The Best Looter Shooter Games, Ranked

Despite being 1 of the much recognisable sub-genres successful gaming, you whitethorn beryllium amazed by conscionable however precious fewer looter shooters determination really are. Putting unneurotic a database of the champion of them revealed however uncommon a genuinely superb 1 is, presumably a effect of however incredibly hard they are to make, and their unfortunate inclination to spell the mode of Anthem oregon Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League – chopped abbreviated aft failing to drawback an audience. But what they deficiency successful quantity, they much than marque up for successful conscionable however galore hours you tin suffer to them, and implicit the past astir 2 decades I’ve spent much clip with this genre than I’d attraction to admit.

So what qualifies arsenic a looter shooter for the purposes of this list? Well, arsenic the sanction implies they’ve got to person shooting (either archetypal oregon third-person) arsenic the superior mode you interact with the world, and each those ammunition casings and/or laser bolts request to reward loot (almost ever including randomized drops) that keeps you playing and lures you into a hard-to-resist endgame. Ongoing games similar Destiny and much traditional, non-live-service games similar Outriders are some eligible, truthful agelong arsenic there’s immoderate benignant of ongoing endgame oregon hook to support you playing. In essence, we’re looking for games that, 1 mode oregon another, adhere to the archetypal premise of the looter shooter genre: what if we took an ARPG similar Diablo and turned it into a shooter?

If, similar me, you can’t look to get capable of shooting monsters successful the look to assertion glorious gear, present are our apical 14 looter shooter recommendations.

14. Crab Champions

One of the weirder looter shooters you tin play close present is Crab Champions, a roguelike wherever you play arsenic a gun-toting crab facing disconnected against chap crustaceans and mean-looking floating heads, claiming badass loot successful the process. The fast-paced, over-the-top combat mightiness not beryllium arsenic technically precocious arsenic its peers, but what it lacks successful bells and whistles it much than makes up for successful axenic dopey charm. Plus, it's missing the accustomed add-ons and microtransactions you often find successful different looter shooters, and frankincense comes arsenic a implicit bundle with nary hidden costs.

This 1 is inactive successful progressive improvement and presently disposable done Steam’s aboriginal entree program, but astatine conscionable $10 it’s perfectly worthy checking out, particularly since it’s specified an evident enactment of caller aerial from the accustomed looter shooter aesthetic. I’m a sucker for goofy takes connected genres I emotion and you’d beryllium hard-pressed to find a sillier enactment retired determination than this one. It’s besides developed by a azygous person, which is beauteous awesome fixed however overmuch amusive I’ve managed to compression retired of this 1 successful the past year.

13. Shadow Warrior 2

One of the much underrated shooters I’ve played is the Shadow Warrior series, specifically the reboot that kicked disconnected successful 2013, which continues to experimentation and reinvent itself (for amended oregon worse) with each iteration. While the archetypal and 3rd games are linear, story-focused adventures, the 2nd crippled successful the trilogy took a detour into the satellite of looter shooters, with semi-open-world, procedurally generated areas and an accent connected randomized loot that puts it squarely successful the aforesaid class arsenic Borderlands.

Shadow Warrior 2 is precise tongue-in-cheek, contempt the information that you walk astir of your clip tearing demons into pinkish chunks similar thing retired of Doom, and my friends and I spent implicit a 100 hours giggling arsenic we grinded for loot and enjoyed the series’ unsocial marque of lowbrow humor. Gunplay is thing to constitute location astir and the buildcrafting is decidedly connected the much simplistic broadside that makes it consciousness similar little of an RPG than galore of its peers, but it’s inactive rather a bully time, and 1 of my favourite turn-you-brain-off games erstwhile I conscionable privation to whale connected immoderate disfigured looking monsters.

12. Borderlands 3

While Borderlands 3 did a full batch to amended the Borderlands series’ gunplay and graphics erstwhile it launched successful 2019, it besides exists successful a precise weird spot successful the franchise’s history, wherever it felt similar developer Gearbox had allowed itself to beryllium near successful the particulate successful a genre it itself pioneered. The gunplay was solid, but easy outclassed by games similar Destiny, and the loot was awesome, but buildcrafting among its peers had already evolved beyond Borderlands 3’s somewhat shallow options. Throw successful immoderate beauteous questionable decisions wherever drama penning and antagonists are concerned, and you’ve got what I see to beryllium the weakest introduction successful the series.

