Run and gun games were huge in the ’80s and ’90s. Most players have probably checked out a game or two within this genre, including the Contra and Metal Slug series. They are the gold standards or classic run and gun games and are great examples for anyone trying to understand the genre.
It boils down to level-based gameplay wherein heavily armed characters shoot enemies, platform, and run from left to right across a 2D plane. Simple right? While the genre has disappeared from AAA developers like Konami and SNK, there have been plenty of smaller developers trying to keep the genre alive.
Alien Hominid Invasion
A Roguelike Update To A Classic
- Developer: The Behemoth
- Publisher: The Behemoth
- Released: November 1, 2023
- Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
2023 was a big year for the series as Alien Hominid got an HD remaster after debuting as a browser game in 2002. Alien Hominid Invasion was an even bigger deal, as it was a new game that ran with the run and gun premise and turned it into a roguelike. The gameplay was as chaotic as the original game, with agents and other elements appearing endlessly, but roguelike events could empower players in-between runs. It also featured four-player co-op, making it one of the rare roguelikes that included multiplayer.
Broforce
Legally Distinct Movie Parodies
Broforce is such a fun idea for a game that pays homage to ’80s and ’90s action heroes in an over-the-top game against terrorists, aliens, and the Devil himself. Players could assume the role of characters like Mr. Anderbro, who was a parody of Neo from The Matrix, Brommando, who was a parody of John Matrix from Commando, and the list goes on. Each character had a speciality, from using guns to swords to dynamite, and levels could be endlessly destroyed. Unlocking the next parody hero was half the fun, either alone or with three other friends in co-op.
Iron Meat
To The Slaughter
Iron Meat is a spiritual successor to Contra if it were crossed with Doom, aka caked in blood and guts. Players will die in one hit, but there is an adjustable difficulty and co-op to curve the challenge. Weapon drops follow typical power-ups from spreadshots to laser cannons.
Perhaps the best thing about the game, besides the grotesque art style, is the music, which has to be another influence from Doom. The metal thrashing will keep players motivated to eradicate every frightful enemy in the levels.
Kero Blaster
Get Froggy
Kero Blaster was made by the same developer as Cave Story, one of the earliest indie Metroidvanias. Kero Blaster shares a similar simplistic art style of pixel graphics, but the gameplay is more action-based with a frog hero strapped with a large gun. Players can collect coins in levels to boost stats like weapon proficiency and health, to make stages easier. It’s a hard action platformer to be sure, as players have to be a bit more methodical as they blast their way through stages, but it’s worth it to see all of the quirky supporting characters and bosses.
Mercenary Kings
Monster Hunter Influences
Mercenary Kings has managed to stay relevant past its initial 2014 version with enhanced ports as late as the Switch, PS Vita, and Xbox One in 2018. Players will establish a home base on a foreign island to commence bite-sized missions with their chosen hero. Missions can range from finding a certain number of objects to finding a boss hidden in a stage. Players can collect materials to then turn into wild weapons with a wide variety of effects, like an explosive trombone. It can get repetitive since it reuses the same maps, but it scratches that run and gun itch along with Monster Hunter, and the repetitive angle can be downplayed with up to three other co-op partners.
Mighty Goose
Honk Honk!
Mighty Goose is one of the wildest modern run and gun games that perfectly captures the bizarre nature of Metal Slug. Players are a goose encased in an exoskeleton, armed with an obscene amount of guns, and fighting against a seemingly never-ending army of robots.
Players can get power-ups from crates or allies that join, equip boosts in-between missions, and even drive tanks temporarily to break through hordes. It’s a silly, but solid little action platformer that plays and looks great.
Super Time Force
Puzzle And Gun
Super Time Force is a spiritual successor to the genre with a twist, which has been updated several times. Characters will die in one hit, as is tradition, but players can then rewind time to try and prevent those deaths from happening by adding a new character to the timeline. For example, Jean Rambois is the strongest starting hero, and if he dies from a robot blast, players can rewind time and get Shieldy Blockerson, who wields a shield, to block the attack for Jean. It’s sort of a puzzle game in this way, and more bizarre characters will be added to the roster as players continue, including the former President of Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios, Shuhei Yoshida.
Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef
Space Marines!
There is a Warhammer game for every genre out there, including the run and gun genre, thanks to Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef. This bizarre title puts players in the role of a commanding Ork, strapped to the nines with weaponry from giant machine guns to pistols. Players can cause mayhem alone, or they can team up with up to three other players. It’s a simple and short game that’s not going to make players think at all, and for the genre, that’s mighty okay as long as the Orks are having fun.
#Modern #Run #Gun #Games
