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What are the best Beat 'em up games on Steam?

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Aug 5, 2023

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14 Games Considered

Best Beat 'em up games on Steam	Price	Platforms	Co-Op
-- Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara	$14.99	Windows	4 Player Online / 4 Player Couch
-- Castle Crashers	$14.99	E	I
-- Gang Beasts	$19.99	Win / Mac / Linux / Everything / APK	Local/Online Multiplayer
-- Ascendant	$9.99	-	-
-- Yakuza 0	$19.99	-	-

Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara

Top Pro

Allows for 4-Player co-op (online and local) just as in the arcades

Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara has 4 player local and online co-op play which is the same scenario that the arcade allowed with up to four players at the same time. See More

Top Con

Co-op is spotty and limited

There is no way to mix local and online players, so it has to be one or the other. On top of that the net code seems a bit spotty as disconnects can happen. See More

Specs

Co-Op:4 Player Online / 4 Player Couch

Controller Support:Full

Top Pro

Not just a normal beat 'em up

There are a few additions that make these games more than just a regular beat 'em up. Branching paths, item shops with usable inventory and special player abilities create a game that is more like an action RPG than a side scrolling beat 'em up. See More

Top Con

Short gameplay

At only 2 hours the games are a bit short and are easily finished in a single sitting, though to be expected as they are ports of classic arcade games, which normally had these type of play times. See More

Top Pro

Widescreen support

Being that the original arcade games in this set were 4:3, it is nice that the developers included a widescreen mode for modern monitor support. See More

Top Pro

Challenges and trophies

Newly added into the game are challenges and earn-able trophies which extends the gameplay by allowing those to seek out these tasks. It also allows for some bragging rights for those that have completed certain ones. See More

Castle Crashers

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Top Pro

The gameplay is very lighthearted and amusing

There are several jokes and silly moments throughout the game. All done without speaking any word. This keeps the game lighthearted and amusing thanks to the humor of the creators and how they infused it into the game itself. See More

Top Con

Fair amount of grinding

There is a good amount of grinding that will need to take place for players to be able to advance past certain bosses. See More

EfficientAjatar's Experience

very fun especially with friends See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Controller Support:G

Top Pro

Supports co-op up to 4 players

The most fun to be had with the game is during four player co-op play. The unlockables and upgrades also keep the player wanting to come back and play just a bit more with their friends. The co-op is available as local and online. See More

Top Con

Bugs that appeared in the original XBox title were not fixed for the PC port

There are still bugs and glitches in the game that were in the original XBox version. Even though there were simple fixes for some of these the dev nor publisher bothered to address them. See More

Top Pro

Individualistic levels

Each level in the game has its own look and design which can keep the gameplay varied thanks to creating a need to explore in order to see what comes next. Ranging from deserts to ice filler terrain, there is no level that looks the same. See More

Gang Beasts

Top Pro

Outlandish ousting of opponents can be quite a surreal experience

Players can throw their opponents into huge industrial shredders or under the wheel of traffic to hilarious and gross effect. This is the goal of the game: taking out one's opponents in any way possible. See More

Top Con

Not child friendly

While the graphics are cartoon-like and seemingly geared towards children, the gameplay is anything but. This is definitely not a game for small children due to the violence found within. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Fighting / Tekken / Street Fighter

Co-Op:Local/Online Multiplayer

Controller Support:Full

Top Pro

Works great as a party game with large gatherings, thanks to the large number of players allowed by the built-in local multiplayer

Gang Beasts features local co-op for up to 8 players, which makes this a great game to play when many people are around such as at a party or large gathering. See More

Top Pro

Easily play on multiple platforms thanks to it being available on multiple operating systems

Gang Beasts is available on both Windows, Mac OS and Linux systems. See More

Top Pro

The game engine can lead to unexpected outcomes

From funny to just outright weird glitches along with random mechanics can lead to a replayed level to have a completely different outcome, regardless of button mashing skills. See More

Ascendant

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Top Pro

Old school difficult gameplay

This game is tough, much like arcade beat 'em ups that sucked the player in as well as their quarters. But this is all on purpose as the game has randomly generated levels, much like a roguelike and being like a roguelike, death will be frequent. See More

Top Con

Not much of a story

The game tries to blend different mythologies together into one story containing many different gods. While this is not the worst story to try and tell, once the gameplay begins the story pretty much falls to the wayside. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Mostly Positive

