"One approach could have been to simply add in a silly amount of different combos or skills that would then be unlocked throughout the game. We did however feel that in most cases, players tend to just learn a few combos, and then use them throughout the game. If there's nothing else going on except new unlocks, that doesn’t really solve the problem."
Instead, he says, Southend experimented with making the combat and controls less rigid, with a larger focus on speed and skill.
"Instead of just taking influence from other games in the genre, we looked at more modern action games such as God of War, Darksiders and Super Smash Bros," he explains. "Here, combat is fluid, fast and explosive. When a player is skilled enough, he will occasionally be in 'the zone' where he fluidly lands one perfect attack after another and counter or dodge each incoming attack."
