Helldivers 2is not only a greatthird-person co-op shooter,but it also has an amazing community that works together to shape an ongoing narrative with developer Arrowhead.
What makesHelldivers 2special is the immersion that you’re just a small disposable cog in the machine mixed with intense andlarge-scale battles that make you feel like you’re storming the beaches of Normandy.
Not only that, but thesense of communitymakes you feel like atrue badass patriotfighting for the future of humanity alongside your fellow Helldivers while driving away your hated enemies.
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But sometimes, even the most dedicated Super Earth citizens need a little bit of R&R from their vigilant fight against our robot and alien enemies.
If you’re looking for games similar toHelldivers 2, then look no further than this list.Desertion is punishable by death, but don’t worry–we won’t report you to your local Democratic Officer.
WhileHelldivers 1is the predecessor ofHelldivers 2, it doesn’t offer the same experience as what we’re looking for due to its top-down perspective, so unfortunately, it will not be included on this list.
Still, it’s highly recommended, and you should check it out if you’re interested.
10Earth Defense Force 6
The E.D.F. Deploys!
Earth Defense Force 6
TheEarth Defense Forcegames have always been an acquired taste. With PS3-era graphics, terrible voice acting, nonsensical story, and even clunky controls,it’s hard to take this series seriously.
I was introduced to the series during my freshman year of college when my friends were singing the E.D.F. battle hymn, and I began to learn the lyrics and sang along.
Even before knowing about the true extent of the E.D.F.’s ridiculousness, I was already into the theme of fighting and dying for humanity.
Much likeHelldivers 2,you play as a one-in-a-billion grunt fighting against alien bug invaders, charging into the meat grinder to defend Earth.Essentially, E.D.F. is what happens if the Terminids andIlluminatehave managed to invade Super Earth.
If you’re a fan of theinsane chaos and balls-to-the-walls silliness inHelldivers 2, then you’ll loveEarth Defense Force 6.Just don’t pay close attention to how the good guys are losing. And maybe ignore the time-traveling paradox stuff.
9Starship Troopers Extermination
I’m Doing My Part!
Starship Troopers: Extermination
Anybody with eyes can tell thatthe entire premise of theHelldiversfranchise is based on the classic movieStarship Troopers,so it’s unsurprising that theirtie-ingameStarship Troopers Exterminationhas the same vibes.
WithCasper Van Dien making a return as General Johnny Rico from the original movie,Exterminationputs you in the boots of a soldier fighting in a war against the Arachnid threat, joining squads of 4-16 in a variety of missions where you’re able to build bases, collect resources, and just straight up kill bigs everywhere you go.
Exterminationis a fun romp for anybody looking to kill hordes of bugs with your friends and enjoy the chaotic mess of battle.Every multiplayer mission, especially the 16-man missions, makes you feel like a cog in a much larger machine working towards a common goal.
The only reasonExterminationdoesn’t rank as high as it should be is that it’sa rather unpolished game with lots of graphical and technical issuesand has a lackluster single-player campaign.
Still, if you’re looking for some dumb fun and to immerse yourself in the experience of fighting in the war against the Arachnids, thenStarship Troopers Exterminationis the game for you.
Would you like to know more?
8Destiny 2
Conduct Mass Murder With Space Magic
As a die-hardDestiny 2fan and day-one player,I always caution people against getting into the game in its current state.
If you’re thinking about getting intoDestiny 2, thena word of warning:ensure to have a veteran player give youtips and tricks, aseven the most dedicated fan will tell you that the game is not beginner-friendly.
PvP notwithstanding,Destiny 2’sPvE content is a blast to grind, where the power fantasy of playing as adripped-outspace-magic-wieldingsuper soldierreally shines through.
WhileDestiny 2is free-to-play, a good portion of the best activities is locked behindexpansions, thoughThe Final Shapeis definitely worth your money.
Whether you’re playing solo with randoms or ifyou’re in a raid with a full fireteam,Destiny 2has a variety of game modes where you can slay massive hordes of enemies.
Most notably, if you’re looking exclusively for a horde mode, thenlook no further than Onslaught,which is awave-based defense game mode where you fight 50 enemy waves of increasing difficulty while upgrading your defenses.You’ll also get to fight a boss every 10 waves.
