Being a fan of shooters since I was a kid, this was the genre that really got me hooked on the video game industry.
From indie titles to blockbusters, it’s proven to be one of the gameplay styles I’m most passionate about each year, especially because it’s packed with masterpieces of all kinds.
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These horror games are almost perfect, but there’s this one little issue that holds them back.
However, it also boasts manyextraordinary experiences that, for insignificant reasons, miss out on being the best of the best.
Whether it’s confusing level design, a flawed script, or excessive dialogue, these are ten minor issues that ruin near-perfect FPS games.
10Mullet Madjack
Level Aesthetics
Mullet Madjack
Mullet Madjackis one of my favorite indie games of 2024, and I think it’s a genuine contender for the genre’s best independent title of all time.
My only issue with this thoughtful and violent gem is thatthe levels are a real headache due to their visual repetitiveness, as they all look the same and don’t offer any interesting variations to enhance the game’s feeling.
Without using different colors, poster designs, artistic references, background elements, interactive objects, and more,it feels like you’re playing the same level after several hours, which creates visual clutter and prevents you from appreciating the wonderful art direction.
You hardly notice the drawback until you’ve spent a lot of time with the game, butthat’s the main reason whyMullet Madjackisn’t completely perfect.
9Metro Exodus
Enemy Detection
Metro Exodus
Even though it’s the game in the trilogy that left the least impression on me,Metro Exodusrises as a phenomenal conclusion of this FPS horror series, refining everything fans loved about its predecessors.
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My greatest issue is that the AI works just as poorly as in the franchise’s first two games, leaving you with two extremes where enemies are either completely mindless or omnipresent.
As it’s a game where immersion plays an important role,enemies being either too blind or excessively perceptive, with no apparent bias toward one side or the other, always made it difficult for me to adjust my gameplay accordingly.
I understand if the AI was too easy or too difficult, but it’s both at the same time, generating erratic circumstances that take points away from this magnificentpost-apocalyptic horrorjourney.
8Far Cry 3
Dream Sequences
Considering the number of times I’ve read people talking about the game, I’m surprised at how little discussion there is regardingFar Cry 3’s poor dream sequences.
I understand we tend to overlook them becausethe characters are incredibly memorable, the overall campaign is engaging, and no one really pays much attention to the plot, but I thinkthey overshadow the events taking place.
Reducing the most important story points to psychotropic sections with QTEs leaves much to be desired both narratively and gameplay-wise, although they may make sense within the setting.
These are specific instances that have little impact on the story’s overall presentation, and I know they’re part of the IP’s legacy, but they’re used at the campaign’s most inopportune moments.
7Singularity
Enemy Variety
Singularity
I enjoy talking aboutSingularityevery chance I get because I find it to be among the most underrated shooters, especially thanks to its time-control mechanics and intriguing historical perspective.
The game as a whole offers a fascinating experience, save for one aspect that undeniably diminishes its value as an FPS: the lack of enemy variety.
You have a small mixture of mutants and a small mixture of soldiers, andneither truly takes advantage of the innovative gameplaySingularityoffersin order to complement its tight gunplay.
It doesn’t bother you at first, but engaging in gunfights with the same set of designs over and over again eventually becomes tiresome, both due to visual fatigue and the possibility of solving every encounter the same way.
I think I speak for all of us who played the firstCrysiswhen I say it was one of the decade’s most revolutionary and surprising experiences, so expectations for its successor were never low.
WhileCrysis 2is a truly impressive title that lives up to the series' hype, its approach to level design runs counter to its predecessor’s heritage, presenting a linearity that doesn’t allow for the same exploration and enjoyment of the game’s mechanics.
Being a super soldier with an imposing suit and powerful weapons loses its appeal when your options are reduced to a disguised hallway, leaving you witha feeling of helplessness and frustration that undermines what you’d expect from the adventure.
I’m sure some players prefer this approach, especially those who appreciated the more closed-off style ofCrysis' later levels, but for me, it took away one of the franchise’s greatest appeals.
