Light Gun Games
These are our picks for the best windows PC native games for light guns. The requirement for a game to make this list is that it must be legally acquirable, work with a light gun without mods, and we have played it with a Blamcon and it works properly.
Blamcon Shooting Gallery
Using your trusty 6 shooter shoot the targets as fast as you can in 30 seconds to rack up points. Each consecutive hit gives you bonus points. You can reload as many times as you like but keep an eye on that ammo, 6 shots doesn’t last!
Rating: 10/10 (It’s our game)
Blue Estate
Blue Estate provides previously unmatched immersion in the world of the Los Angeles mafia, packed with black humor, intuitive gameplay, and incredible fun.
Review: 9/10 Excellent interactive controls. This is as close to a AAA light gun game as we can find on Steam
Note: Set input to RAW mode in the menu to work correctly. This game may not be suitable for children
Grand Shooter
Grand Shooter is the reinvention of the Light Gun On-Rails Shooter genre, from old school arcades to modern devices. Shoot everything that moves—just make sure they aren’t hostages! 🙆♂️🔜💔
Review: 9/10 This game is ‘coming soon’ but the demo says so much. It’s got excellent dynamic gameplay, very responsive, some amazing set pieces, and just a ton of fun. I cannot recommend this enough and I’m excited to see the next update.
Burning Dead Reloaded
Burning Dead Reloaded is a first person shooter on rails that immerses you in the thrilling saga of Mike Pacheco, a former security chief now branded a fugitive. Mike finds himself at the heart of a zombie bio-apocalypse caused by a genome altered using CRISPR technology
Review: 9/10 This game is just great in so many ways. It just has a good sense of presence and feel to it and the guns are a lot of fun. It controls well with the light gun and I had a blast playing it.
Note: if you use touch only you’ll have to move the cursor to the reload button which can be hard, if you use keyboard and remap the controls it’s much easier.
Die to Survive
Gory rail shooter filled with action, explosions, boss battles, weapon upgrades, demons and zombies … lot´s of zombies.
Review: Hard to give this game much of a review because it’s in early development but it has a lot of potential. Nice graphics I must say.
Major Mayhem
Arcade cover shooter inspired by Time Crisis, Metal Slug and 80’s action heroes! He’s got an itchy trigger finger, some scratchy stubble, and a fondness for shooting dudes in the face. Run and gun your way through gorgeous 3D environments as you embark on a mission to rescue your kidnapped girlfriend.
Review: 8/10 Nice smooth animations, great cover shooting gameplay, and lots of dynamic action. It also features unlockable new weapons on a ranking system I really like. This is one of my favorite light gun shooters on Steam.
Mad Bullets
Mad Bullets, the wackiest shooter is here to put your reflexes and laughing muscles to an intensive test. You can forget about boring stories, complicated controls and irritating tutorials, and jump right into a mind blowing, high-speed action.
Review: 8/10 This is a very simple shooting gallery game but deceptively fun. Just like an old carnival game except it shoots back.
Bang Bang Pew Pew
Finally, modern lightguns have become available for the PC that bring back the classic feeling of aiming down the sights. It’s time for the games to catch up! 25 lightgun challenges. Turn-based multiplayer. Online challenges and leaderboards. Customizable targets.
Review: 8/10 Some of these challenges are frustratingly hard and needed to unlock more levels, but if you like target shooting games this is hard to beat.
Missile Command: Recharged
Defend your cities from an assault of missiles, planes, tanks, and more! Play solo or with a friend in co-op in this modern reimagining of the arcade classic.
Review: 8/10 This is one of the most fun and family friendly games I have played. It’s not originally a light gun game but it works so well it might as well be.
Dead Containment
Dead Containment is an on-rails shooter inspired by classic arcade games. Players fend off the undead as they race through a city under siege, blasting away the horrors that roam the streets using a variety of weapons. Playable solo or online co-op.
Review: 8/10 Polished game with a lot to offer. There’s some nice boss fights and a variety of enemies and weapons. It’s still in early access so you kinda get what you get.
Blunderbusted
BLUNDERBUSTED is the world’s first roguelike lightgun shooter! Dive into wild arcade action with crazy customized weapons and ridiculous powerup combos, destructible stages, and just… too many enemies.
