15 Best Sci-fi Shooters, Ranked

Shooter games are one of the archetypes that defined gaming, not only for a single generation but also helped shape what gaming is across the board. Even wholesome games for children can have some form of projectile they launch at a target.

Games don’t just need a genre, they need an aesthetic, and an aesthetic that has been applied to countless shooters is that of a sci-fi world setting. These worlds can differ vastly when compared side by side, but they all share a common factor of having technology that vastly surpasses our own.

Updated by Chad Thesen on Februrary 20, 2024: This list has been expanded to include another 5 incredible sci-fi titles that are more than worthy to be included among the great shooters of the genre. This list has also had new in-text links added to make navigation to related articles easier for readers.

15 Overwatch

Plenty Of Unique Playstyle Choices

• Offers a wide range of different playstyles.
• Lots of extended media that ties into the world’s lore.

Overwatch hit the world like a ten-ton hammer of pure excitement back in 2016. From the very first reveal trailer, players were clambering to try it out. This game is a Hero Shooter, meaning players each choose a specific character that plays in their own unique way to accomplish a common goal with their teammates.

The game was harshly criticized for its use of Loot Boxes, but once it was re-branded as its own sequel, it was harshly criticized for replacing those Loot Boxes with a Battle Pass system. Regardless, the game’s incredibly fun gameplay has kept it alive for almost a decade.

14 Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Play As A Heavily Augmented Human

• Level designs allow players to approach tasks in many different ways.
• High replayability creates a lot of value.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a game that involves people who use special artificially created human organs. These artificial organs are known as “Augmentations” and are the subject of a lot of controversy within the game’s world. The protagonist of the story is Adam Jensen, who works in the security department of Sarif Industries — who manufacture such Augmentation. Adam will utilize many of these Augmentations throughout the game as he delves into the story behind a secretive group that is working from the shadows.

The game lets players explore many different options for how they wish to overcome different obstacles. Changing what Augments you have access to will change how players will need to approach these obstacles — creating plenty of replayability. Plus, the manner in which you approach obstacles can lead to drastically different outcomes. If you want a choice-based RPG in a fleshed-out cyberpunk setting, look no further than Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

13 Cyberpunk 2077

Dystopian Future Setting With Plenty Of Weapons

• Weapons and vehicle types can vary greatly with what they are capable of.
• Tons of activities and side quests are available for players.

Cyberpunk 2077 is an action RPG played from the first-person perspective, and it features a lot of incredible guns. While some may argue it is not a shooter due to it having such a solid RPG foundation, it cannot be denied that the gunplay and its associated combat is a vital element to the majority of the game.

Players looking for a shooter set in a sci-fi dystopia will have all their aesthetic needs and wants not just met, but surpassed tenfold by the volume of missions and tasks available in this gem of a game.

12 Doom Eternal

Rip And Tear Through The Forces Of Evil

• Combat is extremely action-focused and satisfying.
• Monsters are well-designed and challenging.

Doom: Eternal is part of the beloved Doom franchise. It is a first-person shooter set on Mars and includes an incredibly destructive arsenal for the player to make use of. This game follows the events of its predecessor — which was released 4 years prior.

The game features a “push forward” combat standard, where players will need to be aggressive and charge at their enemies rather than hiding behind cover. Doing so will allow them to stay stocked up on health and ammo.

11 Dead Space 2

Space Themed Zombies Shooter

• A perfect blend of Action and Survival Horror.
• Creates a brilliant atmosphere from start to finish.

Doom Eternal may have all sorts of monstrous abominations coming your way, but it is still very action-heavy. Dead Space 2, on the other hand, is a real horror experience as it is also a member of the survival horror genre. Players take control of Isaac Clarke, a system engineer for the Concordance Extraction Corporation.

Isaac traverses the space station with a plasma cutter tool facing a terrifying alien outbreak, all while slowly losing his own sanity. Players will need to solve puzzles, blast apart the Necromorph aliens, and make their way through an increasingly fear-inducing storyline.

10 Dead Space Remake

A Terrifying Space Station Horror Story

• Masterfully cultivates a sense of isolation and terror.
• You’re constantly backed into a corner, but never helpless.

This remake of the original Dead Space feels like something straight out of a horror movie. Players take on the role of Isaac Clarke, an engineer exploring the USG Ishimura, a massive space ship filled with horrific necromorphs that will promptly attempt to end your life on sight. There are plenty of jump scares and terrifying encounters to be had throughout one’s playthrough.

While the game makes players feel like they are backed into a corner by horrifying and powerful foes, it does not make players feel helpless. You’ll come equipped with an arsenal of intense weaponry, each offering unique ways to dismember the hostile necromorph plague.

9 Portal 2

Solving Puzzles With Portals & Physics

• Solving puzzles is very satisfying.
• Introduces new mechanics over time that change the way you solve puzzles.

Nobody expected Portal to be the breakaway success it was, or that it would get a sequel that would blow the first one out of the water. Portal 2 is a first-person shooter through and through, just without an ever-increasing pile of bodies.

Players use a portal gun to solve many puzzles, while also gaining new elements over the course of the game to make these puzzles even more devilish. What really makes Portal 2 shine is the narratives by an utterly outstanding writing team with a phenomenal voice cast.

8 Helldivers 2

Dispatch Bugs & Bots With A Massive Arsenal

• Pushes players to explore harder difficulties.
• Playing with friends is extremely fun and rewarding.

