Ranking by genre

The best beat 'em up games.

163 games compete in this selection. Devil May Cry 5 tops it with 1,853 points: the ranking comes from player votes alone, and moves with every duel settled.

  1. 1 Devil May Cry 5 2019 · Beat 'em up 1,853
  2. 2 Streets of Rage 2 1992 · Beat 'em up 1,839
  3. 3 God of War III 2010 · Beat 'em up 1,833
  4. 4 Bayonetta 2009 · Beat 'em up 1,827
  5. 5 God of War II 2007 · Beat 'em up 1,812
  6. 6 Ninja Gaiden Black 2005 · Beat 'em up 1,777
  7. 7 God of War 2005 · Beat 'em up 1,768
  8. 8 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 2003 · Beat 'em up 1,752
  9. 9 Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening 2005 · Beat 'em up 1,739
  10. 10 Devil May Cry 2001 · Beat 'em up 1,735
  11. 11 Streets of Rage 4 2020 · Beat 'em up 1,731
  12. 12 Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance 2013 · Beat 'em up 1,715
  13. 13 Devil May Cry 4 2008 · Beat 'em up 1,681
  14. 14 God of War: Ghost of Sparta 2010 · Beat 'em up 1,681
  15. 15 Castle Crashers 2008 · Beat 'em up 1,676
  16. 16 DmC: Devil May Cry - Definitive Edition 2015 · Beat 'em up 1,657
  17. 17 Devil May Cry 2 2003 · Beat 'em up 1,638
  18. 18 DmC: Devil May Cry 2013 · Beat 'em up 1,609
  19. 19 God of War: Ascension 2013 · Beat 'em up 1,602
  20. 20 Tekken 5 2005 · Beat 'em up 1,601
  21. 21 Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2010 · Beat 'em up 1,597
  22. 22 Transformers: Devastation 2015 · Beat 'em up 1,594
  23. 23 Comix Zone 1995 · Beat 'em up 1,586
  24. 24 Bayonetta 2 2014 · Beat 'em up 1,584
  25. 25 Battletoads / Double Dragon 1993 · Beat 'em up 1,584
  26. 26 Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition 2015 · Beat 'em up 1,581
  27. 27 Battletoads In Battlemaniacs 1993 · Beat 'em up 1,579
  28. 28 God of War: Chains of Olympus 2008 · Beat 'em up 1,578
  29. 29 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 2002 · Beat 'em up 1,578
  30. 30 Sifu 2022 · Beat 'em up 1,576
  31. 31 Ninja Gaiden 2004 · Beat 'em up 1,572
  32. 32 Battletoads 1991 · Beat 'em up 1,570
  33. 33 Ninja Blade 2009 · Beat 'em up 1,567
  34. 34 Onimusha: Warlords 2001 · Beat 'em up 1,564
  35. 35 Double Dragon II: The Revenge 1988 · Beat 'em up 1,563
  36. 36 The Lord of the Rings: Conquest 2009 · Beat 'em up 1,561
  37. 37 Dynasty Warriors 5 2005 · Beat 'em up 1,561
  38. 38 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time 1992 · Beat 'em up 1,560
  39. 39 Rampage 1986 · Beat 'em up 1,556
  40. 40 Golden Axe 1989 · Beat 'em up 1,555
  41. 41 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge 2022 · Beat 'em up 1,554
  42. 42 Castlevania: Lament of Innocence 2003 · Beat 'em up 1,554
  43. 43 Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening - Special Edition 2006 · Beat 'em up 1,553
  44. 44 God of War 2009 · Beat 'em up 1,550
  45. 45 Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny 2002 · Beat 'em up 1,548
  46. 46 God Hand 2006 · Beat 'em up 1,545
  47. 47 Spider-Man 2000 · Beat 'em up 1,542
  48. 48 Ninja Gaiden 1988 · Beat 'em up 1,542
  49. 49 Furi 2016 · Beat 'em up 1,540
  50. 50 Dragon's Crown 2013 · Beat 'em up 1,540
  51. 51 The Matrix: Path of Neo 2005 · Beat 'em up 1,540
  52. 52 Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge 2012 · Beat 'em up 1,535
  53. 53 God of War III: Remastered 2015 · Beat 'em up 1,519
  54. 54 Dead Rising 4 2016 · Beat 'em up 1,519
  55. 55 Absolum 2025 · Beat 'em up 1,514
  56. 56 Dead Rising 2: Off the Record 2011 · Beat 'em up 1,514
  57. 57 Ryse: Son of Rome 2013 · Beat 'em up 1,509
  58. 58 Double Dragon 1987 · Beat 'em up 1,509
  59. 59 Shank 2010 · Beat 'em up 1,509
  60. 60 Lollipop Chainsaw 2012 · Beat 'em up 1,506
  61. 61 Marvel's Wolverine 2026 · Beat 'em up 1,499
  62. 62 BloodRayne 2002 · Beat 'em up 1,496
  63. 63 Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro 2001 · Beat 'em up 1,496
  64. 64 Asura's Wrath 2012 · Beat 'em up 1,494
  65. 65 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The HyperStone Heist 1992 · Beat 'em up 1,494
  66. 66 Streets of Rage 1991 · Beat 'em up 1,493
  67. 67 Shank 2 2012 · Beat 'em up 1,489
  68. 68 No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle 2010 · Beat 'em up 1,489
  69. 69 The Wonderful 101 2013 · Beat 'em up 1,488
  70. 70 Devil May Cry 2 2012 · Beat 'em up 1,487
  71. 71 Fighting Force 1997 · Beat 'em up 1,478
  72. 72 Trek to Yomi 2022 · Beat 'em up 1,478
  73. 73 Killer Is Dead 2013 · Beat 'em up 1,478
  74. 74 Alien Storm 1990 · Beat 'em up 1,478
  75. 75 Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks 2005 · Beat 'em up 1,477
  76. 76 Devil May Cry 2012 · Beat 'em up 1,477
  77. 77 Deadpool 2013 · Beat 'em up 1,476
  78. 78 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003 · Beat 'em up 1,476
  79. 79 Bayonetta 3 2022 · Beat 'em up 1,475
  80. 80 Heavenly Sword 2007 · Beat 'em up 1,475
  81. 81 One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 2015 · Beat 'em up 1,474
  82. 82 Mother Russia Bleeds 2016 · Beat 'em up 1,472
  83. 83 God of War: Chains of Olympus 2011 · Beat 'em up 1,472
  84. 84 Chivalry: Medieval Warfare 2012 · Beat 'em up 1,471
  85. 85 MadWorld 2009 · Beat 'em up 1,471
  86. 86 Dante's Inferno 2010 · Beat 'em up 1,470
  87. 87 Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition 2018 · Beat 'em up 1,470
  88. 88 Attack on Titan 2 2018 · Beat 'em up 1,468
  89. 89 The Legend of Korra 2014 · Beat 'em up 1,467
  90. 90 God of War II 2009 · Beat 'em up 1,467
  91. 91 Oni 2001 · Beat 'em up 1,466
  92. 92 Astral Chain 2019 · Beat 'em up 1,465
  93. 93 Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes 2022 · Beat 'em up 1,465
  94. 94 Knights of the Round 1991 · Beat 'em up 1,464
  95. 95 Battletoads 2020 · Beat 'em up 1,458
  96. 96 Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening - Special Edition 2012 · Beat 'em up 1,456
  97. 97 One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2012 · Beat 'em up 1,455
  98. 98 Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse 2005 · Beat 'em up 1,453
  99. 99 Final Fight 1989 · Beat 'em up 1,449
  100. 100 Spartan: Total Warrior 2005 · Beat 'em up 1,449

