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What are the best top down shooters for the PC?

17

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Considered

188

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Recs.

Jan 26, 2024

Last
Updated

17 Games Considered

Best top down shooters for the PC	Price	Steam Rating	Platforms
88 Hotline Miami	8,49€	Overwhelmingly Positive	Windows, Mac, Steam
79 Helldivers	$19.99	Very Positive	-
-- Enter the Gungeon	$14.99	Overwhelmingly Positive	-
-- Shadowgrounds	$6.99	Very Positive	-
-- Neon Chrome	$14.99	-	PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Windows, Linux, macOS

Hotline Miami

Top Pro

Excellent, ultraviolent close combat

The overhead view allows the player to see much of the level in order to plan how to attack each situation, in violent and gory aplomb. See More

Top Con

Buggy

Even after all the updates, AI in the game is still very buggy. See More

RickZeeland's Experience

Now on offer on Humble Bundle for only €1.69 https://www.humblebundle.com/store/hotline-miami See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Overwhelmingly Positive

Top Pro

Great, tense soundtrack

The soundtrack has a very 80s electro flare to it that helps flesh out the feel of the game and its violent story. See More

Top Con

Light on story and can be difficult

There is really no reason given as to why the player is doing what they are doing and the game itself has a fluctuating difficulty level that can be frustrating. See More

EmpatheticShahar's Experience

The game is hard but that makes it much more satisfying when you complete the level. It has one of the best soundtracks I have heard. The control feels responsive. See More

Top Pro

Unique, neon-soaked art style and surrealist, gritty story

Playing off of themes seen in movies like Scarface, Hotline Miami features a crazy violent story that exudes a very 80s feel. See More

Top Pro

Makes the player question why they love killing

The game is super violent, but the player loves it, and questions themself because of it See More

Helldivers

Top Pro

Intense co-op play

The whole game can be played in local or online co-op with up to three other players. Each stage is procedurally generated and features certain objectives that need completed. Of course the objectives need executed while hordes of enemies swarm you. This is what makes for the intense action as there are so many enemies to be found coming at you at all times, add in extra players and the action becomes quite turbulent thanks to the friendly fire mechanic. There is no way to turn off friendly fire which means everyone who is going in guns blazing may upset the other players meaning everyone will need to keep a close eye on all of the action taking place in order to succeed. See More

Top Con

Things can get a bit repetative

After a while of playing the game, it can all seem a bit "samey" in that really all you are doing is the same tasks over and over again. the repetitiveness of the game can get frustrating after a while leading to the game being ignored. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Top Pro

End level scoring is even

When playing co-op, once a level is completed there will be a score rewarded to the players. Luckily this score is not based off of kills, which means players can focus more on objectives instead of going lone wolf for kills. the scoring allows for more teamwork to happen, which is great as that is what co-op should be geared more towards, cooperation. See More

Top Con

Game gets difficult

There are 12 different classifications of difficulty in the game, as you progress the game gets a lot more difficult going all the way up to the twelfth difficulty. For some this may be too difficult and will end in frustration, so for those not looking for a challenge, this game may not be for them. See More

Top Pro

Enemies go all out during extractions

At the end of each stage the player/players must order an extraction vehicle. Once called the players must ward off an onslaught of enemies for 90 seconds. Only one player needs to get on the extraction vehicle, which means all out mayhem as each player can just start unleashing their most devastating weapons. This is quite a fun part of the game as each player can just go all out. See More

Top Con

Joining co-op can be a pain

There is no way for everyone to just jump into a game, one player needs to host and then the others can be invited, but of course they already need to be on the players friend list, which may not always be the case which means more work to get everything together. A more seamless experience would be nice to see but sadly that is not how the co-op was designed. See More

Top Pro

Requires more tactics over other twin stick shooters

Ammo is limited in the game, meaning the player needs to make each shot count. On top of this, where an enemy is hit matters as well, so center mass is the best place to shoot them, of course this is not always easy. Due to the fact that ammo is limited and placement of shots matter it is up to the player to try and figure out the best methods for not running out of ammo and shooting each creature. This requires patience and planning, something that is often missing from run of the mill twin stick shooters. See More

Top Pro

Heavily influenced by the film Starship Troopers

The main story of the game plays out a lot like the theme in Starship Troopers, where the world is united in exterminating an alien race on other planets. The humor found in the movie as well as the action are to be found in this game as well, which is all a bit over the top but all in fun, of which the game is. So for all of those that are fans of Starship Troopers, this game should offer a bit of nostalgia for them. See More

