The Looter Shooter sub-genre has really come into its own over recent years with the likes of Borderlands and now the shared-world shooters like Destiny driving the genre forward. That all said, there are several brilliant titles that aren’t those tentpoles that we all know about, so let’s explore the best 14 Looter Shooters to gun through on the PS4
#14 Necromunda: Hired Gun
- Developer: Streum On Studio
- Platform: PS4, PS5
- Release Date: Jun 2021
There’s looting, there’s shooting, but neither of them are overly satisfying in Necromunda: Hired Gun, thanks to horrific button mapping that lead to multiple options being all being activated by the same button inputs. I’m not overly sure why it is that I’m mass looting and mass shooting either, but I am, and it’s nearly enjoyable to make some heads pop, only to then steal their gear.
#13 Shadow Warrior 2
- Developer: Flying Wild Hog
- Platform: PS4
- Release Date: Oct 2016
Unlike even it’s successor Shadow Warrior 3, the second entry in the rebooted franchise leaned into embraced looter-shooter elements as it delved into open-world and non-linear gameplay. There were new traversal systems introduced that enhanced the cinematic flair of the shooting, while with over 70 weapons available, there’s plenty to loot.
#12 Alienation
- Developer: Housemarque
- Platform: PS4
- Release Date: Apr 2016
Housemarque had struck gold with their Super Stardust titles and myriad of other twin-stick titles, and it was with Alienation that their work had taken another large step forward embracing all they’d learned from their earlier work, including predecessor Dead Nation, and while Dead Nation had a lot of shooter to it, Alienation adds the looter to round out the experience and prolong the always exciting grind.
#11 Outriders
- Developer: People Can Fly
- Platform: PS4, PS5
- Release Date: Apr 2021
Outriders seemed to suffer from an identity crisis at first as it (as well as the community) seemed unsure as to whether it wanted to be a live service title akin to Destiny or a more defined experience like Borderlands. After more than a year of live, and a large expansion in the form of Worldslayer, we’re sure it’s the latter, and it plays like the cover-based Borderlands you’d always dreamed about.
#10 Call Of Duty: Warzone
- Developer: Infinity Ward & Raven Software
- Platform: PS4
- Release Date: Mar 2020
Just when you though the annualised loop of Call Of Duty was getting a bit too much, Activision decided to drop a Battle Royale on us as well. All of the highly polished, and well refined mechanics of the core experience was there, while it dragged and dropped itself into the Battle Royale format as if it was always destined to be there.
#9 Back 4 Blood
- Developer: Turtle Rock Studios
- Platform: PS4, PS5
- Release Date: Oct 2021
With the world, and especially PlayStation fans, crying out for a new Left 4 Dead, if you’re the developer of the franchise, you’d almost feel compelled to give the people what they want. Giving the people what they want is exactly what Turtle Rock did, and while some of the newer elements didn’t resonate as they’d perhaps intended, the core experience absolutely did. You’ll need to do a lot of looting, and even more shooting to survive this enormous horde of zombies coming your way.
#8 Warframe
- Developer: Digital Extremes
- Platform: PS4, PS5
- Release Date: Mar 2013
As the oldest game on this list you would expect it to be one of the most outdated and waning in life, but in reality, Warframe continues to thrive thanks in large part to the incredible long-term support provided by its developer Digital Extremes. A mixed response early has turned into critical and community acclaim as the devs listen and respond to feedback, while continue to roll out expansive updates and new content to build the game out even further.
#7 Risk Of Rain 2
- Developer: Hopoo Games
- Platform: PS4
- Release Date: Aug 2020
There’s looting, there’s shooting, and there are rogue-like elements. This trio of systems combine to make Risk Of Rain 2 into one of the finest examples of rogue-like gaming available on the PlayStation. The pacing of the loot grind is right on the money, while the shooting itself is crisp and rewarding. It’s one of the indie-scenes best in a sub-genre that is typically the realm of the AAA developers.
#6 Deep Rock Galactic
- Developer: Ghost Ship Games
- Platform: PS4, PS5
- Release Date: May 2020
In game’s such as Deep Rock Galactic, where looting and shooting is the key, it can be quite hard to get the title’s various character classes in sync, and cohabitating in a game without there being obviously overpowered or obviously preferred classes. Deep Rock Galactic executes the perfect landing, straddling the line perfectly, while the secondary objectives in each mission challenge players in all of the right ways.
#5 Borderlands 3
- Developer: Gearbox
- Platform: PS4, PS5
- Release Date: Sep 2019
While the story and character development of Borderlands 3 isn’t what it’s direct predecessor was, the gameplay loop, the world design, the looting, and the shooting of Borderlands 3 surpasses everything the franchise had achieved up until that point, and elevated the bar for single-player looter-shooters where the shooting was the focus.
#4 No Man’s Sky
- Developer: Hello Games
- Platform: PS4, PS5
- Release Date: Aug 2016
For many, it may be crazy that a game that launched in the state that No Man’s Sky was in at launch might make it this high up the list, but when you look at all that’s been added over the years, you’ll soon want to reconsider. Hello Games has developed an incredible cadence of updates big and small that continue to build out an already irresistably large universe. While the shooting isn’t the biggest focus the looting certainly is, balanced perfectly, and forming the core pillar of progression.
#3 Apex Legends
- Developer: Respawn Entertainment
- Platform: PS4, PS5
- Release Date: Feb 2019
There are some gigantic Battle Royales out there, and in this contested space it takes a lot to stand out. Apex Legends did so with superb first person shooting from one of the finest studios in the business, a more co-op centred focus, incredibly smooth platforming, and all of these elements combined to produce a sticking value that few games have ever achieved.
#2 Destiny 2
- Developer: Bungie
- Platform: PS4, PS5
- Release Date: Sep 2017
The shared-world shooter king, what Bungie kicked off with Destiny, they refined with it’s DLC and nailed with its sequel. Destiny 2 is the Gears of War 2 “bigger, better, and more badass” of the looter-shooter world. It raises the bar for everything that they’d established in the original, and in the post-Activision era, the game has gotten even better as Bungie have unshackled themselves from the mega-corporations money-grubbing practices. There’s a reason Sony threw billions of dollars at buying Bungie – their skills are unsurpassed in this space.
#1 Tom Clancy’s The Division 2
- Developer: Massive Entertainment
- Platform: PS4
- Release Date: Mar 2019
While The Division 2 is undoubtedly one of (but probably not the) best shared-world shooters in the same mould as the aforementioned Destiny 2, where it leaps ahead of the pack is in it’s ability to be played solo. The Division 2 embraces the solo player better than any other game in this sub-genre and the loot balance is near-on perfection. You’ll always be tempted by a fancy new weapon, or a sweet bump in stats and buffs, while the shooting and mission design are masterful.
