Stylish Hack and Slash Suggestions

I recently played DMC: Devil May Cry and enjoyed it a lot. Yesterday I bought the Devil May Cry HD Collection for xbox 360 and am currently playing that. Once I finish that I'm going to play Bayonetta.

I like this genre of games with fun, stylish combat and over the top action. I was wondering what other games I could play that are like this?

Maybe God of War? Though the combat isn't as complex or varied as DMC/Bayonetta.

You've pretty much hit the major notes for Character Action games. Vanquish is something in a similar vein, but taken from a more gun-focused angle. If you like Metal Gear, there's really nothing to lose by giving Metal Gear Rising a shot, either.

Viewtiful Joe 1 and 2 and God Hand are great but are closer to brawlers than character action.

You should play DMC4 as well, which has the imho best character action combat system of all time. It's kind of a shame that the game feels a bit unfinished due to the second half backtracking but the combat makes up for it. Other then that it's Rising, Bayonetta and Wonderful 101 if you own a WiiU. God of War is competent though I wouldn't necessarily call it stylish. As @heyguys already suggested Vanquish does stylish action extremely well too even if you shoot stuff instead of punching/slicing it.

Metal Gear Rising is a really good character action game. You should definitely check that out. It's got all the amazingly dumb over-the-top action that Devil May Cry has with beautiful graphics and great gameplay. Highly recommend it.

The combat isn't nearly as complex as DMC or Bayonetta but Killer is Dead is stylish as hell.

If you like DMC HD and Bayonetta, especially Bayonetta, then you will love Metal Gear Rising.

Castlevania: lords of shadow. It gets a lot of negativity but at the end of the day it's an amazing game nonetheless. It basically has all the elements of a great and intriguing game. It's thematic, diverse, versatile, rewarding, fun, challenging, beautiful,story-driven, intelligent etc. Once you get passed the first 2 boring chapters, lords of shadow becomes a fantastic ride, and if you love hunting and slashing monsters with strict but fair hack'n'slash gameplay, then LOS is a game I have no doubt you'll enjoy.

You can pick up the sequel too, it's not as good but it's fairly decent.

Yeah I enjoyed Killer is Dead despite the fairly simple combat system. What a weird game. Your arm is infected with the taint of Osama bin Laden. No, I'm not making that up.

I think the first Lords of Shadow is brilliant. Again, it's not really stylish in the way DMC is but the attacks have a good weight to them and the different systems shine especially on higher difficulties. The idea that you have to play well and take risks once your health is low to gain magic and heal yourself works really well. The second one is fine but weaker than the first in nearly every aspect.

I came here to suggest DmC: Devil May Cry and you've already played it.

Happy to see you're delving into the backlog of the genre.

As far as straight-forward character action goes I think Devil May Cry 4 is still the king of the genre, and Metal Gear Rising is pretty good as well. Viewtiful Joe, God Hand, Vanquish and The Wonderful 101 are also character action games but fused with other genres and all worth playing.

It's a little different, but Shadow of the Damned is pretty stylish and has some fun combat. It also has a few really weird sidescrolling shooter levels which are kind of out of place but still oddly charming. Your interest in it might be determined by how many times you can stand to listen to a guy shout "Taste my big boner" though.

I haven't played them but aren't the modern Ninja Gaiden games pretty good (excluding the third one)? I remember there being a sort of rivalry between DMC and Ninja Gaiden 2 generations back. Or maybe that was all in Itagaki's head.

DMC4, Metal Gear Rising, God of War games(but these may not be exactly stylish,) and Ninja Gaiden 2.

A good character action game meets Mario Galaxy levels of pure fun and enjoyment.

Thanks for all the suggestions so far, all these games look interesting. Metal Gear Rising and Killer is Dead are on sale on steam right now so I might get those.

Basically anything Kamiya. I wouldn't buy Killer is Dead, Suda 51 lost his touch a long time ago..... Oh and God Hand is so good.

Ninja Gaiden (Sigma 1 and 2, and Razor's Edge if possible) Metal Gear Rising, Bujingai, God of War 2, and El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron are worth looking into. I liked the Legend of Korra game, but mileage may vary.

EDIT: Gungrave and Gungrave: Overdose are more shooting focused and frustrating, but Overdose features a ghost who attacks with his guitar. His name is Rocketbilly Redcadillac. Take from that what you will.

I suggest Star Wars: Force Unleashed 1, that mixes up lightsaber combos with very well made force powers.

I'd recommend Zone of the Enders 2. Ninja Gaiden like some others have been saying as well.

