Enter the Deadly World of Bullet Hell Games
Frustrating difficult and almost impossible to beat, yes I am talking about bullet-hell shooters. Cool powerups, extremely difficult levels, tough bosses and fun gameplay with good replay value makes this a pretty awesome genre. Here is a list of top 27 bullet hell shooters. Pick your poison and have some fun.
27. Sine Mora
Chaotic gameplay and a lot of explosions.
Sine Mora is a horizontal 2d bullet hell shooter with lots of 3d elements. The player controls a plane and tries to blast his way through a seemingly endless horde of enemies.
The huge bosses look even better in 3d
The level design has a great emphasis on 3d environments; the levels look cool and feel great. The player doesn’t have a health bar, instead a timer runs on screen. If the player kills an enemy extra seconds are awarded and if the player takes a hit some time is deducted from the timer. The game goes on until the timer reaches zero.
The bigger they are the harder they fall.
The game features a cool gameplay mechanic which lets you slow down time for a few moments. This eases down the difficulty but is not reliable. The game also features an interestingstoryline, a father plans to overthrow an evil empire which is responsible for the death of his son while another story blends in with the last survivors of the Enkie race also plotting revenge on the Empire for destroying them.The emphasis on a complex story is great considering the genre.
26. Raptor Call of the Shadows: 2015 Edition
The mask looks very intriguing and cool.
Raptor Call of the Shadows: 2015 Edition is a remaster of the original game which was released on the DOS in the year 1994. The game was a classic hit on its release in the DOS.
The old school graphics looks cool.
The game’s 2015 edition does not change much from the original DOS edition. The graphics remain old school with an HQ filterand the game runs at a higher resolution. You will have to go through 27 levels to finish the game and each level features a unique boss, it features four different difficulty levels, new opponents arrive with increasing difficulty levels. Your ship can be upgraded after fighting a wave of enemies.
A must play cult classic.
You will enjoy the action filled levels and fighting through tough opponents,the game is a classic hit and a must have for fans of the shoot ‘emup genre.
25. Revolution Ace
Revolution Ace gameplay
Revolution Ace is a vertical bullet hell shooter developed by Laser Guided Games. Your job is to save humanity by infiltrating the AI core of the machines and win the war against them. This game is available on PC and iOS.
The artstyle is unique and looks good.
The game features different weapon combinations including missiles, lasers, shields, plasma rifles, ion cannons; you can unlock upgrades by taking down the enemies, finishing the levels and gaining experience points. You have to fight enemies which are on both air and ground. The enemies start getting extremely tougher in the later 20+ levels. The boss battles are unique but not that difficult. The game also features realistic physics and local & online multiplayer with co-op and versus mode.
One of the many bosses.
This is a modern bullet hell shooter and is showing some great potential, also the game seems bug free and runs great. If you want a modern bullet hell shooter, you should definitely pick this up.
24. Astebreed
One of the best mecha shoot em ups out
In Astebreed, the player control a mechanical robot, also known as a mecha and uses it to fight off the aliens. The mecha is an ancient device which has a wide arsenal of weapons and advanced fighting systems to battle the aliens.
Mark, Shoot, Dodge and attack.
The game is played on three dimensions, horizontal, vertical and cross-axis i.e. 3d. Players can choose 3 types of mecha’s,Astebreed, Xbreed and Leading Sire,each controlled by a different character. The gameplay focuses on three action modes: shooter mode where the mecha shoots lasers; lock on mode, where the mecha locks on to the enemies and fires rockets/missiles, and blade mode, where the mecha uses its blade as a melee weapon to destroy enemies.
The behind the player camera looks cool and adds new gameplay elements.
The gameplay is extremely fast paced with fluid animations and smooth transitions from one dimension gameplay to the other. The game also features a fairly decent storyline with voice acting by quality actors and actresses.
