Although not entirely relevant, I actually really think that you can learn a lot from how certain video games make the combat in it satisfying and visceral and take those lessons and apply many, if not all of them, to your fight scenes in animation or even in live-action movies and shows.
Doom 3 is an amazing example. Let's just take the Shotgun. Now when you fire it, the FIRST thing you notice is that badass bass-heavy boom sound and a chunky metallic clink-clack as you pump the weapon, getting another shell ready. And that is the first lesson. Sound is very important. It conveys real weight to the scene. UT2004's weapons by contrast were awful partly because many of the weapon firing sounds too often sounded like plastic. Ineffectual. Lame. Doom 3 is also one of the few games where a lot of the weapons are weirdly satisfying to reload even. Like the Plasma Gun. When you hit the reload key, the back of the weapon pops out quickly with a metallic ***** of the used canister getting ejected. Next, you here the new canister getting slotted in with a thunk, the back of the weapon shutting just as quickly, and then soon hearing that powerful but quick high-pitched charging sound, letting you know that you're ready to melt more demon faces off. And that's just one sound. And a simple reload no less.
The second thing is of course visuals. I'll split this further into movement and the attacks themselves.
Now I actually want to use Ninja Gaiden Black and II for this part. Specifically the Obliteraton Techs or the game's version of executions. Although this should go without saying, note that the camera always gives a clear view of what's happening, subtly repositioning as needed. The second thing is how each movement is quick and straight to the point. There's no overly elaborate movements in NG. Attacks are quick, brutal, and effective. Then the effect itself. We can see how each weapon sinks into enemies with ease, causing pools of blood to spill out with every strike, the enemies flinching away from the attacks. In the case of NGII, this is carried even further by dismemberment, which is designed to happen quite often, making the dismembered enemies shriek and groan in pain, stumbling around even for just a couple seconds as they try to reorient themselves again. But once more, the game never lingers too long on any one of these things, keeping the pace up at a smooth rate, giving these effects their (short) time of viscerality and then moving the combat right along to the next thing.
And the third and last thing, just as important as sound and visuals, is the method of attack. The attacks should be smart in their context or at least seem smart in the moment, because humans are wily and quick on their feet, but they also can and do of course make mistakes. Misjudges. Missed attacks. Holes in their defense. Not capitalizing on an opportunity to strike. Too many mistakes and the fight will seem unnatural and dumb though. Too little and the fight can drag on and can even start to get flat-out boring. And finally, each character in the battle must be accounted for realistically according to their respective abilities and limitations. A newbie kung fu fighter isn't gonna beat a Master and a mercenary who's used guns most of his life is not gonna be proficient in melee weapons. Stuff like that can ruin immersion.
And that's about it. You can maybe skimp on one of these things and still have kinda decent combat, but more than that will take a serious toll and will start making the scene feel rushed and/or cheap.
