Third-Person Shooters and spin-offs go together like cats and dogs... They just don't.
So, what's a third-person shooter spin-off? Well, it's a third-person shooter, but is an entry in a series/franchise that doesn't usually do third-person shooters. For example, if the "Kirby" series released a third-person shooter, that'd be a third-person shooter spin-off because Kirby doesn't use guns...
...Usually. Although, what makes something a spin-off in the first place? Well, it can be anything that deviates from the original source material with focus on another character, completely different mechanics, and so on.
Now this doesn't mean a different protagonist means something is automatically a spin-off. Different protagonists happen in games all the time like in "Pokémon." In the "Yakuza's" series' case, "Yakuza 7: Like a Dragon" isn't a spin-off due to being a numbered entry in the series.
The same applies to when a series enters a new genre. Sometimes a transition can occur naturally because of the transition to 3D like in "Mega Man X7s'" case. However, a spin-off series that's completely in the third-person shooter genre is fair game.
I originally researched this unofficial sub-genre out of curiousity. I'm surprised there're enough third-person shooter spin-offs to put it in double-digits, I thought there'd be four or five.
I doubt these are all of them, but these are the ones I found.
Shadow the Hedgehog
The 2005 "Shadow the Hedgehog" is both the most popular and most flimsy third-person shooter spin-off. On one hand, it's in third person and there are guns, on the other hand, they aren't mandatory in the slightest and outright easy to ignore.
Although, it still technically counts. "Shadow the Hedgehog" is just like any 3D Sonic game, with the same platforming and speed you'd expect but with Shadow the Hedgehog as the protagonist, morality decisions, the guns, and more.
While it has its fans, a lot of people disliked "Shadow the Hedgehog," having mostly mediocre to negative review scores. One big complaint is with how useless the guns were, limited aiming options and the terrible auto-aiming system that'd often miss intended targets.
To be fair, who would expect a hedgehog to know how to use guns properly? "Shadow the Hedgehog" has many flaws, with the guns being one of them.
Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls
"Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls" released in 2014, a spin-off of the visual novel series "Danganronpa." "Another Episode" is a prequel to "Danganronpa 2," but is still a spin-off because this sure isn't reading.
"Another Episode" has third person shooting with this handy megaphone that can shoot different projectile types. Normal shots, rabid-fire, dance bullets, the essentials. Every enemy also take more damage when their red eye is shot at.
And... It works. The gameplay is fun and there's decent variety in the combat. Unfortunately, the game is pathetically easy, even on the highest difficulty., and the mechanics are barebones. It's unique enough to not be boring, but not entertaining enough to be good.
The thing though is that "Another Episode" doesn't really work as a game for a specific reason. "Danganronpa" is a series that attracts an audience that loves reading/logic puzzles. Action gameplay doesn't really work well with reading/logic puzzles.
"Another Episode" is likely easy to ease visual novel readers into the gameplay, but I don't think it worked since it's so radically different from a visual novel. At the same time, it doesn't attract fans of the third-person shooter genre because of the easy difficulty.
There's a good reason this game got a mix of average to positive reviews, with general audience reviews being mostly positive, with most general reviews admitting the gameplay is flawed. "Another Episode" is an enjoyable time that shines because of its story, world-building, characters, and presentation, but not a good game.
Yakuza: Dead Souls
While not the first, nor the last, "Yakuza: Dead Souls" is one of the beat 'em up "Yakuza" series spin-offs, releasing in 2011 in Japan and 2012 elsewhere. Unlike "Danganronpa Another Episode," "Dead Souls" is non-canon and acts as a what-if scenario if zombies came to be in the "Yakuza" universe.
It's up to four playable characters to stop the invasion with their own gun types. "Dead Souls" works like "Dead Rising" if guns were the only weapons. This is still a "Yakuza" game through and through with plenty of side-content, over-the-top silliness, a level-up system, and karaoke.
