The first-person format is still pretty young in the world of gaming, but there are enough titles for a list of 10 Greatest First-Person Genres. Games like Doom are pretty recent when you consider how old are gaming industry is. Still, first person games are some of the biggest releases in the gaming industry. Take a look at this list of 10 Greatest First-Person Genres to see how viewing the world through the main character's eyes can help almost any game become more immersive.

  • Boxing Games

    Unlike other fighting games which really play up spacing and anime style special moves, boxing is all about dodging, striking, and perception. Programming a boxing game in first-person allows you to see when the punches are coming right at your face, dodge accordingly, and strike at an opponent’s weak point. That's why boxing is one of our 10 Greatest First-Person Genres.

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  • Adventure Games

    Back when adventure games were all the rage, there were numerous games like Myst that adopted the first-person format. You rarely had an on screen avatar. In a way, you were the main character and all of your adventuring and puzzle solving was done in the first person. The first-person adventure genre has since died out, but it would be great to see a well established adventure developer like Telltale take another shot at the format.

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  • Beat Em Ups

    Condemned was more than a horror experience, it was a great example of how beat-em-up games actually work really well in first-person. You can circle strafe around your opponents while blocking, parrying, and choosing between weak and heavy attacks. Portraying the combat from a first-person perspective makes the whole experience way more hectic.

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  • Flight Sims

    Any game that puts you behind the controls of a vehicle is a natural fit for the first-person view. Even though flight sims aren’t very popular these days, they are still some of the most effective first-person games. Every time a new Ace Combat game comes out, players can’t wait to get into the cockpit and control their fighter jet through the perspective of the pilot.

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  • Racing Games

    Speaking of first-person vehicle control, driving games are one of the few games that actually have multiple types of first-person views. There’s a first-person control that literally takes the entire car out of the picture, a first-person control that lets you see the hood of the car, and a first-person view that lets you see the car’s steering wheel. We suppose it’s just a question of whether the “person” in question is the driver, windshield, or headlights of the car. Regardless, racing games belong on our list of 10 Greatest First-Person Genres.

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  • Platformer Games

    Traditionally, first-person platforming is kind of crap. However, Mirrors Edge came along and changed all that. The experience of fast paced parkour while running from people who are trying to catch you is actually a decent fit for a first-person point of view. Watching the world rush by your eyes is quite the adrenaline high, and it can even instill feelings of vertigo as well.

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  • RPG Games

    Some of the most classic RPG franchises of all time were originally first-person games. Earthbound is well known for its first-person battle system, as is Dragon's Quest. However, it was the Shin Megami Tensei series that really refined the first-person RPG. The fact that it also had horror elements, and made you fight against god also helped.

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  • Puzzle Games

    One word: Portal. If that doesn’t prove that puzzle games could work in the first-person format, we don’t know what does. If that’s not enough proof for you, then check out games such as Antichamber and Quantum Connundrum. All it takes is a physics system and a couple cool mechanics to make an awesome mind twister of a puzzle game.

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  • Horror Games

    The horror genre actually started with first-person roots. One of the first horror games ever, 3D Monster Maze, put you in a first-person maze with a T-Rex that was hot on your tail. Ever since then, first-person horror has just gotten more terrifying. Just look no further than great games such as Amnesia, the Dark Descent. That's why horror games make it on our list of 10 Greatest First-Person Genres.

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  • Shooter

    It goes without saying that shooters benefited the most from the first-person format. Some of the gaming industry’s biggest games are first-person shooters. Call of Duty, Battlefield, Bioshock, all first-person shooters. The shooter genre has come a long way from Contra. Ever since Doom and Wolfenstein took their first steps into the realm of first-person gameplay, its mark as one of the greatest first-person genres in the gaming world is well deserved.

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