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Shadowgrounds

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Ranking compiled by Lluis Enric Mayans, Founder & Head of ContentHow this is calculatedOrdered by an attribute-similarity model, not editorial opinion.

We filtered the 50 games similar to Shadowgrounds down to the 19 that fit the “Xbox” category. Aliens vs. Predator, World War Z and Half-Life 2: VR Mod top the list, ranked by affinity and similarity score to Shadowgrounds.

iRank65/ 100

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GenreShooterSubgenreFPS
Tags
DarkSoloMultiplayer
Year 2005Dev Frozenbyte

Quick answer

Within the “Xbox” category, the closest game to Shadowgrounds is Aliens vs. Predator — scoring 90/100 on our similarity scale. World War Z and Half-Life 2: VR Mod follow close behind.

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The best games like Shadowgrounds on Xbox

19 similar games foundUpdated May 2026

Handpicked by our similarity algorithm, these are the titles with the highest gameplay match to Shadowgrounds. Each one has been evaluated across 15 real attributes — from combat style and progression mechanics to world structure and visual perspective — so every recommendation is based on how the game actually plays, not just its genre label.

#1Aliens vs. Predator
Aliens vs. Predator
ShooterFPS
SoloMultiplayerCo-opMeleeRangedDarkSci-FiHorror
Steam👍 91%· 21KRAWG👍 62%· 422MC68IGDB74· 4
Year 2010Dev SEGAPlaytime ~3hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Same family of first-person shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and horror tension

≠ Its own twist: survival mechanics, strong narrative focus and stealth mechanics, while skipping offline

Three separate campaigns — Marine, Alien and Predator — each rebuilding the game around a different body: the Marine's motion tracker and dread, the Alien's wall-crawling, the Predator's cloak and vision modes. The Marine campaign is the one that holds up. The other two are short and thin by comparison, and the multiplayer that carried it in 2010 is long dead.

Where it drifts furthest from Shadowgrounds: visuals.

Released 5 years after Shadowgrounds.

Genre100Setting100Game mode87Combat86Tone83Visuals0
#2World War Z
World War Z
ShooterFPS
SoloMultiplayerCo-opMeleeRangedDarkHorror
Steam👍 83%· 31KIGDB74· 12OC71· 129
Year 2019Dev Saber Interactive · Focus EntertainmentOn PS4 · PC · Xbox

✓ Both are first-person shooters — sharing shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling

≠ Its own twist: third-person shooting, survival mechanics and post-apocalyptic world, while skipping setting scifi

A co-op horde shooter whose swarm tech is the draw: hundreds of zombies climb over each other into structures, and the class system rewards coordinating rather than scattering. Levels are short and replayable. The shooting itself is functional but unremarkable, and the campaign chapters are thin connective tissue between the set-piece swarm moments.

Where it drifts furthest from Shadowgrounds: visuals.

Released 14 years after Shadowgrounds.

Genre100Combat100Tone100Game mode72Setting52Visuals0
Half-Life 2: VR Mod
ShooterFPS
SoloMultiplayerRangedMeleeDarkSci-FiHorror
Steam👍 98%· 272KRAWG👍 91%· 4.1KMC96IGDB79· 7
Year 2004Dev Valve Software · ValvePlaytime ~7hOn PC · Xbox · Android

✓ Both are first-person shooters — sharing shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling

≠ Its own twist: puzzle design, strong narrative focus and visual first person, while skipping co op

Gordon Freeman became the most popular nameless and voiceless protagonist in gaming history. He is painted as the most famous scientist and a hero within the world of Half-Life, and for a good reason.

Where it drifts furthest from Shadowgrounds: visuals.

Genre100Combat100Setting100Tone77Game mode53Visuals0
DOOM 3
ShooterFPS
SoloMultiplayerCo-opMeleeRangedDarkHorrorSci-Fi
Steam👍 89%· 8.3KRAWG👍 77%· 632MC87IGDB86· 6
Year 2004Dev id Software · Bethesda SoftworksPlaytime ~1hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Fits the first-person shooters cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and horror tension

≠ Stands apart with survival mechanics, tower defense planning and turn-based strategy, while skipping adventure storytelling

DOOM 3 is a first-person shooter, the third installment in the series, serving as a reboot to the previous games. ###Plot As the game is set in a science fiction universe, the events span accordingly.

Where it drifts furthest from Shadowgrounds: visuals.

Genre100Combat100Setting100Game mode87Tone80Visuals0
Quake
ShooterFPS
SoloMultiplayerCo-opRangedMeleeDarkHorrorSci-Fi
Steam👍 97%· 15KRAWG👍 88%· 487MC94OC87· 37
Year 1996Dev id Software · SEGAPlaytime ~1hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Same family of first-person shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and horror tension

≠ Where it differs: brings strong narrative focus, setting medieval and PvP competition, while skipping adventure storytelling

id's follow-up to Doom, and the first with true 3D movement — rocket jumps, full vertical aim, and a Lovecraftian gloom scored by Nine Inch Nails. The movement still feels quicker than most modern shooters. Long-time players tend to prefer a source port to the official re-release, which quietly altered difficulty tuning and is treated as a compromised preservation job.

Where it drifts furthest from Shadowgrounds: visuals.

It predates Shadowgrounds by 9 years, with what that implies technically.

Genre100Combat100Tone86Setting84Game mode78Visuals0
Left 4 Dead 2
ShooterFPS
MultiplayerCo-opSoloRangedMeleeDarkHorror
Steam👍 98%· 1.0MRAWG👍 85%· 3.4KMC89IGDB89· 5
Year 2009Dev Valve Software · Electronic ArtsPlaytime ~9hOn PC · Xbox · Apple Macintosh

✓ Same family of first-person shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and horror tension

≠ Stands apart with survival mechanics, online features and visual first person, while skipping adventure storytelling

Everything the first game did plus melee weapons, daylight campaigns and special infected that force the team apart rather than just damage it. The AI Director still shapes every run. It absorbed the original so completely that the community split never healed, and the campaigns lean on finale set pieces that become rote once you know the safe corners.

Where it drifts furthest from Shadowgrounds: visuals.

Released 4 years after Shadowgrounds.

Genre100Combat100Tone100Game mode76Setting65Visuals0
Left 4 Dead
ShooterFPS
SoloMultiplayerCo-opMeleeRangedDarkHorror
Steam👍 96%· 67KRAWG👍 87%· 1.7KMC89IGDB85· 7
Year 2008Dev Valve Software · Electronic ArtsPlaytime ~5hOn PC · Xbox · Apple Macintosh

✓ Fits the first-person shooters cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and horror tension

≠ Stands apart with survival mechanics, strong narrative focus and post-apocalyptic world, while skipping adventure storytelling

The AI Director is the whole design: it places hordes and items based on how well you are doing, so no two runs of a campaign play the same and tension stays authored without being scripted. Four campaigns only, which is thin, and the sequel superseded it so completely that finding populated servers now takes patience.

Where it drifts furthest from Shadowgrounds: visuals.

Released 3 years after Shadowgrounds.

Genre100Combat100Tone82Game mode78Setting52Visuals0
#8Portal 2
Portal 2
ShooterFPS
Co-opOfflineSoloMultiplayerMeleeRangedSci-Fi
Steam👍 99%· 459KRAWG👍 94%· 6.1KMC95IGDB92· 9
Year 2011Dev Valve Software · Electronic ArtsPlaytime ~11hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Both are first-person shooters — sharing shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling

≠ Its own twist: puzzle design, precision platforming and strong narrative focus, while skipping horror tension

Portal 2 is a first-person puzzle game developed by Valve Corporation and released on April 19, 2011 on Steam, PS3 and Xbox 360. It was published by Valve Corporation in digital form and by Electronic Arts in physical form.

Where it drifts furthest from Shadowgrounds: tone and visuals.

Released 6 years after Shadowgrounds.

Genre100Combat100Game mode100Setting69Tone0Visuals0
Quake 4
ShooterFPS
SoloMultiplayerRangedMeleeDarkHorrorSci-Fi
Steam👍 88%· 3.8KRAWG👍 69%· 352MC81IGDB75· 6
Year 2005Dev Aspyr Media · Bethesda SoftworksPlaytime ~1hOn PC · Xbox · Apple Macintosh

✓ Fits the first-person shooters cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and horror tension

≠ Where it differs: brings strong narrative focus and visual first person, while skipping adventure storytelling

A conventional military shooter wearing Quake's skin: corridor combat with heavy weapons, at its best in the mid-game once the Strogg conversion sequence gives it a hook. Level design is repetitive metal hallways for long stretches, and the squadmates who accompany you do little beyond soaking damage and opening doors.

Where it drifts furthest from Shadowgrounds: visuals.

