Great list. I'd personally add breakable individual parts onto the list, due to how they can affect target prioritization and usage of your toolkit. The Horizon games, Monster Hunter, and Doom Eternal are great examples. Also, the dodge roll and strafe. Yeah, I know that I-frame dodges have been a thing for a while, but the way the Soulsborne games put emphasis on them as one of your best defensive options by making the amount of I-frames more generous than usual made me fall in love with their combat in the first place, and had a huge positive effect on combat design in general. Another one is a very recent one, which is Wo Long's spirit meter. Fairly similar to Sekiro's posture system, it still feels genuinely unique in its application with the bristling speed that the tug of war game is played, how your attacks and actions affect your own meter and the boss', and the same rules being applied to your enemies. Another one from Team Ninja, Nioh's stance system. I love how it basically affects everything about the combat system, and how mastering it is absolutely vital. Quickly flipping from one stance to another depending on the situation, the dance feels real and visceral. The final few I'd like to mention are the fast-paced first person parkour from Titanfall 2 and Ghostrunner, Zandatsu from Metal Gear Rising Revengence, and Mass Effect 3's build-dependant skills/powers.
All of the deserve recognition, thanks for shining a great spotlight on them. I didn't even think about games with individual hitboxes. It's a great layer of precision that gives deliberate feedback for success.
@@infinitybelt once you are able to craft freeze bombs it becomes easy mode, at least in the first Horizon game. Not sure if Horizon 2 is any different but I remember breezing through the first game as soon as the freeze weapons were unlocked (maybe along with tripwires it's been years since I played). That's not to knock the game itself because it was super fun, but as far as challenging combat went it was like finally getting the silenced non-lethal sniper rifle in MGS5
Mikiri counter is my favorite part of sekiro's combat, it's a really simple action but it's so satisfying to land especially if it transition to a death blow
A successful Mikiri counter should make a DMCesque style meter temporarily appear, as a joke. Just the absolute disrespect Wolf showers on his enemies by stomping on their weapons is hilarious!
Hell no it is the shittiest design combat wise, the timing is so forgiving and it punishes so many bosses move with so little effort, mikiri and thunder counter straight up ruined isshin fight for me, easiest P3 for such a epic boss
I knew #1 was going to be Sekiro before the video even started and I couldn’t be happier/agree more. Nothing is as satisfying as that dance of swords and warrants a play through multiple times every year just for the joy of the combat
The realization that like a dance that you practiced over and over and finally nailed it, you can now dismantle the entire game because of al the skill you obtained throughout your first playthrough.
The combat is great don’t get me wrong but I really don’t get the universal level of praise that it receives when the combat clearly has issues such as the deflection system being completely broken when fighting multiple enemies, the way they poorly managed the spirit emblem system and the poor camera issues that every fromsoft game has. Just another example of fromsoft dickriders treating everything that fromsoft shit out as the 2nd coming of Christ
I am in desperate need for a Sekiro sequel. Sekiro's combat has so much potential to be expanded to be even better. They really made something special with that game and the possibilities for a sequel are infinite. Imagine having different weapons, skins, prosthetics, moves that can combo in boss fights, levels entirely dedicated to stealth. So many options.
Well all you ask for in the combat is in team ninja's new game wo long. It's completely different in every other aspect, but the combat is just like sekiro and with everything else you want
@T0q14s It does have a parry mechanic similar to sekiro, but it isn't quite as good as the system in sekiro im my opinion. It may scratch that itch for some people tho. I'm enjoying it so far.
There's SIFU and Wo Long Fallen Dynasty. SIFU improves upon Sekiro's mechanics and gives you a lot more offensive and defensive tools along with the more forgiving death system(but requires absolute perfection in order to complete). Wo Long puts a unique spin by using a Spirit gauge, which fills up if you deflect and land hits but reduces when you use martial arts and spells, making a sort of tug of war where you have to keep balance on a lot of aspects(Also the deflection sound just creates dopamine in the brain). After having played both, Sekiro feels like just deflect your way to victory.
I personally adore Devil May Cry’s combat It is as complex as you want it to be and allows for so much options and variety Each character feels handcrafted and every single sword swing gunshot and thrown punch feel so satisfying Definitely my favorite combat in a game ever
DMC has great combat but it completely fails at making like 80% of it necessary. On normal difficulty the enemies are so placid that you're not really pushed to utilize anything too complicated.
@@MA-go7ee that’s part of the fun though You don’t need to juggle enemies with the shotgun but you can You don’t need to rev your sword in the air but you can You don’t need to block every single attack but just the fact that you can do it and are rewarded for doing it is what makes the combat so much fun and if you don’t wanna do any of it than you can just blast everything to shreds and still have fun
@@MA-go7ee Because the game doesn't need to. It gives a fairly accessible experience in the first playthrough and the devs are confident enough to know that players want to continue playing and challenge themselves with the higher difficulties which require more stylish gameplay.
Then for more souls like game you will enjoy Nioh 2 since you can be creative and discover combos there. With many ways to defeat one opponent or boss. All these Sekiro clone including Wo Long look so pale in comparison.
Underrated one that people usually don't mention is animation cancelling. Games like Sekiro and God of War does it extremely well it's nice when you are in an attack animation and realize you've made a mistake and are still able to react to it and bail yourself out with a parry/deflect or dodging and still have the animations of the characters look natural.
Why you do you guys always leave KH2 out I cant believe you guys forgot about kingdom hearts 2. yea its an old 2005 game but lets not forget it was at one time peak combat in gaming before DMC GOW Blew it out the water
The best, ABSOLUTE BEST, mechanic to ever exsist in a game ever. . .is the idea of the parry. Landing parries never gets old for me, especially if you can parry anything. The idea of looking up to an eldrich god and watching as they swing their massive weapons, weapons so large that the sky splits in two when they swing it, and going "I'm going to stand my ground and nullify that attack by myself with nothing but my sword. Is the best, most tear jerking feeling I've ever felt.
The Komaki Tiger Drop from the Yakuza/Like a Dragon franchise is one of the most satisfying counters in a game. The hit detection is perfect, you really feel it when you pull one off. That THUMP is so satisfying.
One of my favorite combat designs I've come across is Nioh/Nioh 2s stance system. You can definitely get through the games using one stance, as each one does have its own skills and combos, but if you want to make the most of the weapon you'll have to know when to use what stance. And when you have this option for every weapon in the game, which for Nioh 2 I believe is 12 or 13, the combat becomes a varietal masterpiece.
Nioh has arguably the best combat in any Soulslike, including FromSoft's games. For better or worse, it has a high difficulty curve to get the most out of it. I love investing time in learning those sort of systems (see DMC5), but never felt like I got the hang of it, hence leaving it out
It's not just the stance which is brilliant in its own because you can switch mid combo to another stance or another weapon and continue it. But also the stamina/Ki bar is excellent because the enemy also use the same mechanic where if they ran out of ki you can punish them not to mention every attack have their own ki damage. Wo Long looks like a massive downgrade compared to Nioh2 combat system.
@@footballfan5048 I wouldn't say it's a huge downgrade; it definitely is a different style. But in some ways it is. Many of the martial arts and wizardly spells, at least to me, never felt like they were worth using over just getting in a few hits and then being ready to counter. Sure, I could have weaved them together and it would have felt great, but there felt to be no incentive in it. Maybe that's just me though. I used the basic sword all the way through and it felt best to me, I couldn't get any except maybe dual sabres or w/e on a few certain bosses. Then in Nioh I feel the need to change stance and get different attacks, and to learn what all my weapon is capable of. Part of this I attribute to martial arts being somewhat random to most weapons instead of set and integrate-able. A few outliers would have been fine but not to the extent it was. Having each variation of a weapon having different "combos" (since those weren't much for combos) makes the special attacks often feel worthless. I understand and appreciate that it's a different style but there are just some things about it that restrict the flow that Nioh has unnecessarily which is such a shame since the basic attack-and-deflect approach to combat felt really great, but interweaving other stuff didn't quite hit.
HE'S BACK. Always a good day when I see DeMod dropping some content. In all seriousness though, it's good to see you man. Hope you've been well and hope 2023 has been treating you well.
2023 has been great so far! Great to see regulars and fresh faces around here again. Hope your year is off to a great start as well. @Miguel I'm playing Wo Long now with plans for a boss ranking!
