The Best First-Person Shooters on the PS1

15. Kileak: The DNA Imperative

• Release Date — January 27, 1995
• Developer — Genki
• Publisher — Sony Computer Entertainment
• Review Aggregate Score — 56% (Mixed or Average)
• User Score — N/A

Genki’s Kileak: The DNA Imperative would end up being one of the first original FPS titles developed for the PS1, and frankly, it shows. Still, this early console exclusive is not without its charm, even if it does need to come with a warning for any players with even a hint of motion sickness. Unlike a lot of other first-person shooters of the era, Kileak takes place from a purely first-person perspective and opts not to even show the player’s weapon, instead cluttering up the game’s HUD with a series of large screens displaying the player’s health, a mini-map, and their current weapon selection. Levels are mostly corridor mazes that look the same and are all too easy to get lost in. But the game’s surprisingly compelling sci-fi plot and place as one of the original first-person shooters on the PS1 has helped earn it a cult following.

14. Hexen: Beyond Heretic

• Release Date — May 16, 1997
• Developer — Raven Software
• Publisher — id Software, GT Interactive
• Review Aggregate Score — N/A
• User Score — 80% (Generally Favorable)

Listen — if you’ve ever played the PS1 version of Hexen, you already know it’s arguably the worst version of one of the FPS genre’s greatest early games. But when the foundation you’re working with is as good as Hexen: Beyond Heretic, there’s still something to love about a sub-par version of the experience, especially if the PS1 happened to be your only console and way of playing this Raven Software classic. Unlike the superior N64 version of Hexen (which is probably one of the console’s great shooters as well), the PS1 release of Hexen is a technical mess that struggles to maintain sub-30FPS framerates, which does little to alleviate the game’s notoriously substantial challenge. End of the day, though, it’s still Hexen, which is a massive improvement over the already great Heretic and one of the first FPS titles to really move the needle forward for the genre post-Doom.

13. Resident Evil Survivor

• Release Date — January 27, 2000
• Developer — Tose
• Publisher — Capcom
• Review Aggregate Score — 39% (Generally Unfavorable)
• User Score — 60% (Mixed or Average)

While the review scores for Resident Evil Survivor might have you believe that it’s one of the worst games in the franchise, the truth is that it’s a lot better than most give it credit for. One of the major criticisms levied at the game at the time of its release was its lack of light gun support (which, admittedly, does seem odd for an on-rails shooter), but the game actually controls fairly well with a standard PS1 controller.

The slower pace of Survivor helps it to still maintain some semblance of being a true Resident Evil experience rather than a Resident Evil-skinned clone of House of the Dead, and if you choose to play it like a self-contained FPS title where you move from room-to-room on a predetermined path, the game can be pretty fun. Just don’t go in expecting a light gun game or a traditional Resident Evil game.

12. The World Is Not Enough

• Release Date — November 7, 2000
• Developer — Black Ops Entertainment
• Publisher — Electronic Arts
• Review Aggregate Score — 61% (Mixed or Average)
• User Score — 78% (Generally Favorable)

Considering PS1 owners missed out on James Bond games until the release of 1999’s Tomorrow Never Dies while N64 owners had the classic GoldenEye to keep them company that whole time, the arrival of The World Is Not Enough was a welcome reprieve. This licensed FPS game is actually fairly close to GoldenEye in that it sees players take on the role of the MI6 super spy as he makes his way through several iconic locales taken from the events of the 19th James Bond film, completing level-specific objectives and taking out enemies along the way.

Interestingly enough, the PS1 and N64 versions of the game are quite different from one another, and there’s a strong case that, for once, the PS1 ended up getting the superior version of an FPS. Stacked up against Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough is clearly the better James Bond game on the PS1.

11. Alien: Resurrection

• Release Date — October 20, 2000
• Developer — Argonaut Games
• Publisher — Fox Interactive
• Review Aggregate Score — 61% (Mixed or Average)
• User Score — 68% (Mixed or Average)

Argonaut Games just resurfaced after almost 20 years of inactivity to revamp its 3D platforming classic Croc: Legend of the Gobbos, but my personal favorite title to come from the studio is the largely overlooked Alien: Resurrection. Based on the fourth film in the Alien franchise of the same name, Alien: Resurrection is a great follow-up to the excellent Alien Trilogy that stands as one of the greatest first-person shooters on the PS1 and one of the best Alien games. What makes both Alien: Resurrection andAlien Trilogy special among FPS titles of the era are their many survival horror elements (something that was still new for its time) and the clear respect and admiration both games have for their source material and license. In many ways, Alien: Resurrection, the game, is far superior to the film it’s based on, and it’s tough as nails to boot.

