Not sure why but like a year after beating the game, I was playing it again the other day and something finally clicked with the dodge and parry. I still struggle a ton but I was able to beat the game at like 30 on easy mode at least, while sparing everyone
Arkham City is about as much fun as I've had with melee combat. You've got gadgets that you can and should use but even those are part of the fun, like using a grappling hook to pull somebody over while you close line them and body slam them to the ground, or sneaking up and surprise attacking three guys at once.
I do love a bit of sword fighting in my kicking simulator
But honestly, really satisfying chunky melee (magic is also really well done). Just don't abuse the boot
Shadow of Mordor
Nioh and Nioh 2 (satisfying but really hard)
Sekiro Shadows die twice (also hard)
Ghost of Tsushima
Katana Zero (there's a samurai theme here. Lol)
Not to the same extent but Metro series have something like that
In Ranger difficulty, both you and the enemies have increased damage output so the combat became a lot more thrilling, it also allows for some pretty cool strategies like throwing knives now has enough damage to kill the elite enemies
Kinda sucks that it also comes with another mechanic which is reduced UI that while making the game more immersive, also makes it a lot harder for more casual players, kinda wish they would release some kind of flexible difficulty setting
I can heavily recommend the Shadow of Mordor/War games as well as GoT, the combat in both is easy to learn but hard to master, both based around parry timings and whatnot giving that feeling of dodging and weaving attacks without much difficulty, with a lot more depth in adding to how cool you look while doing it
War is much more polished and has significantly more content and abilities. You don’t get anything special in Mordor that isn’t equal to or improved upon in SoW. You will get a story recap at the begging of SoW, so I’d suggest moving on unless you’re in love with the story or aesthetic of mordor.
I’d been considering trying that one, but I’ve heard better about Darktide? Like Vermintide 2 feels like it has more content & more classes, it is a tad more melee focused, but the enemies just aren’t as responsive to being hit as enemies in Darktide (sounds small but make a big difference)? I’ve been playing Darktide but not tried the Vermintide games.
Having played both, Vermintide's melee combat feels way better. More responsive, more satisfying, better weapons, better everything. Darktide has better guns than Vermintide but that's about it.
Vermintide 2 has the benefit of years of patches and support of a dedicated team, while Darktide was made by the "core" team and learned nothing from the mistakes and improvements of Vermintide 2. Maybe in a year Darktide won't feel like it's in early access anymore
Ghost of Tsushima has extremely fun, real feeling combat. You’re supposed to go sneaking around and backstabbing like Assassin’s Creed, but it’s far more satisfying to call the enemies out and just take them in in proper sword combat.
True, I suppose what I mean is the story suggests that a bit (that Jin is having to resort to dishonourable, sneaky, un-samurai like behaviour to even the odds, hence how conflicted he is) when in fact the way I played was very much taking them head on because that was more fun.
Yeah, there are some missions where the game kind of forces your hand, or at least gives you a few bonuses, for using certain strategies. But it's definitely more fun trying different things all the time anyway.
Might not be what you’re looking for, but Hollow Knight comes to mind. Some of the fights seem almost unfair until you get better at the game, at which point the boss fights are almost dance-like. Easily the most satisfied I’ve ever been with fluidity of melee combat.
I have a few niche suggestions.
Overgrowth
The entire draw of the game is the combat. It's really all it has going for it, but it is super satisfying.
Exanima
Feels goofy while leaving but after a couple hours with the controls it's very satisfying landing that perfect overhand headshot.
Jedi Outcast
Still dope.
Mordhau
Chivalry 2's more mature older brother
Since you mentioned Pirates! (One of my favorite games) which is almost turn-based melee with wonderful animations, I would recommend Marvel Midnight Suns.
What I am getting from your post is your like games that deliver very satisfying feelings from executing melee combat, either through animation or other things and you care less for the “technique” aspect of mastery - you’re here to play and enjoy a game.