@@theDeModcracy I was begging to read that. Can’t even imagine a souls like ranking without you. Just watched the code vein one again today. The big bazonga waifus crack me up each and every time.
@@theDeModcracy will you also do a boss ranking on Thymesia and Steelrising? I haven’t played those games but i would love to see you do a ranking on them to see what you think, and Thymesia is like Bloodborne so i feel like you would enjoy it
Yooooo I’m playing through that rn. Really exited to see your ranking of things and opinion on the game as a whole. Especially Lu Bu, fuckin Gyoubu Oniwa on steroids.
Yeah personally I would put Nioh 2 just behind DMC (345) as the best combat ever made. Like you say, when you start fluxing, flash attacking, animation cancelling, mixing yokai abilities into your combos… it’s so deep and so good
Like i admit most people who play don't get into the more complex elements of Nioh combat, but the fact that the Ki Pulse and/or Stance Switching isn't on this list is a travesty. Stances are effectively a better version of trick weapons in which every stance has an actual use, unlike some BB trick weapons.
@@Meese12 The Switchglaive was one of the funnest combat flows I've ever picked up in a game and I didn't even feel like I was thaaat good at it lmao. And maybe my inexperience is showing, but I wasn't tooo big a fan of Ki Pulse specifically, seeing as how it's optimal like 80% of the time at the end of combos unless you reeallly need to dodge out or block or something. Not as much thought is required into when to use it compared to which stance to switch into I feel.
Beat me to it. Nioh is my favorite soul-like game because of this. The game rewards properly timing defensive or aggressive play with ki pulses and the ki bar. I feel like there's something for everyone if u can get past its complexity. U can play like its Elden Ring (which is wat I did with Nioh 1) where u would use the chain of normal attacks and heavy attacks and end it with weapon skills. U can also play it similar to DMC or Monster Hunter by learning the intricacies and combos of each weapon. U can also seamlessly switch between two weapons where there's a skill that lets u attack by switching weapons. Or u can endlessly buff urself and debuff the enemy so u can one shot them. There's also many ways to cheese bosses if ur really having a hard time where u can just farm amrita stones and spam ur yokai or living weapon form.
Beat me to it. Nioh is my favorite soul-like game because of this. The game rewards properly timing defensive or aggressive play with ki pulses and the ki bar. I feel like there's something for everyone if u can get past its complexity. U can play like its Elden Ring (which is wat I did with Nioh 1) where u would use the chain of normal attacks and heavy attacks and end it with weapon skills. U can also play it similar to DMC or Monster Hunter by learning the intricacies and combos of each weapon. U can also seamlessly switch between two weapons where there's a skill that lets u attack by switching weapons. Or u can endlessly buff urself and debuff the enemy so u can one shot them. There's also many ways to cheese bosses if ur really having a hard time where u can just farm amrita stones and spam ur yokai or living weapon form.
Great to see you back making videos again. One of my favorite combat designs revolves around stealth based assassinations, in particular the assassinations of Dishonored. The abilities the game gives you feels so good, whether its blinking from rooftop to rooftop to set up the perfect kill, calling a swarm of rats to devour an unknowing guard, stopping time so you can run out in the open to kill a guard without being noticed, using telekinesis to throw a vat of explosive whale oil at someone, changing the orientation of the Wall of Lights so that guards disintegrate when they run through, or even just nailing the perfect crossbow shot the options available are vast and your imagination is the limit and to this day Dishonored remains my favorite of any game that has stealth based assassination mechanics.
I love Sekiro as much as the next guy, and I'd easily put its deflection dance at number 2, but my favourite has to be the Marksman revolver's coin from Ultrakill, it's just brilliant, no wonder there's a 20 min video on RUclips detailing some of its *basics*
I love the fact that action commands got a shout out from my favorite paper Mario. They add SOO MUCH. Me and gloomtail were gonna die on next move and gloomtail had first move. I cannot state how much my butt was clenching when timing to press B to superguard and it won me the fight. Great shoutout demod!
It's still the plan going forward. Behind the scenes, a lot of video ideas got scrapped. Trying to be better about sticking to an idea and seeing it through. I've got plans to cover Wo Long, Bleak Faith, and RE4 Remake, in addition to the Worst Combat Designs over the next 3-4 weeks. Keeping my focus there and doing my best to deliver
I always love when I get a new Demon video, I've been rewatching all of your demod-a-thons and they are so great. Hopefully more videos to come in the future. I love all of your content!!
I just wanted to applaud how well written this videos script was. Well worded and I loved how you tied each system into the others, referencing how one differs from or builds upon the next. You could have easily just made a list and left it at that. Also, great conclusion. I like how you summarized each point in a similar but still different way than how you had described them previously.
I was hoping to see the Obliteration and Ultimate Techniques (OT & UT) from Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden 2. OTs in NG2 allowed you to instantly kill a delimbed enemy, giving you double the yellow essence from a kill, and giving you very much needed i-frames on master ninja difficulty. The delimbing system was also incredible for neutering some of the more dangerous regular enemies or ganks for boss fights, and turns it into something more manageable . Not to mention the animations are satisfying in the vein of Doom's glory kills. Certain weapons delimb quicker than others (like the Tonfa), and some weapons even more so for certain enemies (XXY with the Dragon Sword on ninjas, and can take a step further with XXYBY to quickly OT them). With the UT system, it features a risk-reward system that works beautifully (until they took it out of NG3 for whatever reason...). You can take the time to charge an ET/UT by holding Y, but it leaves you very vulnerable. If you can pull it off, it features of string of highly damaging attacks and i-frames all the way through, and the length of the UT can be increased in damage and length (for certain weapons) by upgrading them. Another risk of the UT system is that you can absorb dropped essence to charge it up more quickly, with 2 yellows/ 1 red or blue to reach full potential. Do I take the essence I have for needed currency, health, or ninpo, or do I burn it right now to more quickly end the fight? And a wonderful thing about the UT system is that when you land after jumping, you can immediately hold down Y and absorb any dropped essence to instantly charge it, meaning that you waste little to no time in combat from jumping, you can almost instantanously hop back into action. Not to mention that performing a UT will grant you 7 times the essence you normally would have gotten, and for a UT kill with a 50 hit combo in NG2, it greatly boosts it up to a 12 multiplier, and lets you more easily get more currency to upgrade and buy consumable items.
Oh man, the Stranglehold demo!! I played that over and over every day for months while I was waiting for Halo 3 to come out, haha! As usual, an eloquent, well-reasoned essay on a thoroughly engaging topic. It always brightens my day to see you pop up in my feed. Keep em coming!
They both have secondary health bar mechanics being, ki and spirit Deplete either? You can combo, grapple, and smack the enemy to your heart's content!
I was not expecting to hear about XIV in a DeMod video, but I'm extremely pleasantly surprised. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the story side of it, as it's probably one of the most emotionally impactful games I've ever played in my life.
Platinum's dodge offset system (I think that's what it's called) is great. Where you can continue your combo string after dodging an attack. And Parry mechanic in any game is always satisfying for me. I love the sound of swords clashing!!
@@chewsberry9982 For sure yeah, I just mean that, assuming Miyazaki's next lead project is a dark fantasy of some kind, I really hope they stick to Sekiro's gameplay structure, and develop it into something more varied
@@matheuspimentel5828 Sadly, I agree, although it was nice to finally have that build variety back, and the ability to make our own characters again, that kinda evened it out for me
@@loomingmoon4682 The build variety was great but the need to balance the bosses to every playstyle kinda take the epicness away like no ER boss give the same satisfaction that when the mechanic finally clicks in Sekiro
Awesome video as always :) I would mention ''directionnal influence'' mechanic from Super smash melee wich allow you to inflence the direction you are moving when you get hit. It force you to stay sharp and actif even while your getting comboed ! Good ''DI'' can cut combo short or allow you to survive longer. This really enhance the defensive play you have to pull off to be a great fighter and make the game super engaging at all time. Looking up for the next vod !!
