There’s nothing more satisfying than a shotgun, firing off a bunch of pellets from a pipe at close range and watching your target burst into bits or go soaring away from the physical impact of the shells is always incredibly satisfying.

RELATED: Mass Effect: The Best Shotguns In The Game

Over the year's different games have had their own take on the classic boomstick, some more notable than others, and everyone has their own favorites as well as those that they think are completely useless (hi there Doom 3). There are plenty of boomsticks to pick from in the vast annals of videogame history, but here are some shotguns that we think have stood out the most and are considered the best for one reason or another.

Updated April 23, 2022 by Matthew Mckeown: It’s been a while since the last check-in and there have been a lot of great games that have come out since then to add to the best shotgun debate. Boundaries have been pushed with design and firepower, so it’s worth going back to reorganize a few things.

On top of cult classics that are pillars within the videogame halls of fame, there are also a few new contenders that are worth considering. So here are some more of the best Shotguns in gaming, Ranked.

15 XCOM 2: Storm Gun

XCOM 2: Item Model For Storm Gun Energy Shotgun

The final upgrade of your basic shotgun for the Ranger class, the Storm Gun gets a particular mention for how brutal it is with the right build.

RELATED: XCOM 2: Ranking Every Class From Worst To Best

This beam blasting shotgun does 8-10 damage without alteration, but with an auto-loader for free reloads, a stock for damage on missed shots, and the Implacable Perk that grans a bonus action on a kill and watch the murder train. It's a seriously strong addition to your squad's weaponry and it's super satisfying to watch it critically hit any unsuspecting Advent ghoul, especially if it's one of the stronger monsters in XCOM 2 like a Berserker or Muton.

14 Resident Evil: The OG Shotgun

Call Of Duty Black Ops: Dragon's Breath Flame Rounds Igniting enemy Soldier

An iconic piece of kit that’s considered still one of the strongest weapons in the first game. The shotgun is your first foray into the firepower of the Resident Evil series and not only can it hit multiple targets at once, but it also can completely disintegrate a zombie at close range.

It's acquired by Chris after exchanging it with a broken shotgun and by Jill in the same way, a method of acquiring your first shotgun that would be reintroduced in Resident Evil 7 as Ethan gets his in the same manner. An interesting note about it that the Community has found is that if you conserve your ammo with it in the beginning, it can carry you through the tougher laboratory sections of the game as it makes short work of those stronger BOWs.

13 Shadow Warrior 2: The Stick Of Doom

Shadow Warrior 2: The Stick Of Doom Blasting Apart Demons

The Shadow Warrior series has never taken itself seriously, like at all. With cartoonish characters, over-the-top monster designs, and an arsenal of weaponry even the Doom Slayer would find excessive it's an anarchic mix of solid combat, light RPG mechanics, and tons of loot to sort through. One boomstick, in particular from its toybox that’s earned a spot on this list is the Stick of Doom.

Part weapon, part meme, the Stick of Doom sits squarely in the center of the screen like the classic Shotgun of the iconic Doom series. Its available from Larry's Shoot Shack, has a speedy two-second reload time, 50 percent Critical Hit Chance and can be further modded to turn it into an even stronger buckshot spraying monster.

12 Call Of Duty Black Ops: The Dragon's Breath

Call Of Duty Black Ops: Dragon's Breath Flame Rounds Igniting enemy Soldier

Given to you on the campaign mission "The Defector" of Call of Duty: Black Ops, the Dragons Breath is a shotgun that has gone down in infamy in the Call of Duty Community. This modified SPAS-12 fires out 16 pellets that ignite in the air, setting your targets and any surrounding furniture ablaze with a single blast.

It was an interesting and experimental approach for Call of Duty weaponry at the time by the developers and although not available in multiplayer at first, enough feedback from the Community came through that it would be brought back. With later appearances in Black Ops 4 as an Operator mod for the OG12 and as an ammo type in Modern Warfare. The fact that it left a legacy is the reason for it making this list.

