Beat 'em up

Beat 'em ups are video games in which the player must go through a series of areas in levels and fight against a set number of foes either unarmed or with a melee weapon. In many games the player must defeat the enemies in one section before moving on to the next.

The genre got its start in the mid-80s with Kung-Fu Master and Renegade and soon rose to success with Gauntlet, Double Dragon, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Golden Axe and Streets of Rage. Most of these early games used 2D side-scrolling gameplay where the player could move up and down the screen as well as side to side, giving the feel of a simple 3D environment.

Since the revolution of true 3D video games, traditional beat 'em ups have become less prevalent in favor of crossing over into the hack and slash genre with games such as Devil May Cry, God of War and Bayonetta, although games like Bouncer, God Hand, No More Heroes and Zeno Clash have kept the genre alive.