infotagstimelinevideo games list
Video gamesGames groupsMediaCharactersPlatformsCompaniesEventsCross referencesReviews and magazinesForumUsers and editorsFAQs & Contacts
 

Rail shooter

Game genre theme

A shooter sub-genre where the player is stuck on a relatively linear path with few or no branches, can't stray far from it and viewing angles are limited (usually none but what the virtual "rails" dictate).

137
games
42
platforms

Name variations: railshooter, on-rails shooter

Area 51: Site 4 (Arcade)
Area 51: Site 4
ARCD 1998
Enforce (Arcade)
Enforce
ARCD 1988
Crypt Killer (Arcade)
Crypt Killer
ARCD 1996
Alien Dominion: The Acronian Encounter (Windows)
Alien Dominion: The Acronian Encounter
WIN 2010
Knife Edge (Nintendo 64)
Knife Edge
N64 1998-11
Chaos Control (Macintosh OS Classic)
Chaos Control
MAC 1996
CarnEvil (Arcade)
CarnEvil
ARCD 1998
Warp Destroyer (Apple II E)
Warp Destroyer
IIE 1982
The Typing of the Dead (Dreamcast)
The Typing of the Dead
DC 2000-03-30
Trench (BBC Micro)
Trench
BBC 1984
Time Crisis (Arcade)
Time Crisis
ARCD 1995
Panzer Dragoon (Windows)
Panzer Dragoon
WIN 1997
See also: tube shooter, gallery shooter
The player moves on a predetermined path only controlling the shooting part. Movement (which is usually completely automated) is usually so straighforward and limited that you can easily say the player is moving on rails, also where the name comes from. This is most common for games where you use a lightgun or similar device.

Popular tags

firstpersonshooter music tubeshooter

Parent group

Shooter

Games by year

8284868890929496980002040608101214161820 123690

The first Rail shooter video game was released in 1982.

Sega, Domark and Atari published most of these games.

Platforms

Arcade 25
Windows 15
Linux 12
MS-DOS 9
Wii 7
X360 6
PS3 5
Saturn 4
3DO 3
Mac OS Classic 3
PS 3
Amiga 2
PS2 2
C64 2
Atari ST 2
Apple II E 2
Atari 2600 2
Xbox One 2
SNES 2
NES 2
BBC 2
Atari 400/800 2
PS Vita 2
PS4 2
ZX Spectrum 2
Electron 1
Amiga CD32 1
Stadia 1
Atari 5200 1
NEC PC9801 1

Most common companies

Sega16
Domark8
Atari6
Parker Brothers4
Interplay4
Capcom4
Taito4
Alchemist3
LucasArts3
Konami3
Microsoft2
Namco2
Nintendo2
Oblone Software2
Virgin2