Best Fighting Game of 2022 - Article

by Chinh Tran , posted on 16 January 2023 / 3,485 Views

By looking at a list of fighting games this year, you may notice the lack of certain key franchises like Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, or Smash Bros. Instead, the void was filled by relatively smaller fighting titles and several key newcomers. Despite this, however, fighter fans were still kept busy, particularly by the finalists.

DNF Duel from Arc System Works successfully reinvented the classic Dungeon Fighter series as a fighter by adopting simple-to-learn mechanics without sacrificing depth. Player First Games took the fighting world by storm with MultiVersus, allowing players to finally decide whether LeBron James can take on Superman, or Tom and Jerry can defeat Arya Stark. SNK also released The King of Fighters XV, building upon its storied franchise in both new and familiar ways. Finally, WWE 2K22 saw the series return to form after its disastrous predecessor.

The Shortlist:

DNF Duel

MultiVersus

The King of Fighters XV

WWE 2K22

The Runner-Up:

MultiVersus

Although many may not have predicted it, MultiVersus became a huge hit in 2022. By taking the fun and proven mechanics of Smash Bros., mixing it with a free-to-play system, and adding a diverse cast of characters from a variety of famous properties, Player First Games topped sales and download charts to reach over 20 million players and counting with MultiVersus. And with the promise of more support through maps and characters, MultiVersus should get even better with time.

The Winner:

The King of Fighters XV

SNK’s The King of Fighters XV took centre stage for many traditional fighting game fans with its creative, fluid fighting style. A large roster of new and returning characters, beautiful and vibrant graphics, a multitude of gameplay options, and the tight and responsive gameplay the series is known for further elevated The King of Fighters XV above the competition and is VGChartz's pick for Best Fighting Game of 2022.