Best Beat ‘Em Up Games 2025

Beat ’em ups hit their stride during the arcade’s golden years and also had a robust presence on retro game consoles like the NES and Sega Master System.

Fast-forward to today where the finest beat ’em ups are mainly delegated to smaller indie studios looking to capture the genre’s old school appeal.

So if you’re in the mood for some side-scrolling action, join us as we highlight the best beat ’em up games on Steam, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.

For more retro recommendations, check out our growing library of curated gaming lists, and comment below with your favorite beat ’em up of all time!

Related:Best Run And Gun Games 2025Best Pixel Art Games 2025Best Shoot ‘Em Up Games 2025

Created by indie developer Jacob Dzwinel and published by Humble Games, Midnight Fight Express is a modern 3D beat ‘em up with complex fighting mechanics.

In it, players must battle their way through a criminal underworld using fists, weapons, vehicles, and anything else they can acquire.

To this point, the game lets you perform light and heavy attacks as well as blocks, counters, throws, dodges, powerful finishing moves, and environmental kills.

This is all rendered as streamlined and smooth character animations created using motion-captured data that results in more lifelike feeling combat.

Paying homage to classic arcade beat ’em ups, Final Vendetta is a hard-hitting action brawler with retro pixel art and gameplay.

The story centers on a group of friends tasked with battling their way through the harsh streets of London to save one of the group’s abducted sister.

Along the way, they’ll encounter boisterous gangs like the Syndic8, which have been steadily taking control of the capital.

Final Vendetta features 3 playable characters, 6 unique areas to explore, 4 game modes, and dozens of combos to master.

If you feel compelled to bash a zombie’s head in every once in a while, Zombies and Keys might be for you.

This short but intense undead beat ’em up sees you trying to survive a zombie apocalypse by finding the right keys and heading to the exit.

With no guns in sight, you’ll have to get creative and start pummeling the living dead with anything you can find.

Designed with casual players in mind, the game offers straightforward controls and intuitive twin-stick combat.

Carrying on, Contract Killer is a 2.5D beat ’em up crafted from the ground up for local co-op and PvP.

In it, players star as a diverse cast of furious writing utensils in a comical campaign about taking down evil corporate goons.

The game builds on retro beat ’em up concepts while sporting a unique paper pixel art aesthetic, jazzy soundtrack, and cooperative-driven gameplay.

Outside of the campaign, players face off against eachother or try to survive an unending horde mode with up to 4 players.

Sloclap has a track record for making stellar action games that employ modern control schemes and robust combat mechanics.

Such is the case with the studio’s latest venture, Sifu, an indie beat ’em up that casts you as a martial arts expert on a quest for vengeance.

The game features an incredibly detailed and precise combat system in which every strike feels deliberate, performative, and above all else, satisfying.

Similar to Sloclap’s previous game Absolver, as well as many other games on this list, Sifu can feel incredibly difficult at times, so be prepared to invest a substantial amount of time.

Next up, Young Souls is a visually striking 2D beat ’em up with a captivating narrative and RPG progression.

In it, players take on the role of defiant twins Jenn and Tristan as they fight hordes of goblins and other creatures in order to save their father.

The game boasts hundreds of various weapons, armor sets, and accessories that can be combined to create distinctive builds for each character.

Young Souls can be played solo by swapping between the twins or together with a friend via local shared screen co-op.

If you’re in the market for a rapid-paced beat ’em up, look no further than Super Crush KO, a vibrant 2D brawler by Vertex Pop.

Set in a lively, near-future city, the game tasks you with rescuing your kidnapped kitten and saving humanity from an AI takeover.

To do so, you’ll need to fight your way through waves of lethal robots using lightning-fast attacks that blend run n’ gun action with beat em up combos.

Strictly solo, Super Crush KO features online leaderboards and ranking systems with demanding levels designed to keep you coming back.

The Legend of Tianding is a side-scrolling beat ’em up about renowned Taiwanese folk hero Liao and his plight to plunder the rich, feed the poor, and fight for justice.

The story takes place in early 20th century Colonial Japanese Taiwan and sees players exploring the Dadaocheng area of Taipei city.

Armed with a tanto, waist sash, and agile Kung Fu moves, Liao can pull of intricate aerial combos, grappling hook maneuvers, and more.

In addition, players can collect magic talismans to modify Liao’s playstyle and unlock bonuses such as faster health recovery, stamina-regen, and reduce damage taken.

Our next suggestion is the arcade-inspired multiplayer beat ‘em up TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge.

In it, players follow the iconic crime-fighting turtles as they embark on a new nostalgia-driven adventure to defeat their most perilous villains.

Based on the 1987 animated series, the game sees you and your friends playing as one of the four turtles along with Master Splinter, April O’Neil, and Casey Jones.

With support for up to six players online and locally, you can team up with any pizza-craving buddies to combat the forces of evil once and for all.

Heavily inspired by NES side-scrolling brawlers, Jay and Silent Bob: Mall Brawl is an 8-bit retro beat ’em up through and through.

