Summary
The issue with first-person shooters is that players can’t see all that juicy action with a limited field of view. That’s a shortcoming thattop-down shootersdon’t have. For some players, the latter might offer a more preferable display of all the flashy violence. A quick glance at games likeEnter the Gungeon,The Ascent,orHotline Miamiproves this point well enough. But as popular as those titles are, sometop-down shootersdon’t exactly get the recognition that they deserve. Some of them are due to being indie titles, while other cases boil down to player preference. Still, that doesn’t mean these following shooters offer a lesser experience.
Fans of shooter games ought to broaden their perspective by playing lesser-knowntop-down shooters. After all, there are so many games on Steam that some of them are bound to slip under the cracks. Players who decide to try out games that don’t have the biggest following but showcase a lot of heart will be more than pleased by what’s on offer in certain games that make the most of a top-down perspective. More often than not, the action in these games is in a class of its own and does a great job of letting players come to grips with the combat in their games before letting loose in the most action-packed manner possible.
Updated June 22, 2025, by Mehrdad Khayyat:Top-down shooter is one of those genres in gaming that indie developers love to work on. There are a couple of reasons for that, but it’s usually because of the fact that it doesn’t require realistic visuals, and gameplay mechanics are quite simple.
Thankfully, there is a plethora of choices for fans of top-down shooters, even for those who prefer the game to feature top-notch visuals. This amazing variety in a single genre, however, makes it difficult to pick up the best experiences.
27Thunder Tier One
Steam Reviews: 66% Positive
Don’t judge this game by its Steam reviews! A significant number of the reviews just point out the game’s empty servers and the dead PvP community, but it is still a lot of fun to play solo or with friends as a co-op experience.
Thunder Tier Oneis a tactical military shooter with realistic visuals. The game features a 9-mission story-driven campaign that takes place in a variety of locations. Before the mission, players get to choose the weapons and equipment required for the mission.
The gameplay provides a sandbox experience, where the player can decide how to approach the situation and accomplish the objective. Using drones and cutting-edge tech is also a fun part ofThunder Tier One’s gameplay.
At launch,The Ascentsealed with some serious technical problems, but later updates gradually fixed the game and made it a solid experience. As a top-down shooter set in a cyberpunk world, players are in for an adventure with eye-catching visuals.
The story doesn’t play a big role inThe Ascent, but the gunplay is quite fun. Players can upgrade their weapons as they make progress or search hidden corners of the city to find new guns. The boss battles are challenging overall, and the game has a dark tone. The good news is thatThe Ascentsupports both online and local co-op.
Lots of players love it when their top-down shooters have other gameplay loops working in tandem. Such players will love whatWizard with a Gunbrings to the table. Each run strengthens players as they gather the resources needed to upgrade their wizard tower. With these elements of survival and base-building gameplay, it’s easy to see why players would find this game riveting.
Wizard with a Gunis a great title that deserves all the love it is getting, but it also deserves way more. Players can upgrade their meager pistols and use magic bullets with various spell effects to make combat easier. Each level is procedurally generated and unpredictable. Players who want to check out a unique top-down shooter will love whatWizard with a Gunoffers.
24Cluckmech Oasis
Steam Reviews: 88% Positive
With elements of tower defense gameplay to make the top-down shooting feel more methodical and strategic, it’s easy to see whyCluckmech Oasisdeserves more love. The game features multiple characters with unique powers and weaknesses to help them stand out as players embark on an adventure across multiple maps and levels to obtain unique machinery and save the world.
The game is as simple as can be, and the shooting gameplay feels tight and engaging. Players must adapt to the scenario in each level and enhance their firepower to show enemies who’s boss. It’s a fun title that fans of unique top-down shooting games will have a great time with.
23Maniac
Steam Reviews: 92% Positive
Players who just want to wreak havoc in an open world where everyone is a potential victim will love whatManiachas to offer. Fans ofVampire Survivorswill find this title to be right up their alley. Players unlock new characters as they progress, to cause a ton of mayhem and attract security forces who will try and stop this rampage before it gets completely out of control.
Despite how cartoonish the visuals may seem, there’s no denying that the levels of violence inManiaccan become downright unbearable at times. Players who don’t mind laying waste to hundreds and pushing their limits with each run will love this title. The cathartic violence becomes more ridiculous as players make slow and steady progress in the title with each run.
There was a time whenHalocould giveCall of Dutya run for its money as a dominant FPS series. While the allure of this series has waned over time, there are people who still put a lot of faith in the franchise despite its hit-or-miss history.
Still, this loss of mainstream appeal means that some Halo spinoffs won’t get the love they deserve, andHalo: Spartan Strikeis a great example of the same. The game’s stages are well-constructed and the shooting is satisfying, even if the game itself doesn’t really try to attempt anything all that innovative.
21Synthetik 2
Steam Reviews: 85% Positive
Synthetikis a game that developed a small and loyal fanbase, loving its action-packed shooting and how people who struggled early on in the game managed to boss their opponents after a few hours of practice. So, it was only a matter of time before the developers would attempt to develop a sequel to this wonderful game.
WhileSynthetik 2is still in Early Access, the promise shown in this build has left many fans salivating for more. Hopefully, this sequel lives up to the hype and serves as an excellent improvement over its predecessor. The intense tactical gameplay is better than ever and will allow players to enjoy some amazing top-down shooting gameplay unlike anything else that the genre has to offer.
An amazing spin-off from a goated shooter!Deep Rock Galactic: Survivoris an auto-shooter, which means the player is in charge of aiming and choosing the path, but it is such a challenging experience with an utterly enjoyable gameplay loop.
Making progress witheach character classopens up more equipment and upgrade opportunities for it, which helps players reach deeper dungeons on the next try. It’s a roguelike game, so there is no going back when the player dies. However, each death means the player will come back stronger with better gear. Think of it as a 3D version ofVampire Survivors.
Survivoris still in development and the developers have added multiple new biomes since its release.
Fans ofHotline Miamiwill absolutelylove whatOtxobrings to the table. The monochromatic art style makes the game’s violence more eye-popping than ever, and players will really have to think about their loadout before embarking on one of the many runs that this roguelike will entice them with. It can seem somewhat unfair to try and beat this game at times, especially with its many challenging boss fights, butOtxoexcels in making players feel like they’re getting better at the game with each successive run.
The very act of reloading itself becomes something that players can spend hours pondering over, trying to make this break in their shooting as beneficial as possible. It’s just one of the many small ways thatOtxoimmerses the player, giving them an intense sense of satisfaction when a boss that felt hard as nails early on turns into a laughing stock in no time flat.
The arcade combat ofWizard of Legendis a blast, with players using a variety of spells to rain down a ton of pain on their enemies. The music is also great and something that players will love in this intense roguelike title that is most certainlyone of Steam’s most underappreciated indie gems.
If there’s one thing thatWizard of Legendcan be criticized for, it’s the lack of content. Just when things get good, players will have experienced everything the game has to offer, which is a downright shame.
