Through the '90s and early 2000s, on-rails shooters were the name of the game. Before the shooter genre saw a trajectory shift through series like Battlefield and , on-rails shooters dominated the mainstream, with many such shooters being seen in arcades, and even some on consoles. Yet these titles have obviousꦺly dwindled in recent years, and that is an absolute shame.
On-Rails Shooters: A History
Rail shooters, suffice it to say, were a ton of fun back in the day. In the times of pushing quarters into arcade machines, it was a blast to grab a fake solid-colored gun and fire away aimlessly at enemies on-screen. The House of the Dead was one of the most popular and illustrative titles of this genre. As zombies are drawn to players on-screen, the goal is to eliminate them and get on to the next horde. Panzer Dragoon i🎉s also a great example of this, albeit without the zombies.
The Time Crisis games were, as well, ꦕa leader in the genre and remain revered today for their sheer entertainment value and popularization of the bygone genre.
The Wii: A System Built For The Genre
On-rails shooters essentially saw their dying breath on the Wii. The Nintendo Wii saw a few on-rails shooters, as it was the perfect console for it. With a controller used to point at a motion sensor bar, reflected on-screen by a reticle that varied between games, there was no better de💦dicated mainstream console. Plus, with the Wii Zapper peripheral that turned the Wii Remote and Nunchuk into a rifle-like accessory, the on-rails shooter feel increased ten-fold.
Many on-rails shooters actually did come to the Wii, too, including arcades' Ghost Squad, The House of the Dead: Overkill, Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles and The Darkside Chronicles, and Link's Crossbow Training to a lesser degree.
With the Wii U and consoles to follow, however, the on-rails h🍌as essentially died out. No major on-rails shooters have appeared on any mainstream platforms for the most part. There are some elements of the genre seen in PlayStation VR titles, but the on-rails shooter has, by and large, been absent for several years in the console realm.
Eras Gone Bye
However, even in arcades, the genre seems to be a thing of the past. Businesses like Dave & Buster's have been keeping arcades at least somewhat relevant, though upon a night out in an arcade like Dave & Buster's, less of an emphasis has been placed on the on-rails shooters. Rather, there is a more even distribution at this point, with racing games and simulations, such as a simulation involving the player commanding a Snowspeeder on Hoth in Star Wars, having an equal presence to on-rails shooters.
Surprisingly, even the advent of VR hasn't popularized the on-rails shootꦓer. Seemingly perfect for the genre, VR platforms would provide a level of immersion arcade machines and televisions are incapable of. Yet, developers have yet to prove this.
Time For A Comeback
Ultimately, on-rails shooters need a comeback. Whether it comes in the form of a resurgence in the popularity of arcades or a renewed push from console developers, there is a lot of meri🐓t to bringing back on-rails shooters. They provide endless, immersive entertainment, bringing players into the action that modern FPS's simply can't.