Action Games Online: Brawlers, Swords, Survival and Duels
Updated
Action games online are built on reflexes: you hit, dodge, shoot and keep moving, and a slow reaction costs you a life. The main kinds are street brawlers, sword games, survival against waves of enemies, and quick duels for two. Below is what each kind asks of you, with games from the action games category and the controls they list.
What counts as an action game
Wikipedia defines an action game as one that tests physical skill, such as hand-eye coordination and reaction time. That covers a lot of ground: fighting games, beat 'em ups, shooters and platform games all belong to it.
| Kind | What you do | Start with |
|---|---|---|
| Brawlers | Punch and kick through streets or rounds | Gang Brawlers |
| Sword games | Slice through enemies, levels and bosses | Samurai Flash |
| Wave survival | Hold out as enemies keep coming | Apocalypse Rush |
| Duels for two | Beat a friend on one keyboard or screen | Sword Of Janissary |
Brawlers and beat 'em ups
A beat 'em up is a game of hand-to-hand fighting against many opponents, and playing it with a second player is one of the genre's hallmarks, as Wikipedia's article on the beat 'em up notes.
- Gang Brawlers is a 3D street fight. Destroy boxes, pick items up from the ground and collect coins to make your characters stronger. You can play the adventure with a friend or fight against them in the 2P fighting mode.
- Paper Fighter 3D is set in a world of paper layers. Each match has 3 rounds, and the first to take 2 wins. Your special strike is ready when your power bar is full.
| Game | Player 1 | Player 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Gang Brawlers | WASD to move, Space to jump, F punch, G kick, T defend | Arrows to move, P to jump, K punch, L kick, O defend |
| Paper Fighter 3D | WASD to move, F punch, G kick, R special | Arrows to move, L punch, K kick, O special |
Blocking, combos and timing in fighting games of every kind are in fighting games tips.
Sword and hack-and-slash games
- Samurai Flash is a parkour combat game. Your samurai keeps moving forward and cuts down everyone in the way, and you upgrade both your weapons and your own strength. Slide to move.
- Samurai Flash Online asks you to dodge and slice your enemies to reach the next level, with bosses along the way and enemies that move in slow motion.
- War Lands 2 is an action RPG against skeletons, wizards, trolls and archers. Smash barrels, boxes and other objects to find useful items. Move with WASD or the arrows, attack with the left mouse button and pick items up with F; C opens your stats and B your inventory.
- Age Of Quest puts you in defense of your castle as hordes of monsters and skeletons besiege it. You have a sword and magic, and each creature you beat drops coins, gems or ammunition. WASD walks, N or the left mouse button fires, and Q or the right mouse button changes weapon.
- Parthian Warrior has two maps and five weapons, a shield among them. WASD moves, the left mouse button attacks, the right one blocks and Space rolls.
Stick-figure fighters, from sword duels to wingsuits, are in stickman games online.
Survive the waves
In these games the enemies keep coming, and you win by lasting longer.
- Apocalypse Rush asks you to defend your trailer against endless waves. Collect coins for upgrades, and the longer you last, the harder it gets. Two players can play: player 1 moves with the arrows, shoots with K and uses a special attack with L; player 2 moves with WASD, shoots with C and uses V.
- Hero Survival is a survival RPG against waves of zombies. Left click attacks and right click sprints.
- Boosted Jetpack Hero gives you a jetpack to jump, dodge and shoot your way through waves of bullets, cannonballs and obstacles.
Waves of the undead, from shooters to tower defense, are in zombie games online.
One-button duels for two
Duels for two are short rounds against a friend. The Janissary games use a single key per player, so they are quick to learn and can be played by touch too.
- Sword Of Janissary is a blue janissary against a red one, swinging swords with W and the up arrow. The first to five points wins.
- Axe of Janissary stands the two on platforms that slide left and right. Hit each other with the axe while the bricks moving up and down in the middle try to block it. Player 1 uses W and player 2 the up arrow, and five points win.
- Mace of Janissary is about setting the angle and speed of your mace to suit the terrain and the wind. It also has a single-player mode for training.
- Gun of Janissary swaps the swords for guns. The trees and the wind can push your bullets off course, so calculate where each shot will go, and grab the bonuses to get the edge on your friend.
- Castel Wars is a retro-pixel tower war for two. Build small bricks to escape or to trap your opponent, fire the catapult in your tower, and collect bonuses dropped by a hero who flies overhead on balloons. If you get stuck, throw your sword with the action key. Blue plays on WASD and E, red on the arrows and P.
More games for two on one keyboard, from tanks to sports, are in 2 player games on one keyboard.
Tips for action games
- Find the defend key first. Gang Brawlers puts it on T for player 1 and O for player 2.
- Save the special move. In Paper Fighter 3D it is ready only when your power bar is full, so do not waste the moment.
- Break the scenery. War Lands 2 hides useful items in barrels, boxes and other objects.
- Keep moving in wave games. Standing still lets enemies close in from every side.
- Read the wind in Gun of Janissary. The trees and the wind can push your bullets off course.
Action games FAQ
What is the difference between action and adventure games?
Action games test your reflexes: how fast you hit, dodge and shoot. Adventure games put the weight on exploring and solving, and many browser games mix the two.
Can two people play action games on one computer?
Yes. Gang Brawlers, Paper Fighter 3D, Apocalypse Rush, Castel Wars and the four Janissary duels above all have two-player modes on one keyboard.
Do action games work on a phone?
Many do. Samurai Flash and Samurai Flash Online are played by sliding a finger, and the Janissary duels can be played by touch.
The action games category has many more, from brawlers to duels.