23. eXceed 3rd - Jade Penetrate Black Package
The anime styled characters are too cute
eXceed 3rd - Jade Penetrate Black Package is a game created by Japanese developer Tennen Sozai. eXceed 3rd reboots the storyline of the eXceed series. You are the last descendant of an ancient clan and must survive and win a tournament by defeating other combatant’s ships.
How can one possibly dodge all the bullets?
The game features anime like cutscenes which drives the story and a balanced difficulty level so that everyone can enjoy it. eXceed also features gameplay mechanics like bullet grazing, which acts as ascore multiplier i.e. your score multiplies by an integer with each and every near miss of the bullet, and bullet cancelling, whereby bullets of same polarity as your ship won’t hit you. Suppose the polarity of the enemy bullet is red and your ship’s polarity is also red then the bullet won’t hit you. The gameplay is bundled with a good soundtrack to keep the adrenaline pumping.
Sometimes I get hypnotized looking at the bullet patterns.
22. Gundemonium Recollection
Flying witches with loads of guns
Gundemonium Recollection is a collection of three horizontal bullet hell shooters created by indie developer Platine Dispositif for the PS3, Windows and Android. The game features anime-style graphics and customizable characters.
A lady with swords, guns and missiles is hard to handle.
In Gundemonium Recollection players can choose from 3 different playable characters out of which 2 are available from the start and one can be unlocked during gameplay. Three modes are made available to the player: story, practice and mission. Story mode allows player to play the ingame story with the selected character, in the mission mode the player is able to choose the level and the player and in practice mode the player will continue to respawn until the level is finished.
Too many bullets!
The story is decent, but that’s not a main factor in bullet hell games. The bosses are quite difficult and challenging and the gameplay is fast paced with customizable options like character costumes, guns and different charactersto suit the player’s playstyle.
21. Xenoraptor
Lone dragon fighting robotic chainsaws in space
Xenoraptor is an Early Access bullet hell shooter developed by Peter Cleary. In the game you play as a cybernetic dragon with a nice arsenal of weapons on a mission to annihilate mechanized cybernetic chainsaws.
The map at the bottom helps you to find the objective.
The game features more than 100 customizable weapons which you can fit on your dragon, the ability to design your own weapons, quick fast based gameplay, responsive controls and a wide variety of enemies and huge bosses. The game also features in game physics and enables the player to use objects in space against the enemies, like propelling a debris or asteroid at your enemies using your weapons. Up to 8 players can play the game in online or lan co-op, greatly increasing the fun factor.
The graphics are well designed and explosions look cool.
The game is extremely fun and challenging especially when played along with friends, highly recommended for a LAN party.
20. Raiden III Digital Edition
A classic hit for modern systems
Raiden 3 Digital Edition is the revival of the classic old Raiden games which were famous for their awesome soundtrack,challenging gameplay, and awesomepowerups. Your job is to save the earth from the invading aliens.
Your ship can fire at a wide angle if upgraded accordingly.
Raiden 3 retains all the good features of the old games while introducing new 3d visuals, different viewing angles, co-op modes and over 36 different soundtracks from the original game. The added features includes different gaming modes like Score Attack and Boss Rush.In Score Attack the player competes to break the high score and in Boss Rush mode the player focuses on fighting against all the bosses. Seven difficult levels must be completed to finish the game with an unique boss at the end of each level. Up to two players can play together in the various modes.
The old school graphics and fast paced gameplay of Raiden.
If you have played the old Raiden games and want to relive the past this game is a must play. Also new players will surely be satisfied with the cool soundtrack and action gameplay.
The epic soundtrack
19. Crimzon Clover WORLD IGNITION
Crimzon Clover World Ignition is a top down vertical bullet hell shooter from indie developer YOTSUBANE. The game is quite famous for its arcade roots and challenging gameplay.
All I can see are a lot of stars and a lot of missiles.
The game boasts high resolution graphics and textures, adding depth to the already great gameplay. Three different types of aircrafts are available for the player to choose before they set out on their bullet hell adventure.The game features interesting bosses and exhilarating gameplay mechanics.
