Few genres can match the pure joy of a classic beat ’em up. Taking out a variety of enemies, whether by yourself or with friends, is just a straightforward and cathartic experience. These straightforward games will always hold a special place in our hearts as we reflect on those well-known titles from our youth and experience genuine nostalgia. We list 14 beat’em up games in this article for you to play with friends.
Streets Of Rage 4
The Streets of Rage series, along with Final Fight, is one of the genre’s forerunners and doesn’t really need an introduction. The most recent game in the venerable series, Streets of Rage 4, featured polished brawler action, distinctive characters, a crazy plot, and precise stage design.
Independent developers DotEmu were able to keep the arcade feel of the first Streets of Rage game while incorporating contemporary sensibilities like better checkpoints and online multiplayer, which is what makes Streets of Rage 4 so recognizable. Additionally, the artwork is absolutely stunning.
Cuphead
Cuphead may not at first glance appear to be your typical beat ’em up, but if you look closer, you’ll discover that it shares a lot of similarities with other games in the genre. Brawler mechanics and shoot ’em up elements combine in Cuphead, a brutal, taxing, and endlessly replayable action game.
Paint The Town Red
Paint the Town Red is a unique and unusual game with an odd, quirky aesthetic. The first few times you play this game will be an enjoyable experience full of silliness and a few interesting game modes, but the fun won’t last for very long because the game becomes incredibly repetitive, almost like you’re playing the same big-headed characters and recycled mechanics over and over again.
Even so, this game is fairly violent, and the objective is to literally paint the town red with human blood. It’s not a bad deal for some stress relief given the price.
Final Fight
This is the first game on the list that will make you feel nostalgic like a cool breeze from the 1980s. This side-scroller was supposed to follow Street Fighter as a kind of sequel but instead was turned into a standalone game with a slightly different feel.
Final Fight tried to put more emphasis on the narrative, where you play as one of three characters who are all skilled fighters in their own art hunting down the gang that kidnapped one of their daughters.
Although it’s a classic game that’s enjoyable to play from time to time, it hasn’t held up very well over time. Retrospect can be difficult at times.
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
This quirky, colorful, enjoyable, and challenging side-scrolling beat ’em up game was released in conjunction with the movie of the same name.
It confirmed people’s love of straightforward mechanics and elevated them to new levels while serving as a homage to early games of the genre.
This game can also be enjoyed more by playing it with a group of friends. While battling Ramona’s evil ex-boyfriends, you can play with up to four other players. Any assistance that you can get may be necessary.
One Finger Death Punch 2
Although there are a few changes that enhance the overall experience, this sequel is just as entertaining as the first.
An oddball little two-button action game with stick figures for the artwork and enemies attacking from the left and right forces you to keep your eyes in the back of your head and brutally murder them as best you can.
Obviously, the more brutal, the better, right? One Finger Death Punch 2 manages to avoid the problem of repetitiveness by sticking to its creative and violent fundamentals. An easy treat is this game.
Captain America And The Avengers
Another old-school beat ‘em up arcade game that was easily the best superhero game at the time, Captain America and the Avengers invites players to take on bad guys as one of four members of the Avengers: Hawkeye, Vision, Iron Man, or Captain America.
Each character is equipped with fighting techniques for close combat as well as the ability to use unique abilities and weapons to subdue foes. The game’s main antagonist is Red Skull, but other well-known Marvel enemies like Juggernaut, Ultron, the Sentinels, and many more make cameos.
Fight’N Rage
A side-scroller beat ‘em up game that took inspiration from the 90s arcade games we all know and love, Fight’N Rage is set et in a distant future where humans are enslaved by disturbing mutants.
They are prepared to take any risk to defend themselves from their oppressors, including two humans and a mutant rebel.
At the time of its release, the game was well received and praised for its nod to the past. The title turned out to be an homage to two classic games–Final Fight and Streets of Rage. Fight’N Rage delivers an engaging and stylish modern-day classic.
The Punisher
Another game that was released in tandem with its movie counterpart, The Punisher is a third-person shooter that offers a combination of exploration, stealth, and combat.
There are a ton of entertaining ways to kill your enemies; you can either attack normally or use a one-button “quick kill” option.
Depending on the antagonist, the setting, and the level of rage coming from Frank’s ears, one of the numerous fatal assaults will be carried out.
The Takeover
The TakeOver is one of the most visually appealing beat ’em ups ever created, taking a lot of inspiration from nineties classics like Streets of Rage and Final Fight.
In addition to having a very appealing art style, the game also has some really impressive environmental effects that add to the combat’s cinematic and high-stakes atmosphere.
River City Girls
The classic series River City Ransom is still going strong thanks to the new River City Girls, and every game on this list owes some of its existence to it. As suggested by the title, you throw hands as the captured Kunio and Riki, the two main characters of the series, and their girlfriends Misako and Kyoko, high school students.
This reversal of the narrative provides entertaining melee combat accompanied by one of the best soundtracks in recent memory.
Lost Judgment
A sequel to the Yakuza spin-off Judgment, this successor is by far the superior game and doesn’t live in the Yakuza shadow. In the title, Takayuki Yagami is the main character as he looks into a criminal who is charged with two crimes.
Lost Judgment builds on the action sequences of the first game but also invests heavily in the stealth approach as well, and includes several fighting styles, new and old.
It is entertaining, and stylish, has an excellent narrative structure, and the pacing is perfect; nothing is hurried and you can fully immerse yourself in the gloom that surrounds this unsettling and realistic story.
God Hand
God Hand features a truly bizarre concept and has gone down in history as an absolute cult classic. The last game produced by Clover Studios is a blend of western and Japanese comedy that focuses on ludicrously ridiculous characters and plots.
It has traditional beat ’em up components as well as a slew of fresh features to help modernize it, some of which include a brand-new system that enables you to create combos and add particular fighting styles to the gamepads.
Dragon’s Crown
The developers of Grimgrimoire, Muramasa the Demon Blade, and Odin’s Sphere, Vanillaware, also produced Dragon’s Crown. Like in all of Vanillaware’s games, the characters and background have all been exquisitely hand-drawn in a unique artistic style.
Dragon’s Crown is a four-player beat-em-up with strong RPG components and countless replay opportunities because of the various classes and levels.