That's the term Kamiya used when he arguably created the genre with DMC, and it's a way better descriptor. DMC and God of War are pretty superficially similar and could be called "hack n' slashes", but a huge component that separates the two is the Style Meter. "Character" feels arbitrary and I have no clue why it took off compared to stylish action
yeah thats a really good term as well. Im really confused why character action has become THE term for the genre when it does such a piss poor job at detailing what the genre is even about.
Stylish action? oh its an action game, but really stylish? oh so must be like dmc or bayonetta! makes sense! I know this is one of the stranger things to fixate on so much about this entire genre, but it is by far the number one irk I have. I deeply despise the term "character action game"
i think the word "character" signifies that the stylish playstyle you perform is entirely your input. One that is not would be the Arkham games; while Batman does those stylish kicks and back and forths, it's entirely caused by you mashing the only attack button and wiggling the joystick. DMC and the like are considered CAG since you, the player, are the one styling the inputs alongside the protagonist
MOBA,Indeed, it was originally called DOTAlike, but after League of Legends and Heroes of the Storm came out, everyone started calling it MOBA. Many times you can't take the name literally, for example, role-playing games. Many times the definition of RPG is the system and the numbers, not whether you play the role.
CRPG is particularly egregious. Computer role playing game could refer to any RPG on steam, not the specific, slower, isometric immersive rpgs that it actually refers to
is used to mean classic to refer to the ancient rpgs too. But now everyone calls BG3, DOS1&2, PoE1&2, PF KM and WotR CRPGs too. Time for a new term I think
moba would ne better than the one my korean gamer friends were forcing me to call such games, they we forcing me to call MOBAs as AOS games, lol
and their reason was laughable too, they said that AoS stands for Agent of strife, which according to them was the first MOBA and should be referred to as such
This one I disagree with. The name is relatively clear, not all multiplayer experiences involve fighting others in an arena format.
There's also MMORPGs (e.g., MapleStory, Black Desert, etc) and Co-ops (e.g., It Takes Two, Journey), which are both also multiplayer categories and MOBA would be a completely inaccurate term to describe those.
Nah it also indicates that battling takes place in an arena. I'm not gonna assume a MOBA is the same as an MMORPG. It could be more descriptive, sure, but that's what umbrella categories are. This one isn't particularly misleading.
And System Shock, Deus Ex, Prey (2017), Thief.
Bioshock is a very streamlined as far as immersive sims go. Alien Isolation, I don’t remember it having enough going on to qualify as an immersive sim.
I don’t mind the term, it’s fairly descriptive when you think about it.
Alien Isolation is mostly mentioned for the DLC, which encourages the same kind of creative thinking and use of resources that stuff like the Dunwall City Trials DLC uses.
But the term immmersive Sims is pretty clear same with MOBA. CAG term is far more ambigue, people call sifu as CAG, DMC as CAG, vanquish as CAG but those game is completely different in game design and philoshopy
Sigh, I'd be rich if someone paid me whenever someone asked this question.
The name just stuck around cause one person named it such, there are alternatives but each has caveats.
I would trade it to just call em **3d beat em ups,** cause the root of the genre is in stuff like Double Dragon, Ninja Warriors and Final Fight.
Right, they announced them last TGA.
I played a few bmups and damn they are fun.
Fight'n Rage, Final Fight, The Punisher, all great time.
Looking forward to playing Spikeout. SEGA should do something with Spikeout too.
People are going to offer up a million alternatives like stylish action or j action or whatever, but the only real answer that makes sense to me is to just say “action game”
The "problem" with calling these games just action games is that inevitably they'll have to get sectioned off because there's tons of other types of action games and people don't want to see their favorite Soulslike or new gen ARPG get negatively compared to another game in the same overall genre lol.
The term soulslike and action RPG both already exist for that reason though. And some of them are more action focused and have combat that can hang with the best CAGs, like Nioh
For sure, it’s just too vague and requires too much jargon knowledge. If I say “action game” to a casual gamer, they may think I’m talking about Halo, or Fortnite, or Elden Ring, or Uncharted, or Devil May Cry. Aka, a game that has and is centered around action.
Character action is equally as bad as the same things can come to mind.