@altairre: Agreed, the first is leaps and bounds better than the sequel, which kinda shows that there are times when developers shouldn't listen to their fans, because it was because of us that they changed many formulas within the game. Still, I don't hold that it's as terrible as people make it out to be. In my book LOS 2 is at least a 7.5 or 8.

Some good suggestions in here. Also, the type of game you're looking for is generally called a "character action" game. Hack & Slash is usually something more like Diablo or Torchlight.

Buy a WiiU and Wonderful 101/Bayonetta 2. >_>

Darksiders is worth a look, the combat is pretty good fun in the first one and is excellent in Darksiders 2.

@meatball: Goddammit how could I forget to mention Darksiders II? I've completed it at least 5 times by now.

Haha, I was surprised it hadn't been mentioned yet. I think it's easy to forget because of the Zelda elements and such. But yeah, loved Darksiders 2, I played through it twice straight when it was released - it has some facets where it's weaker than the original, but the game has great dungeons and fantastic combat.

Agreed, and despite it's slow beginning and some vacant areas, once Darksiders II picks up it becomes absolutely fantastic. I love how rewarding it is too; unlike the original, the game never depowers, you just grow stronger and stronger as you progress, and they really give you a chance to feel your evolution, not just with gameplay mechanics but also with the lore. (Confronting Samael may have been a good clue as to how tough you became)

Plus, Death is far more interesting than War if you ask me, plus I'm super jealous of his voice.

Absolutely. If I'm not mistaken, this game is also currently free if you have an Xbox Live Gold account and an Xbox 360. Only until the 31st of the month, so get to downloading.

@pixelperson: There is a game called Dust: An Elysian Tail which is a 2D game and more serious than Bayonetta and DMC but it still looks awesome and it is free on PS4 plus so i really recommend checking it !

By "generally" you mean on Giantbomb, right? Because I don't see them called that anywhere else.

I dunno. My information is certainly biased towards Giantbomb, but the top four Google results for "character action games" aren't Giantbomb, so...

They're generally called "action" and sometimes "stylish action," perfectly adequate terms. The action genre isn't broad. If you were talking about shoot em ups, you'd say shoot em ups; if you were talking about action-adventure, you'd say that; if T/FPS, you'd say that; if beat em up, you'd say that; if fighting, etc, etc. Even the creators of the games call them "action".

Asura's Wrath, of course. Combat's fairly simple but fun.

Not to mention dodging planets and whatnot.

Metal Gear Rising

Unfortunately (because it's a stupid, meaningless name) it's seeped out to a small number of other outlets. They're just action games; the "character" part is completely superfluous.

It is kind of stupid, because what game doesn't have a character? Personally, I've always referred to them as 3rd person action games. Just by not using the word "shooter" pretty much explains the genre.

And while we're on the topic, Final Fight and Dragon's Crown are beat 'em ups, while Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat are tournament fighters.

Seems I am one of the very few who hated Metal Gear Rising...
Anyway, if you can get a hold of Ninja Gaiden Black (it's for the first Xbox, so might be a bit old for your taste) you should give that a go. Most of my other picks have already been mentioned.

Hey, Alice: Madness Returns is pretty cool.

This happens to be my favorite gaming genre.

Ninja Gaiden Black. You absolutely need to play this if you are into this genre. It is still considered the best action game in this style by many.

You did well getting Devil May Cry Collection. You also need to check out Revengeance. It was my GOTY of that year actually. I really liked it.

Others suggested Darksiders II. I am a huge fan of that game, one of the few who thought it was a lot better than the first game in fact. However, as far as combat goes it's not in the same league as the others I mentioned. It doesn't scratch the same itch. That said, you should definitely still play it, because it is a different type of game. Zelda-ish. I think the art in that game is amazing and I really like the colors. It has fun puzzles, good combat and a pretty satisfying progression curve with leveling, loot and possessed weapons.

Also, skip God of War. It is in the same genre, but by far the weakest. It looks good, but it's too easy and the combat system is severely underdeveloped compared to other games. Revengeance doesn't have a complex system either, but it does have depth. GoW lacks both. It's uninteresting to the seasoned hack & slash player (yes, I did just call myself that).

All its depth flies out the window when you can insta-kill an enemy with blade mode. Sometimes you can do it over and over without pause because their spines recharge your "stamina" fully. It was a dumb idea.

@ezekiel: That only works on the weakest enemies. All others need to be critically hit or stunned first. Especially on higher difficulties, it will require good coordination and reflexes to do so. It makes the game incredibly satisfying.

I would say all of these types of games are easy on the normal setting though. It is what makes them so great. On your first run, you are learning the combat system and then subsequent runs you are challenged. Playing Revengeance on Revengeance is definitely not that easy, and that strategy won't work.

