Ever since Doom became a mainstream hit, first-person shooters, or Doom clones, as they were originally called, have easily taken the throne as the most popular gaming genre. While originally thought to be a genre only possible, or at least enjoyable, on PCs, console FPS games have come so far that they now equal or eclipse the number of players on PC. In the decades since we started shooting demons, FPS games have explored just about every possible setting, time period, and style. Sure, we’re still shooting demons today, but in a way that looks and plays far better than ever before.
The PlayStation 5 is the perfect home for FPS titles. Not only can it pump out the best graphics of any Sony console to date, but the solid-state drive allows for insane loading speeds, and the DualSense controller’s adaptive triggers can make each gun feel unique in your hands. There is plenty of variety in what type of FPS you can play on your PS5, from realistic military shooters and post-apocalyptic survival horror to bright and colorful comedic games and pure multiplayer experiences. Whatever your taste is for a shooter, these are the best FPS games available on the PS5.
Note that while some of these titles do have dedicated PS5 versions, the ones that don’t still have enhancements on PS5 that make them the best place to place them.
Further reading
- The best upcoming PS5 games
- The best multiplayer games on the PS5
- The best free FPS games you can play right now
Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War
It would be impossible to make a list of the best FPS games without putting the latest Call of Duty title somewhere on there, so we figured we might as well get it out of the way first. Love it or hate it, the Call of Duty franchise consistently has the bestselling game year after year, and it’s easy to see why. Over the years, the various teams behind this franchise have fine-tuned their gunplay to an almost surgical level. Aiming is responsive, the sound design is unmatched, and the visual feedback is designed to be addicting. It doesn’t matter if the guns are old, modern, or sci-fi inspired, they know how to make shooting feel good, and that’s all most people want out of an FPS.
Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War was the first cross-generational title to hit the PS5. This game is technically the fifth in the Black Ops sub-series of Call of Duty and takes place, you guessed it, during the Cold War. The Black Ops games have always had some of the stronger campaigns, and this one is no exception. You get a story with varied mission types and side objectives, plus a full multiplayer mode and the famous Zombies mode. On PS5, you’ll be running at a buttery smooth 120 frames per second with options for ray tracing and 4K resolution, plus integrated haptic feedback on the triggers for a fully immersive warzone experience.
Metro Exodus
Based on the Polish novel series, Metro Exodus is technically the third game in the Metro series following last generation’s Metro 2033 and Metro Last Light. Each game has managed to achieve gameplay and visual performance leaps and bounds above its prior entry, and Metro Exodus is the current peak of this team’s efforts. It originally launched in 2019 but was given a full next-generation upgrade with amazing 4K visuals, ray tracing, and a boost to a locked 60 fps. Naturally, a higher frame rate would improve any FPS, but the graphical and lighting improvements really shine (get it?) in this game where the environments are essentially characters unto themselves.
If you never played a Metro game before, just know that they’re slower-paced games. The entire game can be summed up as bleak and desperate. You play in the post-apocalyptic world of Russia where mutated creatures and desperate survivors roam the irradiated landscape just trying to survive. You play as Artyom, a survivor who lived in the metro for his entire life, scrounging just to survive, but now venturing out into the world after discovering and taking control of a train. You lead a band of characters trying to find any survivors outside of Moscow. Between sneaking by and shooting mutants and humans, you can explore and scavenge materials to modify your improvised and hand-crafted weapons. If you enjoy survival horror, this game offers the best of that in a tight FPS.
Read our full Metro Exodus review
Destiny 2
Former Halo fans may not be able to play Halo Infinite on the PS5, but the original creators at Bungie have brought their mastery of FPS gameplay into their new creation. Destiny 2 has come a long way over many updates, expansions, and patches to where it is today. One thing that hasn’t changed much, and never had a need to, was the gunplay. Without the smooth, satisficing, and addictive feeling the entire arsenal found in Destiny 2 has, let alone how good even just moving through the world is, this shared-world looter shooter wouldn’t be half the success it is. Thankfully, we don’t have to imagine what that world would be, and instead, get to enjoy all the improvements the PS5 version gives us. Not settling for just 60 fps, the PS5 can push all the way up to 120 fps, plus 4K visuals.
The story of Destiny 2 has gone through a lot of changes and is constantly evolving with each new expansion. Knowing Bungie, and how deep they went with the lore of the Halo franchise, rest assured that if you’re looking for a deep story, you can dig one out here. If you just need an excuse to shoot aliens, then there’s more than enough motivation on the surface, too. Add on the powers and classes to the shooting, plus a range of activities to play either solo, cooperatively, or competitively, and there’s almost too much content for new players without even touching on the loot aspects. Being free to play is just the icing on the cake.
Read our full Destiny 2 review
Borderlands 3
If you took Destiny 2, stripped out the shared world aspects, gave it a cel-shaded art style, and rewrote the story to be full of memes, parodies, and puns, then you’d have something close to Borderlands 3. This series was kind of the inspiration for what Destiny would become when it first came out. It paved the way for FPS games to start having more robust RPG elements like leveling up, skills, and classes, but also the idea of tons of loot. Seriously, this series markets itself on the sheer number of guns it has. If you get that little tickle of pleasure when you kill a boss and a fountain of colored guns explode out all over the ground for you to sift through, look no further than Borderlands 3.
