As a love letter to 90s and action movies and classic beat-em-ups, Midnight Fight Express succeeds in being one of the more unique brawlers available. There are pop culture references aplenty as one works their way through various levels of bad guys and street punks.
The game empowers the player by giving them the ability to defeat large numbers of enemies at once in free-flowing combat. Midnight Fight Express has one of the most cinematic and accessible systems in gaming. The brutal combat system gradually opens up as the game's story progresses, and its sense of style will keep players coming back for more. Once players have exhausted every aspect of Midnight Fight Express, there are other gloriously violent and stylish action games they should try.
8 Batman Arkham Series
- Released: 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2015
- Developer: Rocksteady and WB Games Montreal
- Platforms: OS X, PC, PS3, PS4, PS5, Switch, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S
When Batman: Arkham Asylum launched in 2009, it proved that licensed superheroes could be good in the right hands. The stealth mechanics rivaled the best in the genre, and the combat was revolutionary.
The Arkham series' combat system is an influence on Midnight Fight Express. There is a lot more to the Arkham series than just combat, but the free-flowing fighting will keep fans of Midnight Fight entertained for hours. There are combat-based challenge modes where Batman has to fight waves of enemies. Batman: Arkham Origins is the most underrated in the series and has some of the best combat scenarios. The boss fights in particular are the best, and a standout fight against Deathstroke is far more satisfying than the disappointing tank fight in Arkham Knight.
7 Streets Of Rage 4
- Released: 2020
- Developer: Dotemu
- Platform: Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, PC, PS4, Stadia, Switch, and Xbox One
Midnight Fight Express is like a modern-day equivalent of classic side-scrolling beat-em-ups Double Dragon, Final Fight, and Streets of Rage. One of the most popular and modern entries in the beat-em-up genre is Streets of Rage 4, and it's better than ever.
The combat isn't free-flowing, but there is still fun in beating up waves of villainous goons on the street. The combat system and story have a surprising amount of depth and longevity. There are also online and local co-op modes to get more out of the game.
6 Sleeping Dogs
- Released: 2012
- Developer: United Front Games
- Platform: PC, PS3, PS4, macOS, Xbox 360, and Xbox One
Open-world title Sleeping Dogs is an action game set in Hong Kong. It significantly uses the Grand Theft Auto formula but places players in the shoes of an undercover cop named Wei. Unlike GTA, Wei is a good guy instead of a criminal, but gets pulled in too deep with his undercover work as a Triad.
Where it improves on the standard GTA formula is the combat system. Like Midnight Fight Express, it uses a free-flowing fighting system. It implements Kung Fu and takes inspiration from classic Hong Kong movies and martial arts stars like Bruce Lee, Donnie Yen, and Jackie Chan. Ten years on, Sleeping Dogs is still one of the best action games available.
5 The Hong Kong Massacre
- Released: 2019
- Developer: Vreska
- Platform: PC, PS4, and Switch
As a game influenced by 1990s action movies, fans of Midnight Fight Express should enjoy The Hong Kong Massacre. The top-down action game is set in 1990s Hong Kong and takes inspiration from John Woo movies like Hard Boiled and The Killer.
However, instead of a brawler, The Hong Kong Massacre is a brutally tough shooting game where each level functions as a puzzle the player must solve. Clearing enemies in a level takes timing, skill, and patience. Succeeding by pulling off slow-motion dives and bullet time mechanics is an incredibly satisfying feat in its accomplishment.
4 Hotline Miami
- Released: 2012
- Developer: Dennation Games
- Platform: Android, Linux, OS X, PC, PS3, PS4, PS Vita, Switch, Stadia, and Xbox One
In addition to 90s pop culture, Midnight Fight Express appears to take many of its influences from the Hotline Miami series. In addition to the ultra-violence, both games share a surreal aesthetic in their storytelling and characters.
Moreover, Hotline Miami is a top-down shooter with an excellent soundtrack and arguably better storytelling than Midnight Fight Express. In 2015, the sequel Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number was released to critical acclaim and is even darker and more intense than its predecessor.
3 John Woo's Stranglehold
- Released: 2007
- Developer: Midway Studios
- Platform: PC, PS3, and Xbox 360
Released in 2007, John Woo's Stranglehold is a sequel to the John Woo-directed Hard Boiled starring Chow Yun Fat. Chow Yun Fat returns to the role of Tequila as he's on a quest to find his daughter.
John Woo directed some of the most iconic action movies of the 90s and early 2000s. He is known for his use of slow motion and ballet-like shootouts. In addition to his famous Hong Kong movies, he directed Face Off, Hard Target, and Mission Impossible 2. His movies were a huge influence on the Max Payne series .
2 Max Payne 3
- Released: 2012
- Developer: Rockstar Studios
- Platform: OS X, PC, PS3, and Xbox 360
As stated above, the John Woo movies inspired the Max Payne series, and the best of them is arguably the last game in the trilogy, Max Payne 3. Like its predecessors, Max Payne 3 is an intense shooter with balletic gunplay and slow-motion bullet time mechanics.
There's no hand-to-hand combat, but fans of Midnight Fight Express will enjoy the non-stop action and 90s movie feel. Thanks to the backward compatibility feature on the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, Max Payne 3 is often found at bargain prices on the Xbox Store. The developers of the first two games are currently remaking the first two games in the series.
1 Sifu
- Released: 2022
- Developer: Sloclap
- Platform: PC, PS4, and PS5
Sifu is a rogue-like martial arts game that implements a free-flowing combat system and an art style not dissimilar to Midnight Fight Express. The game isn't as surreal, and the repetition of the rogue-like mechanics makes it a fundamentally different game.
However, thanks to its combat system and how players can take down multiple enemies at once using their hands, weapons, and the environment, one can confidently recommend Sifu as a great alternative to Midnight Fight Express. Like Midnight Fight Express, Sifu is inspired by Hong Kong cinema.
Midnight Fight Express is available now for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.