In a world brimming with open-world epics, sprawling RPGs, and competitive shooters, there’s a genre that often gets overlooked, one that’s been with us longer than many people realize, but also mistakenly perceived as impenetrable or niche – the fighting game.
Fighting games are something I personally consider probably the purest form of gaming. They put you up against a fairly equally equipped opponent that is there only to test your skill and familiarity with your chosen character’s moveset. Beneath the surface of complex inputs and intimidating combo strings lies a world of unparalleled competitive depth, pure skill-based exhilaration, and a rich history that has consistently pushed the boundaries of video game technology. If you’ve ever craved a gaming experience where every victory is earned through your own dexterity and strategic prowess, it’s time to step into the ring, which I can’t recommend highly enough for you to try.
The roots of fighting games stretch back to the golden age of the arcades. While general one-on-one combat existed before, it was Street Fighter II in 1991 that truly ignited and established the genre’s most common features, underlining many of the conventions we still see today: a diverse roster of characters, special moves, combo systems, and a dedicated “Vs.” screen. Street Fighter II wasn’t just a game; it was a cultural phenomenon that transformed arcades into arenas where players would gather, quarter in hand, to prove themselves against friends and strangers alike.
From this explosion emerged a whole host of legendary franchises, most of which are still around and – according to some – better than ever, each with its own distinct flavor.
Mortal Kombat ripped onto the scene with its digitized graphics, gritty aesthetic, and gruesome Fatalities, challenging the more cartoonish look of its competitors. Some time later, Tekken evolved 3D combat, previously mostly dominated by Virtua Fighter, emphasizing intricate character animations and a focus on smooth, 60 frames per second gameplay. King of Fighters, meanwhile, brought team-based combat and a vast, interconnected lore, while Guilty Gear carved out a niche with its blazing speed, anime-inspired, hard-rocking, and hard-pounding style, along with incredibly deep combo mechanics. These franchises, and many more, aren’t just games; they’re ongoing sagas, evolving with each iteration while retaining their core identities.
What truly sets fighting games apart is their unwavering focus on pure gameplay, unburdened with exaggerated exposition. There are no loot boxes to grind, no experience points to be earned, and typically minimal story elements to distract. Your success or failure rests entirely on your understanding of game mechanics, timing, and execution. It’s a true test of reflexes, pattern recognition, and psychological warfare. To me—the purest definition of a game.
Every button press matters. Every movement is a decision. Learning a fighting game is like learning an instrument or a martial art—it requires dedication, practice, and a willingness to learn from your mistakes. The satisfaction of finally landing a difficult combo, baiting an opponent into a trap, or executing a perfect “read” is an intoxicating feeling that few other genres can replicate. This high skill ceiling means that even after hundreds of hours, there’s always something new to discover, a subtle nuance to master, or a new opponent to challenge your understanding.
While fighting game depth can appear daunting, many modern fighting games are more accessible than ever before, offering robust tutorials and simplified control schemes to ease new players in.
Not just that – the communities forming around this genre are quite honestly one of the most supportive and wholesome out there. I vividly remember picking up Killer Instinct for my Xbox One and after settling a bit, playing the arcade mode until I figured I got the mechanics down, I ventured into the host of online modes. To my surprise, pretty much every single opponent that pounded me to the ground kept asking for rematches. At first, I assumed it was to score more victories against a less skilled player, but to my surprise, most of them would pause to signal certain scenarios to have me realize what I was doing wrong. It was that time that it hit me – they hadn’t stayed to kick my butt – they wanted me to see what it was that brought me to my doom, and they wanted to see me get better.
Some fighters are noticeably more newbie-friendly than others, and while I grew to appreciate both “easy to learn but hard to master” as well as “will chew you up from the get-go” kinds of games, I would like to implore you to at least get a taste of this often overlooked genre with some of the titles mentioned below.
For newcomers, while totally NOT the simplest games to start with, titles like Street Fighter or the aforementioned latest Killer Instinct are excellent starting points. They offer a solid foundation that’s more or less applicable to most fighting games out there. Both also come with innovative modern control styles or assist features that can simplify executing special moves or combos, allowing players to focus on fundamentals and strategy before diving into more complex and deliberate input strings. Similarly, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is renowned for its approachable mechanics and emphasis on timing and spacing, making it a great entry point into the anime fighter sub-genre.
SNK games are often cited as some of the most demanding games out there, where executing a move is often considered to come with commitment, as those games rarely allow us to course-correct after a badly timed or spaced attack, having us simply live with whatever retaliation comes from our opponent. But there is an SNK game I consider a really good entry point into the world of 2D fighters, and that’s Samurai Shodown. “Samsho,” as some people call it, is a game that focuses on bare basics with relatively simple input commands and powerful single strikes. The game’s core design focuses on general concepts of movement, spacing, and timing that are oh-so-important in just about any other one-on-one fighting game out there – basic principles that somehow come overlooked in favor of memorizing specific commands, flashy combo strings, and strategies that realistically come useful mostly under very specific circumstances.
