What is "Perfect" Video Game Combat? 

Months of work went into this video, I seriously hope you guys love it! Thank you for all the amazing support as always! Now I'm gonna go play some Halo Infinite

i mean not gonna lie i would totally get the toaster upgrade, 18% is pretty sick

Hey this is a great video! I am typing this of my own agency!

i feel like the environments are easy to overlook in combat, not just stealth range and positioning options but actually interacting with objects around you that help you in combat situations

Hollow Knight is a great example of most of these things. Easily a great game with several challenges.

This was great, now I know exactly how to fight you when the time comes!

An ad played right after he shot the guy yelling Assassins creed, that was hilarious.

This has helped me to better understand and appreciate the Resident Evil games. I'm not a fan of having to be careful with my item management to beat the game, but if I just switch my perspective that the item management is apart of the game and not necessarily the combat itself, I'm more encouraged to try the earlier ones. It's like a challenge now to how good I can manage my items.

It's always so interesting to hear people's takes on combat systems, some just click better than others with people. Like I played god of war and it's combat felt annoying for me but elden ring feels exactly like what I want from a combat system. It really is different for each person.

In all seriousness, Circletoons makes a lot of sense and makes a lot of good advice for game devs in the future

I don't know that +18% toaster speed sounds mad op tbh.

This is probably one of my favorite videos on the entire platform, such a funny, informative but not too bias it’s so well done

At 9:46 I had a pretty similar experience in clash of clans, I was trying to beat a really hard goblin level and I couldn’t figure it out, so I took a nap to recalibrate my system and I figured out in my sleep that the mortar is better at destroying groups and if I wanted to win I had to split my barbarians up, it felt really good that I figured it out myself and that’s what I love about other games with that mechanic.

this man used to drag characters around on microsoft paint and now he can do this. So proud

"Without clarity, the other aspects all fall apart", he used an egg to represent clarity, and eggs are used to hold ingredients together in cooking. I see what you did there!

I love how you pointed out specifically the Borderlands skill tree. I've been playing it a lot recently and it has that thing that you were talking about with them, it's not too bogged down by random percentages and numbers. The trees actually mean something unique and different, and depending on which tree you upgrade your fighting style can vary from good cover and high health to all out attacks

I'm not sure if there's such thing as a perfect combat system, but I think different kinds of combats work best for different games. Hollow Knight, for example, manages to have an incredibly simple yet deep combat, not in the sense of having to use lots of buttons, but that in its simplicity it has so much room to grow. Each scenario is different and requires different skills from the player, the combat yet so simple is so satisfying and gives the sensation of growth through learning

Imagine if what came out of that soup was Raid: Shadow Legends and this was an ad all along.

doom mention, good video!

Monster Hunter World was this game for me, I never felt such growth in a game only to get humbled by the next elder dragon and me seeking a way to overcome it.

Gotta say. I think MGRR does this great too, as everything feels so fluid and fun. You have choices on your fighting styles with weapons and it's fun to use

Circle explaining this must mean one thing. He's making a game

In terraria something like a 2.5% bonus is considered op, when other games let you do double damage every other attack and stuff like that.

I had no idea you did longer style video’s, these are truly lovely to watch 😊😁

There's a game that I've been playing called "Curse Of The Dead Gods" it's a rogue-like but does a really good job of the things that were said in this video. I would recommend checking it out if you're into Hades!

Circles production value has gone thru the ceiling. It’s fucking incredible.

"This shit bussin" is where I lost it.

Flowing, fast and varied moves. It's why Arkham series and middle few Assassins Creed games were so good.

8:22 like the zelda reference also if you are wondering what the reference is it is one of the creatures camp

"The guy that's known for playing every single video game and 100%ing each one" I thought that was The Completionist

Man, just imagine how much more bread I could toast with that upgrade

Two words:Titanfall 2

My only gripe with this video is that dead cells is nowhere on the recommendation board how can you talk about combat and not mention DEAD CELLS

You know he gets serious when he actually animates.

I like games where the combat seems simple at first till you realise some of the moves used for other things can be used for the combat, I recently discovered while fuckin around in Sonic Frontiers that you can use the wild rush to cancel out of any attacks meaning if you are close enough to do a wild rush on an enemy then you can do attacks way faster

Great video. I'm currently playing through Ghost of Tsushima and it has some of the best combat I can remember playing. Rapidly swinging your sword at enemies will get you no where, you have to be patient, read their movements, and wait for an opening. Know when you can parry and when you have to dodge. The combat evolves as you learn new stances and switch between them on the fly based on the weapon that the enemy has, which becomes chaotic when you are surrounded by multiple enemies. I even discovered that big brute enemies with huge shields, lots of heath, and combos unblockable attacks... you can one-hit them if you manage to fire an arrow past their shield and hit them square between the eyes. The game never tells you that you can do that. It's brilliant.

