A grappling hook and an open Zeta Halo; the Chief in a sandbox.
Isaac on the Sprawl, with the needle in the eye; more action, same dread.
The Strogg war on Stroggos; the first Quake with a story and coloured lighting.
The Slayer's medieval war with a shield saw and a mech; the 2025 prequel.
The Pacific and the Eastern Front at their ugliest, and the first Nazi Zombies map.
Noir, Mona Sax and the Havok physics; Remedy's tighter sequel.
Wall-running pilots and mechs that drop from orbit; the multiplayer that made Respawn.
Four vault hunters on Pandora and a gun for every occasion; the looter-shooter arrives.
The 2003 original: three armies through the Second World War, and squads that shout.
Six degrees of freedom in mine shafts; the shooter that made people motion-sick in 1995.
343 take over and make it a story about Cortana dying.
Two players, top-down corridors and a self-destruct countdown; Team17's Aliens tribute.
Escape Castle Wolfenstein floor by floor; id's first-person shooter before Doom.
Caleb, a pitchfork and a can of aerosol; the meanest of the Build-engine shooters.
A pedal to duck behind cover and a light gun; the arcade shooter with a foot pedal.
A 3D roguelike where the difficulty rises with the clock; four-player chaos.
A corporate explorer on a sarcastic alien world; Typhoon's comedy Metroid.
Space ninjas and a decade of free updates; the co-op looter that outlived Destiny's rivals.
Raid, loot, extract or lose everything; the hardcore shooter.
Spread managed democracy with friendly fire and stratagems; the co-op hit of 2024.
Guardians, raids and the loot loop; Bungie after Halo.
Counter-Strike with abilities; Riot's tactical shooter.
Wake naked on a beach, build, get raided at 3 a.m.; the survival game about other people.
A brutalist bureau that shifts its walls and a telekinetic director; Remedy's weird office.
Four dwarves mine an alien planet and shout Rock and Stone; the best co-op shooter.
Dimension hopping with no loading; Insomniac shows off the PS5.
Five attackers, five defenders, destructible walls; the tactical shooter esport.
Turf war, Salmon Run and the Splatfests; Nintendo's shooter at its best.
Bolivia as a cartel sandbox for four players.
Squid kids paint the map in turf war; Nintendo invents a shooter.
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