5 third-person shooter games whose gunplay is unfriendly for beginners

Third-person shooters have been a staple in video games for many decades. While first-person shooters have the camera show you your point of view (POV) to give you a truly authentic feel, they often become claustrophobic and heavy during intense shootouts. Third-person shooters, on the other hand, have a floating camera set behind the main character.

They are are generally easier to play out than FPS games, as you get a 360-degree angle of what’s happening around the character. In such games, the protagonist and his actions are visible while he or she jumps, glides, and slides around the 3D world environment.

This feature focuses on the third-person shooter games that have put in a lot of effort into their gunplay to make it look as authentic as possible. They have done this while also maintaining an engaging narrative, character backstories, and overall storyline.

Note: This article reflects the writer’s views and choices.

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5 third-person shooter games with accurate gunplay that beginners may struggle with

1) Red Dead Redemption 2

Developer Rockstar Games did a fantastic job in re-creating a vast open world depicting the American Wild West of the 19th century. The title possesses smart NPC characters with deep backstories, which makes exploring the map a captivating experience.

Credit also must be given to the developer as the third-person shooter elements are tough to execute. This is especially true when you are riding a horse and trying to take down a group of Bounty Hunters. The general motion and body movements while you are about to shoot are realistic, unlike most of battle royale titles available in the market.

Moreover, the guns and revolvers represented in Red Dead Redemption 2 are accurately depicted right from their fire rate to range. This forces gamers to take a tactical approach every time they want to spew some trouble.

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2) Sleeping Dogs

To put it simple, Sleeping Dogs offers a great crime adventure that is comparable to GTA and Mafia games. But what really sets the title apart is its combat. In this enthralling third-person shooter, you take on the role of a Chinese-American police officer, who goes undercover to take on the Triads.

Sleeping Dogs features the combat elements of the GTA series and Yakuza games rolled into one comprehensive action-adventure title, which makes it worth checking out. It combines elements of martial arts and brutal hand-to-hand combat, in addition to addictive gunfights.

The combat system in Sleeping Dogs is heavily influenced by action movies from Honk Kong, and showcases Wei’s impressive martial art skills and ability to take down multiple enemies with finesse. It encourages fluidity in movement and precision in aiming, which is hard to get a hang of at the beginning.

Therefore, the dynamic third-person shooter elements and the general combat filled with martial art combos will leave you with spoilt for choices. Mastering them into one coherent pattern can be a difficult process in Sleeping Dogs in the beginning. However, the visceral experience of taking on multiple gang members is totally worth the grind.

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3) The Mafia series

While the Mafia series primarily focusses on the narrative aspects of organized crime, it also provides challenging third-person shooter mechanics. The weapons featured are faithful to the respective eras they represent, with guns having authentic designs and characteristics.

From classic firemarms like the Thompson sub-machine guns to period appropriate shotguns and revolvers, the arsenal of weapons in the Mafia series is a good representative of the times the games are staged in.

Furthermore, the cover system in the Mafia series is well-implemented, allowing you to strategically take cover behind objects during intense shootouts. The physics of the gunfights, such as the impact of bullet and your reaction when being shot, adds to the overall realism and immersiveness. This forces you to be on your toes and alert all the time.

Therefore, it can be fair to say that the overall third-person gunfights in the Mafia series is a level up from the GTA franchise.

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4) The Last of Us series

Apart from having one of the most compelling storylines in video gaming history, the combat and shooting mechanics featured in both of the Last of Us titles are hard to master in the beginning. The third-person shooter elements are designed to be harsh and grounded to reality.

Both the titles emphasize a scarcity of resources, where every bullet counts. You have to carefully consider your shots and conserve ammunition, as supplies are limited in the unforgiving post-apocalyptic environment of The Last of Us games.

Additionally, aiming requires precision and accuracy is rewarded well. Similarly, missing your shots can have serious repercussions. The combat scenarios in The Last of Us series requires you to take on a tactical approach, where you can choose between different kinds of takeovers, from ranged attacks to stealth ones, or a combination of both. This adds more depth to the already challenging gunplay.

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5) Tom Clancy’s The Division

Ubisoft’s announcement of a live-service Tom Clancy game titled Tom Clancy’s The Division generated a lot of buzz when it first came around. Apart from being a third-person shooter, it also has plenty of RPG elements for you to enjoy. The story revolves around a deadly virus outbreak called the Green Poison, which has spread throughout the snow-capped city of New York like a wildfire.

In this title, you face tougher enemies with larger health bars, compared to other action-adventure titles, and thus require precise aiming and more firepower to overcome them. Furthermore, the multiplayer mode includes challenging raids, dark zones for intense missions, and additional online modes like Skirmish, Resistance, and Survival to test your mettle.