Night Slashers

Night Slashers is similar to Capcom's Final Fight and Sega's Streets of Rage series, which is an archetypal side scrolling beat 'em up game. One, two or three players/characters move from left to right through each level (most of which are split into three or more scenes), fighting with the enemy characters who appear, until they reach a confrontation with a stronger boss character at the end of the level. Once that boss is beaten, the players automatically move on to the next stage. Enemies appear from both sides of the screen and from out of doorways or entrances set into the background, and the player(s) must defeat all of them to progress.

If the players try to simply travel through the levels without fighting, the screen will stop scrolling until all current enemies have been defeated, before allowing the players to continue progress. Enemies may move outside the confines of the screen, but players may not. There is a time limit to each stage.

In Japan, Game Machine listed Night Slashers on their October 15, 1993 issue as being the ninth most-successful table arcade unit of the month. In North America, Play Meter also listed the title to be the fifty-eighth most-popular arcade game at the time.

It was ranked as the 20th top beat 'em up video game of all time by Heavy.com in 2013. Hardcore Gaming 101 said: "Night Slashers is decent but not amazing – any of Capcom's beat-em-ups like Alien vs. Predator or Battle Circuit are a bit better. What makes it special, though, is the campy horror theme, along with some memorable music".