10. Forsaken

• Release Date — April 24, 1998
• Developer — Probe Entertainment
• Publisher — Acclaim Entertainment
• Review Aggregate Score — 75% (Generally Favorable)
• User Score — 67% (Mixed or Average)

Like Kileak, Forsaken is a game that should come with a motion sickness warning. But if you’re like me and don’t need to keep Dramamine on hand when playing a game with a bouncing camera, Forsaken is one of the great FPS/shmup hybrids of the era — something that was surprisingly common in the mid-to-late 1990s. Of course, the game’s PC and N64 versions are far superior to the PS1 release thanks to the PlayStation version’s slightly inferior technical performance, but the PS1 version is essentially a 1:1 port of the PC original, while the N64 version is an almost entirely different game. Plus, with the opportunity for different paths to open up throughout the game depending on the route players take through levels and which targets they destroy, Forsaken offered up plenty of replay value for its time.

9. Codename Tenka

• Release Date — June 19, 1997
• Developer — Psygnosis
• Publisher — Psygnosis
• Review Aggregate Score — 74% (Mixed or Average)
• User Score — N/A

Game developer Psygnosis has a pretty stellar track record of titles on the PS1, but one that never seems to get enough attention is the excellent Codename Tenka. This 1997 first-person shooter was arguably the best-looking and best-running first-person shooter on the PS1 at the time of its release. Even stacked up against FPSes arriving later in the console’s lifespan, it still looks and plays great. Though it does play it somewhat safe when it comes to sticking to genre convention, one area where Codename Tenka innovates is with its aiming, acting as one of the first console FPS titles where players could stand still to adjust the aim of their weapon — something that would be a staple of the two excellent Medal of Honor games on the PS1.

8. Final Doom

• Release Date — October 1, 1996
• Developer — TeamTNT
• Publisher — Williams Entertainment
• Review Aggregate Score — 81% (Generally Favorable)
• User Score — 87% (Generally Favorable)

The fan-made Final Doom expansions to the original 1993 Doom rank among some of the best content ever produced for that seminal first-person shooter, enough to where id Software would end up contracting developer TeamTNT to produce a full retail version of the levels it created. Of course, the massive success of Doom‘s PS1 port all but ensured that Williams Entertainment would secure the rights to publish a PS1 port of Final Doom, and it’s a surprisingly faithful port of the PC version that does some of Doom‘s best and most challenging content justice. Together with the PS1 version of Doom (which is head-and-shoulders above all other console ports thanks to the sheer scale of content it includes), the PS1 was the only console with the full Doom saga pre-Doom 3.

7. PowerSlave

• Release Date — March 1, 1997
• Developer — Lobotomy Software
• Publisher — Playmates Interactive Entertainment
• Review Aggregate Score — N/A
• User Score — 70% (Mixed or Average)

Other than the idTech engine that was used to create Doom, there was no more important game engine for first-person shooter development than the Build Engine, which would serve as the foundation for a litany of incredible FPS titles in the 1990s. One of these is the ancient Egypt-set PowerSlave, which would get ports to both the Sega Saturn and PS1 that differ drastically from their PC counterpart. While the PC version is a fairly standard first-person shooter, the PS1 and Saturn versions incorporate some surprising Metroidvania elements and nonlinear exploration that see players returning time and again to a hub area that they can gradually explore more of. While conventional wisdom might suggest that 2002’s Metroid Prime was the first 3D Metroidvania, PowerSlave did it first, and way back on the PS1.

6. Jumping Flash!

• Release Date — April 28, 1995
• Developer — Exact, Ultra
• Publisher — Sony Computer Entertainment
• Review Aggregate Score — 84% (Generally Favorable)
• User Score — 82% (Generally Favorable)

One of the earliest games to launch alongside the PlayStation in the West is Jumping Flash!, which is an excellent and atypical first-person shooter that puts players in control of a little robotic rabbit on a quest to stop the nefarious Baron Aloha from destroying the game’s world, Crater Planet. But where most first-person shooters of the era firmly grounded their protagonists and had them navigate through maze-like corridors, Jumping Flash! sets the player free to leap straight up into the sky at dizzying heights, all while providing a feast for the eyes and ears with its bright and colorful world, enemy design, and excellent soundtrack. Jumping Flash! was a great showcase of the PS1’s power at the time of its release, and both it and its sequel are two of the great and underrated FPSes on the console.