It personally took me a long time, but after playing fighting games with bigger or lesser successes for almost two decades now, I realized quite often the difference between success or failure isn’t even in being able to whip out the most damage-dealing and most immobilizing combination of attacks, but in keeping myself from making simple mistakes, like jabbing when it isn’t safe to do so; jumping straight into an anti-air attack, or dashing into an opponent that is visibly just waiting for it.
Dead or Alive is a series worth looking into for a game that’s simple mechanically to get into but satisfying to play – with simple inputs and flashy, punchy moves. That said – sadly, because of its fan-service aspects, with skimpy female outfits and feminine body part jiggle physics, the series seems to be massively overlooked by many players. However, should you wish to give it a shot while not being too worried about your significant other asking questions about you playing a game featuring bikini-clad damsels all day long, the last entry in the series, Dead or Alive 6, toned down those particular aspects quite massively.
Dragon Ball FighterZ is also one that comes to mind when it comes to games that are very satisfying to play even for a beginner, with its flashy visuals and true-to-source-material art style, combined with reasonably simple input combinations necessary to execute moves that make us feel like the ultimate badass.
With the recent renaissance of fighting games came a bevy of remasters and re-releases, which not only touch up on visual aspects but also bring online play to games that were previously confined to arcade machines or locally played consoles. Games like Marvel vs. Capcom just received that sort of treatment with the Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection, and while those games are very mechanically deep, with seemingly endless matchup combinations and combo potential, I consider their easy-to-execute moves and basic combo structure a very satisfying title to sink teeth into as well.
Once you’ve tasted victory and are hungry for more, there are plenty of titles that demand a higher level of commitment and technical mastery.
Tekken 8 is a great example of a fighting game that adds the intricacies of fighting in a 3D space, introducing a greater focus on timing, positioning relative to the enemy player, but also adding more variance in potential dodging possibilities.
Guilty Gear Strive, while streamlined compared to its predecessors, still offers an incredibly fast-paced experience with an emphasis on aggressive pressure.
Then there’s King of Fighters XV, a 3v3 team fighter that requires not only mastery of individual characters but also an understanding of team synergy and resource management. These games reward dedication with an almost limitless ceiling for improvement and expression.
Beyond their gameplay, fighting games have always been unsung heroes of technical innovation. Due to their tight environments and focus on just a couple of characters occupying the screen, these games often come with a high level of visual fidelity.
Think back to the sprite work of Street Fighter Alpha 3 on the PlayStation, squeezing incredible animation fidelity out of limited memory. Or consider Soulcalibur on the Dreamcast, a launch title that stunned with its beautiful 3D graphics and smooth 60 frames per second gameplay at a time when many games struggled to hit that benchmark. In more recent history, Guilty Gear Xrd was a groundbreaking title, making 3D models look indistinguishable from hand-drawn anime with its innovative cel-shading techniques used in Unreal Engine. Tekken 7 and now Tekken 8, both built on Unreal Engine 4 and 5 respectively, continue to showcase incredibly detailed character models, dynamic lighting, and destructible environments, running at a rock-solid 60 FPS—a crucial benchmark for the genre. The recent Mortal Kombat 1 half-sequel, half-reboot pushes photo-realism and visceral impact with its ridiculously detailed facial animations and cinematic attacks, serving as a visual benchmark for the current generation.
The genre often serves as a technical showpiece for its target hardware, demonstrating impressive graphical leaps with each generation. Its inherent design principles focusing on direct interaction with a single opponent allows the developers to push visuals, animation fidelity, and low-latency performance that other genres, with their expansive or highly interactive worlds, sometimes have to compromise on.
The other huge pro to trying out fighting games is the fact that the vast majority of them are pretty forgiving in terms of hardware necessary to play them. Being a Steam Deck owner, which I consider a good low-spec entry point into gaming, I keep being surprised how well all those new fighting games scale onto a less powerful gaming system than the full-sized battle station most players seem to have. Their no-fluff, no-hours-long cutscenes, pick-up-and-go design principles also make them the perfect travel companion, allowing players to enjoy a couple of matches in a pinch before they have to get off a bus or train.
At their core, fighting games represent a pure form of competitive gaming—if not against other players then against the AI. They strip away the elaborate, world-building elements, leaving you with nothing but your own skill, your chosen character, and an opponent. It’s a direct conversation between two players, moderated and controlled only by the game’s core mechanics. This directness, combined with the genre’s rich history and constant technical evolution, makes fighting games an incredibly rewarding pursuit.
So, if you’re looking for a gaming experience that challenges you, rewards your dedication, and celebrates pure skill, don’t shy away from the arena. Pick a character, learn a few moves, and experience the thrill of victory earned through your own two hands.
You might just discover your next gaming obsession, as I did all those years ago.
Marek Godorowski | Writer @ Mocap.games
