Summary
The gaming industry has an action problem. That is to say, sinceFromSoftwarerevolutionised the medium with its creation of theSoulslikegenre and created a fanbase rabid for games with similar styles of combat, it feels like nearly every developer creating an action game has tried to emulate its groundbreaking battles. It makes sense from a business perspective, since this is what’s in trend right now, and I’m sure that those developers have a genuine love for Soulslikes. I, however, am tired of it.
I don’t see whyeverygame should have the same kind of combat. Where is the diversity? Unfortunately, since so many action games are hopping on the bandwagon, it leaves players like me who don’t enjoy Soulslike combat (even when it’s toned down, as is often the case in games that thoughtlessly cram it in) without many action games that actually appeal to us.
Also, most games can’t do Soulslikes as well as FromSoftware can. That’s an unfortunate truth.
The Xbox Showcase Wowed Me
Then I saw theXboxshowcase, and I was suddenly excited to play action games again.Clair Obscur: Expedition 33looked like a pretty typical action RPG with a fantasy setting, until we saw some gameplay that made me realise: holy shit, this is turn-based with real-time input. It reminded me a little ofLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth’scombat, which is undoubtedly a point in its favour. On top of that, it bills itself as story-rich and inspired by JRPGs, which only piques my interest more.
Perfect Darkwas the game that got me the most excited. While the 2000 game was a straight first-person shooter, the trailer of the gorgeous remake showed us more of an immersive sim, with a heavy reliance on stealth gameplay and parkour, and some cool weapons and tech tossed into the mix. Melee combat looked brief, but what really astounded me was when Joanna Dark grabbed an enemy and threw him to the ground between her feet, shot two of his buddies in the head, straddled the downed dude, and pistol whipped him in the head, knocking him out. You’re telling meI can do that? That issomuch cooler than a Soulslike.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eateralso immediately caught my eye. Though we already knew that it would be a stealth action game, since it’s a remake of MGS3, it’s still an action game that moves away from typical combat, and I’m glad to see games like this still making a splash.
Complex Combat Doesn’t Have To Copy Soulslikes
While it can so often seem like the only two ways to have combat-heavy games be either a ton of shooting or a ton of melee combat, I’m happy to see some of this year’s action games turn more towards stealth and turn-based combat. Two of those games are remakes, yes, but given modern triple-A sensibilities, I’m glad that combat was tweaked in this way instead of in the other direction.
I was pretty disappointed to seeAssassin’s Creed Shadowsat the Ubisoft Forward show, and how Yasuke’s combat seems extremely Souls-influenced – it looks like an improvement on the combat of Odyssey and Valhalla, but still, yawn – but Naoe’s stealth offers an alternative, more interesting way to play through the same scenarios, which I’m thankful for.
It was, like, ten years ago when every game was copyingBatman: Arkham Asylum’scombat. We got bored of that until Soulslike-style supplanted it.
We’ve seen a ton of Soulslikes at the showcases presented over the weekend, and I’m not optimistic that other triple-As will be moving away from Soulslike combat any time soon. But I’m grateful that we have developers willing to implement the systems best for their games instead of getting on the train. I just want more games that try new things and stand out from the crowd, even if they don’t do it perfectly.
