Games where you grab a gun and blast an assortment of baddies into bloody corpses continues to be the world’s leading video game genre, and every year hundreds of first and third-person shooters flood the market, inhibiting numerous sub-genres in varying quality. As it happens though, 2024 has been a stellar year for shooting games. This year’s shooters have brought much-needed freshness to the table, whilst an onslaught of online co-operative and so-called boomer shooters have provided entertainment in their droves. This year’s list was tough to compile, but there’s a fantastic selection here; shooters which will appeal to everyone. Furthermore, the list is ranked 15-to-1, from good to great.
The First Descendant
Kicking things off with free to play third-person looter shooter The First Descendant, this co-operative RPG tasks teams of up to four with saving humanity from a string of hostile invaders. It harbours everything you could ever want in a modern-day shooter: flashy gunplay, intricate visuals, and a varied cast of colourful characters each with unique skills and capabilities. However, there are problems in its frustratingly slow progression, non-existent story, and atrocious balancing. Sort these issues out and The First Descendant could achieve some longevity in what is becoming an increasingly challenging domain.