In Shoot em up games, you control a ship or sometimes a character and fight violently against enemy forces in an aerial battle that scrolls horizontally or vertically. They can be easy, where you just dodge, shoot, return fire, and maybe drop a bomb, or they can be very hard, with counters, deflections, and combo systems. Shoot em up games fans can choose from a wide range of games, from bullet hell to classic, on both PC and consoles. This article is a place to start if you want to learn more about and try out this popular genre shoot em up games.
In Shoot ’em up games, you control a ship or sometimes a character and fight violently against enemy forces in an aerial battle that scrolls horizontally or vertically. They can be easy, where you just dodge, shoot, return fire, and maybe drop a bomb, or they can be very hard, with counters, deflections, and combo systems. Shoot em up games fans can choose from a wide range of games, from bullet hell to classic, on both PC and consoles. This article is a place to start if you want to learn more about and try out this popular genre shoot em up.
15 Best shoot em up games
Juicy Realm
Due to its generosity toward beginner players and pleasant art style, this game is an excellent place to start the list. Juicy Realm is a roguelike video game published by XD. Network and developed by SpaceCan Games, a Chinese independent game studio. You take on the role of one of four characters as they start to restore human lands from a sentient fruit invasion shoot em up mobile game crossword Best shoot em up games.
Each character has their weapons, abilities, and gear, making them distinct from one another in terms of gameplay. Explore the enemy fruits’ Realm on various maps with dynamically generated zones, creatures, and items.
Ruiner
If you’re searching for a horrific, atmospheric blood orgy set in a perfect cyberpunk scenario, there’s no need to look any further. Ruiner is one of the best Shoot ’em up games developed by Reikon Games and published by Devolver Digital, which is recognized for producing well-known and beloved indie games like Hotline Miami.
Bangkok, a cyberpunk city, is where the game takes place in 2091. This futuristic urban jungle, like cyberpunk fashion, is owned by Heaven, a less-than-benevolent and openly evil mega-corporation. Your brother has been kidnapped in this concrete hell constructed and owned by Heaven, and it is up to you to save him no matter what.
Satazius
This unique killer of a shoot ’em up from a virtually unknown production house Astro Port is a little challenging to track down. It’s for you if you enjoy the look and feel of old-school shooters from the 1990s, and you won’t be disappointed.
You’ve been trapped on the planet Agano, where you’ll soon find yourself defending against attacks from space pirates aiming to take over the galaxy via artificial intelligence. Because only you can stop them, you should do it. There’s not much to say about this game because it’s supposed to be an effortless and barebones shoot ’em up that’s nonetheless entertaining.
Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project
It’s the same wise-cracking musclebound protagonist from Duke Nukem 3D, who is a mash-up of different 80s action icons. Before he was forced to face dishonor due to Duke Nukem Forever, he had a magnificent diversion.
He’s up against Mech Morphix, a crazy scientist who uses a radioactive slime called GLOPP to turn creatures into dangerous monsters to take over Manhattan Island, New York City. The enemies are metamorphic alligators, enormous insects, and even Duke Nukem 3D’s trademark Pig Cop. It is one of the best Shoot ’em up games.
Broforce
Contra, anyone? If you do, you’re probably also aware of the muscled gun-toting grandeur of Stallone, Schwarzenegger, and Mr. T. Broforce, a Devolver Digital-published side-scrolling run-and-gun platform video game developed by Free Lives that allows you to relive all of that in a fun way with complete developer support.
The player character is a brother (or sis, if you like), a badass action hero commando modeled by some of your favorite heroes from the 1980s and 1990s. John Rambo, Ellen Ripley from Alien, John McClane from Die Hard, Chuck Norris, Mr. T, and T-800 from Terminator are just a few examples of these characters.
A Fistful of Gun
It was inevitable that the Shoot ’em up genre would eventually lead us to America’s untamed west. Compared to today, this is a time of general lawlessness and individual activity. Thus it’s an excellent background for a game like this.
Clayton Boon, a railroad mogul who has contracted with the devil to achieve riches and power, is building a doomed track to the deeps of hell and connecting it to our world in A Fistful of Gun. A Native American shaman, however, stands in the way of his plans, using his sorcery to resurrect a troop of professional gunslingers who will take on Boon’s cartel with bare force and put an end to him.
Deathsmiles
Welcome to the wacky world of Japanese bullet hell shooters. This list’s entries will now include games that need some level of ability from you. Deathsmiles is a beautiful bullet hell shooter in which you play as one of five Angels tasked with guarding Gilverado’s enchanted zone from a Hellish invasion!
