see your character most of the time.

- Melee attack in Fps game is shit.

- I don't find Fps game "immersive". What you see in real life is different perspective with what you see in game.

I don't think I have any favorite Fps game :-/.
 

Guilty_AI

Member
But you mostly see hands and feet, what I’m talking about is full character animation.
4ACC99CE3A02A01434E6DA4283EB6C76C4F88F15

057D06CCBF628DF5F37264B64F5C116332C9E125

LqLYTzE.gif

nier2022-nier.gif
It's an immersion thing mostly. Some people feel really immersed from a first person view imagining they're that character. I just see floating hands and need to actually watch my character and his/her animations in order to be immersed. Having said that, I still play the occasional FPS but they're not my first choice.
This is an interesting point actually. Personally neither type of camera ever really affected the way i perceived my character or my immersion, seeing it mostly as the interface in which i interacted with the mechanics, so i never really thought about things this way.

This is also another thing i think its worth discussing. Do people like first-person cameras for immersion? Because personally i just like them because they allow me to see and interact with the enviroment in much more intuitive and less ambiguous ways. I never really think "i am this character" for any game. Even on RPGs with lots of choices i'm just really making up a character in my head and playing according with the background and personallity i made for him.
 
Last edited:

ReBurn

Gold Member
Floating gun games are just derivative at this point. Most of them are like some other game. FPS peaked during PS360 for me.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
This is an interesting point actually. Personally neither type of camera ever really affected the way i perceived my character or my immersion, seeing it mostly as the interface in which i interacted with the mechanics, so i never really thought about things this way.

This is also another thing i think its worth discussing. Do people like first-person cameras for immersion? Because personally i just like them because they allow me to see and interact with the enviroment in much more intuitive and less ambiguous ways.
For me seeing my character actually move and interact is much more impressive than just looking at the hands. Also it just not always about immersion, good animation is fun to see and helps sell you the action which is the reason why I love to see full character animation in my games rather than just looking at hands.
 

Roufianos

Member
bethesda third person modes typically ain't all that because of how mediocre the avatar animations are... the ones in New Vegas are so fucking awful (I know, it's an Obsidian Project)

Starfield is the first game where the third person animations look actually competent and interesting to use
Oh I agree but I'd still take half-assed third person anyday. Glad to hear about Starfield though, literally just about to boot it up.
 

Guilty_AI

Member
I hate some first person games for a simple reason: low fow, camera shake and headbobbing. And if the game also has frame drops and screen tearing, like Borderlands on the ps3 has, well...

In Hell Swerk GIF


I love and hate arkane games, Dishonored is so cool, but I just can't play more than 20 minutes without feeling sick.
This is a good point too. First person games are really sensitive to things like FOV, frame-pacing, tearing, camera-effects like montion blur and shake. It all needs to be very well balanced and if anything is off it'll likely give you headaches or make you feel sick.
 
Last edited:

Guilty_AI

Member
For me seeing my character actually move and interact is much more impressive than just looking at the hands. Also it just not always about immersion, good animation is fun to see and helps sell you the action which is the reason why I love to see full character animation in my games rather than just looking at hands
I meant more in the way i could, for example, go on to a shelf and pick up the specific item i wanted by looking at it, whereas a third person game would have to come up with some type of solution for this since you're just bringing the character there.

Another case, in melee combat for example, with first person i can directly point where i want my attack to hit, head, legs, hands, etc; You don't have that type of control when you're playing on third person.
 
Top Bottom