Interesting 3D Ground Shooter games

Games where most of the time is spent shooting things in three dimensional levels with limited range of movement.

360 No Scope Arena (link)

Every player has to do a full rotation with their camera to get a few seconds to take the shot.

60 Second Strike (link)

You can’t die but you have 60 seconds to complete the level. Killing things will give you more time but getting hurt will take away time. Between levels, upgrades can be purchased.

Aftercharge (link)

Players are divided into two teams. One team consists of invisible players that have melee attack, can resurrect their dead team mates and their goal is to destroy all extractors on the map. The players in other team are invincible, have guns and must protect the extractors and kill the other team. Players can choose from different classes with different abilities.

AirBuccaneers (link)

Two teams of players, both have access to various airships they can get on. While one player steers, other man the guns and repair the airship. Players gain experience which allows them to select skills from a skill tree. To choose a beneficial skill, a detrimental skill has to be selected too, but skills can be changed at will. Players can defend the airship by blocking enemy projectiles and can jump over to enemy ship to fight players directly.

Aliens Versus Predator 2 (link)

As alien, you can cling to and climb on any surface, including the ceiling.

Alien Vs Predator (link)

As an alien, you can cocoon enemies which will be used to respawn you after death. As the predator, weapons require certain amount of honor points to be used. Killing gives points, unless you kill while invisible which removes points. Loading a save respawns enemies and items.

ArcabriX (link)

Shoot randomly appearing bricks in VR. Shooting a brick has a variety of effects. You need to gain enough score to continue to next level before the bricks fill out all empty space.

ArmA III (link)

Combined arms first person shooter. Large focus on realism.
Player can get into many body positions to better hide behind cover. Magazines instead of ammo pool. Ballistics simulation including penetration and unexploded bombs. Aim affected by injuries and fatigue. Peripheral visions using markers at the screen edge and blindness from sun. Proximity voice chat. Vehicles with components that can break. Mines and mine detectors.
Very large levels with many AI controlled units. Player can command their own squad. Orientation using a map and a compass. Can use bases and trucks to heal, refuel and rearm. Missions have optional objectives that have influence on future missions. Some campaigns have factions with reputation system. A game mode where players capture strategic locations to gain points for purchasing AI squad mates, vehicles and automated defenses. A different game mode where one player is a game master that can change the level while people play it.

Atomega (link)

Players are picking up matter to level up into bigger and stronger creatures. Picking matter and killing players increases score, reaching max level gives extra score and after a while will revert player into first level again. The player with biggest score at the end of the match wins.

Battleborn (link)

One of the multiplayer modes has two teams of players who are trying to destroy the enemy team’s robot. The robots are invulnerable unless attacked by enemy team’s minions. These are controlled by AI and continuously replenished. Players choose a hero to play, they level up which allows choosing one of two upgrades, can build defensive towers and can pick equipment before the match which they activate by spending money gathered during the match.

Blacklight: Retribution (link)

Multiplayer game where every player has rechargable ability to see players through walls for a short time.

Block N Load (link)

The maps are made of destructible cubes. Players can dig through them and place new ones, including various trap cubes. The goal is to destroy enemy core. Before match starts, players have time to build on their side of the map. Multiple characters with their own abilities.

BPM: Bullets Per Minute (link)

You can only shoot, reload and use special abilities in synchronization with the game’s rhythm. Multiple characters with different abilities and restrictions.

CYCOM: Cybernet Combat (link)

You have two guns, one for each hand. Once in a while you can select power cards to attach to your guns and use them during the game. The level is made of a tile grid. You can only move on tiles that belong to you. The same applies to enemies.

Daemon X Machina (link)

You control a customizable mech that can shoot, melee, walk, slide and fly. Mech consists of multiple parts and weapons which can be destroyed but you can replace them with those found during the mission. You can boost both on ground and in air, spending stamina, but running out of stamina will force you to land. You can lock on targets which activates auto aim. You can equip a shield to block projectiles. You can also leave the mech to repair it and fight without it.
Mech has the ability to temporarily shield itself, increase damage or make boost faster and not consume stamina. These abilities recharge over time. Mech has an energy meter, that is used for reviving allies, some weapons and creating a temporary AI controlled copy of itself. Mech’s abilities can only fully recharge when the energy meter is full. The energy is gained over time and from destroyed enemies.

Dead and Buried II (link)

VR shooter with multiple modes. One of them is the Shootout where players are placed around the map in view of each other. They can’t move but they can take cover and shoot at other players.

