Nominees for Destructoid's best of 2013 fighting game

Best of 2013

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2013 was a great year for fighting games. EVO 2013 was one of the best ever, and interacting with the community was one of my favorite highlights of my gaming career. While there weren’t a whole lot of brand new games, the few and the proud made an impact on the industry at large, and a ton of pre-existing fighting games are still going strong.

Here are the nominees for best fighting game of 2013

Injustice: Gods Among Us

Going into Injustice, I worried that as much as I enjoyed the game that I would wish it was just aMortal Kombat game instead. My greatest fear was unfounded. As much as I enjoyed the game’s outlandish story, intense combat, and various modes, I can only imagine how much more it will mean to someone who is also a DC junkie. Instead of asking for Sub-Zero to appear in Injustice, I am now prepared to ask for Aquaman DLC in the next Mortal Kombat. Because Aquaman feeds his enemies to sharks. And that’s pretty badass.

Read the full Injustice: Gods Among Us review.

Killer Instinct

Killer Instinct may not be the new king of fighting games, and it feels a bit rushed in terms of content, but it is very solid and far exceeds my expectations for it. With a pricing scheme that doesn’t feel exploitative and a balanced character roster, the well developed mechanics will keep you busy until the new content drops next year. It’ll be interesting to see what the community at large thinks of it over time, but in my living room, it’s a welcome addition to my fighting game roster.

Read the full Killer Instinct review.

DiveKick

You will not lose in Divekick! because your opponent is better than you at dialing in big damage combos or successfully completing complex hand motions. You will not lose in Divekick! because you haven’t learned a library list of character specific moves, or how to exploit the details of a highly variable combat system. If you lose in Divekick!, it’s only because you didn’t make the right decisions at the right time. It levels the playing field between people who love, hate, or are just plain intimidated by the genre like few other games have. If you’ve ever enjoyed flying kicks in any form, Divekick! is the game for you.

Read the full DiveKick review.

AquaPazza: Aquaplus Dream Match

I guess good things do come to those who wait. AquaPazza is a charming little fighter that should highly appeal to anime fans and the most hardcore of fighting denizens. Beautiful visuals, catchy music, and a fighting system that perfectly culminates everything Examu has done up to this point. It’s a strong technical fighter that exudes fun and gives me some old-school Waku Waku 7 vibes with its eclectic cast.

Read the full AquaPazza: Aquaplus Dream Match review.

Tekken Revolution

As a free-to-play game Tekken Revolution took a chance, and it succeeded in winning over droves of new franchise fans. It’s not a true substitute for a premium game like Tekken Tag Tournament 2, but it scratches that itch all the same.

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Congrats to all the nominees! We’ll be announcing the official winner on Monday, December 24.

Here’s all the other nominee categories we’ve revealed so far:

In the mean time we want you to tell us which game this year was the best new fighting game of 2013.

About The Author

Chris Carter

Managing Editor - Chris has been enjoying Destructoid avidly since 2008. He finally decided to take the next step in January of 2009 blogging on the site. Now, he's staff!