• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

The market is missing a "Hero Slasher"/Multiplayer Character Action/Anarchy Reigns 2

S

Slamtastic

Member
The reveal of Breakaway as being a sort of arcadey basketball game hurt my hype after it was described vaguely as "AAA 3rd person competitive melee".

Breakaway-gif.gif


So more and more I wonder, where are the multiplayer action games/non-liscensed arena fighters?

For Honor is the closest I can think of, and that game actually does a lot of things I think should be done like having objective based modes rather than all deathmatch, small player counts, and having AI enemy/teammates to fight besides the other players.

aob_stance_gif_article2_208795.gif


But what I ask is, if For Honor is ""Dark Souls"" (very loose comparison) mixed with a multiplayer shooter, where is the Devil May Cry/Bayonetta.MGR version of what For Honor does?

Combos, speed, launchers, special moves, dashing.

giphy.gif


The character action and fighting genre have been intertwined before.

The director of DMC3 and 4 has previously directed the Power Stone series. And Neo_G had worked on DMC4 as well before directing the combat of UMvC3.

marvel-vs-capcom-3-dante-o.gif


Said game features very faithful transitions of Dante and Vergil into a 2D plane. So why can't the human vs human competition aspect of MvC be brought backwards into DMC's 3D gameplay?

giphy.gif


Ninja Theory, makers of DmC:Devil May Cry had actually prototyped a multiplayer game which seems to be reusing a lot of moves and animations Dante had in that game.

And of course, Anarchy Reigns exists. The online was bad, it died out quickly, and it was by no mean a perfect execution of the multiplayer action game idea. A sequel could really be something great if they handled it right.

leo_34_by_clifferock-d63ooi9.gif


Now, the realist in me is fully aware of the problems facing anyone who would try to create such a game.

  1. Making the game smooth, responsive, and fast with more than 2 people connected over the internet will be hard, if not impossible. It's hard enough to handle 2 people connected to each other in a traditional fighting game.
  2. The previous examples of competitive multiplayer 3rd person melee action games haven't been good. DragonBall Z, Naruto, J Stars Victory, Anarchy Reigns. All not regarded as particularly great.
  3. In addition they (and traditional fighters) aren't the most popular genre lighting the charts on fire right now.
  4. Making a great character action game is hard enough offline, before worrying about multiplayer. Only Capcom and Platinum sit at the very top.

But I do think there's potential for a developer to get into the popular trend of "hero Based" games (waifus to get fanart drawn of on Tumblr, and loot boxes full of skins to sell!) in a way that avoids the Battleborn/Paladins kind of negative comparisons regarding "originality" by being different in core gameplay. (Of course, perhaps gamers will just see a character select screen and call it a rip off of what they already have paid for and play anyway, regardless of the differences)


TLDR: Someone please make DMC4/Bayo 2/MGR merged with Overwatch for me to play, thank you.
 
I think you need to accept that character action is a dead ass genre.

In all seriousness, a f2p well supported anarchy reigns could be a cool way for Platinum to make cash.
 
The Anarchy Reigns demo was honestly one of the funnest online I've ever played (I don't play many). I'd 100% be down for something similar to it.
 
Sou Da said:
I think you need to accept that character action is a dead ass genre.

In all seriousness, a f2p well supported anarchy reigns could be a cool way for Platinum to make cash.
Click to expand...

Dead but not forgotten, like Harambe
 
DMC5 never.

But yeah for a game like this to do well it needs to not have that 360 era Japanese game look.
 
To note, it's not impossible that game still exists since Breakaway turned out to be from Amazon Orange County and not Amazon Seattle.
 
Don't worry OP, all this MOBA lust means someone will surely commission Platinum for some multiplayer thing again.

Now if you excuse me, I'll go cry in a corner.

Edit: I know you said you were disappointed, but that Amazon game looks like the Blitz Ball mode from Anarchy which I fucking loved. Gonna have to keep an eye on that.
 
Yeah a competitive-online stylish action game is something I very much want and dream of, sadly as it probably wont happen....
 
Listing a bunch of games which never reached any real level of popularity kind of makes your point for you. The only exception is what, Devil May Cry 4?

I think there's two major factors working against what you want, and you're probably aware of these but I'll go into them anyway. Most obvious is that the general speed of games nowadays is trending towards slower. Shooters used to be faster, racers used to be faster, fighting games used to be faster, etc. (Obviously there's always exceptions, just talking as a general situation.) This isn't inherently bad for gameplay, but there's clearly a drive towards requiring less input speed/dexterity from players.

Maybe more importantly you are basically asking for lengthy combo games, and I'm sorry, but very few people actually enjoy sitting around waiting for a combo to end so they can regain control. In a competitive context lengthy combos essentially stop gameplay for at least one player in most cases, and while there's clearly a small group of people who love that sort of thing it's honestly never been that popular and that's not going to change. It's inherently anti-fun -- which is okay in itself, probably all well-designed games include some sort of 'pain' -- to a degree that only a small subset of gamers can appreciate. (They're the dudes still playing Marvel, bless them.)

We actually see games like this occasionally, but they're always niche products because the concept only appeals to a niche audience. I can't see why a major publisher would put major cash down to try to prove otherwise.

For Honor is a lot of fun, at least. IM(ns)HO Guilty Gear 2 Overture is far and away the best game in its series, check it out if for whatever reason you haven't. It does a lot of what you're talking about, and once you come to grips with the gameplay it's spectacular. And I'd totally buy a PC port of Anarchy Reigns if it offered a good framerate and dedicated servers, or at least a substantially better netcode and online setup. That was an interesting game seriously crippled by basic technical issues.
 
I always thought that Sony should make an Anarchy Reigns type game as their alternative to Smash Bros. So just have a 3D arena with a bunch of PS characters. I would be so down to play that, not a smash ripoff.
 
Anarchy Reigns was sooooooo good, i shed a tear when i think it won't ever get a sequel. Seems to be a common theme with Platinum games, thank the stars for Bayonetta 2.

All i can hope for now is that it comes to BC on XB1 at some point.


Edit: Also wasn't Rise of the Incarnates (terrible name) a F2P Anarchy Reigns? I never got to play it before it was shut down but it looked interesting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydDEPvAYW_o
 
Memory said:
Anarchy Reigns was sooooooo good, i shed a tear when i think it won't ever get a sequel. Seems to be a common theme with Platinum games, thank the stars for Bayonetta 2.

All i can hope for now is that it comes to BC on XB1 at some point.


Edit: Also wasn't Rise of the Incarnates (terrible name) a F2P Anarchy Reigns? I never got to play it before it was shut down but it looked interesting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydDEPvAYW_o
Click to expand...

Rise of Incarnates was a Gundam VS type game, more shooting than comboing.
 
People are so quick to shit on a couple of those games you listed but no one is willing to sit down and break it down like most fighters. What good is even bothering with these kind of games if they are dismissed after 5 or 10 mins for being different. Even Anarchy and JStars had very small communities that took the game to new heights but the majority who don't like it will say it feels too clunky or not sure why they dont like it. At least the netcode being an issue with Anarchy is quite genuine. I think the only time these games actually end getting a following is when a big ip is attached to them. Though thats no different than any other fighting game.
 
Nirolak said:
To note, it's not impossible that game still exists since Breakaway turned out to be from Amazon Orange County and not Amazon Seattle.
Click to expand...

But isn't Double Helix behind Breakaway? I would expect the team with fighting game pedigree to be making a fighting type melee game, if it were being made.
 
So you want more Virtual On-likes?

The Gundam Vs games, as well as the Shonen Jump All Stars games are the only ones I can think of.
 
Munty said:
I always thought that Sony should make an Anarchy Reigns type game as their alternative to Smash Bros. So just have a 3D arena with a bunch of PS characters. I would be so down to play that, not a smash ripoff.
Click to expand...

