This classic game type has never gone out of fashion; it was always there, in the back of our minds, at the bottom of our hearts. Ready to offer the comfort of a simple yet exciting gameplay, the Run and Gun style was brought back to the spotlight by Cuphead, back in September 2017.
The concept is pretty simple: you can run and you can shoot at your enemies. Yet, with such a simple concept, developers can come up with great ideas and complex stories for us to play and get lost in. Here are the 15 best Run ‘N’ Gun games for PC.
15. Guns, Gore and Cannoli 2
Guns, Gore and Cannoli 2 gameplay
In this game, you play as Vinnie, a member of the mafia who has enemies left and right. Set in Europe in 1944, around the time of World War II, the game starts fifteen years after the first chapter, when Vinnie survived the Thugtown Massacre.
Now, people from the past decided to come out and drag our protagonist into the bloody battle camps of a war filled continent. It’s up to you to find out who is the one chasing Vinnie, turning his friends into foe.
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Big explosions: Vinnie fights fire with fire to stop his enemies.
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The big guns: You can pick various weapons to fight with.
14. Broforce
Play with up to four of your bros and save the world by being the most over-powered paramilitary organization ever. Use way too much force and explosives to kill your enemies in this classic looking game.
You can unleash scores of unique weapons that set off chain reactions of fire and explosions in the best run ‘n’ gun style.
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Chain effect: You can cause a great effect with one explosion.
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Be brave: Fight against tanks using only your guns and strategy.
13. GIGANTIC ARMY
Manned combat robots shooting big guns at aliens, that’s what GIGANTIC ARMY is all about. In the 21st century, Earth is at war with the Ramulons, an alien race who is determined to stop humankind’s advance into space exploration. We finally managed to reach the planet Ramulon, where battles take place in the game. You can customize your arsenal and use combos with the melee attacks to take down the enemy and win the war.
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Change it up: The variety of enemies is astonishing.
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Size doesn’t matter: Fight against much larger threats.
12. RIVE: Wreck, Hack, Die, Retry!
You’re a space explorer fighting for your survival in a hostile territory. Everything begins with Roughshot, who ends up stuck in a mystery ship. There, he needs to form new and surprising alliances to survive. This game not only brings back great memories from classics of the run ‘n’ gun style, but has the modern looks of the 21st century.
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Beautiful looks: The visual effects are amazing.
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Non-stop: There’s something happening all the time.
11. Luckslinger
Luckslinger gameplay
Kill bandits and steal their luck to use it for your own good whenever and however you want. In Luckslinger, luck is a collectable you can use as you please.
Inspired by the old classic and somewhat unrealistic fast gunslingers, this game has a dark sense of humor. Pay attention to and enjoy the great soundtrack, which nods to western type of music, but with some hip-hop beat to it.
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Lucky guy: Use your luck wisely to perform stunts.
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Wild west: Be the greatest cowboy of the area.
10. Intrusion 2
Intrusion 2 gameplay
Use your wits and your weapons to kill your enemies. Combining the modern physics and animation with the classic 16bit era sidescrollers, Intrusion 2 tells us a story set in a sci-fi environment on a reserve planet which is occupied by a military corporation.
With forbidden weapon research going on on site, you have to fight for your survival against heavily armed personnel.
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Terrifying: Go up against gigant physics robots.
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Never too careful: There’s a big variety of enemies in the game.
9. Fury Unleashed
Fury Unleashed gameplay
You’re the hero of a long-gone era of comic book multiverse who must challenge his enemies to restore the order in the universe. In this action platformer game, you will play through what seems to be pages of comic books.
The game is fast-paced and thanks to procedurally generated levels, it never repeats the same thing more than once.
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Kill them all: You have to be careful with enemies spread all over the maps.
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Great dynamics: The gameplay is exciting all the way through.
8. The Expendabros
The Expendabros gameplay
A crossover between Broforce and The Expendables 3, in The Expendabros the elite team has assembled to fight the great arms dealer, Conrad Stonebanks, and his soldiers.
