Sony's PlayStation 4 didn't invent the shooter genre of gaming, but it certainly helped popularize it.
With so many great shooter games over the years, it can be tough to know which ones are worth playing. Fortunately, we make it our business to find the best of the best for your convenience.
Here are my picks for the absolute best shooter games for the PS4 from across the console's lifespan! Whether they're over-the-shoulder third-person shooters or good old-fashioned FPSes, these are the shooting games you need to play if you love gun-action gameplay.
10. Back 4 Blood
Zombies always make for good enemies in shooting games, and Back 4 Blood shows exactly why that's true.
This PS4 shooter takes everything great about the Left 4 Dead franchise and improves upon it all, with tighter controls and a wider variety of fun enemies to take down.
The plot feels a bit weak and tacked-on compared to some of the other entries on this list, but if you're just in the mood to watch zombie heads explode, Back 4 Blood is incredibly fun.
9. Sniper Elite 4
Any game that lets us shoot Nazis is a win in our books, but Sniper Elite 4 takes it further by combining elements of stealth with third-person shooter gameplay, creating a unique feel to it.
In Sniper Elite 4, you play as Karl Faiburne, who's tasked with investigating and eliminating Nazi threats in 1943 Italy, back during the height of the Second World War.
Much of the gameplay consists of moving silently between positions to give yourself the best possible vantage points for distant kills. After all, it's right there in the game's title: this is a sniper game.
The missions in Sniper Elite 4 can feel repetitive, but this game remains one of the most grounded shooters in recent years.
8. Overwatch 2
It's impossible to escape the gaming juggernaut that is Overwatch 2, and no list of PS4 shooters would be complete without it.
This FPS puts you into teams of heroes and villains, who are then pitted against each other in a battle for domination. More than just a shooter, Overwatch 2 is augmented by special abilities.
Everyone plays as a unique characters, who each have unique powers that they bring to their teams. Some are defensive tanks, others rely on speed to zip across the battlefield, and others are glass cannons.
No matter your playstyle, there's sure to be a character that resonates with you in Overwatch 2, and it's no surprise that this game continues to be one of the most popular free shooters on PS4.
7. Superhot
Most shooter games rely on lightning-quick reflexes, but Superhot takes a very different approach. In this game, time only progresses when your character moves. Otherwise, everything stays at a standstill.
This means you can plan out exactly how you want to approach every level without feeling rushed, and if you ever feel overwhelmed in a situation, you can simply stop and find your bearings.
Which is great because Superhot will have a gazillion bullets flying your way, and you'll need to dodge them to make it through alive.
Superhot is a shooter game that's as much a puzzle-solving exercise as it is an action-packed Matrix-like thriller, making it one of the best single-player shooter games on the PS4.
6. Killzone Shadow Fall
Killzone Shadow Fall was one of the launch titles for the PS4, but it remains one of the best shooters for the console.
The environments are gorgeous and unique, taking full advantage of the PlayStation 4's upgraded hardware versus its predecessor.
Plus, the actual combat controls are incredibly tight and rewarding, allowing you to feel more in control of your character than ever before.
Don't sleep on Killzone Shadow Fall just because it was released a decade ago. Better shooter games may have come along in the years since, but this one still holds it ground quite well.
5. Borderlands 3
At first glance, the Borderlands franchise looks like something straight out of a cartoon, but this is no child's game. Every Borderlands game revolves around gunfire and gun acquisition.
Sure, you can play as a melee character if you want, but when there are so many fascinating weapons to discover and when they're as fun as the shotgun-and-machine-gun combo, why would you want to?
Borderlands 3's setting and dialogue are so brilliantly dystopian in their presentation, resulting in a fun, chaotic, engaging world that's rewarding to explore—and potentially blow up.
4. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Nathan Drake's Uncharted adventure started on the PS3, but it finished on the PS4 with the fourth mainline game in the series.
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End shows Nathan Drake as an older (but not wiser) character who's trying to stay out of the international heist scene. But, of course, retirement doesn't suit the adventurer and he's soon drawn into one final score.
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End has everything a fan would want: fantastic third-person shooter controls, nods to Naughty Dog's gaming legacy, and one of the most touching endings in video game history.
3. Far Cry 5
Developed by Ubisoft Montreal and Ubisoft Toronto
Released in March 2018
About 20 hours (main story)
The Far Cry series has always thrived on sending players to exotic locales and having them shoot down countless people, but Far Cry 5 brought the action a bit closer to home.
Set in a fictional county in Montana, you play as an unnamed junior deputy sheriff who's caught in a conflict between various factions vying to control the area, and you must choose which ones to work with in order to take down a growing militaristic cult.
Far Cry 5 is an open world game that relies heavily on crafting and shooting to bring its story and world to life.
2. Doom
Reboots are all the rage these days, but Doom certainly caught all of us off guard by how good it ended up being.
Leading up to 2016, the Doom franchise was largely considered dead. After all, the last entry before this one was Doom 3, which released back in 2004 and was mainly for PC and Xbox gamers.
But then this version of Doom dropped in 2016 and blew the doors off of hell all over again, letting players rip and tear their way through waves of demons, made even better by cleaner controls.
Doom's soundtrack is incredible and the game's action never lets up from start to finish, making this one of the most chaotic experiences and one of the best first-person shooter games on the PS4.
1. Red Dead Redemption 2
Any game about the Old West is going to include plenty of shooting action, but no other video game has made us feel like a real cowboy as much as Red Dead Redemption 2 does.
All the cowboy tropes are here: duels at high noon, camping out in the wilderness, taking care of your horse, plenty of firefights involving bandits and lawmen alike, and so much more.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of the greatest open world games ever made, and it's almost criminally fun to play thanks to its amazing story full of memorable characters.
Red Dead Redemption 2 isn't just the best shooter game on the PS4; it's a strong contender for best PS4 game of all time.
