The best fighting games to play right now

Of all the fighting game battle royale clones to emerge from the Super Smash Bros franchise, 2021’s Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl was one of the most enjoyable. The game received a full sequel this year in the aptly titled Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 for modern consoles and PC. With a robust playable roster, a myriad of stages, and an impressive number of game modes, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 is an all-around improvement from its predecessor. Featuring the return of a hefty adventure mode in the form of the RPG-leaning World of Light, Ultimate is pure joy. Whether you’re a casual player or a pro, there really is something for everyone. In fact, Ultimate not only lays claim to being one of the greatest fighting games of the HD era, but arguably even one of the best games of all time.

Since being launched in 1974, Play Meter has grown to become one of the best-selling gaming publications in the United States. It’s reviews of video game systems and arcade games are popular among many readers. Pocket Bravery contains both the expected multiplayer and arcade modes but also a story mode in the style of Fatal Fury as its characters explore the city’s criminal underworld and fighting rings. Pocket Bravery evokes a classic era while avoiding feeling dated to modern sensibilities as it refines what made those foundational games so great in the first place.

Retro Game Fan Newsletter

This list contains information on the best gaming magazines ranked from best to worst by user votes. Some popular gaming magazines feature reviews of modern video games while other gaming publications offer collectible tips on classic games. Many of the best gaming magazines feature interviews with experts in the field.

It was a pretty niche thing overall so no big issue, but if you do use the site as a PWA (add to homescreen) you might have to re-add it. Virtual Fighter 5 is absolutely the one I’ve played the most as well, once that launched on the Xbox 360. Before that I had played VF4 finalround.org and VF4 Evo a fair amount on the PS2 but only against the (excellent to be fair) CPU.The beta was amazing, because I could actually play REAL VIRTUAL FIGHTER as a european.

For regular readers of my irregular indie column on SuperCombo, niche fighting game enthusiast Mike Levesque  a.k.a. Mr. MKL might be a household name (here’s his Twitch channel, just as a reminder). During the past few years, Mike has supported and showcased fighting games in all their shapes and forms, as long as they were niche, indie, obscure or a combination of both. Even more importantly, Mike  was among the main organizers of the Indie FGC Developer Round Table, which gave room to small developers to discuss the status of the industry.

All of the content is focused around gaming on the PC, so you won’t need to worry about wasting space on console stuff. The digital editions of the magazine are included in the basic GameStop PowerUp Rewards Program for just $14.99/yr, but you can opt for the premium $19.99/yr tier to receive physical editions of the magazine. Here are the horror games TG’s staff are hoping to be scared by in 2025. Whether or not that will translate to more event support outside of Japan is unclear, but at least to temper your expectations the stream will be in Japanese. The video notes also mention a “variety” of other contents to discuss. The stream will take place on the Type Moon Games YouTube channel, we’ll post a reminder as we get closer.

Shop Retro Video Games by Top Publishers

Rollback is the wave these days and it seems that companies are putting in the extra time needed to get it working right. Okizine is available both as a digital PDF (for 3CAD$) and as a printed booklet (for 15CAD$) on Mr. MKL’s own Gumroad page. The printed version is available for international shipping too for a small additional fee. If you want to support Mr. MKL even more, you can also join the Discord server of the Digital Basement or follow him on Xitter or YouTube.

You can mix and match teams of one, two, or three characters, and the well-rounded cast of characters that clearly stand apart from each other will encourage you to try every one. Check out our Persona 4 Arena review next, or head over to our list of the best Persona games to play today. If you are looking to simulate actual, real-life martial arts combat, there is not much out there of any note beyond EA Sports UFC 5. If you’re after more colorful recommendations, check out our list of the best anime games of all time.

The DNF Duel official YouTube account recently posted a short Q&A session with game director Kodani Ryosuke about upcoming updates and support for the title. We’ve gotten teases in the past that Street Fighter 6 would feature alternate costumes out of the box for the roster, but now we know exactly what they are. The “Outfit 2 Trailer” shows off each character’s alternate costume, which draws from a classic look for the returning cast or a casual getup for the newcomers. And Street Fighter 6 absolutely continues this legacy with further iteration on what was already a unique visual flourish to set the franchise apart.

Street Fighter 6 changes up the gameplay mechanics from its predecessors, incorporating a drive feature that upgrades existing moves and powers the returning parry mechanic. With a choice between classic and modern controls, Street Fighter 6 is both accessible to new players and rewarding for Street Fighter veterans, built intuitively for online gameplay. Though the microtransaction trend returns, Street Fighter 6 is a huge leap forward for the franchise, the biggest Capcom has taken with it since 2009’s Street Fighter IV. He has over 15 years experience in online and print journalism, and holds a BA (Hons) in Journalism and Feature Writing. Additionally, he has appeared on the BBC and ITV to provide expert comment, written for Scholastic books, edited a book for Hachette, and worked as the Assistant Producer of the Future Games Show. Years ago, he was in a few movies and TV shows that you’ve definitely seen but will never be able to spot him in.

While you won’t get to play as every Pokemon in the series, there are lots of fan favorites like Mewtwo, Pikachu, Blaziken, and Gengar to choose from. It occupies a strange niche as a not-quite traditional Pokemon game and not-quite a super competitive fighter, but it’s tons of fun to see in action. Customizing your in-game arms will lead to different strategies and power-ups, and the wild character designs are a sight to behold. Of all the games on this list, Arms is probably the most likely to give you an actual workout. It’s also easily one of the best Switch games for fans of the fighting genre.

But pulling together only 25 of the best fighting games is no easy feat due to the genre’s variety, though we have done our absolute best below. This magazine—run by several gaming industry veterans—is all about kicking it old school with the games of the past. It has interviews with classic game creators, facts about retro games, and plenty of other goodies.