The Clash system from Limbus Company. The game uses a turn based system with characters having a speed score each turn, if you attack an enemy who is moving at the same speed you can initiate a clash, which if you win you cancel their attack and your attack deals more damage...but the same is also true for your enemies, meaning you need to manage the risk.
well done list man, this is the culmination of all your videos! here are my favorites: sekiro, batman arkham, shadow of war, god of war 3, f.e.a.r. 1 and gta4
Loved the video Dmod. Really cool to see these types of rankings, where it's focused on aspects of game design rather than specific aspects of one particular game (they're both great I just find this interesting). Definitely agree that DMC and DOOM Eternals combat systems are spectacular Out of curiosity, would you ever do a "revisited" video? Like, "top ten bosses I was 'wrong' about" for better or worse, like how your view has changed significantly over time on a certain fight? Like how you said you rate the twin princes higher after all these years
Glad you enjoyed it! That's an excellent idea. I kind of did that when I re-ranked Souls bosses after a few years. Would be fun to revisit some games to see what impressions have changed
Interesting choices! It's always cool to hear other's opinions on this since combat is subjective. I was kind of shocked that Monster Hunter, Smash bros., and Metal Gear Rising weren't on here.
Smash Bros likely because the 'tournament playstyle' isn't representative of the actual game. The devs have said multiple times they don't care about the no items, certain stages only meta. That basically means that the 'top players' basically aren't playing the game as intended. All the things covered in the above video are the intended way for the game to be played.
One of my favorite combat systems in gaming has to be that of the Ninja Gaiden Remakes. The first game in 2004 has combat that feels so slick and smooth and every action has a satisfying animation to boot. Not only that but your angles of attack are amplified tremendously as your protagonist Ryu can run along and jump off of vertical surfaces, forcing you to treat every room as not just a square arena to fight in but a full 3D space to take advantage of. Ninja Gaiden's combos and animation quality as I stated earlier help boost the combat to insane heights and you feel like a badass when you dive and weave in between enemies while laying the smackdown. Not to mention the ind with essence system where when enemies die they drop yellow or blue orbs which you can use to charge up an attack and lay the smack down on enemies. Ninja Gaidens combat is undoubtedly cold and visceral in the best ways possible.
I loved the whole DMC thing. Most creators would just ignore the outrage but your response was so refreshing. DMC and sekiro are my favorite combat systems
I've always enjoyed the Battle Point system in Bravely Default because of how it felt like I could slow down and speed time up by expending the points for extra moves, even being able to go down to -3 battle points if you're confident that you can take the 3 turn beat down that's about to be served to you.
The fact that 3 of the mechanics are from fromsoft games tells how much of a great team they are. Although parry is definitely something they originally came up with (not sure for the other 2), but the way they refined and tuned the mechanics for the entire system is just astounding.
May be a little underrated but i always loved how it felt to fight alongside your pod in Nier Automata. Its not too many games that give you that level of control over your companion all the while enduring bullet hell segments, getting perfect dodges, and cutting down squads of machine lifeforms. On the surface it seems like the pod exists to give you a ranged damage option that makes up for its lack of damage with consistent accuracy. Dig a bit deeper, however and youll realize that your pod offers a small treasure chest of options for you in battle. From additional movement options to change the flow of your combat, to upgrades like swapping out the machine gun for homing rockets, or switching out the powerful laser for a gravity bases AOE that bunches enemies together, allowing you to unleash havoc with Nier's varied slew of both light and heavy weapons.
Got a few nominations here. Perfect dodge (Insomniac's Spider-Man): Perfect dodges are not a new thing in action games, they typically allow you to get increases advantage after a dodge. But Spidey takes it to another level, webbing the assailant and effectively stunning them. This allows Spidey to take on massive waves of enemies without it feeling unfair, as a perfect dodge will either open up an attack window on an enemy or take them out of the fight temporarily, which "makes you FEEL like Spider-Man!" Tear damage (Horizon: Forbidden West): While most people understandably point out the excellent elemental states in the horizon games, I think the real glue of combat comes from tearing off components. This adds so much flavor and expression to how you take on a machine. Don't like an attack? Tear off it's corresponding component. Need some supplies? Aim for the ammo drums on that tremortusk. Want to expose a weak point? That data nexus is one tearblast arrow away from utter destruction. There are so many ways to approach fighting machines in these games and tear damage is what facilitates all of it. Grand Finale (Slay the Spire): Ok, this is cheating since it's a single card rather than a mechanic, but it was cool enough for me to mention. Grand Finale is the single strongest unbuffed attack in the game, dealing a whopping 50 damage (for context, Bludgeon, the classic "big bonk" card, only deals 32). Grand Finale seems even more crazy when you realize that it DOESN'T EVEN COST ENERGY! But there is a catch. Grand Finale can only be played if there are no cards in your draw pile. This makes for a very high risk-high reward card. If properly built around, enemies will quake under your massive damage output, but if you don't have a great way to manipulate your deck, then you better hope you draw Grand Finale last, or that card will just be dead weight. Edit: Also want to mention that DBFZ is not the first fighting game to introduce auto combos, I do not know who did it first but Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is often credited with popularizing it. I understand this wasn't a full in depth list, but I thought it should be mentioned as P4 Arena is so closely related with auto combos.
I think it's just hard to pinpoint one single thing that makes Nioh's combat stand out, it has so many things going for it and just works so well together. Stances on their own don't sound all that great (at least to me and on paper), but they just interact with the entire system perfectly.
The weapon skill system as a whole, you can have 2 people start Nioh with same weapon and have completely different skills/moveset and playstyle even though it is the same weapon type
Wild Hearts has given me my newest favorite combat mechanic, in their transforming weapons, plus karakuri combat. It just, allows you to feel so godly when you time a karakuri right, to lock a monster down, then you unload a devastating combo with the full power intensity of a weapons full gauge, my personal favorite one being the Katana, and its chain whip sword unbound state. The first time i managed to turn 1 karakuri counter, into a massive combo to immediately send a kemono limping to another area, after breaking almost everything off of it, it was a gaming high I hadnt felt in years
Great and well thought out list but I feel that the stance system in Nioh 1& 2 is the greatest combat system hands down. The level of depth and strategy is second to none.
Bloodborne’s transformation weapons + regain mechanic + brooding atmosphere made it one helluva game. Shadow of War used the free flow mechanic well + the amazingly unique nemesis system. Great video💪🏻🔥
I'd say ATB gauges are also really cool combat mechanics that helped give a lot more depth to jrpgs than strick turn orders. Though to be fair you essentially included those with the FF14 rotations. And I'm not sure if you'd count this as a major combat mechanic but there's something to be said for basic positioning playing a role in a games combat being able to effect battles in action games and even some JRPGs
just for a combat feature i would say targeting/attacling/cutting of body parts in the surge 1 & 2 is something i extremely enjoyed and found very innovative for a souls like genre game
Great vid DeMod! Have you ever played God Hand on the PS2? Kinda an odd game but the combat was well executed and had an interesting dynamic difficulty system.
My personal favorite is wirebug combat in monster Hunter rise. The fluid transition between monsters, the flashiness, the dexterity and ODM gear like directional movement and how to experiment with one of the 14 weapon styles included in the game, and any of the currently 66 monsters that are available in the game
Talking of the deflection dance, are you intending on covering Dynasty Souls (Wo Long)? Graphics errors and performance issues aside I think you'll enjoy the combat immensely!
My second favourite to sekiro is from an indie game in early access called ULTRAKILL. It combines 2 different combat systems into one, DMC and DOOM. And here's the coolest thing in this game. Have you ever wanted to punch your shotgun bullets? And make them explode?
It definitely falls under Action Commands, but I think Shadow Hearts (especially Covenant) deserves a mention. It was just so satisfying to get right without feeling either too powerful with success to become boring, nor too punishing for failure.
Quadruple S is probably my favorite combat mechanic. Turning style into a resource. One last trick in Dante’s arsenal, overflowing already with brilliant combat mechanics, to put him over the rest. Ultrakill coin tech is a close second.
Dragon's Dogma's combat system, specifically the fluidity, the body part separate health bar (you can target the head for more damage, or the tail to remove the tail to reduce their HP pool, or an eye to blind them and send them into a rage after a short stun, or tusks, secondary heads, etc etc etc The ability to grapple, grab and throw opponents or clamber on top of them and climb them to get to their weak point is the most fun I have ever had in a single player game
The QTEs of Asura's Wrath (essentially what happens when you actually give thought into how you incorporate "Press X Not To Die" sequences), Like A Dragon's HEAT system, Persona 5's interface, and Undertale/Deltarune in general. Regardless, Sekiro's still second to none. Good video!
