The 10 most promising shooters releasing in 2024

Helldivers 2

This is Helldivers 2: Helldivers 2 is a co-op shooter that will be released in February 2024 for PlayStation 5 and PC. You join a squad of up to four players and fight together for peace in the galaxy.

The shooter features a sci-fi setting and lets you fight against a variety of different aliens – for example, gigantic bugs. You want to instill democracy in these alien bugs – yes, that’s really part of the game description on Steam.

So you arm yourself with futuristic equipment and bring peace to the galaxy through firepower. Or to quote the developers: You alone decide how to spread freedom: with explosive weapons, life-saving armor, and battle-deciding tactical gear.

In other words, this means: You can customize your equipment. It’s up to you whether you wear light armor to remain agile or if you play the tank role with heavy armor.

What do we expect from Helldivers 2? Humor. We expect a heavy dose of humor. Anything else would be surprising given the descriptions of the game.

Furthermore, we expect an action-packed shooter, where cooperative gameplay is primarily in focus. We expect less of an emotional and gripping story, a suffocating atmosphere, or profound characters here.

But: Fans of the sci-fi setting can still look forward to conquering the hostile planets and fending off alien invasions.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2

This is S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: With S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, the famous survival shooter from 2007 finally gets a successor. After the highly anticipated title was postponed multiple times, it is finally set to release in 2024. Originally, March 30 was planned as the release date, but the developers have delayed the release of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. to September 5, 2024.

In S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, you will again find yourself in Chernobyl, where years ago an atomic disaster occurred that created strange anomalies. Since then, the flora and fauna have mutated, and the city of Pripyat is an absolute military exclusion zone. The setting is dark, the atmosphere suffocating, and at times you will feel like you are in an Eastern European horror film.

The gameplay of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 will include not only shooter action – you will have access to over 30 weapons with modifications – but also survival elements. You need to pay attention to your hunger and sleep, treat injuries, and protect yourself from radioactive radiation.

In addition to the non-linear single-player story, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 will also feature a multiplayer mode. This will be added to the game shortly after release as a free update (via stalker2.com)

What do we expect from S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2? We expect exactly what made the first part outstanding: A dark sci-fi scenario with dangerous mutants and an oppressive atmosphere, an engaging story, and a genre mix of shooter, survival, and horror.

Moreover, we can expect full mod support. The developers have already announced this. The game can therefore be supplied by the community with content and improvements for years after the release.

The First Descendant

This is The First Descendant: The First Descendant is a loot shooter developed by the Korean studio Nexon, which will be released as a F2P title on Steam, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S and is based on Unreal Engine 5.

The shooter relies on a sci-fi setting where you have to fight against nasty alien beings. These evil aliens are called Vulgus and sacrificed humans or conducted experiments on them after humanity emerged as the loser from a battle against the invaders.

However, humans found a power in ancient ruins with which they could launch a counter-attack and finally resist. You take on the role of the so-called “Descendants,” who possess special abilities.

What do we expect from The First Descendant? We expect essentially a mix of Destiny and Warframe, as The First Descendant focuses on a sci-fi setting, heaps of loot, co-op gameplay with up to 4 players, and evil aliens.

It is played like in Warframe from a third-person perspective, with movement featuring a grappling hook as a highlight of the gameplay. You should not expect cover mechanics like in Outriders or The Division.

Foamstars

This is Foamstars: In Foamstars, you compete in 4vs4 matches against other players, but instead of using regular firearms, you shoot colorful foam at your opponents. The gameplay is reminiscent of Splatoon 3 (and its predecessors), which is only playable on Nintendo Switch.

Overall, the title is very colorful and completely avoids blood, real weapons, or dismemberment.

Currently, we know of eight different characters that will be playable in Foamstars. Each of these characters has their own foam weapon and unique abilities. Two different game modes are already known:

• Smash The Star
  • After seven opposing players have been eliminated, the best player of the opposing team is named the “Star Player”. To win, you must protect your team’s Star Player and eliminate the opposing team’s.
• Happy Bath Survival
  • A battle where two players are placed inside the arena and two outside the arena. To win, you must eliminate the opponents inside the arena. The match continues until both fighters of one team are eliminated. The two players outside the arena can support their allies. A match lasts a maximum of three rounds, and the team that wins two rounds first wins.

What do we expect from Foamstars? We expect a colorful shooter that may also appeal to younger players. The game will likely target a similar audience to Splatoon. The shooter on the Switch is primarily interesting for casual gamers who want to have a fun round with friends without the strongest competitive mindset.

Therefore, Foamstars might also be more interesting for casual rounds with friends and not necessarily aimed at players who want to climb leaderboards or participate in esports. Fans of realistic, dark, or hardcore shooters are unlikely to be interested either.

Ashfall

This is Ashfall: Ashfall takes place in a post-apocalyptic future where an artificial intelligence has instigated a nuclear war against humanity. The war leaves a trail of destruction. Only ruins of the once magnificent human buildings remain.

Now it is up to you to leave the safety-providing Vault and search the world for the Core of Creation. For this is a key that can help you save the world.

What do we expect? A special aspect of Ashfall should be the changing setting, with each area dedicated to a different theme, creating a “distinct cultural ambiance.” So we can hopefully expect a variety of different biomes.

Since Ashfall calls itself an MMORPG shooter, we expect, in addition to the shooter gameplay and RPG mechanics, the gathering of many players on a map.

The shooter gameplay will be expressed in a third-person perspective with cover mechanics – similar to The Division or Outriders. However, we expect the enemies to be genuine bullet sponges.