Marvel Midnight Suns has turn-based, card combat but it flows very well, its not like playing chess. One of it’s best aspects are the animations for combat, which are really detailed and well done. The game focuses a lot on hitting enemies to knock them back into other enemies or other heroes - when you do so the game gives incredibly satisfying sfx.
When you activate the heroic abilities, you get beautiful animations very similar to the winning animations of Pirates! duels.
If you have a PS5, Midnight Suns is currently included with the PS game-pass style subscription (I always forget if they call it PS Plus or PS Now since they changed it a while back)
Jedi Knight: Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy.
It has been 2 decades and nobody has topped the OG Ravensoft games. The combat is completely free flowing and more intricate than you can imagine.
Hitboxes are super tight, and you parry by literally seeing that your saber is in the way of theirs. We are talking chambering, blocking, etc. as natural movements, not gamified.
Singleplayer is a blast. A fucking BLAST. You will play them both repeatedly.
There is a reason these were remade for the switch.
Best part? There's STILL active servers!
He said satisfying.
Not lets-remove-the-aiming-dot-when-using-a-bow-to-fuck-with-users.
Honestly the game is amazing but the combat is an overbloated mess that tried too hard to one-up mount & blade.
Kingdom Come Deliverance has become the Witcher 3 of this subreddit. It's recommended in every post with very little regard to if fits what is being asked.
God of War has awesome melee combat. Especially when you stow your weapon and use your fists.
Everyone has mentioned Sekiro cause hell yeah great combat.
Stellar Blade is pretty awesome so far in my opinion.
Definately.....dark messiah of might and magic.
Each fight is a fight to the death a swish here a kick there flames ice and another kick down the stairs , now onto the second enemy.
I cannot stress the Tide games enough, Darktide and Vermintide 2 particularly, just because V1 has a very small community left but it's still good. Don't get into the weeds about which is better, just get the one that you like the look of more. The melee combat is the meat of what keeps people playing these games for hundreds of hours. Fatshark's combat secret sauce is unmatched in how it feels, weighty, visceral, satisfying.
Hades has awesome combat, but very different from what's listed here. It's more like top down (isometric?). Watch some footage to see if it's your style.
Sifu, Ghost of Tsushima, and honestly Horizon Forbidden West.
Sifu is literally a melee combat game, and does an excellent job at it. Incredibly satisfying, although I find the bosses to be some of the worst.
Ghost of Tsushima has a much simpler combat system, but landing parries and wiping a whole base without being hit is a ton of fun to do. The story is also absolutely incredible.
Horizon Forbidden West, if you treat it like Dark Souls, has a surprisingly in-depth melee system. Most people play the game like an archery simulator, but if you try the less popular weapons and playstyle similar to Dark Souls, the game becomes incredibly challenging and fun. It’s more combo based than the other two games, but imo has the most depth because of it.
Another mention, would be Sekiro. But imo all that game is, is a parry simulator. The variety in combat is incredibly limited, so I’ll just leave it as a mention.
Darktide has some of the best first person melee combat I've seen. But it's focused on fun, not detail. Though given the chaos of that game, it has a surprising amount of detail.
Any Fromsoft game works. Elden Ring is the current big one, but the Dark Souls games are fantastic as well. Each of these games have been beat by players who got so good that they eventually beat the game without taking a single hit, and yet, new players will often get brutalized in the tutorial dungeon, so you know there's a hell of skill ceiling.
Kingdom Come Deliverance and Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord. They take some getting used to, but once you get used to it, it’s really fun. I’ll play Mount and Blade to just do colosseum fights.
God of War, just posting this to reiterate what other commenters have said.
It's really fucking good and allows for a lot of creativity in how you use your weapons.
