Free browser shooters with no download

A good shooter does not need a launcher, an account or a big download. These eight all run in a browser tab on PLAYPILE, and they differ more than the word "shooter" suggests. Some are tense first-person fights, some are puzzles where you only get one shot, and one has no people in it at all. We have noted the content level of each, from bloodless cartoons to one game that is not for young children, and which ones need a mouse.

HIGHRISE

HIGHRISE is a first-person climb up a 31-storey 2000s Manhattan tower. You start on the ground floor with a Glock, a machete and your fists, and every floor is full of armed men with the stairs somewhere across it. There is no lift and no loading screen, and you do not have to clear a floor to leave it: fighting through every room and sprinting for the stairwell are both fair ways up. Its nine weapons include a fire axe and a flare gun that lights up the room it lands in.

It is the most serious game here, with realistic violence and blood, so it is not one for children. It needs a keyboard and mouse, and a run ends when you go down, though the building stays the same so each climb teaches you the layout. Tip: cover is real. Counters, lockers and shut doors stop bullets, but a waist-high barrier only covers you if you crouch.

FRONTLINE

FRONTLINE is a bright, low-poly squad shooter. The computer soldiers take cover, flank, pin you down, throw grenades, revive their friends and radio your position to their squad. Team Battle is eight against eight across three capture points, Skirmish is you alone against ten waves, and there is a mode where you just watch the computer squads fight. There are three battlefields and nine guns plus a knife, with attachments such as a suppressor and a foregrip to buy in the Armory.

It fits players who want a war shooter that rewards thinking about position. Hits show a small red puff and there is no gore. It also has touch controls. Tip: move after every fight. The soldier who spotted you has already called it in, and his squad will search that spot for about 22 seconds.

EGG WARS

EGG WARS is a first-person free-for-all where everyone is an egg made to look like stop-motion clay. You take on five bots, and the first egg to 15 cracks, or whoever leads after two and a half minutes, wins. Levelling up unlocks a shotgun and a sniper, new shell colours and hats. You can also host a private online room with a four-letter code for friends.

It is the friendliest proper shooter on the site: eggs crack and break apart, and nobody bleeds. It plays on a phone with a thumb stick and buttons. Tip: aim at the top of the egg. A headshot is a YOLKSHOT and does double damage.

THE MARK

THE MARK is a sniper puzzle. You lie on a rooftop above a crowd of up to 150 people, and one of them is an enemy agent. Clues arrive over the radio, covering what they wear, habits such as checking a wristwatch or avoiding the police, and events like a passing siren. You get three rounds. Shoot the wrong person and the crowd panics while the mark runs for an exit. There are sixteen missions in five places, and the mark is picked at random every time.

It is here for anyone who likes a shooter where thinking matters more than reflexes. There is no blood, but every shot gives a short white flash. Tip: do not shoot early. The full set of intel always points at exactly one person, so tag likely suspects with E and wait for the last clue.

STILLSHOT

STILLSHOT has one rule: time moves only when you move. Stand still and everything freezes, bullets included. Looking around lets time trickle forward, and each shot gives it a short burst. You face red crystal figures in a stark white room, and one hit on either side ends it, so each level is a small puzzle of where to step and when to fire. The levels keep coming, with two more guns to unlock.

It suits players who like to plan, and it works on a phone with a stick and buttons. Tip: step sideways out of a bullet's path rather than backing away. Bullets travel in straight lines, so a small sidestep clears them faster.

NEON SWARM

NEON SWARM is a twin-stick arena shooter. You fly a small ship over a glowing grid while waves of neon shapes pour in. Your ship fires on its own, so you only steer and aim, and every kill drops green shards that raise your score multiplier. Most runs in the main mode last three to five minutes, and there is a three-minute score-attack mode too. It works with a keyboard and mouse, a gamepad or a touch screen, where the ship aims by itself if you only use one thumb.

There are no people at all, just shapes bursting into sparks, but bombs and deaths give a bright full-screen flash. Tip: your multiplier only resets when you die, so set off a bomb rather than lose a life.

KICKBACK

KICKBACK is a pixel-art platformer where your sawed-off shotgun is also how you move. Every shot pushes you away from where the barrel points, so firing at the floor is a jump and firing at a wall throws you off it. You climb a six-storey concrete frame against men with the same gun, picking an upgrade card at a crate at the top of each stair. The last climb onto the roof has to be done with the gun alone.

It is a short, hard run with no save, and it needs a keyboard and mouse. Tip: watch the marks over the enemies' heads. When the red bracket appears, his aim is locked, and a shell into the floor moves you out of the way.

ARCHER DUEL

ARCHER DUEL swaps guns for bows. Two archers stand on stone pillars in a black-and-white woodcut style, and you drag back and release to loose an arrow along an arc. Head shots do the most damage. The one-player ladder climbs through named rivals who aim better and reload faster as you go, with wind from stage three and a perk to choose after each win. There is also a turn-taking duel for two players on one device.

It plays just as well with a finger as a mouse. Defeated archers collapse as ragdolls with ink splats, but there is no realistic blood. Tip: fire a quick first arrow to find the range, then adjust. Your bow is ready again in under a second, while early rivals need much longer, so a steady stream of good-enough arrows wins.

If you want a full first-person fight, try FRONTLINE or, for older players, HIGHRISE. If you want something lighter, EGG WARS and NEON SWARM are quick to get into on any device. If you would rather think than react, THE MARK and STILLSHOT are the ones to open first.