A shoot 'em up is a video game in which you control a ship, or occasionally a character, and engage in violent combat against enemy troops in horizontally or vertically scrolling aerial warfare. They can be basic games in which you dodge, shoot, return fire, and sometimes drop a bomb, or they can be incredibly intricate affairs involving counters, deflections, and combo systems.
In any case, they're always a means to expend ridiculously massive quantities of unending firepower. Shoot 'em ups, like beat 'em ups, were long-time arcade staples that gained fresh life on home video game consoles after arcade equipment vanished from laundromats, pizza places, and bodegas.
Fortunately, PC and console gamers alike have a broad range of shoot 'em ups to choose from, ranging from bullet hell to classic. If you're interested in learning more about this well-loved genre and experiencing it, this guide is a great place to start!
15. Juicy Realm (PC/Mac OSX/PS4/iOS/Android/Switch)
Juicy Realm Trailer
An appropriate start to the list due to its friendliness towards new players and its welcoming art style. Juicy Realm is a roguelike video game created by SpaceCan Games, a Chinese indie gaming studio, and distributed by X.D. Network. You play as one of four characters as they set out to reclaim human lands from an invasion of sentient fruits.
Each character has his/her own weapons, abilities, and gear which makes them somewhat unique from a gameplay perspective as well. Explore the hostile fruits' kingdom with procedurally generated zones, creatures, and stuff on numerous maps.
You'll fight a variety of dangerous, aggressive fruits while collecting weapons and gear. As you continue, you can extend your camp base, giving you more weapons and gear to eliminate those devilish fruits with. If as a child you absolutely hated it when your parents tried to force-feed fruits on you, now is the perfect time to take revenge!
14. Ruiner (PC/Linux/PS4/Xbox One/Switch)
Ruiner Trailer
There is no need to look any further if you’re looking for a brutal, atmospheric blood orgy in an impeccable cyberpunk setting. Ruiner is a cyberpunk shooter video game developed by Reikon Games and published by Devolver Digital, known for publishing a variety of widely-known and beloved indie titles such as Hotline Miami.
The game takes place in the year 2091 in Rengkok, a cyberpunk city. Heaven, a less-than-benevolent and overtly evil mega-corporation, owns this futuristic urban jungle, as is cyberpunk fashion. In this concrete hell created and owned by Heaven, your brother is kidnapped and it’s up to you to rescue him, come what may.
You’re not much of a saint either, as it’s quite obvious that you’re psychopathic. This is a fact that is explored in much detail as the story of the game progresses. Without stepping into spoiler territory, let’s just say that the story and setting are both everything you’d expect from such a thoroughly cyberpunk game and more! To defeat all manner of savage opponents, the game features lightning-fast combat that necessitates a delicate balance of brute force and precision strikes.
It’s definitely not Doom as an isometric shooter, but the combat is still amazing nonetheless. During combat, you can use high-tech devices like the energy shield, dash augmentations, and switch gun to stun or hack the opponent onto your side. They're all in it for the money anyway. Pick up this unique experience and blast away in a shower of cyberpunk gore!
13. Satazius (PC/Switch)
Satazius Trailer
This absolute banger of a shoot ‘em up from a completely unknown development house Astro Port is rather hard to find. It’s for you if you like the presentation and feel of ye olde shoot ‘em ups of the 90s and you won’t be disappointed.
You're stranded on the planet of Agano, where you'll soon find yourself fending off attacks from space pirates plotting to take over the galaxy with the help of artificial intelligence. Do it because you're the only one who can stop them. There’s not much to write home about this as it's designed to be a very simple and barebones shoot ‘em up experience that’s still fun.
12. Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project (PC/Mac OSX/Xbox 360/iOS)
Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project Trailer
Yes, it’s the same wise-cracking musclebound protagonist who is a mishmash of various 80s action heroes made popular by Duke Nukem 3D. This was a rather glorious detour of his before he eventually had to face disgrace because of Duke Nukem Forever.
This time, he's up against Mech Morphix, a mad scientist who is trying to take over Manhattan Island, New York City, by utilizing a radioactive slime called G.L.O.P.P. to transform creatures into dangerous monsters. Metamorphic alligators, huge insects, and even the iconic Pig Cop from Duke Nukem 3D are among the foes.