That said, this is inactive a Borderlands crippled and that means adjacent connected a atrocious time it’s damn amusive to play. With a truly neat interplanetary run and an irresponsible fig of weapons to hunt, I spent rather a fewer evenings playing this one. And acknowledgment to that improved gunplay, if you’re looking for the Borderlands crippled that feels amended than astir of the others (excepting Borderlands 4), past this is your larboard of call.

11. Outriders

People Can Fly’s foray into the looter shooter abstraction whitethorn not person been the astir archetypal iteration, notably taking rather a fewer queues from the likes of The Division, but it remains 1 of the much memorable looter shooters connected this list. As supernaturally powered warriors, you’ll tally astir turning raiders into gobs of nutrient portion claiming loads of loot. One happening that sets Outriders isolated from the remainder of the battalion is conscionable however large its buildcrafting is, particularly with the Worldslayer enlargement upping its crippled beauteous significantly. I spent a ton of clip optimizing my assorted characters’ builds for the procedurally generated raid activity, and geeking retired implicit assorted stat numbers. Looter shooters aren’t ever the champion astatine embracing the RPG broadside of their mechanics, but Outriders truly excels successful this country – it rules.

I’m besides a large instrumentality of the information that the developers decided not to marque Outriders a live-service game, alternatively supporting it with a azygous (and beauteous awesome) expansion. Don’t get maine wrong: I’m rather a large instrumentality of games-as-a-service projects, but not each looter shooter needs to spell down that path, and Outriders ne'er made maine consciousness the unit to play much than I ever wanted to play – I got in, had a large time, and past moved connected to the adjacent game. I truly appreciated that. For that reason, this is an fantabulous enactment to play with your person radical if you’re looking for much bully times successful the genre, but you don’t privation to get wrapped up successful hundreds of hours of contented that threatens to devour your life.

10. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel

Sure, Borderlands’ detour to the satellite aft the phenomenal Borderlands 2 was mostly an excuse to unafraid much screentime for everyone’s favourite baddie, Handsome Jack, and support the franchise lukewarm portion we waited for a due sequel, but it’s besides a precise coagulated shooter with a astonishing magnitude of nutrient connected its bones wherever communicative is concerned. The unsocial mounting of Pandora’s satellite and the low-gravity, oxygen-juggling implications of that prime are surely controversial, but I for 1 ne'er stopped loving those glorious buttslams.

Really, The Pre-Sequel’s biggest misdeed is that it does astir thing to germinate the series, alternatively feeling much similar an elaborate enlargement of Borderlands 2 with low-gravity environments. But much Borderlands 2 truly isn’t specified a atrocious thing, and this 1 inactive holds up to this day.

9. Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands

A spinoff of the Borderlands series, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is the lone (sorta, kinda) phantasy crippled connected a database that’s dominated by sci-fi games. Taking spot wrong a D&D-like tabletop RPG called Bunkers & Badasses (which has since go an existent tabletop RPG,) this profoundly inappropriate shooter is fundamentally Borderlands dressed successful wizard robes, featuring galore of the iconic characters and mechanics for which Gearbox’s looter shooter bid is known. It takes a fewer risks present and determination with things similar the overworld representation that helps your travel consciousness a spot much similar a due tabletop adventure, but different plays it highly adjacent to the blueprint established by the mainline series.

I truly enjoyed my clip with Tiny Tina’s Wonderland, but it yet sits rather a spot beneath the champion entries of the archetypal bid conscionable based connected however overmuch it borrows, arsenic good arsenic the information that it fails to unrecorded up to the drama chops of the likes of Borderlands 2 (more connected that later). Still, if you’re looking to descend a ton of clip into a wonderfully silly shooter that sets itself isolated from the remainder of the battalion with a unsocial phantasy skin, this one’s precise casual to enthusiastically recommend.

8. Destiny

Say what you privation astir the archetypal Destiny (God knows I have), but it changed the looter shooter genre successful excessively galore ways to count. That mightiness irk those who aren’t a instrumentality of live-service games, but the thought that looter shooters were going to beryllium big-budget, ongoing adventures that spanned years was a monolithic measurement guardant for the genre. With beauteous worlds to explore, 1 of the champion crippled soundtracks of each time, and first-person enactment that inactive eclipses astir of its peers this 1 deserves its kudos, adjacent if it’s nary longer receiving caller content. It besides introduced World of Warcraft-like raids that person since go the golden modular for its peers, inspiring those that followed, similar The Division oregon Outriders, to bash the same. On apical of each that, it’s got immoderate fantastic PvP modes that I’ve mislaid thousands of hours to implicit the years.

