Third Person Shooters with Actual Movement

In which the action is actually exciting. The actual quality of the games may vary.

To define "good movement" the bare minimum is that it needs to be more than just a simple dodge button. Lara Croft and Ratchet's side jumps or Max Payne's dives qualify as more than just a dodge because you're allowed to shoot while moving, something that simple opens up a lot more possibilities in combat. This is why I included Uncharted 4 and its DLC but not the previous games, the grappling hook you can swing on while shooting makes for a very different experience. Even the ability to shoot while jumping alone could be enough, if there's enough airtime or you have a gliding ability like in inFamous or Destroy All Humans. Many of the games in this list also generally avoid using cover systems, but it's okay if a game has them as long as it doesn't rely entirely on them.

Why not first person shooters? I find that those that have good movement are pretty well documented and have been getting more and more popular with the return of boomer shooters, even beyond that everyone knows their TF2s (Team Fortress 2) and their TF2s (Titanfall 2). The third person perspective should, in theory, allow for even more freedom of movement since you can actually see your character, but this is rarely even attempted.

I realize most mecha TPS games could fit in here, but I'm not that familiar with that subgenre, so suggestions in general are very much appreciated, I'd like to make this list as complete as possible.

Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider
Whole series until the 2013 reboot
Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando
Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando
Pretty much the whole series from this point on
Sunset Overdrive
Sunset Overdrive
Vanquish
Vanquish
Max Payne
Max Payne
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
Max Payne 3
Max Payne 3
Quantum Break
Quantum Break
Control
Control
Stranglehold
Stranglehold
GunZ: The Duel
GunZ: The Duel
GunZ 2: The Second Duel
GunZ 2: The Second Duel
Ghost in the Shell
Ghost in the Shell
10,000 Bullets
10,000 Bullets
Destroy All Humans!
Destroy All Humans!
Complete series
Metal Arms: Glitch in the System
Metal Arms: Glitch in the System
Gungrave
Gungrave
Gungrave: Overdose
Gungrave: Overdose
Gungrave VR
Gungrave VR
Gungrave G.O.R.E
Gungrave G.O.R.E
Dead to Rights
Dead to Rights
Dead to Rights II
Dead to Rights II
Dead to Rights: Reckoning
Dead to Rights: Reckoning
Kid Icarus: Uprising
Kid Icarus: Uprising
Splatoon
Splatoon
Splatoon 2
Splatoon 2
Splatoon 3
Splatoon 3
Jak II
Jak II
Jak 3
Jak 3
Recompile
Recompile
Returnal
Returnal
Wet
Wet
BloodRayne
BloodRayne
Drake of the 99 Dragons
Drake of the 99 Dragons
P.N.03
P.N.03
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition
Lost Planet 2
Lost Planet 2
Bionic Commando
Bionic Commando
Resident Evil 6
Resident Evil 6
Total Overdose
Total Overdose
Chili Con Carnage
Chili Con Carnage
Advent Rising
Advent Rising
Biomutant
Biomutant
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
Star Wars: Bounty Hunter
Star Wars: Bounty Hunter
Star Wars: Battlefront
Star Wars: Battlefront
Star Wars: Battlefront II
Star Wars: Battlefront II
Star Wars Battlefront
Star Wars Battlefront
Star Wars Battlefront II
Star Wars Battlefront II
El Matador
El Matador
Just Cause
Just Cause
Just Cause 2
Just Cause 2
Just Cause 3
Just Cause 3
Just Cause 4
Just Cause 4
Infamous
Infamous
Infamous 2
Infamous 2
Infamous: Festival of Blood
Infamous: Festival of Blood
Infamous: Second Son
Infamous: Second Son
Infamous: First Light
Infamous: First Light
Crackdown
Crackdown
Crackdown 2
Crackdown 2
Crackdown 3
Crackdown 3
Warframe
Warframe
Iron Man
Iron Man
Iron Man 2
Iron Man 2
Front Mission Evolved
Front Mission Evolved
Armored Core
Armored Core
Whole series, I guess
Metal Wolf Chaos
Metal Wolf Chaos
Zone of the Enders
Zone of the Enders
Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner
Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner
Gunvalkyrie
Gunvalkyrie
The Specialists
The Specialists
Double Action: Boogaloo
Double Action: Boogaloo
Cloudbuilt
Cloudbuilt
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
Onirism
Onirism
Rollerdrome
Rollerdrome
El Paso, Elsewhere
El Paso, Elsewhere
Forspoken
Forspoken
Fortnite
Fortnite
Risk of Rain 2
Risk of Rain 2
Delta-Gal
Delta-Gal
Protodroid Delta
Protodroid Delta
Foamstars
Foamstars
Mecha Break
Mecha Break
The First Descendant
The First Descendant
Killer Bean
Killer Bean

4 Comments


10 months ago

Great list! It's an interesting distinction; I keep coming up with games that have interesting traversal mechanics but they don't really impact combat. I think Vanquish and the Just Cause games are the perfect poster children for this list.

Dark Void is built almost entirely around its jetpack mechanic IIRC. I feel like the Star Wars Battlefront games probably also deserve to be considered but it's been so long I don't remember the specifics.

10 months ago

@cowboyjosh Hey, sorry it took me so long to reply to this. I've considered Dark Void when I first made this but ultimately didn't add it because the core gameplay is really limited on what the jetpack can do and it's stiff. For the most part, the game is just a typical cover shooter where you autofly to the next cover. The sections where you can actually fly freely are essentially the same as controlling a ship or plane.
All the Battlefronts are actually good suggestions though, and I'm surprised I forgot about them.

29 days ago

This comment was deleted

29 days ago

How about the Sin & Punishment duology?

Also: Shadow the Hedgeog (the PS2 and Cube game) belongs in this list. Nobody can change my mind. :v


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