Sword play/combat
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Mount & Blade is still the best melee combat system I've found in a game. Might not be much to look at but it's pretty close to flawless in terms of controls and feedback. Look it up if you've never played it, Mount & Blade: Warband is the version you'd want.
Bayonetta has some damn good sword combat. Also Dark Souls and Demon's Souls have good sword combat as well
If you're simply looking for a game that has fun sword combat with reasonable depth, Dark Souls, Dragons Dogma and a host of other games would fit the bill. If you want a game that actually does a decent job of approximating a sword fight (i.e. fencing) you have relatively few options. Die By The Sword is an ancient game where your mouse controlled the sword arm and fighting was incredibly fun once you wrapped your mind around how to make the system work. Bushido Blade is a standard fighting game representation of fencing that works remarkably well.
Beyond that there are games that at least represent parts of fencing relatively well the most notable of which is Soul Caliber. While far from a realistic depiction, it (and indeed any quality fighting game) captures the higher level mind game of fencing quite well.
Beyond that there are games that at least represent parts of fencing relatively well the most notable of which is Soul Caliber. While far from a realistic depiction, it (and indeed any quality fighting game) captures the higher level mind game of fencing quite well.
The Witcher (the original) on the PC has some of the finest swordplay I've ever seen in a game.
Although it's not very engaging, mostly consisting of clicking the mouse on an enemy to engage an attack, then clicking again at the right time to continue the combo and switching between the 3 different styles and 2 swords with keyboard buttons, in terms of spectacle the swordplay is unparalleled in it's complexity, fluidity and grace (especially as you develop your character and unlock more moves/combos in the 6 different styles).
In terms of gameplay mechanics, it's very similar to Dragon Age: Origins, the actual visual spectacle and choreography of The Witcher makes the DA:O combat seem like a cuckoo-clock woodcutter in comparison.
On the opposite end of the scale, the aforementioned Mount & Blade: Warband probably has the best melee combat system of any game I've played, even if it appears a bit basic. What it may lack in visual style and flair, it repays in bucketfuls as an actual fun, engaging and well made gameplay mechanic.
Somewhere in between the two, if you have a Xbox 360 then you could do a lot worse than picking up Conan for some enjoyable and brutal sword combat. I picked up the Games on Demand digital download for about £4 last year, so if you see it on sale for a similar price and have a 360, then it's well worth the cheap price for a old and fun game with visceral swordplay.
Also, Way of the Samurai 3 is a good action-RPG type game with fun and engaging swordplay.
Despite it being a borderline last generation looking game, it's lots of fun if you like Samurai swordplay, with a solid fencing mechanic and lots of different swords and styles to collect and unlock.
It's a kind of love/hate game, with it generally receiving mediocre reviews from critics and being panned for it's last gen-like appearance, but nevertheless being loved and thoroughly enjoyed by it's fans who can overlook it's flaws to enjoy it's solid gameplay and multi-faceted story with many different branches and endings.
Although it's not very engaging, mostly consisting of clicking the mouse on an enemy to engage an attack, then clicking again at the right time to continue the combo and switching between the 3 different styles and 2 swords with keyboard buttons, in terms of spectacle the swordplay is unparalleled in it's complexity, fluidity and grace (especially as you develop your character and unlock more moves/combos in the 6 different styles).
In terms of gameplay mechanics, it's very similar to Dragon Age: Origins, the actual visual spectacle and choreography of The Witcher makes the DA:O combat seem like a cuckoo-clock woodcutter in comparison.
On the opposite end of the scale, the aforementioned Mount & Blade: Warband probably has the best melee combat system of any game I've played, even if it appears a bit basic. What it may lack in visual style and flair, it repays in bucketfuls as an actual fun, engaging and well made gameplay mechanic.
Somewhere in between the two, if you have a Xbox 360 then you could do a lot worse than picking up Conan for some enjoyable and brutal sword combat. I picked up the Games on Demand digital download for about £4 last year, so if you see it on sale for a similar price and have a 360, then it's well worth the cheap price for a old and fun game with visceral swordplay.
Also, Way of the Samurai 3 is a good action-RPG type game with fun and engaging swordplay.
Despite it being a borderline last generation looking game, it's lots of fun if you like Samurai swordplay, with a solid fencing mechanic and lots of different swords and styles to collect and unlock.
It's a kind of love/hate game, with it generally receiving mediocre reviews from critics and being panned for it's last gen-like appearance, but nevertheless being loved and thoroughly enjoyed by it's fans who can overlook it's flaws to enjoy it's solid gameplay and multi-faceted story with many different branches and endings.
I will cast my vote in with Mount and Blade Warband and Chivalry.
I will also raise you 1 Dust an Elysium Tale, DMC: Devil May Cry, and a Dragons Dogma . Dust is a 2d slash'em'up. It has lots of cool moves and the Swordplay feels great and Dust Storm is the best.
DMC is a spectacle fighter. Rebellion is really the only sword you get but that is the weapon you will probably use the most. It is still a good game no matter what the butthurt fanboys say.
