10 Best Samurai Games of All Time, Ranked

Few settings in gaming carry the same weight as feudal Japan. The clash of steel and the quiet tension before a duel have inspired some of the most memorable action games ever released, and the genre has only gotten stronger in recent years. This ranking counts down the best samurai games of all time, pulling from decades of releases across wildly different eras and styles. Each entry below breaks down what earns it a spot on the list and why it lands where it does, so read on for the top 10 best samurai games of all time, ranked.

10 Trek to Yomi

Flying Wild Hog’s 2022 release trades color for a black-and-white presentation modeled after classic samurai cinema. Players in Trek to Yomi guide Hiroki through a linear, side-scrolling revenge tale packed with lantern-lit villages and haunting spirit realms. The combat is simple compared to others on this list, but the cinematography makes it one of the most visually distinct samurai games available.

9 Sword of the Samurai

A genuine cult classic, MicroProse’s 1989 PC release let players live out an entire samurai career decades before open-world life-sims became common. Between sword duels, politics, and even marriage proposals, it offered a surprisingly well-done sandbox for its time. It ranks lower mainly due to its age and its clunky presentation by modern standards, but its ambition still remains the same.

8 Bushido Blade

Lightweight’s 1997 fighting game threw out health bars entirely in favor of realistic combat, where a single well-placed strike could end a duel instantly. That single decision made every encounter tense in a way few fighting games have matched since. It’s a niche pick, but among fans of authentic swordplay, Bushido Blade remains a landmark title.

7 Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Assassin’s Creed Shadows, released relatively recently in 2025, sent the long-running franchise to the late Sengoku period with dual protagonists: the shinobi Naoe and the samurai Yasuke, based on the real historical figure who served under Oda Nobunaga. The split playstyles between stealthy infiltration and direct swordplay, paired with a dynamic seasonal open world, make it one of the more ambitious samurai games in years, even if its release drew mixed reactions.

6 Like a Dragon: Ishin!

Released in 2023, this title is a remake of a 2014 title that was originally released for an audience in Japan. RGG Studio’s Like a Dragon casts samurai and rebels during the unstable Bakumatsu era, employing a fictionalized version of Sakamoto Ryoma at the center of the story. It blends the series’ signature brawler combat and off-beat humor with sword and gunplay stances, resulting in a surprisingly effective genre mashup that longtime fans and newcomers both enjoyed.

5 Rise of the Ronin

Made by Team Ninja and released in 2024, this open-world outing set during the final years of the Bakumatsu period lets players shape history through a branching narrative tied to real events like the arrival of the Black Ships. Its stance-based swordplay borrows the studio’s trademark difficulty while opening things up into a much larger explorable world than its previous titles, earning it a solid spot in the upper half of the list.

4 Ghost of Yotei

This sequel to Ghost of Tsushima (an entry further down the list) moves the action north to Ezo, modern-day Hokkaido, in the year 1603. Developed by Sucker Punch and released in October 2025, the protagonist Atsu hunts down the Yotei Six, the outlaws responsible for her family’s death, across a striking landscape.

It expanded on its predecessor’s combat and weapon variety while refining the exploration loop, and it was widely praised on release for how it pushed the formula forward.

3 Nioh 2

Team Ninja’s 2020 soulslike takes the player into a yokai-haunted vision of Sengoku Japan, bringing in brutal, punishing combat with an enormous depth of build customization through multiple weapon types and Spirit stances. Few samurai games ask as much of a player’s reflexes and planning, and that difficulty has made it a benchmark for the genre ever since.

2 Ghost of Tsushima

This is the predecessor to Yotei that we mentioned earlier, and it’s high up here in the list for a reason. Sucker Punch’s 2020 original remains one of the most beloved samurai games ever made. Set during the 1274 Mongol invasion of Tsushima Island, it follows Jin Sakai as he wrestles with abandoning traditional samurai honor for guerrilla “Ghost” tactics to save his home.

Its wind-guided navigation and the unreal world design set a new bar for open-world atmosphere, and its influence is still visible across the genre today.

1 Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Anything made by Hidetaka Miyazaki is already considered to be evergreen, and this 2019 release tops this list for good reason. Its parry-focused combat system rewards precision over brute force in a way no other samurai game has matched, forcing players to read enemies and respond in real time rather than simply outleveling them.

Set in a dark fantasy take on Sengoku-era Japan, Sekiro walked away with the Game of the Year award and is still widely regarded as one of the finest action games ever made, samurai-themed or otherwise.

Which Samurai Game Should You Play First?

With such a wide range of styles on this list, the right starting point really depends on what you’re after. Players who want a punishing, skill-based challenge should start with Sekiro or Nioh 2, while those looking for a more relaxed, story-driven open world will get more out of Ghost of Tsushima or Ghost of Yotei.

Moreover, fans of quirky, character-driven storytelling shouldn’t skip Like a Dragon: Ishin!, and anyone curious about the genre’s roots owes it to hop on Bushido Blade or Sword of the Samurai at least once.

The samurai game genre has come a long way, and with several of 2025’s biggest releases already reshaping the conversation, this ranking is unlikely to stay the same for long. Which samurai game would make your personal top 10? Drop your ranking in the comments below!