Games that have outstanding physical feedback

[hanselthecaretaker]

It?s my strong opinion that physics are an under-utilized facet of game design, in terms of the developer helping the player feel the effects of what?s happening on screen through merely audio-visual cues and an input device.

I?ve been playing Mad Max quite a bit lately, and even though it?s largely the same open world affair of many other similar titles and has a surprising depth to its lore and content suite, I feel like I would?ve typically moved onto something else by now. But I haven?t, and I think the reason why is the physics system is so bloody satisfying. It?s something that can?t be translated or articulated from a mere YouTube video either.

The impact effects for both vehicles and melee are crunchy, with an appropriate feeling of weight and momentum behind them. The melee feels similar to The Last of Us but in full 3rd person vs OTS, and the car combat is like combining GTA and Burnout. Nothing like harpooning an enemy car?s door off and blasting the now exposed driver with a shotgun, or simply nabbing the drivers themselves and launching them out overhead. I love even just cruising the desert finding scarecrow beacons to tear down with the harpoon or simply ramming them to pieces. Even pulling a grate out of the desert sand has an appropriate resistance to it. There?s also the option of the upgraded harpoon aka (Thunderpoon) to launch projectiles as reinforcements, whether they be stubborn war rigs on a convoy route or iron gates blocking a path into a camp that holds vital resources for overtaking territories.

It also sounds terrific. Metal crunches and clangs with a dense thud when vehicles collide, shotgun blasts below deep and powerfully as do explosions, sniper rounds crackle like thunder through the open landscape, vehicle exhaust notes are throaty and guttural. It helps to have a good theater system or headphones, but even without or at low volume I can appreciate the detail.

But I digress. The main point is the sense of weight and presence of game objects and how they interact is well-realized with how the game implements Havok. It?s not going for simulation by any means of course, but there is an exceptional level of detail involved for an action adventure game that goes a long way in the fun factor category. It?s something that greatly adds to the feel of interaction and is a big factor in playability for me. I would love to see developers eventually do for physics what they?ve been doing this generation for graphics through physical based rendering techniques. If that could be applied to how physics are used it?d be a huge leap forward.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Was about to mention the melee in The Last of Us.
I quite like the first-person melee in Dead Island as well, even if the game itself left much to be desired.

 

[Kyrian007]

I am right there with you. Too many games don't get this right. Mad Max did it right, and weirdly another Avalanche game Just Cause 3 is an example of not doing that right. Destroyable structures in that game go with successive rocket shots fine, fine, fine, blown to huge man-crushing pieces that somehow weigh about as much as styrofoam. No visible damage until totally destroyed, no weight after being destroyed... The sound design for the guns, ugh. None of them feel like you are firing anything more powerful than an airsoft gun.

Don't get me wrong, JC 3 is hugely fun to play. The lack of "impact" is more than made up for with fun gameplay and the freedom of movement through the environment... but how much better could it have been with physics and especially sound design that worked a little more like Mad Max.

"Impact" via good sound design is important to me. Back in the day my friends and I, our go-to shooter was Perfect Dark. And the pinnacle of a gun with great sound design was its DY357 Magnum. Its mighty roar almost drowning out the ripping thwack of its round hitting a target. But as technology progressed years later we were looking for a better shooter. We settled on Borderlands eventually, although about half of its guns barely felt like a mouse cough compared to the DY357. But its sniper and assault rifles and revolvers felt good even if the pistols and submachine guns and shotguns had no oomph. But then we moved on to Borderlands 2... where they apparently skipped sound design altogether. Where every gun report has all the weight and impact of a housefly farting. And Gearboxes's response... lets add some fisher price pew-pew lasers in the next one! In Perfect Dark, even the pew-pews from the Maian weapons had a deep, metallic reverb that made them sound awesome.

