Still, if you loved Breakpoint — or at least wanted to — there are a lot of games to tickle your fancy. Whether it’s because of the big open world, or the strong tactical gameplay, there are titles that have both in plentiful supply. So, with that in mind, here are 10 Tactical Shooters To Play If You Loved Ghost Recon: Breakpoint.
Updated April 24th, 2022 by Russ Boswell: Ghost Recon: Breakpoint may not have been the monumental success that developers had hoped for but the game still managed to develop a small cult following of players that really enjoyed its tactical style. Those that are craving even more tactical action may turn to other titles to help fill the void left by moving on from Ghost Recon: Breakpoint. Thankfully, there are a lot of great tactical shooters on the market, with some of them feeling very similar to Breakpoint in both design and gameplay. To shine a better light on some of the best tactical shooters on the market, that players from Breakpoint may enjoy, the following list has been updated with more entries.
13 Ready Or Not
Those that are looking for something tactical and rooted in the “real world” should check out the Early Access title, Ready or Not. This in-depth and tactics-based first-person shooter has players venturing out alone or joining forces via cooperative play to handle a series of situations as a member of SWAT. There are multiple issues to tackle, with events like raids, hostage situations, bomb defusals, and active shooters.
Anyone looking to step into the shoes of a SWAT officer and handle some of the things that they may be called to deal with on a daily basis could learn a lot from Ready or Not. It may not be superbly realistic to the real-world job at the end of the day but it’s a solid tactical shooter that is showing a lot of promise.
12 Payday 2
One of the most engaging parts of tactical shooters is the idea that players need to be as planned and calculated as possible to carry out their mission. This is a concept that extends to Payday 2, although players may have a much easier time with “staying alive” than they would in other games thanks to its fairly arcade-style approach to combat. The tactics and planning stage in Payday 2 comes from the idea that players are roleplaying as criminals and must use their wits and skills to pull off successful heists on stores, compounds, and banks.
Payday 2 offers a lot of replayability thanks to its extensive amount of content and the fact that players can play online, cooperatively with other players makes the game even more entertaining.
11 Escape From Tarkov
There is something supremely entertaining and invigorating about winning a tactical shootout. Those that play Rainbow Six: Siege know how exciting it can be to pull off a particularly difficult win against an opposing team, but the Operators in Siege have access to some pretty fantastic equipment, as well as their own subset of abilities. Anyone who wants the same hard-as-nails tactical fight against other players but is looking for something that’s purely gunplay-based might find a home in Escape from Tarkov.
The Battle Royale is incredibly tactical, with players using their wits, skills, and whatever equipment they can find to escape from areas overrun by players and A.I.
10 Sniper Ghost Warrior 3
Developed by CI Games, the Sniper Ghost Warrior franchise doesn’t have the best reputation, but it does get the tactical aspects of the genre right. The third entry in the series, which released in 2017, offers a big open Soviet Georgia map that allows players to explore and attack. Though, while some budget issues hold it back from feeling like a living breathing world, it does offer a lot of choice in how missions are accomplished.
As the first open-world entry in the series, there are tons of side-quests available to work through as well. This means there’s also a lot of variety in terms of what needs to be done during missions, so the game hardly ever gets boring. Players just need a little bit of tolerance for cheesy writing and less than stellar visuals.
9 Tom Clancy’s The Division 2
If players like that typical Ubisoft gameplay style, then Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 should already be in your collection. Released in 2019, this online-multiplayer focused shooter with RPG elements offers massive locations to explore and fight in. But it’s not all shooty-shooty-looty-looty. In fact, the core combat gameplay does feature a healthy dose of tactics. Positioning is increasingly important on the battlefield and if you’re playing with a group, squad management will play a big role too.
Mix in an interesting story that sees the fall of mankind thanks to a smallpox outbreak, and you have yourself a pretty solid title that’s begging to be played for hours on end.
8 Gears of War 5
When gamers think about Gears of War, most probably think of burly men with incredible bass in their voice shooting Lovecraftian monsters with guns that feature chainsaws if they get to close. For the most part, that’s correct, however, the revolutionary cover-based combat that most games have been apeing since the first game’s release on the Xbox 360 is probably the best part. Gears of War 5 offers that tried and true gameplay but makes everything feel that much bigger with a pseudo-open world that allows for some exploration, but really offers some fantastic strategical elements that feel both familiar and new at the same time.
