The best shoot 'em up games

Shoot 'em ups were extremely popular in the '80s and '90s. In a classic shoot 'em up, the player controls a vehicle, a spaceship or an aircraft with the only goal of destroying the largest number of enemies as possible while dodging bullets and staying alive. Through the years, shoot 'em ups evolved to include features like end level bosses, multiple weapons and power-ups. Some of the most popular DOS shoot 'em ups were: Raptor, Tyrian 2000, Xenon 2.

Most popular shoot 'em up games

Zaxxon

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Space Invaders

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Menace

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Shoot 'em up games

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Wings of Fury

DOS19894.5/5 Broderbund
Darius Gaiden

Windows XP/98/9519984.4/5 Taito
Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf

DOS19944.3/5 Electronic Arts
Flying Tigers

DOS19944.3/5
Jungle Strike

DOS19954.3/5 Electronic Arts
Airborne Ranger

DOS19884.2/5 MicroProse Software
Super Stardust

DOS19964.2/5 Housemarque
Star Control 2

DOS1992protected4.2/5 Toys for Bob
Rotox

DOS19914.2/5 Creative Materials
Seek and Destroy

DOS19964.2/5 Safari Software

Seek and Destroy was a shoot'em up published by the well known Epic Megagames in 1996 that tried to change the usual shoot'em up gameplay for the better. Instead of wave after wave of enemies to shoot down, you are given short missions to accomplish with your helicopter or your tank (yes, you can choose). At first, missions could seem a bit repetit...
Defender

DOS19834.2/5 Williams Entertainment
Total Carnage

DOS19944.2/5 Midway Manufacturing Company
Xenon 2: Megablast

DOS19904.2/5 Bitmap Brothers

Xenon 2: Megablast is a classic shoot'em up developed by Bitmap Brothers and released by Image Works in 1990 for DOS and for a plethora of other systems. Xenon was good, Xenon 2 was far better. Compared to today standards Xenon 2 is perhaps a mediocre shoot 'em up, but at the time every shooter fan loved it. Plus, it was developed by Bitmap Brother...
Raiden

DOS19944.2/5 Seibu Kaihatsu Inc.
Taito's Super Space Invaders

DOS19914.1/5 Taito
Tyrian 2000

DOS1999freeware4.1/5 Eclipse Software

Tyrian 2000 is an old DOS science fiction classic shoot'em up, developed by Eclipse Software and designed by Alexander Brandon, Jason Emery, Daniel Cook. Tyrian 2000 is one of the most popular shoot'em ups ever published for DOS and it's still remembered by retro gaming fans to this day.
Space Federation

DOS19944.1/5 Interplay Productions
Ack-Ack Attack!

DOS1995remake4.1/5 PLBM Games
R-Type

DOS19894.1/5 Irem Software Engineering
Solar Winds: The Escape

DOS19934.1/5 Stone Interactive Media
Raptor: Call of the Shadows

DOSWindows XP/98/951994protected4.1/5 Mountain King Studios
Spacewar

DOS19854.1/5
Sopwith

DOS1984freeware4.1/5 BMB Compuscience
Xatax

DOS19944/5 Pixel Painters Corporation
007: License to Kill

DOS19894/5 Quixel
Star Wars 2

DOS19894/5
Stargunner

DOS19964/5 GT Interactive Software
Space Invaders

DOS1995remake4/5
Star Goose!

DOS19884/5 Logotron

Star Goose is a classic video game developed by Logotron and released in 1988 for various home computer systems of that era, including the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and Amstrad CPC. It is a top-down, vertically scrolling shooter that combines elements of shoot 'em up gameplay with exploration and power-up mechanics.
Dawn Raider

DOS19904/5 Softstar Entertainment