17 lists · 188 games
Every action shelf on Game-Scout — hack-and-slash, beat-em-ups, fighting, superhero, ninja and samurai — sorted by how each one actually fights, not by genre tag.
18 games
The cross-section: fifteen of the genre's icons across every sub-genre below, which is the fastest way to find out which corner of the shelf you actually want.
The whole genre in one ranked list — soulslikes, cinematic action-adventures, hack-and-slash, action-horror and action-RPGs side by side. Start here if you do not yet know which sub-genre you are after; every other list on this shelf goes deeper into one of them.
Top picks: God of War Ragnarök, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Bloodborne™
10 games
Combo-driven character action, where the scoring system is the point and the same encounter rewards replaying it better. The narrow, demanding end of the shelf.
Top picks: Devil May Cry 5 Series, NieR:Automata, Bayonetta
14 games
Side-scrolling brawlers, both the modern revivals and the arcade catalogue behind them. Short, dense and built around local co-op more than anything else here.
Top picks: Streets of Rage 4, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, Sifu
20 games
One-on-one versus fighters — the shelf's only genuinely competitive corner, where the single-player content is the side dish rather than the meal.
Top picks: Street Fighter 6, TEKKEN 8, Mortal Kombat 11
17 games
Licensed and original superhero action, where traversal usually matters as much as combat. Sorted by whether the power fantasy actually holds up in the hands.
Top picks: Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Marvel's Spider-Man, BATMAN™: ARKHAM KNIGHT
14 games
Stealth-and-blade action: shinobi toolkits, verticality and the option to avoid a fight entirely. Overlaps the samurai list at the edges and the list says where.
Top picks: NINJA GAIDEN 2 Black, Mark of the Ninja: Remastered, NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja STORM 4
13 games
Katana combat in feudal Japan and its imitators, from grounded historical duelling to the outright supernatural. The best-performing list on this shelf.
Top picks: Ghost of Tsushima, Sekiro™: Shadows Die Twice, Nioh 2
10 games
Hunts against one large beast as the whole loop: track it, break the parts that drop what you need, craft the gear that makes the next hunt survivable. The Monster Hunter line, its rivals God Eater and Wild Hearts, and the western machine hunts, all on PS5 and PS4.
Top picks: Monster Hunter: World, Horizon Forbidden West, Monster Hunter Wilds
14 games
The hands-off end of combat, on PC: your weapons fire themselves and you steer through the horde. Fourteen survivors-likes ranked by how much each changes the Vampire Survivors formula, from Brotato and Halls of Torment to the 3D breakout Megabonk, each read against Steam player sentiment.
Top picks: Brotato PS4 & PS5, Halls of Torment, Megabonk
15 games
One officer against a battlefield of hundreds, on PS5 and PS4: Dynasty Warriors, Warriors Orochi and the Persona, One Piece and Dragon Quest collaborations built on the same loop. The shelf's crowd-combat list, where hack-and-slash is one-on-one by comparison.
Top picks: DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS, WARRIORS OROCHI 4 Ultimate, Persona®5 Strikers
12 games
Olympus, the Underworld and the Trojan War on PS5 and PS4, ranked across action, strategy and narrative picks. The Greek counterpart to the viking list rather than a second samurai list.
Top picks: Hades, God of War® III Remastered, Assassin's Creed® Odyssey
14 games
Combat as pattern reading, on PC: arcade danmaku, twin-stick roguelikes and the bullet heaven games Valve tags as the opposite shape. The one list on this shelf where the threat is the screen rather than the swordsman.
Top picks: Enter the Gungeon, Cuphead, Vampire Survivors
9 games
Hand to hand combat as the system you learn, on PC: kung fu action, open world brawling, stance-based systems fighters and one tactical deckbuilder. Versus fighters and sword-led games stay on their own lists.
Top picks: Sifu, Sleeping Dogs, Black Myth: Wukong
12 games
Swordplay as the whole game, on PC: last-frame parries, first-person longsword realism, physics sabre duels and 64-player medieval melee. The platform counterpart to the samurai and knight lists.
Top picks: Sekiro™: Shadows Die Twice, Ghost of Tsushima, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
15 games
Norse myth and the Viking age on PlayStation, from both Norse God of War games and the two Hellblade games to Valhalla's raids, with the tactics and settlement games readers expect on a viking list kept in their own lane.
Top picks: God of War Ragnarök, God of War, Assassin's Creed Valhalla
12 games
Games where you play as a knight, from Kingdom Come's squire-to-knight climb through Souls combat in plate to 64-player Chivalry 2 battles. The armoured, European counterpart to the samurai list.
Top picks: Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, ELDEN RING, DARK SOULS™ III
17 games
Weighty third-person action with a cinematic frame — the specific feel God of War made a template. For when you have finished Ragnarök and want the closest thing to it.
Top picks: STAR WARS Jedi: Survivor™, Horizon Zero Dawn™, Ghost of Tsushima
Two katanas in feudal Japan, and two opposite answers on difficulty.
Which of the two Norse games to play first, and whether the reboot still holds up.