Man, imagine playing as the Bloodborne Hunter with nearly the exact same control scheme in this type of game. Going up against Sir Daniel Fortesque, Kratos, and Sweet Tooth. Would be quite sick.
 
Anarchy Reigns is one of those games I always wanted to play but just had 0 chance too. Wanted it on release then it got delayed to the point I and everyone else apparently forgot about it even after enjoying the demo. Then a million other things came out around it when it finally dropped. Even worse was the time I went to buy it at gamestop and they could not find the disc -shrug-

I tried at least.

But yeah character action games need to come back this gen. They hit their stride last gen and I had high hopes for them but where are they!? I'm dying for a game that asks me to actually play them as in use all the skills, know what buttons im pressing at every second, asking me to actually have my brain working at every second. After the awesomeness that was Bayonetta 2 im dying of thirst.
 
JoeyJungle said:
I only know a little bit about the seires, but aren't the Gundam Vs Gundam games a bit like what OP's asking for?
Click to expand...

Yeah similar but I think he's looking for games that are more melee focused. Doesn't help that a couple of similar games that he's looking for are arcade/jp only. (Dragon Ball Zenkai and Dissidia)
 
The market has soundly rejected this style of game. If it's to exist, it would need a shoestring budget and a passionate developer.
 
Rembrandt said:
that dmc multiplayer looked incredibly boring.

i really like the idea of 3D arena fighters but pls not like that.
Click to expand...
Prototypes never look anything like the flashy trailers you see of games during marketing hype. Part of the reason why they're called prototypes.
 
Fast paced melee combat doesn't work very well with online gameplay. You'd encounter a lot of tickrate/ping based issues. I'm sure someone can solve this, but it wouldn't be easy.
 
Sou Da said:
I think you need to accept that character action is a dead ass genre.

In all seriousness, a f2p well supported anarchy reigns could be a cool way for Platinum to make cash.
Click to expand...

I was playing the Platinum Transformes game not annhour ago and it's awesome. Does that count?
 
Slamtastic said:
Rise of Incarnates was a Gundam VS type game, more shooting than comboing.
Click to expand...

Rise of Incarnates is the best example of this type of game I've experienced. The net code is awesome and it's super responsive. Too bad it's plagued with a horrible micro transaction system.
 
Chao said:
I was playing the Platinum Transformes game not annhour ago and it's awesome. Does that count?
Click to expand...

It definitely counts, but I mean the game has like, three total environments, incredibly simplistic graphics, and it's pretty short. I think the game is fun as hell, but it was made on a very low budget and that's because action games like these are risky propositions audience wise.
 
Sou Da said:
I think you need to accept that character action is a dead ass genre.

In all seriousness, a f2p well supported anarchy reigns could be a cool way for Platinum to make cash.
Click to expand...
The yakuza series are character action games
It is just uncommon
 
I loved Anarchy Reigns also, although I had a lot of problems with the multiplayer. If they did it again (there are only a few things I would want more than that), besides fixing netcode, they should focus on fewer modes, prevent bigger team matches from being completely one-sided after building some momentum, and nerf defense/dodging. (I ended up liking the single player more, which is certainly not the common opinion on the game.)

Guilty Gear 2 Overture should get another mention. It's unique, very forward-thinking (came out way before the big DOTA boom), and basically blows every 3D versus game away in its complexity (you could make an argument for it being more complex than any of the DOTA games too).
 
Playing as a G Gundam character (or hell, any melee-focused character) in a Gundam Vs. game was a nice bit of this.

For example, some of God Gundam's combos in Extreme vanilla:
https://youtu.be/jHTd3dt24o8

Of course, with Gundam Vs. being a team-based game with a heavier focus on projectiles, you'd be hard-pressed to really style on a foe who has a decently attentive partner. But I wonder how things will be for the next PS4 title...
 
A lot of KrMMOs and semi-MMOs are moving in that direction slowly but steadily. Unfortunately it seems devs are reluctant to go full character action because latency? Scale?

