Top Archery Games: Genshin to Skyrim

Online archery games blend skill, strategy, and fun, letting players dive into archery from home.

These games vary from realistic simulations, requiring players to consider wind and arrow path, to fantasy adventures with combat. Whether hitting a bullseye or defending a castle, these games offer varied experiences for casual players and archery fans.

Let’s explore some of the top games.

Archery Games Storylines

Horizon Series Storyline

The Horizon series, including “Horizon Zero Dawn” and “Horizon Forbidden West,” centers on Aloy, a young hunter in a world filled with machines.

The Nora people exiled Aloy at birth, but Rost, an outcast, raised her, teaching survival skills and machine hunting.

Aloy finds a Focus, a device that reveals Old World tech, ancient data, and machine weaknesses, at a young age.

In “Horizon Zero Dawn,” Aloy seeks to understand her past and exile. As a Seeker, she can leave and return to Nora lands, discovering her world’s truths and her origins.

“Horizon Forbidden West” sees Aloy aiming to find a GAIA backup to save the deteriorating planet.

Tomb Raider Series Storyline

The Tomb Raider series, starting its reboot in 2013, highlights Lara Croft’s survival and adventures. Her bow symbolizes her resourcefulness and growth.

The trilogy portrays a younger Lara, before she became the iconic Tomb Raider.

Lara’s compassion, deep love for her friends, and resilience define her in the reboot.

She grows from a survivor into the Tomb Raider, driven by her curiosity, dedication to preserving artifacts, and preventing their misuse.

She honors indigenous cultures and eagerly learns more about them.

Crysis 3 Storyline

“Crysis 3” unfolds in post-apocalyptic New York, 23 years after “Crysis 2.” Lone hero Laurence “Prophet” Barnes faces the alien Ceph threat.

Prophet strives to unite everyone against the Ceph and the scheming Cell corporation to save the world.

The game features the Predator Bow as a new primary weapon, offering various arrows and strength modes.

Players can shoot arrows without turning off cloak mode, enabling undetected passage through combat zones. This ability, alongside stunning graphics and a compelling story, sets “Crysis 3” apart.

Warframe Storyline

Warframe takes place in a detailed sci-fi universe with lore covering centuries.

Players become Tenno, warriors skilled in blade and gun, waking from cryosleep to battle various factions and the oppressive Grineer.

Quests uncover the Tenno’s mysteries, the Warframes’ origins, and the solar system’s dark history. Players who like discovering lore through quests, environmental hints, and events value the story’s depth.

Minecraft Storyline

Minecraft lacks a traditional storyline in its main sandbox mode.

The “Minecraft: Story Mode” by Telltale Games offers a narrative.

This separate episodic game provides a story-driven experience. Players’ choices affect the outcome.

The main game’s survival mode has an “end goal”: defeat the Ender Dragon. It focuses on creativity and exploration, with minimal narrative.

Learn more: Intro to Bow Enchantments in Minecraft

Genshin Impact Storyline

Genshin unfolds a vivid story in Teyvat’s fantasy world, starting players on a quest to find their missing sibling. The game stands out for its vast lore, rich world creation, and character-focused tales.

Teyvat’s regions draw inspiration from various cultures, hosting characters with rich histories.

Their stories weave through quests and secrets for players to discover.

Updates grow the storyline, introducing new areas, people, and quests that build on the main tale and delve into Teyvat’s lore.

Learn more about:

• Genshin Impact Characters: Exploring Teyvat

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Storyline

In “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim,” players can refine archery to master a stealth archer style.

The game doesn’t center on archery but weaves it into many quests and the gameplay.

Joining groups like the Thieves Guild or Dark Brotherhood values archery for stealth and assassination. Skyrim’s open world lets archers discover and tackle different side quests, personalizing their story.

Archery offers more than combat; it’s a means to engage with the world, from hunting wildlife to battling bandits.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Storyline

“Breath of the Wild” follows “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom” by years, continuing Link and Princess Zelda’s story.

In this sequel, they explore a cavern beneath Hyrule Castle and find a poisonous substance, Gloom, causing illness.

The game keeps its open-world play and adds new areas like the sky and the Depths.

Details on integrating archery into the story are scarce, but the game likely enhances “Breath of the Wild’s” archery for combat, puzzles, and exploration.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance Storyline

In “Kingdom Come: Deliverance,” archery is integral to the game’s historical setting.

The hero, Henry, hunts and enters archery contests like “Chumps.” These activities highlight archery’s role in medieval Bohemia.

The game emphasizes realism in archery, requiring players to account for distance, arrow drop, and breathing.

Each shot becomes a thoughtful part of the immersive story.

Ghost of Tsushima Storyline

“Ghost of Tsushima” tells Jin Sakai’s tale, a samurai fighting the Mongol invasion.

Archery, taught by master archer Sensei Ishikawa, is key.

Ishikawa’s stories enrich side quests, exploring his past and conflict with a former student.

The game presents various bows for different combat scenarios.

Players face archery challenges to hone their skills.

The bow symbolizes Jin’s evolution from a traditional samurai to the Ghost, using all methods, including archery, to conquer foes.

Gameplay Mechanics of Archery Games

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

In “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom,” archery plays a pivotal role, integrating seamlessly with the character’s elemental affinities.

This dynamic system allows for a variety of unique gameplay experiences, as players can exploit elemental weaknesses of enemies or solve puzzles in innovative ways.

The introduction of the fuse mechanic further enriches the archery experience, allowing players to create elemental explosions by combining arrows with Link’s abilities, making bow characters some of the most versatile and enjoyable to play

Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West

The Horizon series, including “Horizon Zero Dawn” and “Horizon Forbidden West,” is renowned for its extensive variety of bows and arrows, each with unique strengths, effects, and elemental affinities.

