Riding Shotgun

The Contra series has a litany of futuristic weapons to play around with, but the spread shot is the best option for nearly every scenario. Enemies can fly in from all possible directions and you don’t always have time for precision, so a weapon that covers a wide area is always going to come in handy. The gun is effective at close range too, since you’ll be able to land multiple hits with a single shot. Beginning in Contra III, the spread shot became capable of fully automatic fire. This upgrade made an overpowered weapon even more useful. The only reason why it’s slotted in the number ten position is because its classification as a shotgun is debatable. We aren’t given any info about its ammunition or firing mechanisms, but its effect could be likened to a shotgun and it’s often referred to as such within the Contra fandom.

The China Broom is prominently featured on the cover of BioShock Infinite, and there are plenty of reasons why the weapon is so prevalent in the airborne city of Columbia. It’s easy to handle, easy to aim, and the ammunition is easy to come buy. It can kill most enemies with a single shot, and it’s extremely useful at point-blank range. While many shotguns are hampered by long reload times, the China Broom mitigates this issue by allowing you to fire and reload simultaneously! It’s not ideal as a primary weapon – due to it’s limited range and low ammo capacity – but it’s a fantastic backup. When paired with the Bucking Bronco vigor, you’ll be able to levitate your foes and maneuver them around in the air with shotgun blasts. The China Broom also supplements the Sky-Hook nicely since it can quickly eliminate clusters of enemies when they get too close.

I’ve spoken about Kyle “Blackthorne” Vlaros elsewhere on this site, and I’ve even singled him out as one of gaming’s most underrated characters. The stoic mercenary is the embodiment of every cool 1980s action movie trope, and he’s defined by his actions rather than his words. Kyle has hover bombs, levitators, and remote controlled wasps at his disposal, but he relies on his shotgun in most situations. He’s stuck with a basic pump action shotgun in the early goings, but numerous alien upgrades transform it into a fully automatic weapon with explosive shells! Although it proves to be a versatile weapon, it’s position on this list has more to do with the way Kyle uses it. He has enough confidence (and control) to fire behind his back, and this is a useful way to surprise his adversaries. Killing your enemies without even looking at them is the ultimate insult.

In a series where players arm themselves with everything from bazookas to exploding sheep, a simple shotgun seems pretty unremarkable. It’s not especially powerful, after all, and everything about its design is pedestrian at best. Worms is a turn-based strategy game at its core, however, and the shotgun proves to be one of the most useful weapons in the series since it can be fired twice per turn. A direct hit can cut a full health bar in half, and the tactical benefits are too numerous to mention. You could potentially alter the landscape, destroy infrastructure, or clear out dangerous mines before focusing on your enemy with your second shot. You could also miss a shot entirely and still come out ahead. I appreciate the safety net, and having a second shot means that you’ll have twice as many opportunities to send your enemies to a watery grave.

The M90 Close Assault Weapon System is a pump-action shotgun that’s primarily used by the UNSC Marine Corps. It’s a devastating weapon in confined environments, and its powerful 8-gauge shells can efficiently punch through armor or energy shields. It’s slow to reload and ineffective at long ranges, so it’s not the type of weapon that should be fired indiscriminately. It fires fifteen spreading pellets per shot, however, so it can still deal a significant amount of damage even if your aim is off. The M45 Tactical Shotgun from Halo Reach is more powerful and more accurate, but the M90 is being recognized on this list because it’s more iconic. It was prominently featured in the first three Halo campaigns, and was an ideal weapon for dealing with the Flood. It was also a staple of multiplayer matches, and it was especially useful in smaller maps.

The Gnasher shotgun is the standard-issue firearm for Coalition soldiers. The lever-action firearm has a short barrel and no stock, so it stands out from most of the shotguns on this list. It certainly functions like a typical shotgun, of course, and its 12-gauge rounds will scatter after leaving the barrel. It’s easy to aim, quick to reload, and it can eliminate targets with a single shot. It’s virtually useless as a long-range weapon, however, so it encourages players to get up close and personal with their opponents. Gears of War has always tried to emphasize cover-based combat, but the Gnasher prevents multiplayer matches from devolving into tedious trench warfare simulators. It’s an ideal weapon for aggressive players who don’t want to lurk behind barriers all day. In this capacity, it defies the developers’ original vision for the series.

If you were to put the original Quake on a concoction of steroids, cocaine, and Adderall, the end result would look a little something like ULTRAKILL. As you journey through the game’s blood-soaked hellscapes, you’ll find a number of ways to dispatch your demonic foes. Although the weathered, double-barreled shotgun looks unassuming at first, it’s actually an experimental weapon that uses concentrated heat as ammunition. The break-action venting mechanism is largely automated, but the shotgun also has a pump grip that can be used to build heat manually. The shotgun deals significant damage at close range, and it also lends itself to advanced strategies. If you’re quick enough, you can detonate its projectiles mid-air with the revolver to create massive explosions. The shotgun even has a defensive component since it can parry enemy projectiles!

I wasn’t planning on including any real-world firearms on this list, but the Winchester Model 1887 from Modern Warfare 2 carved out its own legacy. Simply put, the lever-action shotgun was one of the most overpowered weapons in Call of Duty history. Despite being a 19th-century firearm, it had enough range to pick off targets from halfway across the map! The Model 1887 had a slow rate of fire and there were certainly weapons with more stopping power, but the Akimbo attachment allowed players to dual-wield the shotgun like a Hollywood action hero. This made it easy to wipe out multiple opponents in quick succession, and the reload times became a triviality. The weapon was so effective that Infinity Ward felt compelled to nerf it twice, but it’s hard to forget the sheer chaos that the Model 1887 caused in the early days of MW2.

The shotgun was one of the most reliable weapons in the original DOOM, but the sequel replaced it with something even better. The aptly named super shotgun was a sawed-off, break-action, double-barreled firearm that offered three times the stopping power as the original version. (As an added bonus, the reloading animation was spellbinding.) It fires slower than its predecessor and it’s ineffective as a long-range weapon due to its wide spread. It can wipe out most monsters with a single blast, however, so it’s ideal for close-quarters combat. The super shotgun has been a staple since its debut in DOOM II, and it became even more useful in DOOM Eternal thanks to the “meat hook” attachment. This grappling hook can close the distance between Doomguy and his enemies, and this sets the stage for devastating close-range blasts.

Described in-game as an “outstanding implement of murder,” the Boneduster is a quad-barreled shotgun that fires compressed-air shells. (If my math is correct, four barrels should be twice as much fun as two barrels!) The Boneduster can send enemies flying from a distance, but it will outright tear them in two when fired at close range. If you want to cause even more devastation, you can charge the weapon before firing in order to vaporize your adversaries with a burst of super-heated air. With a single shot, you can melt the flesh off of multiple targets. The Boneduster can penetrate cover, and its shockwave is powerful enough to wipe out mini-bosses with a single hit! Whether your blowing the legs off an enemy, juggling them in the air, or reducing them to a skeleton, it’s hard not to appreciate how delightfully over-the-top the Boneduster is.