15 best anime games to play on PC & Steam in 2023

Admittedly, anime is no longer as niche as it was a decade ago. Thanks to streaming services, millions of people can enjoy the charms of Japanese animation with professional subtitles and dubbing.

Consequently, more Western viewers became interested in it, naturally followed by the desire to explore other forms of entertainment where they could see their beloved characters. That’s how anime video games have risen in popularity.

What are the best anime games on PC?

This article will provide you with the best anime games on PC. All otaku will certainly find something for themselves, especially if they are also fond of fighting games.

Attack on Titan 2

Attack on Titan, also known as Shingeki no Kyojin, is one of the biggest anime hits in recent years. Therefore, it’s hardly surprising that it got its game adaptation. This one is a sequel to Attack on Titan: Wings of Freedom, which was released in 2016. It is worth checking out both installments to understand the plot better. However, Attack on Titan 2 has more polished and diverse gameplay.

It continues the battle between terrifying titans and humanity, which desperately tries to exterminate the creatures. Gliding through the air feels terrific and hits the right spot for anime fans. Moreover, the fact that you create your nameless character helps you approach this breathtaking story from a different angle. Overall, the interactive form works well with this universe, making it one of the best anime PC games.

BERSERK and the Band of the Hawk

The plot of Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is based on the manga by Kentaro Miura, published in 1989. The setting of this anime game is dark fantasy, somewhat reminiscent of medieval times. 

This third-person action game also contains some hack’n’slash elements. It offers a complex combat system and a whopping 18 hours of the main story, which is a lot for such a game genre. Moreover, each of the controlled heroes has its unique style and set of skills that will help you win against hordes of demonic opponents.

Black Clover: Quartet Knights

Black Clover: Quartet Knights is an anime action game created by Bandai Namco, focusing primarily on fights between two players. Two teams of heroes from the Black Clover anime take part in the duels, where a wide choice of melee weapons and a complete almanac of spells can be used.

Die-hard single-player fans may also enjoy a solid but relatively short campaign mode. Despite the popularity of Black Clover, Quartet Knights does replay the storylines presented in the manga and TV series.

Dragon Ball FighterZ (Included with PC Game Pass)

Dragon Ball is probably the second-most popular anime of all time after Pokemon. Thousands of excited kids glued themselves to TV screens to witness the adventures of Goku and his friends. To their delight, many excellent Dragon Ball titles appeared within a dozen years, allowing you to relive the beloved plot and extend the characters’ stories.

Dragon Ball FigterZ provides outstanding and well-polished gameplay, a perfectly executed combat system, and epic finishers. If you ever lost hope and interest in fighting games, you may rediscover your passion with one of the top anime fighting games.

Also, if you’d like another game series featuring the art created by Akira Toriyama, try Dragon Quest, one of the best JRPGs on the market.

If you’re eager to try out Dragon Ball FighterZ, you’ll be happy to hear that you can do it by paying only $1. How? The title is on PC Game Pass, a Microsoft subscription service that allows users to take advantage of an ever-growing library of games. Newcomers can enjoy their first month for a buck!

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4

While the older generation has fond memories of Dragon Ball, the younger one has strong nostalgia for a different anime character: Naruto. The story of Hokage Wannabe Shinobi has an extensive collection of games to offer. Apart from minor hiccups, most received praise from reviewers and players for the great design, combat system, and high replayability, which was also reflected in their Steam rating.

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4, the grand culmination of the series, is a prime example. It’s got everything a Naruto fan would want: an epic story, breathtaking battles with familiar characters, and ultimate jutsu that make you feel like the King of the World. As you can see, this ninja fighting style translates so well in an interactive format that it has stood the test of time, making it one of the best anime games for PC.

One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4

The setting of the crazy fighting game One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 is, as you can guess, a fantasy land known from the Japanese series One Piece by Eichiro Oda. The mangaka combined pirates with the magical world in an exciting way, creating a one-of-a-kind universe. Moreover, you will enjoy playing even if you’ve never watched One Piece.

Being a heavily hack-and-slash title, Pirate Warriors 4 is great for turning off your brain and enjoying your superiority while smashing hundreds of enemies at once. With various maps, location designs, and boss fights that require players to use their strategic skills, you won’t get bored of the game that easily.

PSYCHO-PASS: Mandatory Happiness

Psycho-Pass mesmerized viewers worldwide with its unique take on dystopia. In the 22nd century, Japan implemented software that quantified every aspect of its citizens’ lives, from their capabilities to mental states and criminal inclinations. That’s the world you find yourself in as a police inspector who uses the Sibyl System and Enforcers to do their job.