Notice a single thing out of place for a Duke Nukem shoot ‘em up? I don’t either. The game is divided into eight chapters, each with three parts. Each segment requires the player to save a woman strapped to a GLOPP bomb and locate a colored keycard that will unlock the path to the next. In a way, it’s a rare gem as a 21st century Duke Nukem game with much originality and personality. As soothing as it is, it’s also quite sad if you really think about it.
11. Broforce (PC/Mac OSX/Linux/PS4/Switch)
Broforce Trailer
Remember Contra? If you do then you also very likely remember the muscled gun-toting greatness of Stallone, Schwarzenegger, and Mr. T. Broforce is a Devolver Digital-published side-scrolling run-and-gun platform video game developed by Free Lives that allows you to relive all that in a fun way with full developer support.
The player character is a bro (or sis if you prefer), a balls-to-the-wall badass action hero commando modeled after some of your most classic 80s and 90s movie characters. Those characters include, but are not limited to, John Rambo, John McClane from Die Hard, Chuck Norris, Mr. T, Ellen Ripley from Alien, and T-800 from Terminator.
To say that you get a lot of bad guys and aliens to shoot at is an understatement. There is more action than you can finish in one sitting and there is always fun to be had with Broforce no matter how many times you sit down to play it. The attacks and maneuvers of each character are based on the fictitious hero; for example, the Ripley-based character has a flamethrower special ability, whilst the Indiana Jones-inspired character predominantly employs a whip.
For the adventurous player, it means quite the opportunity for endless fun as Broforce comes with 4 player co-op ability. Grab some friends and deliver some righteous brute force retribution on bad guys
10. A Fistful of Gun (PC)
A Fistful Of Gun - The Posse Trailer
It had to be expected that the shoot ‘em up genre would eventually take us to the wild west of the US. This is a time of general lawlessness and individual action compared to today so it’s definitely a great setting for such a game.
A Fistful of Gun is about railroad mogul Clayton Boon, who has made a deal with the devil in order to gain fortune and power, as a result of which he is building a doomed track to the depths of hell and linking it to our world. However, a native American shaman stands in the way of his intentions, using his sorcery to revive from the dead a group of expert gunslingers who will take on Boon's cartel with raw force and put a stop to him.
The player chooses one of eleven gunslingers in A Fistful of Gun. Each has its own control system, whether it's for the mouse, keyboard, or gamepad. The user has the option of playing in story, arcade, or online mode, with the latter featuring co-op for up to nine people.
Nine people! Make sure you've prepared an entire party for the ultimate massacre of Clayton Boon, who can be reached after you’ve killed all the bosses. Skill upgrades along the way will help you and you can get started on the journey very easily as it won’t take any time for you to get yourself acquainted with the game’s mechanics.
09. Deathsmiles (PC/Xbox 360/iOS/Android/PS4/Xbox One/Switch)
Deathsmiles PC Trailer
Welcome to the absolutely wild world that is the Japanese bullet hell shoot ‘em up scene. From this point on, the entries in this list will include games that demand a degree of skill from you. Deathsmiles is a fantastic bullet-hell shooter in which you play as one of five Angels tasked with defending the enchanted region of Gilverado against a Hellish invasion!
Doom, but with a uniquely Japanese twist.
You can choose between five different angels each with her unique skills, gear, and weapons. The variety of playable characters on offer also makes for the addition of a co-op mode which is much welcome as the game can really test your determination at times. It's known for its occult and gothic atmosphere, which you'll appreciate if you've played and liked the Castlevania series.
The wide variety of ghoulish enemies on offer includes ghosts bred for battle, demons, and even huge demonic cattle. Bloody good demon-slaying fun anime style, and you can’t go wrong with this if you do decide to pick it up.
08. Jamestown+ (PC/Mac OSX/PS4/Switch)
Jamestown+ Trailer
Upon reading the title of the game, you may think that this would be a pirate-age early colonial era shoot ‘em up featuring cannons and overpowered muskets. If that’s your idea then you’re only partially right. It’s actually set in an alternate timeline in which humanity somehow managed to colonize Mars using archaic steampunk technology.
The British Empire has expanded to Mars and established the colony of Jamestown. However, the Spanish and the indigenous Martians are fully ready to erase Jamestown from existence. Your job then, is to take the fight directly to the enemies of the Crown and protect British interests on Mars.
If you’ve got some friends, you’ve got additional help and Jamestown+’s unique mechanics make it a fun co-op shoot ‘em up experience unlike any other. The team may be pulled back from the brink of death as long as any player lives. As a result, it’s a game where everyone's input genuinely matters by providing each player the power to save their team from the jaws of catastrophe, taking a page from popular team-based FPS games. Whether you win or lose, your team will stick together.
