5 Best Cold War-Themed Shooters

Key Takeaways

• Cold War era offers a unique setting for immersive video games with Call of Duty: Black Ops.
• Fallout 3 creatively translates America’s Cold War history into a retro-future style.
• Atomic Heart and Rising Storm 2 provide fresh Cold War perspectives from the Soviet side and the Vietnam War setting.

Unlike World War 2 or more modern conflict settings, the Cold War (1945-1991) is a more underutilized setting in gaming. Every now and again though, there will be some sort of game, usually a first-person shooter, that will take full advantage of the era in some capacity, even if only in spirit.

The funny thing is that there seems to be a market for these types of games, because almost every time this happens, audiences and critics will point to the Cold War frame as one of the major advantages of that particular game, owing to its inherent strengths and appeal when compared to more ubiquitous settings. Here is a list of just a few of these great Cold War-themed shooters.

5 Call of Duty: Black Ops

COD’s First Foray into the Cold War

Call of Duty had only explored two major eras of history prior to the first Black Ops, World War 2, and the modern day. Black Ops then, was the series’ first attempt at translating the war into an FPS game, with many people hailing it as one of the best games in the series to this day. Like prior CODs, Black Ops takes inspiration from Hollywood projects, in this case, Cold War-themed films like The Manchurian Candidate, The Dear Hunter, and, of course, James Bond.

As a result, the game has a sense of style and charm not just in its campaign but its multiplayer and zombie modes, each brimming with Cold War themes and iconography.

4 Fallout 3

Retro Future that Echos America’s Past

One of the most impressive things about Fallout 3 is how it translated the pastiche of the old turn-based games into a fully 3D FPS format. Part of this was the series’ gestures towards America’s real-life Cold War history; its styles of propaganda, cultural sentiments, and societal direction, all of which heavily mirror the Cold War era in America at its highest points.

The thing about Fallout that makes it interesting is how it uses that framing to say something about politics and culture in the U.S. that is relevant in any era, past and present alike. This appeal to America’s history as a basis for the franchise’s retro-future, effectively makes it timeless as a work of art.

3 Atomic Heart

Cold War Pastiche from the Other Side

The Cold War wasn’t just an American conflict, it was one that affected nearly everyone on the globe at one time or another. One of its principal actors was the Soviet Union, a collection of communist nations that existed in opposition to the United States and the Western world. Atomic Heart, similarly to Fallout, takes the Cold War Pastiche and runs with it: only this time it’s from the Soviet side of the conflict. This brings in a unique perspective and aesthetic that gamers in the West aren’t usually exposed to.

It’s set in an alternate 1960s, in which the Soviet ideal utopia has been achieved thanks to miraculous advancements in technology, making it the premier world power. All is not what it seems, however, and the player is tasked with unraveling the many lies that have built this supposed utopia.

2 Rising Storm 2

A Cold War Gone Hot

• Release Date: May 30, 2017
• Developer: Tripwire Interactive, Antimatter Games
• Platform: PC

While Rising Storm 2 is not a narrative-based game (it is multiplayer only), it’s themed around one of the Cold War’s most intense periods, the Vietnam War. Lasting for over 30 years through its various phases, Vietnam was a major conflict within the Cold War era that was defined in the US by a wider policy against the communist bloc that included the Soviet Union and China.

The game succeeds in visually recreating the war, but also boldly portrays its asymmetric nature, with each side having wildly different equipment, advantages, and disadvantages. For the history buff gamers out there with an interest specifically in Vietnam and the Cold War, as well as those who love large-scale tactical Shooters, Rising Storm 2 is a game that is sure to satisfy on multiple fronts.

1 No One Lives Forever

If Austin Powers was a Game

It’s a shame that No One Lives Forever died as a series because it could seriously use a remake or outright sequel. It’s a duology with so much charm that it’s kind of strange that it never prospered in the way other shooters did in the early 2000s. Gameplay-wise, it’s rather flexible, letting the player use all sorts of retro gadgetry in addition to a wide array of guns while playing as a spy in the 60s.

There are elements of stealth and espionage baked into the mission design as well. Writing-wise, it takes inspiration from things like Austin Powers or Get Smart in this regard, so it doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s funny, fun, and, if you can find it online, a must-play for anyone into retro gaming and able to stomach a few bugs.