Best Fighting Games With Realistic Combat

For decades, most developers wanted to make something as realistic as possible. Some preferred to stick to cartoony fun, but "realistic (x)" features were big selling points for games back in the day. Metal Gear Solid’s nuclear biped tanks were fiction, but the Socom, FAMAS, and Stinger missiles were real weapons. The cars in Gran Turismo were meant to handle like the real deals. Mortal Kombat digitized real actors to add to its darker atmosphere.

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By  Eduardo Ariedo

Yet, fighting games rarely, if ever, favored realism that much. MK’s actors were real people, but they didn’t actually throw fireballs or decapitate people. Martial arts tournaments don’t feature burning uppercuts like in Street Fighter, and people don’t shrug off getting stabbed like they do in SoulCalibur. But to one degree or another, there have been a few somewhat realistic fighting games.

8 Tekken series

Real-ish Combat.

• Accurate animations, but unrealistic physics.
• Metascore: 96 (Tekken 3)

This one comes with a caveat, as Tekken's juggle-heavy gameplay is definitely not realistic. That’s without getting into the fanciful characters like Mesoamerican war gods, devil-possessed karatekas, and cyber ninjas who can teleport, fly, and impale themselves in order to win battles. But even if the physics and characters are pure entertainment, Bandai-Namco has for the most part tried to replicate its fighting styles accurately.

The developer used actual fighters for the games' motion capture, from Taekwondo practitioner Hwang Su-Il for Hwoarang’s kicks, to karate pro Tatsuya Naka for Lidia’s Shotokan style. Even Minoru Suzuki, Pancrase founder and bullet train wrestler, provided grapples for King in Tekken 3. Not every move is mo-capped like this, but the series does stick closer to its styles than people think.

7 Virtua Fighter series

The Beginning of 3D Combat

• More accurate animations and refined styles. Physics still unrealistic.
• Metascore: 93 (Virtua Fighter 4: Evo)

Tekken's attention to detail likely came from its predecessor Virtua Fighter. Most of T1’s staff originally came from VF1, where they tried to model their moves as accurately as they could even before they had the chance to use mo-cap. They would even try to replicate weight, as smaller characters would strain more to lift bigger ones, or even have new animations if they were huge like VF3’s sumo wrestler Taka-Arashi.

Again, it would come with caveats, as it still had juggle physics and some flashy elements like Kage’s flying headbutts and Izuna Drops. Even so, Sega AM2’s attention to detail set the franchise apart from the pack. Compared to Tekken, Street Fighter, and the other big names, VF’s fighting styles are much more realistic, right down to Goh’s standing clinch throws, Jean Kujo's karate punch barrages, and Vanessa’s MMA ground game.

6 Buriki One

MMA Arcade Style

• Sports-based presentation and rules. Quirky, arcade-based controls and characters
• Metascore: N/A

MMA is practically the top combat sport nowadays, but it was still rising in the ranks back in the 1990s. Japan took to it quite well though. Their shoot-style wrestling promotions already thrived on making the choreographed competition look like the real deal. MMA just gave them the excuse they needed to go full real, or at least as real as PRIDE’s bouts got. Based on this (and not being able to get the Grappler Baki license), SNK decided to make Buriki One.

It essentially tried to make an arcade fighter out of the rising sport, including replicating its rules. Bouts could be won via knockouts, tap-outs, or judges' decisions. Style-wise, it wasn’t 1:1 accurate, with its 2D plane and curious direction-based moves. Its karate, taekwondo and kung fu practitioners also did better in the game than in the real UFC or PRIDE. But presentation-wise, it really captured the atmosphere of modern combat sports.

5 Bushido Blade

An Underrated Pioneer

• Accurate, lethal weapons combat. Bouts can end quickly as a result.
• Metascore: 83

Samurai Shodown and SoulCalibur are the most famous weapons-based fighter franchises around, but no one would call them realistic. Designs aside, its characters are much more durable when faced with sharp blades, heavy clubs, and pointy spears. SamSho would occasionally dare to show blood and dismemberment, with SamSho 5 including MK-esque fatalities. But SC was a surprisingly claret-free experience for a game full of swords.