Dead Space (link)

Shooting enemies in the body does little damage, you need to dismember them instead. You can temporarily slow down enemies and objects. Can’t shoot without going into aiming stance which slows you down. There are zero gravity areas where you can walk on walls and jump between them.

Deathgarden: Bloodharvest (link)

One hunter vs five scavengers. Scavengers have an ability and a bow. Bow is used to notify others of crates and temporarily disable drones and turrets. Scavengers collect blood on the map and deliver it to specific points. They can climb walls and hide in bushes. Hunter has ability and guns. Hunter can activate drones and hack crates, both used to highlight scavengers that gets close. Most actions give experience to the player for leveling up between matches. When scavengers lose all health and get into wounded state, hunter can execute them to remove them from the match or let them survive to get them again later for more experience points. Crates can restore health or ammo. When enough blood is collected, enough scavengers dead or enough time passed, extraction begins. During extraction scavengers are highlighted and must escape before hunter gets them.

DESYNC (link)

You can perform combos, like dodging an enemy before shooting it or staggering an enemy before killing it with a headshot, which will give you benefit, like extra damage or health drop. Doing combos builds up a meter which makes you faster. Some enemies have buffs that make them more powerful, but you can select some of the combos you know to have an added effect of disabling the buff when you perform them on the enemy.

DOOM Eternal (link)

Player relies on killing enemies in specific ways to replenish their health, armor and ammo reserves. Enemies are stripped of their weapons and armor as they are damaged. One enemy materializes walls to stop player’s movement and projectiles.

Drunk or Dead (link)

You have to shoot zombies and drink alcohol at the same time in VR. Both zombies and having low alcohol level will kill you. Getting drunk will cause blurry and double vision.

Due Process (link)

Two teams fight on maps that are generated anew every week. Walls on the map can be breached. Before match starts, team can agree on a plan and draw marks and paths on the map. Players in team have shared inventory of weapons and consumables they pick from. There are multiple rounds and the inventory does not refresh between them.

Dystopia (link)

Players compete to accomplish a set of objectives on the map. The game has two maps, one is physical world where players shoot at each other as usual, the other is cyberspace, which can be accessed using terminals in the physical world. In cyberspace you have different weapons, can walk on walls and can find terminals for taking control over things in physical world like doors and turrets. Players can be forced out of cyberspace by other players in it, or by getting killed in physical world.

Embr (link)

Players cooperate on saving people from burning building. They have fire extinguishers to slow down the fire progress but they can’t stop it. The amount of saved people and how fast it is done determines final reward.

Garry's Mod (link)

Sandbox shooter. You can spawn whatever things and characters you want, modify their attributes, build weird contraptions using the game’s physics, create your own game modes and add more things into the game.

Giants: Citizen Kabuto (link)

In multiplayer, there are three teams of 5 people with jetpacks and firearms, 3 magic capable warriors and 1 giant monster. The map contains neutral creatures that are used by players to construct their base and unlock stronger weapons, with the exception of the giant, which just eats them to grow stronger and eventually to create offspring which can be ordered around. Apart from punches and kicks, the giant can also grab things or other players, throw them and carry around creatures on its horns. It also has a small weak spot on belly, that is uncovered when an enemy gets close enough and a single hit there will kill the giant.

Ground Zero Texas: Nuclear Edition (link)

Shoot aliens in live action cut-scenes. You have four cameras to switch between and they can be damaged which will worsen the image quality until the camera is destroyed.

Gunman Chronicles (link)

The weapons have many modes that the player can switch between. For example, the shotgun allows for choosing the amount of shells fired at once and their spread or the rocket launcher allows switching between unguided, guided or homing, choosing the payload type and whether it explodes on impact or turns into a laser tripped mine.

Left 4 Dead 2 (link)

In the versus mode, one team plays as survivors trying to get through levels and finish the campaign where as the other team controls special infected and tries to stop them.

Mazer II (link)

You can shoot 4 different kinds of energy, which have different effect on the objects and creatures in the game. Creative energy creates, restores and shows friendly intentions, while destructive energy does the opposite. Positive energy shows agreement and negative energy denies.

Metal Arms: Glitch in the System (link)

The game has weapons that allow you to convert to your side or take direct control over enemies and, in multiplayer, other players. Damage to various body parts will cause them to fall off or break, resulting in enemies shooting in random directions.

Midwinter (link)

Open world with settlements and enemies roaming around. The goal is to destroy enemy buildings and units. You start with one character and can recruit more. You control all the characters simultaneously by switching between them. The game is divided into 2 hour in-game time intervals. You spend the time with each character in parallel and then advance to the next interval.

