Hello, friends. It’s time yet again for a list of good Nintendo Switch games for reasonable prices. This time around, we’re wading into the extremely crowded waters of the shoot-em-up genre. Per the usual rules, the regular price of the game has to be under ten United States dollars, which is only the barest of restrictions for this genre. Seriously, I had twenty games even on my short list and needed to chop it down. For now I’ve narrowed things down to ten fun games you can pick up for under ten bucks. We’ll go through my picks one by one in no particular order. On to the games!
Danmaku Unlimited 3 ($9.99)
I’m trying to present a varied assortment in this list, but we’re going to have at least a few bullet hell games. Danmaku Unlimited 3 is an exceptional, pure take on the concept that manages to tease a lot of style out of a rather minimalistic presentation. The gameplay mechanics are polished to a shine, and they’ll keep you coming back again and again to try to up your scores.
AngerForce: Reloaded ($9.99)
Another vertical shooter, and another one with plenty of bullets to spare. Choose from a handful of wacky characters and head out on an intense journey through several awesome stages. The enemy patterns are a lot of fun, and the boss battles have a pleasing kick to them. The developers clearly had Cave’s excellent output on their mind as they made this, and they did a pretty good job of offering up a strong homage. The original version of this game is almost ten years old as of the time of this writing, but it feels like it could have showed up this week.
Capcom Arcade Stadium: Progear ($1.99)
Initially I didn’t see a way to include any actual Cave games on this list, and then I remembered this gem that you can buy separately in Capcom Arcade Stadium. Although Cave is probably best known for its vertical shooters, it was no less skilled at putting together an epic horizontal experience. Progear was its first effort of that sort, and it’s remarkably enjoyable. Its fascinating steampunk presentation really makes it stand out, but it’s the outstanding gameplay that will keep you coming back.
rRootage Reloaded ($5.00)
This one is aimed at the genre purists more than anyone else, but if you’re in that number you’ll find a lot to enjoy here. This is actually a remake of a 2003 indie shooter, and using its versatile building blocks it offers different modes that evoke Psyvariar, Ikaruga, and Giga Wing. It might not look as fancy as some of the other games in this list, but in terms of bang for your buck it’s hard to beat. There’s so much variety here mechanically that you can play for hours upon hours and still not get tired of it.
Sky Force Anniversary ($9.99)
Okay, I promised a bit of an assortment, and here we go. Unlike other games on this list so far, Sky Force Anniversary isn’t a bullet hell game. Indeed, this game doesn’t draw much from Japanese shoot-em-ups at all. Instead, it can trace its origins to the kind of shooter that was popular on European computers back in the day. Lots of grinding, lots of upgrading, and a bunch of additional objectives and systems to deal with. It’s not really the kind of game you aim to keep trying to better your scores on, but it’s quite compelling anyway.
Missile Dancer ($9.99)
Indie developer TERARIN makes all kinds of fun shoot-em-ups, but this is the only one you can get for under ten bucks. He seems to have a real affection for PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 shooters, especially the ones with interesting scoring systems and timed caravan modes. Missile Dancer features a cool lock-on system that encourages the player to get up close to the enemies, and there’s a strong emphasis on chaining kills to drive up your score. That’s really the core of the game, so if you’re not interested in score-chasing then you might want to check out a different game on the list.
Project Starship X ($9.99)
This one offers up a roguelite spin on the genre, mixing things up in a pleasing way to keep you on your toes. It also leans hard into its characters and sense of humor, so if you need that extra bit of mustard on your shooting games you’ll find it here. There are a lot of ideas packed into this game, and you pretty much never run out of things to do thanks to how cleverly it mixes and matches its large variety of elements. Those aspects make it less enjoyable as a score attacker, but it gets by more than fine on its own qualities.
Asteroids: Recharged ($9.99)
I want to pay a little respect to one of the earlier names in the genre, and you can’t get much earlier than Atari. Asteroids has remained one of the company’s most enduring games, and this Recharged version adds a few interesting new elements to the game to spice things up. At the same time, it doesn’t abandon the things that make Asteroids so good. The Recharged line sometimes feels like it’s forcing its additions to the classics, but it feels fully natural here. A very different kind of game from the others on this list, but there’s nothing wrong with that.
Arcade Archives Gradius II ($7.99)
Okay, I’m cashing in my “one Arcade Archives" pick now. There are tons of shoot-em-ups on Arcade Archives, and it is to an extent a dream for fans of the genre. I could easily pick twenty great games from there, but I’ve decided Gradius II is the one. It’s as tough as the old boots that it is, but the sheer satisfaction of its adventure, from the sights and sounds to the wild set pieces and challenging enemies, makes it one to own. You’ll be glad if you pick up this Grad…ius. There, now you know the right pronunciation. Enjoy the game!
SEGA AGES Lightening Force ($7.99)
That name change still boggles my brain. Well, this is the fourth Thunder Force game. It was originally released on the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive, and M2 was tasked with bringing it to the Switch via the amazing SEGA AGES line. This was one of the first releases in that line, and it showed the level of quality M2 intended to put into SEGA AGES. You can play the game in its original form in amazing fashion, or you can make use of some of the fun additions and options to mix things up. SEGA’s 16-bit console had a ton of great shooters, and this is one of the finest.
And that will do it for this list. Do you have any favorite Nintendo Switch shoot-em-up games under ten dollars that aren’t here? If so, please share them in the comments below. At the end of the day, the point of these articles is to find more cool games to play, so adding to the list is a win-win proposition for all of us. Thanks for reading!