Like any game with MMORPG elements,there’s also add-clearing, which is a role during high-tier PvE activities where you focus on clearing hordes of enemies with as little effort and as quickly as possible.
Leave None Standing
As a souped-up cyber-ninja with powerful weapons and abilities, Warframes are, for the lack of a better term, meat grinders that can shred through any enemy they come across.
I had a relatively brief phase of playingWarframeand still hop on from time to time, andthere’s not a single moment that I didn’t feel unstoppablekilling hordes of Grineer, Corpus, and Infested. Even when I’m still a novice at the game.
There are many different game modes to play in, butthe one that turnsWarframeinto a horde shooter is Survival, where you get to fight a never-ending stream of enemies and survive as long as possible before you either extract or die.
Survival is actuallynever-ending.There are people doing endurance runs, and some videos show you just how broken Warframes are.
With the right build, you cannuke an entire roomover and over until you get bored or develop brain damage.
Much likeDestiny 2,Warframeis a tough game to get into, as the customization options are endless,from Warframes to weapons to even cosmetics.
The community is known to beincredibly welcoming and wholesome, and anyWarframeplayer knows thatfashion is the true endgame.
6Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
“Revive Me, I Got The Ray Gun!”
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
If there’s one consistently enjoyable game mode in theCall of Dutyfranchise, it’s Zombies.It’s not too much of an exaggeration to say that 13-year-olds shootingzombies inCall of Dutywas oncea major pillar of the gaming zeitgeist during the late 2000s and early 2010s.Just ask anyone who grew up playingBlack Ops 3.
Not allCoDgames have a horde mode, which is mostly exclusive toBlack Opsgames.I fondly remember playing split screen with my friends in high school, running around and killing Nazi zombies in classic maps like Kino der Toten.
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I didn’t really get into CoD Zombies untilCold War, which had a great addition where your level progression crosses over with regular multiplayer and was a great title for any newcomer. As someone who is famously bad at PvP,this helped me quickly level my guns to the max without the frustration of getting stomped by tryhardsor yelled at on voice chat in multiplayer.
The weapons inCoD zombiesvary between games, butCold War’sfelt particularly powerful.The perks that you may pick up are game-changing, which are crucial in upgrading and snowballing your operative into an unstoppable zombie-killing machine.
5Titanfall 2
Ready For Thrills, Chills, and Kills?
Titanfall 2
Titanfall 2is one of thebest first-person shootersof all time, and I will die on this hill.
With amazing movement mechanics likewall runningand sliding, mech combat, and smooth gunplay,Titanfall 2is easy to pick up but hasa high skill ceiling. It’s also atragically underrated gamethat’s beendone dirty by Respawnandhackers.
With a concurrent player count of no more than 2000 on any given day,Titanfall 2still works surprisingly well and has a wide variety of PvP game modes for you to try. But you’re here for horde shooters, so let’s talk about Frontier Defense.
Frontier Defenseisa game mode where you may work with a squad to defend your Harvester from the IMC forces, including grunts, drones, and AI-controlled Titans.
Once every few waves, you’re able to purchase defenses like turrets and mines to fortify your defenses, but the main draw comes from your combat prowess in and out of your Titan.
Whatever your playstyle is, it’s always satisfying to mow down hordes of grunts before you cancall down your Titanwith a satisfying “Stand by for Titanfall.”
On higher difficulties, combat can get chaotic and intense, whereyou can encounter dozens of nuke titans and arc titansthat can swarm and overwhelm you before you can even react.
Myfavorite Titan is Monarchbecause even though it is a Support Titan, it can be upgraded into an unstoppable killing machine and melt through hordes without much effort.
Titanfall 2regularly goes on sale for as low as 2.99 USD and has an “Overwhelmingly Positive” rating on Steam. If youenjoy Apex Legends, then you’ll be pleased to know thatTitanfall 2is where its satisfying movement comes from.
4Warhammer 40,000: Darktide
Stave Off The Blight Of Chaos
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide
In the grimdark Warhammer 40K universe, there is only war.
While the Warhammer 40K franchise is best known for its grand scale featuring space marines fighting in a massive war,Warhammer 40K: Darktidehas a much smaller scale.
Instead of the hulking Space Marines, you play as a nobody reject of the Imperium of Man, an exterminator in a squad of four tasked with killing hordes ofChaos-worshipping cultistswho intend on spreading Nurgle’s plague across the galaxy.