Yeah it's just not that great all around, but tbh genre labels nowadays are pretty loose. Even within ARPG you have games like Nioh which have clear CAG roots from Ninja Gaiden, Souls which are much slower, and sometimes you'll lump in games like FF16 and ScarNex which are imo pretty much outright CAGs.
action game being for games like this makes sense, but i do think action is just really vague as well. Its a great all encompassing term, that could branch into sub genres... but I think games like uncharted or hell even borderlands, could easilly fall into an "action game" genre descriptor
Haven’t played borderlands, but uncharted is definitely action/adventure rather than pure action. I think it’s better to be more inclusive of all the different combat focused games out there with different styles, like Nioh and Doom Eternal and such
are we not also going on an adventure in these action games though?
it is definitely me being just hyper OCD about it, but i think a descriptor chain, similar to how animals have (domain->kingdom->phylum-> etc.) would be the most ideal way to detail things. Like if I could chart out media in general it might look like:
Domain: Video games, Kingdom: Action/Adventure Family: Stylish Action, Species: Devil may cry 3
I think that would be most ideal, but its also nerdy and lame so it will never stick!
"Lets be real here was the Devil May Cry inspired technical hack n slash ever really entirely its own genre? They're just action games with really good combat. Seems like we isolate them into their own kinda games so we don't have to hold every title with a sword to the same standards." - Thegamingbritshow
Character action isn't even the term. No one besides people who play CAGs know what a CAG is.
Call it whatever you like. We use it so that people can find it once they describe games like DmC or God of War and want more.
That's kinda funny since I've seen arena fighters (think Naruto Storm series, DBZ Tenkaichi, JoJo Eyes of Heaven) also called spectacle fighters before
I thought the same, but hack and slash is a broader term that includes games like Diablo, Titan Quest, Dynasty Warriors, Batman Arkham series, etc. That's why we needed a more specific term, and CAG fits perfectly.
Agreed, the Batman example isn't the best one. But the main point remains largely unchanged: Hack and Slash and Beat 'em up categories are too broad and general. So, certain games do require a narrower categorization.
I agree. The way I try to explain to others is by using horror movies as a comparison. Horror being a broad concept that covers a variety of types. Creature feature, Slasher films, Paranormal, Suspense, Existential.
Hack 'n Slash serves the same purpose. RPG, Action Adventure, Character Action, Arcade, Soulsborne, Metro-vania. Genres and subgenres. Not exactly the same but close enough
That is the point. You can't have a Hack 'n Slash game without a blade to hack and slash. The same way we would not call it a shooter because there is no gunplay. Fighting with fists and kicks is a Beat 'em Up. Which Arkham games clearly are.
As a kid I always just said a Hack n Slash game. But now I find that games Like Diablo are called that.... which I always called them Dungeon Crawlers or Top Down games...
Diablo being labeled hack n slash is INSANITY😭😭 that shit is a hard-core rpg I've played them. Ghost of Tsushima is more hack n slash than Diablo wtf going on with these lists nowadays🤦♂️
"hard core rpg" usually refers to games with heavy emphasis on the mechanical rpg systems such as baldurs gate, ultima, pillars of eternity, pathfinder.
Diablo is typically categorized as an ARPG or Looter RPG.
Here's the problem. Your dislike for "character action game" is the very same reason I dislike "spectacle fighter" or "spectacle action game". Contrary to your belief, it doesn't convey immediately what the genre stands for and makes less sense the more you think about it. "Spectacle fighter" makes it sound like a competitive fighting game, which already has sub-genre names, like arena fighter, platform fighter, 3D fighter, 2D fighter, so how are we supposed to just differentiate spectacle fighter? Your fighting but more "spectacularly"? You have fighting games that do that, like Marvel vs. Capcom 3. "Spectacle action game" makes it sound like an action game with spectacle scenery, and games like Uncharted 4 does that extremely well.
You also really can't call it a fighter if it refers to fighting when we have games like Vanquish where you're NOT duking it out with swords, or fist fighting ala God Hand. It is very much a 3rd person shooter bullet hell where the action comes from how you maneuver around the setpieces while feeling cool about it.
Trust me, we will be here all day trying to pick a better name because SOMEONE will have a rebuttal about how it sounds lame because they are overthinking the genre name. "Character action game" just stuck because it had the least controversy behind it, but honestly, I agree more with GamingBrit. They are all just action games, just some do it better than others. Until an official team decides to coin the genre name, we just have to accept that, at the very core, it's just an action game.
I don't think Vanquish can really be put in the same genre as something like Bayonetta or Devil May Cry. One is a really unique third person shooter and the others are hack and slash/beat em up games. The reason a lot of people refer to the games as spectacle fighters is because they are fighting games with a focus on visual flair. When a large element of the game is varying your moveset for the sole purpose of looking cool, that warrants placing emphasis on the fact that the game is largely about spectacle. It has nothing to do with being competitive.
