Hey hows it going, hope you guys are good
The thing is that I recently awoke a certain interest in this kind of game, but idk which one start playing, so here am I
Recommend me any
I know they may be a lot out there but here are some "parameters" that would fit better with my playstyle

  • Trading Cards
  • Achievements
  • Is available on Steam or GoG
  • Doesn't matter if it's free to play or if I have to buy it
  • The game is in English, I know many shmups are in Japanese, I don't speak it, so would be nice if they're available in English

I know I can do the research by myself but I want to hear some of your personals experiences with these games, cheers

2 years ago

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any of the borderlands games but 3

2 years ago
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shoot 'em up (shmup) != shooter games

2 years ago
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Nuclear Throne is pretty cool. It's been on sale.

2 years ago
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A good roguelike shmup is Binding of Issac Rebirth.

A horizontal shmup I remember very fondly is jets N Guns GOLD

2 years ago
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Jets'n'Guns Gold is the pinnacle of shmup genre.

2 years ago
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I just finished it. It's a good game, probably above any modern shoot emup, but pale in comparison to the classics gameplay-wise

2 years ago
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I already have it but never actually play it (got it for free) and after seeing a lot of comment saying it's really good, I watch some gameplay, bro... the soundtrack is just something insane, I'm actually installing this

2 years ago
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Beat Hazard 2 and LUFTRAUSERS are pretty good.

2 years ago
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For anyone considering Luftrausers I'd just point them to Jet Lancer instead. It's basically everything in Luftrausers but done better and in a more complete game.

2 years ago
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The Alltynex Trilogy bundle is a good deal. Relatively low price for three great games. https://store.steampowered.com/sub/39160/

There's Monolith if you care about roguelites. It's most likely the closest one in the genre to a traditional shmup and easily one of the best roguelites out there, too. Excellent game.

Astebreed is pretty good if you want a particularly flashy game.

For less conventional stuff you can look into Savant: Ascent, Switch 'n' Shoot (if you want a shmup you can play with one button) and Revolver Re:actor.

And Ikaruga, of course. But you probably already know this one.

2 years ago
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  • From the Alltynezz bundle: Kamui really drew my attention, looks old but stylish at the same time, really liked it
  • Monolith: Despite being a roguelike it has that shmup touch and the retro indie art style, I like it
  • Astebreed: this one didn't convince me, looks good, but not for me
  • Revolver Re:actor: Looks kinda weird the change of perspective in battle, most of the trailer I was trying to figure out what was happening, I like how it looks but I might play a more conventional one first, still not discarded but no high prio
  • Switch 'N' Shoot: I like this one, simple as that
  • Ikaruga: No you were wrong, I didn't know about this one, and thanks God you share this, probably the best of this list

Huge thanks for the recommendation man, appreciate it

2 years ago
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Ikaruga is like one of my fav games and it's one of the more popular shmups among mainstream audiences. In case you do play it and enjoy it I highly recommend you check out the other games from the developer (Treasure), like Radiant Silvergun, both Sin & Punishment games, Alien Soldier, etc.

Anyway a few more Steam recommendations since I'm writing this:

Black Bird - has a kind of standard Fantasy Zone-ish gameplay but with a very unique art direction. I enjoyed it a lot.

Crimzon Clover - widely regarded as one of the best bullet hells out there, last I checked. Very good indeed.

Wild Guns Reloaded - another less conventional suggestion; it's a gallery shooter that has multiple chars with different playstyles. Everything about this game is hype as hell and I love it.

2 years ago
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Thanks once again, I checked Wild Guns and now it's in my WL, looks like sunset riders an old arcade game, the first thing that drew my attention was the soundtrack then, the gameplay XD

2 years ago
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The game was originally released for the SNES much like Sunset Riders, so the resemblance is definitely there.

2 years ago
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There is one more roguelite shmup, Nova Drift

2 years ago
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Ah yeah, I actually own that but haven't played it yet because I'm waiting for it to leave EA, so I can't recommend it for sure. Looks pretty good though.

2 years ago
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2 years ago
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This game is wonderful marvel from the past.
Thank you for bringing this up.

