What are the best Shoot 'Em Up games on Steam?

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32

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Oct 9, 2018

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A shoot 'em up game (or a shmup) is a game where the player character engages in a lone assault, often in a spacecraft or aircraft, shooting large numbers of enemies while dodging their attacks.

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14 Games Considered

Best Shoot 'Em Up games on Steam	Price	Steam Rating	Genre
-- Enter the Gungeon	$14.99	Very Positive	Very Positive
-- Jamestown	$9.99	Overwhelmingly Positive	Overwhelmingly Positive
-- Beat Hazard	$9.99	Very Positive	Very Positive
-- Nex Machina	$19.99	Very Positive	Shoot 'Em Up
-- Blue Revolver	$14.99	Very Positive	Very Positive

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14 Games Considered

My Recommendation for Enter the Gungeon

My Recommendation for Enter the Gungeon

Gameplay is balanced well

High difficulty

Cool collection aspect

Co-op feels tacked on

Satisfying replayability

Shoot 'em up like gameplay

Easily stay in the action of the game

Unique tone

My Recommendation for Jamestown

My Recommendation for Jamestown

Starts off easy

Forced to play higher difficulty settings

Fun multiplayer mode

Multiple ship/character choices

My Recommendation for Beat Hazard

My Recommendation for Beat Hazard

Easily change strobe effects

Default settings are very flashy

Multiple ships/characters for replayability

Bragging rights through Steam achievements

Multiple difficulty modes

Music based gameplay

My Recommendation for Nex Machina

My Recommendation for Nex Machina

Difficult yet rewarding gameplay

The game is very short

Responsive controls

Deaths can be too punishing at times

Great synthwave soundtrack

Boss battles truly test your skills

My Recommendation for Blue Revolver

My Recommendation for Blue Revolver

Several soundtracks

Many graphics options

Mission mode

Tight and focused gameplay

My Recommendation for Mushihimesama

My Recommendation for Mushihimesama

Many customizable options

Moe Artsyle

Finely balanced level design

Bright and colorful

Many difficulty levels

My Recommendation for Drifting Lands

My Recommendation for Drifting Lands

My Recommendation for Bullet Heaven 2

My Recommendation for Bullet Heaven 2

Multiple ships and character allow for changing up the gameplay

Should have been named bullet hell

Free on kongregate

My Recommendation for Dariusburst: Chronicle Saviours

My Recommendation for Dariusburst: Chronicle Saviours

Many ship choices

Expensive

Many many levels

4 player support

Dual Screen and Ultra Widescreen support

My Recommendation for Crimzon Clover World Ignition

My Recommendation for Crimzon Clover World Ignition

Well balanced and polished

Visually busy

Easy to learn, hard to master

My Recommendation for Graceful Explosion Machine

My Recommendation for Graceful Explosion Machine

Exciting online leaderboards

Difficulty spikes can ruin the fun

Scoring system encourages fast-paced arcade action

Getting hit by respawns doesn't feel fair

Excellent visual appeal

Many levels feel the same

Very interesting shooter-style gameplay

Rewarding replayability

My Recommendation for Deathsmiles

My Recommendation for Deathsmiles

Simple, yet In-Depth scoring

Moe Artstyle

Relaxed paced