5Deathloop
Puzzle Difficulty
When I say difficulty is the element that preventsDeathloopfrom being perfect, I’m not referring to how accessible enemy encounters are, but rather to the campaign’s overarching puzzle.
Unlike similarly themed games likeOuter Wilds, where you have to understand the universe around you and solve it on your own, inDeathloop, you receive too much hand-holding, preventing you from figuring out how to close the loop on your own.
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With the amount of indicators and text telling you what to do and how to do it,it’s impossible to feel the satisfaction of executing the final attempt perfectly, as you’ve always had considerable assistance.
The game still has an excellent progression system thatmakes losing fun, and the ending is as satisfying as you might expect, but this accessibility is what stopsDeathloopfrom being even more memorable.
4Neon White
Dialogue Spam
Neon White
Neon Whitewouldn’t be the same experience without its dialogue and characters, so I understand those who find these elements crucial to its quality.
I’ve always thought they add a lot of personality to the adventure, especially because they’re well written, butthe amount of dialogue and its constant interruptions to the gameplay are what I find counterproductive.
For a game where action and speed are everything, constantly having to stop to read partially silly conversations is annoying and dilutes the campaign’s fun.
When they’re secondary, and it’s up to the player when to engage in conversations, they work very well. When they’re forced between gameplay sections, it’s fatal for ahybridthat relies on speed to be the absolute blast it is.
3Borderlands 2
Sidequests
Borderlands 2
Borderlands 2’s Pandora is a universe filled with irreverent characters and situations that truly stay etched in your memory for howhilariousand spectacular they can be.
On a narrative level, every line of dialogue and plot sequence is filled with an identity that all the series' fans love, but on a gameplay level, things change for the worse.
While it still feels satisfying to complete side missions to find new loot, it’s frustrating to always be reduced to the same five objectives throughout the journey.
Kill something, steal an item, act as an escort, run an errand, or solve a mystery that ends in killing more things…It all comes down to this small pool of options,which are kept entertaining by the characters in spite of the mechanics.
ForBorderlands 2,where gameplay plays an important role, mainly given its open-world nature, the lack of more variety in side missions is an irreplaceable loss.
2Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
I’ve complained regularly about howDOOM Eternalfell short of complete perfection due to its HUB, and it’s curious thatWolfenstein 2: The New Colossusfaces the same circumstances.
Even understanding the use of a safe space to develop the plot, characters, and space out the campaign’s pace, doing soin a game where unbridled violence has always been its core theme, seems like a mistake to me.
It has its entertaining moments, and getting to know the crew is worthwhile, but it doesn’t replace the vigor that a campaign more similar toWolfenstein: The New Orderwould bring, where the HUB played a much smaller role.
Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossusattempts to be much more than its predecessor and succeeds in practically every way, but theincreased scalebrought a reduction in intensity that limits it in several areas.
1DOOM: The Dark Ages
Exploration
DOOM: The Dark Ages
Speaking of how a game in theDOOMseries fell short of perfection, this time I want to focus on the extraordinaryDOOM: The Dark Ages.
Being the best shooter of 2025 and a worthy member of the franchise’s reboot, I’m deeply pained by the wayid Softwareapproached exploration, asit gives the game a sense of passivity that doesn’t belong there.
The awkwardness I experienced on several maps, spending more than 10 minutes wandering around places I’d already been to just to find collectibles, resources, or secret encounters, really unnerved me, as that’s not how the series usually feels.
WhileDOOMandDOOM Eternalpartially suffer from this problem, exploration takes on an excessive importance inThe Dark Agesthanks to the much more horizontal levels and more widely spaced points of interest.
I greatly appreciate the developer’s attempt to create a unique experience, and while it succeeds, I don’t think it’s for the better.DOOM: The Dark Agesis wonderful, but leaning too much into exploration and less into action wasn’t the right fit.
10 Minor Issues That Ruin Near-Perfect Games
These video games would be hard tens if it weren’t for these trivialities.