Mount and blade. warband and bannerlord both probably have the best mounted combat in any game. the feeling of leading a unit of shock cav into the enemys squishy archers feels amazing. With a couched lance you can skewer like up to 3 guys in one hit, in a game where one hit kills are pretty rare
Awesome vid :D Glad to see DMC Style Meter nice and high, it's easily number 1 for me and DMC3 shaped my gaming taste and playstyle forever. No matter what game I play (assuming there's combat), I always treat it as if there's a style meter and DMC3-style scoring. Gotta; look cool, use as many different moves as possible, minimise downtime - always proactive, minimise damage taken, preferably not use items/consumables, perhaps squeeze in taunts/emotes/gestures if the game allows haha. I love Sekiro, but it's probably around my 5-6th fave game in terms of combat, cuz as awesome as it is, it's a lil too binary imo. I feel like once you've learned the game, fights feel like they play out almost exactly the same every time, and that there's little player expression to be had. Just a personal gripe ofc, it's an absolutely fantastic system and executed immaculately. In fact I'd say the posture mechanic overall, the idea that there are TWO health/progress bars to chip at and that you are rewarded for constant action, is the best part of Sekiro's combat and I'm really glad it carried over to Elden Ring to an extent.
i think a real fun one that wasnt here was wall bouncing in gears of war. It was my favorite in gow 3. And when you really master it and are hitting your active reloads as well taking out a group by just yourself is one of the most rewarding feelings I have ever had playing a game. This list was awesome tho regardless thank you for the prime content!
Personally my favorite combat system ever is Sifu. I never once got bored and it’s so simple yet complex when you want it to be and so satisfying. No other game makes clearing a room feel better
My personal favorite combat design in gaming is definitely weapon switching, which does bleed into some designs in this video, taking elements from combo strings in devil may cry and run and gun from DOOM. Naturally, I'm talking about ULTRAKILL everyone's new favorite fps that puts together Devil May Cry's weapon switching combos with DOOM eternal's first-person gun gorefest into one absolute masterpiece of a game that becomes more than the sum of it's parts.
i think the MK/Injustice combat system is incredibly overlooked you just feel so badass when you pull off a full combo and it just looks like how those characters would fight for real
Just platinum’d sekiro yesterday and I couldn’t agree with its to pick more, however I think for honour deserves an honourable mention for the uniqueness of its fighting style and how cool you feel once you get good enough at it
Great video, Demod! It's hard for me to pinpoint my favorite combat system in any game, but Sekiro is definitely up there. For Strategy RPGs, I love Final Fantasy Tactics' Charge Time System. For turn-based RPGs, it would probably be Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne's Press Turn System. For Action RPGs, I think Odin Sphere Leifthrasir has my favorite combat system, although I can't point out a single specific mechanic that makes it as brilliant as it is. For FPS games, I think Dusk has my favorite combat system. That game has the single best movement system I've experienced in the genre, and bunny-hopping has never felt better. I also love Dark Messiah of Might and Magic's combat mechanics. To this day, it boasts some of the best first-person melee combat in any game, and the sheer amount of ways you can take out foes is hilarious. Also, that game probably has the best kick in the industry.
Great list! I wanna highlight more things about Doom Eternal since I'm not seeing a lot of people talk about it in the comments section but if you knew how high the skill ceiling of that game is, it totally feels like a different game when you reach that level of play. One of my favorite hidden mechanics of the game is the quick switch mechanic where if you switch between weapons fast you skip cooldowns of the weapons or cancel out weapon animations to increase dps potential when trying to kill demons in the game. Once you learn quick switching and its comboes it becomes essential, especially on the harder difficulty of the game where you have to take out demons as fast as you can so that you can move around the map + the fast switching makes the player look like a fast killing machine while zooming around the arena. Not only does it do more DPS but it also helps with ammo economy since its scarce in eternal you are essentially being more efficient with your kills in the game and at the same time making the most out of ammo before having to reload with the chainsaw. That's what I love about doom eternal and even sekiro, your character doesnt get strong because of a number on screen but because you the player is inherently getting better at the game.
I do wish there was a survival horror game on here. As a fan of games like Resident Evil, Dead Space, and The Evil Within, I feel like a game with a slower, tension-building action could've been mentioned. The prompted melee attacks of RE4, burning the bodies in The Evil Within, and the dismemberment system of Dead Space could've all been mentioned.
I also like when your cuts and slashes destroy the environment. Like u can cut an enemy or a table in half. Kinda like in metal gear rising with the blade mode
I have to give a shout out to Legend of Dragoon's combat. Healing 10% when you guard combined with the Addition system put it well ahead of it's time and I wish more RPGs implemented systems like it.
people really have taken for granted for honor’s take on combo fighting with it being 3rd person over shoulder and having the block/ stance changing aspect to it. i was never good at typical fighting games like MK or Street Fighter but man i love FH and am a beast at it
Great list. I kind of figured sekiro would be first. I personally would have included the stance switching system from Nioh and I don’t know if you’ve played it yet but the karakuri in wild hearts is really climbing the ranks for me as well, no pun intended
As incredible as these systems are, the fact that Ultrakill didn't even get as much as a mention angers me, that game is batshit on a level even Doom Eternal can't reach and I love it
Great list. I'd personally add breakable individual parts onto the list, due to how they can affect target prioritization and usage of your toolkit. The Horizon games, Monster Hunter, and Doom Eternal are great examples.
Also, the dodge roll and strafe. Yeah, I know that I-frame dodges have been a thing for a while, but the way the Soulsborne games put emphasis on them as one of your best defensive options by making the amount of I-frames more generous than usual made me fall in love with their combat in the first place, and had a huge positive effect on combat design in general.
Another one is a very recent one, which is Wo Long's spirit meter. Fairly similar to Sekiro's posture system, it still feels genuinely unique in its application with the bristling speed that the tug of war game is played, how your attacks and actions affect your own meter and the boss', and the same rules being applied to your enemies.
Another one from Team Ninja, Nioh's stance system. I love how it basically affects everything about the combat system, and how mastering it is absolutely vital. Quickly flipping from one stance to another depending on the situation, the dance feels real and visceral.
The final few I'd like to mention are the fast-paced first person parkour from Titanfall 2 and Ghostrunner, Zandatsu from Metal Gear Rising Revengence, and Mass Effect 3's build-dependant skills/powers.
All of the deserve recognition, thanks for shining a great spotlight on them. I didn't even think about games with individual hitboxes. It's a great layer of precision that gives deliberate feedback for success.
Hey dmod. Have you ever thought of playing Ultrakill. It’s like doom eternal on crack
I was wondering why Horizon didn't get a shoutout. Such a satisfying combat style that is rarely replicated.
@@infinitybelt once you are able to craft freeze bombs it becomes easy mode, at least in the first Horizon game. Not sure if Horizon 2 is any different but I remember breezing through the first game as soon as the freeze weapons were unlocked (maybe along with tripwires it's been years since I played). That's not to knock the game itself because it was super fun, but as far as challenging combat went it was like finally getting the silenced non-lethal sniper rifle in MGS5
The stance system is literally what Dante has since 4. Nothing really new but it makes the game great yup.
Mikiri counter is my favorite part of sekiro's combat, it's a really simple action but it's so satisfying to land especially if it transition to a death blow
@@herohunter81 true but you unlock it in the first hour of gameplay so it's not a big deal.
Thrust attacks can be countered with a well timed deflect. Not just Mikiri Counter.
Yoinking their weapon away from them momentarily is such a badass move
A successful Mikiri counter should make a DMCesque style meter temporarily appear, as a joke. Just the absolute disrespect Wolf showers on his enemies by stomping on their weapons is hilarious!
Hell no it is the shittiest design combat wise, the timing is so forgiving and it punishes so many bosses move with so little effort, mikiri and thunder counter straight up ruined isshin fight for me, easiest P3 for such a epic boss
I knew #1 was going to be Sekiro before the video even started and I couldn’t be happier/agree more. Nothing is as satisfying as that dance of swords and warrants a play through multiple times every year just for the joy of the combat
No
@@DirkDiglerTheNHunter Yes
Hesitation is defeat
The realization that like a dance that you practiced over and over and finally nailed it, you can now dismantle the entire game because of al the skill you obtained throughout your first playthrough.
