20 Best Samurai Games To Play If You Liked Ghost of Tsushima

Summary

• Dive deeper into samurai culture & action-packed gameplay with these exciting and underrated samurai-themed games.
• Enjoy brutal combat and strategic thinking in games like Katana Zero, Samurai Gunn, and Brave Fencer Musashi.
• Explore diverse samurai experiences, from real-time strategy in Kessen to hack-and-slash in Samurai Shodown and Nioh 2.

The way of the samurai has always been a subject of fascination for fiction. Anything from their iconic swords to their code of honor makes them just as interesting, if not more so than knights, especially when it comes to video games. That's something Ghost of Tsushima has proven, and it ought to spark renewed interest towards these obsolete Japanese warriors.

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Now, if Ghost of Tsushima has left many players wanting more bushido action, or even just the signature Japanese aesthetics involved, then fret not, because there are other samurai-themed games that offer more gameplay involving katanas and cool ponytails.

Updated on March 22, 2024, by Dennis Moiseyev: The samurai hype is real these days. FX and Hulu's Shogun is on TV and Team Ninja's Rise of the Ronin has come to PS5, a worthy adversary to Ghost of Tsushima. But there are lots of cool samurai games on top of Rise of the Ronin to fill the void Ghost of Tsushima may have left, whether you're in it for the gameplay or the story. Here are some more options.

22 Katana Zero

Fans of hard titles with great combat will fall in love with the brutal gameplay of Katana Zero. The game places you in the shoes of a skilled swordsman who uses a katana to deal death and destruction all around him.

Katana Zero is definitely not an easy game, with your character being downed in a single hit. However, dealing with multiple failed runs only to settle upon the perfect one never ceases to be satisfying. It's another Devolver Digital gem!

21 Samurai Gunn

An indie party game featuring powerful warriors, Samurai Gunn is a fun title to whip out at a moment's notice. It might not have the deepest gameplay around, but the systems are competent enough to serve up some fun rounds that you can enjoy with friends.

It's easily one of the most underrated games on this list. The game deserves more love, especially given how fun its brawler combat can really be.

20 Brave Fencer Musashi

Squaresoft was on a roll in the 90s, releasing a wave of amazing games that are still held in high regard to this day. Brave Fencer Musashi is one of its many releases during this time period that was absolutely stellar.

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The game features a main character who's a reincarnation of the famed swordsman, Musashi. It's a light-hearted game that fans of entertaining JRPGs will find to be right up their alley.

19 Afro Samurai

Well, he might not have a ponytail, and he might not be Japanese, but the titular Afro Samurai is voiced by none other than Samuel Jackson—can't say no to that! It's a rather simple game based on the animated series of the same name.

This time around, players take on the role of Afro in his quest to become the number one warrior. It just so happens that the current number one is a dude named Justice who killed his father. It's a two-for-one revenge story that's worth playing for Samuel Jackson's voice alone.

18 Way Of Samurai 4

Now, for a samurai-themed game where the protagonist is actually a Japanese samurai, and the whole thing takes place in Japan, Way of the Samurai 4 should do the trick. It's the latest entry in the series, and it was released in 2012.

It might not be as highly-acclaimed as Ghost of Tsushima, but the time period Way of the Samurai 4 takes place in is interesting. That would be the post-isolationist era of Japan, around the same time period the Rurouni Kenshin anime is based on.

17 Kessen

Speaking of Japanese history, the Kessen games should attract any interested audience. It's a real-time strategy released back in the year 2000 for the PlayStation 2, a console that didn't see many entries in the genre.

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Kessen — the first one, at least — is a digital battleground where players get to control the outcome of the Battle of Sekigahara and many other conflicts between the Tokugawa Clan and the Toyotomi Clan during the Sengoku period.

16 Samurai Warriors Series

If China has Dynasty Warriors, then Japan has Samurai Warriors. The fourth entry in the series is the highest-rated among the bunch and continues the Dynasty Warriors-Esque gameplay of lone warriors hacking down enemy hordes like lawnmowers.

Of course, Samurai Warriors also has its own stars in the form of the most popular samurai icons in Japanese history. Like most Japanese games involving samurai, it takes place during the warring states period of Japan. It's worth noting that this game has the same publisher/developer as Dynasty Warriors.

15 Warriors Orochi Series

What if Dynasty Warriors crossed over with Samurai Warriors? The answer is Warriors Orochi, a series that also has a habit of persisting into multiple sequels while keeping the same gameplay formula. Warriors Orochi 4 is the latest among them.

Anyone who has played both the Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors games should be familiar with the game and the characters. This time, however, the variety goes up through the roof with the combined roster of heroes.

14 Samurai Shodown (2019)

On the surface, Samurai Shodown looks like another 2.5D anime-style fighting game, like Street Fighter 4 but with weapons. Delve deeper and players will find that it’s a far more strategic and tactical fighting game that requires timing and patience.

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There’s a certain rhythm to Samurai Shodown’s combat system that makes the game feel totally unique. There are counter-attacks and defensive moves, like rolls and parrying, that can change the tide of battle in an instant. Yet despite these hardcore mechanics, Shodown is very accessible and easy to pick up for brand-new players.

13 Bushido Blade

Released on the PS1 in 1997, Bushido Blade is a purist's dream and a sword-fighting game that was the polar opposite of the arcade-style mechanics of the SoulCalibur series. It remains as close to a samurai combat simulator as it can possibly get.

Every fight is about targeting body parts to weaken the opponent or going for an instant kill strike. Players need to learn how to time their parries and deflect attacks with precision-perfect timing while also honoring the Samurai code of Bushido.