Games worth discovering

Five of the best beat ’em ups of all time

4K View2023-07-285 games listed

Nothing is more satisfying than grabbing a controller and beating the hell out of some nefarious henchmen. Whether clearing the streets of crime, grabbing an axe and pretending you’re Conan the Barbarian laying waste to enemies, or fighting it out as expert martial artists, very few experiences top blowing off steam with a buddy in a button-mashing extravaganza. With today’s release of
, there’s no better time to think about some games that have made this genre so addicting. Here are five of my favorite beat ’em ups of all time.

[List created by TapTap Editor
]

Streets of Rage 4

9.4

0 Want

ActionCasualAdventureArcade

Streets of Rage was one of the first beat ’em ups I ever played, but Streets of Rage 2 really sparked my love of the genre. It had a kid fighting on rollerblades while jumping on people’s backs and punching them in the head, for crying out loud! More than three decades later, this series is still going strong. With the release of Streets of Rage 4, we got everything we loved about the originals, with a side of badass new moves to take down opponents, solidifying the series as one of my favorite beat 'em ups ever.

Golden Axe Classics

0 Want

ActionArcade

I feel like everyone that owned a Sega Genesis had this game and for good reason! Sure, it may have started in the arcades, but it was the conversion to the home console where it became a staple that me and my friends had to play. This game was awesome. Not only was chopping away at giants fun, but it had those weird lizard things you could ride. When combined with the fantasy setting, it felt like stepping into a storybook, or better yet, like being Conan the Barbarian while playing as Ax Battler on my revenge quest.

Scott Pilgrim vs The World (PC, PS4, XB1, NS)

8.0

0 Want

Admittedly, I saw the movie first before I ever played the beat ’em up, but defeating the seven evil exes in Scott Pilgrim vs the World was no less satisfying or hilarious! Though released in 2010, the game had a retro style that looked incredible. The awesome pixel art combined with an epic soundtrack and a deep RPG upgrade system to make this one of the most memorable beat ’em ups I’ve ever played.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time

0 Want

Action

No beat ’em up list would be complete without these radical pizza-eating ninjutsu experts. Facing off against Shredder is challenging enough, but doing it through time? Sure, time travel might be a little gimmicky, but the game is undoubtedly fun as hell and still holds up as one of the best beat ’em ups. Even better, if I ever got bored, I could turn this game into a fighting game by playing versus mode against a buddy. There’s a reason this franchise holds up to this day, and Turtles in Time is definitely one of the games that kicked it into beat ’em up history.

Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise Of The Dragons

9.7

0 Want

Pixel GraphicsPost-apocalypticRetroLocal Multiplayer

Double Dragon might be the godfather of all beat ’em ups, and part of that was in its simplicity. Two kung fu masters saving a girl from a gang—that’s it! But it was so much more than that for me. I remember arguing with buddies over who would be the red guy and who would be the blue guy. With the latest entry in the series, we’re thrown back into the action with a variety of fighters all with unique abilities and weaknesses that’ll definitely elevate the conversation from red or blue. With a franchise as historic as this, it definitely deserves a spot on the list.