Highlights
- The Game Awards 2023 will crown the Best Fighting Game of the year alongside a variety of other genres.
- Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter are popular but are largely standouts in a niche market, not Game of the Year contenders.
- Street Fighter 6 is the frontrunner to win the Best Fighting Game award due to its revitalization of the series and appeal to a wide range of players.
UPDATE: Street Fighter 6 won Best Fighting Game at The Game Awards 2023!
As 2023 draws to a close, The Game Awards 2023 will be highlighting some of the year's best releases, across a number of different genres, including fighting games. While there have been plenty of unique and enjoyable games in this category this year, only one can rise above the rest and earn the title of Best Fighting Game at The Game Awards.
While notable franchises like Mortal Kombat make headlines and are generally thought of as mainstream, a good number of high-quality fighting games either fly under the radar or aren't deeply explored by the greater gaming population. Even Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter games, while incredibly popular, are generally not thought of as Game of the Year contenders, being more like standouts in a specific niche. Still, plenty of gamers enjoy fighting games to some degree, with interest levels ranging from mild to religiously dedicated. When it comes to the award for Best Fighting Game at The Game Awards, the winner will likely be the title that best bridges this gap, appealing to both hardcore and casual players.
2023 Best Fighting Game Nominees
- God of Rock
- Mortal Kombat 1
- Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2
- Pocket Bravery
- Street Fighter 6
The Game Awards 2023: Predicting The Best Action Game Winner [UPDATE]
The Game Awards 2023 will be taking a look at five of the year's most beloved action experiences, granting one the title of Best Action Game.
God of Rock
With an average rating of 62 on Metacritic, God of Rock is one of the more unusual TGA nominations this year, especially considering that it's up against the likes of Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter. Having said that, the game has a surprisingly great premise, as it takes the basic gameplay of a fighting game and combines it with the mechanics of a rhythm game. This novel approach yields mixed results, and it's unlikely that it will beat out its Best Fighting Game competition, but it's certainly interesting and worth checking out.
Mortal Kombat 1
Mortal Kombat is back with Mortal Kombat 1, a soft reboot of the MK universe. The graphics are as polished as ever, and the franchise's easy to learn, hard to master fighting mechanics are in top form. The game isn't quite a flawless victory, stumbling with its Nintendo Switch port, but its new features and satisfying gameplay help make it a more than worthy successor to Mortal Kombat 11.
Like its predecessors, Mortal Kombat 1 is set to receive a number of content expansions post-release; specifically, several post-launch characters will be added to the game in the form of paid DLC. This means that the game's overall quality will likely be reevaluated in the years to come, when its roster has been completed.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 recreates a good deal of what made its 2021 predecessor so interesting. The game is widely considered to be an improvement over the first Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl, introducing new characters, arenas, and features while retaining its identity. The enduring charm of Nickelodeon's many iconic franchises helps the game's success as well, but many feel that it is still living in the shadow of the Super Smash Bros. series, which it is clearly trying to emulate.
Pocket Bravery
Like God of Rock, Pocket Bravery stands out against the other nominees, as it's not part of an established franchise nor does it feature characters from well-known IPs. Unlike God of Rock, however, Pocket Bravery takes a more traditional approach with its gameplay, offering players classic, beat-em-up-style combat reminiscent of games like The King of Fighters and Fatal Fury. Many fighting game fans, particularly those who have followed Pocket Bravery's crowdfunding process, have received the game with open arms, celebrating its flashy pixel art, crunchy sound design, inspired character designs, and surprisingly impactful combat fundamentals. It may not have made too many headlines this year, but it has landed exceptionally well with fighting game fans, and could be a cult classic in the making.
The Game Awards 2023: Predicting The Best RPG Winner [UPDATE]
RPG fans have enjoyed a number of fantastic titles this year, but one will have to rise above the rest to win Best RPG at The Game Awards.
Street Fighter 6
Perhaps the most widely publicized fighting game this year, rivaled only by Mortal Kombat 1, Street Fighter 6 has been widely considered a triumphant return for the famous franchise. Capcom's best-selling, influential fighting franchise managed to pull itself out of the shadow of its controversial fifth entry with Street Fighter 6, which is among the highest-rated video games of this year. One of the most remarkable things about SF6 is its World Tour mode, which allows players to create their own fighter and explore a semi-open world, battling other players and NPCs. Street Fighter 6's robust customization system, revolutionary single-player campaign, and tight-as-ever mechanics make it one of the best entries in the series and an undeniable win for Capcom.
Final Prediction
Although it faces some stiff competition in the form of Mortal Kombat 1, Street Fighter 6 will likely be taking home the Best Fighting Game award in December. Street Fighter 6 manages to appeal to fighting game novices just as much as hardcore and competitive players. That can't quite be said for Mortal Kombat 1 which, while a fantastic game, doesn't do nearly as much to revitalize and expand upon its series' formula. Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 is a game that does a lot right, but needs to do much more in order to step out of Nintendo's shadow, and although God of Rock and Pocket Bravery have their merits, it's hard to compete with the polish and pedigree of Street Fighter.
Street Fighter 6 is not only the best fighting game of the year, but one of the best games of the year, period, and more than a few fans have expressed surprise that it wasn't nominated for Game of the Year. GOTY nomination or not, Street Fighter 6 is a landmark title, and its significance will no doubt be recognized at The Game Awards 2023.
