Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings garnered critical and audience praise on release in early September 2021 due to its creative fight scenes that incorporated the various styles of martial arts that the titular character is known for. The movie also had a likable, engaging cast of characters that were able to support the weight of the mythology and lore surrounding the character and his comic history.
Many games try to capture these same elements, and only some succeed in achieving strong combat that empowers the player to feel like a superhero. Not to mention the rare game that can establish a cast of heroes that draw players into a story so much that they want to keep playing until the end.
9 Marvel's The Avengers Is A Great Game For Anyone Wanting To Play As A Marvel Hero
While the mission style and level design were panned on release, the Marvel's Avengers game captured audiences with the fluid, cooperative combat and the endearing story of Kamala Khan becoming Ms. Marvel and fighting alongside her childhood heroes.
Players can expect evolving combat, and for those looking for a more hand-to-hand martial arts approach, they can find it in characters like Captain America, Black Widow, and the recently added Black Panther. As a service game, Avengers helps to bring players back around often for more fights.
8 Absolver Brings Martial Arts Style Gaming To A Multiplayer Experience
Absolver is a martial-arts game through and through. Players explore a world full of AI enemies and online opponents, and try to best them through timed strikes, blocks, and parries. The key to success is patience and knowing a given opponent's weaknesses.
With both PvE and PvP options, Absolver offers a good mix of challenges for those wanting to train and test themselves. Currently sitting at "Mostly Positive" on steam, this game is one that shouldn't be missed by any fan of martial arts or deliberate, thoughtful gameplay.
7 Environmental Combat Takes Center Stage In Sleeping Dogs
Shang-Chi utilizes his environment in almost every fight by throwing characters through windows or by using nearby objects to attack and/or block. It adds even more variety to an already exciting number of fights with impressive choreography.
Sleeping Dogs takes a similar approach with its fighting style. The main character, Wei Shen, mostly utilizes hand-to-hand combat against his foes, but will gladly accept the help of any nearby objects he can use to bring them down— which makes every arena the player fights in a playground of options.
6 Stunning Lands Make Ghost Of Tsushima As Beautiful As The Movie
The vistas in Shang-Chi are visually stunning, and bring to life the rich landscapes that make up the more secretive locations in the movie. Colorful backdrops create a playful, vibrant environment that audiences would be happy to get lost in.
Few games could match the intensity of these backdrops as well as Ghost of Tsushima. Propelling protagonist Jin through an expansive field of white flowers that dance in the wind that the player can control feels like walking into a cinematic piece in its own right.
5 Martial Artistry Is As Intense As It Gets In Street Fighter
Fighting is everything in a great martial arts movie. Combat flows much like a dance between the two (or more) opponents, and the audience is invited to anticipate the villains' attacks alongside their hero in a way that makes them feel like part of the action.
The Street Fighter franchise puts these combo-driven combat skills into the hands of the players and amps that action up tenfold. Combatants are expected to plan out their attacks, while considering their opponents options and anticipating their next move. It puts the player into the mind of a fighter like Shang-Chi.
4 Real-Time Combat Makes Players Feel Powerful In Judgement
While the Yakuza series is great for its goofy side-quests that partner with serious main stories, the newer Judgment series is a great way for new fans to jump into the real time combat these games provide. Like Sleeping Dogs, using the environment during fights is as important as the character's main skills.
Beyond the combat, Judgment has an engaging detective story that will have the player desperate to figure out who their real enemies are. Since the latest Yakuza game has gone to a turn-based battle system, Judgment lets players see their strengths manifest in real-time as they fight their opponents.
3 Miles Morales Learns To Harness His Own Powers In Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Shang-Chi is about the titular character building and accepting his powers as well as the lineage that made him who he is. Spider-Man: Miles Morales tackles many of these same themes. Although Miles starts the game with his Arachnid Boy abilities, he must learn to really harness them.
Over the course of the game, the player learns the extent of Miles' abilities as well as the hand his family has in creating the world in which he lives. Specifically, Miles must figure out how his love for family can both strengthen him as a hero as well as be used against him as a weakness.
2 The DLC For Immortals Lets Players Explore Vibrant Chinese-Inspired Vistas
Although not too distinct from the original game, Immortals Fenix Rising: Myths of the Eastern Realm blends Chinese mythology into the expansive open-world gameplay that lets players explore for hours on end. Throughout the game's run-time, players will encounter famous figures such as Nüwa or the beasts of legend such as the Feilong.
Additionally, the large open world provides plenty of beautiful spaces that resemble the worlds built in Chinese folklore, and traveling among them is exciting and novel for players who may not have experienced them before.
1 Jade Empire Infuses Mythology With The Best Of Bioware's Writing
When Bioware was considered at their peak in terms of writing, they created the often overlooked Jade Empire. An action-RPG, this game was inspired by Chinese mythology and followed a Spirit Monk on their mission to stop Emperor Sun Hai.
Characters live side by side with creatures of the mythology in the the titular lands, and develop their abilities using the five elements. Jade Empire is steeped in folklore, history, and mythology, and uses these characteristics and background to create a unique game where players feel as though they are developing that world as well as their character.