The Best Games That Play Like The Call Of Duty Series

The Call of Duty franchise has been around for over two decades. In that time, it has gone from being a Medal of Honor rival to standing tall as one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time and arguably the king of the FPS genre. Love it or hate it, there’s no denying Call of Duty’s impact on the genre, or its massive success.

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Some fans might feel that the franchise has stagnated over the years; not all its contributions to gaming are positive, but when it comes to slick FPS gameplay and competitive multiplayer shooting, COD is still hard to beat. It’s undeniably one of the best FPS franchises around, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other options. There are some great alternate video game options for those who enjoy COD but are looking for something a little different. For this list, we’re only considering games that play like more traditional COD, and are ignoring Battle Royale options. Not because Battle Royale isn’t good, but because we’ve already talked about the best Battle Royale games.

8

Titanfall 2

Ignore The Giant Mechs And Feel The COD Inspiration

Systems

Released

October 28, 2016

OpenCritic Rating

Mighty

The Call of Duty franchise started out grounded in reality before chasing more futuristic settings. A game about piloting giant mechs does not sound much like Call of Duty, but much of the moment-to-moment gameplay feels similar (maybe because the founders of Respawn Entertainment were also the co-founders of COD’s Infinity Ward). When out of a mech, Titanfall 2’s gunplay is tight and rewarding and easily rivals COD’s best efforts. Its campaign is also full of the kind of bombastic set pieces fans have come to associate with COD.

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Even the game’s enhanced movement system isn’t that alien to COD. Advanced Warfare, Black Ops 3, and Infinite Warfare all experimented with enhanced movement mechanics like wall-running and power slides. Some CODs have even featured robot enemies and small-scale mech suits. Titanfall 2 might be almost ten years old at this point, but it still holds up well and is arguably more fun to play than COD in a lot of ways. This is one of Respawn Entertainment’s best games, and maybe one day we’ll actually get a sequel.

7

Rainbow Six Siege

Has Gradually Become More COD-Like With Age

Saying Rainbow Six Siege is similar to Call of Duty is sure to upset some die-hard Rainbow fans, and the two franchises do have plenty of differences. Call of Duty tends to reward run-and-gun and lone-wolf tactics, while Rainbow Six Siege is one of the best tactical shooters of all time. Rainbow Six’s maps also tend to be smaller and have maintained their emphasis on siege tactics, while COD’s maps are more traditional and designed for fast-paced competitive FPS games.

However, there are similarities. Over the years, Rainbow Six Siege has become more fast-paced and has buffed the speed of clunkier operators like Sledge. Rainbow Six Siege’s generic military shooter aesthetic is also comparable to that of many of Call of Duty’s games. Competitively, both games also reward fast reflexes and feature quick TTK’s when compared to franchises like Battlefield. While still distinct, many of the skills that make a good COD player will transfer over to Rainbow Six Siege with practice.

6

Spec Ops: The Line

A Wildcard Entry With An Amazing Story And Set Pieces

Systems

Released

June 26, 2012

Developer(s)

Yager Development

A third-person cover-based shooter might seem like an odd choice for a list like this, but there’s a method behind the madness. Nearly every online thread where someone asks for a game like COD has at least one person shouting the virtues of Spec Ops: The Line, and they’re not wrong. While the two have plenty of obvious differences, there are some similarities.

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Both are fast-paced military shooters that rely on player skill when it comes to landing shots with a slight air of realism. More importantly, Spec Ops: The Line has the kind of winding, twist-filled narrative that will appeal to fans of the Black Ops series of COD games. The game’s multiplayer servers are mostly abandoned but still up. If players are lucky enough to find a game, Spec Ops‘ online matches do feel pretty similar to COD’s, just in third-person. Anyone who enjoyed the older COD games is sure to enjoy Spec Ops despite the differences.

5

Medal Of Honor: Warfighter

The Original “We Have Call Of Duty At Home”

• Released: October 5, 2012
• Genre: FPS
• Platforms: PC, Xbox 360, PS3
• Developer: Danger Close

Despite its phenomenal success, it’s surprisingly hard to find games that play similarly to Call of Duty. FPS games are a dime a dozen, but these days most of them at least try to differentiate themselves from the king of the genre. Medal of Honor: Warfighter didn’t. Upon release, it was widely criticized for being a mediocre COD clone that failed to set itself apart.