 

[Trunkage]

Dark Souls sounds like it fulfills this

 

[an annoyed writer]

Halo 2 Anniversary actually has some real nice oomph in its sound design, particularly with the sniper rifle, which actually sounds pretty nice and heavy when it fires. The Assault rifle also sounds better in that game than any other in the series. Plus, that game makes really great use of the force feedback in the controller: not only is there a rumble effect with each shot of those rifles; there is also rumble feedback for when your spartan reloads the weapons, AND another one for when they pull the charging handle. It?s a nice touch that really cements that you are holding tools of war, not a nerf dart blaster.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

I think shooters and racers probably utilize controller vibration the best as it fits really well for the kind of feedback. I still feel playing racers helped greatly in me being able to get out of skids when driving in real life. Individual games I recall having great overall feedback are Monster Hunter World, Horizon, and Mirror's Edge.

I would love to see developers eventually do for physics what they've been doing this generation for graphics through physical based rendering techniques. If that could be applied to how physics are used it'd be a huge leap forward.

Physics seemed to be cared about less and less honestly. Most games with platforming are mainly animation based vs physics based. I just played Uncharted Lost Legacy a bit ago and the jumps really make no sense in those games, I think Tomb Raider is the same now. It would be hard to figure out where to go sometimes if the games didn't have those yellow/white edges because so many of those jumps I wouldn't even try because they are so impossible for any human to make. Even sports games are mainly animation based when it would make the most sense to say utilize advanced bat-ball physics for hitting in baseball games.

 

[an annoyed writer]

Mirror's Edge.

Ah yes, Mirror?s Edge, another of my favorite examples. I love all of the little touches that lend to giving Faith physicality in the world. Small details, like how she raises her arm against a wall if you?re very close to it, give her that sense of presence that so very few games lend their protagonists.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

God of war, the...new/last one? Lots of weighty thunk-rumbles.

Dirt Rally has such intense emphasis on feedback, it should be in more games. All the games! With more visible body damage please. And fabulous cocktails.

I don't like the game much, but Destiny 2 feels responsive and tactile with weapon feedback. Reloads have various different vibration patterns that I found far more fascinating than the game's apparent story. Battlefield 1 has that also, but is a better game all round, so was not as easily distracted by the rumbles.

Mad Max does it good, yes. I hope they don't throw away that formula, the vehicle combat should return, I don't care in what form, as long as it is as equally satisfying.

 

[Xprimentyl]

It?s probably been done as well if not better since (I?ll second the mention of Dead Island,) but I recall my experience with Condemned?s and then Condemned 2?s melee combat particularly standing out to me. With the primary focus on brutal melee, the combat felt weighty and impacts were meaty; the sound of a lead pipe pinging off of flesh and bone was just as satisfying as the thunk of a 2x4 board with nails sticking out of it. Other FPS games with melee combat options tended to make it light and airy; melee was often intentionally underpowered and underrepresented as it was mostly intended as the last ditch option until you found more ammo for the half-dozen guns you?re toting around.

 

[CaitSeith]

What have Mad Max and Limbo in common? They both have outstanding physical feedback.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

I think good physics should be invisible. Unless it's something like the gravity gun, telekinesis or some mechanical gameplay element explicitly makes use or or showcases its physics as for fun, advantage, whatever, I think physics engines are really there for immersion and to be taken for granted within the game world.

Bullet casings ejecting and clanging to the ground, believable cloth movement, water flowing correctly around obstacles, footprints in soft surfaces and heavy footsteps on hard surfaces, gravity, force from weapons/spells, these things aren't themselves gameplay related but add to the illusion of the game world to suck us in. It's when we notice these things happening (or stop happening) that the illusion is broken.

Modded Skyrim IMO was one of the first games to pass "the singularity". With mods for better physics (jiggle physics, cloth physics, better water), parallax, high res textures, better, more persistent decals, etc. it is such an incredibly immersive experience. Modders have overcome so many of the games shortcomings (inevitably due to being made for consoles), but with or without, all the visuals, VFX, dialogue, sound FX, score, physics, etc all sell the world brilliantly.

I stopped playing Dishonored 2 because of the shadows...or rather lack of. It wasn't just that, but it bothered me a lot more than I thought. It's surreal to see a light source on one side of *me*, a wall on the other and to cast no shadow at all. My brain says there should be a shadow there but it doesn't exist and the illusion is broken. Not exactly physics, although a body is an object so kinda related

 

[sXeth]

Mortal Kombat, really its the arguably primary thing the series has going for it over its competitors. When a hit lands in MK it lands with impact. Which takes some of the extensive combo and rapid fire sense out of the genre. But makes for a much more fluid looking and visceral experience.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

Any Smash Bros game?

