Games Like Minimalist Space War

Shoot! Dodge! and... Get Hit!? "Ikaruga" is a vertical shoot 'em up that features an unique polarity-switching gameplay. Switch the ship's polarity and "get hit and absorb" enemy bullets! Achieve High Score with the chain bonus!

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 37.4%, Bullet Hell 29.6%, Classic 17% ★, Arcade 10%, Difficult 3.5%

An EXTREMELY HARDCORE vertical bullet hell game that only features boss fights. Preview and select between three randomly generated options to choose the boss and every add-on you're going to face, then start a time-based survival trial. Difficulty can be scaled infinitely here.

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 32.4%, Bullet Hell 29.4%, Minimalist 21.5%, Arcade 12.6%, Action 4.1%

Super Galaxy Squadron is a fast-paced vertical shooter designed for human beings as well as SHMUP veterans. Featuring multiple game modes, a challenging but merciful difficulty curve, forgiving health system, and SEVENTEEN playable ships.

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 33.5%, Bullet Hell 26.9%, Arcade 9%, Difficult 7.7%, Classic 7.2% ★

RED TITANS is a single player vertical shoot em up, use the resources available to stop the threat, you will have to be very skillful since there are no continues.

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 25.2%, Bullet Hell 21.8%, 1980s 16.2%, 1990's 14.4%, Arcade 12.6%

Help defend Felinearth by sending the bravest cats (and a dog?) to fight evil aliens. You will compete against the clock to defeat as many enemies as you can in a set time. Casual players love the pickup and play controls! Advanced players will love how unforgiving space can be!

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 29.5%, Classic 26.5% ★, Bullet Hell 18.7%, Arcade 9.8%, Action 7%

Distant Space are present the arcade game of cosmic fights in arcade style of the 80's, this is a game where you can control the spaceship and forced to destroy extraterrestrials, which are moving in the certain order.

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 31.7%, 1980s 14.9%, Arcade 11.8%, Bullet Hell 11.4%, Difficult 9.4%

A 2D arcade shoot 'em up forged in the age of fire, feedback and METAL! It's a fast, loud and unforgiving ride on an atomic warhead through a hellish concert of beer, bullets and riffs. Crank it up to eleven, and strap in for the ride!

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 28.3%, Bullet Hell 26.3%, Difficult 16%, 1990's 10.7%, Arcade 9.9%

Battle huge "Koju" bugs in CAVE's beautiful fantasy shooter, Mushihimesama. Experience the thrill of bullet hell from the masters of the genre as you evade visually stunning shot patterns with thousands of bullets.

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 36.9%, Bullet Hell 35.7%, Arcade 10.7%, Difficult 7%, Classic 6.3% ★

Neon Dodge is a frantic, vaporwave-themed bullet hell where you cannot shoot. Master the dodge to survive the impossible challenges that a mysterious Voice throws at you... Or watch your death counter ascend to infinity.

Why similar: Bullet Hell 26.3%, 1980s 24.1%, Difficult 20.9%, Arcade 17.3%, Action 5.5%

A classic style SHMUP in the tradition of 80's and 90's vertical scrolling shooters. Maximize your run and get to the top of the High-score Leaderboard. Can you achieve the rank of Fleet Admiral? It's a challenge. Visit our website for a free playable browser demo of the game.

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 26.7%, Bullet Hell 19.4%, 1980s 16.3%, 1990's 13.5%, Arcade 12.4%

Triangle Service’s MINUS ZERO is a shooter that focuses on a tried-and-true shoot-’em-up weapon: the lock-on laser. It’s shoot-’em-up purity: just you, your lock-on laser, and a whole bunch of enemies. As long as you continue to blast away at the waves of enemies, you’ll maintain invincibility, but if you lose track of your position...

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 29.6%, Bullet Hell 22.9%, 1990's 14.8%, Arcade 11.1%, Minimalist 10.5%

GROOD is an indie 2.5D Shoot 'em up made with spare robot parts and Heavy Metal🤘🏻. The gameplay blends classic Shoot 'em up mechanics with modern low poly graphics, particles, shaders, and a hardcore soundtrack. Annihilate an army of machines, and afterward, annihilate their bosses—go all the way to confirm that your battle paid off.

