First-person action games are tricky. There’s an easy flow to first-person shooters that makes swinging a gun around and aiming down the sights feel natural. The same isn’t always the case with first-person melee combat, which is why, despite years of iteration and innovation, no game has truly nailed down the perfect first-person melee combat system.
10 Action Games Where Movement Is The Real Superpower
You’ll feel like a speed demon in these movement-forward games that are jam-packed with thrilling action.
That hasn’t stopped developers from trying, though. Coming soon to consoles and/or PCs everywhere, these upcoming first-person action games are looking to put their stamp on the genre. Granted, some of these games do have shooting elements to them; the main thing we’re looking at here is that they aren’t exclusively focused on first-person shooting, but incorporate other elements into the mix, be it melee combat or supernatural powers.
Valor Mortis
Twisted Napoleonic Fantasy
For a team that has all but mastered the modern first-person action game, Valor Mortis is a pretty major change of pace for the devs at One More Level. This is a studio that made its name by developing Ghostrunner 1 & 2, which are some of the best first-person action games of all time. They are also incredibly fast-paced, something that Valor Mortis is toning down a bit.
It’s described as a “first-person action Soulslike,” which sounds awesome, but also suggests a more methodical approach to combat compared to Ghostrunner’s slash-and-dash style. There are the standard parry and dodge abilities, but there’s also a bit of gunplay in the mix. You can use the pistol in your left hand to shoot grenades out of the air, for example. You play as a fallen Napoleonic soldier who rises from the dead to battle supernatural threats, which promises both a unique setting and some really cool enemy and boss designs.
Fatekeeper
Some Of The Best Hit Reactions We’ve Ever Seen
Not much is known about the story of Fatekeeper, but it’s set in a desolate fantasy world, the protagonist is voiced, and a talking rat is following him around. Honestly, that’s a pretty good place to start, but there’s plenty more that has put this game on people’s radar, one being the jaw-dropping visuals. Fatekeeper looks gorgeous, which is particularly impressive when it’s being made by a team of just 12 people.
THQ Nordic’s New IP Fatekeeper Explained
THQ Nordic’s 2025 Digital Showcase revealed a new IP in the form of Fatekeeper, an action RPG inspired by the cancelled Hellraid.
Then there’s the combat, which also really stands out. There’s definitely some Dark Messiah of Might and Magic influence here. The hit reactions are fantastic; each swing of the player’s sword sends smaller enemies tumbling to the ground, while magic has a telekinetic element to it that lets you pick up and toss your foes like a ragdoll. Even the environment has some physics systems applied to it, allowing you to break objects with your weapon in realistic ways. There’s a lot to like about what Fatekeeper has shown so far, and with no confirmed release date as of this writing, it’s safe to say that plenty more will be shown off in the months to come.
Alkahest
Medieval Fantasy Meets First-Person Set Pieces
There are a lot of similarities between Fatekeeper and Alkahest, but what sets the latter apart is a greater focus on cinematic immersion. Alkahest features a very similar physics-based first-person combat system, although it’s a little less weighty and a little more arcadey. That’s not a bad thing, as it allows for faster-paced battles and some brutal dismemberment.
There’s also some Dark Messiah of Might and Magic influence on display here, namely in the kick mechanic, which is a pretty direct homage. Then there are the cinematics. While the degree to which these set pieces will play a part isn’t clear as of this writing, scenes where you’re clashing swords with a hideous beast or being dragged behind a moving cart suggest that there might be some Uncharted-level cinematic moments in Alkahest, which would certainly set it apart.
Clockwork Revolution
Like BioShock, But With Time Travel
Clockwork Revolution is most easily described as “steampunk meets BioShock,” and that not only does it justice but is pretty solid marketing for the game. Developed by the team behind classic RPGs like Wasteland 2 & 3, this is a first-person RPG that features both steampunk weaponry and some fascinating time-related powers.
The 33 Best Games Involving Time Travel
Moving through time and space is a popular concept explored through many genres. It’s a difficult element to get right, and these games do it best.
The whole game is built around the idea of you traveling to the past, altering events, and then seeing how those events play out when you return to the present. The severity of these effects can range from small changes to changes that alter the entire city of Avalon. However, these time powers can also be used in combat, adding some much-needed variety to the steampunk FPS gameplay.
Judas
The Answer To “What’s Ken Levine Working On?”
There’s some frustration around Judas because of how long it’s been since it was announced without so much as a hint of a release date. That said, this is Ken Levine we’re talking about; let the man cook. The creator of BioShock has been hard at work on his next first-person narrative action game, and from everything we’ve seen so far, it looks absolutely awesome.
There’s plenty of BioShock DNA on display, form the mix of gunplay and left-hand superpowers to exploring a world that was designed to be a utopia but has since fallen astray of that goal. However, where Judas sets itself apart is through the self-professed idea of “narrative LEGOs.” Essentially, as you play the game, your choices will alter the story, which is not uncommon for an RPG. In this case, those choices will stack, allowing you to create a narrative that reacts to your choices in significant ways and that can be altered into a completely new narrative on a second playthrough. It’s an ambitious idea (which explains why development is taking so long), but it’s also an idea that could be phenomenal if Levine and Ghost Story Games manage to pull it off.
Decrepit
Dark Fantasy, Emphasis On “Dark”
Part Soulslike, part roguelike, Decrepit is trying to do something different with the first-person RPG space. You wake up in a cell deep within a fallen castle. Faced with undead horrors at every turn, you try to fight your way out of the castle one step at a time. Stamina-based combat encourages memorizing attack patterns, because death will send you all the way back to your cell and strip you of your gear.
5 Soulslike Games With Better Combat Than Bloodborne
Bloodborne has become a benchmark for Soulslike combat, but in the ten years since its release, these other games have surpassed it.
Stunning combat animations and horrific enemy designs immediately made Decrepit stand out when it was announced at the 2025 Game Awards, but there’s even more going on underneath the hood. Gear sets adhere to specific classes and can be hunted down if you’re brave enough. The maze-like castle that can seem insurmountable at first will gradually become streamlined as you unlock shortcuts. Decrepit only just broke onto the scene, but it’s already got people excited for what’s to come.
Eldrimar
A Blend Of Action, Adventure, And Survival Horror
|
Platforms |
PC |
|---|---|
|
Release Date |
TBA |
|
Developer |
Honor Games |
|
Genre |
Action-Adventure, Survival Horror |
Of all the games on this list, Eldrimar has received the least attention. It didn’t have a big showcase announcement or a major feature on any big games journalism sites; these are the struggles of a team of two people trying to make a game as ambitious as this. Still, from its visuals to the way that it’s blending genres, Eldrimar is worth keeping an eye on.
First-person melee combat is the bread and butter of this list, and Eldrimar fits right into that category, but it’s doing something different by introducing elements of survival horror into the mix. Set in a world ruled by necromancers, the undead are common but serve potent sorcerers as their masters. These undead are surprisingly creepy, too, which isn’t easy to do with how prevalent zombies are in media today. Each area is large and non-linear, forcing you to explore to progress or find loot. Eldrimar is gradually working towards an Early Access release, which will help this small dev team fine-tune their game even further. However, even as it stands right now, Eldrimar is looking very cool, and with some polish, it has all the elements to become a sleeper hit.