The combat is great don’t get me wrong but I really don’t get the universal level of praise that it receives when the combat clearly has issues such as the deflection system being completely broken when fighting multiple enemies, the way they poorly managed the spirit emblem system and the poor camera issues that every fromsoft game has. Just another example of fromsoft dickriders treating everything that fromsoft shit out as the 2nd coming of Christ
The parry and perfect deflect sounds never get old
What about kingdome hearts 2 though why people always forget that game
I am in desperate need for a Sekiro sequel. Sekiro's combat has so much potential to be expanded to be even better. They really made something special with that game and the possibilities for a sequel are infinite. Imagine having different weapons, skins, prosthetics, moves that can combo in boss fights, levels entirely dedicated to stealth. So many options.
Well all you ask for in the combat is in team ninja's new game wo long. It's completely different in every other aspect, but the combat is just like sekiro and with everything else you want
@@nakiuzuaya i havent seen any gameplay but ive heard its a lot more like nioh. Does it have the same system of parrying to the enemies rhythms?
@T0q14s It does have a parry mechanic similar to sekiro, but it isn't quite as good as the system in sekiro im my opinion.
It may scratch that itch for some people tho. I'm enjoying it so far.
There's SIFU and Wo Long Fallen Dynasty. SIFU improves upon Sekiro's mechanics and gives you a lot more offensive and defensive tools along with the more forgiving death system(but requires absolute perfection in order to complete). Wo Long puts a unique spin by using a Spirit gauge, which fills up if you deflect and land hits but reduces when you use martial arts and spells, making a sort of tug of war where you have to keep balance on a lot of aspects(Also the deflection sound just creates dopamine in the brain). After having played both, Sekiro feels like just deflect your way to victory.
I think I’m the only one who didn’t really enjoy wo long lol
I personally adore Devil May Cry’s combat
It is as complex as you want it to be and allows for so much options and variety
Each character feels handcrafted and every single sword swing gunshot and thrown punch feel so satisfying
Definitely my favorite combat in a game ever
Real opinion right here
DMC has great combat but it completely fails at making like 80% of it necessary.
On normal difficulty the enemies are so placid that you're not really pushed to utilize anything too complicated.
@@MA-go7ee that’s part of the fun though
You don’t need to juggle enemies with the shotgun but you can
You don’t need to rev your sword in the air but you can
You don’t need to block every single attack but just the fact that you can do it and are rewarded for doing it is what makes the combat so much fun and if you don’t wanna do any of it than you can just blast everything to shreds and still have fun
@@MA-go7ee Because the game doesn't need to. It gives a fairly accessible experience in the first playthrough and the devs are confident enough to know that players want to continue playing and challenge themselves with the higher difficulties which require more stylish gameplay.
Then for more souls like game you will enjoy Nioh 2 since you can be creative and discover combos there. With many ways to defeat one opponent or boss.
All these Sekiro clone including Wo Long look so pale in comparison.
Underrated one that people usually don't mention is animation cancelling. Games like Sekiro and God of War does it extremely well it's nice when you are in an attack animation and realize you've made a mistake and are still able to react to it and bail yourself out with a parry/deflect or dodging and still have the animations of the characters look natural.
Why you do you guys always leave KH2 out I cant believe you guys forgot about kingdom hearts 2. yea its an old 2005 game but lets not forget it was at one time peak combat in gaming before DMC GOW Blew it out the water
@@everydaynine_2282 coz it's dogshit
@@everydaynine_2282DMC3 came out 10 months before KH2 and is better.
The best, ABSOLUTE BEST, mechanic to ever exsist in a game ever. . .is the idea of the parry. Landing parries never gets old for me, especially if you can parry anything. The idea of looking up to an eldrich god and watching as they swing their massive weapons, weapons so large that the sky splits in two when they swing it, and going "I'm going to stand my ground and nullify that attack by myself with nothing but my sword. Is the best, most tear jerking feeling I've ever felt.
The Komaki Tiger Drop from the Yakuza/Like a Dragon franchise is one of the most satisfying counters in a game. The hit detection is perfect, you really feel it when you pull one off. That THUMP is so satisfying.
That’s what I’m saying. Yakuzas combat is deceptively deep
As a 3000 year old Legendary Dark Evil Shogun Lord, i can confirm this is accurate.
You cant fool me I know youre a potato
NO ITS NOT THERE NO KINGDOM HEARTS 2 IN THE LIST
One of my favorite combat designs I've come across is Nioh/Nioh 2s stance system. You can definitely get through the games using one stance, as each one does have its own skills and combos, but if you want to make the most of the weapon you'll have to know when to use what stance. And when you have this option for every weapon in the game, which for Nioh 2 I believe is 12 or 13, the combat becomes a varietal masterpiece.
Nioh has arguably the best combat in any Soulslike, including FromSoft's games. For better or worse, it has a high difficulty curve to get the most out of it. I love investing time in learning those sort of systems (see DMC5), but never felt like I got the hang of it, hence leaving it out
@@theDeModcracy understandable, I never really did either, but I can appreciate the people who have watching combo vids and stuff, same for dmc5
It's not just the stance which is brilliant in its own because you can switch mid combo to another stance or another weapon and continue it. But also the stamina/Ki bar is excellent because the enemy also use the same mechanic where if they ran out of ki you can punish them not to mention every attack have their own ki damage.
Wo Long looks like a massive downgrade compared to Nioh2 combat system.
@@footballfan5048 I wouldn't say it's a huge downgrade; it definitely is a different style. But in some ways it is. Many of the martial arts and wizardly spells, at least to me, never felt like they were worth using over just getting in a few hits and then being ready to counter. Sure, I could have weaved them together and it would have felt great, but there felt to be no incentive in it. Maybe that's just me though. I used the basic sword all the way through and it felt best to me, I couldn't get any except maybe dual sabres or w/e on a few certain bosses.
Then in Nioh I feel the need to change stance and get different attacks, and to learn what all my weapon is capable of. Part of this I attribute to martial arts being somewhat random to most weapons instead of set and integrate-able. A few outliers would have been fine but not to the extent it was. Having each variation of a weapon having different "combos" (since those weren't much for combos) makes the special attacks often feel worthless.
I understand and appreciate that it's a different style but there are just some things about it that restrict the flow that Nioh has unnecessarily which is such a shame since the basic attack-and-deflect approach to combat felt really great, but interweaving other stuff didn't quite hit.
HE'S BACK.
Always a good day when I see DeMod dropping some content.
In all seriousness though, it's good to see you man. Hope you've been well and hope 2023 has been treating you well.
I'm kindly waiting for him to rate the bosses of wo long
2023 has been great so far! Great to see regulars and fresh faces around here again. Hope your year is off to a great start as well.
@Miguel I'm playing Wo Long now with plans for a boss ranking!
@@theDeModcracy I was begging to read that. Can’t even imagine a souls like ranking without you. Just watched the code vein one again today. The big bazonga waifus crack me up each and every time.
@@theDeModcracy will you also do a boss ranking on Thymesia and Steelrising? I haven’t played those games but i would love to see you do a ranking on them to see what you think, and Thymesia is like Bloodborne so i feel like you would enjoy it
Yooooo I’m playing through that rn. Really exited to see your ranking of things and opinion on the game as a whole. Especially Lu Bu, fuckin Gyoubu Oniwa on steroids.
I'm a big fan of Nioh 2's combat. When you master the Ki Pulse you can do some amazing combos and each weapon is a completely different experience.
Yeah personally I would put Nioh 2 just behind DMC (345) as the best combat ever made. Like you say, when you start fluxing, flash attacking, animation cancelling, mixing yokai abilities into your combos… it’s so deep and so good
Like i admit most people who play don't get into the more complex elements of Nioh combat, but the fact that the Ki Pulse and/or Stance Switching isn't on this list is a travesty. Stances are effectively a better version of trick weapons in which every stance has an actual use, unlike some BB trick weapons.