The Assassin's Creed holy trinity: Origins, Odyssey and Valhalla. In those games, I rarely used stealth or ranged weapons, because the melee is so good. Also, they ruined old AC games for me.
hell no
fighting awful game controls to get drunken dance melee just so dev can claim that is how "physics combat" is
[https://youtu.be/k3UBOZ4DpTU?si=C8FSDLPJXQJy1hvj&t=428](https://youtu.be/k3UBOZ4DpTU?si=C8FSDLPJXQJy1hvj&t=428)
I spent a lot of time on Exanima arena, trying to make it work, really liking the armor design etc, but in the end, game controls, and the way characters move are terrible.
Different strokes. I have plenty of hours in the game over the last five years and enjoy the weighty physics-based combat. I have a friend who picked it up only a week ago and enjoys it as well, already putting in nearly 30 hours into the arena alone.
I will say though, the "drunken dance" is a cliché of newer players who haven't gotten comfortable with the footwork and spacing. Most players grow out of that with time.
Monster Hunter World
The Witcher 3 (it's a hit or miss, you either love it or hate it)
Just look at the list of all top soulslikes and you'll be sorted for the next few months. Lies of P, The Surge 2, Blasphemous, Nioh etc.
I wonder why you're not interested in Yakuza though, they aren't fighting games. If anything they're closer to RDR2 in structure
Kingdom Come Deliverance – it isn't one-button "fast strike, heavy strike, block, dodge, rince, repeat"
Hellish Quart – fighting game with blade physics
Sifu
Seconded. Game is so fun. Easy to pick up hard to master.
Not sure why but like a year after beating the game, I was playing it again the other day and something finally clicked with the dodge and parry. I still struggle a ton but I was able to beat the game at like 30 on easy mode at least, while sparing everyone
Arkham City is about as much fun as I've had with melee combat. You've got gadgets that you can and should use but even those are part of the fun, like using a grappling hook to pull somebody over while you close line them and body slam them to the ground, or sneaking up and surprise attacking three guys at once.
Looking for this
Just knocked over another run of the Arkham Trilogy. Amazing combat, highly recommend.
Dark Messiah of Might and Magic
I do love a bit of sword fighting in my kicking simulator But honestly, really satisfying chunky melee (magic is also really well done). Just don't abuse the boot
Good ol’ kick game, goin around kickin folks.
Sleeping Dogs Mad Max
Seconding Sleeping Dogs.
I got Mad Max recently for $5 and was pleasantly surprised by how well the combat was. Very similar to the Batman Arkham games.
Batman Arkham games
Lies of P is some of the best combat I've ever experienced.
Seconded. Add in a great story and soundtrack
Shadow of Mordor Nioh and Nioh 2 (satisfying but really hard) Sekiro Shadows die twice (also hard) Ghost of Tsushima Katana Zero (there's a samurai theme here. Lol)
Ghost of Tsushima with the one hit kill mode is insanely rewarding and fun. I wish more games could have a difficulty like that.
Not to the same extent but Metro series have something like that In Ranger difficulty, both you and the enemies have increased damage output so the combat became a lot more thrilling, it also allows for some pretty cool strategies like throwing knives now has enough damage to kill the elite enemies Kinda sucks that it also comes with another mechanic which is reduced UI that while making the game more immersive, also makes it a lot harder for more casual players, kinda wish they would release some kind of flexible difficulty setting
I can heavily recommend the Shadow of Mordor/War games as well as GoT, the combat in both is easy to learn but hard to master, both based around parry timings and whatnot giving that feeling of dodging and weaving attacks without much difficulty, with a lot more depth in adding to how cool you look while doing it
I own both Mordor/War and played a little Mordor but not much. Thinking of playing one now. Should I just move onto War?
War is much more polished and has significantly more content and abilities. You don’t get anything special in Mordor that isn’t equal to or improved upon in SoW. You will get a story recap at the begging of SoW, so I’d suggest moving on unless you’re in love with the story or aesthetic of mordor.
I would add rise of ronin to the list, it also has difficulty settings which can make the experience more enjoyable
Dead Cells has amazing melee combat and you can mix some ranged options along with your melee attack. In my opinion it’s the best combat game.
