Especially when combat is something generally 'expected' in a game and rarely, if ever is it given legitimate criticisism without it being ironic or even hypocritical. Like, violence is not the way.. and this profound revelation comes about only AFTER you've killed about thousands of mooks.

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Also I don't want people to read this as me saying that games shouldn't tackle *violence* as a theme. Obviously if you've played either of our games (especially Slay the Princess) you'll know we don't shy from it. But combat mechanics soften your ability to authentically explore that theme.

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I especially struggle w/ games that try to build an emotional core around the toll of taking a life when this toll is presented only in cutscenes sandwiched between segments of total carnage. Maybe more writers need to be creative directors.

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Plenty of games still pull off being combat-focused with having a strong emotional core, of course — IMO particularly the best soulslikes. But the industry as a whole needs to look beyond those walls. Especially AAA spaces.

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IMO one of the biggest hurdles for games as an artistic medium is their over-reliance on combat as a core mechanic. Saying this as a guy who enjoys a good combat system, but it's emotionally numbing and severely limits a game's narrative scope.

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