Dragons Dogma has good combat all around, though I, personally, feel Magic is a little bleh. Warrior and Guardian are pretty cool. You could also try a sword and shield assassin. The pawns aren't all THAT annoying. They can get a bit annoying after they say the same thing for the 4 billionth and a half time. Otherwise it is a good game and someone who has played the original and Dark Arisen says that you should get Dark Arisen because of all the little changes and the new area.
I will also raise you 1 Dust an Elysium Tale, DMC: Devil May Cry, and a Dragons Dogma . Dust is a 2d slash'em'up. It has lots of cool moves and the Swordplay feels great and Dust Storm is the best.
DMC is a spectacle fighter. Rebellion is really the only sword you get but that is the weapon you will probably use the most. It is still a good game no matter what the butthurt fanboys say.
Dragons Dogma has good combat all around, though I, personally, feel Magic is a little bleh. Warrior and Guardian are pretty cool. You could also try a sword and shield assassin. The pawns aren't all THAT annoying. They can get a bit annoying after they say the same thing for the 4 billionth and a half time. Otherwise it is a good game and someone who has played the original and Dark Arisen says that you should get Dark Arisen because of all the little changes and the new area.
Im going with the Souls series. Demon or Dark. Both have the true subtleties of melee combat. It is not just how mechanically "accurate" it is, but what is infinitely more important is its sense of true consequences that makes you much more conscious with the true deciding points of melee combat like timing, positioning, even high/low ground.
Having played Demon's/Dark Souls (love it) and Skyrim (eh, it's okay), I'm really interested in finding more games with combat like Demon's/Dark Souls. They don't necessarily have to be difficult, but the combat has to *feel* good. Ideally, I would be punished for just mashing buttons, and rewarded for taking my time and observing my surroundings.
The combat of the Souls games, to me, is very much like a "grown up" Legend of Zelda, in that you have to lock onto an enemy, mind the enemy's stance and animations, dodge side to side, and attack only when there is an opening. This is what I love in a game, and which the majority of Western RPGs/MMOs (Elder Scrolls, WoW, Fallout, etc) are sorely lacking.
Unfortunately, the majority of games that I've heard like this are either very multiplayer-heavy or fairly old, and I'm wondering if there are any new takes on the series.
Here is my list so far, and if anyone has any ways to compare it to the combat of Demon's/Dark Souls/LoZ and Skyrim to help get a feel for what I should try first, or just want to gush about a game with great swordplay, go for it:
Chivalry
Mount and Blade
Dark Messiah: Might and Magic
Also, I'm a HUGE fan of environmental traps and the like, which Oblivion did well (but far too rarely), and Skyrim practically got rid of. I know that Dark Messiah has them, but few other games, I've found, have them.
The combat of the Souls games, to me, is very much like a "grown up" Legend of Zelda, in that you have to lock onto an enemy, mind the enemy's stance and animations, dodge side to side, and attack only when there is an opening. This is what I love in a game, and which the majority of Western RPGs/MMOs (Elder Scrolls, WoW, Fallout, etc) are sorely lacking.
Unfortunately, the majority of games that I've heard like this are either very multiplayer-heavy or fairly old, and I'm wondering if there are any new takes on the series.
Here is my list so far, and if anyone has any ways to compare it to the combat of Demon's/Dark Souls/LoZ and Skyrim to help get a feel for what I should try first, or just want to gush about a game with great swordplay, go for it:
Chivalry
Mount and Blade
Dark Messiah: Might and Magic
Also, I'm a HUGE fan of environmental traps and the like, which Oblivion did well (but far too rarely), and Skyrim practically got rid of. I know that Dark Messiah has them, but few other games, I've found, have them.
Way of the Samurai 1, 2, 3, and 4.
Especially 4. In way of the Samurai 4 not only do you partake in sword combat in that, like it's predecessors, can kill a person, and you in one hit on it's highest difficulty, you can collect, disassemble, and reassemble swords and do some customization of the benefits the sword gives. The customization is largely luck based though. You can improve your swords, and getting deep into it requires some effort to get the materials.
You can get quite a variety of swords from assorted katana styes,to foreign swords, to bamboo swords, to large, menacing cleaver like swords. Also the ninja-to and wakizashi, and nodachi styled blades are in the game, some more menacing than others.
Not just swords either! Spears, hand claws, Jitte (think of a sai cut in half), rifles, pistols, even a kitchen knife and so forth are also in the game.
As if the mind boggling possibilities in sword appearances weren't enough, there's easily over a dozen combat styles to master! Spear, unarmed, and sword combat, especially. Dual Wielded swords are a possiblity as well.
You can even take up the chance to -build- your own weapon style.
Enemies vary in power. There's even the option to let other people's characters appear in your game as duelists to fight! If you win, you get to claim the sword they carry, and one never knows just what you'll get! Will it be a crap sword, or will it be some maxed out monster thy painstakingly created?
And if you ever get tired of fighting yourself, there's almost always the possibility of stumbling across a duelist fighting other people! Yeah, you can find swordfights to watch!
And that's just the combat related stuff. The story is full of twists, and turns as you deal with the people in town.