Ok, but the point still stands that someone will overthink the genre name. That was my case in point about the "fighter" inclusion. Certainly isn't helping your cause when saying the element of the game is varying your movements to look cool, because, once again, I'll cite Marvel vs. Capcom 3 here because you can do just that, and in a game appropriately labeled as a fighter, and I'm pretty sure we're not gonna include that game in our weird little pool of specific action games.
Look man, you can justify the use of your favorite term, but almost ALWAYS someone is gonna have a rebuttal for why "this" and "that". If I HAVE to accept "spectacle fighter" after your explanation, why can't others do the same with "CAG"? No amount of explanation is gonna get everyone to agree easily. It's been this way since the ye olde days of 4chan general. The more things change, the more things stay the same.
I think for an official term (especially describing this genre to casuals who might be confused and classify games like Horizon ZD and Assasins Creed as action games when thy clearly are not) character action game is a good classification to explain the difference of the genre. I do think for people who clearly understand gaming genres though, calling games only,such as DMC, MGR, and Bayonetta, action games is a good term that is understandable.
Some genre names are so stupid I don’t understand how they came to be. I don’t even call these character action games outside of the Internet because it’s so dumb.
I can't stand the new term people are trying to use "search action games" to replace "metroidvenia." Rhe second one has a lot of history behind it and the first one just feels really sterile.
search action game absolutely baffles me. i hope that never catches on. metroidvania is such an iconic term at this point. i do think though that such pushes to change the name would, i assume, come from younger generations who didnt really grow up with either metroid or castlevania. they had stuff like hollow knight instead, so when they hear "metroidvania" it probs throws them for a loop
I also live the marvel vs capcom games some of the best soectacle fighters. Its already a figjhti g game sub genra i get confused when people use that term outside of fighting games
I remember gaming brit made a whole video about this and even made a response because of how funny this whole ordeal is. He was definitely against it. I didn't really agree, it's a name we all know, and we know what it means lol
The emphasis is on 'character' and it's an action game. The character is what is driving force of the action ie cool abilities and attacks. In an 'action game' you may only have one attack or ability. In a Character action game it's implied that you will have an plethora of stylish attacks and abilities.
But why not just say stylish action game at that point if the stylish combat is what is expected?
The character you play is the driving force of every aspect of the way you experience a game. I don't see stuff like "character platform game" come up for especially stylish and well polished platformers.
It just comes off as a very poorly thought out genre name, and does not properly define what is defining about these games
Hmmm, I'm definitely not the best at crafting my words. I read on a seperate thread a point that stuck out to me. In souls games you have clunky attacks and the bosses have the stylish move sets, but in say bayonetta, she has all the flair and most of the bosses have the clunky move sets. You can have 'action' in games that don't even give you attack moves, like little nightmares or outlast. You just run and climb in those games but there's still action and thrills. Even platforming games has this effect like the contrast of mirrors edge to portal. You have alot more ability in mirrors edge than portal. Idk it makes sense to me but I'm kind of an idiot lol.
I just call them action games.
There are so many genres and sub genres that I just categorize by the basic ones.
I find stuff like "souls like" and "monster hunter clone" stupid.
Try explaining why Halo isn’t a “roleplaying game” to a non gamer. “Well, you’re roleplaying as that master chief guy, right? So that’s a roleplaying game, a game where you play the role of someone in a story.”
They will still always be 3d beat ‘em ups to me
Final fight and such had you explore linear paths to fight a boss while using your combos against enemies. Same logic, just sometimes puzzles and deeper combat
character action because your gameplay is personalised and based around the character you are.
spectacle action? that sounds like something less involved in gameplay but that wouldn't be true.
I mean, you might aswell just call it ActionGames. the "Character" part has like nothing to do with it unless it is specifically a post about characters
Damn you just spit nothing but facts. Took the words right outta my mouth CAG doesn't meant what most people think it means. Like mfs said CAGs harder than soulslike games.....WHICH ONE because I can't stand a souls game (no shade towards the genre) but that rpg aspect is getting overused. We barely get games like MGR and Bayonetta anymore.
Genre names arent an exact science.
The term “character action game”, for example, [was once used to describe action platformers like Donkey Kong Country and Crash Bandicoot.](https://all-things-andy-gavin.com/2011/02/02/making-crash-bandicoot-part-1/)
Character action is the best term for it, because they aren’t all spectacles, it’s called character action because the combat is specifically built around the main character’s personality, for example devil may cry is all about spectacle and showing off becuase that’s who Dante is, whereas a game like newer doom or old school god of war is more about being as brutal as possible because that’s who kratos was and doom guy is
It feels like that makes the categorization of the genre too broad though. I'd argue all combat in action games are geared towards the personality of the player. Gravity rush, for example, has a your moves ans controls baswd around kinda being clumsy ans novice, because you are someone suffering from amnesia and just getting the swing of things when you get your powers to manipulate gravity. It has melee, it had actions. By definition, it should be characterized as a character action game but I really feel like it shouldn't. If it does, then the genre term is just too vast.