The story is well-received, but the same can't be said for the gunplay. It was called repetitive, and the game was criticized for severe camera and aiming problems. Punching and kicking isn't effective for killing zombies. The game received mostly average scores from critics, with more positive scores from the general audience.
Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII
The 2006 "Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII," for some reason was the third-person shooter spin-off that shocked me the most for existing. "Final Fantasy" was just the last game series I was expecting to have one, a "Fire Emblem" third-person shooter was somehow more likely in my head... I don't know why.
"Dirge of Cerberus" takes place after the events of the iconic JRPG "Final Fantasy VII," with a focus on Vincent Valentine, from "Final Fantasy VII," Vincent Valentine, facing a new threat.
"Dirge of Cerberus" is a mix between an arcade shooter with its aiming reticle and "Devil May Crys'" movement. Honestly, watching the footage, it looks fun and with clever level design it could- It got mixed reviews, didn't it?
DAMN IT!
Yeah, the game was criticized for repetitive and bland levels, cutscenes being too long and massive pacekillers, bad A.I., and so on. That's not to say people didn't like it, but the common consensus is that it's average.
Realm Royale
Quick question, do you remember "Paladins: Champions of the Realm?" It's a free first-person shooter hero shooter like "Team Fortress 2" and "Overwatch," at the time it was criticized for being an "Overwatch" clone.
Well, not even a month later, the same developers made "Realm Royale." A free third-person shooter Battle Royale spin-off of "Paladins" which was originally meant for "Paladins" but became its own thing.
"Realm Royale" is like "Fortnite," players drop out of a vehicle in the air, survive up against 99 other players to be the last one standing, get loot to increase your survivability, and more. It's basically "Fortnite" for people that really dislike the Epic Games Launcher and whatnot.
It's unique from "Fortnite" in some places though, such as with its class system. forges that let players craft added items like weapons, being turned into a chicken when you're downed, and more.
Finally, a game that lets me be a chicken when I get downed. Critic reviews, at least the ones I could find for the Switch and Xbox One versions of the game, show high scores, with the Steam ratings being positive overall. So maybe... This is a good-
Why do I hope for things?
While "Realm Royale" WAS good, by 2020 the game stopped getting major updates due to "Realm Royale" losing profits, $100,000s each month. Now the game suffers from bots and is considered dead by many.
Although, the decline in major updates might be because of prior updates/decisions that caused player numbers to drop, such as Early Access 3 update which no longer let legendary weapons be craftable at the Forge, a change that removed an element of strategy.
It's a shame too, because people genuinely enjoyed the game, but now it's just a walking corpse of a game by the look of things.
Metal Slug (2006)
The most niche entry on this list is the 2006 Japanese-exclusive "Metal Slug" for the PlayStation 2, nicknamed "Metal Slug 3D." The "Metal Slug" series consists of 2D run and gun gameplay that are well-known for their action and level design.
"Metal Slug 3D" is the first and only transition to 3D in the series with a lock-on aiming system and...
...This is easily the blandest game I've ever had the displeasure of watching footage of. Granted, I've never played it, but that's only because I filed a restraining order against it after watching gameplay of it.
The common consensus seems to be that it's just okay, with one critic review giving it a two out of ten. However, it's hard to say given most people outside of Japan have likely never heard of it. One review I found, despite giving the game a 7/10, points out the lack of platforming, repetition, no manual aim, and pathetically easy enemies.
I can't find any Japanese reviews, although I imagine it'd just be "悪いです" and "それはひどい" repeatedly.
Plants vs. Zombies
Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare & Garden Warfare 2
How about something everyone knows? Plants. ...Wait, how do you turn that into a third person-
OH! In 2014 and 2016, "Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare" and "Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2" respectively, finally answered our question: Can plants use guns?
The science says yes! Both "Garden Warfare" and "Garden Warfare 2" are online multiplayer third-person shooters, with the latter having a short single-player campaign.
It's weird to think "Plants vs. Zombies" went from a tower defense game to a third-person shooter, but it's also oddly fitting. I mean, the plants could already shoot things, why not add team deathmatch, horde mode, and capturing control points on top of it.
