Image: Saber Interactive
We played many shooters in 2024, but these are our favourites.
Live-service games aside, 2024 has been a rather quiet year for shooters. That might have allowed for a few surprise hits to really stand out in an otherwise barren year however, like Helldivers 2, which seemingly turned into a viral sensation out of the gate. Thankfully, shooter fans also have an old reliable to look forward to, year after year: the Call of Duty franchise, which just recently put out Black Ops 6 in October.
Whether you prefer PvE games with a group of randoms working together for a common purpose, singleplayer games where you’re exploring tense spaces with a gun in hand, or PvP multiplayer games where everyone’s just fighting for survival, we’re sure that there’s something on this list to suit your fancy.
These are our favourite shooters of 2024:
Helldivers 2
It’s safe to say that Helldivers has been outshined significantly by its sequel at this point. Helldivers 2 sees the forces of Super Earth take on Terminids and Automatons in a new age of war, with the titular Helldivers giving their lives on the front lines for the sake of pure unbridled democracy. The third-person PvE shooter has been lauded as one of the best games of 2024 thanks to its epic battles, addictive gameplay and satirical tone.
While this multiplayer game has had its ups and downs – mainly due to controversies surrounding its PC launch and balance updates – it remains one of the most unforgettable experiences in multiplayer gaming this year. With developer Arrowhead Game Studios continuing to deliver surprising content additions that turn the war either in or against Super Earth’s favour, it’s clear that this game still has a lot left in the tank for the next year.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
This year’s Call of Duty installment sees the franchise at a new peak after two years of repetitive Modern Warfare entries, with a return to the Black Ops series. The Black Ops 6 campaign is a smartly-executed caper riddled with conspiracy and espionage, whetting the appetite of fans who hunger for a less militaristic Call of Duty story.
As with every new Call of Duty game however, Black Ops 6’s campaign is just the start. Its back-to-basics Zombies mode is just as fun as ever, and its multiplayer is once again a sweaty mess. Despite our reservations regarding the latter mode, this is the freshest a Call of Duty game has felt in years, setting a new standard for future installments of the franchise.
STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl
STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl was originally announced all the way back in 2010, and only launched this year following a tumultuous development that saw, among other things, members of its development team taking leave to join the Ukrainian military following Russia’s invasion of the country. Despite it all, the game is finally in the hands of eager fans everywhere.
STALKER 2 is an immersive first-person shooter set in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, where a second massive explosion has led to the creation of warring factions, dangerous anomalies and violent mutants populating the area. As a survival-horror game with a compelling non-linear story, STALKER 2 stands on its own two feet as an extremely unique entry on this list.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
The highly-anticipated sequel to Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine thankfully met the high expectations of ardent fans of the franchise, and perhaps even exceeded them by some measure. Its faithfulness in bringing the Space Marine fantasy to life deserves credit on its own, with an epic campaign that sees Titus return to take down yet another threat as a newly-minted Primaris Space Marine.
However, Space Marine 2 is also an excellent shooter in its own right. Its Gears of War-like gameplay meshes well with the hordes of enemies Saber Interactive unabashedly fills the player’s screen with at all times, and taking the fight online in the game’s PvE Operations and various competitive PvP modes is good fun too. This was a satisfying bout for Space Marine fans, but there’s always room for seconds.
Destiny 2: The Final Shape
Destiny 2’s The Final Shape expansion brought a fitting end to the first-person shooter’s long-running ‘Light and Darkness Saga’, considering that it arrives in the franchise’s 10th year of content. Its campaign saw players confront Destiny’s big bad the Witness, who had disappeared from sight after the events of Lightfall (2023). With the villain now on the brink of destroying all life in the known universe, players were tasked with ending his plans and stopping the war between the Light and Darkness.
Also, Cayde-6 came back, which was fun. Destiny 2 is a looter-shooter, but this expansion’s big-ticket item was clearly its climactic campaign. For fans, it either marked the end of a very long journey or the beginning of something entirely new - depending on their outlook on the franchise as a whole. However, The Final Shape's many new content additions, like new PvE locations and gear, also made it worth jumping back into Destiny 2 this year.