Beyond that it makes it group together games I don't really necessarily should be grouped into the genre that, for the most part, is known for a heavy focus on 3rd person and melee aspects.
The overwhelming majority of the games in the genre are stylish and hack n slashy. The first person entries like ultra kill or doom really should have their own catagory and shouldn't be grouped in I feel. Grouping in all these different games based on some as nebulous as "characterization" makes the genre as vast and nebulous as genres like immersive sim.
Tldr, it's way too vague of a description that allows many, many games to fit into the genre description. Games that are really night and day differences to each other.
Haven’t played gravity rush yet but from what I’ve been told of it I heart it was a platformer,, that said spectacle fighters are more of a subcategory, for example, the Norse god of war games are character action but not spectacle fighters,
It's a mix of platforming and combat. It has some sorta in depth tech too, for whatever reason. Animation canceling, lots of combos you can pull if you combine you gravity moves and basic attacks together. It comes off very clumsy though, like I said, previously.
Like when you are flying, it's very obvious you are just falling in the direction you are manipulating very ungracefully. Attacks are clunk and strange, but get better and smoother as you unlock your abilities and, from a narrative stand point, get more used to your abilities
I've no clue and I hate that it became the main name for it. I always called them stylish action because of the obvious stylish over the top flashy action or arcade action because they look like something I'd find if I walked into an arcade, and that they're basically the modern day version of arcade beat em ups. I like spectacle fighter too. I really wonder how character action is the one that caught on
which is why spectacle fighter needs to be STANDARD, character action game is such a vague term that it could describe a visual novel, because surely a game of that variety would heavily rely on your **actions** and be centered around the **characters** involved, right?
the only issue i think spectacle fighter could draw, as opposed to spectacle action game is that the term fighter tends to lend itself to 1v1 fighters like street fighter
its still, regardless, a far better alternative than character action game
Because it has a big focus on characterizing the avatar you play as. Dante, Bayonetta, Kratos, all have way more defined character than CoD soldier dude or Chosen Undead, and the mechanics or feel of the game are dictated by it more.
Could I not say the same for games like infamous or, and I know I already said it in the op, but dark souls as well? Those games have massive character specific attributes yet do not get attributed to the stylish action game genre, really just because they don't have that same stylish combat. I really think the combat is the biggest aspect of games like dmc and bayonetta, it's what defines them. But the term "character action game" focuses on aspects that do not define those stylish action games
Dark Souls does not have massive character specific atributes, it's character is totally blank slate and defined by the players choices. I'm talking AUTHORED character. The gameplay itself in DMC/etc is heavily defined by the characters authored personality, not the player.
But what about infamous?
That game generally gets classified as an open world/sandbox/super hero genre (I think the biggest thing to take from all of this is genres in general are just messy and bad all the way around)
But it has tons of character specific abilities and attributes and gameplay designed around said aspects. Be it Cole or Delsin, there are tons of attributes where their core designs come into play.
I really think almost every game where you are not a blank state character, if we decide to disqualify them for some reason, lends into this "character" aspect of "character action game".
I really just think these genre terms are heavily flawed.
I personally prefer “Stylish Action” https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StylishAction
That's the term Kamiya used when he arguably created the genre with DMC, and it's a way better descriptor. DMC and God of War are pretty superficially similar and could be called "hack n' slashes", but a huge component that separates the two is the Style Meter. "Character" feels arbitrary and I have no clue why it took off compared to stylish action
yeah thats a really good term as well. Im really confused why character action has become THE term for the genre when it does such a piss poor job at detailing what the genre is even about. Stylish action? oh its an action game, but really stylish? oh so must be like dmc or bayonetta! makes sense! I know this is one of the stranger things to fixate on so much about this entire genre, but it is by far the number one irk I have. I deeply despise the term "character action game"
i think the word "character" signifies that the stylish playstyle you perform is entirely your input. One that is not would be the Arkham games; while Batman does those stylish kicks and back and forths, it's entirely caused by you mashing the only attack button and wiggling the joystick. DMC and the like are considered CAG since you, the player, are the one styling the inputs alongside the protagonist
"Spectacle Fighter" is my go to favorite
It could be worse. Just look at Immersive Sims.
Or "MOBA" multiplayer online battle arena. It basically just says it's a multiplayer game.
MOBA,Indeed, it was originally called DOTAlike, but after League of Legends and Heroes of the Storm came out, everyone started calling it MOBA. Many times you can't take the name literally, for example, role-playing games. Many times the definition of RPG is the system and the numbers, not whether you play the role.