Review: 8/10 This is an early access game but it’s getting a lot better fast. Best played with the Blamcon Boarder.
DCOP
Step into the gritty world of law enforcement in DCOP, a groundbreaking full motion video (FMV) police simulator that thrusts players into the heart-pounding action of a newly graduated police officer facing off against a ruthless criminal syndicate.
Review: 8/10 The live action gimmick of this game is… the best use of live action I’ve ever seen in a game. Since live action is pre-recorded it lends itself to on rails. This is a unity just made to go together and I love it. Shooting can get jerky though as it replays the animation every time you shoot.
THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD: Remake
THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD: Remake is a remade version of the game introduced in 1997 in arcade platform. A classic arcade rail-shooter receives a whole new entourage and gameplay changes to suit modern gaming standards.
Review: 8/10 This is a great HOTD port and works very well. Great refreshed graphics and smooth gameplay. I would highly recommend this for any light gun enthusiast.
Note: This requires a mod to work correctly https://github.com/argonlefou/HotdRemake_ArcadePlugin
Typing of the dead: Overkill
Typing of the dead: Overkill fuses the horror and comedy of the legendary House of the Dead series with unique typing mechanics in order to deliver a truly original gaming experience! This gruesome shooter puts you in the middle of a mutant outbreak in Bayou county.
Review: 8/10 This… is not the game you think it is. If you click on “House of the Dead Overkill” in the menu, you get a treat. A full on high quality light gun game. This game is excellent, well done, and fully complete. I don’t know why they hid it in a typing tutor program.
Note: You have to switch this game from Typing of the Dead to House of the Dead to play with the light gun.
Railbreak
Power through hordes of zombies, ’90s arcade style, in this on-rails survival horror shooter.
Review: 8/10 Engaging campaign, well realized environments, and lots of alternate game modes. This is a really good game. I would rate it higher but it’s a big ‘jerky’? at times. If you play it you’ll see what I mean. That being said I think this is a great on-rails light gun game with a lot to offer.
Banzai Escape
Banzai Universe Prologue. Starring Rokiahi as P.A.S.K.A.L special agent.
Review: 7/10 Some really fun cover shooting action. This is very anime, like over the top so. But the action is pretty good and it’s very snappy.
Note: Best played by remapping the keyboard keys needed to your light gun buttons
Heavy Fire: Shattered Spear
Iran has nuclear weapons and one is sitting on a fully fueled ICBM going through its final launch checklist. Fight your way through Afghanistan, make it over the Iranian border, infiltrate the missile base and permanently stop the countdown in this super fast, high intensity on-rails shooter.
Review: 7/10 Some very nice set pieces and action with a variety of guns and situations to fight out of. It’s an intense game but hindered by the difficulty of getting it to work and having to set up Demulshooter each time I want to play.
Note: You will need the third party tool, Demulshooter to play this. Install Demulshooter, from the Page selection select “Heavy Fire Shattered Spear” and input the install directory. Then create a batch file in your demulshooter directory with the text:
START DemulShooter.exe -target=windows -rom=hfss
PAUSE
Run this batch file, then start the game normally and it will work with your light gun
Requires a d-pad
Heavy Fire: Afghanistan
Heavy Fire: Afghanistan is a super fast playing on-rails shooter set in modern-day Afghanistan featuring tanks, assault vehicles and helicopters. The game offers 60 awards, one machine co-op for up to four, Steam Cloud, Leaderboards and Trading Cards.
Review: 7/10 The most realistic light gun shooter I have played. It’s an intense game but hindered by the difficulty of getting it to work and having to set up Demulshooter each time I want to play.
Note: You will need the third party tool, Demulshooter to play this. Install Demulshooter, from the Page selection select “Heavy Fire Afghanistan” and input the install directory. Then create a batch file in your demulshooter directory with the text:
START DemulShooter.exe -target=windows -rom=hfa
PAUSE
Run this batch file, then start the game normally and it will work with your light gun
Requires a d-pad
Polybius Invaders
Take on the Evil General Goo as he sends waves of Retro Space Invaders your way in this Action-Packed Retro Styled Arcade Shoot ’em up.
Review: 7/10 The colors! This is a funky cross between space invaders and a free for all shooting game. Chaotic, colorful, and fun.
