With the sudden rise of the Battle Royale genre, it's time to address the bigger umbrella -- Last Man Standing. Last man standing doesn't necessarily mean free for all. The main element of a last man standing format is that players are eliminated after a stipulation is met (i.e. killed, thrown out of bounds, etc.). This continues until one player is left standing.
This format can support matches with four players, all the way up to a hundred. The last man standing genre tests players' survivability, outlasting each other in a battle of might and wit. These formats also take the form of different genres such as platformer, action shooter, fighting, and even racing. With that being said, here are 10 of the best last man standing games according to Metacritic.
10 Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout (Metascore: 80; User Score: 7.3)
Fall Guys is a wacky platformer game featuring live decorated beans, playing similarly to those crazy game shows. Up to 60 players outlast each other in the ultimate obstacle course of fun shenanigans. Fall Guys' bright vibrant style, along with some wacky ragdoll physics, provides for some memorable gut-busting laughter. The scenes Fall Guys introduces can be best described with the description: "my last brain cells during a math test." Apart from the absurdity of the game, the gameplay is surprisingly competitive as well, minus the rage and toxicity.
9 Duck Game (Metascore: 82; User Score: 8.4)
Duck Game is a wacky 8-bit arcade game that pits four ducks against each other in a last man standing format. That picture alone is enough to describe what sort of wackiness lies ahead. The weapons in the game include a mind-control ray, a holy book, a gun that turns ducks into roast dinner, some shoes that goomba stomp enemies, jetpacks, gifts, flowers, and so much more. To top it all off, ducks can quack and play dead. Players win rounds by being the last man, or duck, standing for each round. The duck with the most rounds won at the end of the marathon wins.
8 Fortnite (Metascore: 83; User Score: 5)
Fortnite is one of the most popular battle royales today. Back in 2017, everyone and their dog was playing Fortnite, and that community is still going strong until today. Fortnite introduces some of the most complex combat mechanics, but also the most fast-paced.
In allowing players to harvest resources and build platforms, combatants adopted a unique approach to the battlefield that could be best described as Minecraft with guns and steroids. This brings an absurd battle pacing to the 100-player last man standing game.
7 Wreckfest (Metascore: 83; User Score: 6.5)
The only racing game on this list, Wreckfest is one grand demolition derby that encourages carnage and havoc on the racetrack. Apart from your traditional circuit matches, that somehow also has mechanics of destruction, Wreckfest introduces a last man standing game mode where players ram each other to oblivion. The game introduces simulated damage, and allows different vehicles from lawnmowers and mobile couches to monster trucks and school buses to battle it out. The game is best experienced with a racing set to truly feel the impact of the rams and t-bones.
6 Worms W.M.D (Metascore: 83; User Score: 7.8)
These last man standing games are really fond of using anything but humans. The Worms franchise features turn-based games where players have to annihilate each other with different militarized weapons within a destructible 2D plane. The craziest thing about Worms W.M.D is that up to six players can play against each other, controlling a maximum of eight worms each. That's a total of 48 worms in a small island of a battle arena. Worms W.M.D. utilizes the best weapon physics to create absolute carnage on the battlefield. This turn-based game features some of the wackiest destruction in a last man standing game.
5 PlayerUnknown's BattleGrounds (Metascore: 86; User Score: 4.6)
Otherwise known as PUBG, this game blends simulated military elements with a battle royale format. The non-arcadey elements of the game encourage players to be methodical and careful in their approach to the open plains of PUBG's battlefield. There is satisfaction in killing some foolhardy sprinter from 200 yards away with a 16x scope equipped .50 cal.
The game rewards players by simply being tactical as players can win chicken dinner just by killing one person. Though this 100-player battle royale popularized the genre, it wasn't the first last-man-standing game; with memes crediting the "original battle royale" award to the next item on this list.
4 Bomberman Blast (Metascore: 86; User Score: 7.5)
The Bomberman franchise features a cartoon dude planting cartoon-like bombs across a cartoony 2D plane. The goal of Bomberman is to eliminate all enemies with the strategically placed bombs, while also opening the battlefield for play by clearing out the debris. The use of a 2D plane blends nicely with the bombs that only have a cross-like area of effect. Enemies can be trapped against a corner by the bombs, leaving them to their inevitable demise. Bomberman Blast on Wii supports up to eight players, and is the highest Metacritic-rated Bomberman game. To this day, Bomberman remains a classic from its first release in 1985.
3 Apex Legends (Metascore: 89; User Score: 6.8)
Apex Legends brought an amazing roster selection to the battle royale format. Each playable character has their own skills and abilities that tailor to particular play styles. This makes team-based battle royales more dynamic and varied in approach. Combatants are also really vibrant with their personality from the cool groovin' Lifeline to the mysterious void walking Wraith. Apex Legends also introduces a redeploy system where eliminated combatants may be 'resurrected' by their team. There's always something to experiment with in Apex Legends, leaving no dull moments.
2 WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role (Metascore: 90; User Score: 8.5)
WWF Smackdown is one of the classic wrestling games, and also one of the best games on Playstation. The game lets players select from almost 60 wrestlers, each with their own unique moves and abilities. Apart from traditional wrestling matches, Know Your Role supports elimination matches for up to four people. These match modes are conveniently named 'Battle Royal.'
Players are eliminated via pinfall, submission, KO, over the top rope, or whatever the stipulation requires. There is also the 30-man royal rumble where competitors outlast 29 others in an over-the-top-rope free for all. The carnage in this classic wrestling game is endless as it gives players many various options to tailor stipulations to their liking.
1 Age Of Empires II: The Age Of Kings (Metascore: 92; User Score: 9.1)
Age Of Empires is a historical RTS franchise that pits civilizations against each other through the ages. From colonization to industrialization, Age Of Empires offers a wide arsenal of deployable troops, artillery, and cavalry fitting for the time period to lay siege to the enemy. The game also encourages large-scale tactics in battles, along with innovations such as agriculture, mining, and technological research. Up to eight players can engage in epic battles where they must strategize their approach to be the last civilization standing.