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indielist (beta)

The best shoot 'em up indie games, ranked by reviews

5 min read for players

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Data report Built from live indielist data on 2026-09-07. Rankings update as data changes.

indielist tracks 26 shoot 'em up indie games on Steam, holding 294,837 reviews at an average of 92% positive. This list ranks them by Steam review count, the most reliable public sales proxy, with a white-box sales estimate behind every title. The most reviewed is Cuphead with 198,376 reviews. Figures are tracked by indielist; sales numbers are estimates that each expand into their full formula.

The ranking

  1. Cuphead · 198,376 reviews · 96% positive · 2017
  2. 20 Minutes Till Dawn · 27,838 reviews · 90% positive · 2023
  3. Nova Drift · 14,575 reviews · 96% positive · 2024
  4. Furi · 11,233 reviews · 90% positive · 2016
  5. HARD BULLET · 6,545 reviews · 83% positive · 2020
  6. Beat Hazard · 5,073 reviews · 95% positive · 2010
  7. Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime · 3,365 reviews · 93% positive · 2015
  8. Star of Providence · 3,175 reviews · 97% positive · 2017
  9. The Citadel · 2,605 reviews · 93% positive · 2020
  10. Mirage Feathers · 2,540 reviews · 98% positive · 2024
  11. Ikaruga · 2,193 reviews · 95% positive · 2014
  12. ZeroRanger · 2,032 reviews · 96% positive · 2018
  13. NIMRODS · 1,779 reviews · 85% positive · 2024
  14. The Void Rains Upon Her Heart · 1,647 reviews · 99% positive · 2018
  15. Touhou Fuujinroku ~ Mountain of Faith. · 1,613 reviews · 98% positive · 2020
  16. Touhou Kanjuden ~ Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom. · 1,511 reviews · 98% positive · 2019
  17. Beat Hazard 2 · 1,397 reviews · 86% positive · 2019
  18. Badlands Crew - Drive, Command, Conquer · 1,123 reviews · 79% positive · 2025
  19. Ex-Zodiac · 1,089 reviews · 94% positive · 2022
  20. Touhou Kikeijuu ~ Wily Beast and Weakest Creature. · 1,025 reviews · 97% positive · 2019

How this list is built

Games are ranked by Steam review count, the most reliable public proxy for sales when actual figures are private. Each title links to its indielist page, where the white-box sales estimate expands into the full Boxleiter formula, so you can audit the number rather than trust a black box. Review counts come from Steam; sales figures are estimates, not official sales data.

Want the underlying estimate for your own game? Try the sales estimator, or browse the full game directory.