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 33.7%, Bullet Hell 22.2%, Difficult 17.7%, Action 10.6%, Arcade 9.7%

TRI-GER is a top-down rouge-like SHMUP with technicolor vector based graphics. Fight endless waves of enemies, and be sure to match your color to get a high score!

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 30.5%, Bullet Hell 27.5%, Arcade 15.7%, Minimalist 12.7%, Action 9%

Take your chance and feel like 10 again.😊To start let's meet this retro cutie.🚀 River Rush is reminiscent of an old vertically scrolling shoot’em up games.🚀 If you remember them, it's time to catch up with nostalgia. Or your father's nostalgia.😉 Board in and have some fun.👨‍🚀

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 27.3%, 1980s 23%, Bullet Hell 20.1%, Classic 10.3% ★, Arcade 10.2%

A small shoot 'em up that combines the charm of retro arcades with innovative gameplay mechanics, delivering a fresh yet familiar experience. A single coin gives you as many attempts as you want to get the world's high score.

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 42.8%, Bullet Hell 34.3%, Arcade 19.3%, Minimalist 2%, Action 1.2%

Blast enemies, get ship upgrades and defeat bosses in this arcade inspired space bullet hell

Why similar: 1980s 23.7%, Bullet Hell 23.2%, Shoot 'Em Up 17.7%, Arcade 14.7%, 1990's 11.1%

Pig Ship and the Giant Wolf is a classic Shoot'em Up with a 8btis monochrome aesthetic. Cross the 6 worlds full of enemies and defeat the Giant Wolf to save your brothers.

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 22.7%, Bullet Hell 18.4%, 1980s 16.6%, 1990's 14.2%, Arcade 10%

Classic 80s inspired shooter

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 24.7%, Bullet Hell 23.4%, 1980s 17.5%, Minimalist 14.4%, Arcade 9.4%

Offendron Warrior is a retro arcade that combines shooting and defense. Your objective is saving Offendron civilians in the planets from the group of enemies, who are trying to spread a virus that turns Offendrons into mindless killing machines and eventually destroy the whole planet.

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 24.4%, Bullet Hell 19.7%, 1980s 15.2%, Difficult 14.2%, Arcade 9.4%

Vektor Z brings fast and furious retro space blasting action to Steam! Blast your way through endless waves of asteroids and enemies to write your name among the stars! Vektor Z offers a rogue-like arcade action game where you'll improve your progress every time you play!

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 29.2%, Bullet Hell 25.9%, 1990's 15.9%, Arcade 15%, Action 8%

Arcade-style bullet hell action! 3 ships, 5 special weapons, and screen-clearing bombs. Conquer 5 intense stages with dynamic difficulty—then compete for high scores on online leaderboards.

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 38.2%, Bullet Hell 28.8%, Arcade 14.2%, Difficult 9.9%, Action 4.6%

Vulture Strike is a side-scrolling shooting game in which you have the ability to travel between 2 parallel timelines whenever you want.

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 36.1%, Bullet Hell 23.5%, Difficult 16.5%, Arcade 12.4%, Action 7.9%

Fact: everything is better with lasers. So we put lasers on over 30 angry giant insects who want to stop you, Space Moth, from escaping Earth and going to the Moon. Show them who's boss and blast your way into space! (Check out the all new SPACE MOTH: LUNAR EDITION, linked below!)

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 35.2%, Bullet Hell 25.3%, Arcade 12.1%, Difficult 11.5%, Action 7.4%

Beginner friendly 2D vertical and horizontal retro-style little shoot 'em up. Colourful stages with sound and vision inspired by the golden age of video gaming. Totally free introduction to the world of Shmups and Bullet Hell Games!

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 25.7%, 1980s 19.9%, 1990's 18.6%, Bullet Hell 16.4%, Arcade 10.2%

Buzz Kill™ Zero takes gameplay influenced from retro 80's arcades & blends it with elements of modern bullet-hells. Use your ship's weapons & abilities to conquer the 5 Missions... & everyone else's scores on the leaderboards!

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 32%, Bullet Hell 20.7%, Difficult 15.2%, Arcade 10.9%, Action 10.8%

The sequel of the famous Shoot'em up from the Visco studio is back, 30 years after the first opus, released exclusively on Neo-Geo MVS and Neo-Geo AES in 1992 . It's time to bring out your good old battle ship in ANDRO DUNOS 2!

