These non-fighting games will help you get better at fighting games without having to lose embarrassingly.
Fighting games are one of the most difficult and satisfying things to learn how to play well. A good ranked match will try your skill, quick thinking, reflexes, and a lot more. And there’s nothing like how you feel the first time you really win. But the journey to get there can be scary and hard.
If you are just starting out, you might want to put down your fight stick and leave. But here’s the thing: leaving might be just what you need. Even though nothing beats a good old-fashioned training mode, there are a lot of games that don’t involve fighting that can help you avoid getting tired and improve your skills. So, if you’re having trouble getting combos to hit, you might want to pick up the following.
Dark Souls Remastered
On your warrior’s journey, the first thing you have to accept is that you will lose. A lot. It takes time and hard work to become a master, and in the meantime, you’re going to get beat up. So, what better game than the one known for its “you died” screen to teach you how to deal with frustration?
Dark Souls also requires you to learn how each boss attacks, which is exactly what you’ll have to do if you want to play fighting games often.
Titanfall 2
One of the most important parts of playing a high-level fighting game is being able to change your strategy on the fly. A good game of footsies, which is more than just low kicks, also requires a strong sense of space.
Any good movement shooter can help you improve your sense of space and your ability to change, but Titanfall 2 stands out because it’s just so much fun. Its great controls for movement, in particular, make it a great place to practice rushdown fighting.
Dead by Daylight
People often feel confident in their fighting skills until they join a casual match and find themselves facing a master. You will forget your moves, forget how to block, and probably forget that you ever wanted to get out of bronze.
The horror game Dead by Daylight, which is unbalanced, will put you in a very similar situation. You will feel outmatched and scared as a survivor, but you will still have to do well. If you can stay calm when facing an angry pyramid head, you can beat a scary opponent.
For Honor
It might be a bit of a mistake to call For Honor anything other than a fighting game. Even though the medieval combat model doesn’t fit neatly into either the 2D or 3D fighting categories, it still has typical fighting game elements like grapple attacks, parries, and unique character combinations.
This game will test how well you know how to play a fighting game technically. But because it moves quickly, you don’t have to wait ten minutes for another match after you lose. Instead, you can get up and try again right away.
Sifu
In fighting games, forgetting your security is one of the worst things you can do as a beginner. No matter how much time you spend training your combos, they won’t help you if you don’t learn how to block, parry, and back dash. Combat in Sifu is very fun because you have to be able to read your opponent and stop their attacks.
On the easiest setting, the game can be a fairly simple but very fun beat-em-up. If you choose to play on “master” difficulty, however, there’s no way you’ll make it to the final step unless you know exactly when to attack and when to defend.
Devil May Cry
The combo systems in the Devil May Cry games are on par with those in Bayonetta and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, which are some of the best in current action games. The game’s stylish system encourages not only fast and accurate inputs, but also creativity, which is one of the most important parts of combos.
Even though some games’ combo systems are more open or more closed, the most important part of any fighting game is being able to express yourself through your combos and getting a feel for how to put moves together.
Doom Eternal
Like Titanfall 2, Doom Eternal awards quick thinking and quick movement and punishes standing still and trying to figure out what to do next. Not every fighter likes the rush-down style of fighting, but Doom teaches you how to change your methods on the fly, which will help you in any style of fighting.
As a bonus, once you get going, the way you fight and use weapons in Doom Eternal feels like a power dream all the way through. It’s a great way to keep your spirits up and relax after a string of disappointing losses.
Tetris Effect
Any experienced fighting game player will tell you that you need to take a break every so often. Fight games give you a rush of energy. It’s one of their best qualities. But you can have too much of something good. You have to give your mind (and fingers) a break if you want all those hard actions to become muscle memory and for you to get better over time.
Studies have shown that Tetris is especially good for your brain, but any relaxing game would work. It’s easy to get into a calm, almost meditative state of mind quickly thanks to the audio and images.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Sekiro is a great game that lets you try out everything on this list. Because of how its posture system works, you have to choose carefully when to fight, defend, or run away. The game is fast, irritating, fun, and a great way to test your sense of space and ability to spot patterns.
Sekiro stands out from other games by Fromsoftware because there is almost no learning curve. In 8 Ball Pool, you could farm a certain number until the game got easier. Just like in fighting games, you will get better by trying and failing (and failing more), and you can only move on if you get better.
Pokemon Go
Even light to moderate physical exercise is good for your health in many ways that are hard to overstate. Pokemon Go is a great way to get moving and pass the time when you have to walk. To get out of bronze rank, you don’t have to become the next Bruce Lee, but even a little bit of exercise can help you improve your working memory, reflexes, focus, and a lot more.
If you like games, something like Pokemon Go or Zombies, Run can be a fun and rewarding way to get exercise, improve your health, and relieve stress. All of these things will make a big difference in how well you fight and how you feel in general.
