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It's probably a really specific thing I'm looking for: after playing Xenoblade Chronicles, I've been craving for a game with similar combat, but with greater focus on positioning around enemies and I can't find much.

The other games closest to what I'm looking for that i can think of would be Final Fantasy XIV and Monster Hunter (especially before GU and World), but I've played enough of them to be a bit burnt out. Another game I though would be similar is Atelier Yumia, but it ended up feeling a bit shallow.

Any recommendations?

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[-] LuigiMaoFrance@lemmy.ml 3 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Damn, I was going to recommend Xenoblade and Monster Hunter, but seems these are the exact games that inspired you to make this thread in the first place, haha.

[-] PerogiBoi@lemmy.ca 3 points 4 days ago

Bannerlord! Top down strategy when roaming around and managing your troops and or kingdom, real time first person action during battles and sieges with different troop positioning commands.

[-] _Lory98_@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 4 days ago

Not really what I'm looking for, but I do remember having fun with the original Mount & Blade when I played it ages ago so I'll check it out!

[-] Duke_Nukem_1990@feddit.org 3 points 4 days ago

Have you played Grandia II? IIRC you could score bigger hits from behind enemies, cancel enemies attacks etc. depending on the position and timing of your attacks.

[-] _Lory98_@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 4 days ago

Haven't played it yet, but I was planning on playing the first one. It does look fun, so I might try it sooner rather than later.

[-] Kolanaki@pawb.social 2 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

The Tales of games. Or at least the early ones.

[-] mohab@piefed.social 1 points 4 days ago

Hmm… I thought I knew what you mean, but you said MH and now I'm confused. Monster Hunter is mainly dodge and hit? I'm not an expert, but this is how I played World/Rise. How different were older MH games?

[-] _Lory98_@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

It's less important in the newer games, since the monsters are less predictable and their attacks track a lot, and the hunters get parries or other options (in GU and Rise in particular), but you often need to position yourself defensively to preemptively avoid attacks and usually keep attacking. For example: the Rathian charge is instant, so you should keep to her side to avoid it and her other frontal attacks like the fireballs.

Pretty often you could just walk out of attacks if you knew they were coming.

[-] mohab@piefed.social 1 points 4 days ago

Hmm… this is common in action games and soulslikes, I think: Arkham in Devil May Cry 3 and Centipede Demon in Dark Souls come to mind. Those fights are all about positioning.

I feel as if this is a common solution to large boss fights in most games with melee combat; whereas humanoid enemies can typically either quickly turn, do sweeping 360 attacks, or teleport behind you (oh hi Vergil) so it's less about positioning and more about pattern recognition and quick reflexes.

That said, it's possible I misunderstood what you mean because I haven't played older MH games or Xenoblade.

[-] _Lory98_@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

That said, it's possible I misunderstood what you mean because I haven't played older MH games or Xenoblade.

I realize I'm being a bit too vague, as I'm not sure how to describe clearly what I'm thinking about.

You mentioned both DMC3 and Dark Souls and while I don't remember very well either fight, I do think that DMC3-5 (and Bayonetta too sometimes) allow you to do what I'm thinking about with most bosses, while normal encounters I feel are more about crowd control. On the other hand, Dark Souls and the other soulslike I played feel more focused on reacting to attacks, like the newer MH games.

[-] mohab@piefed.social 1 points 3 days ago
[-] _Lory98_@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 3 days ago

Oh yea, I forgot about that series. I have the first two games, but haven't really played much. I remember trying the first one a few years ago looking for something to play after MHW, but I think I dismissed them because of the higher speed and less weight in combat. I'll have to try them again.

Another Monster Hunter "clone" I should probably try is Toukiden.

[-] kibiz0r@midwest.social 1 points 4 days ago
[-] SmokeInFog@midwest.social 5 points 4 days ago

Pillars of Eternity I & II

[-] Nioxic@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 4 days ago

Elden ring to a degree

this post was submitted on 01 Feb 2026
26 points (100.0% liked)

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