20 Best PS4 Fighting Games

Street Fighter IV started in arcades and reached consoles in 2009. Two updates followed, and later in 2014, Ultra Street Fighter IV, the version PS4 owners got. Its big new system was the Focus Attack, which let you absorb a single hit from the opponent and hit back. Skilled players could cancel special moves into Focus Attacks and then into a dash, which opened up new combo possibilities.

Street Fighter IV received universal critical acclaim, and it has often been cited as one of the greatest games of all time. All versions together have sold over 9 million units. On the PS4 it was the old favourite waiting for the new one, and players who were there still put it next to Guilty Gear Xrd and BlazBlue on their short lists.

The King of Fighters XIV was released worldwide for the PlayStation 4 in August 2016. It is the first game in the series to be rendered entirely in 3D, although the fighting stays on a 2D plane. Yasuyuki Oda, who previously worked on Capcom's Street Fighter IV, directed it. It keeps the series' teams of three fighters and adds "Rush Combo", an automatic combo system designed to make the series more accessible for new players.

Critics liked the fighting system for new players and experts alike, but called the graphics inferior to other fighting games of the time. That did not stop it selling 920,000 copies across the PS4 and Steam. It still turns up on players' short lists next to much bigger games, which is not bad for a comeback.

Last Round was released for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. It is the final version of Dead or Alive 5, and it adds new fighters like Honoka, an 18-year-old schoolgirl with a style she calls "Honoka Fu". There is also a guest from Samurai Warriors, Naotora Ii. Alongside the retail game came a free-to-play version, Core Fighters, with four characters and the option to buy the rest.

Critics were cool on it. OpenCritic determined that 36% of critics recommended the game, though Hardcore Gamer's Adam Beck endorsed it for those "looking for a fun, over-the-top fighter with a lot of charm." Players are kinder. They say it is easy to get into and fun to play, and the free version made it easy to try.

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is a 2011 crossover fighting game developed by Capcom in collaboration with Eighting. It exists because the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami disrupted the plan for downloadable content for the first version, so the extra content became a standalone game. It came out on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 first and was later re-released digitally for the PlayStation 4, coinciding with the announcement of Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite.

The PS4 version included all previously released downloadable content, Jill Valentine and Shuma-Gorath among them. Critics praised the expanded character roster and improved online experience, and pointed at the lack of new features and game modes. Players still name it among the best fighters you can get on the PS4.

Skullgirls first came out through the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade, and it received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the animation and gameplay mechanics. They were less happy with the initial roster size and the online play. 2nd Encore is the version that kept growing, and its development continues in the form of downloadable content.

The team behind it has had a bumpy ride. The core of Reverge Labs reformed as Lab Zero Games and developed the game until that studio's dissolution in 2020, and several of its members then formed Future Club, who have made Skullgirls since. The game outlived its own studio, which is more than most fighting games can say. Players keep it on their short lists of PS4 fighters.

Xenoverse 2 is the sequel to the 2015 game Dragon Ball Xenoverse, and it was released on October 25, 2016, for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It adds race-specific quests and minigames, and the online hub servers hold up to 3,000 players at once. It has kept getting new characters for years, right up to a pack from the 2024 anime Dragon Ball DAIMA.

Critics praised the game's anime visual style and fighting, and criticized the controls and how similar it is to the first game. Players recommend it to Dragon Ball fans first. If you have ever wanted to be the extra Saiyan in the background of a Goku fight, this is your game.

Storm 4 is the sixth installment and the final main installment of the Ultimate Ninja Storm series by CyberConnect2. It was also the first Naruto game released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It was originally intended to be a PlayStation 3 game, but development moved to the new consoles to take advantage of the hardware, and each character took fourteen months to be developed.

Including the Road to Boruto expansion, it had sold 15 million copies by June 2026, making it one of the best-selling fighting games of all time. Critics praised its narrative and graphics and were divided about the depth of the controls. Players say it is a safe pick, especially if you know the show, because it covers the complete story of the series.

SoulCalibur VI was released for the PlayStation 4, Windows and Xbox One on October 19, 2018, as the seventh main installment and a reboot of the series. It keeps classic mechanics like the 8-Way Run and Guard Impact, and adds Reversal Edge and a revamped Soul Charge system. The main story follows Kilik as he sets out to confront the Soul Edge and Nightmare, and it unfolds like a visual novel, with voiced cutscenes between the fights.

What players remember most is the character creator. People who never got good at the fighting still spent hours building their own warriors, and players say that if you like creating custom characters, this is the one to pick. It is a fine fighting game that doubles as a dress-up game.

Jump Force puts characters from manga in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump in one game, made to celebrate the magazine's 50th anniversary. It was released on February 14, 2019, in Japan for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and the following day worldwide. The story turns you into a member of the Jump Force, under Director Glover, fighting alongside heroes like Goku and Trunks.

The game received mixed reviews from critics, with criticism aimed at its story and gameplay, and Bandai Namco announced its discontinuation on November 10, 2021. Players are more forgiving. They say it is fun if you love the characters, and the roster really is the selling point. Few other games let a Death Note fan and a One Piece fan settle things properly.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse was originally released on February 5, 2015, in Japan. It was the first game developed by Dimps to feature full 3D battles, similar to Spike's Budokai Tenkaichi series. Time Patrol Trunks asks Shenron to send him a hero who would help him restore the timeline, and that hero is you, a newly created character, which confirmed the game's character creation feature.

As of March 17, 2015, 1.5 million copies had been shipped worldwide. The PlayStation 4 version holds a score of 69/100 on Metacritic, and the sequel was announced the next year. Players still suggest it, often in the same breath as the sequel. It is the one with the original story.

