While it’s true that 2021 has been a bit of a lean year for fighting games in terms of quantity, those that have been released this year have more than made up for this when it comes to quality. This was due not only to some long-dormant fighting game franchises returning in 2021, but also a few fantastic new ones making their debuts as well.
The best fighting games of 2021 include a nice mixture of 2D and 3D titles, not to mention plenty of variety when it comes to art styles. With this in mind, it seems safe to say that 2021 has brought something for just about everyone who has an interest in the genre, with at least a couple of these titles likely to remain popular over the coming years.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles
Based on the 2019 anime adaptation of Koyoharu Gotouge’s popular Demon Slayer manga series, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles is just the latest in an ever-increasing number of popular anime-inspired video games to make their way west. For anyone who’s played them, it’s a little reminiscent of some of the classic Naruto: Ultimate Ninja STORM titles, but brings plenty of its own ideas to the table as well.
Though the backgrounds can sometimes be a little generic and the core gameplay loop can at times start to feel a little repetitive due to the lack of game types, it’s still a solid arena fighter with tight controls and a nice variety of combat strings. The Boost and Surge mechanics provide additional tactical elements to proceedings, while support characters can offer some much-needed variety.
In all likelihood, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles isn’t going to offer up the same kind of longevity as some of the other great fighting games of the past decade or so. That said, the excellent story mode and flashy visuals should be more than enough to keep players engaged for at least 20 hours or so. With the game still getting regular updates and brand new characters, this may well increase as time goes on.
Guilty Gear -Strive-
For anyone who’s ever played Guilty Gear -Strive-, it probably didn’t come as too much of a surprise when the Arc System Works title won the best Fighting Game award at The Game Awards 2021. Not only does it hold the highest-critic rating of all of the fighting games released in 2021 on Metacritic, but it also boasts one of the best User Scores on the site as well.
Straight off of the bat, the first thing that players will notice is that this is a stunningly beautiful game. Granted, previous installments in the franchise have typically looked good, but Guilty Gear -Strive- really does take this to a whole new level. It’s also a very well-balanced game too, with each of the 15 fighters included in the base version of the game capable of punishing button-mashers and spam artists with relative ease.
As with other great fighting games, the roster boasts a decent spread of fighters that should be able to accommodate both beginners and veterans alike, as well as all but the most niche of fighting styles. The old cliche of “easy to learn, difficult to master,” is definitely appropriate here though, as there’s a ridiculous amount of depth to some of the fighters on offer.
Melty Blood: Type Lumina
With ten years having separated the releases of Melty Blood: Type Lumina and the series’ previous installment, Actress Again, fans of the niche fighting game franchise were understandably quite excited by the announcement of a new Melty Blood game in March of 2021. Thankfully, Melty Blood: Type Lumina didn’t disappoint, with many players praising its blisteringly fast pace, colorful art style, and excellent combat mechanics.
Though previous Melty Blood games have also garnered praise from critics and players, they’ve often struggled to appeal to those outside of the existing fandom. This is slowly beginning to change with Type Lumina, however, with the game selling much better than its predecessors and even being nominated for the Best Fighting Game award at the 2021 Game Awards. It may not have won, but the exposure is fantastic for the series.
Those looking for a highly-polished 2D fighter with a killer soundtrack and an easy-to-learn combat system can definitely find that here. There’s also a lot of depth to said system though, making it an incredibly rewarding game for those willing to take the time to master it. The only real downside is the game’s online functionality, which, at the time of writing, at least, is a little sub-par when compared to some of its peers.
Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown
Given the series’ waning influence over the past decade or so, it can be pretty easy to forget just how big an impact Virtua Fighter had on the fighting game genre in the nineties and early two-thousands. For those who still remember though, Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown came as a more than welcome surprise when it was officially revealed by Sega at the end of May 2021.
Rebuilt using Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s Dragon Engine, Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown was given away for free to all PlayStation Plus subscribers over the course of June and July. The combat is every bit as deep as one might expect from a Virtua Fighter title and the visuals are right up there with some of the other big 3D fighting games that are currently on the market.
Granted, this wasn’t the sixth Virtua Fighter game that many long-time series fans had hoped for, nor is its implementation of online play perfect. That Sega is finally starting to pay attention to one of its biggest IPs after more than a decade of dormancy is great news, however; not just for fans of Yu Suzuki’s groundbreaking series, but also for the fighting game genre in general.
Wrestling Empire
With no new WWE 2K game in 2021, those in the market for a new wrestling game were forced to look a little further afield than usual. As is often the case, it was indie game developers who stepped in to fill the void, with not one, but two great 2D wrestling games releasing in 2021. The first of these was Wrestling Empire, with RetroMania Wrestling arriving just one month later in February.
While RetroMania Wrestling is definitely the more polished of the two games and features a few more recognizable faces in its roster of wrestlers, Wrestling Empire arguably takes away the belt when it comes to good old-fashioned fun. It’s also available on Switch and mobile devices as well as on PC, making it a great choice for those who enjoy duking it out while they’re on the go.
Among the game’s highlights are its fantastic multiplayer functionality and the highly enjoyable and ridiculously detailed Booking / General Manager Mode. The British developer behind the game, Mat Dickie, has now been creating wrestling games for more than two decades, but his latest is arguably his greatest contribution to the video game industry to date.