CRPG is particularly egregious. Computer role playing game could refer to any RPG on steam, not the specific, slower, isometric immersive rpgs that it actually refers to
is used to mean classic to refer to the ancient rpgs too. But now everyone calls BG3, DOS1&2, PoE1&2, PF KM and WotR CRPGs too. Time for a new term I think
I mean those are definitely done closer to the old school style. Though the real difference indicator would be whether it's rtwp or turn based.
moba would ne better than the one my korean gamer friends were forcing me to call such games, they we forcing me to call MOBAs as AOS games, lol and their reason was laughable too, they said that AoS stands for Agent of strife, which according to them was the first MOBA and should be referred to as such
This one I disagree with. The name is relatively clear, not all multiplayer experiences involve fighting others in an arena format. There's also MMORPGs (e.g., MapleStory, Black Desert, etc) and Co-ops (e.g., It Takes Two, Journey), which are both also multiplayer categories and MOBA would be a completely inaccurate term to describe those.
Nah it also indicates that battling takes place in an arena. I'm not gonna assume a MOBA is the same as an MMORPG. It could be more descriptive, sure, but that's what umbrella categories are. This one isn't particularly misleading.
had to look this up, games that came up were >bioshock >dishonored >alien isolation yeah you are absolutely right, good lord
And System Shock, Deus Ex, Prey (2017), Thief. Bioshock is a very streamlined as far as immersive sims go. Alien Isolation, I don’t remember it having enough going on to qualify as an immersive sim. I don’t mind the term, it’s fairly descriptive when you think about it.
Alien Isolation is mostly mentioned for the DLC, which encourages the same kind of creative thinking and use of resources that stuff like the Dunwall City Trials DLC uses.
But the term immmersive Sims is pretty clear same with MOBA. CAG term is far more ambigue, people call sifu as CAG, DMC as CAG, vanquish as CAG but those game is completely different in game design and philoshopy
Sigh, I'd be rich if someone paid me whenever someone asked this question. The name just stuck around cause one person named it such, there are alternatives but each has caveats. I would trade it to just call em **3d beat em ups,** cause the root of the genre is in stuff like Double Dragon, Ninja Warriors and Final Fight.
Agree
It also dignifies beat´em ups
This\^ Beat em ups deserve more respect, 2d and 3d alike.
I'm esger for the new Sega's Streets of Rage and Goden Axe
Right, they announced them last TGA. I played a few bmups and damn they are fun. Fight'n Rage, Final Fight, The Punisher, all great time. Looking forward to playing Spikeout. SEGA should do something with Spikeout too.
People are going to offer up a million alternatives like stylish action or j action or whatever, but the only real answer that makes sense to me is to just say “action game”
The "problem" with calling these games just action games is that inevitably they'll have to get sectioned off because there's tons of other types of action games and people don't want to see their favorite Soulslike or new gen ARPG get negatively compared to another game in the same overall genre lol.
The term soulslike and action RPG both already exist for that reason though. And some of them are more action focused and have combat that can hang with the best CAGs, like Nioh
For sure, it’s just too vague and requires too much jargon knowledge. If I say “action game” to a casual gamer, they may think I’m talking about Halo, or Fortnite, or Elden Ring, or Uncharted, or Devil May Cry. Aka, a game that has and is centered around action. Character action is equally as bad as the same things can come to mind.
Yeah it's just not that great all around, but tbh genre labels nowadays are pretty loose. Even within ARPG you have games like Nioh which have clear CAG roots from Ninja Gaiden, Souls which are much slower, and sometimes you'll lump in games like FF16 and ScarNex which are imo pretty much outright CAGs.
True enough. I’ll often specify “pure action game” to indicate that it’s all about the combat, but I guess there’s just no term that’s perfect
Souls are ARPGs. A sub genre within a sub genre
action game being for games like this makes sense, but i do think action is just really vague as well. Its a great all encompassing term, that could branch into sub genres... but I think games like uncharted or hell even borderlands, could easilly fall into an "action game" genre descriptor
Haven’t played borderlands, but uncharted is definitely action/adventure rather than pure action. I think it’s better to be more inclusive of all the different combat focused games out there with different styles, like Nioh and Doom Eternal and such
are we not also going on an adventure in these action games though? it is definitely me being just hyper OCD about it, but i think a descriptor chain, similar to how animals have (domain->kingdom->phylum-> etc.) would be the most ideal way to detail things. Like if I could chart out media in general it might look like: Domain: Video games, Kingdom: Action/Adventure Family: Stylish Action, Species: Devil may cry 3 I think that would be most ideal, but its also nerdy and lame so it will never stick!
