Best Linear Games on Steam
Games with focused, directed progression through authored levels, scenes, or chapters.
Browse all Linear →
1BioShock Infinite - Indebted to the wrong people, with his life on the line, veteran of the U.S. Cavalry and now hired gun, Booker DeWitt has only one opportunity to wipe his slate clean. He must rescue Elizabeth, a mysterious girl imprisoned since childhood and locked up in the flying city of Columbia.
Mar 25, 2013
In this game, you can…
- snap off a rail mid-ride, rain bullets from above, then drop back down into a brutal aerial takedown.
- tear open reality to pull in weapons, turrets, and other gear, then reshape a fight on the fly.
- reach the final reveal and have the story pivot hard into alternate realities that reframe what you just played.
- ride hanging rail lines between skyscrapers and keep firing without ever touching the ground.
- mix elemental powers with gunfire, like tossing murder crows into a crowd and shocking whoever survives.
- throw up a bullet-catching shield, soak incoming fire, then hurl it back as a blast that clears space.
- get a companion who actively tosses you ammo, healing, cash, and power refills during fights without needing babysitting.
2To the Moon - A story-driven experience about two doctors traversing backwards through a dying man's memories to artificially fulfill his last wish.
Sep 7, 2012
In this game, you can…
- rewrite a man's memories so his final wish feels fulfilled in his last conscious moments.
- start at a patient's deathbed and work backward through his past, memory by memory, until the real story clicks.
- dive into a dying man's memories and rebuild them into a new life.
- hunt down a key memento in each scene, then solve a small tile-flip puzzle to unlock the next memory jump.
- piece together a romance in reverse, watching a relationship's end before you learn how it began.
- notice tiny throwaway details in dialogue and objects that later snap into major reveals.
- walk through memory-anchored places like a carnival, a library, and a childhood home, each tied to a different turning point.
- watch two doctors argue, joke, and make hard calls while they race against their patient's failing time.
3Hitman: Absolution™ - The original assassin is back! Betrayed by the Agency and hunted by the police, Agent 47 finds himself pursuing redemption in a corrupt and twisted world.
Nov 19, 2012
In this game, you can…
- line up dead-accurate shots by marking enemies, then clear the room in one burst.
- trigger a dance party for cops while disguised as a cop, then hide in plain sight as the DJ.
- replay a checkpoint to kill the same target over and over in totally different ways, like poison, katana, pit drops, or a falling chandelier.
- sparta-kick someone over a ledge.
- poison food, sabotage electrics, and rig machines so a killing looks like an accident.
- swap outfits off an immobilized guard, then hide your face and bluff past people who almost recognize you.
- shoot with both Silverballers at once.
- hide in closets, vents, or garbage bins, then slip into the next area and quietly take someone out before anyone knows you were there.
4Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 2 (2009) - The most-anticipated game of the year and the sequel to the best-selling first-person action game of all time, Modern Warfare 2 continues the gripping and heart-racing action as players face off against a new threat dedicated to bringing the world to the brink of collapse.
Nov 11, 2009
In this game, you can…
- play through the infamous "No Russian" airport mission as part of the story.
- chain customizable multiplayer killstreaks like Predator Missiles, Sentry Guns, Care Packages, and an AC-130 gunship in a single life.
- team up in a separate co-op mode with reworked campaign spaces, where missions become time trials, wave survival, and objective runs.
- fight through a globe-spanning campaign that jumps from Afghanistan to Brazil to Russia to the U.S. with each mission escalating into a bigger disaster.
- breach doors in slow motion, clear a room, and immediately get thrown into another blockbuster set piece with vehicles and huge firefights.
- switch between two parallel campaigns: Task Force 141 hunting a terrorist leader and U.S. Army Rangers defending America during an invasion.
- race a snowmobile in co-op, then jump straight into quick missions built around speedruns and survival challenges.
- build multiplayer loadouts with riot shields, throwing knives, tactical insertions, and dual-attachment weapon setups.
5SANABI - SANABI is an exhilarating stylish dystopian action-platformer. Play as a legendary retired veteran and use your signature prosthetic arm to jump over cliffs and skyscrapers, zip through bullets and traps and defeat powerful enemies.
Nov 8, 2023
In this game, you can…
- hook directly onto enemies to destroy them, then push off their bodies to keep your momentum and use them like extra platforms.
- get a second pass through stages where the same mechanics suddenly let you blast through three times as fast.
- get a story that unfolds out of order, then replay and notice clues and foreshadowing that reframe the whole conspiracy.
- swing through a mega-city without almost ever touching the ground.
- zip from room to room with a chain-hook arm, then boost, slow time, and keep the whole combo going in midair.
- turn movement tricks into a full toolset—boosting, reeling in, slowing time, grabbing enemies—and route through levels in wildly different ways.
