Gekido

Renegade puts you in the shoes of a street‑wise vigilante battling gangs across four distinct urban stages, from a subway platform to a mobster’s hideout.

✦ Best for fans of classic solo arcade beat‑em‑ups seeking retro combat

Karateka is a 1984 beat'em up created by Jordan Mechner while at Yale. Players guide an unnamed hero through Akuma's fortress, using punches and kicks to defeat guards and rescue Princess Mariko.

✦ Best for fans of classic 80s beat‑em‑ups craving authentic side‑scroll combat

A year after the battle that claimed Angela, the world faces a new evil. Ushi, the last master of Shin‑Ken, summons his disciple Tetsuo to investigate ominous events in a remote farming village.

✦ Best for retro beat‑em‑up fans craving fast hack‑and‑slash solo adventure

The game delivers fast‑paced, hand‑to‑hand combat with a deep combo system, letting players chain devastating moves against hordes of enemies.

✦ Best for anime beat‑em‑up fans craving deep combo combat and local co‑op

Guilty Gear Isuka expands the classic Guilty Gear XX series with a brand‑new cooperative mode, letting up to four friends battle together on the same screen.

✦ Best for players craving four‑player local co‑op fighting beat‑em‑up

Ka-Ge-Ki: Fists of Steel is a slightly‑angled 3rd‑person beat‑'em‑up set in underground fighting pits. Players battle through waves of henchmen before confronting each of the nine gang members, who must be knocked out three times to advance.

✦ Best for retro beat‑em‑up fans craving solo arcade brawler action

Mother Russia Bleeds thrusts players into a brutal, stylized alternate Soviet Union where a crew of imprisoned street fighters must battle an oppressive criminal regime and their own drug addictions.

✦ Best for players craving gritty retro beat‑em‑up with brutal co‑op