10 Games With The BEST Hand To Hand Combat

“Chronicles Of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay” (2004)

Set before the first “Riddick” movie, “Escape From Butcher Bay” is a rare, really good tie-in game. And it also has great hand-to-hand combat. To be fair, it eventually includes gunplay and stealth systems that also work pretty well. And while the melee combat is simple, that isn’t to say it isn’t wholly entertaining. There’s just something so appealing about throwing hands in this game. Maybe it’s the fact that we’re fighting our way through a shadowy prison, or the satisfying crunches that come from every punch to an enemy’s face. Other ways of progressing through encounters are all well and good. But blocking, parrying, brawling; that’s where the gameplay really shines.

“Zeno Clash” (2009)

“Zeno Clash” is a very unique kind of game, set in a world with bizarre lore and an even stranger visual style. It’s also, essentially, a first-person beat ‘em up. You play as Ghat, a man on the run from his family after seemingly killing their parent, known as Father-Mother. You do get some minor ranged weapons at certain points. But their uses are fairly limited and many combat encounters will become bare knuckle scuffles, whether it’s due to groups swarming you before you can get a shot off or just disarming you. Its interesting story and gameplay system were also well-received enough that the developers created two sequels.

“Mad Max” (2015)

The “Mad Max” video game is an underrated gem. And while your first thought of gameplay might understandably go to vehicular warfare, it also has a really solid hand-to-hand combat system. It’s similar to that in the “Batman: Arkham” series, also published by Warner Bros. and which we’ll touch on later. It isn’t quite as refined, but it’s still damn fun dashing between enemies and laying them out with a powerful haymaker. Or, even more satisfying, turning their own weapons against them. You find several weapons as you progress, but ammo is limited in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Plus, the fights are so fun that you won’t miss your guns anyway.

“Streets of Rage 4” (2020)

Most sidescrolling beat ‘em ups focus on hand-to-hand combat, but feature mechanics that are fairly simple. In the case of “Streets of Rage 4,” there’s a bit more to it. It takes the series’ foundation and expands on it in some really cool ways. Each character feels and moves differently, and has their own unique attacks and traits. There are also special moves that take away your health, which you can refill by landing more attacks without getting hit. So, there’s a little more planning when it comes to using them. You’ve also got other super attacks called Star Moves, which you can only use by collecting stars. It adds just enough new to make it stand out in the genre.

“Marvel’s Spider-Man” Series (2018-)

There are a lot of things that make Insomniac’s “Spider-Man” games a blast to play. Even in fights, you’ve got various gadgets and super-powered abilities that have nothing to do with hand-to-hand combat. Still, you could approach most fights without using any of that, just pummeling bad guys in a flurry of punches and kicks, and it would still be a damn good time. Since Peter and Miles are some of the most agile heroes around, Insomniac has nailed their movement. Every action and reaction, every attack, is so fluid and smooth. You want to seek out every villain, from smalltime crooks to vicious supervillains, just so you can give ‘em the ol’ one-two.

“God Hand” (2006)

Another underrated gem, “God Hand” for the PS2 gives you a ton of variety when it comes to beating up your enemies. You can choose different attacks for each of the controller’s face buttons, making for a lot of combos to try out. You have a God Reel, consisting of more powerful attacks that you also get to customize. You basically get to choose the game’s mechanics, catering to your tastes from a huge amount of fighting styles. With so many options, it becomes incredibly fun to mix and match, constantly changing up your moves. Not for nothing, but the game also has a whacky sense of humor that’ll have you smiling throughout.

“Sleeping Dogs” (2012)

In most open world crime games, guns are to be expected. In “Sleeping Dogs,” they’re a back-up option that we honestly don’t miss when we don’t use them. The game follows a police officer who goes undercover with a Triad group in Hong Kong. Thankfully, he’s an expert martial artist. Combat is well-balanced with offensive and defensive maneuvers as you take on groups of enemies. What really makes it fun are the different ways you can use the environment around you, as a means to knock them out or brutally execute them. With the way the story takes you into deeper, darker places, the developers made the right call focusing on hand-to-hand combat, forcing you to literally and metaphorically get your hands dirty.

“Yakuza 0” (2017)

Another crime-ridden open world game, but with a vastly different tone from “Sleeping Dogs,” “Yakuza 0” is credited with having led to the franchise’s popularity in the West. This is why we want to single it out over the full series. And the combat here is genuinely a ton of fun. Here, the developers introduced the ability to swap between different fighting styles on the fly. And both playable characters have different sets. Not only does this allow you to adapt if a certain style will serve you better in a fight, but it’s addicting to pull off combos while changing between them. Each one is so fun that it makes you want to use them all.

“Batman: Arkham” Series (2009-)

Few superhero games have combat that feels as good as that in the “Batman: Arkham” series. Dropping into the middle of a group of goons, and swiftly pummeling them with extreme prejudice, just doesn’t get old. It’s a joy to master, too, ping-ponging between them, countering their attacks, and delivering a legion of blows that’ll surely put them in the hospital. Rocksteady has made several tweaks to Batman’s hand-to-hand combat system since “Arkham Asylum,” building it to perfection. It’s no wonder that so many games have borrowed this style, bending it to fit their own worlds, including the previously mentioned “Spider-Man” games from Insomniac. This series gets a lot of things right, the use of Batman’s fists chief among them.

“Sifu” (2022)

When thinking of fantastic hand-to-hand combat in video games, if the “Arkham” series isn’t what first comes to mind, then it’s probably “Sifu.” The game sets you on a quest for vengeance to take down a group of martial artists that killed your father. And they’ve got plenty of minions to punch your way through. Inspired by Jackie Chan movies, and working alongside a kung fu master, developer Sloclap created a near-flawless combat system. There are more than 150 programmed attacks. But don’t think the variety will give you a leg up; “Sifu” is one hell of a challenge, especially considering its roguelike structure that ages you up, closer to death, each time you fail. It’s tough, but the combat begs to be mastered.

What are some of your favorite games that focus on hand-to-hand combat? Let us know about them in the comments, and we’ll see you next time!