Nidhogg was commissioned for the New York University Game Center's annual multiplayer show and was revised and demoed at private events over the next four years. It was released for Windows on January 13, 2014, and later ported to the PlayStation 4. It won Indiecade 2013's Game Design award and the 2011 Independent Games Festival's Nuovo Award. Its creator, Messhof, designed it to play slowly, with players waiting for their opponent to move first, similar to Bushido Blade.

Critics praised the feel of the gameplay and its balance, but found the single-player mode unsatisfying. That misses the point. Players call it one of the best games to play with a friend on the couch, and it is the kind of game that turns a quiet evening loud.

Guilty Gear Xrd was built in Unreal Engine 3, with cel-shaded graphics in place of the series' traditional hand-drawn sprites. The first version, Sign, came to the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 in Japan and North America in December 2014. Revelator followed, and the final update, Rev 2, came to the PS4 worldwide at the end of May 2017. It was the first Guilty Gear with a Story Mode, made by a 25-member team inside Arc System Works.

It was praised for its cel-shaded graphics and approachable gameplay, and criticized for its non-interactive story mode and smaller roster. Players single out the way it looks. Plenty of people saw it running and assumed they were watching an anime, which was more or less the plan.

Brawlhalla was released for macOS, PlayStation 4 and Windows in 2017. Ubisoft bought its developer, Blue Mammoth Games, on March 5, 2018, and Rayman was soon added as a fighter. It is free-to-play, paid for by a shop and a battle pass. In the air you get up to three jumps and a directional air-dodge, so matches move quickly.

It has a real competitive side too, with official tournaments in Europe and a yearly world championship. Players describe it as a free game that plays a lot like Smash, and that is why it got so many recommendations: it was the closest a PS4 owner could get. Since it costs nothing, there is no reason not to try it.

Mortal Kombat 11 is the eleventh main installment in the series and a sequel to Mortal Kombat X. It is a 2.5D fighting game, and it adds Fatal Blows, big attacks that only become available when a player's health drops below 30%, and can only be performed once per match. You can build custom move lists separate from how your fighter looks, and online modes now feature cross-play for the first time in the series.

The story introduced Kronika, the series's first-ever female boss character, who has powers over the flow of time. An expansion, Aftermath, followed in May 2020, and Mortal Kombat 11: Ultimate collected everything that November. Players who mostly play alone say it has the most to do, and the towers alone can eat a weekend.

Injustice 2 is the sequel to 2013's Injustice: Gods Among Us, and it was released in May 2017 for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The big new idea is the Gear System. Director Ed Boon wanted the loot and leveling of multiplayer shooters in a fighting game, and the idea of RPG-style progression had been around since before the collapse of Midway Games.

The game won numerous awards. Critics praised its story, presentation, gameplay and character customization, and the amount of content, while criticizing the random loot and microtransactions. Players who play alone rate it highly for how much there is to do. Collecting gear sets for Batman is a surprisingly good reason to keep losing to Gorilla Grodd. A Legendary Edition with the extra content followed in March 2018.

Dragon Ball FighterZ is developed by Arc System Works and marks the company's fourth time working on Dragon Ball, after the Supersonic Warriors games and Extreme Butōden. It came to the PlayStation 4, Windows and Xbox One in January 2018. It became a prominent title in the fighting game community shortly after its release.

Critics loved it. Many cited it as one of the best fighting games released in the eighth generation of consoles, and they praised the fighting system, roster, visuals, story mode and music, though the online play got some criticism. It had sold 10 million copies by May 2023. Players say it is easy to pick up and deep once you study it, which is a hard trick to pull off.

Tekken 7 was released to arcades in March 2015, and it is the first in the series to come out on PC as well as consoles. It finally settles the Mishima family feud, ending with Kazuya defeating Heihachi and throwing his body into the volcano. Each fighter gets a Rage Art, a critical move only available while in Rage mode. Akuma joined as a guest, keeping the 2D fighting mechanics of the game he comes from, and Geese followed later.

It was a critical and commercial success, selling 12 million copies as of July 2024. Players call it the best fighting game of the PS4 generation for gameplay, and if you want a 3D fighter it is the safe bet. A sequel, Tekken 8, was released on January 26, 2024.

Mortal Kombat X is the tenth main installment in the series, and it takes place 25 years after the 2011 game. A new team of young fighters joins the old guard: Cassie, Takeda, Jacqui and Kung Lao's younger cousin Kung Jin. The energy meter returns from the last game, so you can still land the bone-crunching "X-Ray" special moves.

The console versions received critical acclaim upon release, and some reviewers called it the best game in the Mortal Kombat series. The PC version was another story, with frequent crashes and slow netcode. On the PS4 none of that mattered. Players still call it one of the best fighters on the system, and plenty of them still rate it above the sequel that came after.

Street Fighter V was developed by Capcom and Dimps. It brought back the EX gauge from Street Fighter III, which builds as you land attacks and powers up special moves or super combos called Critical Arts, and it removed the Focus Attacks from Street Fighter IV. It came out short on content, but the 2018 Arcade Edition added more single-player content and an Arcade Mode, and the 2020 Champion Edition included all fighters and stages released through its first four seasons.

At release, critics praised its graphics and gameplay and criticized its lack of content and characters. It got the last laugh. It has sold 8 million units, making it the best-selling Street Fighter game on home consoles. Players name it with Tekken 7 when they list the big fighters of the generation, and players recommend it more than any other PS4 fighting game, only just ahead of Mortal Kombat X.