We’re sharing an extra special list today, to commemorate this week’s weekend GOGcom sale. GOGcom has gone ahead and put shooters on sale, FPSes and shmups alike. We’re running down the best games on the sale here.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl
Yes, all three S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games warrant mention here (and probably a better use of your money than funding Areal!) The series combines a freely explorable game world, RPG style upgrades, and hunger, radiation, and bleeding elements to a core shooter experience.
Shadow of Chernobyl introduces the grim post-Chernobyl game world of the franchise and tasks the player with investigating and discovering the origins and the truth about the eponymous Stalkers. Buy Here Now
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky
Clear Sky introduces a new protagonist and a new factions system, as the world of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. faces disruption. You will be able to ally or fight factions in the game, as they fight over contol over Chernobyl.
And you? You are Scar, a sole survivor who seems to have some degree of immunity from radiation. You fight to thwart a group of Stalkers who are trying to reach the center of the Zone. The Zone’s attempts to protect itself may lead to monumental destruction. Buy Here Now
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Call of Pripyat
Call of Pripyat may not be the culmination of the series everyone was looking for, but it remains a fine game, and a must play for people invested in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.’s narrative. This final game adds a limited economy and a free play mode, allowing you to go through side missions you were not able to finish in the main story.
In this game, the Zone is now fair game to Stalkers and looters everywhere, and the government has taken notice. They send a helicopter recon mission prior to a military assault at the plant. The mission goes wrong, with all five helicopters crashing. You are Major Alexander Degtyarev, a former Stalker and goverment agent, now tasked with discovering what happened.
It’s somewhat unsatisfying to leave the game at this note, but at the same time it is a sufficient culmination of the events building up from the first two games. Buy Here Now
Tower of Guns
Tower of Guns is a shooter for beginners, twitch gamers, and people who don’t have that much time. No need to invest much here, as you can finish the whole thing under an hour. It won’t get tiring either, since the game randomizes every time. Add to that solid gameplay mechanics and you’ve got a killer deal. Buy Here Now
Luftrausers
Luftrausers leans more towards the shmup side of shooters, and comes from Vlambeer. Customize your plane and test your chances in this multidirectional shooter. You enter a randomized open air battlefield above the sea, filled with enemy planes, ships and subs. Your plane runs on tank controls, but it can only shoot from the front, requiring planned targeting and careful navigation.
Luftrausers is light on modes and content, but the core gameplay is good. At this discount, it’s a worth purchase for sure. Buy Here Now
Raiden Legacy
Raiden Legacy is a geniune arcade throwback. This anthology collects four games from Seiben Kaihatsu’s famed schmup franchise: Raiden, Raiden Fighters, Raiden Fighters 2, and Raiden Fighters Jet. The Raiden games distinguished themselves from the pack with simultaneous double player mode, where one can player can control two ships parallel to each other.
This anthology from DotEmu adds Mission and Training Modes, and comes with the requisite gamepad controller. Thankfully, you can use any PC controller with this. The games also get high definition soundtracks, and TATE (landscape) support. Buy Here Now
Symphony
Symphony is definitely the most unusual game in this list. Symphony goes through the audio files in you computer to create the stages you must traverse in this vertical shmup. Each generated stage will also have an item you can find to equip and upgrade.
Symphony’s stages use a bright neon vector graphics like aesthetic, reminiscent of shooters from the Vectrex. Symphony’s core mechanics are rock solid, and promises to be a genuine treat for audiophiles. Buy Here Now
Pixeljunk Shooter
Q-Games PixelJunk Shooter is another one designed for pick up and play. Rather than just lay waste on an army of planes, you are on a rescue mission. Manipulate the elements, including a mysterious black liquid, to save scientists stranded after a subterranean expedition.
This is one of Q-Games’ most critically acclaimed efforts to date, and really plays more like a puzzler than reflex shooter. Pixeljunk Shooter requires an Xbox 360 controller, but on the upside, it comes with local cooperative play. Buy Here Now
The Chaos Engine
Who says only the PlayStation 4 gets Victorian steampunk games? Originally released in 1993 by The Bitmap Brothers, The Chaos Engine is a top down run and gun with local coop. The eponymous engine is a threat created by a time traveling scientist whose plans to make the world a better place goes awry.
What’s left is an artificial intelligence who stands as a threat to the world at large, turning humans into razor plated killing machines. You pick two from six available characters to try to take it out, and traverse levels filled with devious traps and relentless enemies.
This game received ports in a staggering number of platforms, including Atari ST, Amiga CD32, MS-DOS, RISC OS, Sega Mega Drive, Super NES, and mobile. This is a remaster of the Amiga AGA original, with the original intro and music intact. Buy Here Now
Incoming + Incoming Forces
Finally, the Incoming games are straight up arcade action level shooters. The fighting is relentless and the gameplay is straightforward. Play either the humans or the aliens to protect them from each other as they each try to invade each other’s homeworld.
The Incoming games were not fully appreciated in their initial release in 2002, partly because many people did not have the PCs capable of running them. If you did not get the chance back then, or were not even aware of these games, you have the opportunity to try them now. Buy Here Now