"Garden Warfare 2" improves on the first game with added content like variants. Zombies could also be played outside of competitive multiplayer.
While it sounds like an ingenious idea, it ultimately...
...Wait, where's the overall mediocre score? Wait... THIS ACTUALLY DOES THIRD-PERSON SHOOTER GAMEPLAY WELL?! IT'S A MIRACLE!
Both "Garden Warfare" and "Garden Warfare 2" received mostly positive reviews. "Garden Warfare" was praised for being well-balanced and refreshingly silly. "Garden Warfare 2" has the same praises but with additional content such as a single-player campaign.
By being uniquely silly and fun, it managed to strike an amazing balance that kept players engaged and coming back. There were people that didn't like the game, but overall, PopCap Games, the original developers of "Plants vs. Zombies," succeeded at making a good spin-off series and a good third-person shooter.
Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville
In 2019, "Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville" continued the "Garden Warfare" gameplay and silliness with more added content, being overall being well received.
...By critics. General Audiences lean towards low scores for the game.
While "Battle for Neighborville" added a lot of new classes, a social hub, and more, the game was panned due to balancing issues, the removal of elements such as variants and sticker packs, Player vs. Player modes having problems, and so on.
The direction "Battle for Neighborville" took has its fans as there are just as many positive reviews from Users on Metacritic then there are negative reviews. Of course, a different direction doesn't usually have balancing issues, however it's possible those have been fixed.
Going by reviews, this is good game by critics, divisive by fans/players.
Senran Kagura: Peach Beach Blast
Warning: the following has anime ladies in revealing swimsuits/bikinis, beware of high horn levels, that is not a typo.
Wait... That warning can only mean... "Senran Kagura" time! "Senran Kagura" is a hack and slash fighting game series that features a ton of sexual fanservice, without showing actual nudity. It's like "Dead or Alive" where it relishes its sexual fanservice elements. It's just that kind of game.
So, it's not surprising for those familiar with it that the 2017 "Senran Kagura: Peach Beach Blast" exists, a game that features the female characters in swimsuits and bikinis shooting each other with water guns.
"Peach Beach Blast" has the characters fighting in three vs. three or five vs. five matches, with the campaign mode having bosses. Characters can use water ammo to double jump, shoot opponents, and more, but it must be recharged by reloading. There is also an optional auto-aim feature to help "Senran Kagura" with aiming due to the water physics.
Despite its cover, the gunplay is well-received by critics for how engaging and fun it is. So why did "Peach Beach Blast" get mostly average reviews from critics?
Well, it was the lack of an online scene. At least at the time of most critic reviews, the online multiplayer was barren, which isn't good when this type of game is criticized for being short and repetitive when solely doing single-player content.
"Peach Beach Blast" is mostly positively received by general audiences, and well received on Steam. Although it's hard to tell if most of those positive reviews are genuine or joke reviews.
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Although, to be fair, the joke reviews are hilarious.
Conclusion
Most of these third-person spin-off shooters ended up being received with mixed reception. They have their fans for sure, but this unofficial sub-genre seems to run into consistent problems:
They're too easy
They're barebones
They're repetitive
Online multiplayer faces massive problems
Don't have playable plants
It's hard to tell if this is a result of doing a first attempt in the third-person shooter genre, if it's because they keep newcomers to these genres in mind which results in low difficulty, or if they just made too many mistakes.
Third-Person Shooters in general are a wide field with plenty of competition, so it's especially hard to stick out in the genre. With games like "50 Cent: Bulletproof," how can anyone hope to stand a chance?
With that said, third-person shooter spin-off games can work. It's interesting seeing developers taking their franchises and turning them into third-person shooters. From visual novels to a platforming series for kids, it's interesting to see the transition even if the execution is haphazard.
The "Garden Warfare" games even prove that the transition can work well when done right. It's about getting the right balance between clever design, replayability, and easing newcomers while welcoming veterans.
I think it's an unofficial sub-genre that should get more experimentation to see what works as opposed to what doesn't.
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