In 2023 alone, we’ve been blessed with a couple of amazing fighting games released for both consoles and the PC. Examples include Street Fighter 6 and Mortal Kombat 1, with Tekken 8 joining in the next few months.
Despite 1v1 brawlers continuously being added to the PC video games catalog after all these years, some players still wonder whether fighting games are ever any good when played on the computer.
Well, rest assured that fighting games are still as fun and exciting when played on the PC. In fact, some might even argue they’re better on the computer, enjoying added features like customizable graphics and user-created mods.
Plus, certain games are capped at 30 frames-per-second (fps) when released on video game consoles, but PC players normally have the added advantage of bypassing this via in-game settings, official patches, or software/ hardware exploits.
So, if anyone is interested in buying the best PC fighting games right now, feel free to go ahead and do so!
Can I Play Fighting Games using a Keyboard?
Unless we’re already playing PC games using joysticks, the keyboard becomes our primary device for inputting in-game combos and commands instead. The thing is, is it any good?
Yes, we can still play fighting games using the keyboard. It only takes a while to adjust to the controls/ button mappings, which are usually interchangeable.
Granted, normal keyboards might not work well for the pros due to their ergonomics, but high-end mechanical keyboards can perform as fast and respond as seamlessly as the most expensive gamepads too.
Additionally, if we own a PS5, a few selected games do support PS5 controllers as well, which is a huge deal! Regardless, sticking to the standard keyboard setup is still fine if we don’t have extra joysticks lying around at home.
Is It Harder Playing Fighting Games on PC?
At first glance, playing fighting games on the PC might look difficult when using a keyboard. However, that’s not entirely true.
Playing fighting games on the PC could actually be easier if we’re already accustomed to keyboard macros and hotkeys, presumably through gameplay experiences playing other types of PC games, such as real-time strategy (RTS) or massive multiplayer online (MMO) games.
Of course, this depends on the players themselves because not everyone plays PC games extensively every day. Console enthusiasts could argue that fighting games are harder to play on the computer without a proper gamepad, while others prefer adapting to the keyboard to enjoy quality-of-life improvements on the PC, such as better visual fidelity.
There’s no definite answer, really. The best way to know for sure is by trying it for ourselves to see where we stand.
Should I Play Fighting Games on PC or Consoles?
Now, we’ve come to the true question everyone’s been asking; should we play fighting games on the PC or gaming consoles?
Both have their merits. Still, the following table may provide a better understanding of how each generally fares against the other:
PC | Consoles |
+ More customizable settings/ options + Better graphical tweaks + Moddable games | + Comfortable couch gameplay (with family, friends, etc.) + Consistent patches among the same platform + Joystick(s) already provided |
– Possible bugs/ glitches (if ported from consoles) – Requires a joystick(s) (for players unsatisfied using keyboards) | – Locked frame rates – Slightly more expensive (current gen) |
As such, it’s up to us to identify which suits our needs better. For one, console-exclusive titles aren’t always optimized for the PC, but PC gamers have the benefit of playing their games on different computers just by running them via external hard drives on the go.
There’s no right or wrong decision here. Not every community feedback applies to everyone; it’s only a matter of preference and consumerism, at the end of the day.