The most popular first person 3D games

In 1983, Battlezone asked: what if vector graphics could give you war-induced vertigo? You’re in a tank, in a wireframe world, fighting other tanks. That’s it. But it’s oddly immersive—thanks to a pseudo-3D first-person view that was mind-blowing at the time. Think of it as the grandparent of every FPS ever, minus the textur...

Thief: The Dark Project is a first-person stealth video game developed by Looking Glass Studios and published by Eidos Interactive. Released in 1998, it is considered a groundbreaking title in the stealth genre and has had a significant influence on subsequent games in the genre. The game is set in a dark, medieval, steampunk world. Players ta...

Magic Carpet is an action shooter game set in a fictional Middle East developed by Bullfrog and released by Electronic Arts in 1994 for DOS and Macintosh. Your goal is to fly around a magic carpet and collect mana to expand your castle. When you reach the required mana "equilibrium" you move on to the next world and so on.

Elite Plus is an enhanced version of the classic space trading and combat simulator Elite, released by MicroPlay in 1991 for MS-DOS. It was designed as an update to the original 1984 game, improving graphics, performance, and overall playability while keeping the core gameplay intact. Unlike the original wireframe vector graphics, Elite Plus i...

Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe is a combat flight simulation game developed and published by Lucasfilm Games (later known as LucasArts) in 1991. It was designed for MS-DOS systems and later released for Amiga computers. The game was notable for its detailed and immersive portrayal of aerial combat during World War II, particularly focusing on the ...

Strike Commander is combat flight simulation game created by Chris Roberts (the designer behind Wing Commander) and Jeff George. Strike Commander was developed by Origin Systems and released by Electronic Arts in 1993 for DOS.

Mines of Titan (also known as Mars Saga for other platforms) is an abandoned single-player RPG with a sci-fi setting (you're going to Mars!). Mines of Titan was developed by Westwood Studios and released by Infocom in 1989 for DOS, Apple II and Commodore 64.

Ultimate DOOM is an expanded version of the original DOOM (1993), developed by id Software and released in 1995. It includes all three original episodes of DOOM along with a brand-new fourth episode, Thy Flesh Consumed. The game follows the Doomguy, a lone space marine battling his way through hordes of demons after an experiment by the Union ...

Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss is one of the first free-roaming first-person 3D ARPG (action RPG) ever created. The Stygian Abyss is the dungeon of the same name, part of the land of Britannia, and it's set in the Ultima universe created by Richard Garriott. Ultima Underworld was designed by Paul Neurath, developed by Blue Sky Productions and...

Wolfenstein 3D is the first-person shooter that popularized the whole genre in the early 90s and is considered one of the greatest games ever made. Wolfenstein 3D was designed by John Romero and Tom Hall (id Software) and released as shareware by Apogee Software in 1992 for DOS. Wolfenstein 3D is based on the Wolf3D engine, programmed by John ...

Alternate Reality: The City is a role-playing video game developed by Paradise Programming for various platforms including Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, and Commodore 64. It was released in 1985. In Alternate Reality: The City, players find themselves in a mysterious and surreal city known as simply "The City". The game takes place in a fantasy setti...

Quarantine is a futuristic racing/driving game released by GameTek in 1994 for DOS. Quarantine is set in a dark dystopian futuristic city where the player drives around in a taxi cab, picking up passengers and killing everyone else. If you loved Carmageddon, you will also like Quarantine. Stay away if you don't like gratuitous violence, gore and bl...

Aces of the Pacific (1992, DOS) takes to the skies over WWII’s Pacific Theater, where you can dogfight in legendary aircraft and prove your piloting prowess — or spin into the sea with style. The graphics are dated, but the ambition was sky-high. You’ll battle Zeros, manage fuel, and wonder how pilots did any of this without save ...

Wizardry VI: Bane of the Cosmic Forge is a role-playing game (RPG) developed by Sir-Tech and released in 1990. It's the sixth installment in the long-running "Wizardry" series. The game begins with the player's party investigating a castle where the Cosmic Forge, a powerful magical pen capable of rewriting reality, was once used by a mad king ...

MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries is a standalone expansion to MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat, released in 1996 by Activision. Part of the larger BattleTech universe, the game puts players in control of a customizable BattleMech as they assume the role of a freelance mercenary pilot in the turbulent 31st century. MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries introd...