@@Meese12 The Switchglaive was one of the funnest combat flows I've ever picked up in a game and I didn't even feel like I was thaaat good at it lmao. And maybe my inexperience is showing, but I wasn't tooo big a fan of Ki Pulse specifically, seeing as how it's optimal like 80% of the time at the end of combos unless you reeallly need to dodge out or block or something. Not as much thought is required into when to use it compared to which stance to switch into I feel.
Beat me to it. Nioh is my favorite soul-like game because of this. The game rewards properly timing defensive or aggressive play with ki pulses and the ki bar. I feel like there's something for everyone if u can get past its complexity.
U can play like its Elden Ring (which is wat I did with Nioh 1) where u would use the chain of normal attacks and heavy attacks and end it with weapon skills. U can also play it similar to DMC or Monster Hunter by learning the intricacies and combos of each weapon. U can also seamlessly switch between two weapons where there's a skill that lets u attack by switching weapons. Or u can endlessly buff urself and debuff the enemy so u can one shot them. There's also many ways to cheese bosses if ur really having a hard time where u can just farm amrita stones and spam ur yokai or living weapon form.
Beat me to it. Nioh is my favorite soul-like game because of this. The game rewards properly timing defensive or aggressive play with ki pulses and the ki bar. I feel like there's something for everyone if u can get past its complexity.
U can play like its Elden Ring (which is wat I did with Nioh 1) where u would use the chain of normal attacks and heavy attacks and end it with weapon skills. U can also play it similar to DMC or Monster Hunter by learning the intricacies and combos of each weapon. U can also seamlessly switch between two weapons where there's a skill that lets u attack by switching weapons. Or u can endlessly buff urself and debuff the enemy so u can one shot them. There's also many ways to cheese bosses if ur really having a hard time where u can just farm amrita stones and spam ur yokai or living weapon form.
Great to see you back making videos again. One of my favorite combat designs revolves around stealth based assassinations, in particular the assassinations of Dishonored. The abilities the game gives you feels so good, whether its blinking from rooftop to rooftop to set up the perfect kill, calling a swarm of rats to devour an unknowing guard, stopping time so you can run out in the open to kill a guard without being noticed, using telekinesis to throw a vat of explosive whale oil at someone, changing the orientation of the Wall of Lights so that guards disintegrate when they run through, or even just nailing the perfect crossbow shot the options available are vast and your imagination is the limit and to this day Dishonored remains my favorite of any game that has stealth based assassination mechanics.
You mentioned paper Mario, but Mario and Luigi Bowser’s Inside Story is absolute peak action commands
I second this
Exactly.
I love Sekiro as much as the next guy, and I'd easily put its deflection dance at number 2, but my favourite has to be the Marksman revolver's coin from Ultrakill, it's just brilliant, no wonder there's a 20 min video on RUclips detailing some of its *basics*
I love the fact that action commands got a shout out from my favorite paper Mario. They add SOO MUCH. Me and gloomtail were gonna die on next move and gloomtail had first move. I cannot state how much my butt was clenching when timing to press B to superguard and it won me the fight. Great shoutout demod!
It’s crazy to think if Demod was just more consistent he could’ve easily made this his full time job by now
He even said he wants to do consistent uploads and then casually didn't release a video for months lol
It's still the plan going forward. Behind the scenes, a lot of video ideas got scrapped. Trying to be better about sticking to an idea and seeing it through. I've got plans to cover Wo Long, Bleak Faith, and RE4 Remake, in addition to the Worst Combat Designs over the next 3-4 weeks. Keeping my focus there and doing my best to deliver
@@theDeModcracy Looking forward to it!
I always love when I get a new Demon video, I've been rewatching all of your demod-a-thons and they are so great. Hopefully more videos to come in the future. I love all of your content!!
I just wanted to applaud how well written this videos script was. Well worded and I loved how you tied each system into the others, referencing how one differs from or builds upon the next. You could have easily just made a list and left it at that.
Also, great conclusion. I like how you summarized each point in a similar but still different way than how you had described them previously.
I was hoping to see the Obliteration and Ultimate Techniques (OT & UT) from Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden 2.
OTs in NG2 allowed you to instantly kill a delimbed enemy, giving you double the yellow essence from a kill, and giving you very much needed i-frames on master ninja difficulty. The delimbing system was also incredible for neutering some of the more dangerous regular enemies or ganks for boss fights, and turns it into something more manageable . Not to mention the animations are satisfying in the vein of Doom's glory kills. Certain weapons delimb quicker than others (like the Tonfa), and some weapons even more so for certain enemies (XXY with the Dragon Sword on ninjas, and can take a step further with XXYBY to quickly OT them).
With the UT system, it features a risk-reward system that works beautifully (until they took it out of NG3 for whatever reason...). You can take the time to charge an ET/UT by holding Y, but it leaves you very vulnerable. If you can pull it off, it features of string of highly damaging attacks and i-frames all the way through, and the length of the UT can be increased in damage and length (for certain weapons) by upgrading them. Another risk of the UT system is that you can absorb dropped essence to charge it up more quickly, with 2 yellows/ 1 red or blue to reach full potential. Do I take the essence I have for needed currency, health, or ninpo, or do I burn it right now to more quickly end the fight? And a wonderful thing about the UT system is that when you land after jumping, you can immediately hold down Y and absorb any dropped essence to instantly charge it, meaning that you waste little to no time in combat from jumping, you can almost instantanously hop back into action. Not to mention that performing a UT will grant you 7 times the essence you normally would have gotten, and for a UT kill with a 50 hit combo in NG2, it greatly boosts it up to a 12 multiplier, and lets you more easily get more currency to upgrade and buy consumable items.
The camera work and animation when you perform an obliteration technique is sooooo satisfying
ninja gaiden 2 is so underrated
Oh man, the Stranglehold demo!! I played that over and over every day for months while I was waiting for Halo 3 to come out, haha!
As usual, an eloquent, well-reasoned essay on a thoroughly engaging topic. It always brightens my day to see you pop up in my feed. Keep em coming!
Nioh 1&2 as well as Wo Long have some really good mechanics that feel great to master as well.
They both have secondary health bar mechanics being, ki and spirit
Deplete either? You can combo, grapple, and smack the enemy to your heart's content!
I was not expecting to hear about XIV in a DeMod video, but I'm extremely pleasantly surprised. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the story side of it, as it's probably one of the most emotionally impactful games I've ever played in my life.
Platinum's dodge offset system (I think that's what it's called) is great. Where you can continue your combo string after dodging an attack. And Parry mechanic in any game is always satisfying for me. I love the sound of swords clashing!!
I'm very thankful you still haven't stopped uploading you deserve nothing but the best keep up the amazing work demod
Always glad to see you back Demod!
Sekiro's combat system is the best I've ever experienced in a game hands down, Fromsoft really need to implement it in some variety to their next game
Sekiro was fun but I want AC to be AC. Tired of soulslikes
Yea, playing sekiro and going to ER felt like a downgrade in the gameplay
@@chewsberry9982 For sure yeah, I just mean that, assuming Miyazaki's next lead project is a dark fantasy of some kind, I really hope they stick to Sekiro's gameplay structure, and develop it into something more varied
@@matheuspimentel5828 Sadly, I agree, although it was nice to finally have that build variety back, and the ability to make our own characters again, that kinda evened it out for me
@@loomingmoon4682 The build variety was great but the need to balance the bosses to every playstyle kinda take the epicness away like no ER boss give the same satisfaction that when the mechanic finally clicks in Sekiro
This list pleases me greatly, with great insights for each entry. Also big bonus seeing many of my favorite games pop up as examples across the board.
Welcome back DeMod! Missed you my guy
As usual, happy to see your notif. He back
Monster Hunter should be on this list
Love seeing DeMod in my feed! I gotta ask: Your speedrun of Elden Ring with the amazing waterfowl dodge; will that run ever be uploaded?
Awesome video as always :)
I would mention ''directionnal influence'' mechanic from Super smash melee wich allow you to inflence the direction you are moving when you get hit. It force you to stay sharp and actif even while your getting comboed ! Good ''DI'' can cut combo short or allow you to survive longer. This really enhance the defensive play you have to pull off to be a great fighter and make the game super engaging at all time.
Looking up for the next vod !!
