Top 10 PS4 Fighting Games

10. Jump Force

Jump Force is in one word, a spectacle. For those not familiar with Shōnen Jump, they’re responsible for such famous series as Naruto, Dragon Ball, One Piece, Yu-gi-oh, and many more. In short, this game has a fantastic roster of characters from many of these series. Perfect for fighting game fans that also share an interest in anime with their friends, this is definitely one you’ll be inviting people over to play.

9. Marvel vs Capcom Infinite

Among the most famous fighting game series, Marvel vs Capcom has been a staple of the genre since 1994. This latest iteration has highs and lows, but it’ll be the highs that you remember it for - the fast-paced tag team battles, the innovative new Infinity Stone mechanics, the bright and attractive background visuals, and the 30-character roster from across the worlds of Marvel and Capcom.  

8. Guilty Gear Strive

Don’t let the anime visual style fool you - Guilty Gear Strive is an incredible fighting game experience, a visual marvel and an underappreciated gem whatever your outlook on Japanese animation. It’s also the perfect place to pick up the series if you’ve overlooked it in the past, as the mechanics have been balanced to welcome beginners while maintaining the rewarding complexity and combos that long-term fans have come to love.

7. Dragon Ball FighterZ

Anyone who’s seen an episode of the Dragon Ball Z anime will know exactly why it lends itself so well to fighting games - the huge energy attacks, the over-the-top feats of strength, the transformations and the combos all make the perfect recipe for memorable fights. It also features an awesome original story, rather than rehashing the anime like other Dragon Ball games. Anime fan or not, this is without a doubt one of the best fighting games of this generation. 

6. WWE 2K Battlegrounds

After the hot mess that was WWE 2K20, the developers have decided to offer a palette cleanser in the form of 2K Battlegrounds. A much more over the top affair, with arcade-style grappling, cartoony graphics and outlandish weapons, it’s a tonne of fun seeing these larger than life characters looking even larger than life. Plus you can throw your opponent into the mouth of a waiting crocodile - what more could you want?

5. EA Sports UFC 4

UFC 4 is definitely a case of evolution, rather than revolution. It adds some welcome features and tweaks some of the weaker areas of its predecessor, but broadly speaking, it’s more of the same. That’s not a bad thing, as a thriving online scene and narrative-driven career mode make it a tempting prospect. If you enjoy mixed martial arts and the previous entries in the series, you’re certain to enjoy this.

4. Street Fighter V

The most recent addition to the legendary Street Fighter series, Street Fighter V has a roster of 16 classic characters, with 4 being brand new to the series. While initially a sparse offering, updates since release have made it into the game it was always meant to be, with substantial new game modes and awesome new mechanics, like the V-trigger moves. A game that truly lives up to the reputation of the series. 

3. Injustice 2

Injustice is a fighting game populated by all of your favourite DC comics characters, like Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. What’s not to love? Coming to your PS4 from the makers of Mortal Kombat, Injustice 2 is not only a hugely technical and surprisingly deep fighting game but also has a fantastically engrossing single-player mode featuring a roster that is sure to make DC Comics fans drool. 

2. Tekken 7

Tekken is without a doubt one of the most iconic fighting series in gaming, and Tekken 7 does a fantastic job of carrying the crown. The combat system is tight, responsive and you never feel cheated. The multiplayer is just as fantastic as you’d expected, but the Treasure Battle mode is where you’ll spend most of your single-player time - additional character cutscenes, cosmetic items and watchable Tekken history are all waiting for you to unlock.

1. Mortal Kombat 11

Mortal Kombat is the fighting series with the most infamous legacy. Well known for fast-paced fights and intense gore, Mortal Kombat has been alive and kicking for nearly 30 years. Mortal Kombat 11 is the pinnacle of everything the series has learned throughout its reign. Constant updates to the game since release have only improved it further, giving it the most refined combat experience in the series to date and a thriving competitive tournament scene. Fatality!

