When many players think of fighting games, most will be in awe of how well pro gamers can hit multiple combos in games like Tekken and Street Fighter. These games favor a more aggressive style of player where having the skill to strike and time combos comes effortlessly.
Many games like BlazBlue and Guilty Gear penalize players for playing too defensively, and others like Dragon Ball FighterZ are designed for exciting fights, where combos and power moves dominate. However, some players prefer tactical fighting games where they strategize, take their time, parry, and reverse opponents that are too aggressive. This list will focus on games where getting too aggressive will result in an easy and humiliating loss.
8 For Honor
For Honor is a medieval online fighting game that pits knights against samurai, Vikings against Ninjas, and more. It's a fighting game where players must master deflections, feints, parries, and counterattacks to be successful. The game goes to every effort to replicate medieval battles and fights.
As a result, players that try and fight too aggressively will be easily defeated and punished in combat. For Honor is more like a chess game where players will wait for their opponent to make a mistake and create an opening. Fighting too aggressively leaves opponents wide open to killing blows and counterattacks.
7 Dead Or Alive 5
Dead or Alive 5 is a fast-paced fighting game that looks similar to fighters like Tekken, and players can attack with combinations and fast attacks. However, the most successful fighters in Dead or Alive know how to fight defensively, hitting reversals and following up with combinations.
A good Dead or Alive player will take their time and reverse an aggressive fighter's best attacks. The animations are fluid, and countering impatient opponents with a reversal is satisfying. In addition, defensive players can move around the 3D environment and take advantage of fighters that come forward.
6 Undisputed
Undisputed is the latest boxing sim that's still in early development but is already a complex and satisfying fighting game. The boxing genre is a different kind of fighting game compared to games like Tekken and Street Fighter. Stamina maintenance and learning not to get are as essential as landing a knockout punch.
Two good fighters in Undisputed can often go the distance without getting knocked out in a back-and-forth fight that depicts the sport of boxing. Aggressive players will get punished if they try to go for an easy win. Getting counter-punched in Undisputed, as well as gassing themselves out, can leave players open to a quick win for a defensive fighter.
5 Bushido Blade
Bushido Blade is PS1 exclusive and remains one of the best sword-fighting games ever produced. Unlike the SoulCalibur series, where combos and super moves will win a fight, Bushido Blade players can be cut down after one good strike with a sword.
Limbs can be targeted to weaken an opponent's defenses and break them down piece by piece. Bushido Blade is a unique sword-fighting sim where fights can end in seconds or several minutes with two good players. Trying to fight too aggressively will result in an easy win for the defending fighter.
4 UFC 4
Like Undisputed, UFC 4 is a combats sports game geared toward strategy and timing instead of aggressive combos. As a mixed martial arts game, UFC 4 rewards combinations, but more often than not, they are more effective as a means of counterattacking.
Trying to be too aggressive will make a fighter predictable for the defensive player, leaving them open for counters, takedowns, submissions, and an easy technical knockout. Stamina also plays a big part in UFC 4, and running out of stamina because a fighter has gassed out will leave them defenseless.
3 Samurai Shodown
Despite its stunning but cartoonish art design, Samurai Shodown is a more thoughtful and methodical fighting game than the SoulCalibur series. Not as strict as a Bushido Blade, but the gameplay is more rewarding for defensively-minded players.
Being cautious and looking for openings make it a more realistic fighting game than it appears. Samurai Shodown feels more like a nod to classic and violent samurai movies. As a result of the defensive style, the game is accessible to new players with its easy-to-pick-up control system. Overly aggressive players will get countered, have their weapons knocked out of their hands, and more.
2 Fight Night Champion
If playing Undisputed in its early access state doesn't appeal, or if players don't have access to a PC that can run it, Fight Night Champion is still the king of the ring in the boxing genre. The fighting system is easy to pick up, but defensive fighters that bob, weave, and counter their opponents are the most successful.
Even when players pick a boxer known for his aggression, like Mike Tyson, a patient fighter will outlast him and defeat the powerhouse in the later round after he's gassed himself out trying to score the knockdown. Fight Night Champion rewards tactics and timing over throwing mindless punches.
1 Hellish Quart
Even though it is a title in early access, Hellish Quart is the closest players will get to a spiritual successor to the Bushido Blade series. The indie title is even more realistic and methodical than its Japanese counterpart and relies on its physics-based engine and timing to win. Aggressive players find themselves at the mercy of a careful player as they'll lose heads and limbs with well-timed counterattacks and strikes.
Like Bushido Blade, fights between Musketeers, Hussars, Swedish Reiters, and more. Even in early access, Hellish Quart is the ultimate sword-fighting and dueling simulator available to buy. Using feints and creating openings is the best way to win, as coming forward and attacking too aggressively will result in getting riposted and cut down.