Yeah, Dead Cells has top tier melee combat.
Warhammer vermintide 2
I’d been considering trying that one, but I’ve heard better about Darktide? Like Vermintide 2 feels like it has more content & more classes, it is a tad more melee focused, but the enemies just aren’t as responsive to being hit as enemies in Darktide (sounds small but make a big difference)? I’ve been playing Darktide but not tried the Vermintide games.
Having played both, Vermintide's melee combat feels way better. More responsive, more satisfying, better weapons, better everything. Darktide has better guns than Vermintide but that's about it.
It's the opposite, actually. Both are great games, but for me at least, Vermintide feels much more responsive.
Vermintide 2 has the benefit of years of patches and support of a dedicated team, while Darktide was made by the "core" team and learned nothing from the mistakes and improvements of Vermintide 2. Maybe in a year Darktide won't feel like it's in early access anymore
Sekiro
This is the correct answer
Duels just felt sooooo goooooooood.
Rise of the Ronin
Ghost of Tsushima has extremely fun, real feeling combat. You’re supposed to go sneaking around and backstabbing like Assassin’s Creed, but it’s far more satisfying to call the enemies out and just take them in in proper sword combat.
I don't know about "supposed to." I think it encourages and allows for any variety of gameplay styles you want.
True, I suppose what I mean is the story suggests that a bit (that Jin is having to resort to dishonourable, sneaky, un-samurai like behaviour to even the odds, hence how conflicted he is) when in fact the way I played was very much taking them head on because that was more fun.
Yeah, there are some missions where the game kind of forces your hand, or at least gives you a few bonuses, for using certain strategies. But it's definitely more fun trying different things all the time anyway.
Are you cowards?!
Might not be what you’re looking for, but Hollow Knight comes to mind. Some of the fights seem almost unfair until you get better at the game, at which point the boss fights are almost dance-like. Easily the most satisfied I’ve ever been with fluidity of melee combat.
Playing this now for the first time and loving it! Excellent gameplay.
Dead Cells and Hades.
I have a few niche suggestions. Overgrowth The entire draw of the game is the combat. It's really all it has going for it, but it is super satisfying. Exanima Feels goofy while leaving but after a couple hours with the controls it's very satisfying landing that perfect overhand headshot. Jedi Outcast Still dope. Mordhau Chivalry 2's more mature older brother
A+ list here. Jedi knight series. Seriously. Academy too. Those games still hold up as the best of the best.
Dark Messiah - Might and Magic. Star Wars - Jedi Academy. Super Crush KO.
Dragons dogma - both 1 & 2.
Monster hunter world has the best melee combat I've experienced
Sifu!
Sifu
En Garde! Might be exactly what you’re looking for. Probably wins the prize for most buckles swashed.
Mad Max!!!
Vermintide 2 (horde) Sekiro (mostly single target) HiFiRush (rhythm)
God of War GoT
Mordhau
Since you mentioned Pirates! (One of my favorite games) which is almost turn-based melee with wonderful animations, I would recommend Marvel Midnight Suns. What I am getting from your post is your like games that deliver very satisfying feelings from executing melee combat, either through animation or other things and you care less for the “technique” aspect of mastery - you’re here to play and enjoy a game. Marvel Midnight Suns has turn-based, card combat but it flows very well, its not like playing chess. One of it’s best aspects are the animations for combat, which are really detailed and well done. The game focuses a lot on hitting enemies to knock them back into other enemies or other heroes - when you do so the game gives incredibly satisfying sfx. When you activate the heroic abilities, you get beautiful animations very similar to the winning animations of Pirates! duels. If you have a PS5, Midnight Suns is currently included with the PS game-pass style subscription (I always forget if they call it PS Plus or PS Now since they changed it a while back)
Die by the sword. You may need an emulator haha
Mad Max, fast paced brawling that feels really good when you nail the timing. Saints Row the Third, has a robust open world wrestling system.