One could argue that this is the best game in the franchise, and they’d have a point. At the very least, it’s the most polished, and the first to really take a step forward in terms of gameplay evolution. If you have an Xbox or PC, this should be on your list.
7 Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
While Ghost Recon has always been the “tactical” franchise under the Tom Clancy umbrella, Rainbow Six offered a tinge of that mixed with more squad-based gameplay. Siege gives players everything they could want from the Rainbow Six side of things while giving players a dash of that much-desired tactical gameplay by allowing gamers to set up defenses and attack strategies similar to what some game modes of Counter-Strike have offered for years.
With a strong online community and some really inspiring gameplay, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege bridges the two franchises in a way we never saw coming, making it feel unique compared to what we’ve played from either series.
6 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
For players looking for a little bit of tactical gameplay, but a little more competitive edge, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is the perfect solution for you. While this game won’t offer wide-open worlds to explore, Counter-Strike has a fantastically strong online community making for some fast-paced and fun gameplay. Offering a wide variety of game modes pitting terrorists against counter-terrorist teams, players will need to be equal parts quick and tactical in how they go about taking out the terrorists or carrying out the terror.
Now, those new to the series may have a little bit of trouble keeping up at first, however, sticking with it is always worthwhile!
5 Far Cry 5
While Far Cry doesn’t offer a lot of tactical gameplay, it’s probably the most similar series in terms of presentation to the current direction of Ghost Recon. Dropping players into a massive open Montana, players must try to take down a cult with a charismatic leader whose taken over the region. They do so by planning attacks on enemy bases scattered throughout the region and unleashing all kinds of chaos throughout the base camp.
Now, as we said, there is a little bit to be desired in terms of tactics for this game. But there is enough variety to allow players to take a more tactful route. Plus with all the pre-attack prep, we feel it’s safe to put this game on the list.
4 Star Wars: Republic Commando
There was a time, not too long ago, where the fine developers at Lucas Arts made their own tactical shooter in the Star Wars universe. The result was this fantastic title that offered gameplay that saw players control a squad of Clone warriors as they traverse through familiar locations like Kashyyyk and Geonosis. With a heavy emphasis on character, Star Wars: Republic Commando has a pretty memorable cast, each of whom have their own specialties that will help players make their way through the game. With players taking the role of squad leader, there is a bit to micromanage when battle breaks out, but each character has enough anatomy to solve their own problems some of the time.
In every way possible, Star Wars: Republic Commando was a major surprise in the best kind of way, and even almost 15 years later, it holds up extremely well. This is a title every fan of the genre needs to play.
3 ARMA 3
Bohemia’s tactical shooter ARMA 3 has a focus on realism, and that works in its favor. With a map that spans 270 square kilometers, the game is massive and graphically, it’s stunning. The story focuses on a U.S. campaign on two islands in the Aegean Sea, as players take control of a corporal dealing with lone-wolf attacks and full-blown attacks. To take on these issues, players have access to an array of weapons, meaning there are multiple play styles to choose from.
The title has seen a lot of support too. With a number of DLC releases, ARMA 3 has an insane amount of content.
2 SOCOM 4 U.S. Navy SEALs
Developed by Zipper Interactive and published by Sony, SOCOM 4 U.S. Navy SEALs is everything a fan of the tactical genre could ask for in a game. Putting players in the shoes of an Ops commander in the middle of an all-out war-zone, they must make battlefield decisions between stealth and chaos, direct his squad, and gather intelligence along the way. The title’s deep combat system sees players enter a mental game of chess with the enemy, trying to maneuver and outmaneuver the baddies on the other side of the battlefield.
It’s crazy to think this game released in 2011 and we haven’t seen a sequel since, but the world needs more unique and high-quality content like this.
1 Sniper Elite 4
Developed and published by the fantastic minds at Rebellion, Sniper Elite 4 puts players in the middle of the Second World War era Italy as an allied — wait for it — sniper. With massive maps for players to explore Sniper Elite 4 offers a lot of choice in terms of gameplay mixed with some incredibly intelligent design — that takes things like distance, heart rate, wind and more into consideration before taking a shot.
That gameplay is propped up with equally impressive writing and visuals, making for one of the best shooters of this generation.
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