I couldn’t find the boss anywhere, just a lot of bullets flying everywhere
The game promises a balanced difficulty level, with hard challenges for the veterans of the shoot ‘emup genre. You can also save and share replays to show off your skills.
18. Dariusburst chronicle saviours
Epic game rendered with high quality 3d models
Dariusburst chronicle saviours is the latest bullet hell shooter from the critically acclaimed Taito. This version contains all the content from the other Darius series.
You have enough firepower to destroy this huge ship, just look at the explosion.
The game features various gameplay modes with over 3000+ levels in the chronicles mode and about 200 levels in the story mode with up to 40 different bosses. Players can choose from up to 9 different ships. The game also supports 4 player co-op and multi monitor and widescreen monitor support.
I’ve heard that crab meat is very tasty. It’s a shame, you can’t eat this crab
Dariusburst chronicle saviours is fun to party play and is quite challenging. The soundtracks are awesome which adds a layer of icing to the gameplay.
17. Hyperspace Invaders II: Pixel Edition
Too many pixels!
Hyperspace Invaders II: Pixel Edition is a vertical bullet hell shooter from the indie developer Entity Medialab. The game is extremely difficult and challengingdue to an extremely large amount of enemies and bullets on screen but fun at the same time.
The invaders have gone berserk, you should too.
The game boasts 12 original soundtracks which is pretty awesome, funky alien invaders and lots and lots of bullets. It also features procedurally generated levels so every level is a new experience; also it increases the difficulty level the more you play it, the enemies get tougher and even more bullets fly towards you.
The developers must have been really high when creating this game.
For the nostalgic fans of the original classic “Space Invaders”, Hyperspace Invaders II : Pixel Edition is nothing like the original space invaders, instead it offers the players a new taste of gameplay by adding funky graphics, a number of chaotic weapons and a wide variety of invading aliens.
16. SATAZIUS
A piece of nostalgia straight from your childhood
SATAZIUS is a horizontal bullet hell shooter created by indie developer Astro Project. The year is 2051; pirates have held you captive on their planet,SATAZIUS and your mission is to destroy the pirates and escaping the planet.
Every old school gamer can recognize the bottom panel.
SATAZIUS is old school at its roots with great art design and old school graphics. The game featureschallenging level designswhich are fun to traverse into, over 13 different upgradable weaponslike homing missiles, lasers, protective shields and cool and massive bosseslike massive Space Pirate ships and aliens organisms.
The huge alien boss from the game.
Old school gamers willenjoythis game.Sataziusoffers both casual and veteran gameplay difficulty, with a variety of enemy types with both mechanical and organic lifeforms to destroy, a highly recommended game.
15. Syder Arcade
Shoot em up with 4 player local co-op!
Syder Arcade is a horizontal bullet hell shooter from indie game developer Studio Evil. You are a squad of 4 trying to defend a space colony from aliens.
The 3d models look really well detailed.
The game features old school gameplay with 3d graphics. Players can choose from 4 different characters each with aunique set of guns and anunique ship. The game also boasts multidirectional gameplay i.e. you can shoot in either of the two directions in the vertical plane.
The bosses in this game are huge.
With a 6 level campaign, 3 survival levels and awesome soundtrack inspired by the arcades, you will be hooked for some time. You can increase the fun factor by playing it along with your friends.
14. Jets'n'Guns Gold
The Title says it all
Jets'n'Guns Gold is a horizontal bullet hell shooter from indie developer Rake in Grass. You need to fight though waves of enemies both on the air and on the ground using your faithful jet.
The aerial combat is good and really fun.
Jets'n'Guns Gold boasts 43 insane levels and over 270 different types of enemies, 70 different types of customizable weapons with a lot of emphasis on upgrades and 12 different fighter planesto play. The game also features enhanced high resolution graphics and particle effects, so the destruction looks really goodeven on higher resolution screens.