The customization is wonderful as you earn samurai points to unlock more rewards with every playthrough, and your swords, and items can carry over. the ability to unlock, and buy in game, and through DLC a decent assortment of styles is pretty awesome.
Accessories can be resized, rotated, and placed prettymuch whereever on your character creating some strange appearances like a samurai man in a thong wearing a giant basket over his torso and a devil mask on the basket.
Also you can earn unlocks to play as women, though it's just an aesthetic choice.
It's definitely a gem that flies under the radar of a lot of people.
Way of the Samurai 3 is pretty nice as is 2, and 1, but as you play the diffirent installments, you can see something of the evolution of the game.
Edit:
If you're willing to go really old school, Bushido Blade 1 and 2 is one of the most unique sword fighting games -ever- with limb damage, or even instant death if you are hit in a vital area. There's a wide variety of weapons to pick from in that game, too.
Sword combat styles vary pretty decently.
Especially 4. In way of the Samurai 4 not only do you partake in sword combat in that, like it's predecessors, can kill a person, and you in one hit on it's highest difficulty, you can collect, disassemble, and reassemble swords and do some customization of the benefits the sword gives. The customization is largely luck based though. You can improve your swords, and getting deep into it requires some effort to get the materials.
You can get quite a variety of swords from assorted katana styes,to foreign swords, to bamboo swords, to large, menacing cleaver like swords. Also the ninja-to and wakizashi, and nodachi styled blades are in the game, some more menacing than others.
Not just swords either! Spears, hand claws, Jitte (think of a sai cut in half), rifles, pistols, even a kitchen knife and so forth are also in the game.
As if the mind boggling possibilities in sword appearances weren't enough, there's easily over a dozen combat styles to master! Spear, unarmed, and sword combat, especially. Dual Wielded swords are a possiblity as well.
You can even take up the chance to -build- your own weapon style.
Enemies vary in power. There's even the option to let other people's characters appear in your game as duelists to fight! If you win, you get to claim the sword they carry, and one never knows just what you'll get! Will it be a crap sword, or will it be some maxed out monster thy painstakingly created?
And if you ever get tired of fighting yourself, there's almost always the possibility of stumbling across a duelist fighting other people! Yeah, you can find swordfights to watch!
And that's just the combat related stuff. The story is full of twists, and turns as you deal with the people in town.
The customization is wonderful as you earn samurai points to unlock more rewards with every playthrough, and your swords, and items can carry over. the ability to unlock, and buy in game, and through DLC a decent assortment of styles is pretty awesome.
Accessories can be resized, rotated, and placed prettymuch whereever on your character creating some strange appearances like a samurai man in a thong wearing a giant basket over his torso and a devil mask on the basket.
Also you can earn unlocks to play as women, though it's just an aesthetic choice.
It's definitely a gem that flies under the radar of a lot of people.
Way of the Samurai 3 is pretty nice as is 2, and 1, but as you play the diffirent installments, you can see something of the evolution of the game.
Edit:
If you're willing to go really old school, Bushido Blade 1 and 2 is one of the most unique sword fighting games -ever- with limb damage, or even instant death if you are hit in a vital area. There's a wide variety of weapons to pick from in that game, too.
Sword combat styles vary pretty decently.
Aye, kicking an Orc down a mountain or into some flames or spikes is fun...chadachada123 said:
I would add in "War of the Roses: Kingmaker" to the List... It's competing with chivalry (Multiplayer only medieval skirmish game) and had the dude from Mount & Blade as a designer or specialist or something (If i remember correctly)
If you can forgive HORRIBLY aged graphics i would say: Die by the Sword. Totally awesome; Numpad moves your weapon, WASD your body, buttone for streching the arm out... that's pretty much it. Combat flows seamlessly (Also in Multiplayer you can play a troll, smashing people hundreds of meter through the air and punching limbs off)
Captcha: rent-a-swag .... ooookay?
If you're looking for remotely realistic sword combat, then no games yet exist which simulate it well ('Clang!' is looking promising but is far from released).
If you're looking for a game with decent melee mechanics, then basically all the others people have mentioned here are good. Chivalry is a bit arcade-y but it works really well and is ridiculously fun. I haven't played War of the Roses, but if it's combat is like Mount&Blade then it should be solid.
Dark Souls is actually quite good, it at least gets slightly closer to the pace of an actual sword fight, if not being terribly cerebral. Beware though that a reasonable chunk of the game's difficulty is fake.
If you're looking for a game with decent melee mechanics, then basically all the others people have mentioned here are good. Chivalry is a bit arcade-y but it works really well and is ridiculously fun. I haven't played War of the Roses, but if it's combat is like Mount&Blade then it should be solid.
Dark Souls is actually quite good, it at least gets slightly closer to the pace of an actual sword fight, if not being terribly cerebral. Beware though that a reasonable chunk of the game's difficulty is fake.
I fondly remember the lightsaber fights in Jedi Knight II and Jedi Academy, especially online.
For current games, I'd join the choir in recommending Mount and Blade as well as Chivalry.
For current games, I'd join the choir in recommending Mount and Blade as well as Chivalry.