The best offline tactical shooter games for PC that you can play right now

Key conclusions

• Tactical shooters vary in form and style, from arcade combat to realism and sci-fi surrealism.
• Different hardcore mil-sim shooters provide patient, tactical offline single-player gameplay.
• PC players can enjoy the best tactical shooters like
  Ghost Recon Wildlands
  and
  Special forces 4
  in offline mode.

Shooters come in many forms, from arcade combat to cover-based movement, and from realism to sci-fi surrealism. Tactical shooters is a separate subgenre that requires players to have a patient approach to the game, waiting for realistic mechanics and quick death in the event of a shot.

Even within this shooter niche there are variations, with many hardcore mil-sim shooters opting for large-scale online battles such as Detachment and Hell Let Loose. However, all of these tactical shooters provide patient tactical single-player gameplay. This the best tactical shooters that PC players can play offline.

8 Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands

Open world tactical action

Ghost Recon Wildlands takes the tactical shooter series into the open world, a move that isn't always conducive to pacing, but certainly gives players a larger playground for tactical missions. The action of the shooting is conducted from the third person and under cover, complemented by a competent stealth system and military gadgets such as drones.

It's not the most realistic feel of tactical shooters, who opt for fluid shooting action that benefits from tactical planning but doesn't always require it. However, there is plenty of offline content for players to enjoy, including co-op as players can play with AI teammates.

7 Hidden & Dangerous 2: Courage Under Fire

Behind enemy lines

Released in 2003. Hidden and dangerous 2 was a tactical shooter that was ahead of its time. The game focuses on British SAS operations behind enemy lines during World War II. As such, it uses stealth and infiltration systems in both first-person and third-person gameplay.

There's cloaking, real-time map planning, voice commands for the player's four-man squad, and the ability to take POWs. There are many complex systems at work here, apart from the game's realistic shooter mechanics. It even included several real-time strategy-like segments, which really pushed the boundaries of what tactical shooters were offering at the time.

6 Arma 3

Introducing Sim to Mil-Sim

The ARMA series is what many gamers think of when they hear the term tactical shooter. ARMA 3still the freshest mainstay of the franchise, offers the widest and most diverse version of this tactical shooter in the style of a military simulator.

ARMA 3 features an impressive single-player campaign with a co-op option consisting of several mini-campaigns and missions. Objectives range from solo infiltration and espionage to commanding troop maneuvers to win battles.

There are also vehicles, scuba gear, underwater weapons, and over 50 weapons, all with different attachments. All of these mechanics are backed up by a simulation style of gameplay with attention to detail and realism that means ARMA 3 more than enough for today's players.

5 Special forces 4

Call of shots

As for tactical shooters, Special forces 4 is a classic. Squad-based tactical command, mission planning, and adherence to police protocol set many of the standards that developers use as touchstones for what a tactical shooter police simulation game should look like.

Based on the previous one SPECIAL NAVY games and them Police quest predecessors, Special forces 4 puts players in the role of a special forces team leader with two tactical squads to command. Gameplay focuses on non-lethal containment and punishes players for excessive use of force.

For players who want to experience mission planning and leading their squads to victory, few games offer the same sense of tactical control as Special forces 4. Thanks to some (mostly) well-designed friendly and enemy AI, the game is still enjoyable to play offline.

4 Sniper elite 5

One man army

The Sniper elite the series takes a different approach to most tactical and simulation shooters, focusing on a story-driven campaign and a lone protagonist who often faces extreme odds. Although the sniper sim elements are undeniably deep Sniper elite 5 specifically, allowing players to increase or decrease aspects of simulation and realism to achieve the desired balance.

Campaign missions combine stealth and open combat, and allow players to approach objectives in free-form sandbox levels. Tactical planning is encouraged over open firefights, and players will usually find it easier if they can take out key targets and plan traps before revealing their position.

3 Six days in Fallujah

Enemy territory

Despite an extremely difficult development cycle, release in 2023 Six days in Fallujah has been well received by fans of mil-sim tactical shooters. The game features tactical squad command in real-life situations inspired by the stories of soldiers and civilians directly involved in the Iraq War.

The realism is also reflected in the appearance of the gameplay. The environments are well realized and the weapons and ballistic effects are well modeled. The game depicts the dangers of operating in enemy territory, forcing players to be aware of threats from all sides, secure zones before proceeding, and always be on the alert.

2 Ready or not

Cops and robbers

ready or not developed by Void Interactive, is seen by many as a spiritual successor SPECIAL NAVY series. As with these games, it tasks players with taking responsibility for a SPECIAL NAVY team. Players can command their squads in tactical first-person shooter missions focused on non-lethal destruction and capture.

This game takes this idea one step further as players control a SPECIAL NAVY unit. NPCs have psychological conditions and can die in the field. Players must keep their squad alive and maintain their psychological health to perform well in missions.

Ready or not it's a great game that enhances realism. Tactical team-based gameplay is also essential to success. The game and its enemy AI are complex enough to effectively punish players who don't play methodically and use their team.

1 Brothers in Arms: The Road to the Mountain 30

Commanding a detachment of the Second World War

Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 stands out in the memories of many players for its different approach to WWII shooters. As the first game in Brothers in arms series, it set the precedent for squad-based tactical gameplay thereafter. At the time, developers Gearbox were quoted as saying they wanted to take a more mature, less theatrical approach to WWII storytelling in games.

It paid off. It wasn't the only tactical shooter in 2005, but it was average in comparison Medal of Honor or Call of Duty The history of World War II at that time, of course, struck a unique tone. The squad command gameplay was also well implemented.

Controlling the two squads was relatively easy, even considering the gamepad controls it was designed for. The game definitely reinforces the idea of ​​pinning and flanking enemies to the player, creating tactical opportunities to do so and discouraging the player from lone wolf by giving them unreliable, semi-realistic aiming. Despite the age Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 still considered useful tactical experience.