The fishes are really calm, even during a boss fight.
Jets’n’Guns Gold is a good bullet hell shooter with awesome heavy metal soundtracks and a lot of enemies to destroy, which really gets your adrenaline flowing.
13. Jamestown: Legend of The Lost Colony
Fighting off aliens at colonial mars in 17th Century
Jamestown: Legend Of The Lost Colony is a vertical top down bullet hell shooter created by indie developer Final Form Games. The game is set in 17th century British colonial Mars. You must fight against the Spanish and the Martians for the domination of Mars.
The hand drawn graphics look extremely good.
Jamestown: Legend if The Lost Colony features hand drawn graphics and a unique artstyle, battles on air and on ground, and up to 4 player multiplayer co-op. There is epic orchestral music unique to each level and up to 20 different levels. The bosses of this game are huge enemy ships and large aliens that want to dominate Mars. There are a total of 4 ships which can be unlocked by progressing through the levels.
The bosses in this game are huge aliens with unique powers.
Jamestown: Legend Of The Lost Colony looks great and plays great. The soundtrack is impressive and the story is decent. Begin your journey on your conquest for Mars.
12. Project Starship
The game has a CRT frame to re-capture the feeling of the arcades
Project Starship is a vertical bullet hell shooter from indie developer Matteo Gonano. The concept of the game is simple, you have to defeat the mighty Cthulhu and save the world.
The cartoony graphics provide a comical effect.
The players will get to control any of the two main characters. The character selection is random though, so you don’t get to choose the character when starting the mission. Instead, it is done by the game itself. Featuring storms of bullets, andfun cartoony graphics you have to fight your way through defeating evil Gods and Demons alike.
The one eyed demon boss, one of the many demons you need to fight.
The game is completely random, no level will ever feel the same as the game generates different enemies, different enemy placements, random power ups and random bosses. This increases thereplayabilityof the game.
11. Star Saviors
Get ready to wipe off the alien scum from the Earth.
Star Saviors is a vertical bullet hell shooter from indie developer Sharpened game studios. Aliens have invaded Earth and you are the last hope of survival for mankind. Get ready to blast off and kill some aliens.
The bosses in this game are quite interesting.
Heavily inspired by hit classics like Raiden andIkaruga, the game features 18 adrenaline filled highly challenging levels, amazing soundtrack and a lot of bullets. Star Saviors also features some 3d gameplay, real life physics engine, weapon ballistics and explosive effects.
Teaming up with a friend increases your chances of finishing the game more easily.
If you have played cult classics like Ikaruga and Raiden and want something new, give this a shot.
10. Nuclear Throne
Too many monsters each with special powers
Nuclear Throne is a top down bullet hell shooter from indie developer Vlambeer. The game is set in a post apocalyptic world, where humanity is extinct and monsters constitute theEarth’s post apocalyptic population, you play as one of the monsters, and the main aim of the game is to reach the Nuclear Throne by killing all the other monsters. Once you reach the nuclear throne you can achieve dominion over every other monster species.
Pixelized graphics are a good match for bullet hell shooters, cause these games have greater emphasis on gameplay instead of graphics
The game features intense action and rewards player’s quick reflexes, with artsy pixelized graphics, awesome soundtracks, different variety of monsters and a lot of weapons at your arsenal. The monsters and levels are randomly generated so you will never play the same level twice, increasing replayability.
Your character has various unique abilities, like shooting lasers from your body, acidic vomit etc.
So pick your monster, your choice of weapons and fight in the wastelands for the nuclear throne, it’s as simple as that.
9. Enter the Gungeon
A lot of characters and guns to play with and upgrade
Enter the Gungeon is a top down bullet hell dungeon crawler from indie developer Dodge Roll. Fight your way to the bottom of the dungeon to take possession of the ultimate gun, which can kill the past its owner, so the owner can relive the past and change their lives.