Time has been forgiving to the game, however, and these days it has a bit of a cult following. Playing Warfighter feels a lot like classic COD, with an even greater emphasis on realism (the developers even filmed soldiers from different special forces groups to model the differences in their methods). For anyone looking to play a game like old-school Modern Warfare, Warfighter’s campaign is a little dated but has its share of COD-like moments. Despite being a decent game, sadly, today it’s remembered for being the entry that pretty much killed the Medal of Honor franchise and is far from being the best game in the series. That said, it’s better than its legacy would suggest.

4

Insurgency: Sandstorm

A Competitive Military Shooter Focused On Realism

Insurgency: Sandstorm

Systems

Released

December 12, 2018

Developer(s)

New World Interactive

OpenCritic Rating

Strong

Insurgency: Sandstorm was released back in 2018, but it has recently seen a resurgence in its popularity. As some COD fans have become increasingly disappointed with the direction the series has been taking, they’ve moved across to Insurgency. It’s easy to see why. The game plays like old-school COD but with more of a focus on tactical gameplay and weapon realism.

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Its fast time-to-kill, modern setting, and fast-paced firefights will feel instantly familiar to COD fans. The game lacks the distractions of the garish weapon and character skins of modern COD (Insurgency’s best outfits actually look good), and there are no perks or OP special abilities. Then there’s the limited HUD, which offers a more immersive experience. Simply put, Insurgency: Sandstorm is a boiled-down, competitive FPS experience that gets rid of some of modern COD’s more distracting bells and whistles. Disillusioned COD fans would do well to give it a try.

3

Killzone: Shadowfall

PlayStation’s Failed Halo-Killer Was Still Good

Systems

Released

November 15, 2013

OpenCritic Rating

Fair

When the original Killzone was released in 2004, Sony made no secret of the fact that it was meant to be their Halo killer. Anyone who was around at the time will concede that they failed. The Killzone games were good, but they never reached the heights of the Halo series in either their single-player or multiplayer modes.

Over time, Guerrilla Games and Sony changed tactics, and later Killzone games played increasingly like Call of Duty. This is especially true for Killzone: Shadow Fall. It might be set in the future, but it’s full of the kind of bombastic set pieces fans have come to expect from COD campaigns. The moment-to-moment gunplay also feels a lot like COD campaigns. Likewise, the multiplayer and its various modes all felt remarkably similar to COD. Unfortunately, these similarities ultimately worked against the game. Killzone: Shadow Fall was an excellent FPS and launch title for the PS4, but it all felt a bit too familiar thanks to its similarities to COD. Still, for anyone who enjoys COD and has access to a PS4, it’s certainly worth picking up and is one of the best games in the Killzone series.

2

Battlefield 4

Call Of Duty On A Larger Scale

Systems

Released

October 29, 2013

OpenCritic Rating

Strong

The Battlefield franchise has traditionally been one of COD’s biggest rivals, setting itself apart with a slightly longer TTK and massive maps with higher player counts and a focus on vehicular combat and tactics. However, over time, the series has changed, adopting aspects of COD’s gameplay to try and steal away some players.

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This evolution arguably began with the Bad Company games and Battlefield 3. These feature more infantry-focused gameplay and tighter maps like Operation Metro that felt more like COD. Battlefield 4 then continued these changes, introducing even more maps and modes that felt like COD and including the kind of in-depth weapon customization fans expect from COD. Its single-player campaign also plays a lot like a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare campaign and has one of the best stories in Battlefield history. Most recently, Battlefield 2042 has continued this tradition, including the large-scale battles fans want from a Battlefield game, while also including smaller-scale team deathmatches and objective-based modes. Classic Battlefield fans might have been happier when Battlefield and COD were more distinct, but Battlefield today is more accessible to COD fans than ever before.

1

Back 4 Blood

For COD Zombies Fans Looking For A Change

Systems

Released

October 12, 2021

OpenCritic Rating

Strong

So far, this list has focused on games that play like traditional Call of Duty campaigns and multiplayer, but plenty of people buy modern COD games purely for the incredibly addictive Zombies mode. Originally inspired by Valve’s Left 4 Dead games, Back 4 Blood is an excellent option for fans of COD’s Zombies mode.

Like COD Zombies, Back 4 Blood has manic horde-style gameplay that requires the player to keep moving, shooting, and managing their resources. Like COD, Back 4 Blood has tons of weapons on offer, all of which feel distinct, and the shooting itself is smooth and snappy. Also, like COD Zombies, success on anything other than the lowest difficulty levels requires teamwork and good communication. However, there are differences. Back 4 Blood isn’t quite so obsessed with Easter Eggs, and instead has a more narrative-driven approach, and its progression system uses a deck-building mechanic that is very different from COD’s systems. Still, fans of COD Zombies are sure to enjoy Back 4 Blood.

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