Rez Infinite
The legendary action-shooter finally comes to PC, and in style! Blast your way through mind-melting visuals and amazing beats, all in your quest through cyberspace to save a world on the verge of collapse. Playable on your desktop or in fully immersive VR.
Review: 7/10 This game works very smoothly with a light gun. Very smooth gameplay and just some wildly imaginative visuals. Beautiful game.
Sniper Ships
Dodge bullets and click to destroy enemies with your sniper attack! This is a classic Shoot’em up mixed with Shooter on Rails mechanics! We challenge you to dodge all the shots and destroy all the enemies!
Review: 7/10
Note: Requires a d-pad to move
Big Buck Hunter Arcade
Big Buck Hunter will bring the arcade experience to your living room with this fast paced, addictive arcade shooter! The all new control and aim mechanics will make this a must pick up and play arcade shooter experience.
Review: 7/10 It’s really annoying that this requires a patch to work with a light gun, but once patched it works great. There’s a lot of game modes and the animations and graphics are top notch. A great relaxing game to play. Note that the patch will only work with 1P mode.
Note: You must download the patch at: https://www.mediafire.com/file/ma8mp39niprvm06/Assembly-CSharp.dll/file and install it to C:Program Files (x86)SteamLibrarysteamappscommonBig Buck Hunter ArcadeBuck_DataManaged (big thank you to the Sinden Wiki_)
Epoch
Get ready for post-apocalyptic robot combat! Follow the story of EPOCH, a guardian robot on a quest to fulfill his primary function in a world blasted by war. Use your quick reflexes, combat skills and tactical thinking to dodge, trick and blast the hordes of other robots in your way. Dodge, crouch and leap to avoid enemy fire. Spray bullets, fire Missiles, launch devastating Countermeasures, and activate powerful Boosters.
Review: 7/10 A nice cover shooter, but fantastic graphics and I’m always a sucker for post-apocalyptic robot action. It’s a bit simplistic under the surface though and it’s not as dynamic or exciting as I hoped. Still a fair game, no question.
Note: You will need a d-pad or to remap some controls as you need W/S/A/D/E/R mapped to the light gun (up/down/left/right/action/reload)
Ex-Zodiac
A fast-paced low-poly 3D rail shooter heavily inspired by classics of the early 90’s. Join protagonist Kyuu as she fights to free the worlds of the Sanzaru Star System, overrun by the intergalactic terrorist organization known as Zodiac.
Review: 6/10 Space Harrier meets Starfox meets F-0? This game is a lot of fun with a light gun. I have to say it has me tempted to put a light gun camera in a little spaceship and live out a childhood fantasy. Overall great controls and fun, dynamic gameplay.
Note: Enable mouse aiming and customize fire to your trigger and the other buttons to your light gun buttons.
Operation Wolf Returns: First Mission
Experience once again the iconic Rail Shooter released for Arcade back in 1987, now reinterpreted in a regular or VR version. The game captures the essence of the original game, immersing you in an action-packed atmosphere reminiscent of the non-stop action films of the 1980s.
Review: 6/10 Man I really want to like this game more, but using a light gun is hard. You have to play a bit of mental gymnastics with the edge of the screen by moving the cursor around pushing the gun to get it to aim even close to on. It’s a fun creative take on one of the OG classics, I just they would have optimized this game for light gun play.
Note: You need to ‘tap’ the edge of the screen to nudge the cursor into the right place. It’s annoying and means it’s almost impossible to use the sights, but once you’re there it works fine.
Cytoclash
Cytoclash is an action-packed lightgun-style shooter that calls upon you as Earth’s best hope against a monstrous alien invasion! Suit-up and blast your way through hordes of enemies and massive bosses in the debut release from Setrino Software!
Review: 6/10 It’s a kinda fun ‘shoot the thing’ game. The gimmick of things moving off screen to the right and the left is a good idea but you’ll need a secondary controller or to bind right/left to your light gun
Note: You need to bind left/right to your light gun to play this game.
King Bullseye: The Chess Strike
The king is tired of being protected so now he is shooting the enemies down! King Bullseye is a shoot-the-target game in which the enemies are chess pieces on the board! Can you think quickly to predict who you need to destroy first? Headshots eliminate faster and earn more points!