Your player has unique guns and abilities and so do your enemies.
The player can choose from a variety of available heroes who each want to change their past. The players must then fight through enemies and dodge swarms of bullets while moving to the bottom of the dungeon to find the ultimate loot. Customize, upgrade, buy items, fight gruesome bosses, discover hidden secrets and gather lots of loot in this awesome dungeon crawler.
Some levels of the game consists deadly traps, like this one with fiery explosions and spikes
Enter the Gungeon is a good match of dungeon crawler and bullet hell shooter bundled with rpg elements like experience. Points, leveling up, customizable weapons etc., if you want a mixed and combined experience of different game types, you can try this game.
8. Steredenn
A chaotic roguelike shooter to kill time
Steredenn is a horizontal bullet hell shooter from indie developer Pixelnest Studio. It is an endless space shooter with vicious space pirates as your enemies.
Destroying huge pirate ships, just a regular day in space.
Steredenn features pixelizedgraphics, an endless barrage of enemies, tons of chaotic weapons and insane boss battles. The enemy placements and enemy types are generated randomly at the start of each level. This provides a lot of replay valuebecauseno level will ever be the same. The game is insanely difficult but fun and challenging at the same time.
The artwork and graphic style of this game cannot be simply ignored.
If you like pixelizedgraphics and never ending gameplay(totally new levels aregenerated by the game as soon as you finish one), then this is a must play game for you.
7. LUFTRAUSERS
The minimalistic approach to bullet hell shooters is quite intriguing
Luftrausers is a vertical bullet hell shooter from indie developer Vlambeer. You command your own battle ship, called the RAUSER and embark on a journey to become the most legendary Rauser pilot of all time.
The customization and mission screen of Luftrausers.
The game features minimalistic graphics with over 125 different combinations of weapons, propulsion systems, different types of stylish Rausers each with unique skills which can be unlocked while playing and over 100 daring missions with different enemy types such as fighter planes, battleships, submarines and more.
The chaotic gameplay and destruction.
The gameplay is similar to the arcade bullet hell shooters of the past with a unique touch on graphics.If you are fan of arcade shooters but are bored with regular shooters and want something with hundreds of fighter plane customizationoptions, pick this up.
6. The Bug Butcher
Killing bugs with guns is many times better than just squahing them.
The Bug Butcher is a vertical bullet hell shooter from indie developers Awfully Nice Studios. You play as Harry, a pest exterminator with great pest slaughtering skills. You have been employed by the scientists of planet Zoit to exterminate the pests in a facility.
Have no fear, the bug exterminator is here.
The game features cute graphics and action packed gameplay with platforming elements. Swarms of insects will try to devour you in every way possible. The insects aren’t your only problem though. The tough platforming will kill you faster than any insect if your reaction time is slow.Getting squashed between conveyer machines or jumping in a bottomless pit is much more shameful than being killed by an insect.
You also have to save the scientists from getting eaten by the insects.
The Bug Butcher rewards player’s quick reactions with power ups and medikits, the game also features local co-op, so get your friend on the couch and get ready to squash some bugs.
5. Mushihimesama
The artwork and artsy graphical approcah looks good.
Mushihimesama is a vertical bullet hell shooter from developers CAVE Interactive. You play as Mushihimesama, the bug princess, in a quest to meet the god of insects, Koju, to cure the village from a mysterious sickness spread by the insects.Why must you meet KOJU?
Whoa, what a nice and deadly pattern. Touching it will kill you.
In this journey you ride your faithful golden beetle Kiniro and traverse through fantasy worlds fighting with various different types of insects. The game features HD sprites, cool music a decent storyline, tough boss battles and challenging gameplay.
One of the many insect bosses in the game.
Mushihimesama is an extremely difficult game but offers a different gameplay option for novice players with lower difficulty levels.
It also features local co-op. Worth a pick if you like extremely hard and challenging bullet hell shooters.
