Best Fighting Games With High Replay Value

Fighting games by their very nature are designed to be played multiple times, from their origins in arcade cabinets to modern day console and PC-based fighting tournaments.

It takes time to fully comprehend a fighter's movesets and abilities, so most players have to replay fighting games multiple times to master a fighter and use them to defeat others in high-stakes PvP matches or complete difficult PvE challenges.

Aside from basic PvP and PvE combat, many fighting games over the years have introduced additional features and supplementary modes to keep players coming back, such as cinematic story modes, customization options, and DLC fighters.

While many fighting games do feature exceptional gameplay, a few titles standout among the rest thanks to their intricate gameplay mechanics, unique characters, near limitless customization mechanics, and extra modes that make gamers play them over and over again.

10 Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

Star Wars' Best Fighting Game to Date

Despite being a multi-billion dollar franchise and having been adapted into numerous video games, there's not a lot of Star Wars fighting games out besides the mixed Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi and the underrated Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith game.

The latter is arguably the best official Star Wars fighting game to date, as it surprisingly features robust fighting mechanics for each of its nine characters, with Revenge of the Sith's legendary stunt coordinator Nick Gillard training the game's animators in the art of lightsaber combat.

Revenge of the Sith's combat is more akin to that of Soulcalibur than the traditional 2D gameplay seen in titles like Street Fighter, with fighters being able to move around most stages freely and dodge attacks to counter opponents from their side.

Besides the two-player Versus mode, Revenge of the Sith also features a fairly fun story mode recreating the action scenes of the film with robust boss battles against Sith and Jedi alike, while players can unlock bonus co-op modes and missions where gamers can play as Yoda and a MagnaGuard.

9 Killer Instinct

Rare's Fighting Legacy

Of all the classic fighting game franchises, Rare's Killer Instinct is probably the most underrated and untapped for potential, as the series only has three titles, with one of the best being 2013's Killer Instinct reboot.

Originally an exclusive launch title for the Xbox One, 2013's Killer Instinct is the perfect revival the series needed to stand out among other popular fighting games as it featured a ton of great new mechanics and features such as destructive Stage Ultras, enhancing Instinct Modes, and a ton of unlockables.

While KI might have launched with a rather notable lack of content, it's received a ton of free updates and paid DLC that greatly expanded the game's replay value through the introduction of seasonal arcade and story modes, competitive rotating multiplayer tiers, and numerous new stages and fighters such as Halo's Arbiter and Gears of Wars' General RAAM.

One way that makes KI especially replayable compared to other fighting games is its Shadow Lab mode, which allows players to create an AI Shadow fighter based on their playstyles for specific characters and can then be used to fight others online or improve players' own fighting style.

Marvel's Greatest Fighting Game

Some of gaming's greatest crossovers have got to be the many celebrated Marvel vs. Cacpcom titles and while most of them are fantastic in their own way, I'd argue the one with the best replay value is 2011's Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.

An updated version of Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is the definitive crossover between the heroes and villains of Marvel with the many gaming icons of Capcom, featuring 25 Marvel fighters and 25 Capcom fighters.

Like its predessors, UMVC3 features 3v3 aracde-style fighting mechanics allowing players to mix and match characters to determine their best team, such as having Wolverine, Nova, and Frank West from Dead Rising on one team or She-Hulk, Magneto, and Nemesis from Resident Evil on another.

There's simply so many unique and different ways to play in UMVC3 that it's hard not to keep playing, from fighting as one of Galactus' Hearld's online in the faction-focused Heroes & Heralds mode to playing as the Devourer of Worlds himself against all the game's fighters in Galactus Mode.

7 Tekken 8

Tekken at its Most Cinematic

Bandai Namco's long-running Tekken franchise is well-known for being one of the best fighting game series of all time, both in arcade and home platform format, but its latest entry, Tekken 8, is arguably the most replayable.

Early on in its development, Director Katsuhiro Harada strove to make Tekken 8 the most cinematic fighting game ever developed and this is clearly shown by the game's exceptional story modes, The Dark Awakens and Unforgettable Echoes.

The feature of two epic story modes already makes Tekken 8 have more replay value than most fighting games, but it's the introduction of the Arcade Quest that makes Tekken 8 especially replyable.

Here, players can customize avatars to explore arcades and compete in Tekken 8 tournaments, ghost battles, and challenges, all with a unique story and world that's oddly reminiscent of the quest mode of Dance Dance Revolution Universe but with a lot more player input.

6 Soulcalibur VI

A Long Awaited Comeback

To me, Soulcalibur is the most underrated of the classic fighting game franchises, and while I love Soulcalibur IV and its Star Wars guest fighters, Soulcalibur VI is the most replayable of the series.

In a way, Soulcalibur VI is a great entry point for new players and veteran fighters alike, as its two story modes, Soul Chronicle and Libra of Soul, revisit the events of the first Soulcalibur game with new expansive yet still challenging 3D gameplay.

Libra of Soul greatly increases Soulcalibur VI's replay value alone, as the story mode allows players to create their own custom fighter with multiple weapon options which can then be leveled up and earn new gear for further customization.