2 years ago
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Yeah, I've played this myself on GoG, and oh boy it's good, that's one of the reasons for this "research"

2 years ago
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What have you played?

2 years ago
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Countless shmups were made in the 80s and 90s. Start with anything by Toaplan. Yes, that includes Zero Wing, which is actually well-made, translation aside.

If you really want to stick with Steam/Gog then you might want to start with Raptor: Call of the Shadows.

2 years ago
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Geometry Wars is always a fun time.
It's the perfect game for short play sessions, if you just want to make some carnage for a bit.

2 years ago
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Um, can you give a bit more specification on what kind of Shoot 'Em Up games you're looking for? ;P

I presume the ones that fall under Bullet Hell would be ok, right? ^_^'

Jamestown (or its updated re-release) is a pretty good choice.

A lot of the games by Orange_Juice are really good bullet hell games. I can personally recommend SUGURI (thought it might be a bit... "old" and unpolished; also one of the achievements isn't working) and Sora (kinda a sequel to SUGURI which is why I'd recommend playing that one first; immensely improves on just about everything). They play quite a bit differently from most Bullet Hell games with their unique Dash mechanic (which makes Sora on the "very easy" side as far as Bullet Hell goes).

I'd also recommend the Gundemonium Collection (Gundemonium Recollection, GundeadliGne and Hitogata Happa - I should warn that this last one is particularly hard) but unfortunately due to publisher issues they can't be bought directly in the Steam Store right now and I have no idea if keys are still available anywhere. T.T

If you're also including "Twin Stick Shooters" under Shoot 'Em Ups then I have a few more I'd recommend. :D

Crimsonland is an old classic which still holds up today. :)

RIVE is a hidden gem which almost no-one knows about (but they really should).

And Intrusion 2 is another hidden gem which I hope slightly more people know about with a very interesting psychics engine.

Edit:
Here's some more:
Bit Blaster XL is nice and short (and cheap). ^_^

All the Chicken Invaders games. :D

All the Metal Slug games. (Personally I've only played METAL SLUG 3 but they're all conceptually similar.)

2 years ago*
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Appreciate your recommendation man, I've played myself Intrusion 2 back in the day when browser games were the best you could play, so I bought it a few months ago, and still being good and talking about the other ones I'll better list them

  • Jamestown: Looks like the devs of metal slug wanted to try shmups and looks interesting, added to WL
  • Orange juice, Sora, Suguri, Gundemonium Recollection, GundeadliGne, and Hitogata Happa: Personally I don't like the anime looking games
  • Rive: Mashup of Platformer and Shmup, I'm looking forward to this one too
  • Chicken Invaders, Bit Blaster: Looks fun I'll try the free to play version of chicken first and definitively gonna buy Bit Blaster
  • Crimsonland: Not really drew my attention
  • Metal Slug 3: Yeah I like this one too, but I never play the whole saga, I might consider buying it

Appreciate a lot your shares man, I can be very picky with games but I found many interesting

2 years ago
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Amazon still has the DRM-free versions of the Gundemonium Collection available.

Gundemonium Recollection
Hitogata Happa
GundeadliGne

2 years ago
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A lot of those look interenting, thanks for posting the list

2 years ago
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Here's a slice of what I have in my "Shmup" category in my Steam Library (and a few that I haven't gotten around to picking up yet, but look pretty good). I'm sure something in here will appeal to you:

Crimzon Clover WORLD IGNITION
R-Type Final 2
Ikaruga
DELTAZEAL
XIIZEAL
Jets 'n' Guns Gold
Redux: Dark Matters
Sine Mora EX
Ether Vapor Remaster
Syder Arcade
Vortex Attack
Xenoraptor
Satazius
Rigid Force Alpha
DARIUSBURST Chronicles Saviours
Devil Engine
ZeroRanger

2 years ago
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At this point, the lists are so big that listing everything would take too long, so I'll talk about the ones I liked, this doesn't mean that the remaining ones are bad, it's just not of my taste

  • Devil Engine: I liked this one, seems that have the same engine as Street fighter 3rd strike engine, or at least they look similar, despite not being a fan of Evangelion it reminds it to me
  • ZeroRanger: Looks simple and I like it
  • DeltaZeal and XIIZeal: I liked these two, more XII than Delta but I might buy the bundle with the ost
  • DARIUSBURST Chronicle Saviours: I like this one too, the booses are huge and you can play up to 4 players

Thanks mate, appreciate your recommendations

2 years ago
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Haha, yeah I did not expect you to comment on every game I recommended (or on any of them, really). Glad you saw a few that caught your interest!