Top Pro

Modify ones attacks

Through the use of "Blessings" the user can modify their attacks and make a custom build character that behaves as they want, for their fighting style. See More

Yakuza 0

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Top Pro

Perfect for newcomers to the Yakuza series

If you've never played a Yakuza game before, this is the best place to start. Yakuza 0 is a prequel to the other games, and it assumes that you don't know who any of the existing characters are, so it introduces you to everyone in a way that's welcoming to new players. There are a lot of winks and nods to veterans of the series, but they're not done in a way that will confuse newcomers -- in fact, they add some replay value to the game since you can go back after playing the rest of the series in order to understand these little inclusions. This game also has one of the best stories and gameplay in the franchise, with the Yakuza staples of memorable characters, and wacky side stories mixed in with serious crime drama as you get to know Kiryu and Majima when they were younger. It's an excellent introduction to the Yakuza games as the best of the best of the franchise. See More

Top Con

Not for players who dislike long, involved story cutscenes

If you don't like games that have a lot of story cutscenes, then Yakuza 0 might not be for you. The story shares the spotlight with the gameplay, so you can't really escape the long cutscenes that weave the narrative together, unless you decide to skip all of them. Even though the cutscenes are long, they make sense and they keep you engaged, though players who just aren't into this type of thing may get turned off regardless. See More

SophisticatedSilenus's Experience

brutal actions in this game is impressive See More

Specs

Genre:Action-Adventure, Action RPG, Beat 'em Up

Top Pro

Intriguing crime drama story with exciting twists and turns

Yakuza 0's story is genuinely gripping and well-written, showing the lengths people will go to in order to gain power and status or to protect the ones they care about. The story is set in 1980s Japan during a high point in the economy, with the plot kicking off with Kazuma Kiryu, a young twenty-something yakuza who gets caught up in his clan's internal battle to claim a lucrative plot of land in the middle of downtown Tokyo. He has a strong sense of honor to do what's right by his sworn yakuza family while getting to the bottom of the scheme against him from the higher-ups in his clan. And then the story shifts every two chapters to Goro Majima, who's the manager of a fancy cabaret club as a way to pay off his debt and get back into the yakuza. He soon gets thrown into an impossible situation where he has to murder someone for the first time to get back in the business, but this of course doesn't go as planned. The way Kiryu and Majima's stories intertwine and branch off from each other is filled with several shocking plot twists that feel natural and organic. It's definitely worth experiencing at least once. See More

Top Con

Graphics aren't that impressive

Yakuza 0 has weak textures, stiff character animations outside of cutscenes, and too many repeat copies of NPCs around the city. Invisible walls also block off the city's boundaries. Thankfully the characters and facial animations look great during story scenes, helping to make up for the poor visuals elsewhere. See More

Top Pro

Brutal and entertaining brawler combat

The beat 'em up fights in Yakuza 0 are brutal, with impressive up-close-and-personal cinematics that make the fights a lot of fun. You can hear your opponent's bones crushing as you smash your fist or foot into them, with successive hits building your heat gauge over time. Once your heat gauge is full, you can use a special move against an enemy with a nearby trash can, bike, crowbar, or anything else you can pick up, showing a neat cinematic straight out of an action movie as you smash your makeshift weapon into your attacker. The best part is getting to play as either Kiryu or Majima and experimenting with their different playstyles. Kiryu has three battle styles that he can switch between: Brawler, which is his standard and balanced style, Beast, his slower and tankier build that lets him charge up powerful attacks and carry the heaviest makeshift weapons like whole motorcyles, and Rush, his lightning-fast style with speedy chains and combos. Meanwhile, Majima has three completely different styles: Thug, his equivalent to Kiryu's Brawler, Slugger, a fun yet overpowered style where Majima wields a baseball bat like a sword and nunchaku, and Breaker, a cool style where Majima chains stylish breakdancing moves in succession to keep his enemies stunlocked. The combat here is intense and varied, making you feel powerful while keeping your interest at the same time. See More

Top Con

Starts off a bit slow

The first couple of hours or so are a little slow, with quite a few cutscenes that set up the story in between a tutorial for the controls. It's mixed in with decent exposition and a solid introduction to the characters as Kiryu spends the night out with his best friend Nishiki, so it's something of a slow burn that builds up to the more action-packed story. You need to know these foundations to help you appreciate the story, though, making the lengthier start a necessary evil. It's worth it for the rest of the story, so it pays off to stick with it and try to find some enjoyment. See More

