FAQ

Yes. It is free to play in your browser, with no download, no in-game purchases and no ads.

Not to fight the computer. Guests can play straight away. Online rated fights need a free account with a confirmed email.

Any recent Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari on a computer, phone or tablet. On a phone, turn it sideways so the stage fills the screen and the touch controls appear.

Yes. Any Xbox, PlayStation or Switch Pro controller works over USB or Bluetooth. Press a button to wake it. You can also navigate the menus with the pad, and it rumbles when you land or take a hit.

Move with A and D, jump with W, crouch with S, attack with J (light) and K (heavy), block with L, special with U and super with I. Arrow keys with Z X C V B also work. The how to play guide has the full list.

Eight: Sora Vey, Raze Kovac, Kessel-9, Nia Kestrel, Bram Tolliver, Vesper Lune, Tessa Quill and Pip & Bolt. All eight are playable today. See the fighters page.

Arcade: five fights of rising difficulty, then a boss. Versus CPU: a best-of-three against the computer at three levels. Training: a practice room with a dummy and hitbox overlays. Online: rated quick match against real players, or a private match with a friend using an invite code.

Make a free account, confirm your email, then You are logged in, so open the lobby and pick ONLINE on the title screen. Quick match finds a player near your rating; a private match gives you a code to send a friend (private matches do not change your rating).

The server runs the same simulation as your browser and decides the result of every online match, so a cheating client cannot change the outcome. See the community rules.

Your sound settings, last fighter and CPU level are saved in your browser. Ladder progress and unlocks will be saved to your account once accounts open.

No. Neon Knuckles is an original game with its own characters, moves, art and story. It takes inspiration from the arcade fighting genre as a whole, not from any single game.

Guests: settings stay in your browser. We use no analytics. We show promotions for our own games, which use no third-party cookies. We may also show Google AdSense ads; if we do, Google's own consent message asks for your choice first (personalised or non-personalised ads) and you can change it with the Privacy choices link at the bottom of every page. The privacy policy has the full details and your rights, and the cookie policy lists what is stored.

Close heavy tabs, make sure your browser is up to date and try Chrome or Edge on a laptop. Battery saver modes on phones can lower the frame rate.

Neon Knuckles is free. You may see promotions for our own games (Neon Knuckles and 8Baller), which use no third-party cookies. We may also show Google AdSense ads; they are not shown unless we switch them on. No ads or promotions are ever shown during a fight. You may see one on some pages, and a short quick-break card between fights (after an arcade fight, before a rematch, or when you leave an online fight for the lobby) with a Continue button. If Google ads are on, in the UK and EEA Google asks for your consent first, and you can change it with the Privacy choices link at the bottom of any page. Refusing personalised ads does not stop the game working. See the cookie policy.

Email support@neonknuckles.com for help with the game, a bug report, a privacy request or to report abuse. Include your device, browser and what happened. We aim to reply within two working days, and privacy requests are answered within one month.