11 Fallout 3: The Terrible Shotgun

Fallout 3: Using Combat Shotgun To Successfully Fight A Deathclaw

Fallout 3 (considered by many to be the best Fallout) has a lot of fun weapons to play with, especially when it comes to shotguns. In particular, the combat shotgun can carry you through the entire game. This unique version of the combat shotgun, called The Terrible Shotgun, has the second-highest damage rating of all the weapons in the small gun category with an 80 base damage stat and 40 for Crits.

RELATED: The Most Useful Console Commands In Fallout Games

A unique feature that makes this worth mentioning is that the full damage only applies if all the pellets hit their target. Each pellet also has its own crit damage, making the total crit 360 and with Beter Criticals Perk it goes up to 540, doubled again with sneak attack bonuses can get it to 880 or 1240 which can one-shot every enemy in the base game and the DLCS. It’s unstoppable.

10 Bulletstorm: The Boneduster

Bulletstorm: The Boneduster

Bulletstorm is a game that took the first-person shooter genre and turned it on its head by rewarding you for your murderous creativity. The shotgun in Bulletstorm, dubbed The Boneduster, is appropriately named and aptly designed for such a game.

Comprised of four separate barrels, this boomsticks main mode shoots off each pipe one at a time, putting out a punishing volley. Or you can opt for its alt-fire which uses all four barrels at once. Capable of bisecting basic enemies with one shot and it also gives points on what part you blow off it as well as shoot through cover, it’s a handheld meat grinder that churns through opponents.

9 Turok 3 Shadow Of Oblivion: The Shredder

Turok 3 Shadow Of Oblivion: Shotgun With Shredder Upgrade Attached

One of the most interesting things about Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion is that the weapons and abilities used were based on the character you chose. Although not new now, at the time it was an interesting step for the formulaic shooter.

An upgrade for Joshua Fireseed, the design of this gun is a reference to the auto shotgun of Turok 2 and features a revolver-style feeding mechanism and it comes with a high capacity of 70 armor shredding shells per cartridge. An upgrade for the vanilla shotgun, this attachment turns pellets into scattered electrical buckshot beams that ricochet off surfaces, perfect for causing close-range chaos.

8 Halo: M90 Shotgun

Halo: The M90 Shotgun In Weapon Viewer

The weaponry of the original Halo at the time was ridiculously unbalanced and fans loved it for it. The two strongest at the time were the Magnum Pistol and the M90 shotgun.

The handgun was a DPS, long-ranged fiend that could wreck shields and snipe foes from afar. Whilst the shotgun kicked like a mule, roared like a cannon, and could wipe out most Covenant goons in one or two shots. Though it had a painfully slow reload, it would later be refined and sadly nerfed over the years in subsequent games. Still, if you want a good meme version of this, check out the Cursed Halo Mod by Gagerath which turns it into a quasi-blunderbuss with an even slower reload that's strong enough to flip a tank.

7 Necromunda Hired Gun: The Combat Shotgun

Necromunda Hired Gun: Bounty Hunter Scoring Critical Hit With Combat Shotgun

The weapons in Necromunda Hired are (in typical 40k style) pretty brutal and weird. The Combat Shotgun is of note because of not just how fun it is to fire, but the path of destruction it can carve through wave after wave of Underhiver goons.

RELATED: Necromunda Hired Gun: Most Powerful Weapons, Ranked

Full auto firing by default, the Combat Shotgun is more firehose than a firearm. Pulling the trigger on this thing feels more like you're hanging onto it for dear life as it chews through targets defenses in seconds and it's incredibly satisfying to watch it go to work as a mobile handheld meat grinder.

6 Wolfenstein: Automatic Shotgun

Wolfenstein New Order: Dual Auto Shotguns Turning Nazi Sailor Into Paste

When Bethesda relaunched Wolfenstein with The New Order back in 2014, the gritty ultraviolent reboot that came out brought a plethora of uniquely detailed and pretty brutal weaponry. The Autoshotgun of which is particularly notable.