It’s important to know that Jamestown+ is a remastered version of an original release titled Jamestown: Legend Of The Lost Colony, with full developer support and updates. So it’s the better and more updated version that’s on this list!
07. Project Starship X (PC/Mac OSX/Linux/PS4/Xbox One/Switch)
Project Starship X
If you’re familiar with the Lovecraft mythos, you’d probably think that a shoot ‘em up in that setting would be a total impossibility. Who could be crazy enough to try it? Well, Panda Indie Studio is here to surprise you.
The game's Steam page describes it as "The Rogue-Lite shooter where you CRASH-KILL comical abominations!" and apparently, you can "pilot your spaceship as Swagthulhu”. Your player character is literally named Swagthulhu, what else do you need? If you answered that you need a whole bunch of wacky and hilarious ways to kill your enemies, then you’d be correct.
You can crash your spaceship right into the enemy at ramming speed and win the encounter, for example. If however, you want to fight more cautiously, you can do that as well by choosing from a selection of cannons, bombs, tank modules, and even throwable spoons; hilariously Lovecraftian indeed.
It will run on a potato machine and it will give you hours of replayability thanks to procedural level generation and a stellar learning curve. Pick it up if you’re looking for a light-hearted yet challenging shoot ‘em up experience.
06. Zero Strain (PC/PS4/Xbox One/PS5/Switch)
Zero Strain Trailer
Perhaps one of the best-looking shoot ‘em ups ever made, this experience from developer Kaio Meris is as rewarding as it is difficult. You have to attack and defend yourself simultaneously in a manner that’s going to be demanding to say the least.
It's a fast-paced shooter set in a succession of top-down arenas where strategic offensive and defense play a key role in surviving each task. For a unique and satisfying experience with neon wireframe presentation, MOBA components are blended with furious shoot'em up gameplay. It's like Tron, but it's anime and has a lot more material for you to sink hours into.
You pilot what the game calls ‘constructs’, essentially armed spacecraft boasting a variety of different weapons, shields, and powerups. Technological wizardry employed in their construction means that weapons are charged by the damage you dish out.
It’s essentially life force stealing but technological instead of magical! Enemies protect themselves, and defeating them necessitates a combination of tactics. Bosses dismiss thoughtless spamming in favor of thoughtful observation and response.
Bullets splatter over the screen, requiring well-timed dodges or well-aimed shots to escape them. At all times, you must strike a balance between offensive and defense. It’s a unique thinking man’s shoot ‘em up.
05. Hotline Miami (PC/Mac OSX/Linux/PS3/PS4/PS Vita/Xbox One/Android/Switch/Stadia)
Hotline Miami Launch Trailer
Even if you’re the farthest away from any group or information related to shoot ‘em ups, you have definitely heard of this absolute gem of a game. Everyone went crazy after it was released, and people simply cannot stop talking about it even in 2022.
Hotline Miami is split into numerous chapters, each of which is further divided into stages. The protagonist wakes up at his apartment and listens to strange messages on his answering machine at the start of most chapters. He's instructed to carry out lethal attacks and hitman missions against the local Russian mafia organization.
Since your opponents are pure human slime, seize the chance for each kill to be euphorically rewarding. In each game, you travel a building from the top down, with the aim nearly usually being to rid the area of all mobsters. You may also be required to battle a boss at the conclusion of a chapter or locate vital objects while exploring.
Just because your enemies do not deserve to live, however, doesn’t mean that they can’t drop you dead in an instant. They have a variety of melee and ranged weapons that may be obtained from their bodies as well as their surroundings.
You're always outnumbered so you have to rely on your enhanced awareness and either stealth, overwhelming force, or a mix of the two to overcome the Russian mafia. Enemies will frequently be simply knocked down and you will have to rapidly and mercilessly execute them. There’s a lot to explore, including a well-written story. You won’t be disappointed.
04. Katana Zero (PC/Mac OSX/Xbox One/Switch)
Katana Zero Trailer
Another cyberpunk setting, this time taking place in the futuristic city of New Mecca located in a traumatized future Arab republic. In this global hub, everyone lives out their own very distinct lives for various pursuits and you are one of those people.
The player takes control of Subject Zero, a katana-wielding assassin hired by his psychiatrist to carry out numerous assassination contracts. His psychiatrist also provides him with 'Chronos,' a drug that allows him to slow time and predict the future. It's a sleek neo-noir action-platformer in the vein of Hotline Miami and Ruiner, with furious action and instant-death combat. To completely kill your adversaries, slash, dash, and control time.
