In order to compete for fans’ attention, modern video games are often marked by intricacies in designs and various systems. Recently, video game advertisements attract fans’ attention by showcasing exciting new features often in the forms of complex gameplay based on many of the game’s elements. Games that feature mind-spinning layers of content are numerous, from massively popular RPGs like Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, to RTSs like Sins of Solar Empire. However, while some companies go through great creative efforts to offer unique and different content, other developers demonstrate innovation by turning traditional ideas and simple fun into the next critically acclaimed game. Personally, I have always had a special place in my heart for “Hack ‘n’ Slash” games.
Hack ‘n’ Slash games are characterized by its simple controls and mindless violence, often supported by some act of heroism through slaying countless enemies. It also has simple combat features and a predictable and sometimes cliché storyline. The first one to come to my mind is definitely Dynasty Warriors. In the game, players take on the roles of characters from Romance of the Three Kingdoms in an ancient Chinese period and participate in some of the famous battles from that time. This setting, despite some historical inaccuracies, gives the game a perfect chance to showcase your character taking on thousands of enemies and emerging unscathed. Over time, Dynasty Warriors featured more and more characters with fancier animations with relatively minor variations in terms of gameplay. However, people often find the simple mechanics and historical setting fun.
Another game franchise that quickly caught my eyes was Diablo. To this day, Diablo II is still one of the legendary games that people always play and love. Its successor, Diablo III, is even doing well despite some major controversies. The basic mechanics are simple: you run around the map and kill thousands of enemies with a left click and right click as your character tirelessly unleashes flurries of strikes or spells. As mindless killings ensue and players become stronger, they begin to discover many advanced aspects when tuning up their equipment or finding the best character development. However, it is mainly the surmounting body counts (and maybe countless “player deaths”) that drive heroes to defeat the ultimate evil and save the world.
Hack n’ slash games come in different sizes and styles, from the small flash games all the way up to Triple-A titles. However, they all share some common themes. First of all is the high ranking difficulty. Many games in this genre feature varying difficulties modes ranging from casual playing to “this is not for the faint of heart” hardcore modes. Many times, I found myself acing one level of difficulty, but immediately get “one-shot” (a term used to describe being killed off very fast) through the slightest mistakes in the next harder mode. Second of all is the dramatic storyline. These games often feature the main character saving the universe and beyond. They often embark on important quests and being so vital that the world would be doomed without him or her. Third of all is the large quantity of similar enemies players need to fight — to fulfill your need for killing, of course. This is often justified through a back story, sometimes to a ridiculous scale.
An epic storyline, simple combat system, repetitive enemies, and the promise of great rewards and achievements are some of the common points shared between any big or small Hack ‘n’ Slash games. Some can argue that developers often put no effort into making these games, due to a lack of interesting features aforementioned in the introduction of this article. However, I often found the opposite to be true: seemingly simple designs often require efforts no less than the complicated ones.
In my opinion, Hack ‘n’ Slash offers the “simple fun” that I found often hard to replace, and many people would agree with me.
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