A game where your enemies are afraid of you

Many action games are power fantasies that put players in the shoes of beings capable of feats beyond imagination, some of which are downright terrifying. This may not always be the main selling point, but these games shine in their ability to empower, and a great way to demonstrate this is by having AI enemies react out of pure fear. They may scream, cry for mercy, run away, or act irrationally. Either way, the result is the same. They are afraid of you.

To be most effective, this mechanic should be triggered by direct player action rather than an explicitly scripted event. Although the latter may still be satisfactory. Let's take a look at different types of games that incorporate this type of reaction, from RPGs to stealth and open world.

Enemies will only be aggressive for so long

The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim In some ways, I took a step back. Elder Scrolls series. The heavy focus on side quests remained, but the game's weapons, magic, and skill systems were oversimplified, greatly reducing the build variety of previous games. One way is Skyrim But what moved forward was the game's graphics and technical fidelity, which gave way to much more dynamic NPCs.

When enemies reach their limit during combat, they will crouch down and start begging for mercy instead of continuing to fight. This gives the Dragonborn time to recover when his health is low, but keep in mind that enemies can taunt again even if they fear you once.

Enemies fear Big Boss, can you blame them?

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain You can decide how to approach most missions. Players must plan how to complete the task while moving away from the objective, which is usually an enemy camp. For most people the first step will probably be stealth, but shooting guns is also a viable candidate.

phantom painAI enemies learn from failures, and soldiers try to adapt to counter previous tactics. This can be as simple as wearing a helmet to avoid face photos, but it can take many forms. In addition to taking the Big Boss seriously, you can also engage in old-fashioned psychological warfare by disrupting formations, eliminating allies, and creating chaos while in hiding. Even when all hell breaks loose, Big Boss still feels like the aggressor and his targets enter a fight-or-flight panic.

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sleeping dog

An open world title with a crime-focused twist.

sleeping dog All things considered, it's an underrated open world title. It had the same humor and charm that made it so beloved. grand theft auto series, albeit in smaller volumes to accommodate a very different story tone. The setting feels expansive and vivid, and although the game lets you play as a gangster, there's a very interesting twist in that the protagonist becomes an undercover cop with a personal stake in the unfolding story.

As players level up Face XP, one of three levels at which they can add experience points, the protagonist's movements become more brutal and intense, causing enemies to become instinctively aware of the danger they face and fill them with fear.

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rotten

You are the monster that humanity fears

Quite a few games cast the player as the villain, or allow them to roleplay as the villain if they wish. rotten It's in a league of its own. The playable characters can't be described in any other way than as Lovecraftian horror monsters, and the poor humans in this world react accordingly. Fear is at the core of the gameplay loop, and the protagonist's mere presence is enough to scare NPCs into screaming and scattering motions.

The playable characters gradually grow throughout the campaign as armed units arrive, lockdowns occur, and more drastic attempts are made to contain the outbreak. As you become stronger, resistance begins to become more meaningless. To be honest, humans rarely feel like they are the “enemy.” Because this means they are on somewhat equal footing. This is a massacre.

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Ghost of Tsushima & Yotei

Ghost pose…become a myth

Sucker Punch's historic open-world game is ultimately about revenge. in Ghost of TsushimaJin seeks to eliminate the Mongols who have taken over his home, and he may have to abandon his samurai code of conduct to get the job done. in Ghost of YoteiAtsu is on a more personal mission, including finding the Yotei Six who massacred his family when he was young. Although they are completely different characters, they both find themselves drawn into a “ghost” persona, an almost mythical being who brings vengeance.

In both games, players eventually unlock the Ghost Stance, which instantly puts the fear of death in enemies. Normally you'd need to complete a few kills in a row to trigger this stance, but it's unavoidable during a campaign. The Ghost Stance is the most iconic way Atsu and Jin can scare their enemies, but it's not the only way. A standoff that ends in the enemy's death can cause your allies to retreat or hesitate, and the same goes for strategic kills that eliminate a camp's leader. in Ghost of YoteiAtsu unlocks Onryo Howl pretty early, which is like a less threatening version of Ghost Stance.

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batman arkham games

Gotham's underworld has every reason to fear the Dark Knight.

Here it is – the series you’ve all been waiting for. Rocksteady's arkham The game is synonymous with this concept, as Batman uses fear to bring the worst of Gotham into hysteria. Of course, this mainly only happens to minions, but anyway, most of the game is spent fighting these nobodys. He likes to knock some sense into his enemies, but sometimes he decides to take a stealthy approach, hanging from the rafters and quietly taking out the thugs one by one.

As they search for their unconscious partners, their enemies begin to lose their minds. They know Batman is here, but they can't see him. They know he could potentially get it at any time, but they don't know how to stop him. They know they are his prey. They start acting foolishly and abandoning their actual tactics or formations, which means it becomes increasingly easier to eliminate them. Even their conversations are defined by fear. All major games (asylum, city, article, birthand shadow) has some of these aspects, but the most complete version is arkham knight.

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Middle-earth: Shadow Of War

The Shining Lord is a scary person

shadow of war It takes the unique mechanics of its predecessor and universally improves on everything, giving players a deeper enemy system, better mount mechanics, more satisfying combat, and tons of open world locations to explore and explore. The game's satisfying and visceral combat becomes even more so as you watch your enemies react to the sheer strength and speed of Talion as the fearsome Bright Lord.

While brutally attacking enemies from behind the scenes will cause the Uruk to flee in fear, delivering a particularly brutal finish to an enemy in normal combat or triggering environmental effects such as explosive grog barrels or insect nests can have a similar effect, subduing the Bright Lord's enemies through sheer fear as they all run in terror.

1

Battle Brothers

Morale is critical to success

Battle Brothers A monumentally engaging open-world roguelike that gives players the freedom to grow their band of mercenaries, create legendary warriors through contracts and encounters, or face death. The game's build system is incredibly extensive and varied, with every mercenary the player hires – colloquially known as a 'brother' – coming with a variety of innate traits. Some of these traits clearly affect their morale, either being braver than most of their brethren or starting every battle confident, or conversely being timid and losing morale more quickly in battle than most of their brethren.

If you succeed in a battle, brutally chopping down your enemies while taking only minor damage, enemy units will dynamically reassess the situation and, if their morale is low enough, will panic and flee from you and your fearsome mercenary army.