The classes featured inDarktidevary in playstyle and are archetypal of class-based shooters, like the Tank-like Ogryn Skullbreaker or the gun-totingVeteran Sharpshooter.
Not only that, but you can also customize your character, allowing you tochoose their home planet, personality, and even the crime they were charged with.
While the story isn’t particularly something to write home about, each unique character fits into the vibe and atmosphere of the dark comedy of the Warhammer 40k franchise.
It’s alsogone through many changes since its launchand is shaping up to be the horde shooter that fans wanted it to be.
Darktidedoesn’t take itself too seriously, which makes the gamea good time for anybody looking to blast through hordes of zombie-like Heretics.
Pills Here!
Left 4 Dead 2
With smooth gameplay and fun enemies to fight,Left 4 Dead 2is perhaps the most influential horde shooter in gaming history.
In case you’ve been living under a rock,Left 4 Dead 2is a zombiehorror shooterwhere you and three other teammates musttraverse a level and complete objectives while you’re constantly assaulted by a horde of zombies and special infected.
While each survivor has the same gameplay,their distinct personalities shine through the dialogue that givesLeft 4 Dead 2the soul and character it is best known for.
Regardless of difficulty, fighting through a horde is always intense and memorable. The diversity of the special infected is varied andequally terrifying.
Those who have played through even one mission inLeft 4 Dead 2willvividly remember the moment they accidentally disturb a Witch and alert the horde or the sheer terror of being pummeled by a Tank.
Even after 15 years,Left 4 Dead 2is still going strong today,with at least 20 thousand concurrent players.It is the quintessential horde shooter, and every gamer who loves horde shooters should try it at least once.
2Deep Rock Galactic
Rock And Stone!
Deep Rock Galactic
InDeep Rock Galactic,you play as a space dwarf combat miner working for the eponymous mining company, and your job is to dig through a hostile planet’s countlessprocedurally generatedcave systems toextract valuable resources while defending against giant alien bugs.
As aco-op game,you may choose one of four classes,each with a unique job and a shared love for mining.
There’s theDriller, whose main job is to drill tunnels;Scoutfor shooting flares and going to hard-to-reach places,Engineerfor deploying useful gadgets, andGunnerfor absorbing aggro.
During these missions, you must stick to your role and help your squad mates if you plan on making it home rich.
You either earn your keep or you die trying, and inDeep Rock Galactic,there is no such thing as OSHA or an ethics board.
You’ll also encounter the very deadly insects that act as the planet’s defense system, ranging from tiny bugs to heavily armored tanks that can impale you with their razor-sharp claws.A good bug is a dead bug.
Not only that, but what makesDeep Rock Galactican enjoyable game is that it has a huge community and a developer who actively updates the game and interacts with the community.
Many considerDeep Rock Galacticas one of the current “big three of horde shooters”, along withHelldivers 2andSpace Marine 2.
These three share a strikingly similar vibe, where there’s a sense of camaraderie between squadmates and a mutual hatred against the enemy.The only salient difference between these three games is the average height of the player characters.
1Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2
For The Emperor!
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II
Last but not least, we have one of my favorite horde shooters in recent memory.Warhammer 40K: Space Marines 2puts you in the thick ceramite armor of the titular Space Marines.
These genetically modified and cybernetically enhanced humansuse unwieldy weapons to wage a never-ending war against the enemies of the Imperium of Man.
Aside from the enjoyable singleplayer campaign and the PvP game mode, there’s also the main end game content, which is the PvE game mode Operations, where you load in a uniquely challenging level with two other players and fight through hordes of Terminids or Chaos cultists.
You get to pick between sixclasses, along with arespectably sized arsenalthat canbecome more and more powerful as you upgrade them through level-ups.
The classes and weapons are also quite well-balanced for end-game content likeLethal difficulty; if everything is overpowered, nobody is overpowered. Well, except for the Tactical with a Bolt Rifle Grenade Launcher.
The gameplay ofSpace Marines 2is immensely enjoyable andscratches an itch that only the best horde shooters can scratch.
With a sweet balance between gunplay and melee combat,this game makes slicing through hordes of enemies into bloody ribbons ever so satisfying.
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Big budgets are nice, but really, all we want are big guns and bigger explosions.
