Best On-Rails Shooter Games on Steam
Shooters where movement follows a fixed path while the player aims and fires.
Browse all On-Rails Shooter →
1Aperture Desk Job - Introducing Aperture Desk Job — a free playable short made for the Steam Deck, set in the universe of the modestly popular Portal games.
Mar 1, 2022
In this game, you can…
- use gyro aiming and touchpad pressure as the game mirrors your Steam Deck inputs on-screen.
- trigger a singing toilet, then keep flushing until the joke becomes a whole set piece.
- hear Cave Johnson show up, voiced by J.K. Simmons, to drag your tiny assignment into Portal lore.
- press buttons at a desk to test toilets at Aperture Science.
- watch your desk job spiral into an escalating Aperture corporate pitch that keeps getting weirder.
- turn disobeying instructions into bonus voice lines from irritated characters.
- go from low-level desk worker to getting fired for causing workplace chaos.
- drop into a surprisingly fun little shooting gallery in the middle of the tutorial.
2Pistol Whip - Enter: the ultimate action hero. Pistol Whip is a physical action-rhythm game where film-inspired gunplay and blood-pumping beats collide. Blast, duck and dodge your way through fever dream Scenes, build unique rhythms in a ballet of bullets and claim glory on the leaderboards. Includes mod support!
Nov 7, 2019
In this game, you can…
- fly through a level as bullets crawl past your face, dodging shots and firing back at the enemies who shot first.
- shoot on the beat for score, timing trigger pulls to the song so accuracy and rhythm both decide your run.
- pistol-whip enemies up close for a high-value kill that can restore your shield if you risk letting them get near.
- twist, crouch, and squat nonstop to survive, because shots only count if they hit your head or face.
- dual-wield pistols, switching between single-gun runs and two-gun chaos depending on how you want to play.
- turn off auto-aim and force yourself to land every hit manually, turning the same scenes into a harsher precision challenge.
- step and weave around pillars and low overhangs while dodging bullets, in tight on-rails scenes that make you clear real space.
- play custom levels and remixes with community songs, constantly swapping in stranger, harder, or more personal setups.
- chase daily challenges and leaderboards, replaying the same track as a score attack until you beat your own best.
3killer7 - Sneak into a world of underground assassins as Harman Smith, a man who manifests 7 deadly personalities, the killer7. Take control of this distinct murderers' row as they hunt down the sinister Kun Lan to thwart his plan of world dominance.
Nov 15, 2018
In this game, you can…
- manifest seven distinct killer personas and swap between them on demand to handle fights and puzzles differently.
- fight invisible enemies that just walk up to you and explode on contact, forcing you to reveal and pop their weak point fast.
- solve mysteries by doing persona-specific acts like slitting your own wrists to trigger an ability, or headbutting a bullet out of the air to progress.
- scan empty air to reveal invisible enemies, expose their weak spots, and drop them with a single well-placed shot.
- move through levels on fixed routes, hit intersections to pick branches, then snap into first-person aiming whenever you choose to engage.
- shoot exposed weak spots to drain thick blood, then spend that blood to upgrade your different personas and unlock new abilities.
- talk to the ghostly spirits of people you already killed, and get hints and story from the remnants living in your head.
- enter surreal locations like a western town that worships a movie star as a god, then hunt for secrets while the place keeps changing the rules.
4Blue Estate The Game - Blue Estate is a black-humoured and corrosive rail shooter, adapted from the critically acclaimed and Eisner Award nominated graphic novel, Blue Estate by Viktor Kalvachev!
Apr 8, 2015
In this game, you can…
- fight steroid-charged chihuahuas that leap on you and mess up your aim.
- fight a bra-wearing Kim Jong Il impersonator who does Matrix-style kung fu as a boss.
- swipe to grab ammo and health, reflect incoming projectiles, and melee enemies mid-fight.
- rack up 15–20 headshots in a row to keep a combo alive.
- use a warning icon that turns jagged right before an enemy fires, giving you a split-second to react.
- jump between cover and scenery, shooting hidden bonuses tucked into the environment for extra points.
- chain weapon pickups until kills unlock stronger guns, eventually upgrading to a golden AK-47.
- play local co-op where it's still one rail-shooter path, just with two guns and separate health bars.
- set off environmental chain reactions by shooting bombs near enemies or popping bee hives so a swarm attacks them.
5IS Defense - „IS Defense” is a game set in politically-fictional 2020 – where the expansion of ISIS went out of hand. The player takes the role of NATO’s stationary machine-gun operator, deployed to defend the shores of Europe.
Apr 19, 2016
In this game, you can…
- call in supply crates, infantry squads, artillery, airstrikes, and helicopter support as your kill meter fills.
- watch wrecked vehicles keep rolling, then have enemies jump in and keep fighting from the same damaged truck.
- shoot a suicide bomber and have the blast take out his whole nearby squad.
- choose between ammo and medkit drops, friendly infantry, or saving up for a bigger airstrike from one shared support meter.
- max out upgrades until your mounted machine gun becomes a no-reload weapon with explosive rounds.
- turn a lane into a crater field by stacking artillery rain, helicopter fire, and your own machine-gun bursts on the same wave.