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 42.3%, Bullet Hell 24.3%, Difficult 15.2%, Arcade 12%, Action 4.2%

A short space shooter game that you can finish in your break time with beginner-friendly gameplay and some special features.

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 25.4%, Bullet Hell 22.4%, 1980s 15.1%, Arcade 13.4%, 1990's 12.4%

METAL CRISIS is a side-scrolling shoot 'em up inspired by 3D space shooters of the 90s. Pilot the most advanced ship Earth has created capable of acquiring enemy weapons as you battle through hordes of fighters and hulking bosses in it's war against the space colonies rebellion.

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 34.3%, Bullet Hell 24.5%, 1990's 21.3%, Arcade 9%, Action 4.4%

Blast off as a little star trying to rid the cosmos of angry celestial beings in Feeble Light, a 3-tone pixel art shoot’em up where minimalistic presentation makes way for precision controls and fluid animation!

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 37.6%, Bullet Hell 27.2%, Arcade 12.4%, 1990's 12.1%, Action 5.4%

A retro-style classic side-scrolling shoot ’em up. Fly Super Arcade Boy through 8 levels, blast enemy waves, grab power-ups, and take down bosses.

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 28%, Bullet Hell 18.1%, 1980s 17.1%, 1990's 15%, Arcade 10.5%

Shmup. Unlock. Customise. Experiment. Upgrade. Basilisk. Petrify. Easy.

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 22.1%, Bullet Hell 18.5%, 1980s 15.6%, Minimalist 13.7%, 1990's 13.1%

Evade is a fast paced bullet hell shooter focused on dodging attack patterns made of hundreds, even thousands of bullets. Shoot your way through over 30 different bosses, and recruit defeated enemies as powerful assists.

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 41.6%, Bullet Hell 29%, Difficult 19.1%, Action 6.9%, Indie 3.4%

A minimalistic 2D shoot-em-up, based on dodging bullets.

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 34.9%, Bullet Hell 32.9%, Minimalist 11.9%, Arcade 11.8%, Action 5.3%

Classic 2D shoot em up with updated graphics. Dodge a storm of bullets as you blast through space shooting hordes of enemies. Collect powerups to survive against fearsome bosses. Pilot a suicide runner as you fight to unravel the mystery of what is destroying the universe.

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 32.5%, Bullet Hell 21.6%, 1990's 13.4%, Arcade 13.2%, Action 7.3%

R-Type and R-Type II, the legendary coin-op space shooters, are now together on Steam!

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 45.1%, Classic 24.6% ★, Arcade 13.4%, Action 6.8%, Difficult 6.7%

SkiFree meets Survivors! Shred down a procedural mountain, blasting monsters to hard-rock Christmas tunes. Dodge trees, jump enemies, and yes—you can run over squirrels. Fast-paced winter chaos for any season!

Why similar: Bullet Hell 22%, Shoot 'Em Up 21.8%, 1980s 16.3%, 1990's 12%, Arcade 11%

Blaze through 7 action packed levels in this sci-fi shoot 'em up made to test even the toughest of shmup veterans. No tricks and no gimmicks; all you have is your raw skill. Board the Phoenix G7, and blast those alien lifeforms to interstellar space!

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 32.4%, Bullet Hell 26.7%, Arcade 15.7%, 1990's 15.2%, Action 8%

Take control of a hyper radical super-powered gunboat, and battle enemy drones through intense naval warfare! With stunning retro graphics, and chaotic enemy AI, this game will keep you on the edge of your seat! Prepare for waves of enemies, and unleash your thunder!

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 23.4%, Bullet Hell 19.9%, 1980s 18.6%, 1990's 15.3%, Arcade 11.8%

Embark on a retro-shoot-'em-up task to fight space pirates, industrial equipment, archeotech and, probably, space gods. Engage enemies in increasingly cruel levels, fight vile bosses, uncover secrets and pursue the call of ancient technologies.

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 32.5%, Bullet Hell 22.9%, Arcade 12.7%, Minimalist 12.1%, 1980s 11.9%

First appearing in arcades in 1981, the masterpiece GALAGA finally comes to Steam! Move the fighter left and right and destroy the waves of incoming aliens!

