The 10 best free-to-play shooters 2023

The 10 best free-to-play shooters 2023

Valorant

Release: 06/02/2020 | Platform: PC | Genre: Tactical Shooter | Developer: Riot Games | Download for the game: Visit the official Valorant website

What is Valorant? Valorant is a tactical shooter developed by Riot. In a near future, agents face each other on intricate maps, where they either plant a bomb or defuse it. The gameplay strongly resembles Counter-Strike, and many of the weapons in the game resemble those from Valve’s classic shooter.

We include the trailer for the new agent “Fade” here for an initial impression:

In Valorant, you also have unique heroes to choose from. Each of these agents is equipped with their own skills. For example, the healer Sage can keep the team alive and build walls. The wild Raze, on the other hand, blows everything up with her explosives. Each hero thus has their own role and can score points in essential team play.

However, some skills can be excessively strong in certain situations and can wipe out entire teams. The same goes for some weapons. The sniper rifle Operator dominated the meta gameplay for quite some time.

Valorant receives a new season every few weeks with new heroes, weapons, or even maps.

Pro
  • Tactical skirmishes
  • Teamwork is essential
  • Various skills make gameplay more strategically deep
  • Runs smoothly on relatively low-end hardware
  • Very good anti-cheat system
Contra
  • Difficult balancing often leads to OP playstyles
  • Only playable on PC

Who should play it? Valorant offers fans of tactical shooters two highlights. On the one hand, you have the Counter-Strike gameplay known to you, which allows you to advance as a team and neutralize enemies. But besides the role you take on with your weapon (sniper, assault, support), you can deepen your tactical abilities even further with the choice of hero.

Every hero can sniper, but the agent Jett, who moves out of the line of fire at lightning speed, excels in this role. Thus, the heroes and their skills offer more opportunities to celebrate your personal playstyle.

Fortnite

Release: 07/25/2017 | Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, Android | Genre: Battle Royale | Developer: Epic Games | Download for the game: Visit the official Fortnite website

What is Fortnite? Fortnite by Epic Games is an extremely popular battle royale game that originated from a coop survival game. From these origins, the unique feature of the game has remained: building.

Because unlike in previous shooters, you don’t just take cover in Fortnite; you also build it yourself. To do this, you smash trees, stones, and buildings in the game world with a pickaxe in true Minecraft fashion and harvest the resources needed for building. Top players are able to erect a powerful fortress at lightning speed when under fire.

If you’re not interested in building in a shooter, Fortnite catered to you in March 2022. With Chapter 3 Season 2, Epic Games added the “Zero Build” mode, in which the defining feature of building is disabled.

After the building was initially only temporarily disabled, Epic Games confirmed the “Zero Build” mode with a trailer on March 29, 2022. You can see the trailer and all further information about the new mode on MeinMMO: Fortnite no longer forces you to build – The new “Zero Build” mode stays.

Here we include a video that describes Fortnite in 2 minutes for an initial impression:

Fortnite otherwise offers a solid, somewhat leisurely gameplay with tons of different weapons. Additionally, there are always new seasons, each with its own theme. This leads to scenarios where the map is underwater, or real-life Marvel superheroes like Thor or Iron Man appear in the game. Some of these characters from crossover collaborations can even be unlocked. In Chapter 2 Season 5, for example, there was a popular “Star Wars” character in the Battle Pass.

While the weapons in the game are diverse, the developers have not always anticipated what a weapon or specific item can do in the meta-game. Therefore, there have been several instances of huge community backlash when a Super Sword was in the game or the meta was dominated by silly rolling balls in a hamster ball vehicle.

Pro
  • You can dismantle most objects in the game world
  • Building as a unique feature
  • Regularly new events, game modes, and features
  • “Zero Build” mode also appeals to players who do not want to build
Contra
  • Weapons often not optimally balanced
  • Graphic style may be too colorful

Who should play it? Fortnite is the right game for anyone who wants to play a colorful battle royale shooter and loves building games like Minecraft. Because in Fortnite, you not only shoot each other; you also try to outdo your opponents in wild building duels.