Whether the humor of Borderlands 3 lands with you or not, the gameplay on PS5 certainly will. Once again, we get the amazing 120 fps that was almost never seen on consoles, plus the haptic feedback and also four-player local coop. You can of course play with your friends online as well, but it is always great to see the option for couch coop in a game that is just so much more enjoyable with friends. And just because this isn’t an ongoing service game like Destiny 2 doesn’t mean you’ll run out of content any time soon. The base game is meaty enough, but there have also been multiple expansions and DLC packs added that keep the good times rolling.
Rainbow Six Siege
For all of you hardcore multiplayer FPS fans who have top-of-the-line headsets so good you can tell what type of boot an enemy is wearing just by the sound of their footsteps, Rainbow Six Siege has soldiered on to PS5 as the premier squad-based tactical FPS. Whether you’ve been there since the game’s rough launch or are just considering getting into it, Rainbow Six Siege has earned its dedicated fanbase. The PS5 offers two different settings for its version of the game: Performance mode and Resolution mode. Performance mode targets 120 fos with a 4K dynamic resolution scaling system, while Resolution mode sticks to 4K visuals and a lower 60 fps target. If you’re looking to compete at the top levels, that Performance mode will be the one to go for, but more options are always appreciated.
There’s no story in this entry of Rainbow Six, so unless you’re dedicated to learning the multiplayer, this FPS won’t be for you. If you do dedicate your time and attention to learning this incredibly deep, dynamic, and tense game, then you’ll be rewarded with one of the most satisfying experiences on the console. There are tons of operators to learn, each with gadgets and abilities to make every match unique. When you add in the insane levels of destruction, even a map you play hundreds of times can surprise you when a wall gets blown open or you find a new angle you can shoot a hole through to peak at enemies. Considering how long this game’s been going, the upgrades it got for PS5 only suggest it will stick around for a long time yet.
Read our full Rainbow Six Siege review
Doom Eternal
Coming back full circle to the series that kicked off the FPS craze in the early ’90s, it isn’t out of obligation that we believe Doom Eternal is one of the best FPS games on the market today. Even removing the legacy of this series, which we imagine a lot of modern gamers don’t even know about firsthand, this game is pure, unfiltered, ultra-violent fun with a gun. This was another title that first hit on last-gen consoles but was given a quick upgrade to the PS5. You can choose between either the silky 120 fps mode or turn on ray tracing to get a better look at your grinning reflection in the pools of demon blood you’ll be spilling. This may be the last Doom game PS5 owners get, so don’t pass on it.
The Doom games go back decades now, but you don’t even really have to have played the 2016 reboot to jump in on
Read our full: Doom Eternal review
Apex Legends
When talking about FPS games, we can’t ignore the most popular game mode on the market. Battle royale games come in all types, but in the FPS crowd, there are a few standout titles. Apex Legends launched without any warning and took elements from Titan Fall, hero shooters, and other battle royale hits to make one of the most unique takes on the genre. You and two friends can squad up, each selecting a character with their own distinct abilities, strengths, and weaknesses, to try and come out on top. Movement and gunplay are sublime, allowing for a level of control while pulling off crazy stunts that no other battle royale can quite match.
Apex Legends is still getting its PS5 upgrades, with the all-important frame-rate boost still to come, but they have confirmed that they’re looking to lock down a 120 fps target. In the meantime, your PS5 can still take advantage of higher resolutions, now hitting 1440p and much faster loading times. The game already looks great, thanks to a vibrant art style, so that extra visual bump only makes it shine even more. With over 10 seasons of content, including plenty of new Legends, guns, and map changes, this free-to-play FPS will only get better with time on your PS5.
Read our full Apex Legends review
Overwatch
Our last pick isn’t so much for the improvements, since Blizzard hasn’t really dedicated many resources to making Overwatch run considerably better on PS5. Instead, it’s just due to the fact that this hero shooter is still the king when it comes to the genre. With nearly six years of additional content under its belt, Overwatch has added tons of maps, now has over 30 characters to pick from, and has an addictive progression system. It is one of those games that’s easy to jump into, thanks to the cartoonish aesthetic and intuitive controls, but deep enough for a professional league to spawn with top teams competing for crazy prize pools.
The PS5 really does the heavy lifting when playing this game. Load times are better, and even some technical glitches are removed just by running on stronger hardware. When things get hectic on the battlefield, which is a common occurrence when multiple heroes chain their ultimate abilities, for example, the PS5 never stutters for a second. Other visual issues, like heroes appearing with low textures when selecting them, are also gone. We do wish they would give us a frame-rate boost, which would really make this game sing, but for now, we’re content with it just running at a rock-solid frame rate and generally performing at its best.
Read our full Overwatch review
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