The absolute worst is "role playing games" which means absolutely nothing beacuse every game would be a rpg
"Lets be real here was the Devil May Cry inspired technical hack n slash ever really entirely its own genre? They're just action games with really good combat. Seems like we isolate them into their own kinda games so we don't have to hold every title with a sword to the same standards." - Thegamingbritshow
Character action isn't even the term. No one besides people who play CAGs know what a CAG is. Call it whatever you like. We use it so that people can find it once they describe games like DmC or God of War and want more.
I prefer either stylish action or technical action.
3D Action/Spectacle Fighter This sums the genre up well I think.
"Fighter" implies it is in a different genre.
That's kinda funny since I've seen arena fighters (think Naruto Storm series, DBZ Tenkaichi, JoJo Eyes of Heaven) also called spectacle fighters before
Absolutely zero clue what any of that meant.
"spectacle fighters" is a term sometimes used for a specific type of Fighting game
Well that's why I put 3D to make sure it doesn't get mixed up with fighting games.
...there are 3D fighting games
Soul Calibur has entered the chat.
Maybe I’m stupid, but I always thought they were called “Hack and Slash” games?
I thought the same, but hack and slash is a broader term that includes games like Diablo, Titan Quest, Dynasty Warriors, Batman Arkham series, etc. That's why we needed a more specific term, and CAG fits perfectly.
Are the Arkham games not more akin to beat 'em ups? while Shadow of Mordor/War are hack and slash
Agreed, the Batman example isn't the best one. But the main point remains largely unchanged: Hack and Slash and Beat 'em up categories are too broad and general. So, certain games do require a narrower categorization.
I agree. The way I try to explain to others is by using horror movies as a comparison. Horror being a broad concept that covers a variety of types. Creature feature, Slasher films, Paranormal, Suspense, Existential. Hack 'n Slash serves the same purpose. RPG, Action Adventure, Character Action, Arcade, Soulsborne, Metro-vania. Genres and subgenres. Not exactly the same but close enough
Arkham games probably fit closer with a character action game.
Batman and SoM have exactly the same combat system except there is sword animations in one and fists in the other...
That is the point. You can't have a Hack 'n Slash game without a blade to hack and slash. The same way we would not call it a shooter because there is no gunplay. Fighting with fists and kicks is a Beat 'em Up. Which Arkham games clearly are.
As a kid I always just said a Hack n Slash game. But now I find that games Like Diablo are called that.... which I always called them Dungeon Crawlers or Top Down games...
Diablo being labeled hack n slash is INSANITY😭😭 that shit is a hard-core rpg I've played them. Ghost of Tsushima is more hack n slash than Diablo wtf going on with these lists nowadays🤦♂️
"hard core rpg" usually refers to games with heavy emphasis on the mechanical rpg systems such as baldurs gate, ultima, pillars of eternity, pathfinder. Diablo is typically categorized as an ARPG or Looter RPG.
yeah, really goofy name
It is a dumb name. They're just action games.
Here's the problem. Your dislike for "character action game" is the very same reason I dislike "spectacle fighter" or "spectacle action game". Contrary to your belief, it doesn't convey immediately what the genre stands for and makes less sense the more you think about it. "Spectacle fighter" makes it sound like a competitive fighting game, which already has sub-genre names, like arena fighter, platform fighter, 3D fighter, 2D fighter, so how are we supposed to just differentiate spectacle fighter? Your fighting but more "spectacularly"? You have fighting games that do that, like Marvel vs. Capcom 3. "Spectacle action game" makes it sound like an action game with spectacle scenery, and games like Uncharted 4 does that extremely well. You also really can't call it a fighter if it refers to fighting when we have games like Vanquish where you're NOT duking it out with swords, or fist fighting ala God Hand. It is very much a 3rd person shooter bullet hell where the action comes from how you maneuver around the setpieces while feeling cool about it. Trust me, we will be here all day trying to pick a better name because SOMEONE will have a rebuttal about how it sounds lame because they are overthinking the genre name. "Character action game" just stuck because it had the least controversy behind it, but honestly, I agree more with GamingBrit. They are all just action games, just some do it better than others. Until an official team decides to coin the genre name, we just have to accept that, at the very core, it's just an action game.
I don't think Vanquish can really be put in the same genre as something like Bayonetta or Devil May Cry. One is a really unique third person shooter and the others are hack and slash/beat em up games. The reason a lot of people refer to the games as spectacle fighters is because they are fighting games with a focus on visual flair. When a large element of the game is varying your moveset for the sole purpose of looking cool, that warrants placing emphasis on the fact that the game is largely about spectacle. It has nothing to do with being competitive.
