Run and gun shooters are something of a gaming staple over the decades. Thanks to Contra and Metal Slug, it has been a staple of both arcades and consoles alike -- with Contra in particular having an interesting journey from arcade to console. It went from a middling arcade game to a beloved console game and led to the Metal Slug series kind of taking over as the dominant arcade run and gun franchise for about a decade, with Contra taking over consoles and PC shooters. Newcomers, however, have entered the fray and allowed the genre to have fresh takes over the years.
Blast Off Baddies
Duck Game enabled players to have a lighter tone and more difficulty options alongside things like turbo as an option and Iron Meat blends some of that game's accessibility with a darker look and feel. It very much feels like a Blasphemous-style world blended with Contra gameplay and it's an interesting mix. There's still a lot of real-world settings in use, but they all have a blood red sky or dark motif to them to add a sense of horror to the action. The darker look is counterbalanced with bright ammo that makes it...