10 Best Shooters That Feel Like a Fever Dream

As the years go by, and I add more and more games to my collection, it gets harder to be surprised, as trends in video games are incredibly strong.

A game following modern practices isn’t inherently negative, but it does limit the creativity with which many titles are released, as they must adhere to a set of characteristics that often don’t allow for flexibility.

However, especially within the indie scene, there are many video games that manage to transcend traditional standards to offer truly extravagant and unique adventures.

If you’re looking for games that will transport you to a world you’ve never seen before, with a very specific sense of humor, or with quite unusual mechanics, I recommend the ten best shooters that are unapologetically weird.

10

Pih

The One and Only Pig-physics-based Shooter

That a game describes itself as “the one and only pig-physics-based shooter” might sound exaggerated, yet Pih is exactly that, and I bless the day my Steam algorithm decided to recommend such a wild experience.

It’s an uncommon creation, cheap in both aesthetics and execution, like a party of free assets centered around pig-like entities that serve as targets for our vast array of projectiles, and it’s so much fun it’s difficult to describe.

Clearly, it’s a less serious and formal work than the list’s rest of entries, more suited to modern brainrot memes than a traditional human mind, but the fun of its physics, levels, enemies, and both shooting and platforming challenges is completely real.

It’s a recommendation for a very, very exclusive type of player, those who enjoy free itch.io titles and game jams, but it can be a welcome source of entertainment for the price and an indelible memory.

9

High on Life

A Journey Focused on Being Bizarre

I’ve never been a big fan of Rick and Morty’s comedy, but it’s undeniable that the cartoon’s extravagance was translated very accurately to High on Life.

Developed by a studio founded by the animated series’ co-creator, its inclusion on this list hardly needs further explanation, as it’s among the most bizarre titles you can find on the market.

Guns with talking faces, constant fourth-wall breaks and pop culture references, alien and colorful characters and settings with a very distinct aesthetic, more jokes than anyone my age can handle… It has everything you’d expect from a spiritual adaptation of Rick and Morty.

I wouldn’t say it always works, especially since the gunplay and platforming could be improved, but it has an unparalleled identity that deserves respect.

8

Enter the Gungeon

Endless Creativity

Virtually every top-down shooter I’ve ever played has its own unique twists, but it’s absolutely clear that Enter the Gungeon takes the cake when it comes to sheer originality.

Just based on the design of its bosses and weapons alone, it’s impossible not to be blown away by the kind of surprising combinations Dodge Roll pulls out of his hat to throw you into the most unusual shootouts ever conceived.

The image of using a giant shotgun shell to fire proper shotguns at a muscular crow wielding a Gatling gun will stay with me forever, and there are dozens of examples like this one.

In fact, we’re probably talking about hundreds, since Enter the Gungeon has a gameplay depth that feels almost infinite. It’s not weird because of its tone or humor, but because of how it adapts every existing matter and living being into the shooter genre.

A World of Unhinged Gangs

When you play a campaign set in a place called Shit City, where your goal is to recover your shoe collection stolen by a gang, it’s easy to anticipate that you’re not going to encounter your average game, which is absolutely not what Anger Foot is.

From the very construction of its context, the game proposes eccentric and over-the-top ideas that might not convince everyone but will delight the right player, especially when they realize the most powerful weapon at their disposal isn’t a Uzi or a machine gun, but their own foot.

Going from room to room, shooting and kicking anthropomorphic animals in ski masks is far more exciting than you might expect, with so much scatological violence that it’s impossible not to feel an adrenaline rush from beginning to end.

It’s arcade, demanding, and precise, which perfectly complements its soundtrack worthy of an acid trip, and establishes an overall gameplay loop that makes Anger Foot pure fun.

6

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands

Even More Borderlands

Borderlands has always been a theatrical saga with a distinct personality and comedic flair, but with Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, they took their eccentricity to new heights.

Not only do the characters maintain their characteristic collective madness and the questlines their inexplicable nature, but anchoring the story to Tiny Tina’s narration, who serves as the dungeon master, unleashes the full force of her madness.

I admit the spin-off isn’t as outstanding as the main franchise, mainly because the gameplay loop loses steam faster than the traditional open world, though it’s by far the strangest of them all, especially due to its combination of medieval elements and tabletop RPG structure.

It’s a peculiar mix, and although it doesn’t always fit, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is an excellent spin-off that maintains the essence of the IP in both gameplay and story.

