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Games like Idol Showdown

Besto Game Team · 2023 · Windows

Steam: 93 % positive of 5,850 reviews, as of Oct 28

Made by hololive fans, for hololive fans. Idol Showdown is the definitive fan-made hololive fighting game experience, powered by rollback netcode. Engage in exciting duels as your favorite hololive talent and prove once and for all who the strongest idol is using the game’s easy-to-learn controls.

24 games that play like Idol Showdown and 24 that look like it. Closest by gameplay: HoloCure - Save the Fans!, Holo X Break and Skullgirls 2nd Encore.

Player tags

  • 2D Fighter
  • Anime
  • PvP
  • Action
  • Arcade
  • Fighting
  • 2D
  • Free to Play
Map region: Fighting & Hack and Slash
Open on Steam ↗

Steam reviews

What players say

Free, charming 2D fighter that most reviewers recommend, though its balance, online population and polish draw steady criticism.

Most players recommend the game and value that it is free. They praise the simple, readable controls with deeper mechanics underneath, the clean pixel art and music, the fan-made charm and the many single-player modes, including arcade and a roguelite campaign. Many reviewers also enjoy playing it with friends on the same couch or in person. The main complaints are unbalanced characters, a small roster, and a thin online population that makes finding matches hard, with lobbies that some find janky. Several players also report bugs in menus and character select, input or keybinding problems, and the lack of rebinding. Some negative reviews say the game is dead because updates have slowed, and a few say the Hololive references will mean little to people who do not follow the streamers. Recent reviews are not covered here.

Praised

  • Free to play

    Players say the price makes it an easy recommendation, especially as a low-risk way to try fighting games.

    Many players
  • Easy controls, deep combat

    Players find the controls easy to pick up while combos and mechanics reward practice, making it approachable for newcomers.

    Many players
  • Charming art and music

    Reviewers praise the clean sprite art, animations, character design and soundtrack, along with the many references.

    Many players
  • Fan-made passion

    Players say the developers' love for the game and its characters shows, which makes it feel special despite its flaws.

    Many players

Criticised

  • Unbalanced characters

    Reviewers say certain characters deal far too much damage or have frame traps while others barely do damage.

    Many players
  • Hard to find online matches

    A small player base and a community based mostly on Discord make finding opponents difficult, so online play often feels empty.

    Some players
  • Small roster, few updates

    Players want more characters, stages and updates, and say the game has slowed or seems dead.

    Some players
  • Bugs and input problems

    Reviewers report crashes or freezes in menus, keyboard inputs feeling off, and no option to rebind keys or dash.

    Some players
Who it suits
Fighting game fans who enjoy anime aesthetics and VTuber fan culture, and anyone wanting a free 2D fighter to play with friends.
Who should skip it
Players who do not follow VTubers and want balanced competitive play, or anyone who mainly wants to find online matches easily.

Short vs. long playtime: Players with over a hundred hours mention the lack of online opponents and character balance more often, while newer players focus on the easy controls and fun with friends.

Summarised by AI from 80 Steam reviews (English, helpful and recent), as of Oct 28, 2026.

Best matches

Plays and looks like Idol Showdown

These games are close to it by gameplay and by look, so they appear in both lists below.

By gameplay

Plays like Idol Showdown

Matched from Steam descriptions and player tags. The tags under each game are the ones both games share.

More matches

  1. Them's Fightin' Herds83 % positive of 3,297Shared: 2D Fighter · Anime · PvP
  2. FOOTSIES Rollback Edition94 % positive of 533Shared: 2D Fighter · PvP · Arcade
  3. Kawaii Deathu Desu70 % positive of 240Shared: Anime · PvP · Arcade
  4. Fraymakers81 % positive of 1,288Shared: 2D Fighter · PvP · Arcade
  5. Umineko: Golden Fantasia90 % positive of 475Shared: 2D Fighter · Anime · PvP
  6. WOWOWOW KORONE BOX90 % positive of 774Shared: Anime · Arcade · Pixel Graphics
  7. Fight'N Rage92 % positive of 2,580Shared: Anime · Arcade · Fighting
  8. Holo vs Robo96 % positive of 588
  9. MY HERO ONE'S JUSTICE 288 % positive of 3,169Shared: Anime · Fighting · Local Multiplayer
  10. Duels of Fortune94 % positive of 171Shared: 2D Fighter · PvP · Fighting
  11. Melty Blood Actress Again Current Code93 % positive of 3,843Shared: 2D Fighter · Anime · Arcade
  12. Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising83 % positive of 5,978Shared: 2D Fighter · Anime · PvP

By look

Looks like Idol Showdown

Matched from screenshots. Each card shows the screenshot closest to the look of this game.

More matches

  1. TK Punk Gold85 % positive of 299
  2. Acceleration of SUGURI 291 % positive of 282
  3. Maiden and Spell96 % positive of 852
  4. Touhou Lensed Night Sky, Kaseigai96 % positive of 150
  5. Super Bullet Break80 % positive of 451
  6. Robot girl's dream -RobotBattleChampionship-95 % positive of 206
  7. KAMITSUBAKI CITY ENSEMBLE71 % positive of 1,483
  8. BLUE REVOLVER97 % positive of 841
  9. Hookah Haze92 % positive of 1,305
  10. Last Command94 % positive of 2,252
  11. AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES - nirvanA Initiative86 % positive of 3,608
  12. Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Classic83 % positive of 2,560

At a glance

What games like Idol Showdown have in common

  • The tags they share most often with Idol Showdown: Anime (18 of 24), 2D Fighter (17) and Arcade (12).
  • They came out between 2013 and 2026, 3 of them after Idol Showdown (2023).
  • Best rated by Steam players: HoloCure - Save the Fans! (98 % positive of 40,920).

How these matches work

Matches come from embeddings of Steam descriptions, player tags and screenshots, computed offline. “Plays like” compares what the games are about and how players tag them; “Looks like” compares their screenshots. The share of positive reviews is based on Steam user reviews.

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