- survive long enough on one map for the weather to change while the battlefield fills with burning wrecks and smoke.
6Rez Infinite - The legendary action-shooter finally comes to PC, and in style! Blast your way through mind-melting visuals and amazing beats, all in your quest through cyberspace to save a world on the verge of collapse. Playable on your desktop or in fully immersive VR.
Aug 9, 2017
In this game, you can…
- lock onto eight targets at once, charge your shot, then release a burst that drops percussion into the soundtrack.
- leave the rails in Area X and move forward and backward, steer freely, and sometimes fly in any direction through the level.
- use a second controller as a dedicated rumble device, set it on a chair behind you, and feel the music shake your whole setup.
- shoot down enemy bullets mid-flight, turning firefights into a back-and-forth of locking targets, clearing volleys, and keeping the music building.
- play in VR and look around a full 360-degree space while the entire world of particles and backgrounds swirls and pulses to the beat.
- chase mastery endings by hitting near-perfect shot-down ratings, including unlocking the white or pink butterfly ending with precise aiming.
- dive into giant transforming boss fights where the screen floods with targets and the soundtrack ramps up with each phase.
7Ex-Zodiac - A fast-paced low-poly 3D rail shooter heavily inspired by classics of the early 90's. Join protagonist Kyuu as she fights to free the worlds of the Sanzaru Star System, overrun by the intergalactic terrorist organization known as Zodiac.
Jul 21, 2022
In this game, you can…
- hunt down hidden data in main stages to unlock bonus levels that switch you into a different character, different controls, and a boss fight.
- toggle the whole game into extreme retro modes, like running at 60, 20, or 15 FPS and swapping to a 4:3-style presentation.
- hit bonus missions that turn into Space Harrier-style stages where you fly as Kyuu with a giant cannon and a different moveset.
- lock onto multiple enemies at once, then choose between dumping a stacked missile burst into one target or spreading it across a crowd.
- play the score like a routing puzzle, chaining enemies and timing bombs for big bonuses instead of just trying to survive.
- drop into all-range, 360-degree arena missions where you defend in every direction instead of staying on rails.
- do a full speeder-bike stage that plays like a completely different kind of mission from the starship levels.
- remap and tune your ship controls heavily, with options like mouse aiming, auto-fire, auto-centering, sensitivity tweaks, boosts, rolls, and bombs.
8Dimension Tripper Neptune: TOP NEP - Older Neptune and friends shoot and slash through enemies of Gamindustri in this rail shooter!
Jan 20, 2022
In this game, you can…
- duel bosses with distinct gimmicks, including one that pelts you with CDs and RCA cables.
- shoot at range while also slashing up close to clear nearby hazards and wipe away bullets.
- steer into special coins to fill a gauge, then trigger a limited-time assist character that jumps in and attacks for you.
- ride an old-school rail shooter run through five themed stages, each ending in a boss fight.
- fight a boss that is literally a giant eggplant.
- play a Mario-like stage where you shoot bricks for coins, summon a partner from the coin chain, then beat the boss to regenerate your health bar.
- play from a behind-the-back corridor view where your character can block the screen, so you reposition constantly just to see ahead.
- chase an online leaderboard route where you need about 180k before the final boss because it supplies the last 20k.
9Mirage Feathers - 「Maybe one day, I won't have to fight when I fly.」
Sep 6, 2024
In this game, you can…
- dive from cloud-filled skies into canyons, ruined cities, and air force bases, then flip into a top-down assault to wipe out tanks, turrets, and takeoff planes.
- play an endless mode with random stages, escalating difficulty, and new upgrades every few stages until you finally die.
- learn new weapon specs mid-run from stronger opponents, unlocking wildly different guns like instant lasers, formation-nuking missiles, and wide-shot plasma.
- sweep your crosshair past enemies and have your shots auto-lock and home in while you focus on dodging.
- trigger overdrive to buff your whole weapon system at once, then burn meter on dodges and special shots to keep the power rolling.
- dodge footbridges, ride the curve of a train tunnel, and slip through a moving boss's laser field while the stage itself tries to hit you.
- buy upgrades that reshape a run, like healing 1% life per enemy killed or stacking boosts until bosses melt in seconds.
- constantly switch between four weapons and use different tools for crowds versus bosses as your loadout evolves.
10Valfaris: Mecha Therion - Therion returns as the hunt for Lord Vroll continues. Pilot an advanced machine of death and destruction in this explosive 2.5D side-scrolling shoot ‘em up, and sequel to the critically acclaimed Valfaris. Strap in and unleash mecha hell!
Nov 21, 2023
In this game, you can…
- slash enemies and even incoming bullets to recharge your guns mid-fight.
- mount a minigun that shoots tormented souls out of your mech.
- destroy checkpoints in challenge mode to squeeze out more Blood of Valfaris for upgrades.
- collect three hidden weapon parts to unlock an endgame secret weapon.
- swap between ranged guns, melee weapons, aux tools, and up to three effect modules to build different loadouts.
- play a challenge mode with lives, score, on-the-fly weapon upgrades, and extra lives earned from score milestones.
- boost and dash to reposition fast and even speed up how quickly stages scroll.
- fight huge bosses where learning patterns lets you outgun them without taking a hit.
