Since the inception of gaming as a medium, if you wanted ranged offensive options, the most common answer would usually be some version of guns. Shooters are some of the most popular games available, with the genre being a dominating force in gaming. However, a lot of gamers prefer the option of archery in games instead.
There are plenty of games that give you the option to use a bow and arrow, but not as many which prioritize archery as a gameplay feature. However, plenty of games still have some amazing archery mechanics. With that in mind, which are the best?
8 Thief
With stealth games, having ranged options is often far more important than melee, and using guns is often too attention-grabbing with how much noise they make. Because of this, in games like Thief, mastering archery is important to performing as well as you can.
Every entry in the Thief series features archery in some capacity, so if you enjoy stealth games and archery, this is a perfect series to try out.
7 Skyrim
If Skyrim is known for doing one thing, it is giving you options. One of these many options is archery, and depending on how you build your character, you can focus on using archery as much or as little as possible.
While archery in Skyrim might not have the same level of complexity as it can in other games, the system still has plenty of depth with its skill tree, and there is a wide variety of bows you can collect and craft as well.
6 Archery Kings VR
While most games with archery use it to help reach a greater narrative goal, there are still games where you can just play archery in its more traditional sporting form.
One of the best games that let you try sports archery is Archery Kings VR, which adds to the immersion factor using VR. If you are a fan of the sport and have access to a VR headset, this is one you should try out!
5 Crysis 3
The final game in the Crysis trilogy takes place in a post-apocalyptic New York, which is an interesting enough premise as is. Still, things get even better with the main form of weaponry available in the title being bows and arrows.
While the game is technically a first-person shooter, it does not play like a typical shooter in this genre, with archery adding a unique twist.
4 Kingdom Come: Deliverance
An issue a lot of players can have with archery in gaming is the lack of realism, especially if they are an archer in the real world too. Of course with games, realism isn't always the answer, but that's the answer you get with Kingdom Come: Deliverance.
The archery in this game was massively divisive for its focus on realism, with you starting the game as an incredibly untalented archer and having to gradually get better. This level of immersion is exactly what some folks are looking for, but it can also be a massive turn-off to others.
3 Genshin Impact
When considering the massively popular free-to-play gacha game, Genshin Impact, archery might not be the first thing that comes to mind. However, archery is one of the five weapon types available for characters, and plenty of characters utilize the bow.
The archery in Genshin Impact is much less focused on realism and, instead, how archery intermingles with the character's elemental affinity. The way archery and aiming works make bow characters some of the most unique characters to play in Genshin Impact.
2 Horizon Forbidden West
When it comes to archery in modern open-world games, one of the first which might spring to mind is the Horizon series. Both Horizon Zero Dawn, and the sequel Horizon Forbidden West, feature bows as the main form of weaponry that the protagonist Aloy uses.
This means that you get plenty of variety when it comes to bows, arrows, elemental affinities, and bow-based skills. While all this variety is impressive, the reason why the archery is so good in Horizon is how foundational it is to the combat and gameplay. Shooting different parts of the mechanical beasts with precision gets Aloy better loot and quicker results, and this keeps the combat loop of these long games refreshing and rewarding.
1 The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom
While the archery in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was serviceable and added good variety to the swordplay, the fuse mechanic in the sequel, Tears of the Kingdom, adds a whole new layer of chaos to this method of attack. The fuse ability allows the protagonist, Link, to attach almost any item to his weapons. This can lead to combinations that you might not even assume are possible.
Using this ability to your advantage makes ranged combat in Tears of the Kingdom incredibly rewarding. You can add fruits or enemy drops of any elemental affinity to your arrows on the fly to expose enemy weaknesses, an eyeball to make the arrow hone in, or a Puffshroom to create a cloud of smoke confusing foes. With how fun and dynamic the archery in Tears of the Kingdom is, it is now hard to imagine a Zelda game without this system.