5

ULTRAKILL

Weirdness is Fuel

Playing as a blood-starving robot descending into Hell to kill everything that moves, from archangels to Sisyphus himself, is a premise as fascinating as it sounds, especially given we’re talking about the great ULTRAKILL.

Bathing in the entrails of the infernal inhabitants while moving at incredible speeds, parrying your own projectiles, or shooting coins to make the bullets ricochet, is among the most exhilarating experiences I’ve ever had.

Given the weapons’ variety, the environments’ depth, and the creative freedom with which you can approach each challenge, ULTRAKILL ceases to be a conventional FPS and becomes a talent show where the winner is the one who displays the greatest possible stylization of an unparalleled massacre.

It’s still quirky, because one moment you’re in a meadow killing zombies and the next you’re listening to the ravings of an angel who’s very easy to ragebait, but it’s precisely because of transitions like these that the game is simply unforgettable.

4

Neon White

More Playable Genres than Content

Speaking of transitions, going from a card-based FPS with time trials to a visual novel with social links is so unthinkable that it’s difficult to believe such a thing exists, but I can’t think of a better way to describe Neon White.

Being an amnesiac assassin who travels to a godless heaven while competing with other assassins to see who can slay demons the fastest is unusual in every sense of the word, though even more so when you stop shooting to have 2D conversations in a bar with your fellow Neons, giving them gifts to unlock memories and additional levels.

It’s an incredibly strange loop, but the dialogue and characters are so charismatic, and the game’s shooting, card, and platforming mechanics are so refined, that you don’t realize how inexplicable it all is until long after you finish it, because it all comes together perfectly and is as fun as it is compelling.

For a game to master the art of shooting beasts at tens of kilometers per hour and the art of having you kicking your feet while you give gifts to the protagonist’s partner is what geniuses do, and Neon White is absolutely brilliant.

3

Post Void

Hypnotically Fast

I’ve noticed that, historically, roguelikes have a characteristic frenzy that seems inherent to the genre, and games like Post Void only reinforce my belief that the developers of this kind of game are special.

And by special, at least in this particular case, I mean madmen capable of creating the most mind-bending, dizzying, and confusing work of the last couple of years without losing an ounce of fun or readability.

I don’t know if it’s my mind playing tricks on me, though every time I enter this psychedelic trip of a thousand colors and speeds, my senses adapt with an uncanny speed, as if playing Post Void were second nature, while its shots flow like silk.

It’s impossible to finish the game without a headache, but considering the number of images and shots per second you see in each playthrough, it’s not surprising, and thank goodness for that.

2

Mullet Madjack

Anime, Adrenaline, and Systemic Criticism

The only thing I like more than a strange game is a title that isn’t afraid to deliver a strong message, and both elements conspire in Mullet Madjack to create one of the decade’s most outstanding indie games.

Its critique of consumerism is as solid as the entertainment value of its gameplay, based on a timer that means defeat if it reaches zero and forces us to kill enemies in increasingly creative ways to prevent it, infusing both adrenaline and a meta-message about the addictive nature of video games.

The experience is extremely amusing, with a captivating soundtrack and a divine art style, though it’s also a product highly aware of what such elements imply, crafting a story about idols, addiction, social media, and the eternal pursuit of content that is as unique as it is insightful.

Mullet Madjack is a sensory-overload fever dream with anime aesthetics, Eurobeat music, and a cyberpunk tone, an extravagant combination that fascinates me so much that I’m sure everyone has to go through its delirium at least once in their life.

1

Cruelty Squad

Playing in Its Own League

Immersive sims are among my greatest weaknesses, as are conversations about politics and economics, due to my academic background, so Cruelty Squad strikes so many chords with my personal interests that it absolutely has to top this list.

On the surface, it’s a maximalist first-person shooter with stealth mechanics that stands out because it has more colors, shapes, and textures than humans can perceive, making it incredibly eye-catching.

Regardless, what lies beneath is what truly captivates me about its premise, including the quasi-cannibalistic idea of ​​surviving in a gig economy where capitalism is so rampant that you have to harvest your enemies’ organs to get upgrades or trade them on the market.

Everything is aesthetically horrific and chaotic, including the interface and designs, which serve as the perfect backdrop for an extremely broad playable base that allows you to express yourself as the financially profitable and humanly broken killer the system has pressured you to be.

You might need to play it with protective goggles, sedatives, and a very open mind, but Cruelty Squad is an unforgettable experience that will easily leave its mark on anyone who ventures into its unimaginable world.