Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior (2003) is the first ever FPS in the Warhammer series.

That means it predated Space Marine, Deathtide, and Boltgun.

Now you could make the case that Space Hulk was an FPS. But since movement is grid-based, and you have limited control over a single space marine – I’m not counting it.

Meanwhile, Fire Warrior behaves more like a typical FPS. Perhaps too much. Other than the Warhammer license, this is a perfectly normal FPS.

Which is why some people don’t like this game. Enemies come at you, you shoot them. Grab a key card, go to the next zone. You fight bosses, and that’s that.

But in 2025, I think Fire Warrior has something going for it. The low res poly look is actually quite beautiful. And the fact it is so basic makes it approachable to people who don’t typically play an FPS.

Fire Warrior is nowhere near as good as Quake, Unreal, or Halo – other games it aesthetically resembles. But fun is still to be had.

  • InvertedParallax@lemm.eeEnglish
    51·
    9 days ago

    I’m sorry, but it was so un-wh40k.

    I think they tried, but the soul was not there at all, you were basically doomguy with a different gun.

  • MurrayL@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    9 days ago

    I tried playing Fire Warrior a couple of years ago - it’s dreadful. Reviewed poorly at the time and hasn’t aged well.

    Saying it’s a basic, linear FPS and shouldn’t be judged against genre-(re)defining greats is one thing, but even on those terms it stinks.

    • atomicpoet@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      2·
      8 days ago

      I don’t mind it. But I also paid C$1.29 for it on GOG.

      And I’m not so much judging it against the greats but also everything else I’ve ever played.

      I’ve played FPSes—even modern ones—where the maps are unnavigable, the AI is beyond stupid, and jank is constant. With such games, I can only stand them for a matter of minutes before I shut them off.

      Meanwhile, with Fire Warrior, it’s managed to keep my attention for hours—which is no small feat.

      Back in the day, the reviews were not so much negative so much as they were average. And I agree with them. Fire Warrior is as average as average as can be.

      But I also feel its low poly aesthetic is delightful. And as average as it is, I think there’s a specific kind of gamer who would enjoy this over the likes of Quake or Unreal simply because it’s super easy to play.

      As an FPS, this is as close as it gets to “cosy”.