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 36.3%, Classic 34.8% ★, Arcade 17.1%, Action 5.4%, Retro 4.7%

Inspired by the heyday of 8-bit arcade gaming, Crome: Before Purgatory is an intense space shoot em' up experience. Play as the Galactic Consul's best star pilot, Crome, and fend off endless the hoards of invaders while competing for the top score on the global leaderboard.

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 34.3%, Bullet Hell 20.4%, Difficult 15%, Arcade 11.6%, Action 9.8%

PING! brings together classic arcade like games with roguelike progression.

Why similar: Bullet Hell 23.6%, 1980s 18.9%, Minimalist 15.7%, 1990's 15.6%, Arcade 14.4%

COMMANDER BULLET is out to safe the UNIVERSE!

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 35.5%, Bullet Hell 24.2%, Difficult 15.6%, Arcade 10.1%, Action 4.6%

CRUST PUNK SHOOT 'EM UP. BLAST BEAT BULLET HELL. HARDCORE ANARCHO ARCADE ACTION. BRUTAL, BLEAK, SHORT AND INTENSE. NO SCORE, NO LEADERBOARDS, NO GODS, NO MASTERS. CAVE MEETS NAPALM DEATH.

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 31%, Bullet Hell 29.1%, Minimalist 17.1%, 1980s 14.4%, Action 6.1%

Addictive fast-paced shoot-em-up with beautiful 3D graphics and an amazing soundtrack. 5 ships to choose from and 5 action-packed Stages.

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 43.5%, Bullet Hell 30.7%, Arcade 13.5%, Action 8%, Indie 4.3%

Fight, fly, flourish! BLUE REVOLVER is a manic arcade-style shoot-em-up built for newcomers and psychos alike. Powerful special weapons cut through tough areas, while an adaptive difficulty system tailors the game to your skill level as you evade and counter a maniac environmental force!

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 48.3%, Bullet Hell 29.8%, Arcade 9.7%, Difficult 5.1%, Action 3.6%

Experience the epic conclusion of Toaplan's legendary shooter series with Batsugun including the lauded Special version! Choose your favorite character and spaceship in this thrilling genre-defining bullet-hell action. Now on PC with modern enhancements!

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 36.1%, Bullet Hell 28%, Arcade 14.6%, 1990's 12.4%, Action 4.3%

A Brutal, Roguelite Arcade Blaster. Similar in style and gameplay to arcade classics like Asteroids and Defender.

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 27.6%, Bullet Hell 24.6%, Minimalist 16%, Arcade 14.9%, Action 8%

AWA 2024 is a fast paced shoot-em-up featuring modern military aircraft. Choose one of the ten fighter aircraft and take the battle to the skies throughout nine action-packed stages each with their own special end-level boss.

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 32.7%, Bullet Hell 18.4%, 1980s 16.4%, Arcade 13.5%, 1990's 12.9%

Classic Japanese style vertical manic shooting action! Shoot, dodge and explode your way through the second entry in the critically acclaimed Danmaku Unlimited series. Battle through nail-biting bullet patterns and compete for dominance on the global leaderboard!

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 43.9%, Bullet Hell 42.2%, Arcade 7.2%, Action 4.1%, Indie 2.6%

The Zanac battle, which was supposed to have ended, was not over. To suppress the reactivated organic intelligence, Zanac takes flight once again!

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 31.4%, Bullet Hell 21.9%, 1980s 19.2%, Arcade 14.9%, Action 8.3%

Legendary shoot-'em-up makes its way on the PCs! Abundant explosions, truly epic boss fights and beautifully crafted 3D environments are here to keep you entertained. Sky Force Anniversary offers single player experience and local cooperative mode for 2 players.

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 40.8%, Bullet Hell 25.3%, Classic 14% ★, Arcade 10.4%, Action 4.5%

Gunvein is a dynamic, aggression-based bullet hell shoot em up where you use lock on lasers, charged weapons, bombs & hypers to overwhelm the enemies before they overwhelm you.

Why similar: Shoot 'Em Up 46.4%, Bullet Hell 30.5%, Arcade 14.5%, Action 6.5%, 2D 2.1%