The “action” genre of video games is known for testing the player’s reflexes, hand-eye coordination, and reaction speed. When you think about action games, you might think of arcade classics like Pitfall and other games that required a lot of virtual running and jumping. That’s because some of the most well-known action games of all time may be found in even the first arcade cabinets. Even though the genre’s essential concepts — running, jumping, and attacking — remain intact, today’s action games are often more complicated than those early offerings (though not always!).
A lot of action games have the same design mechanics. The player normally moves from level to level as the game’s difficulty level steadily increases. The terrain becomes increasingly difficult to navigate, and the enemies become more difficult to defeat. Most action games have a “boss fight” at the end of each level (or set of levels), which entails going toe-to-toe with a particularly large bad guy who requires a bit additional skill and/or strength to defeat. In some action games, a smaller boss appears in the middle of a level. The term “Minibosses” is still used in modern gaming jargon to describe these medium-level threats.
What Is the Best Way to Play Action Games?
Although action games typically provide the player with multiple attack options, there is almost always a common theme at work. For example, a shooting-based action game might give the player a variety of upgradeable guns, whereas a fantasy-themed action game might give the player swords and magical abilities. The player must keep track of the main character’s health and lives as he or she progresses through the game. The main character can usually take multiple hits, but if they take too much damage, they die and lose a “life.” It’s Game Over if all of the characters’ lives are taken away. On their adventure, the player can generally collect more lives and health. Some developers believe that the health-and-lives reward and punishment system is an archaic holdover from an era when people dropped quarters into arcade machines to keep playing. Players can “rewind” the gameplay in the independently made action game Braid, for example, and repair the mistakes that lead to the main character’s death.
Due to the popularity and longevity of the action game genre, developers have experimented with the formula extensively. As a result, action games have been divided into various sub-genres. The following are some of the sub-genres:
Shooter Games are action games in which the player must aim and eliminate opponents. The player is usually in a vehicle that scrolls from left to right (or from the bottom of the screen to the top of the screen), and he or she must shoot down a seemingly endless bombardment of hostile planes and robots.
Beat ’em Ups: Action games in which the player moves from left to right and engages in close-range melee combat with enemies. Martial arts are featured prominently in several Beat ’em Ups. Double Dragon and Final Fight are two excellent examples of this sub-genre.
Action Games of the Year
Platforming Games are arguably the most well-known sub-genre of action games. Obstacle courses filled with floating platforms, adversaries, and boss characters test the player’s reflexes in platform games. Great action games for the Nintendo DS and 3DS include Super Mario 3D Land, Mutant Mudds, and Kirby’s Adventure is an action game centred on gravity flipping, and thus a good example of an action game that does something fresh with the tried-and-true concept.
It’s all about immersing you in the action of video games. While some people choose to unwind by playing soothing games, others believe they are living their best life when they are immersed in high-octane action. These 25 hand-picked action games will have you psyched up and eager to blow stuff up and punch some dudes—all while ensuring you have a great time.