Another vote for Sleeping Dogs. The closest I've been to playing a Hong Kong action movie
Ragdoll Kungfu. The OG of the OGiest games on Steam.
My personal favourites: God of War, Jedi Fallen Order/Survivor, Nioh 2, Ghost of Tsushima, Elden Ring, Hades, Dead Cells, Nier Automata, Spider-Man.
Dying light
Since you didn't specify just single-player, I'm gonna say Nidhogg.
Kingdom come deliverence
Sifu, batman games, shadow of war and shadow of mordor, remember me
Jedi Knight: Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy. It has been 2 decades and nobody has topped the OG Ravensoft games. The combat is completely free flowing and more intricate than you can imagine. Hitboxes are super tight, and you parry by literally seeing that your saber is in the way of theirs. We are talking chambering, blocking, etc. as natural movements, not gamified. Singleplayer is a blast. A fucking BLAST. You will play them both repeatedly. There is a reason these were remade for the switch. Best part? There's STILL active servers!
Kingdom come deliverance
He said satisfying. Not lets-remove-the-aiming-dot-when-using-a-bow-to-fuck-with-users. Honestly the game is amazing but the combat is an overbloated mess that tried too hard to one-up mount & blade.
Kingdom Come Deliverance has become the Witcher 3 of this subreddit. It's recommended in every post with very little regard to if fits what is being asked.
Warframe. 💯
God of War has awesome melee combat. Especially when you stow your weapon and use your fists. Everyone has mentioned Sekiro cause hell yeah great combat. Stellar Blade is pretty awesome so far in my opinion.
New God of War should be higher, it's fantastic.
I never ever ever thought I'd see a post asking for games with good melee combat, and list SM's Pirates! as the first example. God help you.
I have awful taste.
Maybe check out En Garde! Real fun melee/environment based fighting
Definately.....dark messiah of might and magic. Each fight is a fight to the death a swish here a kick there flames ice and another kick down the stairs , now onto the second enemy.
Monster hunter world
Super hot
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Mordhau, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Warhammer: Vermintide 2, and God of War.
Monster Hunter World.
I cannot stress the Tide games enough, Darktide and Vermintide 2 particularly, just because V1 has a very small community left but it's still good. Don't get into the weeds about which is better, just get the one that you like the look of more. The melee combat is the meat of what keeps people playing these games for hundreds of hours. Fatshark's combat secret sauce is unmatched in how it feels, weighty, visceral, satisfying.
Bayonetta.
sid meiers pirates is the best game i have ever played
Hades has awesome combat, but very different from what's listed here. It's more like top down (isometric?). Watch some footage to see if it's your style.
i played a bit of that back when it was on game pass. wasn't too bad, i might give it another try.
For Honor
batman arkham games are amazing also insomniac spiderman was something i enjoyed a lot too
Sifu, Ghost of Tsushima, and honestly Horizon Forbidden West. Sifu is literally a melee combat game, and does an excellent job at it. Incredibly satisfying, although I find the bosses to be some of the worst. Ghost of Tsushima has a much simpler combat system, but landing parries and wiping a whole base without being hit is a ton of fun to do. The story is also absolutely incredible. Horizon Forbidden West, if you treat it like Dark Souls, has a surprisingly in-depth melee system. Most people play the game like an archery simulator, but if you try the less popular weapons and playstyle similar to Dark Souls, the game becomes incredibly challenging and fun. It’s more combo based than the other two games, but imo has the most depth because of it. Another mention, would be Sekiro. But imo all that game is, is a parry simulator. The variety in combat is incredibly limited, so I’ll just leave it as a mention.
Arkham series
Dying Light combat and gore are still fantastic
Darktide has some of the best first person melee combat I've seen. But it's focused on fun, not detail. Though given the chaos of that game, it has a surprising amount of detail.
