Or good combat systems? Seriously. I don't get it. I DON'T GET IT. Western devs have had more influence on the game industry for far longer than Japan, yet they act like they're making first year school projects while games like Dark Souls are masterclass and have half the budget. The problem with American devs and bosses came to a head with the Mass Effect franchise. "Why do you always need a boss???"... because it's the ultimate test of the games mechanics? Jesus christ, western devs. Add a skill check to skip him if you feel the need to but have bosses you can fight in your TPS.
So to figure this out, I've included the four horsemen of the western dev apocalypse. The four games that are a reflection of modern western design as a whole. My post about them coming up
>Arkham Asylum and Arkham City
The series so toxic for the industry I had to include it twice. I don't feel like Batman, despite claims as such, and it's bad enough you don't have real bosses, but instead you get gimmicky shit like the Poison Ivy fight or an entirely scripted sequence like Killer Croc, both of which were in Arkham Asylum, and as the series went along, this never improved. What's worse about the Arkham games is their influence. Arkham Asylum was popular, but Arkham City was a megahit. I couldn't even look at western made games for a couple years because they'd all be inevitably an Arkham clone.
Update: I am incredibly happy to say that the Arkham franchise has not only DIED, but it has left no legacy on video games as of 2025.
>NuGod of War
Back in the day, we used to raise our noses up at God of War 1 and 2 on the PS2. "Ho ho, square square! What simple games not as good as our precious Devil May Cries!" Now? They're absolute character action game classics, and nuGod of War is the ultimate backstab and casualization of a franchise that ultimately didn't deserve a fate this horrible.
>Half Life 2
The odd one out, sure, as FPSes are still the only genre western devs can deliver on, but HL2 represents a regression of the amazing combat system introduced by Duke Nukem 3D and its engine (which subpar games like Blood would use, and great ones like Shadow Warrior would take advantage of). The scripted sequences in HL1 were impressive for the time because there was nothing like them, truly, but by HL2, only a retard would be impressed by these 20 minute long cutscenes you can't skip.
God Hand bosses are dogshit though, much like the game itself. Same with Bayonetta.
>>712761586Still better than a western game that has no bosses or has the dreaded rhino boss.
arkham is more enjoyable than God Hand or Demon's Souls.
Western games are so embarrassing.
>>712761498 (OP)I often forget that the meme for Arkham goty isn't that much of a meme
>>712761821yes i love enemies sliding to hit you from 5 yards away
what are the steam hours supposed to prove, that you've played the games and you are a master at them?
>blood sub-par
lol
>>712762825It's true though, and it's the least offensive of the three, which is why it's tranny coded and for people who unironically say "boomer shooter"
remake your image and pasta showing that you're a true master of the games then. hours and 1 achievement for beating ds1 isn't shit
Japan :O instantly falls apart when you look at any anime tie in games which are almost always uninspired slop and the lack of awareness in that regard shows that you neither are deep into weebshit or vidya at all for disregarding all western games.
>>712762825i can post this and say the game isn't worth playing
>>712762825and if you tell me i got filtered i can post this too, but i guess is just to prove "he actually played the game" since retards here believe you need to play the game to know is shit or not
I love character action games and I think nuGOW has its issues, but if you think it has combat on a similar level to fucking Arkham games you genuinely have just never played them. The combat in those games is about as good as an over the shoulder action game can get. And yes, the combat there is absolutely deeper than the old GoW action games, to believe otherwise is to wear very heavily rose tinted glasses.
Let me ask you something though OP, why has a Japanese dev not delivered on a grounded martial arts action game the way Sloclap has with Absolver and Sifu?
>>712763716Sifu is so bad. It has 4 atrocious boss fights that are basically Sekiro boss fights, but much worse. a pale imitation.
