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What are the best PC FPS games focusing on realism?

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Dec 7, 2018

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11 Games Considered

Best PC FPS games focusing on realism	Price	Steam Rating	Co-Op
-- Arma 3	35 Euro	Very Positive	-
-- Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad with Rising Storm	$19.99	Very Positive	-
-- Insurgency	$9.99	Very Positive	8 Player Online / 8 PLayer LAN
-- Rising Storm	$19.99	Very Positive	4 Player Online
-- Post Scriptum	-	Mixed	-

Arma 3

Top Pro

Huge open maps

As ARMA 3 is an open-world experience, singleplayer missions are not as linear and take place in the same map area as the game's multiplayer mode. There are a couple of different islands to explore in ARMA 3, including Altis which has a size of over 100 square miles (270 km²). Stratis is the smallest island in ARMA but is still respectable in size but 7.7 square miles (20 km²). A new map - Tanoa - is scheduled to be included in the paid Apex Expansion pack, with a size of 38.6 square miles (100 km²). See More

Top Con

Controls are unique and can be a barrier

It's not as simple as ctrl for crouch. While many tactical shooters use a similar s=control scheme, ARMA takes a sharp departure from the norm. This is part of what enables it to have far more robust/tactical movement. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Top Pro

Best in class authenticity

ARMA 3 is built as a simulation-type game and features rather tactical gameplay with a slow pace. The developers use real-life military weapons, equipment and vehicles. Even some of the environments in the game are virtually indistinguishable from their real-life counterpart. ARMA 3's gameplay also encompasses more than a regular first person shooter, as military tactics such as water attacks, giving orders to squadmates and drone strikes are necessary in order to successfully complete a mission. Elements such as destruction are extremely important, as certain specific parts of a vehicle can be damaged. See More

Top Con

Framerate isn't consistent

ARMA suffers from some framerate issues, with very variable results in both single- and multiplayer situations. Often the game will perform well in multiplayer, while dropping down to a severely worse framerate in a single player mission. Similar problems occur vice versa as well, which results in a very inconsistent framerate. See More

Top Pro

Long single-player campaign

The average playtime for the single-player campaign (referred to as 'Main Story) of ARMA 3 clocks in at just under 20 hours, while a 100% complete playthough of the campaign averages 39 hours of playtime. See More

Top Con

Steep learning curve

The tactical aspect of ARMA 3 is also portrayed in the somewhat difficult controls and steep learning curve of the game. For example, a lot of different buttons and keystrokes have to be remembered for all the different commands, equipment options and vehicle controls. There is no in-game tutorial, the only way to learn how the game works in by trial and error, a field guide or by using in-game hints. Tactical elements and strategies aren't explained in the game. See More

Top Pro

No player limit in multiplayer games

ARMA 3 doesn't impose restrictions on its servers, allowing for a true sandbox experience with a large population. Battles can be fought with hundreds or even thousands of players; multiplayer warfare is definitely large-scale. See More

Top Pro

Underwater gameplay

ARMA 3 features underwater gameplay with diving gear and underwater weapons. Underwater gameplay is noticeably different, because it uses a third movement axis. See More

Top Pro

Huge amount of mods and add-ons available

The modding community of ARMA 3 is quite large, with multiple online communities and free tools provided by Bohemia - the developers of ARMA 3. At the time of writing, there are 115 mods available on ModDB and over 23500 mods in the Steam Workshop. See More

Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad with Rising Storm

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Top Pro

Realistic damage model

Critical zones like heart, make for a more nuanced damage model. And delayed death (eg bleed out) really adds to the tactical realism. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Top Pro

Great weapon mechanics and handling

Top Pro

BOTH a cover system and manual leaning

Excellent tactical control once you know and can properly utilize both systems. See More

Top Pro

Gameplay is satisfying in both long range and CQB

Top Pro

Excellent tactical realism

Tripwire put real heart and soul into their shooters. You can tell by the details. Where many other games would stop short, tripwire will go the extra mile to get it right. See More

Insurgency

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Top Con

Realism lacks in many areas

While it is a game, and early on in the alpha there was a serious effort for realism (at least withing the limits of the core game mechanics; eg simple hitboxes and damage multipliers, no bullet physics only hitscan, no wounding), the game's design as since massively compromised those earlier realistic design decisions to make the game more accessible catering more to the more casual gamer (eg while body armor in the alpha was fairly realistic, it has since been nerfed and is now not very realistic at all). The weapon handling does feel satisfying. The gameplay is largely run and gun due to a lack of movement penalty to accuracy. See More

Top Pro

Has Operator mod

There is a mod that does place realism high in priority called Operator. It returns the realism decisions of Insurgency from alpha, and improves the tactical realism greatly. The realism is still limited by the core game mechanics however (eg: hitscan rather than bullet physics) See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Co-Op:8 Player Online / 8 PLayer LAN

Controller Support:Full

Top Con

Requires a good team

To truly play this game you need to use communication in order to plan out how to win accordingly. This is a task undertaken by groups of people that are familiar with one another over random people playing together. See More

Top Pro

Engaging gunplay

Leaning towards being more realistic the gunplay is slow and measured, just as one would treat a real gun. This makes for an immersive experience due to how real it feels as well as how different it is from most FPS games. See More

Top Con

Mic spammers

Top Pro

Multiple game modes

Push, skirmish, occupy, unranked competitive and soon to come ranked. See More

Top Pro

Everyone has a different class

When teams are set up the game does not allow multiple people to have the same class chosen for their character which makes for a great way to ensure teams are not imbalanced. See More

Top Pro

Mature community

Insurgency's players seem to be a lot more mature and respectful compared to what's commonly expected in online shooters making the communicating both on forums and in-game more enjoyable. See More

Rising Storm

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Top Con

Can take a commitment to get used to the mechanics and get good

With the precision needed for shooting in the game as well as needing to learn the ins and outs of the skillful mechanics it may take a good while before one can get fully comfortable with the game, which may frustrate some as there will be a time commitment. See More

Top Pro

Great level design

All maps are quite different from each other and feature good design of the defend and attack elements. This makes for good p=balance that is often not found in many multiplayer games. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Co-Op:4 Player Online

Controller Support:No

Top Pro

Each team requires vastly different playstyles

Due to each side having different skills it will make for different tactics that need used depending on the team on is on. This makes for a great way to switch up the gameplay without having to leave the game. See More

Post Scriptum

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Specs

Steam Rating:Mixed

Project Reality

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Ground Branch

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Specs

Steam Rating:Mostly Positive

Escape from Tarkov

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Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis

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