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What makes different hack’n’slash action games distinct and special?
I’ve been playing Bayonetta on and off for a bit of time, and now that I’m near the end of it (just started Requiem), the genre kinda grew on me, which surprised me quite a bit.
I see loads of games being thrown in the same bag:
- Bayonetta
- Devil May Cry
- Darksiders
- Ninja Gaiden
- No More Heroes
- God of War
- several Warriors/Musou games
- etc. etc.
So I was wondering what makes any specific game in the general genre distinct and special, and wanted to discuss in this thread.
My experience with this genre is limited as the Switch is my first ever console, but I will share what little experience I have in a comment.
P.S. I hope this thread will be a bit more lively than my previous try with the Different types of 3D platformers thread.
To kick it off, here are my thoughts on the ones I played so far:
Bayonetta (WikiPedia) – and here I may be very wrong – it feels to me like what makes it special (apart from the character) is the super-tight controls and how the many combos flow. I found Bayonetta on Normal to be pretty challenging and had to use items (even yellow lollypops in some sequences) from time to time, but it’s my first play-through. I just finished the game on Normal and now that the memory is still fresh, I would say what makes Bayonetta distinct is that the fighting feels a lot like dancing with the push and pull of the dancers, whereby the aim is that Bayonetta is in the lead. I think this is further accentuated by the character’s love for dance.
ICEY (WikiPedia) – is a 2D hack’n’slash and while the audio-visual package is really good (providing you change the voice acting from English to something else), what makes it special is the many endings and how it makes use of the meta-game. You play Icey, who is part of a game where the narrator is apparently the developer of, and you can either follow his lead “the way the game is intended” or ignore him as much as you want, to the extent of not killing bosses. This leads to different outcomes both in the game and the meta-game. The fighting and platforming mechanics are not very complicated, but good and carry the game’s (meta)story very well.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (Wikipedia) – I only played the demo, and this is the first *warriors/musou game I ever tried, as in general the sub-genre always struck me as pretty shallow and button-mashy. From what I can see, it seems the general point of all warriors games is to mix the feeling of superiority by being a character who with a single move can wipe out dozens and hundreds of enemies with a bit of light tactics by needing to keep an eye on the map. For this game in particular, for me the biggest selling point is the story that lead up to Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
I think you'd probably be disappointed in it if the story is the main thing you're looking for. I haven't finished the game yet, but in the ~20 hours I've played there really hasn't been much story, and even what's there hasn't really added anything significant to what was already known from BotW. My general impression is that people weren't happy with the game from the perspective of what it added to the world/story/lore, so I think I'd only recommend playing it if you're interested in the general musou-style fighting/grinding, because that's definitely the majority of it.
I'd absolutely recommend you look into Astral Chain (Wikipedia) though, it's pretty highly-regarded as a Switch-exclusive PlatinumGames hack-n-slash.
Oh, yeah, Astral Chain is already on my wishlist, but I want to finish at least some of the massive RPGs and the two Bayonettas before I buy it.
Thanks regarding the Hyrule Warriors tip. In terms of musou games, I thought of getting one to see if it clicks. And then I was thinking of either something where being over-the-top seems natural like One Piece Warriors 4, or the Zelda one for the story. I kinda enjoyed the game-play of the demo, but it seemed like one you can play without concentrating too much on it (which also has its benefits to unwind sometimes).
Well if you look at them from a mile away they are going to seem like they are pretty much the same kind of game with a gimmick or two added in basically you just have to keep making combos and juggle fighting with a small crowd while also carefully looking for enemy attack patterns so you can dodge or block at just the right time.
Bayonetta is my personal top pick and I’m sure you will find that to be a popular opinion. It has some of the most polished gameplay combined with some of the most impressive set pieces, and more importantly Bayonetta the character is one of the best depictions of a female in video games, even if it were only for how empowering it is to play as her.
I’ll admit that I am not a huge fan of beat em ups either. Bayonetta and it’s sequel were basically the only ones I have been able to complete since I was a child; everything else just got boring quickly. The only exception was the original God of War. But that game didn’t really hold my attention enough to play any of the sequels. I did play the latest entry in the franchise, but the gameplay has changed so much that it feels like it’s more like a one-on-one fighting game or at times even like a shooter.
After I finish the last (standard) boss, I plan to play Bayonetta 2 (and wait and see what 3 brings). But from the genre, what I’m eyeing as well is the Darksiders series and the new Hyrule Warriors.
Those details and gimmicks are exactly what I’m interested in in this topic – I want us to discuss what makes specific representatives of this genre distinct or even great.
Darksiders is pretty great mix of Metroidvania + Hack'nslash/Beat'emup. I have yet to play Darksiders III yet, but the first two were great, and you really can't go wrong with them, IMO. Not only is their gameplay rock solid and the controls super tight, but even the story, lore, characters and voice acting are all great in them too. A++ would highly recommend.
If you compared it to Bayonetta – which, at this stage (apart from the Age of Calamity and Wonderful 101 demos) is the only similar game I played – what would you say sets it apart? Zelda-like puzzles, easier combat?
I have yet to play Bayonetta, but my understanding is that it's basically a pure Hack'nslash/Beat'emup with very little else going on, similar to Devil May Cry. Whereas Darksiders is more like 50% Metroidvania, 30% RPG, and only 20% Hack'nslash (which only really serves as the underlying base gameplay loop). So I would say Darksiders definitely has more in common with Zelda than Bayonetta... but again, since I haven't actually played Bayonetta, I can't say for certain, and if someone has played both they should feel free to correct me.
Then I think the people we should discuss is Ninja Theory.
In spite of not particularly enjoying the genre they put out, I have ended up buying just about every game they have released.
For me personally, I think it’s all the “extras” that make or break these games for me. Devil May Cry makes me bored quickly because it’s mostly just walking down corridors and fighting whomever I run into. But with Bayonetta and Ninja Theory games, there’s always a lot of effort to make sure there is something extra. And honestly, the plot is usually a big contributor. Other things that help are big bombastic set pieces and memorable visuals.
The odd thing about these observations is that the games that examplify these qualities outside of Bayonetta are Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice and the last God of War. But those games are also far from what I think are typical of the genre.
Never thought of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice as a hack’n’slash before …but I haven’t played it either. Care to dive in deeper into this and your Ninja Theory part?
Hellblade is such a beautiful game; it's not terribly surprising that you didn't realize what kind of game it was because all the screenshots and videos that they use to advertise it don't really focus on the combat much, if at all. And to be honest, even though the combat is probably one of the biggest aspects of gameplay, the story is constantly at the forefront since there is almost always narration of some sort.
Earlier I called out Devil May Cry, but of course, Ninja Theory developed their own game in the series. And though fans of the series did not all like it at first, it's the only entry in the series that I actually like. It's got amazing visuals, crazy setpieces, and a story that doesn't feel like it's obligatory. The game before theirs, DMC4 was so bland and boring that I doubt even fans could tell you the story from memory. On the other hand, even people who hated Ninja Theory's DMC will be able to tell you all about it.
I think that, if nothing else, the release of God of War was what cemented my opinion that Ninja Theory was probably one of the industry's most interesting players. It was released just a year later but it shares so much in common with Hellblade that it feels like they could almost be the same series. And the fact that Ninja Theory made Hellblade by themselves while God of War was made with the backing of a multinational conglomerate is a testament to how great a team they have assembled.