Bushido Blade was different. It tried to replicate weapons combat more accurately. A swift strike to the opponent’s arms would keep them from fighting back as well. Hitting their legs would stop them from running away. Then one nasty strike to the head or body could be enough to kill them instantly. It only received a single sequel, but the two games are still remembered today for this unique approach to combat.

4 Die By the Blade

Certain Death in a Single Strike

• Bushido Blade-style combat, but with less variety. Demo only as of this writing.
• Metascore: N/A.

That’s not to say there haven’t been other games that tried to follow Bushido Blade’s footsteps. The game’s original developers, Lightweight, even made the Kengo spin-off series that lasted into the PS3/360 generation. But despite a good start, the gameplay lost steam as it went on, with its last entry getting critically panned. Other developers have had better luck.

Die By the Blade isn’t technically out yet, scheduled with just a tentative "2023" release date, but it does have a demo available on Steam. It also opts for Blade’s gameplay, where one strike with a blade can end the bout and the opponent’s life. Limbs can be lopped off, heads can be decapitated, and blood will flow. But if the player can’t get to grips with their weapon, they’ll be the ones getting dismembered.

3 Hellish Quart

Baroque Blade

• Bushido Blade-style combat in the 1600s. Early Access only as of this writing.
• Metascore: N/A.

The only thing that limits Die By the Blade is that the players can only pick varying katana styles, from the giant nodachi to the double-bladed nittou-ryu style. As cool as they are, a lot of their mystique comes from media than real life. They have some big shortcomings that more unsung weapons from their time and after could overcome, as Hellish Quart aims to provide.

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Directly inspired by Bushido Blade, Polish developers Kobold also goes for its lethal, limb-lopping gameplay. Instead of Japan, it focuses on 17th-century Europe, where players can use rapiers, sabers, longswords, and more to test each other’s fencing techniques. The game is currently in Early Access, but even at this stage, its gameplay has received glowing reviews.

2 Fight Night Round 4

The Sweetest Science

• Arguably the best boxing sim game. PS3/360 Only.
• Metascore: 88 (PS3), 87 (360)

If players are after a truly realistic combat experience, they’ll ultimately have to go for sports sims themselves. They’ll replicate the rules, points, and wear and tear in a way that’s truer to life than just emptying an opponent’s life bar. Provided that they’re good to begin with. Luckily, Fight Night Round 4 is one of the best at replicating the ins and outs of boxing.

Players have to work out the best combination of punches to suit their style, be they playing famous fighters like Muhammad Ali or making their own pugilist. Whether they’re an in-boxer, out-boxer, or otherwise, they won't get far flailing their fists wildly. Otherwise, they'll lose stamina, slow down, and become a sitting duck for their opponent’s shots. They can’t Homer Simpson their way out of this competition.

1 UFC Undisputed 3

The Ultimate Fighter

• The most popular UFC game with the best all-around experience. PS3/360 Only.
• Metascore: 86 (PS3), 85 (360)

Outside Buriki One, there weren’t many MMA games around in the late 1990s, and even that game was rare. Now there are plenty to go around, with the EA Sports UFC series being the main series in town. But before Electronic Arts and the UFC made peace with each other, the best and most accurate MMA sim around was arguably UFC Undisputed 3.

Like FNR4, players have to consider their strikes and stamina. They can recover some of it mid-bout, but they can only get so much without a full rest. Fighters also got extra stats to improve their Footwork and Ground Grapple capabilities. Spamming strikes wouldn’t do them any good either, as it was possible to get a TKO on breaking a leg. At the time it was the most in-depth MMA game, and it still holds up today.

More: Open-World Games With Realistic Combat