Looter-shooters are all the rage these days. It's not enough to gun down some helpless aliens or weaker enemies — players also have to cut open their innards and grab their bowels or their treasures, all for the grind. Outriders has proven to be quite a polarizing hit.
While it shakes up the formula considerably, there were some serious concerns about it. One is that it needed more options for endgame builds, another is balancing and performance issues. Those will hopefully see some improvement, potentially making the game be competitive enough to dethrone established derivatives in the genre. Before that happens, though, players can always look into similar games.
10 Warframe
At the moment, one of the biggest competitors of Outriders is Warframe. One of the pioneers of the looter-shooter genre, this title dates back to rocky beginnings in 2013. What's even more impressive is that Warframe continues to be a free-to-play title and is likely the most generous looter-shooter out there.
The co-op multiplayer action RPG puts players in the role of futuristic mercenary space-ninjas called Warframes. They scour the solar system, doing dirty jobs and playing into other factions' wars. There's no better time to test out that experience than now.
9 Destiny 2
Destiny 2 is also looking more appealing now that it has gone free-to-play in order to compete better with Warframe. It follows a similar gameplay structure where players go on missions with others. The difference is that Destiny 2 has a first-person perspective primarily and involves more gunplay.
This title focuses more on the multiplayer aspect. Players looking to thrive in and enjoy solo play shouldn't expect much. Gamers assume the role of Guardians, who must the Last City of humanity in the solar system. That's a tall order with all the alien factions running amok, so help from friends is mandatory.
8 Monster Hunter: World
For something a little less futuristic and more prehistorically-themed, Monster Hunter: World provides a refreshing change of scenery. Players take up the roles of hunters in an expeditionary fleet, as they clean up newly found lands for settlement.
However, gargantuan monsters called dibs on nature first, and don't want to give up their habitat. It's up to the players to thin out the herd. Each monster has a unique personality and physical traits, requiring different strategies and oftentimes, co-op help from other players.
7 Dauntless
Monster Hunter: World isn't free, but Dauntless, an impressive clone, is always available. Many fans consider it as the free version of Monster Hunter, a fair designation. Dauntless pretty much copies the Monster Hunter games' core formula.
Players also enter maps to hunt down the roaming behemoths and fight them in arena-like battles that take several dozen minutes. The hunters also reap the rewards of their hard work by crafting shiny weapons and armor out of the monsters they have killed. It might be vicious, but it's fun.
6 Borderlands 3
The Borderlands series has long determined itself to be the FPS equivalent of Diablo. Likewise, they're also trendsetters. They tend to bloat up the loot pool by including trillions of guns, meaning players might have a hard time getting the stuff they want for the endgame.
Borderlands 3 is the latest offender, though no one's complaining. More guns only mean more killing devices, and those apocalyptic bandits aren't going to shoot themselves in the foot. The crass and wacky humor is just icing on the cake.
5 Risk Of Rain 2
Rogue-like games are not for everyone, but gamers who like looter-shooters are probably used to the definition of insanity by now. Why not do things over and over again in style? Risk of Rain 2 allows for that to happen, since dying means starting over again.
To make this gameplay premise more palatable, Risk of Rain 2 throws in tons of guns and customization options so that each run is different from the last. Of course, inviting friends over to join in on the madness is welcome. Who says escaping a chaotic alien planet isn't a lovely social experience?
4 The Division 2
Tom Clancy's The Division 2 is a semi-contemporary take on the looter-shooter conventions. The whole Earth has plunged into an apocalypse, thanks to a pandemic that wiped out most of the humans. As with setups like this, what's left of civilization began dividing themselves into factions.
This essentially turns the game into a nerve-wracking free-for-all, and that atmosphere is reflected well by co-op systems where players can betray their teammates. Before that, though, The Division 2 introduces players into its bleak open-world recreation of Washington D.C. Scavenging for resources while fully-armed is part of the charm.
3 Deep Rock Galactic
Minecraft has proven that mining has its own fun factor when translated into gameplay. Why not add dwarves, guns, and aliens into the mix? Deep Rock Galactic is pretty much that. It's a co-op objective-based FPS game. Players and their buddies team up as dwarves armed with guns, in order to blast foes and bedrocks for sweet minerals.
All that happens underground, and the local fauna tend to get cranky when woken up to the sound of explosives and gunfire. That's why it's up to the players to serve up these poor creatures with a healthy breakfast of lead and plasma.
2 Mass Effect: Andromeda
Mass Effect: Andromeda might have gotten off to a rough start, but it's a pretty decent RPG now and a worthy spin-off to the franchise. Andromeda puts players in the shoes of Ryder, an explorer who represents humanity in a space exploration project that seeks out colonizable worlds or places in the galaxy.
It might not have the same stakes as the previous Mass Effect games, but the improved action gameplay and wider worlds to traverse make it worth playing. It also has similar gameplay to Outriders, being a third-person adventure game on top of the RPG categorization.
1 Returnal
The last title here is none other than Returnal. This energetic mix of rogue-like and looter-shooter genre appeals to fans of both. Returnal plays on the strengths and quirks of the rogue-like genre, where each death not only presents opportunities to become more powerful, but also unfolds the story gradually.
Expect Returnal's action to be full of fast and adrenaline-packed bullet hells, where players' reflexes and blood pressure are put to the test. Just seeing those particle effects in action ought to make it worth the price of admission.