The Best Fighting Games You Can Play on the PS5

There have been plenty of great fighting games released on PlayStation consoles over the years, and this continues to be the case with Sony’s most recent home console. The best PS5 fighting games beat out the competition with ease, either by offering up an ultra-realistic simulation that demands near-god-like reflexes or a fun-filled and fast-flowing free-for-all that just about anybody can pick up and play.

It may have taken a little while for the console to really find its footing when it comes to its ever-growing selection of fighting game offerings, but it’s now really starting to come into its own. With next-gen installments of Street Fighter, Tekken, and Mortal Kombat all landing in 2023, it really is a great time to be a fighting game fan, particularly for those who happen to own a PlayStation 5.

12 Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2

OpenCritic Rating: 71

There have been plenty of Smash clones over the years, including Sony’s very own PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale in 2012. In more recent times though, only a handful have really come close to matching the excellence of the popular Nintendo franchise, one of which being Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl. Exactly how close it came is definitely a matter for debate, but most will likely agree that it was a fun game, if nothing else.

The game’s 2023 sequel takes things a step further, bringing together even more of the most popular Nickelodeon characters for a nostalgia-fuelled free-for-all that should appeal to players of all ages. Whether they grew up in the nineties watching shows like Hey Arnold! and The Ren & Stimpy Show or spent their childhood kicking back to the likes of Danny Phantom and Invader Zim, there’s a character here for just about everyone.

11 DNF Duel

OpenCritic Rating: 79

When it comes to 2D and 2.5D fighting games, few developers are quite as well-practiced as Arc System Works. The Japanese studio has played a role in the development of many of the best fighting games of the past decade or so, including 2022’s DNF Duel, which serves as a spin-off of the Dungeon & Fighter games that were hugely popular in South Korea and other parts of Asia around the turn of the century.

The game plays a lot like many of Arc System Works’ other popular fighting games, with a simplified control scheme helping to make life easier for those who are new to the genre. The single-player experience is a little lackluster, unfortunately, but online play is top-notch, and the visuals and animation are bettered only by the game’s beginner-friendly nature.

10 King of Fighters 15

OpenCritic Rating: 80

The King of Fighters franchise has had its ups and downs over the years, which is understandable, really, given that the first game came out all the way back in 1994. King of Fighters 15 definitely marks one of the series’ high points though, with the drastic improvements made to the previous installment’s online mode being a big part of the reason for this.

That’s not to say that the game doesn’t still have its problems, the most notable of which being its grueling difficulty curve, some notable absentees from the roster, and a story mode that makes some of its peers look like The Last of Us or some other narrative-driven masterpiece. Still, for those looking for a fighting game that rewards dedication and mastery, there are few better, at least when it comes to the PS5’s somewhat limited library.

9 WWE 2K24

OpenCritic Rating: 80

After the release of WWE 2K20, it was difficult to see a way back for the long-running WWE 2K franchise. The change of developers hit the series hard, leading to one of the most technically broken video games in recent memory. To their credit, though, the team over at Visual Concepts stuck with it, and, after taking a two-year hiatus, returned with the excellent WWE 2K22. The next few annual installments have continued this upward trajectory.

Though it may not be a fighting game in the traditional sense, WWE 2K24 is no less rewarding, and, against well-practiced opponents or some of the more challenging AI settings, requires just as much dedication to truly master. Its biggest strength, however, is that it is an incredibly fun game, whether being played by nostalgia-driven adults or younger sports entertainment fans.

8 Under Night In-Birth 2 Sys:Celes

OpenCritic Rating: 81

Under Night In-Birth remains something of a niche franchise for casual fighting game fans. However, those more in tune with the genre will no doubt be familiar with the series already, either due to the various revisions of its first installment or its fantastic 2024 sequel Under Night In-Birth 2 Sys:Celes, the latter of which is one of the best 2D fighting games on the PlayStation 5.

The game may not have a popular IP from which to draw its lore and characters and its launch was largely overshadowed by that of Tekken 8, which was released just a few days later. However, it more than makes up for this with its smooth combat and stunning visuals. As with its predecessor, casuals may struggle to get to grips with the game when they first dive into it, but as they begin to master the mechanics, those early frustrations will be forgotten pretty quickly.

7 Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO

OpenCritic Rating: 82

Make no mistake: Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO is a must-play game for both fighting game and Dragon Ball fans. However, it’s certainly not without its flaws. Combat is largely made up of vanish combos and spamming Sparking Mode, and Ultimates are far too easy to counter. Episode Battle mode misses the mark a little as well, skipping over large sections of the story for certain characters while honing in far too closely on others. The what-if scenarios are a nice touch, but the fact that most of them are unlocked simply by finishing an episode quickly grows tiresome pretty fast.

