Best Bullet Hell Games

Based on critic scores and popularity, the top bullet hell games right now are Risk of Rain 2, Ball x Pit, and Vampire Survivors. The list updates every day as prices and new releases come in.

Bullet hell (also called "danmaku") started with Japanese arcade shoot 'em ups, where enemies fill the screen with huge patterns of bullets. Your ship usually has a tiny hitbox, so it can squeeze through gaps that look impossible. The Touhou series is one of the most famous examples, and Psyvariar 3 even rewards you for grazing bullets as closely as you dare.

Lots - the idea has spread to many genres. Enter the Gungeon and The Binding of Isaac are roguelike dungeon crawlers full of bullet patterns, Furi is a stylish boss-rush of sword fights and bullet storms, and Undertale and Deltarune turn RPG battles into small bullet hell puzzles. Rabi-Ribi mixes it with a metroidvania.

Assault Android Cactus is a fast twin-stick shooter for up to four players on one screen, and NeuroVoider lets you build your own robot and blast through procedurally generated levels with friends. For more games to play together, see our Co-op Games list.

They look impossible at first, but the patterns are designed to be learned - and many games have easier modes or extra lives to get you started. If you love a challenge, check out our Difficult Games list, and if you like runs that are different every time, see Roguelike Games.