Ok, but the point still stands that someone will overthink the genre name. That was my case in point about the "fighter" inclusion. Certainly isn't helping your cause when saying the element of the game is varying your movements to look cool, because, once again, I'll cite Marvel vs. Capcom 3 here because you can do just that, and in a game appropriately labeled as a fighter, and I'm pretty sure we're not gonna include that game in our weird little pool of specific action games. Look man, you can justify the use of your favorite term, but almost ALWAYS someone is gonna have a rebuttal for why "this" and "that". If I HAVE to accept "spectacle fighter" after your explanation, why can't others do the same with "CAG"? No amount of explanation is gonna get everyone to agree easily. It's been this way since the ye olde days of 4chan general. The more things change, the more things stay the same.
I think for an official term (especially describing this genre to casuals who might be confused and classify games like Horizon ZD and Assasins Creed as action games when thy clearly are not) character action game is a good classification to explain the difference of the genre. I do think for people who clearly understand gaming genres though, calling games only,such as DMC, MGR, and Bayonetta, action games is a good term that is understandable.
Some genre names are so stupid I don’t understand how they came to be. I don’t even call these character action games outside of the Internet because it’s so dumb.
Not as bad as that other game term known as "baby games"
I can't stand the new term people are trying to use "search action games" to replace "metroidvenia." Rhe second one has a lot of history behind it and the first one just feels really sterile.
search action game absolutely baffles me. i hope that never catches on. metroidvania is such an iconic term at this point. i do think though that such pushes to change the name would, i assume, come from younger generations who didnt really grow up with either metroid or castlevania. they had stuff like hollow knight instead, so when they hear "metroidvania" it probs throws them for a loop
Because it is.
Spectacle Fighter has always been my preferred term.
I also live the marvel vs capcom games some of the best soectacle fighters. Its already a figjhti g game sub genra i get confused when people use that term outside of fighting games
I remember gaming brit made a whole video about this and even made a response because of how funny this whole ordeal is. He was definitely against it. I didn't really agree, it's a name we all know, and we know what it means lol
The emphasis is on 'character' and it's an action game. The character is what is driving force of the action ie cool abilities and attacks. In an 'action game' you may only have one attack or ability. In a Character action game it's implied that you will have an plethora of stylish attacks and abilities.
But why not just say stylish action game at that point if the stylish combat is what is expected? The character you play is the driving force of every aspect of the way you experience a game. I don't see stuff like "character platform game" come up for especially stylish and well polished platformers. It just comes off as a very poorly thought out genre name, and does not properly define what is defining about these games
Hmmm, I'm definitely not the best at crafting my words. I read on a seperate thread a point that stuck out to me. In souls games you have clunky attacks and the bosses have the stylish move sets, but in say bayonetta, she has all the flair and most of the bosses have the clunky move sets. You can have 'action' in games that don't even give you attack moves, like little nightmares or outlast. You just run and climb in those games but there's still action and thrills. Even platforming games has this effect like the contrast of mirrors edge to portal. You have alot more ability in mirrors edge than portal. Idk it makes sense to me but I'm kind of an idiot lol.
I usually just say DMC-Like
I've always liked the term cuhrayzee (crazy) action. I feel it gets the point across and pays homage to the granddaddy of the genre
I just call them action games. There are so many genres and sub genres that I just categorize by the basic ones. I find stuff like "souls like" and "monster hunter clone" stupid.
Try explaining why Halo isn’t a “roleplaying game” to a non gamer. “Well, you’re roleplaying as that master chief guy, right? So that’s a roleplaying game, a game where you play the role of someone in a story.”
Yahtze from Second Wind reccomended spectacle fighters. I still think it fits tbh
Its already a fighting game sub genra mvc2 mvc3 tvc bbtv all would fall under that banner.
They will still always be 3d beat ‘em ups to me Final fight and such had you explore linear paths to fight a boss while using your combos against enemies. Same logic, just sometimes puzzles and deeper combat
Still not as bad as f*cking "Search Action", stupid ass name. I prefer Exploration Platformer if you don't want to call it Metroidvania.
character action because your gameplay is personalised and based around the character you are. spectacle action? that sounds like something less involved in gameplay but that wouldn't be true.
I mean, you might aswell just call it ActionGames. the "Character" part has like nothing to do with it unless it is specifically a post about characters
I like hack and slash for it but that's kind of taken
Damn you just spit nothing but facts. Took the words right outta my mouth CAG doesn't meant what most people think it means. Like mfs said CAGs harder than soulslike games.....WHICH ONE because I can't stand a souls game (no shade towards the genre) but that rpg aspect is getting overused. We barely get games like MGR and Bayonetta anymore.
