My opinion of Hack n’ Slash and Beat em’ Ups is that they are both too good!!! I really love these two types of games because they don’t take a huge amount of skill, but they make you feel awesome. These games usually have combos like fighting games but without the equal health bars between the player and enemies. Usually weaker enemies are in these games.
I feel that a good Hack n’ Slash is one that makes you feel powerful and unleash a ton of combos and makes you seem really powerful. It must give good feedback to the player. I feel like a good Beat em’ Up is a side scroller that allows for similar experiences, but with the addition of having easy drop in drop out.
I think that the best Hack n’ Slash games are spread into two separate groups that could be considered of the genre. For example, games like Bayonetta, Devil May Cry, Castlevania LoS, and God of War are one type of this genre. These games usually make the enemies feel strong like in Beat em’ Ups, however the player becomes better over time. The player is supposed to beat these characters and they are generally weaker than the player. DMC is obviously hard, but the enemies are meant to be beaten and as the player becomes better they can beat the enemies guaranteed. These games are fun because they allow the player to fight strong enemies and become great at the game.
Then the other Hack n’ Slash group is ones such as the Warriors franchise. These games such as Dynasty Warriors allow the player to mow down hordes of enemies in swoops. They are extremely weak opponents and this makes the game fun by allowing you to try and get high KO levels. These games are fun because the player can kill tons of enemies with little effort and awesome combos. It feels very rewarding.
For Beat em’ Ups the best games are ones such as Double Dragon, Castle Crashers, and Scott Pilgrim Vs the World. These games are good examples of this genre because they make the player feel powerful and allow for multiplayer which makes the experience even more fun.
Some of the worst examples for Hack n’ Slash and Beat em’ Ups are the ones that are only 2D. Those games generally do not have enough content and I don’t really have an issue with most games of this genre. There are common complaints such as DMC 2 and Ninja Gaiden Yiaba, but I feel that it is easier and more direct to say purely 2 dimensional versions of these genres are bad. This doesn’t include Metroidvania or Platformers.
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