Doom, but with a Japanese flavor. Choose from five different angels, each with their own set of talents, equipment, and weaponry. The game’s wide range of playable characters allows for the inclusion of a co-op option, which is widely appreciated given how challenging the game can be. If you’ve played and enjoyed the Castlevania series, you’ll understand its occult and gothic vibe.
Jamestown+
Based on the game’s title, you would expect it to be a pirate-themed early colonial shooter with cannons and overpowered muskets. If that’s your thought, you’re only half-right. It’s set in an alternate timeline in which humanity uses antique steampunk technology to settle Mars.
The British Empire reached Mars and founded the Jamestown colony. On the other hand, the Spanish and the indigenous Martians are ready to wipe Jamestown off the map. Then it’s up to you to take the fight to the Crown’s opponents and defend British interests on Mars.
Project Starship X
If you’re familiar with Lovecraft’s mythos, you’d assume a shooter in that context would be impossible. Who would dare to attempt it? On the other hand, Panda Indie Studio is here to take your breath away.
“The Rogue-Lite shooter where you CRASH-KILL funny abominations!” according to the game’s Steam page. You can even “fly your starship like Swagthulhu,” according to the game’s description. What more do you require for your player character’s name to be Swagthulhu? You’d be correct if you said you’d need many bizarre and entertaining ways to dispatch your foes.
Zero Strain
This experience from developer Kaio Meris is as gratifying as it is difficult, and it may be one of the best-looking Shoot ’em ups ever developed. You’ll have to attack and defend yourself simultaneously, which will be challenging to say the least.
It’s a fast-paced shooter set in a series of top-down arenas where strategic offensive and defensive play a crucial role in completing each mission. MOBA elements are mixed with fast Shoot ’em up action for a unique and thrilling experience with a neon wireframe aesthetic. It’s like Tron, but it’s anime, and there’s much more content to sink your teeth into.
Hotline Miami
You’ve probably heard of this incredible gem of a game, even if you’re the furthest away from any group or information linked to Shoot ’em up games. After it was launched, everyone went insane, and even in 2022, people couldn’t stop talking about it.
Hotline Miami is separated into several chapters, each divided further by stages. At the start of most chapters, the protagonist wakes up in his apartment and hears creepy messages on his answering machine. He’s been given orders to carry out assassinations and hitman missions against the local Russian mob.
Katana Zero
Another cyberpunk scenario, this time in the futuristic metropolis of New Mecca, which is situated within a traumatized future Arab republic. Everyone in this global hub lives an extraordinary life for various reasons, and you are one of them.
Subject Zero is a katana-wielding assassin recruited by his doctor to carry out several assassination contracts. His psychiatrist also gives him a medicine called ‘Chronos,’ which allows him to pause time and anticipate the future. Rapid action and instant-death combat make it a stylish neo-noir action-platformer like Hotline Miami and Ruiner. Slash, dash, and control time to utterly eliminate your opponents.
Blasphemous
This entry goes beyond the definition of a shoot ’em up, but it’s so fantastic that it had to be included. What if you could lead a holy crusade to Dante’s Inferno and put an end to its misery?
Blasphemous is precisely that. To some extent. It is set in the fictional country of Cvstodia. The Penitent One, a silent knight wielding the Mea Culpa blade on a battling pilgrimage across the kingdom, is controlled by the players. He was exploring Cvstodia while fighting demons that can be found practically anywhere in the game’s goal. The Penitent One must fight monsters with his sword at close range or by learning spells during the game.
Contra Anniversary Collection
For many of you, the original Contra games were your first encounter with the Shoot ’em up the genre. Those games have subsequently been recognized as some of the best the genre offers, with good cause. So, what’s holding you back from doing it all over again? Fortunately, Konami has you covered in terms of widescreen.
On current platforms, the Contra Anniversary Collection brings the famous Run and Gun franchise to a new generation of gamers. Of course, with widescreen support, you can play with a friend, and a different firearm might be worth the risk of setting up a co-op game, which is currently limited. Besides the fact that it’s the same Contra experience updated for modern controls, there’s not much to write home about.
Metal Slug
Metal Slug this globally adored classic Shoot ’em up has amassed such a devoted following that a port of it can be obtained on just about any system. Even if it’s a fake PSP, someone has produced third-party ports for whatever platform you have. It’s so much fun that it’s almost become a phenomenon in and of itself watch shoot em up.
You and your pals are charismatic members of the Peregrine Falcon (PF.) The squad is a small but highly competent team of soldiers that fight against General Donald Morden’s troops to avert a catastrophic coup and the formation of a New World Order Best shoot em up games.