Top Pro

Tons of side content

There's so much to do in between story missions in Yakuza 0, with plenty of quality and polish to keep you entertained for hours. All of the mini-games and side quests almost have a life of their own with plenty of variety and detail. There are dozens of side quests, some of which land Kiryu and Majima in hilarious and wacky situations that never seem too far-fetched. And there are a bunch of other mini-games, like singing karaoke, bowling, golf, gambling at mahjong, "watching" racy videos, managing a cabaret club and a real estate business, disco dancing, and many more. It's hard to get bored with Yakuza 0's plethora side content. See More

Top Pro

Dense and realistic open world set in Japan

Yakuza 0 takes place in the districts of Kamurocho and Sotenbori, both of which are painstaking recreations of the actual Kabukicho and Dotenbori districts in Tokyo and Osaka, respectively. They're not huge locations, but they're packed with details that make them seem much larger. Gleaming with city lights and brimming with people, Kamurocho and Sotenbori are filled with all types of restaurants with various cuisines, stores for you to shop at, and places for entertainment and mini-games. The districts are realistic enough that they make you feel like you're actually there. See More

Top Pro

Incredible English localization

Yakuza 0 is fully voiced in Japanese with an amazing English localization for Western audiences. The localization team did more than simply translate the game -- they made sure everything is relevant for a non-Japanese audience to understand and relate with. Since there's no option for English voices, the subtitles do a great job at bringing the game to life for those who don't know Japanese but still want to appreciate the culture and support the Yakuza series. See More

Code of Princess

Top Pro

Silly story that allows itself to have fun

While the main story arch is not anything new (Princess and friends need to save the world), the game allows itself to have fun as it can be very silly at times. This can make for an enjoyable story for the game despite the generic plot thanks to the humor contained within. See More

Top Con

Character can get hidden when a lot of enemies are on screen

When on the rear plane, the character can easily be hidden behind many enemies on the screen. This makes it difficult to tell what one is or needs to be doing, which can be frustrating. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Mixed

Top Pro

Good localization

The translation of the game done by Atlus is top notch, the story makes sense and there is no issues with things being changed too much. The voice work is also great and quite a surprise for originally being a 3DS game as the cart sizes limit the amount of audio contained in the game. Luckily all of that voice work still remains in the PC version. See More

Top Con

Odd display options

Since this is a port from the Nintendo 3DS, the screen size is not uniform to what is found on most PCs. This means there may be some letterboxing on the sides of the screen depending on what resolution one chooses to play at. luckily the secondary background for the letterboxing can be removed, as it may be distracting to some. This also means that the game is quite pixelated due to the original source material being sub HD quality. So there is a lot of pixelation, which may turn dome people off from the game. See More

Top Pro

Easily extended gameplay

Players can go back to any completed level and play them with any of their unlocked characters. This can be done to earn more points to put into their skills in order to level each character up. While it may be a bit repetitive, it does allow the player to go back and play as much as they want, giving the game some longevity. See More

Top Con

3DS 3d mechanic does not work that great on PC

The game is set up for the player to be able to jump in between three different planes on each level. Fore ground, mid ground, back ground. This was done to take advantage of the 3D view that the 3DS offers. On PC though this does not work as well as the cool visual element of 3D is not there, which means it can just be a pain to hop between planes. See More

Top Pro

Fun combat mechanics

The game focuses on 2D side scrolling beat em up combat, with light and powerful moves that can be easily chained together. The game also allows for quite a lot of juggling of enemies, which works great with all the chains one can make. While it may take a minute to get the timing down, once it is understood, the game offers quite a lot of brawling action. On top of this there are RPG elements where the player can constantly upgrade their players, making for a good way to keep the player interested throughout the game. See More

Top Con

Repetitive gameplay

Something many beat em up style games have trouble with is that the game can become repetitive. This is true of Code of Princess as well, as the gameplay may get stale after much time is spent in the game. See More

River City Ransom: Underground

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Specs

Steam Rating:Mostly Positive

Shank 2

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Top Pro

Has enjoyable co-op

The game has a worthwhile multiplayer mode that is great to play with friends. it is separate from the main campaign (which would make the campaign too easy most likely) in that the players will face off against waves of enemies through coordination. See More

Top Con

Story is pretty bland

The story does not really stand out and is a weak point of the game, though being a side scrolling platforming shooter/brawler the story is not really integral to the gameplay itself. Shank 2 takes on some heavy storied elements but sadly does not really take advantage of them and instead tends to just go over the top, which usually just falls flat. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Top Pro

