[GreyHorace]

What games for you have a combat system unique to them? And please note that I don't mean just melee combat, but all types of gameplay systems where you fight enemies.

If you must know, this thread was inspired by WhatCulture's video which asked the very same question:




If you don't want to spend time watching the video, here's the list along with comments I have on some of the entries:

10) Absolver
9) F.T.L. Faster than Light - My brother played the shit out of games like Master of Orion and Star Trek Bridge Commander. He probably would have enjoyed the fuck out of this game.
8) Destroy All Humans - Never got to try this because the premise wasn't really my thing. But the gameplay looks nice, so I'll probably give it a go if I get the chance.
7) Furi
6) Okami - Never owned a PS2 so I never got to try this underrated gem.
5) BioMutant - Very suspect to have on this list while also being the video's sponsor. I've not played the game yet so I wonder what you guys who have think about this?
4) FirePro Wrestling - Heard this game mentioned before and I wonder whether it's as good as they say it is.
3) Divinity Original Sin 2 - Quite possibly the best turn based RPG I've ever played. The various approaches to combat in this game makes this a winner for me. Looking forward to what Larian does with Baldur's Gate 3.
2) Monster Hunter - I really ought to try this series one time. I was really impressed with Capcom's Dragon's Dogma so I imagine this will fill the same niche.
1) Steel Battalion - I so wanted to play this title on the OG Xbox, but it's huge ass controller which added to it's steep price was a turn off. Really wish Capcom would consider doing a remaster on current gen systems.

As for my personal pick of a game with unique combat, I'm surprised WhatCulture didn't include the Batman Arkham series from Rocksteady. Before numerous games started copying it, I thought Rocksteady's freeflow combat system was pretty original and fit the character of Batman to a T.




But what about you guys? What unique combat systems have you had the pleasure of playing with in games?

 

[Ascend]

For Honor. No contest.

 

[Arc]

Modern Resident Evil on harder difficulties. In a time where we’ve gotten used to games letting us annihilate everything in seconds, and in pixel-perfect precision, the modern REs are... weird.

Bullet-sponge enemies, strange jerky movements from them, slower aiming, emphasis on location specific damage (shoot arms with weapons, legs to drop), and even block moves in some. The latter is bizarre, almost feeling like a first person fighting game.

But... it works. It’s incredibly clunky (which is almost a good thing for RE), but it also makes every single enemy, no matter how basic, a threat, and an addition to the tension and fear these games thrive on.

 

[Helljumper]

Ninja Gaiden II (Xbox 360)


For me it still has the best combat engine in a 3D game. It's in a class of its own.

 

[Dreamlord]

For their respective release times:

Absolver
Max Payne
Mortal Kombat (the first one)
Pyre (though I haven't played it)
Psychonauts
Demon Souls

 

[Sejan]

Bravely Default (Series)
The idea of banking turns and spending up to 4 turns at a time (going into a deficit down to -3) is absolutely amazing. This system takes turn based combat in jrpgs to a whole new level by adding layers to the combat that I never even considered. Octopath does something similar, but Bravely Default is my favorite JRPG combat of all time.

 

[ProgenitorCastle]

Anything from Kamiya's body of games he directed to date counts imo, from RE2, which made the combat of RE1 a touch more action packed, to Devil May Cry which wasn't as fighting game like as later DMCs but still had a unique flow to it to make the player feel Stylish when they mastered it to Viewtiful Joe, which successfully made the player feel like the "director" of their own action movie to Okami, which with the whole pausing time completely along with using special abilities during combat helped make the player feel like a divine being during combat...to Bayonetta, which was a more refined take on DMC1's combat but still simpler overall than the later DMCs that it felt like an arcade game but technical at the same time, to lastly but not least The Wonderful 101...I could write an entire post on this game's combat system alone...but to boil it down to the basics you aren't technically playing as one character but as a team that grows up to 101 team members so that alone changes the flow of the combat because say you're facing a large enemy right? You are encouraged to send in your team members to stun the large enemy first, then once they swarm it's body to a certain state then they will stun it. Once the enemy is stunned you can then use a Unite Morph to auto home in on the stunned enemy to do combos on. It's quite a single-player way of making the team feel part of the combat and at that, it succeeds in spades if I say so myself

 

[GymWolf]

I would be fucking glad if that free flow shit was unique and not copied by half of the AAA games...

But to return on topic, vagrant story and parasite eve had some unique combat systems

 

[SpartanN92]

Halo Multiplayer

The golden triangle of Guns/Grenades/Melee is unmatched

 

[GymWolf]

Modern Resident Evil on harder difficulties. In a time where we’ve gotten used to games letting us annihilate everything in seconds, and in pixel-perfect precision, the modern REs are... weird.

Bullet-sponge enemies, strange jerky movements from them, slower aiming, emphasis on location specific damage (shoot arms with weapons, legs to drop), and even block moves in some. The latter is bizarre, almost feeling like a first person fighting game.

But... it works. It’s incredibly clunky (which is almost a good thing for RE), but it also makes every single enemy, no matter how basic, a threat, and an addition to the tension and fear these games thrive on.

The tension is high because the game is clunky as hell (talking about re 7-8), the same exact enemies and weapons with good controls would be a below the average fps.

I don't know how much of a merit that is tbh...

It's like praising bad gameplay because it makes the game better somehow. (and even that is debatable)

you can have a horror game with tight gunplay like dead space or tight melee like condemned.

 

[Arc]

The tension is high because the game is clunky as hell (talking about re 7-8), the same exact enemies and weapons with good controls would be a below the average fps.

I don't know how much of a merit that is tbh...

It's like praising bad gameplay because it makes the game better somehow. (and even that is debatable)

you can have a horror game with tight gunplay like dead space or tight melee like condemned.

I know. That’s why I love it for this thread. How often can you say that bad gameplay created something you really liked? It’s a unique answer.

 

[quickwhips]

I don't know if this fits but the crafting in last of us is amazing for factions. I also like the crafting in pubg. Finding the right piece and wrecking people late game.

 

[Musky_Cheese]

Halo Multiplayer

The golden triangle of Guns/Grenades/Melee is unmatched

Thats a good answer

 

[Pallas]

Shadow Hearts series had a unique approach to turn base combat.

 

[Xenon]

Too Human is a hodge podge of gaming mechanics, but I grew to love it. It's extremely unique, especially when you consider how barren the genre was when it was released. You just had Diablo and it's clones.

Using sticks for the main attack was a great choice and made long gaming sessions a lot less painful.

Removing potions and forcing players to be more careful and aggressive at the same time. With the berserker class's low health it was counterintuitive since plowing through enemies to keep health drops flowing was the only way to not die over and over.

Which brings me to the next feature I loved, the combo system. By chaining attacks you can build up a meter that banks them in a numbered meter. You start with 2 but the human path gets one more and the berserker an additional one as well. Each level makes your character faster and stronger. So a human berserker at level 4 is a freaking monster. You can also spend these for a power ups or a room clearing attack. But if you time the move after a double tap towards a creature it only takes 1/3 of the meter.

Playing TH maxing the combo meter is a completely different game.