I want to play an easy shooter where you feel like you’re in a flow state aiming at targets, the only time I’ve ever felt like that was in the PS2 Medal of Honour, kneecap, helmet shot, head shot or up till MW4 original.
I’ve tried the latest CoD and the cinematics and cutscenes are just overblown.
Borderlands would be a kind of turn off your brain type but they haven’t made a new game in awhile.
Helldiver had great shooting but the grind, limited levels and multiplayer means I wasn’t too invested in it after a hard days work
Serious Sam is mindlessly dumb in the good way.
Warframe is my go to when I just want to blast tunes and murder everything without too much thought.
Doom 2 was already covered so I’ll go with Roboquest, indie arena roguelike shooter with randomized weapons and perks but static arenas/mobs/bosses. Once you get a handle on the movement it’s one of the comfiest shooters I’ve played in years.
I don’t know if it counts as “cozy,” but Metal:Hellsinger is an extremely vibey shooter, as you can kind of just zone out, bop your head to the music, and vibe to the music in flow state while playing. Kind of zen, actually.
This !
Risk of Rain 2
Even though they’re not traditional shooters, the Ratchet and Clank games are really fun. There’s a pretty big genre difference in the games in the franchise, with generally the earlier games being more platform-ey, especially 1 & 2. A lot of the humor from the original trilogy still holds up today.
There’s definitely some “unfun” parts in the games (giant mech fight from rac2 and the hacker from rac3 come to mind) but overall cozy imo. Some of the most unique and fun guns in any game.
If you’re looking for strictly more shooter, check out Ratchet Deadlocked. There’s barely any platforming and no mini games that I can remember, it’s pretty much all shooting. NG+ makes it super cozy. It’s really nice to play emulated.
Cyberpunk on easy with aim assist is pretty chill. Popping heads and blowing off limbs. It’s a comfort game for me.
I’ve been feeling this with Cyberpunk a bit. But you may think it’s too quest driven to be considered.
I’ve been replaying Borderlands 3, so honestly I’d recommend any of those games for a cozy shooter. The stories don’t take themselves too seriously, if you die you can just respawn immediately in the vicinity, and it can be pretty relaxing to just mow down waves of bandits or whatever other enemies.
Combat Master, a free to play CoD like.
Earth Defence Force: nothing better than blowing up 5 million bugs a minute after a tough working day
I felt the first Mass Effect was cozier than the sequels, though I never finished the sequels.
Vermintide 1 is a top notch flow state game where your mind can melt while you dodge-dance and kill with fluidity. Highly recommend. Very chill.
The original Sniper Ghost Warrior games were really chill. More about stealth than action
Bulletstorm. It’s not about survival as much as killing enemies as creatively as possible. And the writing is brilliant in its stupidity. One of my favourite games of all times.