2 years ago
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Thanks for sharing, I wish listed a few that I wouldn't have found otherwise. I also love shoot em up's including the ground ones like Metal Slug. They remind me of visiting the Arcade with a friend and some coins to use in the machine when I could never beat them all or afford to play to the end. I have been collecting anything co-op like this. =)

2 years ago
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ZeroRanger and Blue Revolver are some nice vertical shoot em ups.
Touhou Luna Nights is a 2D action game with great shoot em up styled boss fights if you'd care for something outside of the classic style; see Assault Android Cactus+ for a Twin-Stick Shooter with similar elements.
And currently on sale are Danmaku Unlimited 2 & 3, Q-YO Blaster, Vortex Attack and R-Type Dimensions EX.
Many more as well, some listed by other commenters.

2 years ago
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If Touhou Luna Nights counts for the boss fights, then Rabi-Ribi would totally also count. ^_^
(Consider that a recommendation for both the OP and you. ;D )

2 years ago
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Oh boy, Danmaku Unlimited 2 (also 3) looks really promising the steam description says "Classic Japanese style vertical manic shooting action!" and I believe it, the other ones you listed some people list them already and some didn't draw my attention, appreciate the shares

2 years ago
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2 years ago
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Bullet Party is decently priced and has 180 levels that are packed with action and are usually completed under a minute.

2 years ago
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Blazing Beaks, nice in coop. Prepare to die quite a lot ;-)

2 years ago
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2 years ago
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I'm pretty sure Skyforce is on the play store too, but I didn't know it was on pc too, I added to my WL the Reloaded and the Anniversary thanks mate

2 years ago
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+1 for the skyforce games, with reloaded being a lot more hectic fun!

2 years ago
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  • Steredenn (And a nice rediscovery when cleaning my backlog : Retro-style bullet-hell, very addictive. )

  • Aqua Kitty - Milk Mine Defender : An Arcade classic, but with fishes and kitties.
    (...And Astro Aqua Kitty, if you don't mind another kind of playstyle, more "Spelunky-like"... Also, this game still have no cards yet.)

2 years ago
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This is kinda fun, when I first saw Aqua Kitty the first tough that came to my mind was "C'mon, not crappy weird games" but they surprise me, this once again teaches me not to judge without knowing something
Steredenn looks really good, the art style, the concept, I liked really much

Appreciate it man, thanks

2 years ago
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CAVE unfortunately stopped with the Steam releases, but Mushihimesama is a must have classic for a shmup fan. They also have Deathsmiles and DoDonPachi Resurrection
I personally really liked ALLTYNEX Trilogy, only RefleX has no achievements.
Neko Navy is not a particularly well known game, but it's worth a shot too.
And for a freebie, there's Jigoku Kisetsukan: Sense of the Seasons.

2 years ago*
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Epido on steam is a good simple game for cheap, its got achievements, cards, etc. It is a lewd game though so idk if that's your thing lol

2 years ago
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Jets n Guns Gold is really good, and have a killer soundtrack

ZeroRanger is a very interesting take on the genre

2 years ago
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AKxolotl hasn't come out yet, but it looks promising

2 years ago
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Hmm... I normally don't care for those arena-style shooters, but something about this one makes me feel like I should own it. Can't quite put my finger on why 😜

2 years ago
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Steredenn and Luftrausers were both very good shmups that I struggled, but managed, to complete 100%

I wouldn't count Binding of Isaac as a shmup but it's an addicting twin stick shooter with an insane amount of content for a 1GB game. I've spent 250 hours to get 250 of the 637 achievements available with the full game (Rebirth, Afterbirth DLC, Afterbirth+ DLC, and Repentance DLC)

2 years ago
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you absolutely HAVE to play ULTRAKILL if you like shooters. It's the best rated game of all time on Steam (percentage based). It's amazing.

2 years ago
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