Genre100Combat100Setting100Tone87Game mode60Visuals0
F.E.A.R.
ShooterFPS
SoloMultiplayerRangedMeleeDarkHorrorSci-Fi
Steam👍 94%· 19KRAWG👍 89%· 1.0KMC88IGDB70· 2
Year 2005Dev Monolith Productions · Warner Bros. InteractivePlaytime ~2hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Both are first-person shooters — sharing shooter, first-person shooting and horror tension

≠ Where it differs: brings strong narrative focus, visual first person and free to play, while skipping adventure storytelling

Its enemy AI is still the reference point twenty years on: soldiers flank, suppress and call out movements, so firefights unfold differently each time. Slow-motion makes that legible instead of trivial. The horror sections have not aged as well — the same office corridors repeat for hours, and the scares telegraph themselves long before they land.

Where it drifts furthest from Shadowgrounds: visuals.

Genre100Combat100Setting100Tone82Game mode59Visuals0
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet
ShooterFPS
SoloCo-opMultiplayerOfflineMeleeSci-Fi
Steam👍 87%· 898RAWG👍 64%· 73MC76IGDB76· 3
Year 2011Dev Shadow Planet Productions · Microsoft StudiosPlaytime ~1hOn PC · Xbox · Apple Macintosh

✓ Same family of first-person shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling

≠ Where it differs: brings Metroidvania exploration, puzzle design and fantasy world, while skipping horror tension

###Interesting mix The game is a mixture of 2D shooter and puzzle genres developed by Shadow Planet Production and released by Microsoft Studios for its Xbox360 console. As part of the HumbleBundle pack, a soundtrack for the game is available, which was released separately.

Where it drifts furthest from Shadowgrounds: visuals.

Released 6 years after Shadowgrounds.

Genre100Game mode100Setting56Combat50Visuals0
F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin
ShooterFPS
SoloMultiplayerRangedMeleeDarkHorror
Steam👍 85%· 9.3KRAWG👍 77%· 690MC79IGDB76· 7
Year 2009Dev Warner Bros. InteractivePlaytime ~4hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Same family of first-person shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and horror tension

≠ Stands apart with strong narrative focus and visual first person, while skipping adventure storytelling

Wider environments and better lighting than the original, with the slow-motion shooting mostly intact and a mech section that breaks up the pacing. The AI is noticeably less sharp than in the first game, though, and the horror leans on jump scares rather than the dread the original built. Competent, rarely surprising.

Where it drifts furthest from Shadowgrounds: visuals.

Released 4 years after Shadowgrounds.

Genre100Combat100Tone85Setting65Game mode60Visuals0
Fallout 76
ShooterFPS
MultiplayerCo-opSoloDarkSci-FiHorror
Steam👍 72%· 138KIGDB51· 14OC54· 149
Year 2018Dev Bethesda Game Studios · Bethesda SoftworksOn Xbox · PS4 · PC

✓ Both are first-person shooters — sharing shooter, first-person shooting and horror tension

≠ Stands apart with deep RPG systems, survival mechanics and strong narrative focus, while skipping adventure storytelling

Where it drifts furthest from Shadowgrounds: visuals.

On reception: its Steam reviews are mostly positive, against very positive for Shadowgrounds.

Released 13 years after Shadowgrounds.

Genre100Tone81Game mode69Setting64Visuals0
Borderlands 4
ShooterFPS
SoloMultiplayerCo-opSci-FiFirst Person
Steam👍 59%· 79KIGDB87· 4OC82· 140
Year 2025Dev Gearbox Software · 2KOn Xbox · Switch · PC

✓ Same family of first-person shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling

≠ Its own twist: deep RPG systems and visual first person, while skipping horror tension

Where it drifts furthest from Shadowgrounds: visuals.

On reception: its Steam reviews are mixed, against very positive for Shadowgrounds.

Released 20 years after Shadowgrounds.

Genre100Game mode87Setting67Visuals0
Grand Theft Auto Online
ShooterFPS
SoloMultiplayerCo-opSandbox WorldOpen World
IGDB94· 1
Year 2014Dev Rockstar North · Rockstar GamesOn Xbox · PlayStation 3 · PS4

✓ Fits the first-person shooters cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling

≠ Where it differs: brings sandbox freedom, sandbox world and open world exploration, while skipping horror tension

Where it drifts furthest from Shadowgrounds: visuals.

Released 9 years after Shadowgrounds.

Genre100Game mode87Visuals0

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