Looking to spend your gaming time running and gunning? Years ago it was hard to imagine that a smartphone would be a great way to experience a first person shooter, a genre that seemed custom built for a mouse & keyboard or a controller, but in 2021 we’ve got a ton of excellent options that are plenty competitive with their console counterparts.
FPS games put you in control of someone with a gun, and typically drop you in some big arena to shoot and explode your way past some enemies. There are some variations of the genre, but you’re normally going to play in first-person for the bulk of the game and guns are almost always here. Sometimes you get a dash of RPG elements to spice the games up, too.
Check out our list to find your next game.
Call of Duty: Mobile
If you’ve dabbled in FPS games at all, you’ve almost certainly heard of Call of Duty. The mega franchise is one of the best selling series in video game history, so naturally it got a pretty decent mobile port.
Call of Duty: Mobile brings what makes the games fun to your smartphone with extremely optimized touchscreen controls and a competitive multiplayer element. There’s the full 100 player battle royale mode that’s been popular in Warzone, plus 5v5 team deathmatch and several other game modes to keep you entertained.
The game hosts content from Call of Duty’s entire lineage, too, so you’ll be able to use weapons and characters from the whole franchise on maps that have been made popular over the years. It’s all custom-tuned for a smartphone, though, so don’t worry about getting a simply watered down version of a regular Call of Duty game.
If you’re looking for an in-depth, polished FPS to dive into, you can’t go wrong here. It’s free-to-play, too, so you can test drive it without opening your wallet. Grab some buddies and jump in.
Play Store Download Link | Free
Modern Combat 5
Modern Combat 5 from Gameloft is one of the latest in a series of made-for-mobile FPS experiences, and it does a pretty good job with it.
The series is known for bringing big screen action down to your smartphone without compromise, including making tight controls and pickup-and-play friendly game modes. That’s exactly what you’re getting here, too.
The game boasts 10 different classes that you can play across single player and multiplayer modes, and it features a frequent rotation of modes and items to keep things exciting. Whether you want to squad up and dive into a battle royale or run through a gripping campaign, you’ve got choices here.
Gameloft games definitely leave a little heavier on microtransactions but there’s still a lot to enjoy without spending any money, and there are very few companies that can craft a mobile-first experience like they can. It won’t cost you anything to download, so if you want to scratch that modern sci-fi shooter itch, give it a shot.
Play Store Download Link | Free
DOOM
Can it run Doom? Yes, your phone can run Doom, and you don’t even need to do anything besides install it from the Play Store to get started.
Bethesda has updated the grandfather of FPS games to work extremely well across modern devices, and it’s the classic experience that you’re looking for. You’re getting the full original 1993 Doom game plus its expansion, Thy Flesh Consumed, dropping you in the role of Doomguy to shotgun demons across a Mars base.
The game sports touch controls so you can play a few episodes here and there while you’ve got some downtime, or connect a gamepad to your phone and turn it into something a little more modern. The latest updates also add support for more add-ons so you can expand your Doom experience, and the latest builds support 90Hz and 120Hz devices where applicable. Make that Doom gameplay smoother than ever.
Doom II is available, too, whenever you get done with the first one, and it’s got all the same latest enhancements.
Dead Trigger 2
FPS games and zombies go together like peanut butter and jelly, and Dead Trigger 2 offers one of the best combinations of zombie slaying action.
It’s a sequel to the fairly successful Dead Trigger and improves on the original in just about every way. As a mobile-first experience you’re getting enough control options to cater to however you like to play. Gamepad support is here, too.
Dead Trigger revolves around you building up a base of survivors in a zombie apocalypse, and by recruiting and upgrading your crew you’ll get access to bigger weapons and more items across the game’s multiple campaigns and battlefields. You can tweak your loadouts to use your favorite guns, drop turrets, and load up on grenades and first aid kits to survive waves of zombies. Collect some cash, upgrade your base some more, and go back at it.
There’s plenty of content, satisfying gameplay, and graphics that still hold up. Just because we’re a few months past Halloween doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give this one a spin.
Play Store Download Link | Free
Hitman Sniper
If you’re looking for something a little less conventional, you might be interested in Square Enix’s take on Hitman on mobile. The game puts you in the role of the infamous Agent 47, but instead of sneaking around maps you’re perched in different environments with a sniper rifle.
The traditional gameplay trades disguises and stealthy gadgets for upgradeable rifles and quick and fun objectives across different maps. You’ll have to shoot certain objects to set off traps, eliminate targets quickly or in a certain order, and try to stay as undetected as possible in a blend of FPS and puzzle action.
Shooting your way through missions unlocks more weapons and parts to upgrade your abilities, and you’ll even find some seasonal equipment and Easter eggs from other Square franchises to spice things up. It may not be what Agent 47 is used to, but that doesn’t make it any less fun to kill time with.
Play Store Download Link | $0.99
Dead Effect 2
Don’t confuse this one for Dead Trigger 2; while Dead Effect 2 definitely shares part of its name, it stands on its own as an engrossing FPS experience on mobile that incorporates survival horror and RPG elements with some of the best smartphone game graphics you’ll find.
The storyline is actually somewhat reminiscent of Dead Space (again, no relation) that drops you on an abandoned space station and leaves you to find your way off.
You’ll blast your way through alien zombie hybrids with three different characters, each with their own upgradeable weapons, gear sets, and more, giving you tons of different ways to play the game. If there’s one thing that seems to be missing from a lot of mobile games its diversity in builds and player choice, and Dead Effect 2 tries to crack that market.
This one’s definitely a smart choice for players looking for a gripping single player experience, especially if you’re used to some of the more famous console space zombie shooters.
Play Store Download Link | Free