Luckily for newbies, PSYCHO-PASS: Mandatory Happiness can easily be played by those unfamiliar with the source, as it features a new story. You play as entirely new characters, and the format of a visual novel does a great job of explaining the rules and quirks of this world. Expect a great plot, with villains to punish and masterminds to discover.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links

A truly huge franchise is what we are looking at now. It began with Kazuki Takahashi’s manga series, which inspired the popular anime Yu-Gi-Oh! and was fueled by a massive trading card game. With that in mind, Duel Links is a free-to-play version of the TCG format with some slight changes to the formula. Unlike with the anime adaptations of the original manga, you actually get to play the game!

You only have three standard fields for your monsters and three for spell and trap cards, so duels are much faster. This doesn’t make the game boring, though; there are tons of events, quests, and other activities, along with many story bits that will help you understand the vast world of Yu-Gi-Oh!.

Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet

The action RPG Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet is set in a world where people spend a lot of time playing online games (yup, even more than now). One of them is Gun Gale Online, where our main characters find themselves.

It sounds a bit complicated, especially for someone unfamiliar with the series, but don’t worry. You can still enjoy this Sword Art Online game as its plot does not repeat the anime and tells a new story, which is also great news for SOA fans.

Tokyo Ghoul: re Call to Exist

Tokyo Ghoul: re Call to Exist has plenty to offer for various gamers, but the developers still kept multiplayer enthusiasts in their minds most of the time. It luckily features more than one game mode, which gets even more fun when played with friends. One of the best is an asymmetric PvP mode, which will, without a doubt, hook you for hours.

But not to worry, single players. Suppose somehow the Tokyo Ghoul anime completely passed you by, or you wish to relive the adventures of Kaneki turning into a flesh-eating monster. In that case, the story mode depicts the entire first and second seasons.

MY HERO ONE’S JUSTICE 2

My Hero Academia is one of the most recent animes to take the world by storm. The shonen about superheroes becoming a common occurrence was destined to become a fighting game; it was just a question of time. Luckily, it also made the cut to appear on our list of the best anime PC games.

MY HERO ONE’S JUSTICE 2 has everything you’d expect from the arena fights: easy-to-learn mechanics, a variety of unique-looking characters to please MHA fans, and colorful and well-done animations. There are also several game modes, including two-story ones, which present the plot from the hero’s and villain’s sides.

FAIRY TAIL

Our list wouldn’t feel complete without this title. Believe it or not, this is a turn-based RPG that is just a good game on its own, not to mention that it’s based on one of the most popular long-running anime series.

Not only do the 3D models of beloved characters look good, but there are plenty of well-designed areas to explore. It’s one of the games you can enjoy for what it is, and it won’t disappoint you in the slightest.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R is a remaster of the 2013 fighting game based on Hirohiko Araki’s works. It managed to keep the series’ characteristic art style and absurd humor. The game has several modes to choose from, with options for both single players and those who enjoy competing against their friends.

The main course is All-Star Battle Mode, which will take you through all eight parts and allow you to participate in over 100 epic fights known from the manga. However, if you don’t really care about the story, there’s always Arcade Mode, where you can fight like there’s no tomorrow as your favorite JoJo characters.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles

With its unique, stunning art style, excellent voice acting, and colorful characters, Demon Slayer was bound for success. Given that it has been one of the most popular series for quite some time, it is not surprising that it has received a game adaptation.

The gameplay in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles primarily focuses on 1v1 fights in small arenas. It might not sound fascinating, but the combat system is as visually impressive as it is enjoyable. There are a few modes available, one of which lets you relive Tanjiro’s adventure.

Digimon Survive

And the last pick on our list is Digimon Survive, which we also placed among the best games like Pokemon on PC. It tells the story of a boy transported to the virtual world brimming with Digimon. As he came across one of them, they decided to embark on the journey back home.

The game constitutes an interesting mixture of genres, being first and foremost a visual novel with tactical role-playing game elements. Moreover, your choices actually matter, influencing how the plot resolves, which characters survive, and how your creatures evolve.

We gently remind you that this article contains only those games based on manga and anime, not the other way around. This means that our compilation of the best anime games on PC does not include many excellent specimens, especially visual novels, such as STEINS;GATE, or Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy that came out before anime and/or manga.

And that concludes our list of top anime games. We hope you found something to fit into your busy schedule between watching your favorite titles. Have you ever played titles that are based on Japanese animation? Do you have a favorite one? Which anime-based game made the biggest impression on you? We’d love to hear your opinion, so share it in the comments below.