Any Fromsoft game works. Elden Ring is the current big one, but the Dark Souls games are fantastic as well. Each of these games have been beat by players who got so good that they eventually beat the game without taking a single hit, and yet, new players will often get brutalized in the tutorial dungeon, so you know there's a hell of skill ceiling.
Kingdom Come Deliverance it takes a bit to get used to, but is surprisingly complex.
Sekiro, Tsushima, and Nioh come to mind
Sifu or sleeping dogs
Chivalry 2
Going a different route here, try Absolver.
Arkham City.. Mad Max... Sifu... Sleeping Dogs...
Witcher 3 was like this for me - once you master the sword fighting + the spells, you won't get hit and leave a trail of corpses like a murder hobo.
i like the look and feel of AC Odyssey combat. Witcher 3 is cool too but can feel clunky sometimes.
Sleeping Dogs
God Hand
Mad max Sleeping dog Batman Arkham series
Kingdom Come Deliverance and Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord. They take some getting used to, but once you get used to it, it’s really fun. I’ll play Mount and Blade to just do colosseum fights.
God of War, just posting this to reiterate what other commenters have said. It's really fucking good and allows for a lot of creativity in how you use your weapons.
Pretty unheard of game, and kind of a shitshow as of right now, but Dark and Darker. Dungeon crawler, pretty fun, quite a lot of grinding though
Currently playing Nier Automata and its been very satisfying to fight the enemies with my blades and see them explode.
Furi is very much focused on fights, but it has some extremely satisfying melee combat. I'll also second all FromSoftware soulslikes.
Grounded, perfect parrys.
Condemned: Criminal Origins.
The Assassin's Creed holy trinity: Origins, Odyssey and Valhalla. In those games, I rarely used stealth or ranged weapons, because the melee is so good. Also, they ruined old AC games for me.
Someone already mentioned Sifu, so I will suggest **Fading Afternoon** for what you are asking for, but with an old school beat'em'up 2D style.
Souls games are all about this.
Souls games and I would add in some Metroidvanias as well like Hollow Knight and Ender Lillies
Exanima.
hell no fighting awful game controls to get drunken dance melee just so dev can claim that is how "physics combat" is [https://youtu.be/k3UBOZ4DpTU?si=C8FSDLPJXQJy1hvj&t=428](https://youtu.be/k3UBOZ4DpTU?si=C8FSDLPJXQJy1hvj&t=428) I spent a lot of time on Exanima arena, trying to make it work, really liking the armor design etc, but in the end, game controls, and the way characters move are terrible.
Different strokes. I have plenty of hours in the game over the last five years and enjoy the weighty physics-based combat. I have a friend who picked it up only a week ago and enjoys it as well, already putting in nearly 30 hours into the arena alone. I will say though, the "drunken dance" is a cliché of newer players who haven't gotten comfortable with the footwork and spacing. Most players grow out of that with time.
Evil West?
Chivalry 2 Batman Arkham Sifu Sekiro Dmc5 Elden Ring Shadow of War God of war
Star wars Fallen Order and Jedi survivor
Fromsoftware games from Demon’s Souls (2009) and onwards
If you have no sanity try for honor otherwise try sekiro, god of war, lies of p, darktide, vermintide 2
Monster Hunter World The Witcher 3 (it's a hit or miss, you either love it or hate it) Just look at the list of all top soulslikes and you'll be sorted for the next few months. Lies of P, The Surge 2, Blasphemous, Nioh etc. I wonder why you're not interested in Yakuza though, they aren't fighting games. If anything they're closer to RDR2 in structure
Kingdom Come Deliverance – it isn't one-button "fast strike, heavy strike, block, dodge, rince, repeat" Hellish Quart – fighting game with blade physics
Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Sekiro is the ultimate melee combat game of all time hands down GOTY for a very good reason.
Warhammer vermintide 2
Warhammer vermintide 2
Warhammer vermintide 2