10 Best Shooters of 2025

Shooters have been a quintessential part of gaming, but things have evolved a fair bit since the days of Duck Hunt. The popularity of shooters means a lot of them come out, but that quantity is not always followed by quality.

In honour of 2025, the games industry decided that just good wasn't good enough, resulting in one of the strongest years for shooter releases in history.

The 10 best shooters selected by the DualShockers staff have a little bit of everything, but these games eclipsed the competition in the art of pulling the virtual trigger.

Futuristic Parkour Madness

The concept of a robot girl getting torn to shreds while saving humanity was perfected by Ghost in the Shell, but it was Metal Eden that finally gave video games something of a similar caliber.

Developed by a small Polish team, Metal Eden has all the markings of a cult classic: stylish gameplay, a strong story, and abysmal commercial performance.

The movement and gunplay alone make Metal Eden a must-play, but there is plenty of substance behind the mechanical execution.

9 Dying Light: The Beast

Back to Basics

The Dying Light franchise fell victim to the RPG-fication phenomenon that bloated otherwise good games with unnecessary nonsense. It may have taken a little while, but Dying Light: The Beast finally put things back on track.

Dying Light: The Beast brings what the series does best: unapologetic and satisfying violence that is still technical, paired with an engaging movement system that keeps the gameplay flowing.

The story is no masterpiece, but that does not stop Dying Light: The Beast from being the best zombie-bashing game of 2025.

8 Mohrta

A New Take on Old Mechanics

Despite the unique concept, Mohrta failed to set the charts ablaze, but gamers are collectively to blame for missing out on this.

The visuals hark back to the days of Final Fantasy X in the most endearing way possible, and the non-linear approach is a perfect match for the unique dimensions and enemies you face in the game.

This is the apex of games developed with GZDoom, and it is a perfect example of how relevant it still is.

7 Atomfall

Immersive Sim Excellence

Fallout became synonymous with unabashed post-apocalyptic Americana, but nothing comes close to the authenticity delivered by Atomfall in imagining a nuclear northwestern England.

The attention to detail in recreating the culture and feeling of mid-century Windscale makes Atomfall an instant classic, in spite of its janky combat and movement.

The game follows a fully open format that lets you complete it in anywhere between an hour and fifteen minutes, while having a great time in both runs.

6 Metroid Prime 4: Beyond

The Intro Package

Few games go through as many layers of dev hell as Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and still make it through the door, but the multiple changes in developers did not stop it from being one of the most fun FPS titles released this year.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is a departure from classic Metroid in a way that makes the series feel more accessible, but without losing the moody feeling that defines it.

The modern control scheme and action sequences go well with the soundtrack, and though it has some big shoes to fill, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond stands well on its own.

5 The Outer Worlds 2

Auntie's Choice

Obsidian is one of the few studios that can tackle dystopian autocratic worlds in a humorous way that does not take from the serious message behind its games.

The Outer Worlds 2 had the tough task to follow up on the 2020 hit, and it not only matched, but handsomely exceeded its predecessor.

The mechanics and story have just as much punch as before, but with an added layer of polish and nuance that The Outer Worlds lacked. This is the perfect support for the excellent writing Obsidian is known for, and has set up The Outer Worlds 2 to be the best space RPG out there.

4 Borderlands 4

When Cleaner Means Better

After torpedoing the Borderlands' reputation with excessive toilet humour, Gearbox learned from its mistakes and delivered a Borderlands game that is fun without being stupid.

With a villain strong enough to rival Handsome Jack and plenty of unique gear to toy around with, Borderlands 4 combines the hard lessons of the previous game with standout writing and gameplay.

Vault hunters take an active role in a story that is supported by excellent gameplay, and though performance struggles still exist, it is now a much-improved game following initial updates.

3 ARC Raiders

From Speranza With Love

Extraction shooters are notoriously hard to get right, but what's even harder is to ace the assignment while also revolutionizing the genre like ARC Raiders did.

Its PvPvE format with VoIP has resulted in a mix of epic and hilarious interactions, with the human factor bringing in the right measure of unpredictability in a post-apocalyptic wasteland that is oozing with retrofuturistic goodness.

To keep the gameplay loop fresh, ARC Raiders also introduced a voluntary character wipe mechanic that gives you some bonuses while letting you enjoy the early game rush all over again.

2 DOOM: The Dark Ages

Rip & Tear

Sometimes, when a concept works so well, there is no point in changing it much. That is definitely the case with DOOM: The Dark Ages, the latest title in the quintessential shooter franchise.

DOOM: The Dark Ages managed to keep the combat both familiar and fresh at the same time, introducing a much-needed parry mechanic to the otherwise perfect gameplay.

No matter how many decades pass, you can never get tired of blasting through hordes of demons.

1 Battlefield 6

Return of the King

If at one point it seemed as if the franchise had overstayed its welcome, Battlefield 6 flipped the script and has put Call of Duty on life support instead.

After years of failed experiments, Battlefield 6 focused on bringing the glory days of Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4 into the modern world, and the result is one of the most cinematic gaming experiences to date.

The campaign might be lukewarm, and some of the live service elements get in the way, but there's nothing quite like dropping a crane on top of a tank. It's just Battlefield.