The Clash system from Limbus Company. The game uses a turn based system with characters having a speed score each turn, if you attack an enemy who is moving at the same speed you can initiate a clash, which if you win you cancel their attack and your attack deals more damage...but the same is also true for your enemies, meaning you need to manage the risk.
well done list man, this is the culmination of all your videos! here are my favorites: sekiro, batman arkham, shadow of war, god of war 3, f.e.a.r. 1 and gta4
Loved the video Dmod. Really cool to see these types of rankings, where it's focused on aspects of game design rather than specific aspects of one particular game (they're both great I just find this interesting). Definitely agree that DMC and DOOM Eternals combat systems are spectacular
Out of curiosity, would you ever do a "revisited" video? Like, "top ten bosses I was 'wrong' about" for better or worse, like how your view has changed significantly over time on a certain fight? Like how you said you rate the twin princes higher after all these years
Glad you enjoyed it! That's an excellent idea. I kind of did that when I re-ranked Souls bosses after a few years. Would be fun to revisit some games to see what impressions have changed
@@theDeModcracythanks, would love to see it.
Interesting choices! It's always cool to hear other's opinions on this since combat is subjective. I was kind of shocked that Monster Hunter, Smash bros., and Metal Gear Rising weren't on here.
Smash Bros likely because the 'tournament playstyle' isn't representative of the actual game. The devs have said multiple times they don't care about the no items, certain stages only meta.
That basically means that the 'top players' basically aren't playing the game as intended. All the things covered in the above video are the intended way for the game to be played.
@@GoldenSunAlex I understand, but I love the items as well. I think it adds an extra level of uncertainty to the combat, keeping you on your toes.
One of my favorite combat systems in gaming has to be that of the Ninja Gaiden Remakes.
The first game in 2004 has combat that feels so slick and smooth and every action has a satisfying animation to boot. Not only that but your angles of attack are amplified tremendously as your protagonist Ryu can run along and jump off of vertical surfaces, forcing you to treat every room as not just a square arena to fight in but a full 3D space to take advantage of.
Ninja Gaiden's combos and animation quality as I stated earlier help boost the combat to insane heights and you feel like a badass when you dive and weave in between enemies while laying the smackdown.
Not to mention the ind with essence system where when enemies die they drop yellow or blue orbs which you can use to charge up an attack and lay the smack down on enemies.
Ninja Gaidens combat is undoubtedly cold and visceral in the best ways possible.
Super happy to see stranglehold on the list. I love that game and its mechanics.
I love both the games they were great
I loved the whole DMC thing. Most creators would just ignore the outrage but your response was so refreshing. DMC and sekiro are my favorite combat systems
I've always enjoyed the Battle Point system in Bravely Default because of how it felt like I could slow down and speed time up by expending the points for extra moves, even being able to go down to -3 battle points if you're confident that you can take the 3 turn beat down that's about to be served to you.
Don’t bother. He doesn’t care about Turn-Based.
I would personally include the nemesis system from Shadow of War, amazing mechanic!
One of my favorite combat systems is the one in Katana Zero, it’s very simple but always extremely satisfying
Parrying, Run n' Gun, and Style System...
Seems like DeMod would be the type of person to enjoy ULTRAKILL.
Dude ! A video for my birthday ! Thanks ! 😁😁😁
The fact that 3 of the mechanics are from fromsoft games tells how much of a great team they are. Although parry is definitely something they originally came up with (not sure for the other 2), but the way they refined and tuned the mechanics for the entire system is just astounding.
I would put Bayonetta's Witch Time mechanic as one of my favorites. Very satisfying to consistently activate it rendering the enemy combo fodder.
May be a little underrated but i always loved how it felt to fight alongside your pod in Nier Automata. Its not too many games that give you that level of control over your companion all the while enduring bullet hell segments, getting perfect dodges, and cutting down squads of machine lifeforms. On the surface it seems like the pod exists to give you a ranged damage option that makes up for its lack of damage with consistent accuracy. Dig a bit deeper, however and youll realize that your pod offers a small treasure chest of options for you in battle. From additional movement options to change the flow of your combat, to upgrades like swapping out the machine gun for homing rockets, or switching out the powerful laser for a gravity bases AOE that bunches enemies together, allowing you to unleash havoc with Nier's varied slew of both light and heavy weapons.
Amazing innovative video idea, you never cease to amaze!
Got a few nominations here.
Perfect dodge (Insomniac's Spider-Man): Perfect dodges are not a new thing in action games, they typically allow you to get increases advantage after a dodge. But Spidey takes it to another level, webbing the assailant and effectively stunning them. This allows Spidey to take on massive waves of enemies without it feeling unfair, as a perfect dodge will either open up an attack window on an enemy or take them out of the fight temporarily, which "makes you FEEL like Spider-Man!"
Tear damage (Horizon: Forbidden West): While most people understandably point out the excellent elemental states in the horizon games, I think the real glue of combat comes from tearing off components. This adds so much flavor and expression to how you take on a machine. Don't like an attack? Tear off it's corresponding component. Need some supplies? Aim for the ammo drums on that tremortusk. Want to expose a weak point? That data nexus is one tearblast arrow away from utter destruction. There are so many ways to approach fighting machines in these games and tear damage is what facilitates all of it.
Grand Finale (Slay the Spire): Ok, this is cheating since it's a single card rather than a mechanic, but it was cool enough for me to mention. Grand Finale is the single strongest unbuffed attack in the game, dealing a whopping 50 damage (for context, Bludgeon, the classic "big bonk" card, only deals 32). Grand Finale seems even more crazy when you realize that it DOESN'T EVEN COST ENERGY! But there is a catch. Grand Finale can only be played if there are no cards in your draw pile. This makes for a very high risk-high reward card. If properly built around, enemies will quake under your massive damage output, but if you don't have a great way to manipulate your deck, then you better hope you draw Grand Finale last, or that card will just be dead weight.
Edit: Also want to mention that DBFZ is not the first fighting game to introduce auto combos, I do not know who did it first but Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is often credited with popularizing it. I understand this wasn't a full in depth list, but I thought it should be mentioned as P4 Arena is so closely related with auto combos.
Nioh's stance system deserved to be on this list
ikr? The list has dark souls and blood borne's combat but not Nioh's lmao
yep...he put bloodborne but not nioh
I think it's just hard to pinpoint one single thing that makes Nioh's combat stand out, it has so many things going for it and just works so well together. Stances on their own don't sound all that great (at least to me and on paper), but they just interact with the entire system perfectly.
The weapon skill system as a whole, you can have 2 people start Nioh with same weapon and have completely different skills/moveset and playstyle even though it is the same weapon type
Wild Hearts has given me my newest favorite combat mechanic, in their transforming weapons, plus karakuri combat. It just, allows you to feel so godly when you time a karakuri right, to lock a monster down, then you unload a devastating combo with the full power intensity of a weapons full gauge, my personal favorite one being the Katana, and its chain whip sword unbound state. The first time i managed to turn 1 karakuri counter, into a massive combo to immediately send a kemono limping to another area, after breaking almost everything off of it, it was a gaming high I hadnt felt in years
Great and well thought out list but I feel that the stance system in Nioh 1& 2 is the greatest combat system hands down. The level of depth and strategy is second to none.
Bloodborne’s transformation weapons + regain mechanic + brooding atmosphere made it one helluva game. Shadow of War used the free flow mechanic well + the amazingly unique nemesis system. Great video💪🏻🔥
I'd say ATB gauges are also really cool combat mechanics that helped give a lot more depth to jrpgs than strick turn orders. Though to be fair you essentially included those with the FF14 rotations. And I'm not sure if you'd count this as a major combat mechanic but there's something to be said for basic positioning playing a role in a games combat being able to effect battles in action games and even some JRPGs
I actually think that standard turn based combat is actually better than ATB, as it lets you stop and think.
I actually really enjoy parrying in Nioh 2 personally :). Idk if it's the animation or what, but I just found it very satisfying.
just for a combat feature i would say targeting/attacling/cutting of body parts in the surge 1 & 2 is something i extremely enjoyed and found very innovative for a souls like genre game
My personal favourite combat system is Sifu's
I love it
I agree. Similar to Sekiro but even better imo.
Great vid DeMod! Have you ever played God Hand on the PS2? Kinda an odd game but the combat was well executed and had an interesting dynamic difficulty system.
