u/Subaruuuuuuu

I'm seeking examples of games where developers create enemies that intimidate the player, without giving the enemy a massive healthbar.

I.e., the UI isn't what makes you go "oh shit"... other features of the character and game are. Sounds, visuals, enemy size, speech, etc.

Looking for a non-horror game, but you still go "oh shit" during combat, and not because of UI, but because of enemy and/or game design. Dungeon crawlers would be good examples too, ideally 3rd person

Do any games handle strong/dangerous enemies well, in a context where the player is afraid to die?

I don't have any games in mind, but in real life, I know there's probably only one chance, so if I stumbled upon a lion in the wild, while I'm unarmed, I would freeze or flee, because I'd die if I fought.

Are there games that handle this well, so players aren't incentivized to save-scum to test the waters and see if they're strong enough yet?

I guess level meters could work, and if an enemy's level is too high or red-colored, you'd know not to even try, but I'm hoping more immersive attempts exist. Could be lore/dialogue-based, where NPCs say you have no chance unless you flee, or your character audibly says "This will be hard" instead of "This is impossible". Thoughts/recs?

Edit: Thanks for your recommendations - I'll have to keep thinking and testing things out to see what makes the most sense to me, thx thx

i.e., where you can cut off both legs and the enemy crawls around, or cut off left arm and he only has his right, or his left leg and he hops, etc

Trying to learn from existing dismemberment systems to see what behavior devs have implemented when enemies lose both legs

From my searching, most games with dismemberment, like Blade and Sorcery, The Surge, Fatekeeper, and Dark Messiah kill the enemies immediately once they lose an appendage. I'm looking for ones where they're still alive and now they behave differently because they've lost an appendage or multiple

Do any first-person RPGs have monsters that feel how they might if they were real?

I'm looking for enemies with a plausible feeling of intelligence. Weak pack enemies like goblins that might hide around corners and ambush or flank you together and flee when they've lost initiative.

Enemies smarter than Minecraft or Dark and Darker mobs that mindlessly walk towards you and attack when close enough. Maybe with some "personality" in their decision-making. Not as calculating as a computer that hunts you perfectly accurately.

I'm making a game and trying to create plausible-feeling enemies, and I'm hoping there's something that Sekiro and other games that have decent-feeling enemies, might still be missing. Something more than "follow player and unleash attack combo when distance is correct, and occasionally dodge to avoid attack". Curious to find references.

Thanks!

What do you think is the best balance between 1 and 2?

1. Souls-like games: enemy attacks are telegraphed (enemy raises his sword up slowly, then he swings it down fast) to give the player time to react correctly
2. Weapon combat IRL: enemies minimize telegraph to mask how they're attacking and when they're attacking

I have some rapier fencing and boxing experience, and it's not rare to get hit and not know what exactly hit you. It forces you to focus extremely hard to parry or avoid enemy attacks, and preemptively defend to limit which attacks the enemy performs.

In games, it isn't fun to get hit out of nowhere. Attacks that are too fast almost make you think "how am I supposed to parry/dodge that?". I guess you think the same IRL, but you acclimate a bit and see most attacks coming. That acclimation takes many many hours though, which in a game, might amount to dozens/hundreds of deaths.

What do you think is the ideal balance?

What do you think is the best balance between 1 and 2?

1. Souls-like games: enemy attacks are telegraphed (enemy raises his sword up slowly, then he swings it down fast) to give the player time to react correctly
2. Weapon combat IRL: enemies minimize telegraph to mask how they're attacking and when they're attacking

I have some olympic-style fencing and boxing experience, and it's not rare to get hit and not know what exactly hit you. It forces you to focus extremely hard to parry or avoid enemy attacks, and preemptively defend to limit which attacks the enemy performs.

In games, it isn't fun to get hit out of nowhere. Attacks that are too fast almost make you think "how am I supposed to parry/dodge that?". I guess you think the same IRL, but you acclimate a bit and see most attacks coming. That acclimation takes many many hours though, which in a game, might amount to dozens/hundreds of deaths.

What do you think is the ideal balance?