Nice comic style look

Has Cel-Shaded graphics which displays this games graphics with smooth animations and has lots of attention to detail. See More

Little Witch Academia: Chamber of Time

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Top Pro

Accessible to newcomers who haven't watched the anime

Even if you haven't watched the Little Witch Academia anime, you won't be lost. From the beginning, the game introduces you to Akko's friends by showing you key scenes from the anime that give context to each character. The slower pace at the start also goes a long way to introduce you to the world that you're in, making sure that you really know who everyone is and how the time and magic lore works. You don't have to spend hours catching up on the source material; you can jump right into Chamber of Time and understand what's going on. See More

Top Con

Some of the dungeons are boring

Not all of the dungeons are that fun to play through. Some of them are designed well with lots of traps to dodge and mini-puzzles to figure out, but others are just a drag. They're not inventive or exciting at all, with samey designs and almost no challenge involved with the enemies and bosses. They really bring down the quality of the exploration and gameplay. See More

Specs

Genre:Action Role-Playing, Dungeon Crawler, Beat 'Em Up

Top Pro

Fun and flashy beat 'em up-style combat

Combat is satisfyingly fun with lots of spectacle. Playing as Akko with her group of witch friends, you delve into dungeons within the magical academy. Sidescrolling your way through dungeons, you use your wand to fire off colorful magic abilities against the hordes of goblins, skeletons, and other monsters. Enemies are relentless, filling up the screen with their presence as you fight back with quick bursts of spells like a beat 'em up game. Everything looks and feels great, keeping things exciting for plenty of hours of dungeon crawling. See More

Top Con

Stiff controls for running and jumping

Running and jumping during combat isn't always intuitive. If you just run and stop, you have to watch your character skid to a halt before she decides to react to you controlling her to jump next. You have to chain the two actions together -- running and then transitioning to a jump -- to keep things smooth. Your character won't simply react in a timely way as she should, making things feel rigid. See More

Top Pro

Great anime visuals

The 2.5D art style and animations during cutscenes are wonderful. Characters look amazing, animated in natural ways and drawn with bright colors that stand out from the backgrounds of the school corridors and classrooms. Everyone's personalities shine through in their designs as well, with calm, collected characters looking put-together and in control, and more gregarious characters like Akko gesturing wildly or making funny expressions. Chamber of Time is a lot like an anime ported to a game, pulling off a unique and charming visual style. See More

Top Con

Characters repeat the same combat lines over and over

The repetitive lines characters shout out during combat can easily get on your nerves. Each time you shoot your spells, everyone says the exact same line again and again, with little to no variation. It's so bad that you might want to consider turning off the voices altogether, and possibly turning the volume back up once you're finished dungeon crawling for the day. See More

Top Pro

Funny story premise of the protagonist trapping her academy in a time continuum

The basis of the story is entertaining in how silly it is. The main character, a young witch named Akko, is so clumsy and irresponsible that she manages to accidentally get her magic academy stuck in a time continuum. She tries to solve the problem with her friends, who seem to be the only other ones who don't notice that the school is stuck living out the exact same day over and over again. It's funny seeing the other NPCs act like all is well when things are clearly wrong, and it's even funnier seeing how hopeless Akko is at figuring out the whole conundrum. The game never takes itself too seriously, giving you the chance to laugh over Akko's antics and the absurdity of the situation. See More

Shank

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Top Pro

It's got 2 player couch co-op

The co-op is pretty nice, and is a welcome addition. Couch co-op is pretty uncommon for PC games, but Shank really pulls it off. See More

Top Con

Dodging can be slightly unresponsive at times

Top Pro

Surprisingly good story for a beat-em-up style game

The story in Shank is, surprisingly, pretty great. It's got a pretty large comedic aspect, and while it's not the core of the game by any means, it's definitely a welcome addition and will allow you to enjoy it even more. See More

Top Pro

The action is over-the-top and just all around great

Shank gives you the ability to launch into ridiculous combos at any given time, blood spatters and death are all over the place in this game, comedically so. It fits with the story of the game, everything is fairly light-hearted and it doesn't take itself too seriously. The look and feel of all the different ways you can attack and chain those attacks together is really satisfying. The bosses take a little getting used to, and the higher difficulties can be pretty challenging, if that's what you're in to. Combat is pretty much everything in this game, and it's very well done. See More

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