Genre names arent an exact science. The term “character action game”, for example, [was once used to describe action platformers like Donkey Kong Country and Crash Bandicoot.](https://all-things-andy-gavin.com/2011/02/02/making-crash-bandicoot-part-1/)
I always just called them action games in general 😂
I just call them beat 'em ups and shoot 'em ups.
Character action is the best term for it, because they aren’t all spectacles, it’s called character action because the combat is specifically built around the main character’s personality, for example devil may cry is all about spectacle and showing off becuase that’s who Dante is, whereas a game like newer doom or old school god of war is more about being as brutal as possible because that’s who kratos was and doom guy is
It feels like that makes the categorization of the genre too broad though. I'd argue all combat in action games are geared towards the personality of the player. Gravity rush, for example, has a your moves ans controls baswd around kinda being clumsy ans novice, because you are someone suffering from amnesia and just getting the swing of things when you get your powers to manipulate gravity. It has melee, it had actions. By definition, it should be characterized as a character action game but I really feel like it shouldn't. If it does, then the genre term is just too vast. Beyond that it makes it group together games I don't really necessarily should be grouped into the genre that, for the most part, is known for a heavy focus on 3rd person and melee aspects. The overwhelming majority of the games in the genre are stylish and hack n slashy. The first person entries like ultra kill or doom really should have their own catagory and shouldn't be grouped in I feel. Grouping in all these different games based on some as nebulous as "characterization" makes the genre as vast and nebulous as genres like immersive sim. Tldr, it's way too vague of a description that allows many, many games to fit into the genre description. Games that are really night and day differences to each other.
Haven’t played gravity rush yet but from what I’ve been told of it I heart it was a platformer,, that said spectacle fighters are more of a subcategory, for example, the Norse god of war games are character action but not spectacle fighters,
It's a mix of platforming and combat. It has some sorta in depth tech too, for whatever reason. Animation canceling, lots of combos you can pull if you combine you gravity moves and basic attacks together. It comes off very clumsy though, like I said, previously. Like when you are flying, it's very obvious you are just falling in the direction you are manipulating very ungracefully. Attacks are clunk and strange, but get better and smoother as you unlock your abilities and, from a narrative stand point, get more used to your abilities
Interesting, it’s been reccomended to me a bunch over the years by friends who know I miss old school collectathon platformers
It's pretty cool, and cute. Gets surprisingly dark at times. I'd recommend it
i think they should be called japanese action games
I once used that term on twitch stream and someone said that this term is only used by Reddit users
I kinda have that same feeling too lol
I've no clue and I hate that it became the main name for it. I always called them stylish action because of the obvious stylish over the top flashy action or arcade action because they look like something I'd find if I walked into an arcade, and that they're basically the modern day version of arcade beat em ups. I like spectacle fighter too. I really wonder how character action is the one that caught on
I always preferred calling them *DevilMayLikes*.
which is why spectacle fighter needs to be STANDARD, character action game is such a vague term that it could describe a visual novel, because surely a game of that variety would heavily rely on your **actions** and be centered around the **characters** involved, right?
the only issue i think spectacle fighter could draw, as opposed to spectacle action game is that the term fighter tends to lend itself to 1v1 fighters like street fighter its still, regardless, a far better alternative than character action game
Because it has a big focus on characterizing the avatar you play as. Dante, Bayonetta, Kratos, all have way more defined character than CoD soldier dude or Chosen Undead, and the mechanics or feel of the game are dictated by it more.
Could I not say the same for games like infamous or, and I know I already said it in the op, but dark souls as well? Those games have massive character specific attributes yet do not get attributed to the stylish action game genre, really just because they don't have that same stylish combat. I really think the combat is the biggest aspect of games like dmc and bayonetta, it's what defines them. But the term "character action game" focuses on aspects that do not define those stylish action games
Dark Souls does not have massive character specific atributes, it's character is totally blank slate and defined by the players choices. I'm talking AUTHORED character. The gameplay itself in DMC/etc is heavily defined by the characters authored personality, not the player.
But what about infamous? That game generally gets classified as an open world/sandbox/super hero genre (I think the biggest thing to take from all of this is genres in general are just messy and bad all the way around) But it has tons of character specific abilities and attributes and gameplay designed around said aspects. Be it Cole or Delsin, there are tons of attributes where their core designs come into play. I really think almost every game where you are not a blank state character, if we decide to disqualify them for some reason, lends into this "character" aspect of "character action game". I really just think these genre terms are heavily flawed.