In my humble opinion:

MGS: Rising would be the obvious continuation of the current thread.Viewtiful Joe and Godhand are must plays as well. Hyper stylish.

Ninja Gaiden Sigma/Black is also very good - Not a fan of 2 and 3 is..ergh. The fact that enemy types and placement are changed as you up the difficulty keeps it fresh (at least in black). Reasonably stylish but with added bounce.

God of War is just spectacle and has some very nasty themes that put me off. Combat is simple and boring in my opinion...yes even on hardest difficulty. Not stylish at all beyond the set pieces which can be impressive.

I don't get the love for DMC4 combat but it's a fine game if you can stomach the first half with Nero. Stylish in the second act.

Darksiders are Zelda clones with added DMC lite combos but people seem to enjoy them for reasons I cannot fathom. Wouldn't call them stylish just boring.

Asura is hilarious but mostly a QTE spectacle..worth playing though. Very stylish,,actually all it is is stylish.

2d stuff would be Muramasa and Dust..both pretty good combat games. Streets of Rage would be my old school choice..the music alone in 2 is worth it. Sonically Stylish.

I'll probably get shit for this but I'd also put Capcom's Sengoku Basara 3 pretty high on the character action whatever list. It's their take on Musou but crazier and with more depth to the combat. Mitsunari is essentially Vergil and he's great in the way he can cancel his dashes with other moves. I view the Musou genre as the evolution of sidescrolling beat-em-ups with added RPG elements. Couldn't be more stylish if it tried...as that's mostly all it is.

Saint Seiya Sanctuary is also pretty damn good with it's rpg elements and the way the cosmo charge changes the different stats, though second one removes most of what was good about the game for more story/characters.

Huh? When I played the game you had to take tougher enemies down to a certain health level before they went blue in zandatsu mode and you could slice them and recharge by getting their spine. If you're talking about just grunts then..who cares? They're hardly a threat anyway. They're only there to give you health and points..

@jazz: Yes, you can skip Ninja Gaiden 3, although I have to say it's not as bad as people make it out to be. It's too easy, but still more challenging than a GoW. I found Ninja Gaiden II to be very disappointing as well. Black is still the best in that series. Note that Black is also better than Sigma, which received a significant difficulty decrease. Master Ninja in Black in still the way to go.

I actually liked DMC4. Believe it or not, I also preferred Nero to be honest. Switching the styles with Dante was a lot of fun, but it was fun because of how complex it got. After an amazing combo you'd look back and think: damn... I pulled that off. However, you could've done the same without switching styles that much. I loved using Nero in the Bloody Palace. You had to remap the button layout so that you could use the shoot ability while doing your standard combo's (I mapped mine to the triggers). You could charge them during any combo, which resulted in combo's ending or pausing in charged shots, which especially when you were in his demon form, became awesome combo's.

I also second God Hand. The name alone is enough.

I have played the first Darksiders and own the second one, which I have been meaning to play for a while. Dust: An Elysian Tail is in my backlog. Ninja Gaiden Black looks great I think I'll buy that soon.

I want to play god hand but I don't own a Playstation. At least I don't feel bad about not playing god of war anymore.

@zevvion: This is my new favorite gaming genre, unfortunately there don't seem to be many games in it.

Giant Bomb didn't come up with that name, it's been tossed around since the original DMC. It's definitely used quite often on this site, but to suggest that Giant Bomb either A. created that name for the genre, or B. is responsible for it being somewhat widely used, is just flat out wrong.

It's a dumb genre name, but most genre names are dumb. People know what it refers to so it fulfills it's purpose.

As already mentioned a few times, Metal Gear Rising is a great one to try out. I also quite enjoyed Splatter House dispite it's avradge reviews. Another hack'n slash games you need to try is Dungeons & Dragons on the Saturn or the rerelease on XBOX live. It maybe an older title but still a prettygood action title.

DMC3 is the gold standard of action games and the genre is actually surprisingly limited. You should give God Hand a try and, as others have said, MGR which, while it tends to be a little simpler than its competitors, makes up for it with its presentation values and sheer silliness.

You can insta-kill most things in the game with parries. In fact, the reason why a lot of people consider Revengeance difficulty to be easier than the one below it is because parry damage is amplified significantly in that mode - making bosses even easier.

I feel Enslaved should get a mention here, it certainly has a unique thing going on.

Ninja Gaiden Black. It plays on 360 really beautifully and it's one of the best titles in the genre. Really stupendous game.

Story is complete nonsense but it's mechanics are near perfect. And it's fun. A lot of fun.