Players will take on distinct aggressive enemies, like the insectoid Terminids and the cyborg Automatons, while playing Helldivers 2. These enemies of Democracy come at you in droves, peppered in with masive units like the Bile Titans and Automaton Tanks. The aesthetics are truly amazing, from how the mercenaries of Super Earth are designed, to the surreal alien worlds you will be fighting on.

Playing in a group gives a deep sense of cameraderie, and taking down mighty foes will have friends celebrating their accomplishments together. The game will also force players to start at the easiest of difficulties, and with each successful mission, will unlock the difficulty above the one they just completed. This gives players a sense of always wanting to push into harder content as they become better at the game. Story is light, but the vibes are immaculate.

7 Mass Effect Legendary Edition

A Narrative Space Opera That Is Second To None

• One of the most lore-rich video games a player can enjoy.
• Your choices truly matter across all three games in the trilogy.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition is arguably one of the most engrossing experiences a player can pick up. Players will discover so many interesting alien races, each with their own lore and customs. Touching down on each planet leads to a whole new sub-adventure that plays into a larger story for each game — likewise, each game plays into the overarching franchise story beautifully.

The choice of making a space opera-style game allows the franchise to constantly expand on new story elements and push into new frontiers for players to explore. Players are also able to engage in some really explosive combat, allowing you to customize your experience with the unique powers and abilities to the setting.

6 Half-Life 2

Fight For Freedom Against Powerful Foes

• Regarded as a true masterpiece by an enormous fanbase.
• Still worth playing even for modern-day gamers.

Half-Life 2 is heralded as one of the greatest shooters of all time, and its inclusion of super science and otherworldly lifeforms lets it tick off that “sci-fi” box.

A lot of players would argue that any game other than this taking the first place spot would be heresy, but sadly, the game does show its age after all these years and may do well to explore the thought of a full remake with modern gaming elements.

5 Destiny 2

Free To Play At Its Best

• A dedicated team has kept the game alive and entertaining for years.
• A very large amount of content, a lot of which is free to enjoy.

Destiny 2 is everything players could want from a sci-fi shooter. This game features a very fast-paced and fluid gameplay thanks to everything the developers have done in the past. They couple this with an incredibly vast range of weapons, with many different ways to modify them to take into consideration.

This game features a full campaign story that players can play with their friends for free, as well as paid expansions to explore more story elements while adding new raids. It also features plenty of endgame content and PvP features to keep players invested and have a large player base.

4 Titanfall 2

Buddy Cop Story With A Giant Robot

• Very smooth and intuitive controls.
• Very enjoyable campaign story.

Titanfall 2 is a first-person shooter that lets players jump into giant mechs, each with their own pros and cons. What catapults this title so high up this list is that it is not only a really fun and smooth gameplay experience, but it also has a brilliant story experience as well.

The “buddy cop dynamic” between Titan BT-7274 and Pilot Jack Cooper creates something that is done so well that it would make for a breakthrough Netflix series without the need for any gameplay. This game also features plenty of mechanics unique to certain points in the game to constantly keep things feeling fresh.

3 Returnal

Trapped On An Alien Shapeshifting Planet

• Very rewarding gameplay loop.
• Incredible visual and audio directions.

Returnal offers the premier AAA Roguelike experience. You take on the role of Selene, an Astra Scout who crashes on the alien world of Atropos, a cryptic and ever-changing world that she just can’t escape from — even in death. There will be plenty of dangers for players to face off against, and should they die, they will be forced to repeat a time loop where the environment shifts.

The game has a brilliant atmosphere that captures a gripping story of survival and action. The art direction and sound design are top-notch, delivering an unforgettable experience for those who play it. Each run leaves the player feeling more confident and improving their skills to do better on each subsequent run.

2 The Outer Worlds

Fallout New Vegas In Space

• The world setting is masterfully done to create a great experience.
• Both main and side missions have some true gems to play and enjoy.

The Outer Worlds has players as revived members of a ship known as the Hope. This revival is not free, as they are now the property of one of many corporations that are colonizing planets. Being in hypersleep for a long has left the player with heightened abilities that let them slow time.

This ability to slow down time has made a lot of fans treat it as a spiritual success of Fallout: New Vegas, one of the previous games that the developers worked on. These events send the player on an incredible journey filled with lots of exciting worlds, deadly enemies to fight, and some incredibly fun guns.

1 Borderlands 2

The Ultimate Looter Shooter Co-Op Experience

• Every Vault Hunter Feels Special.
• Storytelling that is in a league of its own.

Borderlands 2 outperforms everything else on this list due to a combination of both quality and insane amounts of quantity. Borderlands 2 features all the base mechanics you could want from a shooter with each class bringing their unique elements to how they play. It has more guns to collect than players can ever hope to pick up due to each gun having a plethora of random possible components — this makes every fresh playthrough an enjoyable climb to power with different weapons at your disposal.

Each playable class is extremely fun and unique; the supporting characters are funny, interesting, and enjoyable; the story’s main quest line and the massive amount of side quest options are engaging and fill players with a thirst for adventure and exploration; and to top it all off, the main villain is one of the best-designed villains in gaming history that deserves to stand among other iconic villains. This is not just a game, it is a truly memorable experience that you can enjoy with up to 3 friends.