Prey (link)

There are enemy aliens that can shapeshift to common objects. Scanning alive aliens unlocks their abilities for the player. Shapeshifting into a small object allows moving through small gaps. There are friendly robots that will become hostile when player has too many alien abilities. Player gets a gun that shoots sticky balls that can immobilize enemies and be used to climb walls.

Red Faction: Guerrilla (link)

Player progresses in equipment and story by destroying enemy bases. Hitting buildings blows pieces off, eventually making them collapse which creates a hazardous environment for both the player and the enemies.

Renegade X (link)

Players are divided into two teams, each have their own base made of destructible buildings. Each player has their reserve of money which increases over time and when their AI controlled harvester returns from field to refinery. Players spawn as basic soldier but they can pay to get better class and gear or spawn a vehicle. They can also find these in randomly appearing crates. The goal is to destroy the enemy base. Damaged buildings can be repaired but destroyed can’t be rebuild. Losing a building will prevent the team from using its function, like spawning vehicles in case of the factory.

Robocraft (link)

Players design their own robot by combining basic building blocks and parts like wheels, legs, wings, ability blocks or weapons. In the game they lose pieces of their robot as they get damaged, potentially losing access to their weapons or the ability to move around.

Sanctum 2 (link)

You defend the core from waves of enemies. Between waves you can place blocks to lengthen the path of enemies and build automatic turrets on them. After each wave you get more blocks and money to place or upgrade towers. During the wave you use your weapons to help kill the enemies.

Screencheat (link)

All four players are completely invisible but have a split screen so everyone can see what the others are looking at. From this they are trying to figure out where the other players are and shoot them.

Serious Sam: The Second Encounter (link)

You get to fight a lot of enemies at once.

Shades of Doom (link)

The game has no graphics. Player has to rely on sound of their footsteps, monsters and other audio cues in order to navigate the levels, defend from monsters and accomplish their goals.

Silent Line: Armored Core (link)

You do missions with a customizable mech. You can also fight in an arena which has 1v1 and 2v2 modes. For the arena you get an AI controlled partner mech which you can train by fighting with it. It will learn how you play and will then fight the same way.

Superhot (link)

When you stand still the time almost stops. When you move, the time flows normally. Guns shoot projectiles which can be dodged but also blocked with your own projectiles. Objects and weapons can be thrown and picked up in the air.

SWAT 3: Tactical Game of the Year Edition (link)

You command a team of AI officers. You can order them to cover area, clear rooms after throwing grenade there, check places with mirror, secure suspects etc. They are smart enough to not stand in the open, lean around corners, cover exits and do independently most of the actions you do, like picking up weapons, cuffing suspects and reporting to command. In each level you have objectives to accomplish and you have to deal with civilians and armed enemies which have randomized positions and will wander around or hide.

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield (link)

The game has objective based missions which player completes with help of AI operatives. There is a planning phase before the mission. During it the player can place waypoints which the AI operatives will move to, execute actions or wait there for a go signal from player. During the mission, specific orders can be issued outside the plan. Because everyone can die fast, slow progress through mission is encouraged. That is supported by various equipment and details like the ability to partially open doors. Operatives have different attributes and can behave differently during the mission. Has cooperative mode.

Tribes: Vengeance (link)

Players have jump packs and the ability to slide on terrain, achieving high speeds by sliding down hills. The maps are large, so players have enough room to fly around. All weapons are projectile based, many of them explosive, which require good leading to hit the player in movement. To support this high speed movement, the game has modes like capture the flag which forces players to chase after the flag thief. There are also vehicles and a grappling hook which allows quick change in direction.

Warfork (link)

Players can move very fast by gaining speed through strafe jumping or rocket jumping and preserve the speed as long as they keep jumping. They can also dash to make a sudden change in movement direction. There are weapons, armor and health respawning around the match that players compete to collect while shooting each other.

Ziggurat II (link)

Player goes through randomly generated 5 floor dungeons with one of few characters with different abilities, each time starting at level 1 with two starting weapons. In the dungeon, random weapons and ability amulets can be found. Dungeon rooms require completing objectives, defeating enemies and eventually the boss. Each level up allows picking one of few random perks. Coins to purchase things and reroll perk choice. After complete run the used weapons and characters get permanently better and points are earned for permanent upgrade tree.

Honorable mentions

APB: Reloaded
Consortium
Cruelty Squad
Cryostasis
Delta Force 2
Dust 514
E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy
Forbes Corporate Warrior
Golly! Ghost!
Orion: Prelude
Postal 2
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat
Scorn
Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri
The Curse of Nordic Cove

signature