Just played Area 51/Maximum Force at a retro-arcade. Are light gun shooter games still a thing? Any recent versions available for PC?

The best light gun shooter I've ever played is a small VR game: Space Pirate Trainer. You're just standing on a landing pad shooting down waves of robots, but it's incredibly well balanced, has an ingenious dual-wielding system allowing you to prioritize protection or various kinds of firepower. You'll leap around, duck and throw yourself to the ground trying to evade the merciless onslaught. It's a ton of fun and a surprisingly good workout at the same time.

I'm mentioning this game, because I think that VR shooters are the modern-day successors to light gun shooters. Many players are so fully immersed in the latter already that they are instinctively ducking and evading enemy fire with their bodies, even though it has no actual effect on these games. In VR however, it does and the way you are aiming and firing is identical, albeit not limited by a static screen.

That does sound like a lot of fun. VR has been completely off my radar, but I can definitely see your point about it being a successor. Hadn't even thought of it. What VR system do you use?
- I've still got a Samsung Odyssey+, which is a WMR headset, a standard from Microsoft that they have unfortunately sunseted (update 24H2 drops support), which is why I can't recommend it. I'm sticking with 23H2, which should give me until November of next year to find an alternative. It's a shame, really, because these headsets are cheap, easy to use, work with most games and all have rather excellent screens. Controllers aren't the best, but still good enough even for demanding games.
Pistol whip is also pretty great
Robo Recall is also great, but unfortunately exclusive to Meta Rift/Quest.

https://youtu.be/ujIN9S5N61c I'm not big into light gun stuff myself but I remember watching this ages ago and thinking it was pretty neat looking :)

Thanks for mentioning this! I found out about this lightgun after posting. It gets some decent reviews, though there are some threads discussing how the setup can be onerous. I also saw some games on Steam listed as "sinden lightgun ready." I'm going to research it a little more but tempted to get it.

There's a local barcade that's good times. You get to drink local craft brews and play arcade games and pinball. They had Time Crisis 2 last time I was there.

As far as light gun shooters, your best bet is probably VR. I can't personally make any recommendations though, as I don't have a headset.

Someone else mentioned VR. It didn't even occur to me!

I miss that game... And real arcades. All the "arcades" around here have nothing bullshit mobile games you can literally download and play for free on your phone, and they want like $1-2 per play at the cabinet now. I ain't paying any money to play Angry Birds or Flappy Bird.

At least they still have skeeball and the basketball things...

As for light gun games on PC, the only things I've ever seen are emulated. Either arcade games like that Terminator one with the machine guns that actually have kick to them, or NES/SNES games using the zapper/super scope 6. The emulators do support the actual hardware if you have it and a way to connect it, and there used to be light guns made for PC, but I don't know if they would be USB or serial port (they were from the 80's and 90's).

I'm lucky to live near an actual old school arcade — Spy Hunter, Gauntlet, Mortal Kombat, and a host of other ones!

Arcade 1 up did at least a couple. I know they did big buck hunting and I want to say Terminator as well.

I only did a cursory check on Steam, but it indeed still looks like a thing, with some games saying they are "sinden lightgun ready" (which seems to be the main lightgun out on the market currently)
- Yeah they are the only manufacturer worth a damn from the reviews I've seen. They also work really well in emulators to build your own.

Area 51 Site 4 sadly is still broken emulation