It was attempted a few years ago by Dragon's Nest. Great mechanics mired in an awful grindfest. The PvP was really hype though.
 
Anarchy Reigns failed because it was a fighter without an offline competent. No splitscreen options tanks most fighting games hard.

God I'd love a sequel though.
 
TheSpoiler said:
Anarchy Reigns failed because it was a fighter without an offline competent. No splitscreen options tanks most fighting games hard.

God I'd love a sequel though.
Click to expand...

Nah more like Sega sent the game to die. Western release of the game was delayed for a year despite being fully dubbed/translated and then when it came out it was quickly pushed out with very little marketing.
 
Rynocirator said:
Nah more like Sega sent the game to die. Western release of the game was delayed for a year despite being fully dubbed/translated and then when it came out it was quickly pushed out with very little marketing.
Click to expand...

What do people mean when a game has "very little marketing"? It had an actual demo detailing the story mode and a playable online portion. We constantly got Youtube clips of the characters with parts of their themes. There were tons of previews and hands on impressions of the game before the Japanese release. The delay hurt, but it's not like the game was off the radar inbetween.

Plus, it wasn't delayed for a year. It was seven months. A long time, but not as long as a whole year.

I mean, you aren't going to keep a fighting game going long if you only have an online mode and no way for people to play offline. That's just the nature of the genre, even if it's still selling at a niche pace.
 
TheSpoiler said:
What do people mean when a game has "very little marketing"? It had an actual demo detailing the story mode and a playable online portion. We constantly got Youtube clips of the characters with parts of their themes. There were tons of previews and hands on impressions of the game before the Japanese release. The delay hurt, but it's not like the game was off the radar inbetween.

Plus, it wasn't delayed for a year. It was seven months. A long time, but not as long as a whole year.

I mean, you aren't going to keep a fighting game going long if you only have an online mode and no way for people to play offline. That's just the nature of the genre, even if it's still selling at a niche pace.
Click to expand...

Maybe if it was 10 years ago but offline multiplayer is not nearly as important as it once was. This was a new ip that wasn't a traditional fighter and was M rated. Already then the target audience was small and definitely not one that would have benefited from offline multiplayer. The ones that benefit from offline tend to be games who would have huge scenes regardless. There are a shit ton of fighters that have offline multiplayer but they don't take off as well. That demo was also jp only btw
 
Rynocirator said:
Maybe if it was 10 years ago but offline multiplayer is not nearly as important as it once was. This was a new ip that wasn't a traditional fighter and was M rated. Already then the target audience was small and definitely not one that would have benefited from offline multiplayer. The ones that benefit from offline tend to be games who would have huge scenes regardless. There are a shit ton of fighters that have offline multiplayer but they don't take off as well. That demo was also jp only btw
Click to expand...

I agree with this. I feel the sentiment of lack of offline being the failure of AR is too tied to traditional ideas about fighting games, and doesn't account for innovations and new genres and genre hybrids. Lack of splitscreen hasn't stopped Overwatch. The market of people who follow and or participate in the offline tournament scene of games is small, devs should strive to go beyond that into the true mainstream.
 
If someone makes a game like that it would probably be a Japanese dev.

Hopefully someone is doing something like this. Wait, weren't Capcom being called out by their investors for not using their "legacy" IPs?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

The Duskbloods website is up - Genre: Multiplayer Action, Coming 2026
News  2 3
132
2K
Boy bawang replied
Ninja Gaiden 4's combat is *easily* the best ever in a character action game.
2 3
129
2K
Hudo replied
The Last of Us 2 - Multiplayer Mod for PC
Trailer Indie 
9
67
DaciaJC replied
  • Featured
Homura Hime |OT| Character Action × Bullet Hell × Anime
|OT| 
35
2K
Roman Empire replied
HU - Is Chinese DDR5 the solution for the current market?
2
88
1K
Ryseer replied
Top Bottom