Yeah, you’ve got to woody with 1 of the astir convoluted, astir nonsensical stories successful the world, positive immoderate truly questionable grinds that astir drove maine to madness of much than 1 occasion, but Bungie makes each that worthy it with immoderate of the champion gunplay looter shooters person ever had.

7. Borderlands

As the progenitor for galore of the ideas that came after, the archetypal Borderlands crippled deserves its roses for being the archetypal of its benignant (or astatine slightest the archetypal massively palmy one). Now implicit 15 years old, it decidedly has its unsmooth edges wherever gameplay, situation diversity, and different bells and whistles are concerned, but Gearbox managed to propulsion disconnected what nary 1 had before: turning a first-person shooter into a Diablo-like ARPG that was really amusive to play. The 4 vault hunters are iconic (having passed into fable astatine this point) and are a batch of amusive to physique into, and their quaint escapade done the deserts of Pandora is 1 I’ll ever retrieve fondly contempt its hilariously atrocious ending.

And though Borderlands decidedly felt similar a prototype of amended games to come, it besides had immoderate amazingly bully drama penning and DLC enactment that kept maine playing with friends years aft its debut. In 2009, erstwhile expansions of this benignant were uncommon and the looter shooter genre didn’t exist, Borderlands paved the mode for everything that came after.

6. Tom Clancy's The Division 2

Now we’re getting to the existent dense hitters, starting disconnected with 1 of the greats of the live-service shooter. The Division 2 is 1 of the champion experiences to beryllium had successful this space. With tons of large loot, immoderate of the toughest raid activities ever devised, awesome buildcrafting, and the perfectly stellar “dark zone” mechanics that adhd a mini extraction shooter close successful the mediate of your co-op game, The Division 2 built connected conscionable astir everything its predecessor did good and past some.

It besides fills a niche of much realistic looter shooters with its dark, post-apocalyptic satellite wherever you’re warring different humans alternatively of aliens oregon monsters. Sometimes this results successful unusual things, similar a feline successful a hoodie surviving a twelve shotgun blasts to the head, but if you’re capable to enactment speech conscionable however weird that is, you’re successful for a bully time. Best of all, some the games successful this bid person a full batch of contented to dive into, overmuch of which inactive has an progressive playerbase to prosecute with.

5. Destiny 2

After its predecessor pioneered the live-service model, Destiny 2 expanded connected those ideas and is accelerated approaching a decennary of content. It hasn’t ever been accordant successful being a amusive crippled to play, and swings wildly from incredibly compelling expansions to implicit duds that marque maine privation to enactment my caput done a stained solid window. That’s bound to hap erstwhile you’re processing a crippled for this agelong and putting retired thousands upon thousands of hours of contented though, and erstwhile Destiny 2 pulls it disconnected it’s without question 1 of the champion looter shooters retired determination by a state mile.

That’s owed successful nary tiny portion to its perfectly fantastic gunplay, which has kept maine playing adjacent done the galore acheronian times and contented droughts. Campaigns similar The Witch Queen and The Final Shape are immoderate of the amended stories looter shooters person told, the abilities and buildcrafting options person been built up implicit the people of years to the constituent wherever they consciousness rather bully and person a ton of options to take from. Best of all, it conscionable has truthful overmuch dang contented that you could play each time for a twelvemonth consecutive and inactive not tally retired of compelling things to do. It hasn’t ever excelled successful its loot, is often painfully grindy (including with its astir caller expansion), and is incredibly inconsistent successful the prime of its storytelling, but man, you’ve gotta manus it to Bungie for keeping this crippled applicable for arsenic agelong arsenic they have. The manufacture simply wouldn’t beryllium the aforesaid without it!

4. Warframe

Okay, okay, technically Warframe is much of a looter slasher than a shooter, but it would consciousness downright weird to not see it successful this database fixed its power connected the genre and unthinkable magnitude of overlap. Taking connected the relation of a abstraction ninja that’s perfectly dripping with swagger, Warframe has eaten up a ton of my clip implicit the years with its never-ending grind and bully times with friends. It besides manages to propulsion disconnected the free-to-play exemplary rather good (or astatine slightest has a reasonably accordant record), which makes it a beauteous casual merchantability to your frugal co-op teammates.

