History Main / ShotgunsAreJustBetter

* ''VideoGame/Cyberpunk2077'': Shotguns, and particularly double-barreled shotguns, have the highest DPS in the game. In addition, they easily cause knockdown, so if your first hit didn't kill the enemy outright, you get a free shot to follow up.

** [[VideoGame/{{Doom}} The first game]] has a simple shotgun as the second weapon you'll likely get. It does a good amount of damage, especially at short range, and the ammo is extremely plentiful, making it perhaps the most frequently used weapon in the game.

* In the ''VideoGame/BionicCommando'' reboot from 2009, the Hiker shotgun is one of the first special weapons available, an ''anti-armor'' shotgun that ends up being predominantly [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill used on squishy human opponents]]. The range is fairly decent, and given the fact that it fires eight armor-penetrating slugs followed by a high explosive round in each shell, it's quite effective on human enemies. It does have the usual ShortRangeShotgun problems, but this is due to its wide spread, which is actually helpful. Swinging at high speed makes it a bit tough to aim accurately at times, but the Hiker simplifies matters somewhat. It was also highly popular in the multiplayer mode for the same reasons noted above.

* Shotguns in ''VideoGame/DeadRising'' have fierce spread and range; a few well placed shots can clear a room full of zombies far more efficiently then a machine gun can.

-->'''Clint Smith''': "Pistols put holes in people, rifles put holes through people, shotguns at the right range with the right load will physically remove a chunk of shit off your opponent and throw that shit on the floor, and you will have to get someone to come in and clean this shit up with a shovel. But it's gotta be the right load at the right range. ''75 yards with a skeet load, it didn't do very much to him.'' You're right. ''00 buck at 3 yards.'' Big-ass hole."

* Downplayed in ''VideoGame/SeriousSam''. The shotguns have decent power against low-tier enemies like Beheaded mooks, able to wipe out small clusters of them in just a few shots, and a Coach Gun shot with all pellets connecting hurts just as much as a rocket, but their firepower is too anemic to take on larger enemies (and especially the huge hordes of {{Giant Mook}}s from the mid-point and on), and despite their pellet pattern being fixed and predictable so a few pellets can be aimed even at distant enemies, ShortRangeShotgun is in full effect for both. In ''Serious Sam 3: BFE'', this is compounded by the regular shotgun having a limited magazine that has to be reloaded, and that if you're close enough to a single target to use a shotgun effectively, most of the time it's better to sprint in and DropTheHammer on their skulls or even just press the use button to rip them apart with your bare hands.

* Zig-zagged in ''Literature/TheHowling1977''. Roy gets Karyn a shotgun and teaches her how to fire it to make her feel more secure in the house. Karyn shoots what looks to be a wolf with the shotgun, but it doesn't cause nearly as much damage as one would expect. Karyn later learns that ordinary bullets don't do much against werewolves, so the shotgun isn't much use to her. She still keeps it close because it's the only weapon she has. When [[spoiler:Chris]] comes to save Karyn, he brings a handgun that's a much smaller calibre; it's not as powerful as the shotgun, but it's much more lethal to the werewolves because it's loaded with ''[[SilverBullet silver]]'' bullets. [[spoiler:Chris]] wishes he did have a firearm with more power and spread given the sheer number of werewolves, but under the circumstances he had to make do with what was available.

** The RPG also explicitly calls out the [[https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Blazer_Rifle Blaser rifle]] as the [[EnergyWeapon laser]] equivelent, packing a larger punch at a ''[[InvertedTrope longer]]'' [[ShortRangeShotgun range]] but sacrificing efficiency to do so. It also has two barrels. Another version is the Blazer [[https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Blazer_Pistol pistol]], which packs the same power into a dramatically [[SawedOffShotgun shortened]] version, thereby making it illegal in much of the Inner Sphere.

** The RPG also explicitly calls out the [[https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Blazer_Laser_Rifle Blaser rifle]] as the [[EnergyWeapon laser]] equivelent, packing a larger punch at a ''[[InvertedTrope longer]]'' [[ShortRangeShotgun range]] but sacrificing efficiency to do so. It also has two barrels. Another version is the Blazer ''[[https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Blazer_Laser_Pistol pistol]]'', which packs the same power into a dramatically [[SawedOffShotgun shortened]] version, thereby making it illegal in much of the Inner Sphere.

* The SawedOffShotgun from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3'' was a borderline GameBreaker. A single shot could send multiple {{Mook}}s [[BlownAcrossTheRoom flying]]. Even The Boss was not immune. Indeed, a viable tactic is to go barehanded against her, wait for her to CQC you, counter it, whip out the shotgun and blast her with it.

* Two-Face, in the 1980s ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' comics, often carried a double-barreled shotgun as his weapon of choice. These days, he's more likely to favor [[GunsAkimbo twin Colt 45s]].

* Subverted by the ''TabletopGame/HeavyGear'' video game adaptations. The fragmentation cannon is rather obviously a shotgun in function and appearance, but it is easily one of the worst ranged weapons available in either video game bearing the ''Heavy Gear'' name. Its flaws include slow fire rate, low ammo capacity, short range, and pitiful damage. Most embarrassingly, it is outright surpassed in each of the aforementioned traits by the basic light autocannon given to new players. It's not really any better on the tabletop, as for the price of a fragmentation cannon you might as well put a medium autocannon into play instead -- the frag cannon's only bonus is a small accuracy buff, taking a rather hefty range penalty in the bargain. For all it's worth, the Fragmentation Cannon is the shotgun equivalent of ''[[VideoGame/Goldeneye1997 Goldeneye's]]'' [[ScrappyWeapon Klobb]].

A shotgun is often the [[WeaponSpecialization signature weapon]] for farmers, [[MountainMan mountain men]], hillbillies in general, [[CountryMouse other rural folks]] and your average day civilians, due to traditionally being affordable; ammo being cheap as well as plentiful; and typically having less restrictions for owning one. Hardened criminals and dutiful police alike favour the shotgun's killing power in close quarters and sheer intimidation value. For criminals, shotguns and ammo are relatively easy to obtain, as shotguns are widely used in hunting; criminals may saw off the barrel to make the weapon more concealable.