A game that, at least for me, has a "perfect" combat system is Hyper Light Drifter. It's just so damn satisfying to kill enemies in that game that I've finishied it like 10 times

this that HIGH QUALITY stuff

The assassin’s creed part killed me today as hard as it did a year ago.

the witcher's 3 combat is pretty sick, it doesnt outright tell you what you should do, when going up against different creatures you have to figure out what each one of them does.

Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey fit a lot of these points ngl

Devil May Cry has literally every button being used for something different. It is the epitome of playing your controller like a piano.

Cyberpunk 2077 has some of the best one vs the world combat systems ive ever played. Hits all five points, plus the seamless transition between dialogue to combat is so immersive. Talking to someone and they said something you didn't like don't even exit the convo just pull out your shotgun slow down time and shoot them back where they came from. Beautiful.

HIFI Rush my favourite combat in my opinion, the slowly adding enemies, mechanics and regular new moves keeps it feeling constantly fresh, all while making sure to time all actions to the beat. The bosses ramp up the spectacle and difficulty perfectly and the different knockbacks, effects, and STUNNING visuals make every fight a fresh treat

The perfect combat system is basically if "chef's kiss" was a game

I dont know man dealing more dmg to vegetarian scorpions is quite a buff, those things hurt like crazy and have alot of health

I think your best point in here is about the combat not needing you to refresh yourself for so long when you come back. I've had so many games that I quit for a while, and by the time I come back I just end up restarting the game because I have no idea what the hell I'm doing anymore

I remember googling how to kill a certain boss once as a kid. Turns out he was super weak to bombs 5 to be exact. I died 15 times to him and gave up the game. 3 Years later I owned his hide with 3 bombs and 2 bullets in the head for good luck. Just remembered it's Borderlands 2 The Skag Mother Boss.

"your toaster toasts 18 percent faster" Hey where can I get this skill.

I just like it when the combat is balanced between simple and complex.

personally, simplistic controls are so much less overwhelming than having every button to use in combat. Jedi Survivor, Hollow Knight, and Assassin's Creed (at least the new ones) all feel so fun to fight in because anyone can do it. It's simplistic, you cant really make mistakes in what move you wanna pull off. It's just attack or block/dodge.

i love how circle was able to make a good lecture of combat become a entertaining, interesting, and funny animation.

My therapist: smooth CircleToonsHD isn’t real, he can’t hurt you. CircleToonsHD:

One genre that gets to explore all of this but I think is frequently overlooked is metroidvania type platformers. Hollow Knight and Ori 2 are great examples of games that basically check all these boxes, at least for me.

You instantly know something good is happening when circle goes fully animated

I'm glad you mentioned For Honor. It has a cool and unique combat system that no other games have. It's why I love it so much.

Omg, the Clarity really hits me hard with how I'm feeling hurt by games these days. I know that some kids would want to play the game as well, but a 5+ minutes tutorial for one mechanic wouldn't help me nor the child I believe.

This has been the greatest thing I've seen in a long while.

Pop really has some skills doing additional animation

One of the best combat I found in a videogame was in Prince of Persia: Warrior Within. Something that I like in a combat system is an intuitive control scheme that still has enough depth for you to learn the ins and outs, variety of enemy types with their own weaknesses and freedom for player expression. This game uses not only its items/weapons and abilities to aide you in combat, but the environments as well: you can trigger traps against enemies, use parkour to hit them where they can't hit you or, if you are on a balcony, just grab them and throw them off the railing.

Circle should make his own game at this point. That'd be amazing.

7:37 And THIS is why I love Terraria soo much. When you get hermes boots, grappling hook, wings, ect. You just wonder how you played without them.

I really think the infamous and more specifically second son, has a really strong game mechanic, with the unlocking of new powers through your play through, the need to manage experience points and time to better yourself and your abiities, the choice to be good or evil, and in general some pretty nice graphics and a wonderful story line. Things make sense and the reasons for why and how things evolve durring the game are well explained. I recenty went back to paying the game after a year or two away, and after playing around again the controls are intuitive. There are some things that can get repetitive over time, but with the ammount of enemies coming at you in battle, you are constantly faced with the need to expand your arsonal and use the other abiities raather then just button smashing the attack button. The cooldown effect also adds a nice edge to the game in intense situations, its not intrusive yet provides an extremely clear message of hide, block, or run before its game over. Overal i realy enjoy this game and i woud highly reccomend infamous: second son to anyone :)

10:46 Often overlooked aspect. "Weight". Hitting something should feel like you are hitting something with effort and inertia and committed movement , not a quiet suggestion of maybe possibly brushing lightly against something with a feather duster (Skyrim).

