Close-quarters combat is integral to many action-oriented games, but oftentimes, it can feel clunky or secondary to the other systems players engage with. Deep combat complexity is rare across multiple genres, with true authentic representation of real-world martial styles even harder to find. However, some games make martial arts mastery a defining characteristic of their experience, creating a combat-focused adventure either through its narrative, gameplay, or both.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Great hack-and-slash and beat-em-up games have tons of combat options for players, but these genres usually simplify the action for anyone to pick up and play. Fighting games tend to use inspirations from real martial arts for how their characters play, but many embellish or exaggerate these techniques with supernatural abilities. While adding a fantastical element to games with martial arts inspired combat sometimes elevates the title, keeping some parts of it grounded helps sell the over-the-top action even more.
5. Tekken 8
The Tekken series is perhaps the fighting game with the most martial arts authenticity, besides maybe Virtua Fighter. However, before Virtua Fighter Crossroads likely dethrones it as the most realistic 3D fighting game, Tekken 8 has perhaps the widest range of martial arts combat out of most titles. Although characters execute electric uppercuts and wield supernatural powers, the core behind their fighting styles is still rooted into real-world techniques that are translated well into the game.
For example, characters like Eddie Gordo have long represented the Capoeira style, an Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics, and music together through fluid movements to create a complex but beautiful fighting style. Other martial arts like Muay Thai, traditional Boxing, Taekwondo, Jeet Kune Do, multiple Karate disciplines, and Baji Quan are all represented through different characters, to varying degrees. This grounds Tekken 8 through the complexity of movements tied to these martial styles, even if some in-game systems like Heat create unrealistic interpretations from time to time.
Even the more obtuse fighting styles in Tekken 8 are given a lot of depth. Characters like King, who use a variety of moves from pro-wrestling, have a wealth of advanced techniques tied to that fighting style. The cinematic Wing Chun style seen in movies like the Ip Man series is also represented, but the game doesn’t stop there. The Tekken series has developed entirely new fighting styles, creating fictional arts tied to some of its biggest characters. The Mishima Karate in these games is iconic, and something martial arts fans will love just as much as any existing style.
4. Jade Empire
Jade Empire is an often forgotten BioWare classic, acting as a mythical martial arts RPG that encourages player choice long before the Mass Effect series. While hardly as polished as some of BioWare’s later titles, Jade Empire bears resemblance to classic Wuxia and Xianxia films, where mythology and martial arts collide in high flying, fantastical combat. Similar to Marvel’s Shang-Chi or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, this action RPG uses intense real-time combat to convey its themes and unique world.
The main “Spirit Monk” character of this game is where martial arts fans really get to dig into unique combat mechanics. Multiple builds from progressing your six character attributes can help you create your own fighting style based on your preferences. Different techniques you learn lets you forge a glass cannon, a defensive parry master, and many other types of fighter throughout your journey. The “Open Palm” and “Closed Fist” moral alignments tied to your decisions in the game also influence how you fight, even contributing to the narrative you follow.
The sheer variety in approaches present in Jade Empire will satisfy many players looking for a more personalized martial arts combat system. Although it is far from perfect, the real-time hand-to-hand is interesting to dive into. It also helps that the story of Jade Empire is one to remember, with significant twists and turns that give weight to your adventure.
3. Absolver
When it comes to martial arts customization, there are few games like Absolver out there. This title is an online multiplayer combat game, where you can put your skills to the test in PvP and PvE battles that are meant to challenge you at every step. The real-time fluid action of Absolver is meticulous, difficult, and sometimes hard to understand, but the satisfaction that comes from mastering it is almost unrivaled in any other game.
Four different tactical stances determine your initial fighting style in Absolver, but learning movement and taking advantage of your environment evolves your combat in new ways. Arranging attacks in your combat deck creates a personal attack flow, mimicking a variety of other styles in solo duels or battles against multiple opponents. Adaptability is necessary to acheive victory, but moments of loss will be frequent throughout the learning process. More than other games, Absolver reflects the difficult climb it takes to become a martial arts master, crafting an experience that only the most dedicated will succeed in.
2. Sleeping Dogs
Martial arts are at the core of Sleeping Dogs, an action-adventure game with a large world sandbox often compared to the Grand Theft Auto series. Yet, while Rockstar Games’ franchise is all about getting guns and vehicles, Sleeping Dogs is defined by the gritty encounters that oftentimes devolve into hand-to-hand brawls. This is a game that truly feels like a classic martial arts movie, allowing you to explore a teeming Hong Kong and do whatever you want.
The fisticuffs of Sleeping Dogs is brutal, with your undercover cop character performing near superhuman level feats to take out the most dangerous of Hong Kong’s underworld. Getting into fights in Sleeping Dogs is exhilarating, but the martial arts of this title is enhanced by the other action too. High-speed chases between cars, gunfights, and other diverse conflicts make the eventual kung fu back-and-forth battles feel even more important. The climactic nature of martial arts in this game adds to its aesthetic, which is already distinct with a great story and a fascinating world.
1. Sifu
Every input of Sifu is a love letter to martial arts combat, with strikes, dodges, and other mechanics all paying homage to some style of fighting from across various media. The simplicity of this game’s story gives its combat full focus, with massive levels full of enemies to take out as you charge toward an area’s boss. This game will test every single technique you learn, forcing you to adapt to the challenges enemies present, or grow old and die trying.
The satisfying nature of Sifu‘s combat is hard to put into words, but the cinematic nature of it plays a huge role into how good it feels. Unique finishers make you feel like Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan, using martial arts mastery to take down foes without breaking a sweat. The kung fu action is intense, forcing you to be careful and use the right moves to counter what AI-controlled enemies are doing. Using your environment, learning the timing against a series of strikes, or finding just the right opening could mean the difference between victory and brutal defeat.
Practice is almost a requirement for beating this game, as you unlock new skills in addition to your existing techniques. Since combat is the sole gameplay loop of this title, your journey is one completely dedicated to learning the ins and outs of the martial arts at your disposal. For that alone, Sifu is arguably the best combat-driven game for martial arts fans, with movie-quality action that never gets old no matter how tough it gets.
What is your favorite action-driven game with various martial arts? Leave a comment below or join the conversation in the ComicBook Forum!