The game is set in Eastern Europe, where you will try to survive the non-stop action of bullets. Following the same style of Broforce, the game is filled with excessive explosions and artillery.
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It’s you against the world: Use your weapons to go against everything that’s in your way.
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A great crossover: Just like in Broforce you get to fight for freedom, using the flagpole as a checkpoint.
7. Weird Hero
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Weird Hero gameplay
Play as SuperMegaDude using the weirdest arsenal ever: the Flickinator, the Atomic Toaster, a magician’s hat and other nonsense weapons.
In this humorous run ‘n’ gun, the world has gone crazy and is now filled with cyborgs and giant anime heads with eye beams. There’s also biker gangs and an unlikely alliance between Japanese, Russians and Australians criminals.
How does everything fit in together? Play and find out.
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Godzilla and a big anime head with eye beams: Sometimes this game just doesn’t make any sense.
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Many enemies at once: Be careful not to be surrounded.
6. Shoot Many Robots
Shoot Many Robots gameplay
In this 4-players co-op, you take control of a hillbilly who stockpiles guns and ammo in this RV, where he drinks beer and awaits for the inevitable robot apocalypse.
When an abandoned factory starts producing robots, our hero, P. (Pickles) Walter Tugnut, sets off in his RV on a mission to kill his robotic enemies and save humanity.
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Amazing scenery: The game has many different levels to be played.
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Team work: Play with your friends and finish your enemies together.
5. Mercenary Kings
Mercenary Kings gameplay
You’re part of the Mercenary Kings, one of the most skilled teams of warriors for hire to ever exist. Go against CLAW, an enemy force who’s taken down your friends.
Explore the now seized island-wide top secret laboratory base and do whatever it takes to stop them, using your customized guns and blades.
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Great action: The game has moments of pure adrenaline that demand great skill.
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Unfair fight: Sometimes the enemies are much bigger and heavily armed than you.
4. Metal Slug 3
In this classic, you get to kill aliens who intend to dominate your world. With an incredible scenery, the third part of the Metal Slug saga keeps everything that was good from its previous chapters and makes it even better. With simple, but intricate, dot-pixel graphics, the gameplay is smooth and has intuitive controls. The most highly praised title in the series doesn’t disappoint players.
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Extra terrestrial: Boss fight in Metal Slug 3.
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With a little help from my friends: Co-op gameplay makes the everything much more fun.
3. Metal Slug X
Metal Slug X gameplay
In this upgraded version of Metal Slug 2, you still get to fight against hostile aliens, but now with everything that was wrong fixed and an increased the difficulty.
But not only that, it also introduces new aspects to the gameplay; it has new music, stages are set in different times of day, all levels contain more enemies and a new placement for them among many other additions that make the game even better.
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Time goes by: Levels can be set in different time of day.
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A lot of action: This version gives you intense new levels.
2. BRAIN / OUT
BRAIN / OUT gameplay
This multiplayer shooter lets you kill enemies with a nostalgic feel to it. Set in a post-Soviet era, the game has a nice, classic look.
You can have dynamic battles and exterminate those who go against you with the help of a very large arsenal of weapons.
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Arsenal: There’s a great variety of weapons in the game.
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Inventory: You can carry many items at once.
1. Mega Man 11
Mega Man 11 gameplay
Play as Mega Man and shoot robots so you can try and stop Dr. Wily from using his Double Gear system. The game puts together the classic platform 2D style with a newer, modern visual.
The gameplay system gives you more power and speed to explore the levels in different difficulty modes; it also brings extras like time challenges and missions with worldwide scores.
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The plot thickens: With not only a great gameplay, Mega Man 11 has a great story too.
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Stop Dr. Wily: Fight your enemies to prevent a bigger tragedy.
Isadora AKA Izzy has a long history of spending way too much time playing games. She can be found in her room, with her consoles and her faithful companion Steve, a golden retriever mix.
