Best Martial Arts Games

When it comes to video game tropes, martial arts has a lengthy history that spans decades of arcade, home console, and PC game releases.

While early martial arts-themed games were primarily 2D beat ’em ups, nowadays you can find games with martial arts combat across numerous categories of diverse genres.

To prove it, here we’re highlighting the best martial arts games for PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch that let you kick butt in style.

This includes not only martial arts fighting games but also strategy and open-world games that feature martial arts-inspired combat.

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Related:Best Games Like SifuBest Action Games On PC 2025

First on our list is Nitro Kid, an indie game where you explore a futuristic world with colorful visuals and a unique viewpoint.

Each run sees you choosing a special agent and using their distinctive set of cards, abilities, and playstyle to fight through secured floors of the “Infinity Tower.”

The game features grid-based combat that emphasizes tactics and synergy by using your agent’s cards to slide around enemies, utilize environments, and perform combos.

As you progress, you can modify your playstyle with new card upgrades, infusions, and patches for your agents.

Shadow Heroes is another roguelike martial arts game that takes a more rapid and dynamic approach to its combat.

Divided into two modes – Clearance and Stadium, it currently offers 3 distinct levels with multiple stages where players can stand toe-to-toe with powerful foes.

The longer you fight, the superior the rewards and the harder the enemies, as tougher variants and even bosses will try to swarm you on screen.

There are several heroes to pick from, each with their own gameplay style and “evolve effects” that introduce potent modifiers.

It’s evident by now that developer Sloclap has a knack for martial arts fighting games, as demonstrated by titles like Absolver and more recently, Sifu.

The latter of which has been consistently praised for its precise combat, detailed environments, and captivating story.

In it, you take on the role of a martial arts pupil seeking vengeance against your father’s killers using a mystical talisman that resurrects and ages you up following every death.

The game’s combat is inspired by Bak Mei Kung Fu and includes over 150 distinct attacks that can be chained together to create powerful combos.

The Yakuza games are known for their stunning 3D combat and Judgment continues this trend as a worthy spin-off to the beloved series.

Equal parts action and investigative work, the story follows Takayuki Yagami after he’s dispatched to solve a series of homicides involving a killer who removes their victims’ eyeballs.

To solve the case, players take to the streets of Kamurocho to track down clues, investigate crime scenes, and help resolve minor crimes.

This often calls for some hand-to-hand combat with thugs and lawbreakers that draws extensively from martial arts techniques.

To get a better picture of Sloclap’s developer journey, we suggest returning to the studio’s earlier dabbling with martial arts, Absolver.

Combining real-time combat with RPG mechanics, this game has you assuming control of a mysterious wanderer who explores barren lands getting into fights.

Absolver’s world is unique in that it’s inhabited by both AI-controlled opponents and human players dubbed “Prospects.”

As far as combat is concerned, Absolver puts a substantial focus on position and posture with the option to incorporate melee weapons into your fighting style.

Developed by Sucker Punch Productions, Ghost of Tsushima is a highly-praised PlayStation-exclusive that features savage, martial arts-inspired combat.

In it, players are transported to 13^th century Japan to play as a samurai compelled to defend his home after it’s invaded by the Mongols.

Part of the plot centers on the main character’s struggle to resolve his sacred traditions with less-honorable ‘ghost’ tactics that have become necessary for survival.

This is passed on to the player, who must determine which tools and strategies to use when approaching each challenge the game throws at them.

FromSoftware is another outstanding game developer that has dabbled with martial arts throughout the years in games like Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

Set in Sengoku-era Japan, this game casts you as a Shinobi warrior on a mission to avenge both himself and his master by killing the samurai who severed his arm.

To aid him in battle, the Shinobi carries a katana and other conventional Japanese weapons that make ingenious use of his prosthetic arm.

As we’ve come to expect from FromSoftware games, Sekiro’s martial arts-inspired combat is extremely demanding and requires quick reflexes to beat your opponent.

If you’re in the market for a multiplayer martial arts game, Naraka: Bladepoint is undoubtedly one of your finest options.

