October 31, 2023
The fighting games genre has been a staple of the esports community for quite some time. From Super Smash Bros to Tekken, fighters set the stage ablaze with maddening combos, defensive blocks, and tricky counters. 2023 has seen the return of some of the greatest franchises, including Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, so we want to take a look at how they compare to other popular fighting games out right now and also take a look at some upcoming titles sure to make waves in the fighting community.
In recent years, the fighting genre has changed quite a bit. There have been a ton of new releases that continue to push the genre forward. With the release of games like Street Fighter VI and Mortal Kombat 1, you may want to hop into a fighting game but don’t know where to start. We’re going to take a look at the top fighting games of 2023 so far and some upcoming releases that are sure to get the fighting community excited.
Granblue Fantasy Versus
Granblue Fantasy Versus launched in February of 2020 and has remained at the top of the fighting games list ever since. This game shares a rich universe that expands through an RPG game and even its anime series. The game features amazing cinematics, and a great combo system, and it makes you feel like you’re inside an anime.
While it is an older title, fans of the series may be looking forward to Granblue Fantasy: Relink -an Action RPG- coming in early 2024. There is a lot of media to explore in the Granblue universe, which makes its characters in Versus that much richer.
Guilty Gear Strive
Guilty Gear Strive is among the best fighting games developed by Arc System Works and was released in June of 2023. It’s a hybrid 2D/3D graphic game with improved character animation and wall-breaking mechanics.
This game boasts a 20-character roster all with unique personalities and movesets that makes for a great way to encounter different fighting styles and keep the game fresh for a long time.
Guilty Gear is one of the biggest fighting game franchises featured at esports events. It makes an appearance at most of the major tournaments like East Coast Throwdown, Ultimate Fighting Arena, and EVO.
Super Smash Bros Ultimate
Super Smash Bros Ultimate launched back in 2018, but to this day, it still has one of the most dedicated fan bases. This is the latest installment in the Smash series, with one of the widest-reaching rosters of any fighting game.
The Smash franchise has had a significant impact on the scene and has won numerous awards. It hosts numerous tournaments throughout the year, which makes its esports scene pretty lively. With its vast roster, it allows the game to be more open as well, with outliers like Steve from Minecraft or Sonic the Hedgehog taking the win in tournaments over fan favorites like Kirby or Cloud.
Mortal Kombat 1
Mortal Kombat is easily one of the most recognizable fighting game sagas and a great franchise for you to look at if you’re looking to enter the competitive fighting scene. Starting back in 1992 on the arcade machine, local competitive Mortal Kombat events have been ongoing since the very beginning.
Mortal Kombat 1, the most recent release coming out in September of 2023, is easily one of the best in the franchise and one of the best to come out in 2023 so far. This game differs from other entries in the franchise with the introduction of a few different mechanics. One of the biggest of the new mechanics is its use of Kameo Fighters. Kameo Fighters are assisting characters who can jump in to join you, lengthen your combos, or add unique fatalities.
Mortal Kombat continues to be a staple of the fighting community, and, with these new innovations, it brings a fresh pace to this timeless game. Even though it is a recent release, it has already taken the world by storm, and you can expect to see this game across the esports circuit.
Street Fighter 6
Street Fighter is synonymous with fighting games everywhere. It is one of the oldest fighting franchises – first released in 1987. Street Fighter continues to be one of the most well-known fighters and proves its longevity with great releases. Street Fighter VI dropped back in June of 2023 and has already been featured on the main stage of EVO. It is a top-rated series with a robust fanbase.
While Street Fighter VI includes more modes and a better online system than its predecessors, its gameplay still echoes the more traditional Street Fighter formula, so if you’re looking for a new game to get into that still has some conventional mechanics, Street Fighter VI would be a great place to start.
Street Fighter VI may have only been out for less than half a year, but it is already considered one of the best fighters to jump into.
Other fighting games to try in 2023
While these are some of the best fighting games being played in 2023, there are still a lot of titles popular amongst the competitors. Melty Blood: Type Lumina, Tekken 7, Dragon Ball FighterZ, Brawlhalla, and Skullgirls 2nd Encore are some other popular fighting games still widely played in 2023.
There are some highly anticipated fighting games that have yet to enter the scene as well. Titles such as Tekken 8 and Riot’s Project L have a lot of eyes on them already and have yet to drop. Tekken 8 is expected to drop in early 2024 and looks to have a decent roster of returning fan favorites as well as some new faces. Tekken 7 is widely considered one of the best in the franchise, so Tekken 8 hopefully takes what Tekken 7 did and improves even further.
Riot’s Project L is highly anticipated as League of Legends is one of the most popular, long-lasting games in recent history. Project L is a fighting game set within the League of Legends universe, and its fanbase is already clamoring for more updates even though the game is still very much in development.
All in all, there are a lot of fighting games out, and it can be hard to figure out where to start. Hopefully, this list has helped you see what some of the biggest titles have to offer, so you can jump and start throwing combos with some of your favorite characters.