My personal favorite is wirebug combat in monster Hunter rise. The fluid transition between monsters, the flashiness, the dexterity and ODM gear like directional movement and how to experiment with one of the 14 weapon styles included in the game, and any of the currently 66 monsters that are available in the game
Love to see Monster Hunter get some recognition ❤️🔥
Talking of the deflection dance, are you intending on covering Dynasty Souls (Wo Long)? Graphics errors and performance issues aside I think you'll enjoy the combat immensely!
My second favourite to sekiro is from an indie game in early access called ULTRAKILL. It combines 2 different combat systems into one, DMC and DOOM. And here's the coolest thing in this game. Have you ever wanted to punch your shotgun bullets? And make them explode?
Now that's some quality content!❤️🔥
It definitely falls under Action Commands, but I think Shadow Hearts (especially Covenant) deserves a mention. It was just so satisfying to get right without feeling either too powerful with success to become boring, nor too punishing for failure.
Quadruple S is probably my favorite combat mechanic. Turning style into a resource. One last trick in Dante’s arsenal, overflowing already with brilliant combat mechanics, to put him over the rest. Ultrakill coin tech is a close second.
Great video! Could've mentioned God Of War's combat system too!
Dragon's Dogma's combat system, specifically the fluidity, the body part separate health bar (you can target the head for more damage, or the tail to remove the tail to reduce their HP pool, or an eye to blind them and send them into a rage after a short stun, or tusks, secondary heads, etc etc etc
The ability to grapple, grab and throw opponents or clamber on top of them and climb them to get to their weak point is the most fun I have ever had in a single player game
The QTEs of Asura's Wrath (essentially what happens when you actually give thought into how you incorporate "Press X Not To Die" sequences), Like A Dragon's HEAT system, Persona 5's interface, and Undertale/Deltarune in general. Regardless, Sekiro's still second to none. Good video!
Mount and blade. warband and bannerlord both probably have the best mounted combat in any game. the feeling of leading a unit of shock cav into the enemys squishy archers feels amazing. With a couched lance you can skewer like up to 3 guys in one hit, in a game where one hit kills are pretty rare
Awesome vid :D Glad to see DMC Style Meter nice and high, it's easily number 1 for me and DMC3 shaped my gaming taste and playstyle forever. No matter what game I play (assuming there's combat), I always treat it as if there's a style meter and DMC3-style scoring. Gotta; look cool, use as many different moves as possible, minimise downtime - always proactive, minimise damage taken, preferably not use items/consumables, perhaps squeeze in taunts/emotes/gestures if the game allows haha.
I love Sekiro, but it's probably around my 5-6th fave game in terms of combat, cuz as awesome as it is, it's a lil too binary imo. I feel like once you've learned the game, fights feel like they play out almost exactly the same every time, and that there's little player expression to be had. Just a personal gripe ofc, it's an absolutely fantastic system and executed immaculately. In fact I'd say the posture mechanic overall, the idea that there are TWO health/progress bars to chip at and that you are rewarded for constant action, is the best part of Sekiro's combat and I'm really glad it carried over to Elden Ring to an extent.
"rotations" is just one aspect of tab targeting combat, wow being the peak of this system
i think a real fun one that wasnt here was wall bouncing in gears of war. It was my favorite in gow 3. And when you really master it and are hitting your active reloads as well taking out a group by just yourself is one of the most rewarding feelings I have ever had playing a game.
This list was awesome tho regardless thank you for the prime content!
The action-command mechanic originates, as best I can recall, from Super Mario RPG. I was so glad to see it return in Paper Mario.
Personally my favorite combat system ever is Sifu. I never once got bored and it’s so simple yet complex when you want it to be and so satisfying. No other game makes clearing a room feel better
My personal favorite combat design in gaming is definitely weapon switching, which does bleed into some designs in this video, taking elements from combo strings in devil may cry and run and gun from DOOM. Naturally, I'm talking about ULTRAKILL everyone's new favorite fps that puts together Devil May Cry's weapon switching combos with DOOM eternal's first-person gun gorefest into one absolute masterpiece of a game that becomes more than the sum of it's parts.
i think the MK/Injustice combat system is incredibly overlooked
you just feel so badass when you pull off a full combo and it just looks like how those characters would fight for real
Because nether realm games aren’t as respected as other fighters
it makes me so happy to see DBFZ, Arkham, and Sekiro on this list. these three games are my favorite combat systems ever made
Paper Mario, Bloodborne and Sekiro are just a joy!!!💪🏾
I thought I won't see Sekiro at the first spot, glad this video didn't disappoints.
Damn that unexpected nostalgia trip from Paper Mario
This was a great video, well thought out
putting Sekiro at #1 was so predictable but it makes too much sense not to put it anywhere else
I absolutely loved Nioh 2's Burst Counter. Sooo satisfying.
For a second I was worried when you didnt mention sekiro in parry section but the end of list was great :D Sekiro is my favourite combat :D
Back when we needed you most love you demod
Demodcracy uploaded a new video! Today is a good day
Just platinum’d sekiro yesterday and I couldn’t agree with its to pick more, however I think for honour deserves an honourable mention for the uniqueness of its fighting style and how cool you feel once you get good enough at it
As a game dev you provide valuable insight into these systems.
As a character action fan, I’ve learned to never expect new releases
Excellent video Demod, now please do "Top 10 Genre's in Gaming"
Great video, Demod! It's hard for me to pinpoint my favorite combat system in any game, but Sekiro is definitely up there. For Strategy RPGs, I love Final Fantasy Tactics' Charge Time System. For turn-based RPGs, it would probably be Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne's Press Turn System. For Action RPGs, I think Odin Sphere Leifthrasir has my favorite combat system, although I can't point out a single specific mechanic that makes it as brilliant as it is. For FPS games, I think Dusk has my favorite combat system. That game has the single best movement system I've experienced in the genre, and bunny-hopping has never felt better. I also love Dark Messiah of Might and Magic's combat mechanics. To this day, it boasts some of the best first-person melee combat in any game, and the sheer amount of ways you can take out foes is hilarious. Also, that game probably has the best kick in the industry.
A video from dadmod? 😮 Praise the sun!
Very interessting topic, good video
Great list! I wanna highlight more things about Doom Eternal since I'm not seeing a lot of people talk about it in the comments section but if you knew how high the skill ceiling of that game is, it totally feels like a different game when you reach that level of play.
One of my favorite hidden mechanics of the game is the quick switch mechanic where if you switch between weapons fast you skip cooldowns of the weapons or cancel out weapon animations to increase dps potential when trying to kill demons in the game. Once you learn quick switching and its comboes it becomes essential, especially on the harder difficulty of the game where you have to take out demons as fast as you can so that you can move around the map + the fast switching makes the player look like a fast killing machine while zooming around the arena. Not only does it do more DPS but it also helps with ammo economy since its scarce in eternal you are essentially being more efficient with your kills in the game and at the same time making the most out of ammo before having to reload with the chainsaw.
That's what I love about doom eternal and even sekiro, your character doesnt get strong because of a number on screen but because you the player is inherently getting better at the game.
I do wish there was a survival horror game on here. As a fan of games like Resident Evil, Dead Space, and The Evil Within, I feel like a game with a slower, tension-building action could've been mentioned.
The prompted melee attacks of RE4, burning the bodies in The Evil Within, and the dismemberment system of Dead Space could've all been mentioned.
I also like when your cuts and slashes destroy the environment. Like u can cut an enemy or a table in half. Kinda like in metal gear rising with the blade mode
I have to give a shout out to Legend of Dragoon's combat. Healing 10% when you guard combined with the Addition system put it well ahead of it's time and I wish more RPGs implemented systems like it.
people really have taken for granted for honor’s take on combo fighting with it being 3rd person over shoulder and having the block/ stance changing aspect to it. i was never good at typical fighting games like MK or Street Fighter but man i love FH and am a beast at it
Great list. I kind of figured sekiro would be first. I personally would have included the stance switching system from Nioh and I don’t know if you’ve played it yet but the karakuri in wild hearts is really climbing the ranks for me as well, no pun intended
Great Video :)
As incredible as these systems are, the fact that Ultrakill didn't even get as much as a mention angers me, that game is batshit on a level even Doom Eternal can't reach and I love it