Filter, combine and travel back in time in the full ranking

Other rankings

Best action RPG games Ranking of action-adventure games Greatest adventure games All-time best arcade games Best card and board games Greatest fighting games Best FPS games All-time best horror games Best JRPG games All-time best Metroidvania games All-time best platformer games Ranking of point-and-click games Best puzzle games Greatest racing games All-time best rhythm games Top roguelite games Best RPG games Ranking of sandbox games Top shoot 'em up games Greatest simulation games Best sports games Greatest strategy games Greatest survival games Ranking of TPS games Best visual novel games

In detail

The best beat 'em up games, what this ranking says

Devil May Cry 5 leads this selection with 1,853 ELO points, ahead of Streets of Rage 2 and God of War III. The 163 games competing in it have played 16,122 duels.

This selection in figures
Games competing in this selection 163
Duels played by those games 16,122
Game in the lead Devil May Cry 5 (2019)
Score of the leading game, in ELO points 1,853
Point gap between 1st and 10th 118
Best represented decade 2000s
Last reading September 18, 2026

The best beat 'em up game of every decade

A selection is not read in one block: here is what leads each of its brackets.

The best beat 'em up game of every decade
Decade Games competing In the lead ELO score Duels played
1980s 12 Double Dragon II: The Revenge 1,563 99
1990s 27 Streets of Rage 2 1,839 136
2000s 58 Bayonetta 1,827 332
2010s 52 Devil May Cry 5 1,853 274
2020s 14 Streets of Rage 4 1,731 183

What moved this week

The ranking changes with every duel settled. Over the past seven days, the score of 96 games in this selection moved.

What moved this week
Game Points gained in 7 days ELO score
DmC: Devil May Cry +72 1,609
Ninja Gaiden +65 1,572
Deadpool +61 1,476

The most contested match-ups

These pairs of games have faced each other more than any others in this selection.

The most contested match-ups
Wins Against Duels played Win rate
God of War III DmC: Devil May Cry 5 80%
God of War III Ryse: Son of Rome 5 100%
Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening Ryse: Son of Rome 4 100%
God of War: Chains of Olympus God of War: Ascension 4 50%
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow The Matrix: Path of Neo 3 67%

How this ranking is established

No jury, no press score, no sales figures: two games face off, players vote, and every vote updates an ELO score. This page is a view of the world ranking, never a standing kept apart.

Understand the method in detail →

FAQ

What players ask

What is the best beat 'em up game?

According to community votes, the best beat 'em up game is Devil May Cry 5, with 1,853 ELO points in the world ranking. It stands ahead of Streets of Rage 2 and God of War III, and its place is replayed with every duel.

How many beat 'em up games are ranked?

163 games of this selection take part in the duels, and they have played 16,122 of them so far. The full site catalogue is much wider: only games kept for their fame enter the running.

Which beat 'em up game is climbing right now?

DmC: Devil May Cry is the strongest climb in this selection over the past seven days, with 72 ELO points gained. Over the same period, the score of 96 games in the selection moved.

Vote on a duel