We love shooter games. While it might sometimes make us feel a little guilty, there’s nothing quite like unloading a magazine to wash away the stress of a day’s work. The PlayStation 5 has been out for a while now, and it’s got its fair share of them to pick from now.
This list narrows things down to the best of the best, so that you can pick up your next shooter for the PS5 in confidence that you’ll be getting a really great game to sink into, whether it’s a multiplayer affair or a single-player romp.
For
- Great puzzles to solve Fun combat options Tense multiplayer
Against
- Holds your hand at times Only one solution
Deathloop is a marvellous puzzle wrapped up in a great shooter - from the minds at Arkane comes a new trip entirely. You wake up in a timeloop, stuck on an island full of murderous psychopaths that you need to fight your way off.
Of course, it’s much less simple than that and you’ll find yourself zipping around the island figuring out clues to which of your key targets will end up where throughout the day, so that you can piece together a plan to actually escape. There’s nothing else quite like this out there.
Accomplished storytelling Gorgeous to look at Incredibly immersive
Pretty upsetting throughout Brutal scenes
Perhaps the greatest two-part story in gaming history, thanks to a PS5 re-release for Part 1 and a graphical patch for Part 2, both games in The Last of Us series look absolutely unbelievably good on PlayStation 5. The attention to detail lavished on them by Naughty Dog is second to none.
Across a few dozen hours, these games tell a phenomenal, upsetting story, but they’re also very impressive stealth shooters that let you take each engagement in your own way, managing scarce resources to stay on top of inventive AI.
So many thrilling moments Gets genuinely scary Fun action
Might be too frightening
A game that fully commits to its increasingly deranged tone as things go along, Village just gets wilder and wilder. At times you’ll be without weapons as you creep away from sights to horrific to name, but other sequences are just about as action-packed as the series has ever been.
Exploring a rural village and its surrounding castle, swamp, factory and more offers up a great variety of locations in which to get genuinely frightened, but it’s a solid consolation that you’ll have a fairly expansive and increasingly powerful array of weapons to help you out along the way.
Beautiful and sounds great Uses Dualsense controller expertly Satisfying to progress
Seriously difficult
From a developer that just keeps ascending, Returnal isn’t a game that welcomes dilettantes - you’re going to have to stick with it if you want to learn its systems and make it through a tough run to see the ending.
Another timeloop game, this time you’re tasked with navigating a hostile alien world while piecing together your missing memory to figure out what’s going on. As you do so you’ll collect weapons and buffs to help you out, but also face down a series of extremely challenging bosses without much of a safety net.
Looks simply stunning Huge variety of fun weapons Fun, zippy story
Slightly repetitive combat late on
We’re stretching the definition of a shooter here, but you will spend a LOT of your time in Rift Apart shooting weapons, even if some of them are closer to gardening tools than they are to guns. This gorgeous action-platformer has a huge array of fun armaments to try out.
It sees Ratchet and his robotic buddy accidentally open a multi-dimensional portal rift that brings a whole bunch of baddies with it, and the planet-swapping action looks just beautiful on the PS5 with instant load-times helping to build some truly amazing set-piece moments.
Satisfying sniping Great level designs Fun multiplayer
Visually underwhelming
The latest Sniper Elite game is the biggest and best entry in the series yet, taking you to expansive levels that have multiple sections to work through stealthily or loudly, depending on your preference and objectives. The sniping is as satisfying as ever, too - that is to say, it’s still the best in any game.
The story is another bit of fluff and the game could look fancier, but it’s a brilliant sandbox that now features PvP multiplayer for you to test your skills in, so we think it’s one that people will find more rewarding than they might expect.
Free to play Huge rush if you can win DMZ mode adds variety
Pretty unforgiving Tough to level guns without MW2
Warzone 2.0 is completely free to play, totally compelling and can be enormously frustrating - because it’s so addictive. We’ve sunk hundreds of hours into its battle royale offering, which is the most rewarding balance of risk and reward in the genre, in our opinion.
It’s best played with a squad of friends, but, even on your own, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a game that offers more tension than Warzone when it comes down to a final circle scenario and you know that your next move could win you the match or see you come up agonisingly short.
Amazing combat synergies Looks excellent Fun tone
Quite a challenging game
The first modern Doom game was a superb return for a franchise that had been dormant for too long, and Doom Eternal expanded on it in spectacular fashion more recently, with new weapons and a host of mechanics to get to grips with.
A next-gen patch means that you can play it at smoother frame rates and higher resolutions, perfect for what is actually a really pretty game (or, at least, a high-fidelity one). You’ll be slicing and shooting your way through a horde of demons in no time.
Great locations More freedom to explore Taut shooting
Map isn’t great
Metro Exodus is a really excellent shooter that’s much improved by its move onto next-gen hardware, looking even better and running more reliably for a smoother experience as you play it through. You’ll go on a journey to more diverse locations than the series has ever managed before.
Along the way you’ll still get your fair share of creepy combat encounters, but huge open hub areas also let you explore at your own pace and root out supplies methodically to help your trainload of friends escape to a new fate.
Loads of weapons Great visual flair So much to do
Gets a bit samey
It might not be the most sophisticated game, but there’s a lot to be said for the way Far Cry 6 pretty rapidly opens up a huge open-world map for you to cause total carnage in, with a wide range of weaponry that you can customise and upgrade as you play.
There are explosive special powers to try out, almost countless checkpoints and bases to win back from your enemy’s clutches, and it’s all wrapped in a competently-told, father-son story of dictatorship and duty. If you’ve enjoyed the series before, you’ll most likely love this.
How to pick your next shooter on PS5
Even just a little while into the life cycle of the PlayStation 5, there are so many shooters of real quality to pick from on Sony’s console. Here, then, are some questions to help you narrow things down a little.
Do you want a single-player or online game?
There’s a big difference between what makes a game fun to play on your own, and what makes it compelling to play online. If you’re looking to play solo things are a little simpler, in our view, but for those hoping to venture online, you’ll want to double-check that your choice of title has a mode, and that it’s one where you can learn the ropes gradually.
Third or first-person?
A big difference between types of shooters come in terms of camera placement - most are first-person, but some prefer an over-the-shoulder angle, like Returnal. We love them both, but if you have a particular affinity to one or the other that’s worth considering as you choose.
How challenging do you like your games?
Another difference between the games on our list is how easy they are to learn. Some are challenging and will involve a cycle of defeats before you start to improve, while others are more relaxing and won’t pose such a problem. If you want a tough but rewarding experience, check out reviews to see what’s in store for you.
