Karateka on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information

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From PRINCE OF PERSIA creator Jordan Mechner, the original side-scrolling karate classic comes to Steam with art by Jeff Matsuda (The Batman) and music by Grammy-winning composer Christopher Tin (CIVILIZATION IV).

Karateka is a action, indie and strategy game developed by Liquid Entertainment and published by DotEmu.
Released on December 03rd 2012 is available only on Windows in 5 languages: English, German, French, Italian and Spanish - Spain.

It has received 371 reviews of which 262 were positive and 109 were negative resulting in a rating of 6.7 out of 10. ๐Ÿ˜

The game is currently priced at 3.99โ‚ฌ on Steam, but you can find it for less on K4G.

The Steam community has classified Karateka into these genres:

Action Indie Strategy Remake Fighting Martial Arts Rhythm Arcade Classic Side Scroller 1980s Retro 3D Fighter Cult Classic Colorful 3D Anime Combat Old School Great Soundtrack

Media & Screenshots

Get an in-depth look at Karateka through various videos and screenshots.

Karateka screenshot
Karateka screenshot
Karateka screenshot
Karateka screenshot
Karateka screenshot
Karateka screenshot
Karateka screenshot
Karateka screenshot

System requirements

These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.

Windows
  • OS *:Win XP, Win 7, Vista, Win 8
  • Processor:1.5GHz dual-core
  • Memory:1000 MB RAM
  • Graphics:ATI X1800 or better
  • DirectXยฎ:9.0c
  • Hard Drive:1000 MB HD space
  • Sound:44kHz stereo
  • Additional:Runs on Unreal Engine 3

User reviews & Ratings

Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.

July 2025
It's fairly true to the original. It's just not well built. Lots of bugs. The price is $4. Which seems fair. If you're a fan of the original. I would recommend it just because the price is fair.
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Feb. 2025
This game is so simple yet so good
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Feb. 2025
๐”ธ ๐•จ๐• ๐•ฃ๐•ฅ๐•™๐•ช ๐•ฃ๐•–๐•ž๐•’๐•œ๐•– ๐• ๐•— ๐• ๐•Ÿ๐•– ๐• ๐•— ๐•ฅ๐•™๐•– ๐•ž๐• ๐•ค๐•ฅ ๐•”๐•ฃ๐•ช๐•ก๐•ฅ๐•š๐•” โ„•๐”ผ๐•Š ๐•˜๐•’๐•ž๐•–๐•ค ๐•—๐•ฃ๐• ๐•ž ๐•ฅ๐•™๐•– ๐Ÿก๐Ÿ˜๐•ค. I mean before writing this review, I thought people would immediatly recognize the game "Karateka" from an old NES cartridge... But I'd completely forgotten that 99% of Steam's Users are not that old... Anyways, if you didn't know, NES is a retro Nintendo System that was prominent in the 90s. Karateka is a REMAKE of one of those games. Karateka in NES lacked a story, you just play a guy that starts off in a beach wearing a freaking Kimono for absolutely no reason, kicking and punching people on a beach and eagles, yes you heard it right, punching Eagles for no reason. Karateka, the remake, at least elaborates a bit on the story! The characters do not utter a single word, and yet you kind of understand what they're saying, and what you're supposed to do. The graphics are... as good as you'd hoped, considering this format of gameplay came all the way from the 90s. The game wants you to use only five or six buttons to; every time an enemy faces you, you ought to BLOCK their attack, then counterattack with punches and kicks; do that enough times and your special meter fills up, so you can perform a Stun attack that allows you to extend your onslaught. That's really all there is to it, the game offers you continuous tutorials the more you advance through the story, that can be completed, funnily enough, in twenty minutes. Your character, the True Love is actually "Hard Mode"; you heard right, you start off with hard mode... But if your character gets punched to death, another replaces him and you continue the story! The goal for you should be to try to finish the game on Hard Difficulty! It's Hard only in the sense that the True Love character has less health points, and has a shorter block window... Then comes Normal Mode, The Monk... The Monk has "reasonable" hitpoints and a reasonable block window, but when he's dead, the Brute comes out and this is where the game becomes a walk in the park. The Brute has a ton of health points and instant block window, and if you're so bad that you'd die anyways, the game asks you to reduce your score to continue... Which is kind of a fair trade, I guess! Karateka is a 9/10 remake of an old classic. I've probably put in too much time on the original as a kid to actually be infatuated with this remake, but oh well! Pretty sure this would be quite new for younger players; I recommend you give it a play... It goes on sale very frequently for like a dollar!
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Nov. 2024
I love this game. In true Jordan Mechner style it's cinematic and emotionally impactful despite using a very light hand with storytelling. Mechanics are fun and quick to grasp. I love the tension of bowing to a foe, having them taunt me, I bow again, and on rare occasions they will relent and bow back. It's rare that a game makes such a strong first impression on me. I wish I bought this a long time ago.
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Nov. 2024
For current discounted price, felt like steal, only thing can buy with this amount is a can of soda... The game is better than current AAA game in 2024. you could use Re-shade make the graphic event better by adding FXAA SMAA and Some HDR light and shadow effect
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More games like Karateka

Frequently Asked Questions

Karateka is currently priced at 3.99โ‚ฌ on Steam.

Karateka is currently not on sale. You can purchase it for 3.99โ‚ฌ on Steam.

Karateka received 262 positive votes out of a total of 371 achieving a rating of 6.71.
๐Ÿ˜

Karateka was developed by Liquid Entertainment and published by DotEmu.

Karateka is playable and fully supported on Windows.

Karateka is not playable on MacOS.

Karateka is not playable on Linux.

Karateka is a single-player game.

Karateka does not currently offer any DLC.

Karateka does not support mods via Steam Workshop.

Karateka does not support Steam Remote Play.

Karateka is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.

You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for Karateka.

Data sources

The information presented on this page is sourced from reliable APIs to ensure accuracy and relevance. We utilize the Steam API to gather data on game details, including titles, descriptions, prices, and user reviews. This allows us to provide you with the most up-to-date information directly from the Steam platform.

Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.

Last Updates
Steam data 05 September 2025 08:06
SteamSpy data 09 September 2025 07:40
Steam price 14 September 2025 20:45
Steam reviews 12 September 2025 11:51

If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about Karateka, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.

  • SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about Karateka
  • SteamCharts - Analysis of Karateka concurrent players on Steam
  • ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck Karateka compatibility
Karateka PEGI 12
3.99โ‚ฌ Visit Store ๐Ÿ”ฅ Show Price
Rating
6.7
262
109
Game modes
Features
Online players
0
Developer
Liquid Entertainment
Publisher
DotEmu
Release 03 Dec 2012
Platforms
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