- fight bosses with their own unique mechanics that force you to learn new ways to use your movement and hook.
- run with a hacker companion who opens locked doors, reveals enemy weaknesses, and pulls encrypted secrets out of the city as you climb.
6Call of Juarez: Gunslinger - From the dust of a gold mine to the dirt of a saloon, Call of Juarez® Gunslinger is a real homage to the Wild West tales. Live the epic and violent journey of a ruthless bounty hunter on the trail of the West’s most notorious outlaws.
May 22, 2013
In this game, you can…
- rewind a level mid-fight when the narrator changes his story.
- watch the same scene reshape itself after someone in the bar corrects your version of events.
- dodge the bullet that would have killed you, then sprint for cover and jump back into the fight.
- get thrown into a completely different route and enemy lineup because the storyteller "remembers" it differently.
- enter showdowns where you keep your hand near the gun, focus on your opponent, and quickdraw at the exact instant.
- fight a three-way standoff where you have to out-draw two opponents in the same duel.
- slow time after a kill streak, tag glowing enemies, and chain headshots while everything else barely moves.
- shoot dynamite out of the air as it's flying toward you.
- dual-wield revolvers and fire both hands independently while clearing a whole room
7Call of Duty®: Black Ops - The biggest first-person action series of all time and the follow-up to critically acclaimed Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare 2 returns with Call of Duty®: Black Ops.
Nov 9, 2010
In this game, you can…
- break out of the main menu, find a terminal, type ZORK, and play a full 1980s text adventure.
- push zombie rounds for hours with friends, reviving each other and holding chokepoints you've memorized.
- lead a full-on prison riot escape in Vorkuta with Reznov.
- get yanked into an interrogation chair between missions.
- fight zombies in a ruined theater as boarded windows splinter open.
- hunt hidden zombies easter eggs as a squad to unlock secrets across the map.
- jump into a top-down arcade mode where you mow down hordes in pure chaos.
- bet it all in high-stakes party modes like One in the Chamber and Gun Game.
- practice and rank up in bot matches to test loadouts solo or with friends.
8ENA: Dream BBQ - Experience surreal environments and inexplicable characters as ENA in a new wild world.
Mar 26, 2025
In this game, you can…
- use a fully implemented bathroom mechanic.
- deliver an absurd requested item and watch the "reward" be something like a middle finger or someone blasting off into the sky.
- talk to most NPCs again and again to unlock extra hidden lines.
- find secret areas tucked into places you'd normally walk past without thinking.
- choose different chapter routes and endings, where taking one branch can close off other dialogue until a full replay.
- take weird side gigs across a dreamlike hub, running bizarre errands for strangers just to keep moving toward the Boss.
- trigger special reactions by doing things out of order, like checking a Door before talking to the receptionist.
- achievement-hunt until the last unlock is something as tiny as ENA randomly blinking
9Metro 2033 - Set in the shattered subway of a post apocalyptic Moscow, Metro 2033 is a story of intensive underground survival where the fate of mankind rests in your hands. In 2013 the world was devastated by an apocalyptic event, annihilating almost all mankind and turning the earth’s surface into a poisonous wasteland.
Mar 16, 2010
In this game, you can…
- trade with bullets that are also your strongest ammo
- race a gas mask filter timer on the surface, swapping filters before you choke
- stack up compassionate actions and careful eavesdropping to unlock a different ending at the last second
- spend your best rounds to survive, or save them as money for later
- turn out lights and move through shadows, using throwing knives and retrieving them after silent kills
- walk into the Library and survive by following NPC advice on how to handle the Librarians
- get hit with hallucinations that mess with your mission and change how you read what's real
- crawl through pitch-dark tunnels using a lighter and a headlamp while mutants prowl nearby
10Call of Duty® 4: Modern Warfare® (2007) - The new action-thriller from the award-winning team at Infinity Ward, the creators of the Call of Duty® series, delivers the most intense and cinematic action experience ever. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare arms gamers with an arsenal of advanced and powerful modern day firepower and transports them to the most treacherous hotspots...
Nov 12, 2007
In this game, you can…
- crawl in a ghillie suit through tall grass while tanks and patrols roll past, staying hidden inches from discovery.
- fire on enemies from an aerial gunship thousands of feet up, scanning the ground and striking targets from above.
- join PC matches that cram 40–50+ players into standard modes, turning every street into nonstop crossfire.
- snipe a target in a ruined city, then crawl between enemy squads over a hill to escape through open fields.
- watch bullets punch through flimsy cover, so walls and boxes stop being safe in firefights.
- breach rooms with teammates who shout callouts, stack up, and clear spaces alongside you like a coordinated squad.
- fast-rope from a helicopter into a hot zone, then fight through battles packed with tanks, helicopters, and waves of infantry.
- run community servers with snipers-only rules or modded competitive setups, hopping between custom playlists that change how the game plays.