This diversity is not just for show; it’s foundational to the combat system.

Players must choose their arsenal wisely to exploit the weaknesses of the mechanical beasts they hunt, making combat a strategic and rewarding experience.

Precision shooting with the right type of arrow can yield better loot and more efficient kills, keeping the gameplay fresh and engaging

Tomb Raider Series (2013 reboot onwards)

Starting with the 2013 reboot, the “Tomb Raider” series has been lauded for its bow mechanics, which offer a balanced mix of combat and stealth gameplay.

The bow is not just a weapon in Lara’s arsenal but a tool for survival, puzzle-solving, and exploration.

As players progress through the games, they can upgrade the bow and unlock new types of arrows, enhancing its utility and lethality.

The bow’s versatility allows players to approach situations in multiple ways, from direct combat to stealthy eliminations

Kingdom Come: Deliverance

“Kingdom Come: Deliverance” offers one of the most realistic archery experiences in gaming.

The game eschews traditional aiming reticles in favor of a system that requires players to judge distance, arrow drop, and even account for their character’s breathing.

This level of realism adds a significant learning curve but also makes mastery of the bow incredibly rewarding.

The game’s focus on historical accuracy extends to its archery mechanics, providing an immersive experience for players who appreciate authenticity

The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim

“Skyrim” allows players to adopt a stealth archer playstyle, which has become one of the game’s most popular approaches.

The flexibility of the game’s skill system lets players enhance their archery skills, making it possible to play through much of the game relying primarily on the bow.

Mods available for “Skyrim” further enhance the archery experience, adding new bows, arrows, and mechanics that make the stealth archer playstyle even more viable and fun

Ghost of Tsushima

Features distinct bow types (long bow, short bow, warrior bow, etc.)

“Ghost of Tsushima” features a variety of distinct bow types, including longbows, shortbows, and warrior bows, each offering a unique feel and suited to different combat situations.

This variety adds depth to the game’s combat system, allowing players to choose bows that complement their playstyle.

The game’s cinematic approach to combat makes each arrow shot feel impactful, and the ability to upgrade and customize bows adds to the player’s strategic options in battle

Warframe

Warframe is a free-to-play third-person co-op action shooter that emphasizes on PvE (Player vs. Environment) missions with a vast array of Warframes (characters) each possessing unique abilities.

The game includes complex mechanics such as modding weapons and Warframes to enhance abilities, various mission types, and a deep crafting system

Minecraft 

Mindcraft is a sandbox game that allows players to explore, build, and survive in a blocky, procedurally generated 3D world.

It features several game modes including Survival, Creative, Adventure, and Spectator modes.

The core mechanics involve crafting, building, and exploration, with an emphasis on creativity and survival skills.

Learn more about: Minecraft Bow Enchantments for Master Archers

Genshin Impact

Genshin is an open-world action RPG with an anime aesthetic. It features a party system where players can switch between characters with different elemental abilities to perform combos and solve puzzles.

The game is known for its gacha mechanics, where players can obtain new characters and weapons.

Platforms for Archery Games

PC and Consoles – Most games listed are available on multiple platforms, including PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and in some cases, Nintendo Switch.

Mobile Games – While not covered in detail here, there are archery-focused games available on Android and iOS, offering casual gameplay experiences.

VR Games – Archery Kings VR offers an immersive sports archery experience for VR headset owners.

Popularity

Large Gaming Audiences

Mindcraft – Minecraft remains one of the most played games globally, with over 174 million active players in the last. The game has consistently maintained a high player count, with a significant increase in players during school holiday

Skyrim – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim” continues to be immensely popular, even over a decade after its initial release.

As of 2023, “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim” has sold over 60 million copies globally, making it the seventh best-selling game of all time.

The game’s availability across multiple platforms and its re-release to new generations of consoles have ensured that it remains accessible to a wide range of players.

Genshin Impact – has a large player base, with over 63 million active players in the last 30 days. 

The game had its highest-ever number of monthly players in April 2023, with over 66 million on average.

The game’s characters also have their own popularity polls, indicating a high level of engagement from the community.

Warframe – As of 2022, the game had a significant number of active players across all platforms.

According to Steam Charts, there are an estimated 40,000 to 60,000 concurrent Warframe players on PC at any given time, not including players on consoles like Xbox, PlayStation, or the Nintendo Switch. 

Archery Game Winners and Mentions

• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – This game is mentioned as the sequel to “Breath of the Wild” and is highlighted as the winner of the Best Open-World Game of 2023 by IGN. It is also noted for adding new areas such as the sky and the Depths, making it the biggest, most detailed Zelda game ever made
• Horizon Forbidden West – This game is mentioned alongside “Horizon Zero Dawn” as one of the best open-world games to play. It is noted for its unique world that combines a tribal setting with sci-fi elements
• Kingdom Come – Deliverance has been described as both brilliant and frustrating, with a dedicated fan base appreciating its realism and historical accuracy. It was ranked #148 on Twitch based on hours watched in November 2023
• Ghost of Tsushima – This game is included in the list of the best open-world games on console in 2023, indicating its popularity among players

Notable Mentions

• Assassin’s Creed series – Various entries in the series offer bow and arrow gameplay, with mechanics that complement stealth and action elements.

In conclusion, online archery games blend entertainment, skill, and strategy, attracting many players.

From realistic simulations to adventurous stories, they offer diverse experiences for casual gamers and archery fans alike.

Whether aiming for a bullseye or starting an exciting adventure, these games captivate with immersive gameplay and challenging mechanics.