It’s besides awesome conscionable however agelong this happening has been going connected – it really predates adjacent Destiny – with the caveat that to this precise time Warframe’s developers inactive assertion the crippled remains successful unfastened beta (yes, really). I don’t play Warframe consistently, but each clip I’ve logged connected successful the past decennary it’s had mechanics added to it that marque it consciousness similar a wholly antithetic animal, including abstraction combat, roguelike zones, and adjacent a time-traveling DLC with motorcycle riding and romance mechanics. I dunno, man. This crippled is just…insanely good.

3. Borderlands 4

If you haven’t yet heard the news, Borderlands 4 is retired present and is 1 of my favourite looter shooters of each time. Even this aboriginal into its lifespan, with plentifulness of bugs, show issues, and wide wonkiness going on, this massive, open-world reimagining of the bid represents a monolithic leap guardant from Borderlands 3 that takes immoderate absorbing risks that overwhelmingly wage off, similar a much grounded communicative and an wholly caller mounting successful Kairos that steps rather acold distant from the familiarity and nostalgia of Pandora. It besides makes immoderate beauteous stellar improvements to gunplay, specifically wherever mobility is concerned, and gliding and grapple hooking astir with friends arsenic you stroke things up with the astir ridiculous arsenal imaginable has been (and apt volition proceed to be) 1 of my favourite experiences successful 2025.

Borderlands 4 mightiness precise good spell connected to beryllium adjacent higher connected this list, perchance adjacent taking the apical slot erstwhile assorted patches and contented drops code immoderate of my nitpicks with it, but adjacent present it’s already stolen my bosom and implicit 60 hours of my time. The aboriginal for the Borderlands bid is looking rather agleam – particularly considering there’s already a full roadmap charting retired the adjacent six months of content, which includes a caller playable vault hunter.

2. Remnant 2

Often described arsenic “Dark Souls with guns,” the Remnant bid has an incredibly unsocial instrumentality by combining a smattering of soulslike mechanics and roguelike features with looter shooter goodness, and Remnant 2 perfectly nails combining the ideas of each three. I should caveat this by saying that maine categorizing Remnant 2 arsenic a looter shooter volition beryllium controversial, chiefly due to the fact that this is the lone crippled connected this database that doesn’t person randomized loot oregon a grind that requires completing the aforesaid activities a clump of times – some hallmarks of what makes the genre what it is. Instead, you instrumentality connected importantly challenging activities and erstwhile you negociate to bushed them once, you get guaranteed loot that removes immoderate request to replay it again.

But it takes truthful galore different cues from looter shooters, from gameplay, to buildcrafting, to moving unneurotic with a co-op squad to instrumentality down immoderate horrifying brag to get that portion of instrumentality oregon limb you’ve been dying to adhd to your build, positive has plentifulness of reasons to support playing agelong aft you’ve beaten the campaign. The information that it bucks immoderate of the trends recovered successful astir different looter shooters, specifically the request to grind, mightiness really beryllium 1 of the reasons this 1 ranks truthful highly for maine (Remnant 2 was 1 of my favourite games of 2023, aft all). If you haven’t played it yet and you’re a instrumentality of looter shooters, I cannot urge it enough.

1. Borderlands 2

As overmuch arsenic I adore the hot, newness of Borderlands 4, it’s rather hard to contend with the series’ magnum opus: Borderlands 2. It is inactive hands down the champion looter shooter we’ve got. With an astir unbelievable fig of weapons, immoderate of the champion drama penning successful gaming past (tip of the chapeau to bully ol’ Handsome Jack), and a communicative that’s amazingly affectional close erstwhile you expect it to beryllium silly and shallow, I spent much than a 1000 hours successful Borderlands 2 backmost erstwhile that wasn’t truly a happening radical ever did with games that didn’t person competitory multiplayer matches.

Obviously this crippled is implicit a decennary aged and truthful doesn’t rather clasp up successful definite areas similar gunplay, movement, oregon buildcrafting, but aft replaying it reasonably precocious I was shocked to spot however good it inactive holds up. And wherever the archetypal Borderlands crippled was the 1 that spawned each the looter shooters to come, Borderlands 2 was arguably adjacent much influential successful its interaction connected the genre, refining the concepts from the archetypal and implementing caller ideas that would aboriginal beryllium iterated connected by its peers, similar however its endgame treadmill went connected to animate Destiny, Warframe, Outriders, and others.

And determination you person it! Those are our apical 14 looter shooters you tin play close now. Which is your favorite? Any bully ones we missed? Sound disconnected successful the comments to fto america know.