There are a ton of great looter shooters out there. Titles that focus around gunning down enemies and picking up gear to further buff your character up are always popular. We see quite a few titles released each year that meet this gameplay standard. If you’re looking for some new titles to keep an eye out for this year then we have you covered. Whether it’s new looter shooters that you can pick up and play right now or titles that are hopefully launching within the 2021 calendar year, here are a few that you should be keeping on your radar.
Disclaimer Update: Plan 8, Witchfire, and The Day Before were removed due to delays.
#6 Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodhunt
Platforms: PC, PS5
Release Date: September 7, 2021 Early Access PC
Genre: Battle Royale
Vampire: The Masquerade fans were hopeful that this year would bring out the release of Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2. While that game has been enduring some troubling development cycles, there was a spin-off release. Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodhunt was released as an early access title where players are getting a vampire take of the battle royale genre. Here players will use their supernatural powers and weapons to fight off opposing players in hopes of being the last player standing. So far, the reception has been rather mixed, but again, this is an early access title, so we might see some significant changes as the developers continue working on the project.
#5 Aliens: Fireteam Elite
Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, XBO, X/S
Release Date: August 24, 2021
Genre: Third-Person Shooter
The classic Alien franchise has a few games under its banner. One of the latest that came out this year was Aliens: Fireteam Elite. This is a third-person shooter with a focus on cooperative gameplay. In this title, players participate as members of an elite task force to aid in distress signals. Years after the events of the classic horror franchise, our heroes are equipped with some heavy firepower to fight off waves of Xenomorphs. It’s a thrilling game centered around survival as you battle against hostile aliens and gather the precious resources to aid you or your team.
#4 Outriders
Platform : PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, XSX|S
Release Date : April 1, 2021
Genre : Third-person shooter, action role-playing
Developers People Can Fly might be best known for Bulletstorm and Gears of War: Judgment, but in 2021, they brought out a brand new IP with Outriders. This game puts players into the future where humanity has exhausted their resources on Earth which started a desperate need to find a new home. Players will be placed into a colonist who had traveled with a group to another planet known as Enoch. However, it’s here that groups of people have been struck with supernatural abilities aligned with an alien threat making things extremely difficult in this new world. As a result, a big civil war has broken up, making it a planet that might be worse than Earth. There are a ton of customization options as you gun down enemies using different weapons and gear.
#3 Scavengers
Platform : PS4, PC, Xbox One
Release Date : April 28, 2021
Genre : Shooter
Scavengers come from Midwinter Entertainment, and it’s an early access title that players can jump into right now for free. This free-to-play survival title has players working in squads much like a battle royale game. However, dropped into a frozen wasteland, the goal here is for your team to complete specific objectives such as gaining Intel from different outposts. Along the way, you’ll be experiencing PvEvP elements where not only are there wildlife but mutated creatures to battle against and other hostile player groups. You’re able to make different necessary upgrades to your character during the game, gather new gear, and keep your vitals in check, such as staying warm. However, the goal here is to eventually reach the extraction point where only one team can leave. There’s been some mixed reception so far on this game, but since this is early access, there’s bound to be plenty of changes and updates made to ensure that it’s adjusted to the player’s expectations and requests.
#2 Everspace 2
Platform : PS4, PC, Xbox One
Release Date : Jan 18 2021 Early Access
Genre : Action, Shooter, Flight
Everspace was a bit hit, and now we have Everspace 2 readily available to pick up and play. With Everspace 2, players are given a new single-player space simulation-type of game where they are once again thrown into a ship and going through various missions. Throughout the gameplay experience, we have a storyline campaign, but a large portion of the title is based on gathering loot from mining, battling against enemies, completing puzzles, and crafting. There’s a lot of focus on the player as they can decide on what they’d like to do, whether it’s just exploring, hunting down loot, or expanding your ship collection. Since this game was just released and through early access, it will likely have quite a few updates and adjustments before it’s fully available within the marketplace.
#1 After the Fall
Platform : PS4, PC, Oculus Quest
Release Date : TBA 2021
Genre : Shooter
If you’re after a new VR title, then you might want to take a look at a game called After the Fall by developers Vertigo Games. This title doesn’t release until sometime later this summer, but here you’ll get a title set in a cold tundra during the post-apocalypse. Set in the 1980s, where snow has taken over Los Angeles, players have to gun their way through countless deadly zombies that have taken over the world. If you’re not familiar with the development studio by their name, Vertigo Games was also behind Arizona Sunshine, a giant zombie FPS hit. While the game is all about survival, gathering gear, and taking out these deadly creatures, you won’t have to battle against the enemies alone as there is cooperative multiplayer where up to four players can join in. Of course, we’re still waiting to see more about this game as the title doesn’t have a specific release date as of yet. For now, we can only expect this game sometime within the coming months unless the developers are forced into delaying it out of 2021.