Hollow Knight has such amazing combat- so simple but so good. It’s tactile and varied, giving you choices but never becoming overwhelming

Hollow Knight bosses can make you feel like they are LITERALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO BEAT, but when you do, it feels so so good, like it can make you literally feel like a BOSS

I’m so fucking happy he mentioned ultrakill. If you haven’t go buy that game and play it until death and back.

Sick video man, nice work

Botw has great combat I mean I personally love how after a while once you’ve gotten far into the game it’s just so satisfying to sweep through enemy’s wether it be with a sword a spear a big sword a bow or even a shield

This cooking show is so damn wild.

I enjoy your content so much

This helps a lot man thanks, also great entertaining video

This video just oozes with passion and love for video game combat, and it's refreshing to hear an in-depth analysis on it. So many points were brilliantly brought up but none felt like filler. Those months of work really paid off. Love it!

One thing I want to see in games is enemys working together, such as having a sheild boy with the weakness of being shoved ,but when you do shove him a different type of enemy will counter you by shoving you. It would be great for a game to have 10 different types of enemys that work well together and can make different difficult to defeat teams.

what's really important in gameplay is evolution. You start simple but you add layer and layer of gameplay on top of it. Good example is persona 5, you keep learning new mecanics even after 9 hours in.

I have a different view on the best game combat as also a veteran gamer myself but i appreciate you sharing your opinion on this plus i love your animations as i found your vids randomly

Overgrowth has one of the best and most satisfying combat I've ever played. Definitely an underrated game. Check it out!

I always hated whenever the game would make the same enemy scale in level with the player like "Well since I'm a higher level and deal more damage (and you deal more to me) that makes me an amazing enemy!"

7:54 yes, shovel knight. -upgrades that make you wonder how you played without them (Phase Locket, Troupple Chalice) -legitamite choice (Choosing whether to buy the throwing anchor and dust knuckles or that one red armor with your new 4500 gold) -fun and innovative attacks on both sides of the spectrum (Shovel knight's downwards poke thing and King knight's confetti things) -lets you figure things out for yourself when fighting bosses (like how you can knock back black knights flare wand) -multiplayer battle mode that is technically a different game entirely -three bonus stories that follow the same trope that the boss is way weaker as a playable character -a pack called treasure trove that lets you play the main game *and* the last two examples Bonus: Actually makes enemies evolving with you fun (the slimes at the plains turning into fire slimes at the mole knight level so you have to fight them and not bounce poke on all of them is the only example i could think of) and also btd6 but idk if it counts because its a tower defence

One of my favorite games when it comes to combat is a game called kingdoms of Amalur reckoning. If you go down the warrior path you keep the dodge roll you start with, but if you go mage or any of the mage subvariants you get a short range teleport. As you put more points in the classes you get new combos and attacks. Every class has its own spells.

*Sees that circle has uploaded* YEAH! *Sees the video length* LESS GOOOOOOOOOOO

The part about not letting the player getting too comfy reminded me about Metal Gear Rising so much because the start of the game you dont really mind mechanics like parrying but then when you reach Monsoon and Jetstream Sam you realize how important parrying is and the game tells you to go for it whenever you can and to me thats good game design and gives the player more and more freedom on how they play

feels like the devs of Helldivers 2 watched this video while designing their combat system.

Watching this now after getting a quest 2 and playing into the radius made me realize into the radius is damn near perfect with this

What a beautiful video, thank you for all the effort you put in this one

"Not everything should scale with the player" *ahem* fallout 76 *ahem* the scorched/feral ghouls should not take three point blank shots from a combat shotgun *ahem*

That ad placement made me chuckle out loud for real 👍

love this guys videos funny and fun to watch

CircleToons: “You should be rewarded after defeating a boss” Dark Souls: Here’s a ember and the bosses soul gtfo

The combat in Middle Earth: Shadow of War is just amazing. I spent at least two weeks not doing any quests or story just so I can kill...orcs.

8:54 That’s why I love my choice read because when it has a boss it shows you a slight thing some people may see so you would still have to figure out how to defeat it the best way

Papers Please doesn't even have combat but it has amazing upgrades that give you that feeling of being unable to live without them.

He finally makes an actual animation. AND ITS SO SMOOTH

This vid is INCREDIBLY animated

Circle’s five laws of video game combat

How i never seen your channel before? I love it this

*"clears throat"* *"deep inhale"* The Devil May Cry Series (especially 5)

That "1 vs the world factor" hit different.

Also, strategy is a must have for video game combat. I don’t want to just “robbie used sword, the enemies to 92 hp”! Give me the ability to use Items in out of the box ways!

It’s really funny to see your recommendation and realize I’ve only missed playing one of them