Set within the confines of a battle royale, it sees up to 60 players engaging in swift-paced arena combat using both close and long-range weaponry.

This is influenced by each fighter’s distinct playstyle with consideration for different skills and abilities that mirror martial arts techniques.

Lastly, unlike many other battle royale games, Naraka puts mobility and positioning at the heart of each battle.

For a more lighthearted take on martial arts combat, check out Tribute Games and Dotemu’s retro-inspired beat ’em up TMNT: Shredder’s Revenger.

Starring the iconic pizza-loving cartoon characters, the game follows the Ninja Turtles on an adventure to bring down their biggest baddies.

Along the way, they’ll link up with crime-fighting companions like April O’Neil, Casey Jones, and Master Splinter to deliver justice across the bustling city.

Each character has a distinctive fighting style, weapon, and special attack that can be combined with other players to pull off tag-team beat-downs.

The Legend of Tianding is another indie beat ‘em up that incorporates martial arts techniques into its combat system.

In it, players assume control of a Taiwanese folk hero as he carries out a mission to rob the rich, feed the poor, and above all else, fight for what’s right.

This swiftly proves challenging as the main character encounters a host of corrupt officials and thugs draining the lifeblood of Taipei City.

To save his home, he arms himself with a tanto, waist sash, and Kung Fu techniques that can be further amplified using magic talismans.

Returning to martial arts deckbuilders for a hot second, Fights in Tight Spaces is a high-energy action game with strategic turn-based combat.

This is done using dynamic decks constructed from a pool of 200+ cards that cover a broad range of playstyles with distinctive effects.

Additionally, each run throws random events that branch out in diverse directions depending on the player’s decisions.

Aspiring players can take the action further by tackling daily challenges and competing for a spot on the online leaderboards.

Next up we have9 Monkeys of Shaolin, another martial arts beat ’em up about an improbable hero on a mission for revenge.

In it, you take on the role of a Chinese fisherman who decides to take justice into his own hands after his village is slaughtered by a group of raiders.

However, before he can do so, he’ll have to master hand-to-hand and polearm combat techniques influenced by martial arts.

The rest of the journey plays out over 25 hand-crafted levels where players can unlock new weapons to bring with them into battle.

A novel sandbox martial arts game that’s made much better by the use of modding, Overgrowth is a standout indie fighter from Wolfire Games.

Players are cast as a nimble, acrobatic ninja rabbit on a quest to free their people from their evil overlords.

This is done by infiltrating enemy camps and defeating them using agile jumps, kicks, and throws via a straightforward and simple control scheme.

The game encourages you to experiment to discover new combos, tactics, and techniques to create your own martial arts film sequences.

Based on the manga of the same name, Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise is another Yakuza spin-off that draws heavily from martial arts tropes.

Exclusive to PS4, the game has you assuming control of a martial arts master as he sets out to rescue his fiancée from an ally-turned-rival.

From the outset, Lost Paradise sets itself apart with exaggerated writing and action pulled out of an early Kung Fu action movie.

You’ll often find yourself surrounded by throngs of foes and having to utilize special martial arts techniques to make it through the fierce fight.

Combining open-world exploration with martial arts combat, Sleeping Dogs is a beloved action crime game about a cop tasked with taking down the Triads.

To do so, he’ll first have to go undercover, establishing himself in Hong Kong’s criminal underworld while fighting for his life.

During the journey, he will acquire expertise in lethal combat techniques and seize a firearm when necessary.

The best way to play the game in 2025 is with the Definitive Edition, which updates the critically celebrated title for modern hardware while bundling all DLC.

To wrap up our list, we’re including Shuyan Saga, a unique blend of visual novel and 3D fighting action game that focuses on martial arts combat.

Set in a fantasy world based on ancient Chinese martial arts, it sees you embarking on a transformative journey to become a Kung Fu disciple.

It’s not long before your skills will be put to the test after an evil army emerges and threatens to destroy the Five Kingdoms.

Leveraging soft and hard Kung Fu styles, the game features 300+ motion-captured combat animations in the style of Shifu Longfei Yang, Master of the Shanxi Praying Mantis Style.