Review: 6/10 This is actually a pretty fun, family friendly game. All the pieces move live they do in chess, putting some thought into what targets you want to prioritize. Action is fast and smooth and it gets pretty intense.
Note: You need to enable light gun mode in the menu
Astral Slider
Astral Slider is an immersive time-attack laser racer. Slide through a number of different astral cyberworlds and blast your way past obstacles to increase your speed and beat your top scores. Play flatscreen or in VR.
Review: 6/10 Simple but fun game. Can get a little repetitive. Recommend turning auto-fire on
Note: You need a d-pad to play this game
Martian Panic
Battle a horde of loony Martian invaders in this on-rail shooter game. Packed with non-stop action, players will use a range of powerful weapons against a gang of colorful and comical enemy invaders. Collect powerups and rescue helpless civilians to get high scores and earn achievements.
Review: 6/10 It has a fun 50s vibe but there’s a sense of ‘weight’ missing, you’ll know when you play. Overall a fun game but please, please let me skip the cut scenes!
Hungry Boy
Hungry Boy is an adventure platformer shooter in which you have to destroy enemies, overcome various obstacles, collect food and find a way out of the level.
Review: 6/10 This isn’t a light gun persay but works surprisingly well with one. You will need a good d-pad with a jump button as there’s as much platforming as there is shooting. It’s surprisingly fun with a light gun and a unique experience.
Note: You need a d-pad to play this game
OSU
Osu!’s gameplay, based on the Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan series of rhythm games, primarily involves clicking notes, which appear as circles, using the cursor.
Review: 5/10 Not originally a light gun game but this is a great friendly game that requires some precision movement that lends itself to a mouse more than a light gun
Touhou Crisis
Classic arcade nostalgia and modern-indie design collide in this shooting-gallery boss battler! Play as a one-man army in offline solo OR bring a friend in online co-op/versus mode! Supports Mouse AND Lightgun play!
Review: 5/10 It’s a pretty simple game with hand drawn characters, has some fun duck and cover gameplay. It’s worth a play for sure, if only for the originality of it.
Chicken Shoot Gold
This tiresome bunch of feathered troublemakers is not giving any peace. Stop this hostile destruction from these rampaging roosters in Arcade mode, or fight against the clock in Classic mode in three difficulty levels.
Review: 5/10 Great game for the wee ones. It’s very early 2000s in it’s aesthetic and gameplay, it’s also locked to 4:3 at 640×480. But it does work with a light gun and it’s got a charm to it.
Zombie Desperation
Zombie Desperation is a small horror game where you shoot hordes of zombies until you die, aiming to obtain a higher rank in the online leaderboards while unlocking new scenarios and weapons.
Review: 5/10 Simple, crude, but has it’s charm. Zombie wave survival where you just shoot all the things coming at you. Recognizes headshots, multiple weapons, but ultimately fairly repetitive.
BioCrisis
The alert has been given, the virus is on the loose, the lab will be quarantined in 60 seconds. Shoot anything that blocks your way and escape!
Review: 4/10 It has that ‘we want to look old but you can tell it’s contemporary’ thing without pulling it off. It does provide some fun shooting action but I just can’t get over how the enemies just sort of block move down 3 lanes.
Until The Last Bullet
Until The Last Bullet is a unique combination of an FMV and rail-shooter game in which you navigate the winding halls of an abandoned factory, eliminating waves of bloodthirsty mutants.
Review: 3/10 Hmmm, this game has some merits but it doesn’t seem to play very well. The light gun also sometimes only can aim at a section of the screen in game though it works fine in the menus. I don’t think I can recommend this right now.
Note: Sometimes the light gun won’t aim to all parts of the screen. If this is common I may remove this entry
Virtual Soldiers
A rail shooter. Grab one of 6 weapons, blast through levels filled with enemies, blow up the environments, grab health packs dropped from enemies, and defeat the unique bosses.
Review: 2/10 This game is a light gun game, that’s about the best thing I an say about this game. It works but it’s very rough around the edges. Everything moves oddly, enemies teleport in then follow a set animation with set timing which doesn’t really match what they are with animations that are off.
Hired Gun
A coin-op lightgun shooter inspired by Mad Dog Mcree and Virtua Cop.
Review: (coming soon)