Additionally, Fortnite never stands still, and the developers showcase an almost absurd pace of updates. Almost every week something new happens in Fortnite, and there are always new things to discover.

Destiny 2

Release: 08/28/2017 | Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Stadia | Genre: Loot Shooter | Developer: Bungie | Download for the game: Visit the official Destiny 2 website

What is Destiny 2? Destiny 2 is a first-person shooter from Bungie (Halo series) where looting, RPG elements, and action meet. You take control of a Guardian who can use various weapons and has access to space magic to save the universe from robots, evil gods, and darkness itself.

Destiny 2 is available for free as a base game, but you’ll need to purchase the add-ons. Nevertheless, Destiny 2 as a free-to-play title provides many hours of gaming fun. Still, Destiny 2 gives you the chance to catch a short glimpse before buying the latest expansion and play a sort of demo to better decide if you like the add-on.

Here we include a video that describes Destiny 2 in 2 minutes for an initial impression:

In Destiny 2, you can indulge in PvE, master multiple campaigns, dungeons, and raids, or explore the open world and unveil ancient secrets. If you prefer PvP, you can dive into the Crucible and sweat in Trials, in competitive playlists, or compete in quick matches against other human opponents. If you’re indecisive, choose Gambit – a hybrid, essentially a PvEvP mode.

You have the choice to go solo or in a team. Most activities also offer integrated player matchmaking.

The heart of Destiny 2 is the collection of various weapons and armor, all with unique gameplay and further customizable through perks or mods. Included are alien blasters, machine guns, swords, and bows, but also revolvers like in the Wild West.

However, it is often a balancing act to accommodate the needs of PvP and PvE players and keep both camps happy.

Pro
Contra

Who should play it? Destiny 2 offers a lot of content for every Guardian out there. Whether you are completing solo story missions, taking down gigantic raid bosses in a 6-man team, or tactically fighting for every advantage in PvP: The mix of buttery smooth gunplay and outrageous super abilities is great.

But you should also come with a bit of a grind enthusiasm and enjoy receiving your food piece by piece in the seasons after the big, annual expansions. The focus of new content is clearly on PvE. Bungie has also emphasized that they want to move Destiny 2 more towards an action MMO and put more emphasis on RPG elements.

Call of Duty: Warzone 2 & DMZ

Genre: Battle Royale, EFT-Like (DMZ) | Developer: Infinity Ward, Raven Software | Platform: PC, PlayStation, Xbox | Release Date: November 16, 2022 | Model: Free-to-Play | Perspective: First-Person | Download for the game: Visit the official CoD: Warzone 2 website

What is Warzone 2? With Call of Duty: Warzone 2, Activision released the sequel to the popular battle royale shooter “Warzone”.

Unlike some other genre representatives, Warzone 2 offers the option to return to the game after death and bring your own weapons into the match. There is also a 1vs1 duel on the first death to return to the match.

Additionally, Warzone 2 introduces the DMZ mode, offering a CoD mode in the style of an extraction shooter or EFT-like, providing an exciting additional component to the player experience.

Furthermore, similar to its predecessor, Warzone 2 is regularly supplied with new seasons that bring new content and are connected to current “Call of Duty” games. Currently, the progress of Warzone 2 is linked to Modern Warfare 2.

Pro
  • The new game brings fresh air to the Warzone community
  • Regular updates bring new content
  • Develops along with the CoD titles
  • Large selection of weapons, attachments, and new gadgets
  • Storage space issues of the predecessor have been resolved
  • New DMZ mode introduces a free extraction shooter
  • Good player numbers due to the large CoD franchise
Contra
  • Significant technical problems and game crashes
  • Sound design is simply not good

Who should play it? If you’re fans of Call of Duty and battle royale shooters, you should try Warzone 2. The title released in November 2022 combines the two worlds and continues where Warzone 1 left off.

If you want to dive into CoD: Warzone 2 fresh, MeinMMO editor Maik Schneider has the perfect preparation for you and shows you the best weapons with setups.

More on the topic
CoD Warzone 2: Meta – The Best Weapons with Setups in Season 5 / July 2024
von Maik Schneider
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