4. Deathstate
Top down shoot em up with pixilated graphics and RPG elements.
Deathstate is a top down bullet hell shooter from indie developer Workinman Interactive. Your mission is to find out the fate of a frantic Professor who opened up a portal to the void.
A bullet hell shooter with RPG elements. YES!
In Deathstate you can play as a number of characters, each with unique abilities and skills which can be unlocked through multiple playthroughs. The game features 16-bit like graphics, horrifying bosses and an insane amount of enemies and loot to upgrade your characters and weapons.
The Arch-Undead the skeleton boss in the game.
Deathstate combines RPG elements, a good story and bullet hell shooter type gameplay to create a satisfying gameplay experience. If you are a fan of either of the genres you should definitely pick this one.
3. The Hurricane of the Varstray -Collateral hazard
The Hurricane of the Varstray -Collateral hazard is a vertical bullet hell shooter from indie developer Studio Siesta. This game is set on a distant universe, and you play as one of the four girls on a mission to defend Earth from the invasion of mystical mechanical creatures.
How can anyone dodge so many bullets?
The Hurricane of the Varstray -Collateral hazard features 4 different playable characters each with a unique set of skills and abilities. Arcade, Story and Score attack modes are available to the player. All the characters are voice acted by professionals. Tough enemies andhuge bosses that shoot thousands of bullets make the game challenging and fun.
The different gameplay modes in the game.
The game is similar to popular bullet hell shooters Raiden and Ikaruga. If you liked them then you will love to play this one.
2. Raiden IV: Overkill
Remastered cult classic with various new gameplay modes.
Raiden IV: Overkill is a vertical bullet hell shooter from developers Moss Co. The aliens have returned , more powerful than ever. The government releases two ships Raidenmk-II and Raidenmk-II beta to fight against the aliens and stop the invasion of Earth. The Raiden games are famous for its extremely hard difficulty levels and tight gameplay mechanics. Claim the title of Master Ace in this revamped version of the original.
Ah! Good ole games of the past, but with redefined graphics.
RaidenIV: Overkill brings back all the good features from the old Raiden games like powered weapons, epic boss battles, awesome sound effects, cool soundtracks and punishing gameplay mechanics.
The new features added are 60 fps gameplay, better hi-res graphics and cool new gameplay modes like the Overkill modewhich features brand new missions, weapons and a new scoring system. Other different gameplay modes like score attack mode, arcade mode are available to the player from the start and a new hidden mode can be unlocked later during gameplay.
The weapons looks like a bendable lightsaber.
The game features same classic breathtaking gameplay while adding 3d elements, so if you are new to the genre and want to try a classic hit, Raiden IV: Overkill is for you.
1. Ikaruga
One of the best shoot em ups out there with a lot of fun content
Ikaruga is a vertical bullet hell shooter from Japanese developers Treasure. The main aim of this game is simple, shoot the enemies, dodge all the bullets and build up a chain to boost your scores.
The polarity system of Ikaruga.
Ikaruga features a number of enemy types who fire two types of bullets at you, red and blue which you can choose to dodge or absorb with your ship by changing your ships polarity. The bullets with the same polarity as your ship will not hit you, but the bullets with different polarity will hit and damage the ship.The game also features local co-op, two gameplay modes Arcade and Prototype.
In Arcade mode you have to go through various challenging levels and defeat the final boss to complete and finish the game.
In prototype mode your ammo is limited but you can restock your ammo by defeating the enemies.
There is also a world leaderboard to compare your score to the players worldwide.
The game also supports a vertical screen setup.
Ikaruga may not have the best story but the soundtracks and gameplay is the more than satisfying and is pure pleasure. If you are a fan of the bullet hell genre and haven’t yet played the game, then just go and pick it up, you won’t regret it.
These are some of the best bullet hell shooter games you must play if you are a fan of this genre.
If you have some games to add to this list mention them in the comments section below!
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