The Best Arcade Games for PC

Cuphead

Can you survive surreal boss encounters in this captivating run-and-gun game inspired by old-school cartoons?

Image credit: Studio MDHR

Cuphead is what happens when people with a genuine passion for making video games create something new and unique for others to enjoy. It’s a textbook definition of labor of love and you’ll notice it right away when you launch the game. Its quality, level of polish, and attention to detail put the competition to shame. It’s pretty safe to assume that you’ve never played something like this before, which makes it a perfect title to put on the list of the best arcade games for PC you should try.

Cuphead

Read more

Streets of Rage 4

A legendary fighting game series from the 1990s returns with style.

Image credit: DotEmu

Streets of Rage 4 pays homage to classic arcade beat ’em-up games where players explore city streets in a side-scrolling fashion, fighting groups of hostile street punks and performing all kinds of deadly moves and combos to quickly dispose of enemies. And it all makes sense, considering that SoR games themselves helped to shape the genre in its early days. Witness the return of the king of fighting games, now with better visuals, more advanced lighting effects, and impressively smooth and responsive controls.

Streets of Rage 4

Read more

METAL SLUG 3

A legendary classic arcade game returns and hits the PC market. No need to pay a coin each time you die anymore – now you can just buy the game and die as much as you want.

Image credit: SNK CORPORATION

Metal Slug is a run and gun game where you will be playing as a soldier tasked with taking care of the alien threat. You will spend most of the time spamming your gun’s trigger in order to defeat hordes of enemies as you approach them, while also trying to dodge whatever they throw at you and survive their attacks. While it may sound simple, you will quickly find the title incredibly addictive, especially when you combine moderately challenging gameplay with some adorable 2D pixel-art graphics.

METAL SLUG 3

Read more

Beat Hazard

Beat Hazard is a fast-paced dynamic shooter, where the stages are generated in real-time, based on the music that is currently playing. Sounds intriguing, right?

Image credit: Cold Beam Games

Beat Hazard is quite unique – it’s a seemingly simple 2D game focused on blowing up the enemy spaceships with the use of increasingly powerful weapons and it will undoubtedly test your reflexes to the limit. You may now ask, how’s that unique? There are tons of similar games on the market, right? Wrong.

Beat Hazard dynamically generates the stages and it uses the selected music to do so. Any music. That’s right – you can choose literally any song you want and the game will turn it into an epic adventure full of lasers, explosions, and deadly encounters with powerful bosses. A word of advice before you begin – although it works with anything, dubstep and other similar electronic music seem to work best.

Beat Hazard

Read more

TEKKEN 7

Tekken was always a popular choice for a party game to play with friends at home, but it’s also an incredibly fun arcade game, hence it made its way onto the list.

Image credit: Bandai Namco Studios

In Tekken the rules are simple – choose your fighter and defeat your opponent in a series of duels. There is a catch, however. Winning the battles requires you to learn your character’s moves thoroughly, so you will know what he is capable of. Each available character plays differently and suits a slightly different playstyle – it’s mandatory to learn all the important combos, as well as the character’s strengths and weaknesses.

Tekken is also a game of reflexes, as learning all the combos is only the first step on your journey to becoming the fiercest, indomitable fighter – it’s important to learn how to quickly execute all the moves during the fight and when is the best time to strike.

TEKKEN 7

Read more

Rocket League

Sports games are natural arcade candidates, and Rocket League is no different – just take a look at the game that combines football with rocket-fueled cars, and you’ll know what we’re talking about.

Image credit: Psyonix

Rocket League offers a one-of-a-kind experience and, honestly speaking, there aren’t many alternatives. In the simplest words, it’s a football game that replaces football players with cars. However, things become more interesting once you realize that your car has a rocket engine that allows your vehicle to fly high for a short period of time which adds an entirely new layer of gameplay.

Learning how to fly is crucial, as it allows you to intercept the ball mid-air, dribble above the arena, or even score impressive, aerial goals. It takes a lot of practice, but the fun you get in return is well worth your time.

Rocket League (Steam)

Read more

Geometry Dash

For the last game, we’ve got Geometry Dash – an arcade game with overwhelmingly positive reviews, so there’s no reason to not include it on the list.

Image credit: RobTop Games

You would be surprised by how good can a simple game focused on an adventurous square can be. Geometry Dash is a music-based game that consists of several increasingly difficult stages, where you will have to avoid traps and obstacles and safely reach the goal.

Easier said than done – mastering certain levels requires a lot of patience and dedication. It’s also worth noting that the game comes with a level creator, allowing players to make their own stages and share them with the entire Geometry Dash community – player-made levels will keep you entertained long after you get bored with the core game’s content.

Geometry Dash

Read more