Top PS4 Local Multiplayer Games

10. Overcooked 2

Few games in recent memory are more delightful to play with friends Overcooked, and the sequel is even better. You and up to three friends control small chibi characters as they run back and forth cooking increasingly tricky recipes in increasingly wacky kitchens. You all work on the same screen, so it’s ideal for local multiplayer and getting in each other’s way is bound to cause some rifts in the room!

9. Worms W.M.D

Worms is quintessential local multiplayer. Taking turn-based control of little worms with big weapons tasked with blowing each other to smithereens, W.M.D gives a fresh lick of paint to the traditional Worms gameplay we all know and love. There’s a good reason that this series has stuck around since 1995 - the core gameplay is simple and fun. There are so many weapons and gadgets that throwing your friends’ worms around the map never gets tiring. 

8. Team Sonic Racing

Team Sonic Racing is a kart racing game featuring the characters of Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog series, and it’s a ball to play with your mates. It supports up to four players in local split-screen multiplayer, and things get chaotic fast. The gameplay feels speedy like you’d expect a Sonic game to feel, and the level/zone designs and usable items all make reference to things you might remember from the main series games. 

7. Borderlands: The Handsome Collection

The Handsome Collection has both Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-sequel and all of their expansions, with souped-up 4K graphics to boot. The best part? It’s all split-screen compatible, meaning you and your friends can develop and level your own characters from right on the sofa. This series is well known for comedy, looting, and insane over the top FPS fun - and this remastered collection is going to please fans and newcomers alike.

6. Minecraft

Minecraft’s limitless creativity was made for collaboration, and up to 4 player split-screen means that you and your friends can collaborate together in person. If you’re not familiar with the game (where have you been) Minecraft is a building game with a survival mode based around resource collecting and crafting. Beneath the blocky simplistic graphics, this game offers delicate and engaging gameplay centred around the reward of creativity and hard work.

5. Shovel Knight

A legendary Indie born from a successful Kickstarter campaign, Shovel Knight is a love letter to the 8-bit platformers of old. Up to two friends can play together on local multiplayer, each controlling a knight as they work together to survive the platforming mayhem. The retro gameplay and visuals harken back to a day where finishing a level meant playing over and over again on a Saturday morning until you finally cracked it - and that’s all part of the charm.

4. Little Big Planet 3

Simply one of the most pleasant platforming series out there, LittleBigPlanet is a masterwork of game design. Adventure Mode offers plenty of satisfying gameplay, but the 4 player local multiplayer and creation modes are where this game really comes alive. You’ll get in each other’s way just as much as you’ll help each other out, and the chaos of the busy screen makes this help/hindrance balance oh so fun to play with.

3. Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection

For those joystick junkies who were let down by the slightly lukewarm Street Fighter 2: The Final Challengers, this is the perfect remedy. Comprising of 12 classic releases from the flawed masterpiece that was the first Street Fighter to 1999’s Street Fighter 3: Third Strike, this is an absolutely essential purchase and is sure to even bring a smile to M. Bison’s face. 

2. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

You know what to expect from a Call of Duty game - remarkably tight and responsive controls, beautiful graphics and visual design, and of course, zombies. Up to four people can play local multiplayer Zombies together, working together to defeat round after round of the undead in a variety of creative maps/arenas. If you fancy it, you can even venture into online multiplayer alongside a friend in 2 player split-screen. 

1. A Way Out

A way out is built from the ground up with multiplayer in mind, and thankfully without setting aside traditional split-screen co-op. Together you take on the roles of Leo and Vincent, two prisoners who have decided to break free. Each character has their own idea of how this should happen, but it’s up to you to choose how to escape together and cooperate to execute the plan. For truly immersive local multiplayer story experience, it’s among the best of the best.

TOP 10 PS4 Horror Games

10. Until Dawn

Until Dawn plays like a love letter to classic horror movie tropes. It’s an interactive drama, dependent on decision branches and quick-time events, as well as third-person exploration and puzzle-solving. You’ll play as several characters over the duration of the game - a small group of teenagers, who all share responsibility for the sudden disappearance of two of their friends. Even if you’re a lover of action survival horror, you’ve gotta give Until Dawn a shot. The interactive drama mechanics make the story incredibly engrossing, and the plot is genuinely fantastic - all the better thanks to the branching decision system, which means you can play through this game several times and always have a different story. 