Enter the Gungeon

Specs

Steam Rating:Overwhelmingly Positive

Genre:Roguelike

Co-Op:Single Player

Neon Chrome

Top Pro

Immersive soundtrack

The ambient synth soundtrack with pulsating beats and otherwordly tones fits the futuristic theme extremely well. The music sounds like something you'd hear in an action sci-fi movie, which helps pull you into the game world. See More

Top Con

Generic premise

You play as a hacker who must infiltrate the "Neon Chrome", a giant tower, and free the city from the rule of the malicious Overseer. It's not entirely original or exciting, and mostly serves as filler material to give meaning to the action. See More

ShrewdNortia's Experience

is incredible See More

Specs

Genre:Roguelike, Action, Shooter

Co-Op:2-4 Player Local

Top Pro

Levels are exciting and filled with content

There's plenty of exciting things to see and do in each level. Besides shooting through a wide variety of enemy types, you can also go off the beaten path to hunt down loot boxes and weapon upgrades. If you can't find a path, you can always make your own by blowing up walls. Each level also has its fair share of danger - there are plenty of traps to avoid and special operatives who can stop you in your tracks. See More

Top Con

Upgrades can feel weak

While upgrades are plentiful and given flashy introductions with fancy fonts and icons, their direct impact on the gameplay is negligible at best. It's hard to feel their weight in action due to their very small stat increase. See More

MagicalTengri's Experience

Great game =D See More

Top Pro

Random levels ensure the action stays intense

Each level is procedurally generated, meaning rooms, walls, and items are randomly arranged into new ways each run. You can never get too comfortable with any one strategy. You'll always be adjusting on the fly and dealing with new layouts, enemy placement, and objectives so the action stays fresh and frantic for a long while. See More

Top Con

Lackluster character models

Both the playable character and enemy models in-game are rather fuzzy and don't have a lot of detail. They are bland compared to the colorful explosions going on around them at all times. See More

Top Pro

Impressive visual effects compliment the action

The levels glow and shine, and really give off a futuristic vibe. As the name suggests, everything is in bright neon shades and very colorful. As you're blasting your way through levels, the laser shots look especially great as they melt through walls and blow up generators. There's plenty of vibrant explosions to go around, which really highlights the action. See More

Top Pro

Forgiving mechanics make it accessible

Neon Chrome manages to remove some of the frustrations that come with roguelites, making it an accessible experience for all. If you die, your weapons and stats are both saved and available for use on your next run. When you kill a boss, it acts as a waypoint, meaning you won't have to start over from the beginning. See More

Hatred

Top Pro

No mistaking the games intentions

Unlike many games that give a reason as to why the main character is killing "bad guys" over and over, Hatred is themed that the main character is a serial killer, killing to cleanse the world of humanity. While this is not far off from games like Destroy All Humans!, where you are tasked with wiping out the human race, the tones are completely different in that Hatred is a very dark and disturbed game. It can be refreshing to some to see a game be honest about what it sets out to do with little apology while being seen as a critique on the current state of gaming. See More

Top Con

Poor A.I.

The A.I. for the cops in the game is not great and often get stuck on objects or will not go up stairs. This leads to exploits as well as frustration due to the A.I. not doing what one would expect it to. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Top Pro

Challenging twin-stick gameplay

The game is a punishing twin stick shooter and it is difficult to survive, it will take a lot of practice but can be rewarding for those that like a challenge. While the controls do work best on keyboard and mouse the core gameplay lends itself to using two sticks to control the character such as what are found on a controller. The game can be frustrating, but that is part of its charm. See More

Top Con

Difficult controls

Using a controller can be tough with the game as the accuracy is not great, so it is recommended to use a keyboard and mouse. Even then the movement of the main character feels as though they are moving on ice, sliding around a lot. This makes it very difficult to be accurate even though a mouse is helpful in precision targeting. See More

Renegade Ops

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Counter Strike 2D

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Dead Star

Top Pro

Impressive visuals

The graphics in Dead Star are actually quite good as far as twin stick shooters go. Everything is clear cut, it's hard to lose your position, and the backgrounds are pretty intricate. Overall, while they won't drag you into the game, they certainly won't leave you wanting much either. See More

