5 Best Indie Shooters of 2021

Shooter games, be it battle royale or campaign-rich single-player, form a sizeable chunk of any game store. Hunting the perfect FPS game from so many options is like finding Nemo in the sea. And we often overlook the indie shooters (don't forget that CS: GO was an indie game before it blew up crazy).

Very often, indie games turn out to be interesting, experimental, and offer a fresh take on an existing layout. For instance, Lemnis Gate is an exciting take on good old arena gate.

A lot of the times, indie games are better finished than AAA games. This is because indie developers take their own sweet time and pay attention to every little detail. They are in no hurry to release the game. This is why indie entries turn out to be less buggy.

Top 5 Indie Shooters of 2021 You Need to Check Out

Based on the gameplay, graphics, and overall response of the players, we have handpicked some of the best indie shooters that came out in 2021.

5. Dread Templar

If you are a fan of 90s shooter games, then Dread Templar is something you might be interested in. This is because the game takes all the good things from the 90s retro shooters and puts them a modern context. The whole thing just screams ‘gore' right from the tutorial.

Dread Templar is a game that you will get you into a stress-busting mode after you have had a bad day at work. All you have to do is pull the trigger and shoot all the bloody, gore-y creatures on sight. That's it! No cut scenes, no story, and no heavy narrative. It's you, your gun, and the mutilated creatures.

You can play Dread Templar on Microsoft Windows. Note that the game is yet to roll out. As of now, Dread Templar is in the early access.

4. Road 96

If you think that Road 96 is about a road trip gone wrong, then you’re almost right. As a player, you will be escaping a politically unstable region via a road. And you don't encounter any zombies. Instead, your primary focus will be on fleeing the fictional country of Petria or influencing the elections.

As a player, you don’t just shoot on sight. Instead, the story-driven game also puts an emphasis on the choices you make. The unpredictability of the narrative hooks players to Road 96. The developers wanted each player to have a different road trip experience. The NPCs play a vital role in enriching the narratives and the characterization deserves a round of applause.

Road 96 can be played on Microsoft Windows and Nintendo Switch.

3. Severed Steel

Severed Steel is not your regular-schmegular shooter game. It features a Cyberpunk-like theme, a powerful one-armed protagonist, and a destructible voxel environment. The graphics are stunning and the futuristic setting goes well with the theme. The single-player FPS is heavy on stunts.

You can dive, run, slide, and perform other acrobatic stunts with great agility. Another notable thing is that there's no reload mechanism. You can shoot endlessly. From start to end, Severed Steel is loaded with gunplay and action. On Steam, it has a “very positive” rating and favorable user reviews.

You can give Severed Steel a try on PlayStation, Xbox, Microsoft Windows, and Nintendo Switch.

2. Lemnis Gate

Lemnis Gate’s poster is enough to tempt anyone into giving it a try. Anybody who has been gaming for a while will notice that Lemnis Gate has the core of any other shooter game. However, the time loops and the chaos that they unleash are simply ingenious. Even the most ‘pro’ FPS players will frantically smash keys and yell at their co-ops.

The game starts like any other FPS game out there – you pick an operator and complete the mission. However, there are five 25-second rounds and you choose a different operator every time. By the final round, the tiny arena is filled with previous avatars of you and your enemies running amok.

As of now, Lemnis Gate can be played on Xbox, PlayStation, and Microsoft Windows.

1. Ready or Not

Ready or Not tops our list of indie shooter games and with good reason. The tactical shooter by VOID Interactive resembles 2004's popular game SWAT 4. The two games are quite similar and you will love the gameplay (and have a streak of nostalgia).

Ready or Not is loaded with action. Enemies spawn randomly and this keeps players on their toes. The game is not just about shooting, it also has some decision-making aspects thrown in. It has five playable modes. The

Several players have praised the realistic gameplay and detailed characterization. It feels like you are really a part of all the action that's happening. However, the indie shooter is not without its problems. The “realistic” touch that the devs intended to create leaves out major SWAT events and changes of the last decade (if you know what I mean).

You can play Ready or Not on your Windows PC.

Some other incredible indie shooters include INDUSTRIA, Mundaun, and Necromunda: Hired Gun that came out in 2021. We have already covered these games in our Best First-Person Shooters of 2021 That You Might Have Missed.

There are several such amazing indie games that go unnoticed due to oversaturation and lack of marketing. Once in a while, you can give these titles a chance. Who knows, you might find a hidden gem!

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