The best thing about Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO is arguably its large roster, but this too becomes far less impressive once you realize that around a third of the 182 launch characters are just different variations of Goku, Gohan, Vegeta, and Trunks. Once every alternate form and transformation has been taken out of the equation, the Sparking Zero roster isn’t that much larger than the ones found in Xenoverse 2 and FighterZ, the latter of which offers a much more satisfying combat experience and a more carefully curated story mode.

6 Dragon Ball FighterZ

OpenCritic Rating: 86

At launch, many saw Dragon Ball FighterZ as one of the best Dragon Ball games in years. Sadly, the absence of rollback netcode did start to become a bit of a problem as the size of the game’s community began to dwindle, but this long-requested function was eventually added as part of the game’s early 2024 current-gen port.

There’s an incredibly diverse roster on offer here, with 24 playable fighters in the base version of Dragon Ball FighterZ and a further 20 available through paid DLC. Those still enjoying the 2018 title will be hoping that the game’s current-gen release will attract enough new players to keep things ticking over until a true successor can be found.

5 Guilty Gear Strive

OpenCritic Rating: 86

Guilty Gear Strive was easily the best fighting game to come out of 2021 and ranks among the very best fighting games available on the PS5. Granted, it perhaps ran out of steam a little faster than some may have liked, but in short bursts, and when played together with friends, it remains one of the genre’s most enjoyable offerings and a great way to familiarize oneself with fighting games in general.

With so many modern fighting games opting for 3D graphics, it’s nice to see a franchise sticking to its 2D roots, and the game is all the better for it. The visuals are crisp and at times absolutely stunning, while combat can at times be far more intuitive than it is in a lot of other anime-style fighters. Certain characters are a lot more difficult to master than others, but this is pretty normal for a fighting game, and, to many, is all part of the fun.

4 Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate

OpenCritic Rating: 83

Though it started life as an eighth-generation console game, Mortal Kombat 11 feels no less at home on the PS5 than any of the platform’s other big fighting games. Of course, the game’s next-gen patch certainly helps a lot in this regard, offering up enhanced visuals, a 4K dynamic resolution, and improved loading times, as well as several other big changes.

Together with Tekken 7, Mortal Kombat 11 took advantage of some of the missteps surrounding Street Fighter 5‘s release and Virtua Fighter‘s prolonged absence to really cement the series’ place as one of the fighting game genre’s very best franchises. The story mode is one of several highlights, but it was perhaps the decision to slow down the combat just a little that made the game truly great.

3 Mortal Kombat 1

OpenCritic Rating: 84

Those who played through Mortal Kombat 11‘s story probably weren’t all that surprised by the decision to reboot the series, but for everyone else, it came as a bit of a shock. Liu Kang’s new universe is very different from the one that preceded it, but that’s not a bad thing at all. In fact, there’s a strong argument to be made for Mortal Kombat 1 being one of the better Mortal Kombat games as a result of the devs’ decision.

Granted, the god-awful Switch release and an issue that made it impossible for player 2 to perform certain combos cast a slight shadow over the game’s launch, but it’s an excellent game nonetheless. The combat is solid, the story mode is top-tier, and the roster is well thought out. Mortal Kombat 1 rises to the challenge of Street Fighter 6, and although it arguably falls a little short, it’s still one of the best fighting games on the PS5.

2 Street Fighter 6

OpenCritic Rating: 92

Releasing before the likes of Mortal Kombat 1 and Tekken 8 was definitely a gamble on Capcom’s part, but it’s one that definitely paid off. More than any other game before it, Street Fighter 6 feels like a true next-gen fighting game and a natural evolution for a tried and tested formula that had arguably been tried one or two too many times in recent years.

The introduction of a modern control scheme makes the game infinitely more accessible, yet the decision to hold onto classic controls rewards fighting game veterans and encourages new players to get better. World Tour mode is a welcome distraction too and serves as a blueprint for a new type of fighting game that blends together explorative open-world gameplay with fun-filled and fluid combat.

1 Tekken 8

OpenCritic Rating: 90

Of the big three fighting game franchises to have made their way over to current-gen consoles, Tekken is by far the most grounded. Rather than bombarding their opponent with projectiles or zipping across the screen to land quickfire attacks, players are forced to take a much more measured approach to combat. As a result, mistakes are more easily punished and there’s a bit more of an emphasis placed on defense.

All three of the heavy hitters have their strengths and weaknesses and each will likely appeal more to different types of players. However, for those looking for a more realistic combat experience, Tekken 8 is arguably the best fighting game on the PlayStation 5. Its single-player offerings may be a little on the short side, but the standard is up there with the very best, and the online play is more than serviceable thanks to the game’s improved rollback netcode.