I'd just like to make it clear that whilst FPS could be included thats not what this post is about. The first person perspective can do so much more than put a rifle in the corner of the screen and get you to shoot endless waves of identikit enemies. Too many games these days are happy to dance to COD tune.
Thief.
Thief for me is the stealth game. It required observation and patience and ultimately was a very rewarding challenge. Its world was interesting as was its main character. The AI it had for its time as well was fantastic. It shows brilliantly that you don't need assault rifles and millions of things going on at once to create an epic first person game. Hence why it is on this list.
Deus Ex.
It involves shooting yes, but anyone who has played it will tell you it is so much more than that. It's the freedom of choice that permeates every part of the game from the choices in how you tackle a mission to which augmentations you choose. Again the world it creates around you is fantastic as is JC Denton and if my memory serves me well it was one of the first games to have multiple endings.
Daggerfall.
I would have put Oblivion or Morrowind but the fact that this game achieved similar years before means it deserves a mention. It was also massive. It would take 3 realtime days to walk from one side of the continent to the other. Somehow it still crammed in tons to do. You could hide in shops, wait for the owner to leave for the night and then steal all of his wares. This game came out in 1996 for christs sake.
Free Space.
Yeah I just threw a curveball. Technically it is first person. It's also the best space combat game ever made. This genre seems to have died but I don't know why. This gen is screaming for a sequel. Volition, if you ever read this, take a break from Saints Row and Red Faction and please make more Free Space. Fighting Shivan destroyers that were MILES long would be even more epic today than it was 10 years ago.
Half Life.
Has to be included. great action, great puzzles, great story, great main character, great game. I think that is all that needs to be said.
Final Fantasy VII 1997 exceeds 15.5 million units sold worldwide as of February 2026, reinforcing its legacy as the series best selling title.
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There are over 30 ships in Star Trek Voyager: Across the Unknown, which include enemy and Borg vessels that have some fantastic on-board technologies and weaponry.
Half life is overrated.
Good list, but the thing is I wouldn't consider "first person" a genre. Just a viewpoint really, even if 90% of them are shooters.
Not sure if deus ex was even among the first games to have multiple endings. Credit usually goes to Kid Icarus as the first.
No Metroid Prime? Again, a shooter, but takes a very different approach. The first one's story is told without a single word (suck it, Other M) but the player can learn so much about the world at their own freedom through scanning objects. Doesn't use ammo and guns, just 4 different shot types with different effects.
Come on man. Where is Condemned?
No elder's scroll?
im not a fan of first person view :(