Summary
Role-playing games have become all the rage in modern times, but have beenprevalent in the medium for decades.Players just can’t get enough of immersing themselves in rich, vibrant worlds and getting lost as they strive to accomplish their main goal (and several side goals along the way). This can range from saving the world to rescuing someone important and everything in between.
A lot of RPGsfeature combat that fulfills a power fantasy and lets players go all out against waves of enemies without breaking a sweat. While these battles can be fairly engaging in their own right, there are times when players would appreciate some form of realism in these games for an added challenge, or just to enjoy a heightened sense of immersion. While realistic RPGs aren’t all that prominent, there are some great examples of such titles that did a great job of making themselves as realistic as possible.
The first name that would come to the minds of most people whentalking about realistic RPGs isKingdom Come: Deliverance.Players control a blacksmith’s son named Henry who must fulfill his father’s last wish and deliver the sword he crafted to Sir Radzig Kobyla, triggering a chain of events that lets him take revenge on the people who eventually lay waste to his home.
The game makes it clear that Henry is uneducated in the art of combat, and this is apparent in the way he fights enemies early on. Taking on multiple foes is out of the question, and Henry needs to seek out some combat training before he can stand toe-to-toe against common soldiers and bandits, let alone well-trained swordsmen who can cut him down in a flash.
Gothicstarts off on an interesting note, with players taking control of a protagonist who is dumped unceremoniously into an elaborate prison system where he must either pull his weight or meet a grisly end. This Nameless Hero is incompetent in combat early on, and only the weakest Scavengers can be taken down by his clumsy moves.
Unlike most games where players dump skill points into moves and magically become better in combat,the protagonist must seek out combat specialistswho teach them practical techniques. This helps players use their weapons more comfortably in battle, letting them unleash combos and move smoothly instead of comically flailing their weapons in a bid to win against weak monsters.
Mount and Bladeis the first series that comes to mind when players talk about realistic RPGs. The first game amassed a dedicated community who loved this incredible sandbox and how itlet players carve their very own storiesin the medieval landscape.
The sequel,Mount and Blade:Bannerlord,made things more engaging than ever before. Every aspect of the game was made more in-depth, immersive, and realistic than the previous entry, including the combat. Many people have described the battles in this game as easy to get into but hard to master, which is precisely what any realistic combat system in an RPG should strive to achieve.
Most people would scoff at the idea ofThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunthaving realistic combat, and it’s easy to see why this is the case. Geralt moves around at lightning-fast speed, whips out magic in battle at a moment’s notice, and has seemingly limitless stamina as he cuts down wave after wave of enemies without breaking a sweat.
However, there’s one aspect of the combatin all threeWitchergamesthat is quite realistic, and that’s Geralt’s movements in combat. The Witcher’s moves were recorded in motion-capture by Maciej Kwiatkowski who is trained in wielding a blade. He initially interpreted the descriptions of Geralt’s moves in the books and combined them with European sword-fighting styles to devise his flowing strikes in combat before incorporating techniques from a wealth of other styles across different regions to make Geralt’s moves look practical yet awe-inspiring at the same time.
Dark Soulswas a game that took the world by storm, with players loving how this game left most people to their own devices and forced them to learn how the game worked using their intellect.Combat inDark Soulswas unlike most other action titles at the time, with a realistic stamina bar governing how many actions players could take in combat before they had to take a breather.
Along with this,Dark Soulshas many realistic sword-fighting techniques that players have to rely on in battle to gain an edge over their enemy. Parries, ripostes, dodges, and backstabs are all viable tactics in real life and something that the Chosen Undead must master to make their trek across Lordran more bearable.
