By One of the first games I’ve ever played on my first PC was Virtua Cop. Since then, I was obsessed with first-person shooters, especially police-themed games.
I love being immersed in the role of a SWAT officer, going through doors to clear rooms, commanding teams, and apprehending terrorists. Unfortunately, only a handful of games can offer that feeling.
In this list, I’m sharing with you some of those games. These are the best SWAT games where you get to role-play as a leader of a SWAT team, or even go in alone, to prevent terrorist attacks and neutralize bomb threats.
These games are designed around tactical gameplay mechanics where one wrong move can cause you to lose the entire mission. They are definitely not made for Call of Duty players.
To play these SWAT games, you need some brains.
1. Ready Or Not
I’ve played a lot of SWAT-style tactical shooters, but nothing has even come close to the level of immersion offered by this game.
Ready Or Not features a campaign-based mission playlist and custom missions that you can play at your own pace. Each mission features a unique location with different types of threats like terrorist situations, bomb defusal, and hostage rescue.
Out of all the SWAT games I’ve played, Ready or Not has the best enemy AI, which has realistic reactions and difficulty levels. Gunplay also feels punchier and has weight to every bullet you fire. It has weapon customizations as well.
Playing with AI teammates doesn’t feel as artificial as most other games. They do glitch out a lot, but they’re bearable. Every move you make in this game matters. I’ve had to restart more than one game after making the stupidest mistakes, like opening a door without looking for grenades.
2. SWAT Commander
SWAT Commander is basically an indie version of Ready of Not. It has all the features and gameplay systems of a triple-A game but with all of its content offered free, instead of paid DLCs.
SWAT Commander is in early access right now with 6 different locations and several different mission variations. Location design is impressive with more than one way to get lost in, taking you to farmhouses, nightclubs, shopping malls, and more are on the way.
Gunplay feels solid with basic weapon customization. Poor enemy AI and occasional performance issues were the only negative aspects I experienced in this game.
Overall, SWAT Commander is a great alternative to Ready or Not. It’s cheaper, much more forgiving, and accessible than Ready or Not.
3. Ground Branch
I’m not sure if I could ever categorize this game as a SWAT game, but it’s a tactical shooter that has similar vibes for sure.
In Ground Branch, you become a military squad leader who deals with close-quarter, tactical operations that involve planning and precision, just like SWAT missions.
Ground Branch is inspired by Rainbow Six games and features much deeper level of weapon and character customizations. Playing this game is much more technical than R6 games as well.
Playing Co-op is the most fun way to enjoy Ground Branch to role-play as a military squad. But you can definitely enjoy it solo as well.
4. Zero Hour
Zero Hour is another fantastic indie game developed by a team from Bangladesh that actually looks and feels more like a triple-A title.
This game also lets you take control of a SWAT team to take down bad guys in various fictional locations based in Bangladesh. So it will surely offer you a different vibe than most other SWAT games that are often set in the US.
Zero Hour only costs $10 bucks and offers tons of value. It’s a must-play for fans of tactical shooters. Just don’t compare it to games like Ready or Not, and remember this is an indie title.
5. Battlefield Hardline
Battlefield Hardline is an oldie but a goodie. It’s one of the underrated titles in the series where the developers tried to take the franchise in a different direction and failed. But that doesn’t mean this game is bad; it just wasn’t made for the right audience.
In Battlefield Hardline, you play the role of a detective who’s leading his team across various missions in the story campaign. There’s also an online mode in this game but matchmaking is basically non-existent since this is a title from 2015.
Hardline is one of the rare SWAT-style games that has an actual story campaign. While it’s not the most tactical-style shooter, you can enjoy its roleplay aspect while playing as a cop.
6. OPERATOR
OPERATOR is another early access title that’s been around for a while but it received a massive patch recently that made the game even better.
Similar to Ground Branch, OPERATOR also features military-themed operations with close-quarter combat that require precision and tactical thinking.
The game has impressive gunplay with realistic-looking visuals and mechanics that immerse you in every mission. Since it’s in early access, there are some bugs and issues that needs to be ironed out, like the enemy AI that can spot you from a mile away.
7. Rainbow Six Vegas
This is one of the goats that introduced us to SWAT-style games. Back in the day, Rainbow Six was the GOAT among FPS players.
Before Rainbow Six Siege, there was Rainbow Six Vegas, an FPS centered around SWAT-style operations. This game features an immersive campaign and missions that we no longer see in tactical-shooter games.
Keep in mind that Rainbow Six Vegas is a game that’s more than 20 years old. So it shows its age and may not even run well on modern PCs. But if you can get it running, it’s worth experiencing again.
8. Contain
Contain is not another SWAT tactical shooter where you rescue hostages; it’s actually more into the sci-fi genre.
In this game, you go in as a SWAT team, not to deal with terrorists but to fight weird anomalous creatures. It seems to be heavily inspired by SCP: 5K and features spooky vibes and missions that mostly take place at night.
It’s immersive and perfect for horror fans who also like handling modern weapons and tactical combat. Well, there’s not a lot of tactical strategies involved when hunting creatures. But it’s fun enough.
9. Tactical Assault VR
Tactical Assault is another brilliant SWAT game, but unfortunately, it’s a VR-only game.
Even though the game has blocky graphics, it has immersive mechanics and runs well in VR to offer you a realistic experience.
In the current early access release, Tactical Assault includes 9 different missions that you can play solo or co-op with friends. There’s also PVP online multiplayer matches in the game, allowing you to get the most out of your VR experience.
10. Payday 2
If you’re getting bored of playing the good guy, try this one for a change.
In Payday 2, you become the robbers and go against SWAT teams. Payday 2 is one of the most fun co-op shooters ever made. It features impressive missions where you get to plan, strategize, and rob banks as a team with your friends.
Payday 2 is not a very tactical-oriented game. But it involves careful planning and strategy. You need to work as a team and plan every move carefully. Even though the game also has single player mode, it’s best to enjoy with friends.
11. Police Stories
We are now venturing into top-down style games. Police Stories is a popular top-down shooter with SWAT-themed missions and a campaign.
The game features pixel-style graphics with highly detailed mechanics that even allow you to issue commands and deal with various types of bad guys.
This game has very reasonable system requirements, and it will run on any potato PC. Police Stories 2 is also on the way. It has much better graphics and looks more immersive.
12. Door Kickers 2
Door Kickers 2 is another top-down shooter featuring tactical gameplay mechanics.
This game is centered around military special ops missions, where you go on high-stakes missions, where you get to pause to plan your next moves and execute in real-time action-packed gameplay.
Door Kickers 2 has both single-player and co-op multiplayer. It also features much better graphics and combat than the original Door Kickers game. But feel free to check out the first game if you really want to get into this title.