Shaped like the classic German MG42 machinegun, this shotty is a favorite because of its insane fire speed, high damage, and great design that makes it feel weighty shoot. With different ammo types, upgrades in later installments, and the ability to dual wield, it's a crucial Nazi butt-kicking tool everyone needs.

5 Call of Duty Warzone: The R9-0 (DOOF-DOOF)

Call Of Duty Warzone: The R9 Shotgun In Profile In Weapon Viewer

Warzone has its fair share of fun toys, and more get regularly dumped onto the pile either as DLC or Battlepass exclusives. But one particular firearm from that funbox earned its spot on this list and that’s the R9-0, or “Doof-Doof” as it’s more fondly known.

Nicknamed the “Doof-Doof” by the Community because it was often the last thing you heard before being blasted apart by it. Usually in the back. This dual-bored shot shotgun was ridiculously powerful, had a fairly large magazine, and a high rate of fire. It and other boomsticks would be unfortunately nerfed in future patches, but it's still getting the occasional tweak and for a brief time, it was the ruler of Warzones battlegrounds.

4 Tiny Tina's Wonderlands: Hawkins Wrath

Tiny Tina's Wonderlands: Hawkins Wrath Shotgun Firing Dragons At Target Dummy

Shotgun builds in Borderlands have always been pretty broken once you find the right tool and Tiny Tina's Wonderlands is no exception. With shrapnel spraying shooters that fire swords or can be tossed like boomerangs, it can be a little hard to pin down the best of the bunch. However, that bright pastel-colored and blood-stained hat is worn with anarchic glee by the Hawkins Wrath.

It’s available in the Chaos Chamber as a random drop after you beat the game and its got some pretty interesting modes of fire. For starters, its basic mode of attack is to shoot dragons that set targets on fire on impact. The other is a Sticky setting which causes screaming wyverns to clump en masse on multiple targets. They also occasionally fly around your foes, igniting them further before detonating, allowing for a quick pump and pump of a lot of damage.

3 Gears Of War: The Gnasher

Gears Of War: Locust Firing On Baird Who's Wielding A Gnasher Shotgun

Mention The Gnasher to any Gears of War fan and they'll either laugh or groan. This infamous rifle was the bane of many in the early days of Gears Multiplayer Deathmatches. Back then it had the uncanny ability to one-shot you into bloody chunks at close range or down you if you were lucky.

It got nerfed hard over the years but it still remains one of the best guns in the Gears of War series that fans still argue over to this day. With unique executions such as beating someone to death with it, and barely any changes being made to it over the series, the Gnasher is an unforgettable classic that's pretty perfect.

2 Deathloop: The Heritage Shotgun

Deathloop: The Heritage Shotgun Blasting A Goon Through The Air

Say what you want about Deathloop, its got a lot of style and its weapons were an absolute blast. There are a lot of great guns to get your hands on and one of the most useful for clearing out rooms filled with goons in seconds was the Heritage Shotgun.

Though it required jumping through a few extra hoops to obtain, it was worth it as this slick piece of future tech has two modes of fire. A super-accurate rifle mode that shoots out hard-hitting slugs or a horizontal buckshot spray. Making it the best tool for taking down a lot targets very quickly in the Loop.

1 Doom Eternal: The Super Shotgun

Doom Eternal: Super Shotgun Model In Viewer

When DOOM returned it brought a badass new soundtrack, terrifying new demons, and a suitably science-fiction-looking set of powerful new weapons to its twisted alien playground. The most notable of which is the iconic Super Shotgun, a sawn in half double-barreled blaster that could blow apart any hellspawn.

This gigantic hand cannon sounded like god slamming a car door and kicked like an angry mule. Plus with a grappling hook attachment that appeared in Doom: Eternal, it let you get nice and close before firing. It's the perfect killing tool earning it the number one spot on the list.

NEXT: Prey: Everything You Need To Know About The Margrave Shotgun