The FPS genre exploded in the 1990s with entries like Duke Nukem 3D, Doom, Quake, and many others that advanced the genre through innovative gameplay. Like any genre, countless games achieved some popularity but have since fallen out of the world’s collective knowledge. As a result, numerous games were excellent FPS titles that few people today know much about, which is a shame, seeing as several could have been remade into modern adaptations. We looked through the archives and found 10 largely forgotten FPS games from the 1990s, listing them in chronological order of release.
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1) Heretic
Raven Software developed Heretic in 1994 using the Doom engine, taking the FPS genre in new directions. It’s one of the first FPS titles to use an inventory manipulation system, and it allows a player to look up and down, which Doom did not. The game is set in a fantasy realm where they must fight off undead monsters to seal a doorway to Hell. Heretic improves on Doom in several ways, but it’s still very much a reskin of that game. It was successful, spawning sequels, but unlike Doom, it faded out of sight for years. In 2025, Bethesda re-released it alongside Hexen with a new expansion, playable on modern systems.
2) Descent
Descent was a groundbreaking FPS released in 1995, as it was the first of its kind to feature 3D graphics. Gameplay allowed for six degrees of movement, opening options into every possible direction. This made Descent’s level design unique and fascinating. Gameplay involves piloting a spaceship to destroy a power supply and shooting robots as you progress. It included online play and spawned two sequels. While Descent largely faded from memory for several years, a 2015 Kickstarter campaign revived it. Unfortunately, legal disputes and other issues forced it to be renamed Ships That Fight Underground, which still isn’t available as of writing.
3) Jumping Flash!
The PlayStation featured impressive hardware that developers dove right into to create all manner of games. That’s how Jumping Flash! came into being, as it was intended as a tech demonstration, utilizing the hardware to show off its impressive 3D capabilities. This made Jumping Flash! a landmark FPS title, and while dated today, it was revolutionary upon release in 1995. The game features a robotic rabbit named Robbit, who searches the world for jet pods. It allowed for 360-degree movement and camera rotation, and gameplay focuses on the jumping mechanic, which is immense. The game isn’t well known today, but it holds the Guinness World Record for being the first platformer rendered in true 3D.
4) Kileak: The DNA Imperative
Kileak: The DNA Imperative is a 1995 FPS about Matt Coda, the leader of a peacekeeping force intent on stopping a scientist from conducting dangerous research. To do so, Coda jumps into his armored assault suit and moves through levels in an Antarctic base, using various weapons along the way. The title is a reference to an alien whose DNA is the common ancestor of all life on the planet. The game features pre-rendered cutscenes that fully leveraged the PS1’s hardware capabilities, and it spawned a sequel. Since then, it’s been largely forgotten by the gaming masses, though it found its way onto Japan’s PlayStation Network in 2015.
5) Redneck Rampage
If you ever wanted to play a game that lampoons hillbilly culture and FPSs in general, then Redneck Rampage was made just for you. It’s a parody that pokes fun at backwoods folk, set within a fictional town in Arkansas. The power-ups include bottles of booze, moon pies, and pork rinds, and it even had a “drunk meter.” It’s centered on two brothers, Bubba and Leonard, who are out to save their pig Bessie from an alien invasion. Redneck Rampage was a pretty big hit, spawning sequels and spin-offs. After 2001’s Off-Road Redneck Racing, the games were re-released on Steam, but primarily faded into the background.
6) X-Men: The Ravages of Apocalypse
There have been tons of games based on Marvel Comics, including X-Men: The Ravages of Apocalypse, a 1997 FPS built using the Quake engine. To play it, you also need to have Quake installed because it’s effectively a reskin in X-Men clothing. It features 14 levels and new weapons, but most of the elements are little more than reskins of everything within Quake. This makes X-Men: The Ravages of Apocalypse more of a Quake expansion than anything else. Regardless, like Quake, the gameplay is consistent if repetitive. It’s funnier than it should be since the X-Men theme doesn’t really fit properly within the Quake framework, but it’s nonetheless worth a playthrough if only for a good laugh.
7) Shogo: Mobile Armor Division
Shogo: Mobile Armor Division is an FPS where the player guides Sanjuro Makabe in their mech suit, called Mobile Combat Armor, as they fight in the ongoing conflict on the planet Cronus. The game was heavily influenced by Manga and Anime, especially Appleseed, and features dynamic combat and an interesting story. There’s a moment in the game where the player chooses a path that leads to an alternate ending, which was relatively uncommon at the time. While it was successful and received positive reviews, no sequels followed, and Shogo: Mobile Armor Division remains unknown to those who never got a chance to play it.
8) Star Trek: The Next Generation: Klingon Honor Guard
There have been tons of Star Trek games released over the decades, but the franchise isn’t typically represented in FPSs. That makes Star Trek: The Next Generation: Klingon Honor Guard a bit of an outlier, but not a bad one. The game uses the Unreal engine and is set during the 24th century, so it’s heavily influenced by Star Trek: The Next Generation. In it, the player is a Klingon Honor Guard who is tasked with stopping the assassination of Chancellor Gowron. It features inventive missions, decent level design, and excellent combat mechanics, making Star Trek: The Next Generation: Klingon Honor Guard a fun game within the franchise.
9) Outtrigger
While the Sega Dreamcast marked the end of Sega’s hardware development, it still had several excellent titles, including Outrigger. The game is a combination of first and third-person shooters, initially released in arcades in 1999 before landing on the Dreamcast. The title comes from the playable character’s name, Outrigger, who is part of an anti-terrorist group. Players can play as Outrigger, another character, or create one of their own, and they each have different abilities. Outrigger featured engaging online play and fast-paced action, but it never saw a sequel and is largely unknown today.
10) Requiem: Avenging Angel
Requiem: Avenging Angel is set in Chaos, a realm between Heaven and Earth, where the player uses both conventional weaponry and their innate angelic powers to fight off evil minions and other enemies. It features bullet time, allowing the player to dodge bullets and fire multiple rounds in a manner similar to Max Payne. That said, Requiem was the first title to feature the mechanic, having come out in 1999, while Max Payne wasn’t released until 2001. The game’s setting, enemies, and lore are heavily influenced by Christian mythology, with many elements drawn from Paradise Lost. Requiem: Avenging Angel was a hit, but few know of its existence these days.
What’s your favorite ’90s FPS that most people have forgotten? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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