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Mortal Kombat, really its the arguably primary thing the series has going for it over its competitors. When a hit lands in MK it lands with impact. Which takes some of the extensive combo and rapid fire sense out of the genre. But makes for a much more fluid looking and visceral experience.

I get why you say that, but I think they could go much, much further with it. Imo, the original MK and MK3 had the best sound in terms of hard hitting effects. However, I?d love if the next game went full tilt into visceral mode. Grittier, more detailed action with core movesets that seem more believable, but also keeping the juggles and most of the specials.

For what it?s worth, there was an old game called War Gods that didn?t get much critical praise but damn did it it hard, and the animation work was outstanding for its time. It was about the perfect combination of realism and fantasy, but didn?t hold a candle to MK?s content and personality. If they could take the best parts from all of them I?d be thrilled.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

I am right there with you. Too many games don't get this right. Mad Max did it right, and weirdly another Avalanche game Just Cause 3 is an example of not doing that right. Destroyable structures in that game go with successive rocket shots fine, fine, fine, blown to huge man-crushing pieces that somehow weigh about as much as styrofoam. No visible damage until totally destroyed, no weight after being destroyed... The sound design for the guns, ugh. None of them feel like you are firing anything more powerful than an airsoft gun.

Don't get me wrong, JC 3 is hugely fun to play. The lack of "impact" is more than made up for with fun gameplay and the freedom of movement through the environment... but how much better could it have been with physics and especially sound design that worked a little more like Mad Max.

"Impact" via good sound design is important to me. Back in the day my friends and I, our go-to shooter was Perfect Dark. And the pinnacle of a gun with great sound design was its DY357 Magnum. Its mighty roar almost drowning out the ripping thwack of its round hitting a target. But as technology progressed years later we were looking for a better shooter. We settled on Borderlands eventually, although about half of its guns barely felt like a mouse cough compared to the DY357. But its sniper and assault rifles and revolvers felt good even if the pistols and submachine guns and shotguns had no oomph. But then we moved on to Borderlands 2... where they apparently skipped sound design altogether. Where every gun report has all the weight and impact of a housefly farting. And Gearboxes's response... lets add some fisher price pew-pew lasers in the next one! In Perfect Dark, even the pew-pews from the Maian weapons had a deep, metallic reverb that made them sound awesome.

Oh PD was the bees knees. It felt like it was ahead of its time, even following the stellar Goldeneye.

It?s not everyone?s cup of tea but Killzone 2 (and 3, and Shadow Fall) had some outstanding sound design and also used Havok physics to good effect. It had 7.1 LPCM sound and the weapons were incredibly detailed and punchy sounding. One of my biggest pet peeves of shooters is when automatic fire sounds like someone hitting play and stop on a tape recorder. Crysis was unfortunately a surprisingly big offender of this. Not Killzone 2 though. Every bullet has a dedicated report, and makes those ?rat-a-tat-tat? firefights so satisfying to listen to. I know other games have this too but there was something distinctive about Killzone 2. In a way it felt like a modern spiritual successor to Black, which was also outstanding.

 

[JohnnyDelRay]

In terms of driving physics, it depends what you enjoy. I like Forza Horizon for sliding around a city, driving on highways at perilous speed, and the sense of speed is pretty good there. It's satisfying and challenging in its own way. For a more realistic time though, Dirt Rally portrays the precision required and weightiness of cars really well, and flying down a narrow gravel road through a forest, pushing a car to its max and narrowly missing trees brings a great deal of adrenaline to what is basically sim gaming.

For melee combat, I agree Mad Max has it down pretty well. It's a lot slower than other Arkham combat style games, and I think that adds to it. Of course it's a bit clunkier too, but still mighty satisfying. And despite its age, Streets of Rage 2 had the best sounds and impact feel, I loved smacking guys around in that game, especially with weapons and throws.

Mortal Kombat, really its the arguably primary thing the series has going for it over its competitors. When a hit lands in MK it lands with impact. Which takes some of the extensive combo and rapid fire sense out of the genre. But makes for a much more fluid looking and visceral experience.