Top Con

Players outside the US may have connection issues

Currently the game is supported by US servers for online play, which means that players in other parts of the world may have connection issues or noticeable lag while playing the game. being that the game focuses on online play this really does diminish the gameplay. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Mixed

Top Pro

Large online community through cross play support

This game is available on PS4 and PC and allows for those playing online to play against one another no matter the platform. This makes for a much larger audience for the online community of the game as it will not be limited by who is on what platform. See More

SAS: Zombie Assault 4

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Super Animal Royale

Top Pro

Fast

Games length are around 7 minutes See More

Specs

Genre:Battle royale

Of Guards and Thieves

Top Con

Lack of events

I wished there were a lot more of Tournaments and stuff. It only recently started to become more active on that part though. See More

Top Pro

The GAT mode

The most original game mode of the game is the GAT mode (Guards And Thieves). It's the essence of the gameplay. In the GAT mode, there's two teams in a map, both of the teams have a distinct task : The Guards' team that has to defend multiple objects scattered around the map (it's not randomized), by holding key areas against the Thieves attempts to gain territory and steal an object. The Thieves' team that has to break the guards' defence by using cooperation and stealth in order to overcome the opposing team. There's only one object that the thieves have to steal, it is diplayed on the screen of every thief (but not the guards) and the Guards are not aware of what object it is. This creates a defense/offense gameplay for both teams. See More

Caliber's Experience

I honestly find a real pleasure in playing this game! I mainly play it for its strategical aspect. This game offers multiple experiences and has a legit competitive scene that is worth to check out. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Top Con

Development Team

Poor game developers. Bans multiple people for simply stating opinions that hurt their feelings on a Discord server. Those people banned also happened to be one of the most active and top players offering good insight and critique on making the game better. See More

Top Pro

Light/darkness and sound

OGAT's gameplay is mainly based on light and sound. I personally like the sound of the game. You can precisely track someone by hearing his footsteps and it's definelty one of the core composant in the balance of this game. OGAT's Lighting system, depending on the map you play on (There are maps with more open areas than others) balances with light-switches (coloured in red), few generators (blue boxes) and! and fixed lighting The Lighting system of OGAT generates a gameplay where Thieves have constant vision in darkness. And the Guards can use the Flashlight of their guns to venture into the dark. This really adds an original aspect to the gameplay. In a hallway ( let's say of an indoor map for instance ), Thieves can use darkness in their advantage by turning off lights with the Red switches. But in the same time for the guards, it symbolizes the footprint of a potential thief located in that area. It is safer for guards to have lights on and safer for thieves to have lights off. Although depending on the situation : Letting lights off (as a guard) to strategically bait a thief encouraging him to push; Letting lights on (as a thief) to not center the attention of the guards in your direction are good mindgames strats. See More

ExpertHahanu's Experience

It was a good game but poor execution. Updates to unnecessary things which also created bugs in different ways. Community slowly dying. Despite trying to help and fix this, the game seems to be a lost cause, mainly because of the development team. I have spent thousands of steam hours on this as well but it is not worth it at this point. See More

Top Con

No party system

I've put this as a Con because many players complained about not being able to join a server with a friend without having the balance seperating them most of the time. But what other players usually do is pressing create server then they stack theirs friends on their team and wait for people to join! See More

Top Pro

Stealth

Top Con

In development

Of Guards And Thieves is not a complete game and it has only two developers, which means updates are sparse. See More

Top Pro

Game modes

In OGAT you can either join dedicated servers with dedicated modes, or free voting modes servers where you vote for the gamemode you want to play. You can also create your own server and very easily. There are game modes where the action happens in the night and where there's a Red Team with Thieves and a Blue team with Guards : GAT DE (Bomb Defusal) <3 Capture The Flag (Guards vs Thieves) TDM (very competitive) VIP escape (The Guards team has a VIP that needs to reach one of the escape points of the map) Next there are gamemodes that happen in the day but be careful of shades : IG (Insta kill gamemode) Mad ball :D +other modes where only Guards fight as : Gtdm (guards vs guards) Gctf (guards vs guards) There is also the Soccer mode that has also a small competitive audience but is very fun to play aswell. And the Zombie Rush mode. Of Guards And thieves has 2 exclusive game modes of which the access requires a premium DLC : The Racing mode and the Map Editor mode. The map editor has tons of content, it's worth to check it. See More

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