Can anyone think of any challenging FPS/Survival titles that fit that description? Something possibly akin to Stalker?

I'm not necessarily a hardcore FPS fanatic but I do really enjoy FPS titles that are dark, gritty, deep, unforgiving and have RPG components mixed in.

For the longest time now I've only found one game/mod that fulfils these desires, that being Anomaly - Warfare + ironman - It's really the only game I've found that has a deep, rewarding progression systems, brutal AI adversity, organic combat and gunplay, dark and obscure atmosphere and decent lore to tie it all together.

I've played the absolute heck out of this mod. I wouldn't actually play the base titles in the series as they don't come close to scratching the same itch- They have bad AI, not enough AI, lack depth, have shallow progression and no ironman mode.

I just can't seem to find any games that come close to offering a similar mix of attributes.

The only other games where I can kind of get the same experience would be heavily modded Fallout, namely 3 and 4. But I've played the hell out of those too.

Seems like I'm at the end of a very short rope of games that cater for masochistic styles of play and games where the status-quo isn't automatically skewed in favour of the player.

Sorry for the long-winded post but I'm desperate and feel a little context was needed.

Daikatana

Metro 2033, Metro Last Light

Escape from Tarkov is only one that comes to mind, but that's multiplayer sadly.

What do you think of Doom Eternal or Borderlands 2/3/Tiny Tinas Wonderland?

No firearms involved, but Arx Fatalis and Dark Messiah of Might and Magic could be worth the try. Both from Arkane Studios like Dishonored series but not really sure about the RPG progression in the latter example.

Other obvious recomendations would be Fallout 3/4 but as pure FPS they are not the best. Pretty clunky.

Oh and Borderlands have been mentioned. They are the "diablo like" of FPS games

Thanks, I'll look into it. Thanks. Yeah, these games are pretty fun save for the lack of good AI, character building/progression and continuity. I've probably played 2033 about 30 times over by now. A solid game but RPG aspects are so limited in scope and overall it lacks depth and is just not close to offering any real adversity. Gunplay and atmosphere are bloody fantastic though.

Its funny/ironic you mention that game as I've always felt these games by design represent a perfect foundation for what I envision my dream game to be. It's just missing a few small but fundamental components. In fact the level of untapped potential in just the environment/atmosphere in those games makes me genuinely depressed.

I can barely grasp the elation I would feel being able to freely explore the ruins and subway systems in that setting, living out a hopeless, cold and treacherous existence scrounging dilapidated mutant infested structures for supplies and having it reinforced by gripping lore, dark atmosphere, brutal survival-orientated combat with an RPG cornerstone facilitated by the existence of a few derelict colonies with some random narrative-based interactions\encounters mixed in. This would be heaven to me. But I've long come to terms with the fact the game will never be realized in such a way.

You almost made me want to play it through again. Then I regress that the game doesn't offer any challenge and lacks the sort of continuity I seek. I think those games actually depress me more than entertain me these days. Doom is just too pure of an FPS with no much substance outside of it to keep me happy. I did not really like Borderlands, it just felt too player-centric and well, arbitrary. Plus I don't appreciate the style of graphics, at all.

I'll look into Tinas Wonderland, thank you. Thanks, I think I have dabbled in these old RPG's. Many are simply too crusty/cumbersome to fully enjoy. I guess I will need to investigate into other released in the series.

Painkiller: Black Edition

Borderlands II rocks and it's pretty funny. Borderlands III is merely okay. Haven't tried Wonderland yet. If Borderlands and Borderlands II show up here, I'll buy them.

Thanks. I have Painkiller. Although it was many moons ago I never got into it. Just didn't tick enough boxes for me personally. I like the concept though.

A lot of games, the vast majority it seems aren't tuned to offer anything resembling a hardcore experience, at least not without mods. The shame that the few that would be good can't be modded to any great extent anyway.

What I'm looking for probably doesn't exist in vanilla form. Just like the few titles I do play, it would undoubtedly take the form of a game modded beyond recognition. Probably also explains why I'm having such trouble finding them.

I only really enjoy games that have been tweaked to what most would consider unreasonable levels of difficulty with equally unreasonable rates of progression/pacing. An unpopular preference it seems, but I don't feel any sense of reward or fulfilment otherwise. It needs to be slow, painful, intricate with natural bias against the player with true value in the meaning of gameplay if that makes any sense. There needs to be associated risks beyond the mild inconvenience of reloading a save file.

I guess you could say this fits the same philosophy as mortals VS gods- I don't feel there is anything beautiful or worthwhile about experiences where actions/decisions and ability are mostly inconsequential and where threat of failure is non-existent.

I get that I'm the extreme minority here, evident in how unpopular that opinion/preference seems to be. Its just anything outside of that just feels hollow, superficial and well, pointless. I guess this is why I love Anomaly - Warfare so much, you can tune it so things are stacked massively against the player, slow the pacing right down, rig the economy against you, all the while enjoying satisfying combat against much improved AI where you actually have something on the line.

Not sure why I am writing this to be honest, it won't and hasn't resonated with anyone spanning the course of my gaming career. I guess there still remains a glimmer of hope that I can find something other than the 3 or 4 titles I keep cycling through. You can probably tell how desperate I have become.


Alas, I don't have a VR set. But its something I've always wanted to try out. There was a time where I could have afforded it, but I abstained due to the fear that the experience would undermine other non-VR games I play. Sounds silly I know. I just didn't want to open a door and look upon things I could never unsee, and then wish that to be a part of games I already love.

Can't afford it these days anyway. I'm still intrigued by the idea. I'll put that on a virtual list for the future. Thank you.

Sorry, I somehow missed your reply.

I only have Borderlands 2. I think for me to enjoy it I would need to mod the hell out of it. But it doesn't seem like it has enough pre-existing modding support to get the right feel. It also doesn't help that I hate the visual style lol.

I guess you could say Fallout is comparable in nature. For those I had to use several overhaul mods and a hundred other mods just to get it close to a hardcore experience. Not ideal, but beggars can't be choosers.

How unforgiving do you want it to be lol?

If you really want to suffer, try Pathologic 1 or 2. 2 is a remake of 1, although incomplete.

If you don't want to suffer, try Blacktail. That game need way more attention.

Thanks. I have Pathologic. I think the problem for me is that it didn't have anything tangible in the realm of gameplay. It's otherwise a fine game if you're more into macabre/morbid walking simulator type games.

As much as I enjoy challenging games, particularly of a dark nature, I also really need the gameplay to shine through equally with a strong emphasis on player input, either skill-based, reactionary or strategic. Preferably all of the above.

I guess since we are branching into other genres, I'll take any recommendations for games with attributes similar to Xcom + Longwar mod. That's one of the few others I really enjoy. But at nearly 6k hours now I feel I've scrapped everything from that barrel.

I enjoy Kenshi, or rather persist with it for lack of better options. Though I spent years overhauling the game to make it unrecognizably difficult, deeper and more involved. An ongoing project that I'm still not entirely happy with.

If I'm not mistaken, Dark Messiah had literal firearms :D.

As for a suggestion, you could try Fallout: NV with some of the Survivor mods.