Absolutely +1 for Mortal Kombat, it just sounds so awesome. I think because it's more because of the heavy, meaty thuds and blood flying everywhere, instead of the higher-pitched impacts and screen flashes of the more cartoony games (Dragon Ball Fighters, despite its awesomeness, gives me headaches, every single hit makes the screen go apeshit) makes it a lot different to play. I'm so glad they went back to the normal 2D style, rather than the weird 3D shit, the combo system was a restrictive mess there too. Still retained it's great physics and sounds throughout though.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

I think shooters and racers probably utilize controller vibration the best as it fits really well for the kind of feedback. I still feel playing racers helped greatly in me being able to get out of skids when driving in real life. Individual games I recall having great overall feedback are Monster Hunter World, Horizon, and Mirror's Edge.

I would love to see developers eventually do for physics what they've been doing this generation for graphics through physical based rendering techniques. If that could be applied to how physics are used it'd be a huge leap forward.

Physics seemed to be cared about less and less honestly. Most games with platforming are mainly animation based vs physics based. I just played Uncharted Lost Legacy a bit ago and the jumps really make no sense in those games, I think Tomb Raider is the same now. It would be hard to figure out where to go sometimes if the games didn't have those yellow/white edges because so many of those jumps I wouldn't even try because they are so impossible for any human to make. Even sports games are mainly animation based when it would make the most sense to say utilize advanced bat-ball physics for hitting in baseball games.

Yeah, platforming physics and environmental traversal in general are sadly lackluster. I?d love if a new Tomb Raider was made where the shoulder buttons represented each appendage?s gripping/footing when climbing, so every movement had to be careful and deliberate. For once forget the automatic grabs/only these designated ledges can be used design philosophy. It worked exceptionally well for a game like Horizon: Zero Dawn but that was about action packed robot fights and awesome ground sliding setups.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Dark Souls sounds like it fulfills this

.

100% agreed. It?s mostly what got me hooked on the series actually. Every action feels deliberate and purposeful; the hits feel like they are actively affecting their target beyond mere hit points. I?d love if Sekiro takes this a step further and we start seeing more detailed damage models that possibly use some form of physically based rendering, similar to what they do graphically for materials.

Mirror's Edge.

Ah yes, Mirror?s Edge, another of my favorite examples. I love all of the little touches that lend to giving Faith physicality in the world. Small details, like how she raises her arm against a wall if you?re very close to it, give her that sense of presence that so very few games lend their protagonists.

I?ve only played a demo of the first, but really have to try out the full game. It sounds unique and fun. Naughty Dog game do the context-sensitive stuff like wall reaches too.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Spoiler

I think good physics should be invisible. Unless it's something like the gravity gun, telekinesis or some mechanical gameplay element explicitly makes use or or showcases its physics as for fun, advantage, whatever, I think physics engines are really there for immersion and to be taken for granted within the game world.

Bullet casings ejecting and clanging to the ground, believable cloth movement, water flowing correctly around obstacles, footprints in soft surfaces and heavy footsteps on hard surfaces, gravity, force from weapons/spells, these things aren't themselves gameplay related but add to the illusion of the game world to suck us in. It's when we notice these things happening (or stop happening) that the illusion is broken.

Modded Skyrim IMO was one of the first games to pass "the singularity". With mods for better physics (jiggle physics, cloth physics, better water), parallax, high res textures, better, more persistent decals, etc. it is such an incredibly immersive experience. Modders have overcome so many of the games shortcomings (inevitably due to being made for consoles), but with or without, all the visuals, VFX, dialogue, sound FX, score, physics, etc all sell the world brilliantly.

I stopped playing Dishonored 2 because of the shadows...or rather lack of. It wasn't just that, but it bothered me a lot more than I thought. It's surreal to see a light source on one side of *me*, a wall on the other and to cast no shadow at all. My brain says there should be a shadow there but it doesn't exist and the illusion is broken. Not exactly physics, although a body is an object so kinda related

I know exactly what you mean by the ?invisible? factor. Physics, animation, AI, lighting, voice acting, etc. The more natural and convincing they appear the better.