In fact, the customization options in Soulcalibur VI are so robust and intuitive that players have been routinely coming back to the game just to try the most wacky of fighters, from a rather creepy Sonic the Hedgehog to the Merc with a Mouth himself, Deadpool.

5 Mortal Kombat 11

Mortal Kombat at its Peak

NetherRealm's tenure over the Mortal Kombat franchise has been nothing short of incredible through and through and while some entries may have better story modes and multiplayer options than others, I'd argue that Mortal Kombat 11 is the most well-balanced modern MK experience.

Mortal Kombat 11's story mode is one of MK's best, as it not only builds off of the story beats from Mortal Kombat X but also brings back classic characters and continues plot threads from 2011's Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, complete with several alternate paths and endings both in the game's base campaign and in the Aftermath DLC.

Aside from MK 11's story mode, there's still a ton to do online and with local co-op, as all of its 37 fighters are completely customizable with hundreds of unlockable cosmetics obtained from the Krypt or the new Towers of Time, which are routinely rotating Tower challenges.

Arguably, the combat of Mortal Kombat was at its best in MK 11, as it didn't have the controversial Kameo Fighters seen in Mortal Kombat 1, but instead had critical Fatal and Krushing Blows alongside the return of fan-favorite Fatality variations such as Friendships and Quitalities.

4 Injustice 2

DC's Greatest Fighting Game

2013's Injustice: Gods Among Us was a surprising hit as a brand-new fighting video game with its shockingly dark story and flawless merging of Mortal Kombat's addictive gameplay with the iconic characters of DC Comics but 2017's Injustice 2 improved upon nearly everything the first game offered.

Injustice 2's story mode perfectly built upon the first, primarily following Batman struggling to rebuild the world after Superman's dictatorship, only to begrudgingly align himself with the Man of Steel and his newly discovered cousin Supergirl to defeat the invading Brainiac.

The campaign of Injustice 2 is one of the best ever depicted in fighting games and its roster of 38 fighters is simply incredible, featuring not only characters who hardly ever get represented in games such as the Red Lantern Atrocitus and Doctor Fate but also those from other publishers like Hellboy and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Much like MK 11, Injustice 2's fighters can be customized with unlockable gear from the Multiverse mode, having players fight heroes and villains from alternate Earths, giving players difficult challenges to complete and ample replay value.

3 Street Fighter 6

Street Fighter at its Peak

When most people think of fighting games, they usually picture either Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter as both franchises routinely innovate and define the fighting game genre. One SF entry that greatly innovated upon the genre to become one of the greatest fighting games of all time is Street Fighter 6.

At its core, Street Fighter 6 still retains the traditional 2D arcade combat that made the series famous in the first place, but it builds upon that base in numerous ways, namely through the introduction of the World Tour and Battle Hub modes.

Both modes have players create a custom avatar to explore an open world and interact with class SF characters similar to an RPG and use custom characters online in PvP matches.

These customization options alone give Street Fighter 6 a ton of replay value, but there's still a ton to do in the game, as people can play emulations of classic Capcom titles in the Battle Hub, such as Street Fighter II, Final Fight, and Mega Man 3 to name a few.

2 Brawlhalla

Fighting Tournaments on the Go

Traditionally, fighting games have been restricted to just arcades or home consoles with various levels of success on mobile platforms, but one fighting game that manges to perform exceptionally well both on conventional consoles and on the go is Brawlhalla.

Originally released in 2017, Brawlhalla is one of the most easy to understand fighting games ever made as it features similar 2D platforming gameplay to that of Super Smash Bros. but Brawlhalla is free-to-play and available on Android and iOS.

Like SSB, the core gameplay of Brawlhalla is to knock opponents off platforms with character-specific moves or usable gadgets and weapons, but it does feature a battle pass where players can unlock new skins, emotes and more.

Unlike other fighting games, Brawlhalla is still being routinely updated, making every visit to the game different from the last and exciting, as the game often crosses over with and features skins or characters from other popular gaming franchises, such as Ezio Auditore from Assassin's Creed.

1 Super Smash Bros. Brawl

The Ultimate Fighting Crossover

Of course, what is a fighting game list without mentioning arguably the most popular fighting game series of all time, Super Smash Bros?

While many would claim that Super Smash Bros. Melee or Super Smash Bros. Ultimate are the most replayable, I'd argue that Super Smash Bros. Brawl is the most replayable of the series for two reasons: The Subspace Emissary and Stage Builder.

Most SSB games do feature single-player modes, but none of them come close to the true grandeur of The Subspace Emissary, which is a cinematic campaign seeing many of gaming's most celebrated icons fight and join forces together to defeat the united destructive forces of Bowser, Ganondorf, Master Hand, and Tabuu.

On top of the epic Subspace Emissary campaign and Brawl's own addictive gameplay, Brawl was the first SSB game to allow players to make their own balanced or often chaotic stages with Stage Builder, making it one of the most replayable Nintendo games of all time.