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What are the best Top-Down Shooter games on Steam?

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Jun 1, 2018

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7 Options Considered

7 Options Considered	Price	Steam Rating	Game Engine
-- Hotline Miami	$9.99	Overwhelmingly Positive	Game Maker 8.1
-- HELLDIVERS	$19.99	Very Positive	Very Positive
-- Alien Swarm: Reactive Drop	0	Very Positive	Very Positive
-- Neon Chrome	$14.99	–	–
-- Hatred	$19.99	Mixed	Mixed

Hotline Miami

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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

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

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 the exudes a very 80s feel. See More

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 it's violent story. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Overwhelmingly Positive

Game Engine:Game Maker 8.1

HELLDIVERS

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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 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

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

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

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 feature 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

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

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 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

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Alien Swarm: Reactive Drop

Top Pro

Highly customisable

Stating with difficulty, challenges and up to UI. See More

Top Con

The game itself is a bit clunky

Some mechanics feel a little clunky, such as the friendly fire mechanic. See More

Top Pro

You can see your teammates all the time

Top Pro

Enforces aiming skills in order to avoid dealing damage to team members

Top Pro

Has class system

The Officer - master of assault shotgun and explosives. Special Weapons - master of minigun and autogun. The 'Heavy' guy. Medic - heals team, supports with stun weapons. Tech Marine - unlocks locked doors, hacks computers. See More

Top Pro

Doesn't require high performance machine to run it

Top Pro

Promotes human interaction and teamplay

Discussing tactics with teammates in lobby prior to mission in order to get best results. See More

Top Pro

It's free

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Operating Systems:Windows

Neon Chrome

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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

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

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

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

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

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

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 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

Specs

Platforms:PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Windows, Linux, macOS

Genre:Roguelike, Action, Shooter

Co-Op:2-4 Player Local

Hatred

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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

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

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

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:Mixed

Halo: Spartan Assault

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8 Community Recommendations

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ConscientiousPassalos

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Alien Swarm: Reactive Drop

Recommended 2 months ago

Highly customisable

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422K

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Recommended 2 months ago

Yoshiyuki hasn’t added their experience, pros or cons to their recommendation.

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Alien Swarm: Reactive Drop

Recommended a year ago

EfficientTalos hasn’t added their experience, pros or cons to their recommendation.

Contributor for 4 years

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310K

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Recommended 2 years ago

Ryan hasn’t added their experience, pros or cons to their recommendation.

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Recommended 2 years ago

Ryan hasn’t added their experience, pros or cons to their recommendation.

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Recommended 2 years ago

Ryan hasn’t added their experience, pros or cons to their recommendation.

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Halo: Spartan Assault

Recommended 2 years ago

Ryan hasn’t added their experience, pros or cons to their recommendation.

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Recommended 2 years ago

Ryan hasn’t added their experience, pros or cons to their recommendation.

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