Summary
The bullet hell genre is a staple of arcade gaming and modern indie games.Bullet hell gamesgenerally task players with frantically avoiding swarms of bullets while attempting to defeat enemies and often bosses, usually giving the player some kind of movement ability like a dodge roll or dash to help them survive.
The genre itself is generally considereda sub-genre of shoot-em-ups, but more modern games manage to apply the gameplay of bullet hell games to other structures, too, such as RPGs, boss-rush games, and - more often than not - rogue-lites.
Updated on June 22, 2025, by Harry Ted Sprinks:The bullet hell genre has always been popular among indie games and is especially prevalent in top-down shooters. Action rogue-lite games are becoming increasingly popular, with iconic games such as Risk of Rain warranting both a sequel and a remake of the original and an already anticipated sequel on its way for Supergiant’s massively popular Hades. However, it could be argued that it’s classic bullet hell games like Nuclear Throne and Enter The Gungeon that continue to inspire new bullet hell experiences years after their popularity peaked, influencing one of indie gaming’s most widespread genres.
This third-person shooter takes bullet hell gameplay and combines it with 3D environments, giving players more options for movement.Returnalis a rogue-lite, using a time loop as its thematic reason for the game’s structure.
Returnalcan be extremely intense, tasking players with jumping, dashing, and sprinting around to avoid the game’s overwhelming number of bullets. The game features a variety of alien creatures, as well as difficult bosses to overcome. Throughout the title, players can explore to find tech that enables them to upgrade their abilities for future runs, and the game also features a strong narrative that helps to keep fans engaged.
14Archvale - A Combination Of Top-Down Shooter And RPG Bullet Hell
Steam User Rating: 89%
Thisbeautiful pixel-artfantasy game combines an RPG structure with bullet hell combat across a campaign with a variety of environments, enemies, and weapons. The game also features dungeons for the player to explore and conquer, as well as a crafting system and various bosses.
Archvalealsofeatures local co-opand a hard mode for those who want to squeeze more play-time out of the game. Fans ofEnter the Gungeonand other bullet hell games who are looking for a longer experience with exploration, crafting, and RPG progression are likely to enjoyArchvaletremendously.
This twin-stick sword-fighting shooter is a 3D, fast-paced boss rush game that has players battling various unique bullet hell bosses one after the other, learning their patterns and mastering their various phases to beat them.
Furihas players dashing to avoid hundreds of bullets, switching between gunplay and swordplay, and doing all of it to the sound of an original electronic soundtrack. Each boss battle is also broken up by short scenes of dialogue that provide a vague narrative, offering some context to the game’s fighting.
12Rogue Star Rescue - A Niche Combination Of Tower Defense And Bullet Hell
Steam User Rating: 93%
Rogue Star Rescuecombines top-down shooter and bullet hell gameplay with tower defense elements, offering a truly unique experience. This blend of genres creates a uniquely strategic and engaging experience, though it can be slower-paced than other bullet hell games.
WhileRogue Star Rescuedoes feature tower defense elements, it is first and foremost a top-down shooter, much in the vein of games such asEnter The Gungeon.Rogue Star Rescuetasks players with exploring levels, dodging bullets with their jet-pack, and fighting off a variety of enemies with a broad selection of guns.
This unique mash-up of the rogue-lite and Metroidvania genres has players performing ina fun and simple mini-gameto tame various fantastical beasts. Once tamed, these beasts can then be mounted by the player to access their unique powers.
InPatch Quest, players venture out into the wild, fighting andtaming the world’s quirky creatureswhile avoiding a plethora of bullets. What makesPatch Questgreat, though, is that the way the player maneuvers around the game’s bullet hell changes depending on what mount they’re using, and there are a lot of mounts available. The game also features various bosses, as well as shortcuts to find and power-ups to unlock in true Metroidvania fashion.
This wildly successful bullet-hell is a top-down shooter rogue-lite published by Devolver Digital, featuring charming pixel art and a gun-themed take on classic fantasy dungeons.Enter the Gungeongives players access to a massive roster of weaponry, a dodge roll, and limited-use “blanks” that allow them to clear bullets from the screen.
Enter the Gungeonfeatures a variety of unique floors, enemies, and bosses, as well as plenty of different playable characters that each have their own unique weapons and equipment. Each character also has a unique secret boss, makingEnter the Gungeonone of the most replayable bullet hell games on the market.
9Asterogues - A Pixel-Art Bullet Hell With A Unique Roster Of Characters
Steam User Rating: 96%
This cosmic-themed top-down shooter features challenging bullet hell gameplay and a broad selection of playable characters. It’s this roster of characters that makesAsteroguesunique, with each character having a distinct style.
Outside its playable characters and unique theme,Asteroguesis a fairly standard action rogue-lite. However, even in its Early Access state,Asteroguesdisplays a high level of polish and replay value, making it one of the more promising Early Access bullet hell games on Steam.
Thiswildly popular indie RPGis more revered for its storytelling, NPCs, and player freedom than it is for its bullet-hell gameplay, butUndertale’s combat is undeniably bullet-hell. Even though combat is far fromUndertale’s primary focus, its various encounters often make for challenging and rewarding experiences.
Undertaleis notorious for its passive and aggressive playstyles in which players must decide to either kill their foes or talk them down, with the latter being much harder to do. This is because talking enemies down requires players to survive that enemy’s unique bullet hell attacks. Unlike most bullet hell games, players can’t fight back inUndertaleand are instead forced to avoid bullets of all shapes and sizes in a cramped environment.
This action rogue-lite remains visually pleasing despite its minimal art style and contains a hefty amount of depth and strategy with its variety of upgrades in the form of several mini-skill trees. Players acquire several skills throughout each run, all of which allow them to fine-tune and customize their spaceship.
InNova Drift, players are given an incredible amount of variety and customization with which to construct their build, and many of the upgrades are game-changing and immediately noticeable, allowing gamers to create builds that incentivize different playstyles. This, combined with the game’s arcade nature, makesNova Driftone of the best bullet hell games out there.
This action rogue-lite takes the stats and weapon-scaling ofRPGs likeDark Soulsand combines it with bullet hell gameplay in a simple room-by-room structure that has players choosing which rewards they want to fight for, similar to games likeHades. Like many bullet hell games,Tiny Roguesfeatures a dodge move, though this time, it’s tied to a stamina system that players have to manage.
Tiny Roguesfeatures a broad variety of enemies and bosses across multiple floors, several unique unlockable classes and trinkets, and a massive variety of weapons and other equipment that allows players to create unique builds every run.
