You can’t out-shoot a teenager: how to play first-person shooters if you’re over 30

Reflexes start to decline in your 20s, but that doesn't mean you can't be competitive at first-person shooters any more. Keith Stuart shares some hard-won knowledge

It is an unfortunate fact of life that human reflexes slow down as we get older. Medical studies suggest that reaction times peak at 24 and go downhill from there - and nowhere is this more ruthlessly illustrated than in the world of online first-person shooters. Head on to the average Call of Duty, Apex Legends or Overwatch server as a 35-year-old and it can feel as if you're surrounded by superhuman teenagers with hair-trigger instincts who rack up multiple kills while you're still deciding whether or not you should have inverted the controls.

Fortunately, there's much more to being good at these games than the ability to hit the fire button faster than anyone else. Approaching middle age doesn't mean you have to hang up your laser gun and start playing train simulators. You just have to be more strategic.