5. Alien Trilogy

• Release Date — February 29, 1996
• Developer — Probe Entertainment
• Publisher — Acclaim Entertainment
• Review Aggregate Score — 78% (Generally Favorable)
• User Score — 75% (Generally Favorable)

Both one of the best first-person shooters on the PS1 and one of the best games in the long history of titles based on the Alien franchise, Alien Trilogy is still technically impressive almost 30 years after its initial release. This frightening and fun FPS title faithfully adapts several iconic setpieces and locations from the first three films in the Alien franchise, all while looking great and delivering some impressive motion capture that, for its time, was honestly pretty groundbreaking. Thankfully, Alien Trilogy is much more forgiving than Alien: Resurrection in terms of its challenge, and it ends up being the superior game as a result, placing a greater emphasis on fun and fan service above all else. Considering that Alien Trilogy comes from Probe Entertainment, who also made the excellent Die Hard Trilogy for PS1, its greatness should come as no surprise.

4. Medal of Honor: Underground

• Release Date — October 24, 2000
• Developer — DreamWorks Interactive
• Publisher — Electronic Arts
• Review Aggregate Score — 86% (Generally Favorable)
• User Score — 86% (Generally Favorable)

The original Medal of Honor was such a groundbreaking success that it was bound to quickly get a sequel. Sure enough, DreamWorks Interactive and Electronic Arts would partner up once again to release Medal of Honor: Underground just a year after the release of its predecessor. While it doesn’t quite reach the same highs as the first Medal of Honor and is mostly a case of “more of a good thing”, Medal of Honor: Underground is a great-looking and great-playing FPS title that does introduce a small handful of new mechanics and improvements, enough to distinguish it as a sequel that’s worth playing. In addition to the new tank battles, players have segments where they get to fight alongside NPC allies, which really adds to the game’s story centering around the liberation of German-occupied France.

3. DOOM

• Release Date — November 16, 1995
• Developer — id Software
• Publisher — Williams Entertainment
• Review Aggregate Score — N/A
• User Score — 85% (Generally Favorable)

Hands down, the PS1 port of Doom is the single greatest console port of one of the all-time greatest (and easily the most important) first-person shooters. For starters, this version of the game is the first console port that actually runs and looks as good as the PC original, far outclassing the sub-par SNES and 32X ports (which, to be fair, were fairly impressive for their time). But even more important than the PS1 Doom‘s technical fidelity is its content, which contains not just Doom but also Ultimate Doom and Doom II. The PS1 version of Doom also happened to be released within the PlayStation’s Western launch window, making it an essential pick-up for the console that was a no-brainer. Somehow, Doom would end up being both the first and one of the best FPSes on the PS1.

2. Disruptor

• Release Date — November 20, 1996
• Developer — Insomniac Games
• Publisher — Universal Interactive Studios
• Review Aggregate Score — 73% (Mixed or Average)
• User Score — N/A

Despite not many people having played Disruptor at the time of its release, the game’s developers would go on to become staples within the PlayStation ecosystem, with Insomniac Games being responsible for some of the greatest PlayStation exclusives of all time thanks to its work on Ratchet and Clank and Marvel’s Spider-Man. But long before those titles would make Insomniac a household name, the studio’s debut title for the PlayStation would be the excellent Disruptor, a very competent first-person shooter with a compelling sci-fi plot, some buttery-smooth controls, excellent weapon and enemy variety, and the distinction of being a PS1 console exclusive. Despite Disruptor being a commercial disappointment, the game lives on as one of the best and most underrated classics on the PlayStation.

1. Medal of Honor

• Release Date — November 10, 1999
• Developer — DreamWorks Interactive
• Publisher — Electronic Arts
• Review Aggregate Score — 92% (Universal Acclaim)
• User Score — 86% (Generally Favorable)

As the story goes, Stephen Spielberg, who had long been one of the few major Hollywood directors to recognize the potential of interactive media, was inspired to help produce a first-person shooter after watching his son play GoldenEye 007 on the Nintendo 64. Combine that anecdote with his fondness for World War II history and his then-recent work on the acclaimed film Saving Private Ryan, and you have the founding of DreamWorks Interactive and the creation of the studio’s now-classic debut title: Medal of Honor. In many ways, Medal of Honor would serve as the PS1’s answer to GoldenEye.

While it’s not directly based on a film like GoldenEye, Medal of Honor was a sort of de facto Saving Private Ryan game that put players in the shoes of an OSS agent as they fought their way through iconic battles and strategic locations of the European theater of World War II. Also like GoldenEye, Medal of Honor lets players do a lot more than just shoot corridors full of enemies, putting them to task with a series of level-specific objectives that really immerse the player into each stage and add more to the experience. Ultimately, Medal of Honor is the best first-person shooter on the PS1, and its place as a system exclusive only makes it more significant in the PlayStation’s library.