Mechanical Evaluation 1: Dark Souls Combat Part 2

This post is the second part of a series on the Dark Souls combat system. This series will cover why I personally am such a fan of the Dark Souls combat system, why it is objectively a well-made system, and how it compares to other action game combat systems.

Picture from Google Images

Picture from Google Images

The key to the success of this entire system, in all its complexity, is the degree of control you have over your character. In single-combat, especially against another player, it feels more like a fighting game, such as SoulCalibur, with split-second decisions as to which move in your repertoire to use for the greatest effect. And as you can see from the image below, you have a fairly exhaustive repertoire to choose from at any given moment.

 With at least 6 unique ways to directly attack your enemy at any time, with any given weapon, as well as the ability to switch to a different weapon with another unique set of moves with the tap of a directional button, the fit and finish of fighting game combat is married with the complexity and and customization of an RPG (the perfect action-RPG, right?). This allows you to change your strengths and weaknesses dynamically with the flow of the battle. 

The best way to give you an idea of how this works is to show you a video of players who do it very well. This video to the right, is of player-versus-player combat, as the finest, most nuanced techniques are required to out-smart and out-fight other players.

Things to note in the video:

•  back-stabs - An animation that does high damage and freezes an opponent when you press the light attack button close enough to them while facing their back.
•  Ripostes - An animation triggered by successfully deflecting an enemy's attack with the parry technique, and then following up with a unique, very high damage attack. 
• Also make note of the variety of equipment and tactics.

Thanks for reading, comment if you want, and stay on the lookout for my next post. In this upcoming post, I will focus on balancing of single-player challenge in the combat.

-Kenny White,
PSN: Fatalis_Veritas