9. Call of Cthulhu

Based on the tabletop RPG of the same name, Call of Cthulhu is the game to play to get your hit of cosmic horror. Taking place just after WWI, you play as an army veteran tasked with investigating a mysterious fire that took place on the island of Darkwater. Like Professor Layton’s gothic cousin, this game combines satisfying deduction and puzzles with a truly oppressive, gloomy atmosphere. Fans of Lovecraftian horror cannot miss this game.

8. Vampyr

One of the more nuanced horror titles on this list, Vampyr is a hidden gem that deserves your attention. Putting you in the role of blood transfusion specialist turned vampire, you have to wrestle with your morals and new desire to consume human blood. With a great story, solid gameplay and enough player autonomy to get you truly invested, this is one game that definitely doesn’t suck!

7. Back 4 Blood

The highly-anticipated spiritual successor to Left 4 Dead, Back 4 Blood throws you into a team of four to survive and thrive as wave after wave of zombie hordes are thrown at you. Sounds dark, but the game’s comedic tone comes out in every element of the gameplay. Just like its predecessor, Back 4 Blood is best enjoyed with friends but an excellent game to play solo too. 

6. Alien Isolation

The original Alien movie was pitched as ‘Jaws in space’, and Alien: Isolation keeps that spirit well and truly alive. You play as the daughter of series lead Ellen Ripley, being chased around by the rarely seen, but always threatening Xenomorph. All you’ll be able to do is run and hide from this unstoppable killing machine, as you won’t be able to take it down with conventional weapons. And with one of the smartest enemy A.I.s in gaming, this is easier said than done.

5. Those Who Remain

Those Who Remain see you play as Edward, who on the surface is a very unsympathetic protagonist. We find him wallowing in self-pity and the guilt of having an affair with a woman named Diane, his desk strewn with whiskey bottles and a gun. After you head to a motel to call it off with Diane, things start to get weird. It’s creepy and haunting without resorting to cheap jump scares and puts you in uncomfortable positions that are more wince-inducing than any monster. The puzzles are satisfying, and we just really enjoyed the whole aesthetic, from the ethereal nature of the world to the twisted ‘50s vibe. If you’re looking for a quick, tasty bite of horror, we can’t recommend this game enough.

4. Dead by Daylight

Dead by Daylight isn’t a traditional horror game like most of the other titles on this list are. It’s a 1v4 multiplayer survival game. One player takes on the role of a killer, trying to kill the other four players or ‘survivors’. Featuring survivors and killers from famous horror franchises like Scream, Saw, Halloween, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and more, it’s an absolute staple for any horror fan to have on their games shelf. 

3. Resident Evil Village

Following in the footsteps of Resident Evil Biohazard, Village is a first-person horror survival experience that will keep you on the edge of your gaming chair. Taking the role of Ethan Winters, it’s up to you to unravel the violent mysteries of the Village and rescue your baby daughter from those in power. Expect the fantastic story and the haunting themes to stay with you for a long time.

2. Resident Evil 2

The original Resident Evil 2 was an absolute cult classic, and in the remake, a lot more is being updated in this game than the graphics. This legendary survival horror game has only gotten better. Little bugbears like fixed camera angles and clunky controls are long gone, but they’ve perfectly preserved what made RE2 great. It’s such an extensive recreation that you can understand why they’ve omitted any ‘remastered’ subtitle. 

1. Doom Eternal

The best horror shooter by a country mile, Doom Eternal takes everything that made what came before so good, including the original 90s games, and builds upon it to make for the most refined, and in our opinion best game in the franchise to date. It balances mindless power fantasy with satisfying, rewarding gameplay in a way that no other game does, and we would urge anyone with even a passing interest in FPS games to give it a go.