The "Beat 'em Up" genre is a cousin to the Fighting Game genre popular since the eighties, with their Trope Codifiers Double Dragon and Golden Axe. Most games that fall under this genre have very little in the way of story, and lots in the way of bash-the-other-guys'-heads-in-with-your-fists action. The Co-Op Multiplayer in these games used to be a highly popular feature.

These games eschew one-on-one duels for the protagonist (and a friend or two) rampaging across the map, handing out unmerciful beatdowns to every group of gangsters, mutants, robots and ninjas they meet, acquiring weapons from their environment and finding cooked chickens inexplicably hidden inside arcade cabinets. Many Beat 'em Ups include weapons and magical powers but their utility is limited by game mechanics so that hand-to-hand combat is still the primary way to deal damage.

In Japan, Beat 'em Ups of the Double Dragon or Final Fight 2D variety are known as "belt-scroll" action games (ベルトスクロールアクションゲーム) due to their semi-isometric perspective and the fact that the characters are always facing left or right despite being able to move up and down as well. Games like Kung-Fu Master (which is completely side-scrolling) or Beat Down: Fists of Vengeance (which is in 3D) are not considered belt-scroll games.

Known as Beat 'em All in France (in English) and Russia, due to the various occurrences in side-/belt-scrolling games where the game won't scroll any further until all enemies are down.

Also known in Spain as "Me Against The Whole Neighborhood" (in Spanish, "Yo Contra Todo El Barrio"), for obvious reasons.

A large number of "urban" themed beat 'em ups have the same basic plot - a female friend/lover/relative of one of the playable characters is kidnapped by a member of a criminal gang for some reason and the protagonist(s) have to travel through a number of areas of the city, beating the crap out of gang members and fighting a boss at the end of each area before kicking the ass of the gang leader and rescuing the girl.

The advent of full 3D did not do well for the Beat 'em Up genre as established Beat 'em Up mechanics did not translate well into three dimensions. A decade later, some of the ideas got a resurgence in the Stylish Action genre. Also see Hack and Slash and Run-and-Gun, which are more or less the exact same genre but with weapons as the primary armament; therefore, expect to see several overlapping examples.

Games in this genre include: