Real-life combat sports are as popular as ever. The recent heavyweight boxing clash between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk captured the imagination of millions worldwide.
At the same time, the upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight bout between Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier will be an epic encounter.
Many people tune into these fights for the excitement they create and the brutality on show, but those same people would never dream of standing toe-to-toe with an opponent for obvious reasons.
Fighting games, sometimes called beat ’em ups, enable people to live out their combat dreams without leaving their gaming chairs and without the risk of a bloody nose!
Fighting games have existed since the early 1980s, and the format has not changed much. The genre remains immensely popular thanks to it putting gamers to the test with its high skill ceiling and competitive opponents.
Whether you are clashing with friends from your couch or locking horns with a formidable foe from halfway across the world, few genres get the blood pumping like fighting games.
Modern-day fighting game fans are spoiled for choice, with many 2024 titles featuring crossplay between PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. Whether you prefer cartoon-like graphics, a more fun beat ’em-up experience, a Hollywood-worthy storyline, or realistic gameplay, there is a fighting game for you. Here are five of the best fighting games you can play in 2024.
Tekken 8
Tekken 8 is the latest installment of the legendary fighting series, and it is fair to say it has set the bar high for its rivals. Powered by Unreal Engine 5, the first fighting game to use this engine, Tekken 8’s visuals are out of this world, providing a new level of detail and realism to the characters and environments.
Players can choose from a vast roster of 33 playable characters, including a handful of fresh faces, each with specific strengths and weaknesses. Bandai Namco has refined the combat system to make it more accessible to newcomers while offering depth to Tekken veterans.
Everything about Tekken 8 is an improvement from the previous edition, including the online multiplayer mode, which is more stable than ever, leading to buttery-smooth competitive experiences. If you only buy one fighting game in 2024, Tekken 8 should be it.
Street Fighter 6
Street Fighter II remains one of the best fighting games ever made despite launching in 1991, some 33 years ago. Street Fighter 6 is the seventh installment of the franchise, and Capcom has retained what was brilliant about the early titles and sprinkled in some new elements to keep the franchise fresh.
Street Fighter 6 introduces the “Drive System,” a new mechanic that adds depth to fights by allowing for more varied and creative combos. The World Tour single-player campaign is as engaging as ever and has plenty of replayability.
Players can customize and create a character using a ridiculous number of facial, body, and voice options. This enables players to create realistic martial artists or think outside the box and build a weird, wonderful, and goofy playable character.
Some past Street Fighter editions have suffered from a poor online experience, but there are no such issues in Street Fighter 6. It supports cross-platform play, has rollback netcode, and works seamlessly online. The game also features real-time commentary and allows players to cheer on others, lending it a tournament-style feel.
Mortal Kombat 1
Mortal Kombat 1 is the 12th installment of the famous, long-running franchise, and it is the best one yet. Mortal Kombat has always been a fighting game on steroids, infamous for its brutal combat, blood, and gore. Fans of the series will be delighted to know that Mortal Kombat 1 continues on this path, with Brutalities and Fatalities more gruesome and creative than ever.
If you could point the finger and pull faults with older Mortal Kombat games, you would cite poorer graphics and animations than the game’s rivals.
NetherRealm Studios has addressed this for Mortal Kombat 1, pushing the Unreal Engine 4 to its limits to provide detailed character models and lifelike animations. Mortal Kombat 1 is the game for you if you want your combat to be visceral.
Injustice 2
Injustice 2 may be seven years old and built on the older Unreal Engine 3, but the NetherReal Studios title remains one of the best fighting games in 2024. Injustice 2, the sequel to Injustice: Gods Among Us, nails its presentation.
The game fully immerses you into the DC Comics world from the second you fire it up on your machine, and the single-player story grips you from start to finish.
The “Gear System” offers character-specific costume pieces and equipment that change your character’s appearance and have status-altering effects. It is similar to an RPG where players are rewarded with experience and loot after every fight, enabling them to increase their favorite character’s base statistics.
However, the game does have some faults, namely the inclusion of controversial microtransactions, which led players and reviewers to label Injustice 2 as a “pay-to-win” game, which takes some of the shine away from what it a stellar fighting game.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
All the games we have mentioned so far focus on realistic fighting, but Super Smash Bros. Ultimate takes a different stance. The 2018 Nintendo Switch title remains a staple of the fighting game community six years after its original release.
Featuring more than 80 playable characters from various franchises, each Super Smash Bros. Ultimate battle is an exciting, rewarding, and unique experience. As you would expect from a Nintendo game, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is accessible and easy to pick up for newcomers while, at the same time, offering depth to competitive players.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate feels like a celebration of gaming rather than an out-and-out fighting title, and that is why players of all ages and skill levels love it. This is one of the best fighting games you can play in 2024 and arguably one of the best video games of all time.