In it, you and a friend play as the titular Jay and Silent Bob as they battle their way out of the mall by bashing enemies into fragments.

Both characters are equipped with hard-hitting attacks that allow them pull off powerful combos, dashes across the screen, and hefty elbow drops.

On top of that, players can pick up various weapons scatter throughout levels and use them to beat the brakes off of weak enemies and formidable bosses alike.

9 Monkeys of Shaolin is another contemporary update of the classic beat ’em up format that casts you as a humble Chinese fisherman named Wei Cheng.

Essentially a revenge tale, the story sees Wei taking retribution into his own hands after a group of raiders massacres his entire village.

To be successful, players will have to learn the basics before mastering three unique fighting styles that rely on using a battle staff and hand-to-hand combat.

The game’s story plays out over 25+ levels with unique environments and includes 10 different polearm weapon types to collect and carry into battle.

The saying “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it” applies so flawlessly to Silver Dollar Games’ swift-paced beat ’em up One Finger Death Punch.

Best known for its casual-minded controls and cinematic kung fu combat, the game is only superseded by its sequel, One Finger Death Punch 2.

Much like the original, it sees players surrounded, outnumbered and forced to wage war with adversaries using a barrage of kung fu moves.

The catch is, you have only two buttons to perform all your attacks spanning 1000 unique animations.

Considering its been nearly 30 years since the release of Streets of Rage 3, devotees weren’t expecting on getting a new entry anytime soon.

However, thanks to the combined efforts of three studios, the series made a remarkable comeback with Streets of Rage 4.

The sequel breathes new life into the iconic beat ‘em up with new fighters and levels that maintain the spirit of the original trilogy.

This is further complemented by novel hand-drawn visuals and gameplay features that help enhance the series’ combat.

Speaking of Streets of Rage, our next suggestion’s soundtrack features music from renowned programmer Yuzo Koshiro.

The Takeover is a side-scrolling beat ‘em up with a unique art style that combines pre-rendered character sprites, painterly backgrounds, and comic book vignettes.

Set in a gritty yet lively urban city, it sees you traversing 7 stages spanning rain-soaked streets, neon-lit arcades, and damp sewer tunnels.

The game supports local co-op for up to 2 players and there are 3 playable characters that can be swapped in and out in while playing.

Best categorized as a modern 3D beat ’em up, the Yakuza series is known for its ridiculous sense of humor and exaggerated combat mechanics.

While numerous standout entries have released throughout the years, we recommend newcomers start with Yakuza 0, a prequel that sets the foundation for following entries.

In it, players follow Kazuma Kiryu’s criminal journey from low ranking thug to Yakuza crime boss during the late 1980s in Kamurocho and Sotenbori.

Players are given free rein to explore both areas and tackle various side quests, street fights, and minigames.

To find more 3D fight ’em up excitement, have a look at the frenzied close-range combat game called Paint the Town Red.

In it, players explore sandbox environments spanning disco nightclubs, biker bars, and other areas stuffed to the brim with enemies ready to fight your character.

Gameplay entails battling enemy after enemy as you force your way through each level picking up nearby weapons or relying on your bare fists alone.

While it’s very gruesome in terms of blood and gore depictions, things never get too excessive due to the game’s voxel-based art style.

Mother Russia Bleeds is a brutal beat ’em up with ultraviolent combat that’s equal parts demanding and pure shock value.

The story is set in an alternate 1980s Soviet Union where a team of fighters manage to break out of prison and try to get even with corrupt police and rival gangs.

Their adventure plays out across a series of levels that really convey the dismal look and ambiance the game is going for without missing a step gameplay-wise.

Characters are inclined to taking drugs to restore health or become unstoppable killing machines with enhanced strength/speed.

River City Girls is a love letter to the Kunio-kun series that takes a couple of liberties in adapting the formula to create a thorough contemporary beat ’em up.

The story focuses on two high school students named Kyoko and Misako, who set off on a quest to rescue their kidnapped boyfriends.

Developer WayForward was able to build upon the fundamental gameplay loop of the original while introducing subtle RPG elements.

These include raising your character’s attributes using power-ups and gear, acquiring new moves, and teaming up with companions throughout the game.

This next one’s kind of a scheme since it’s not a single game but rather a collection of unforgettable retro beat ’em ups from Capcom’s back catalog.

Capcom Beat ‘Em Up Bundle includes seven outstanding titles: Final Fight, Knights of the Round, Captain Commando, The Kig of Dragons, and Warriors of Fate.

In addition, it features Armored Warriors and Batle Circuit, both of which were previously unavailable on consoles.

Each game has been updated to include more contemporary features such as save states, local/online multiplayer, and support Japanese/English languages.

The Vintage Fighter Bundle unites 18 entries in the Double Dragon and Kunio-kun series in a solitary and handy package.

Each game has been updated to offer fully localized in-game text, new screen and sound options, in-game achievements, and local/online multiplayer.

Additionally, many titles can be enhanced further using an optional ‘quality up version’ that prioritizes performance over aesthetics.

Considering 11 of the included games never released in North America, this compilation is an excellent way to experience these iconic NES titles in 2025.