Why Are Modern Games Obsessed With Parrying? | Semi-Ramblomatic

Combat style as characterisation is a key thing that's underrated; Yahtzee's mentioned before about not being into fighting games but appreciating them as a spectator sport, and absolutely right that they lend themselves to colourful, lively characters whose characterisation is in how they move, act and fight even more than what they say and do in whatever passes for the story. There's probably material for its own video in that; the Yakuza games alone have a lot of fun examples, and IMO in some ways do a decent job presenting fighting skills as something that needs to be developed and maintained, with the protagonists actively learning from various sources in some games to develop particular styles and skills. And it probably does say something that the big game to popularise parrying is Arkham Asylum, where a major part of the appeal is that you're not just literally playing The Goddamn Batman, but the way he moves and fights makes you really feel like it. That is, an incredibly skilled and experienced combatant taking on larger numbers of usually far less skilled foes, with a fighting style built around turning the tables on them. You can't just transpose that moveset onto a different character without having to justify it, at least not without feeling out of nowhere.

Lightsabers are the ultimate parry tools (though I can't right now remember whether any of the JK games required a timed button press or whether just just had to have the saber equipped).

Aren't parries just a form of QTE?

No Yahtzee, they did not add a parry mechanic to the Silent Hill 2 Remake. There is dodging, but no parrying. I just finished the game myself, so it's fresh in my mind.

This was a fun semi-sequel to the rogue-like discussion from a few months back.

Alien versus Predator allowed human soldiers to parry Aliens and Predators. Yeah that would not work, I feel like.

First place my mind went was Prince of Persia, too. I recall playing it on my 286 back when I was small…I don’t want to think about how long ago that is.

It was something I appreciated to a degree in Like A Dragon. Yeah, pressing a button at the right time reduces damage and knockdown/some status but A: it was pretty hard to do it consistently and B: never essential and didn’t actually nullify damage. Enemies would still splatter you into paste in short order if all you did was try to block and neglected everything else.

Gotta admit, I for one am sick of all the damn parrying in games these days

I hate the trend, but that could be cause I'm terrible at the mechanic. might have had a coniption trying to wrap my head around the combat in Kingdom Come: Deliverance.

Parrying in video games was designed by people who've never so much as picked up a sword in their lives, which makes it annoying to me personally. In historical martial arts, i.e. "real combat" parrying at its most basic involves wasting an opportunity to attack because, oh crap the opponent is attacking already, gotta hit their weapon before it hits me. If you parry too hard it opens you up for a follow up attack, if you parry a feint, you just said "please hit me". Parrying an attack is easy. Parrying WELL is hard. Being able to parry and risposte in the same action is the crowning jewel of most sword systems, something that takes a LOT of skill to pull off. Implementing all of that as a part of an actual coherent game system is possible, imho, although it would require very tight controls and animation system, but mainstream game devs just don't do it, leaving it to niche, obscure, and unpolished titles. :(

"Wimbledoom". :D

Idea/suggestion for a possible future SR, "What Worst and/or Blandest Games has Yatz changed his mind about?" Kinda like the video he did a while back on his Top 5 Best Games he had to rethink about