Shooting games both third and first person are among the most popular genres in gaming. They can provide amazing scripted set pieces, beautiful stories, memorable atmospheres, and even fantastic multiplayer options. This year was a bit light in shooters, but what we did get was solid quality with games that could ride out the genre single-handedly.

Half-Life: Alyx

Half-Life has always been a juggernaut shooter. With revolutionary storytelling for its time, fantastic characters, memorable enemies, and solid mechanics, it was a recipe for perfection. Alyx takes that formula and throws in some amazing VR elements and what we get is one of the most memorable shooters of the year. Puzzle solving, storytelling, atmosphere and an overall immersion that you just can’t get outside of VR and Half-Life. Who knew two things could mix so well.

Runner-Ups

Deep Rock Galactic

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Cyberpunk 2077

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Doom Eternal

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Star Wars: Squadrons

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————