This is an intricate combat loop that is going to take quite a lot of time to master properly, so be prepared for the rewarding grind. Each level is constructed in such a way that it may be completed in a variety of ways, and you can typically choose more than one route. This translates to a lot of replayability. Few games match such masterful execution in such an amazing style and you certainly won’t regret the purchase.
03. Blasphemous (PC/Mac OSX/Linux/PS4/Xbox One/Linux)
Blasphemous Trailer
Definitely stretching the definition of shoot ‘em up a bit too much for this entry but this game is so cool that it had to be included. What if you could take a righteous crusade down to the hell of Dante’s Inferno and put an end to its wretched existence?
That’s what Blasphemous is. In a way. It takes place in Cvstodia, a fictitious country. Players take control of the Penitent One, a silent knight with the blade Mea Culpa on a fighting pilgrimage across the realm. The game entails exploring Cvstodia while fighting demons that may be found in almost every location. The Penitent One has to kill demons with his sword at close range or by performing spells that he can learn during the game.
The player accumulates Fervor by injuring demons with melee assaults, which is then used to perform spells. Each adversary has a distinct attack pattern, similar to those found in previous FPS games like Dark Souls, that players must master in order to avoid taking damage. Some enemy assaults may be deflected by blocking at the correct moment, leaving opponents defenseless and allowing the Penitent One to retaliate for more damage.
If the Penitent One loses all of his health points, or if he falls into spikes or a bottomless hole, he will die. He will respawn in the last checkpoint he visited after death, and a Guilt Fragment will emerge in the spot where he died. Until the Guilt Fragment is retrieved by reaching its position and engaging with it, the player's maximum Fervor will be decreased, and foes will provide less Fervor and Tears of Atonement.
Combat is as complex as it is interesting to learn and the relentless nature of fighting against these demons makes it akin to a shoot ‘em up with swords and magic. Think of Hotline Miami or Contra but medieval fantasy. The game’s story and lore are expansive and the real reward is finding it all out by yourself.
02. Contra Anniversary Collection (PC/PS4/Xbox One/Switch/Luna)
Contra Anniversary Collection Trailer
The original Contra games were for many of you the first experience you’ve ever had with the shoot ‘em up genre. For good reason, those games have since been hailed as some of the best experiences the genre could offer. So what’s stopping you from experiencing it all over again? Luckily, Konami’s got you covered in widescreen.
The Contra Anniversary Collection offers the legendary Run and Gun series to a new generation of gamers on current platforms. Of course, you can play with a friend with widescreen support, and an additional firearm could be worth the bother of setting up a co-op game, which is currently limited. Not much to write home about other than the fact that it’s the same Contra experience updated for modern controls.
With ten different games packed into one, be more than prepared to sink in hours into this old-school experience. Even if you’ve never played Contra ever before, it’s recommended that you do because being able to chart a lineage line from Contra down to modern shoot ‘em ups is a fascinating experience indeed.
01. Metal Slug (Various)
Metal Slug Trailer
This universally beloved classic shoot ‘em up has had so many dedicated fans that a port of it can be found everywhere, on any system imaginable. Someone has probably made third-party ports for whatever console you have, even if it’s a knockoff PSP. It’s so fun that it has practically become a phenomenon by itself.
You and your friends are charismatic members of the Peregrine Falcon (PF) Squad, a small but highly skilled team of soldiers serving under the Regular Army's special operations division who fight against General Donald Morden's army in order to prevent a massive coup and the establishment of a New World Order.
Players may uncover several weapon upgrades and tanks as they go through each level. The tanks, known as the SV-001 and SV-002, boost the player's offensive while also improving their defense, to no one’s surprise. Players may also use a knife to execute physical attacks in addition to shooting, and it was arguably one of the first shoot 'em up games to do so.
The game’s six missions take place in a variety of settings, including woodlands, garrisoned cities, cold mountain slopes, gorges, and military camps. The great majority of adversaries are soldiers with armament appropriate to their position. Tanks, mobile artillery, aircraft, armored personnel carriers, and technicals are among the mechanized foes.
Action is endless and so is your appetite for destruction. Connect to Steam if you're on a PC and use the co-op feature to complete objectives with a distant brother-in-arms or have him sit right next to you in split-screen play! The fun never ends.
