The Soulslike Influence on Modern Combat Design
MechanicsComments
players don't crave the test, they crave clarity. the predictability of i-frames is just a comfort blanket for bad encounter design.
While the cover system era felt derivative, the standardization of the dodge-and-punish loop has created a universal language of combat. This reduces the cognitive load for players, allowing developers to experiment with more complex boss behaviors because the basic movement vocabulary is already internalized.
I am not sure about the claim that every single action game is adopting this. High-speed character action titles like the recent Bayonetta games still prioritize aggressive combo strings and cancels over the restrictive stamina management found in Soulslikes.
This reminds me of the mid-2000s when every action game suddenly needed a cover system because Gears of War was a hit. We saw the same contagion then, and it eventually settled into distinct sub-genres after a decade of saturation.
I wonder if this is tied to how accessibility options are being implemented now... if developers add a story mode to these punishing loops, does that actually solve the pacing issue you mentioned... or does it just make the combat feel hollow?
It shows up in the tutorials. I have noticed more games spending the first hour teaching the dodge as the primary survival tool, which tells the player that every encounter is a timing test rather than a tactical problem.
If the tutorial sets that expectation, is it possible that players now actively crave that specific type of feedback? Could the timing test be what players perceive as a fair challenge compared to older, more opaque combat systems?
You missed the input lag factor. Implementing precise i-frame windows requires a level of responsiveness that older action games did not need, which forces developers to overhaul their physics engines just to support the feel of the dodge.