@kasdeya i think visual clarity is becoming increasingly devalued as indie/AA studios try to make their game stand out in the sea of saturation. on one hand, i appreciate that developers are valuing the impact of player action but i think there are other ways to do it that don’t sacrifice visual clarity. techniques like hitstop, exaggerated animations, and good audio design go a really long way in this department without flooding the screen with 76 simultaneous particle emitters.

i wonder if some of it isn’t also in line with the high-adrenaline gameplay that a lot of them are going for – i find that a game can sell a really impactful action if its given time to do so. i know it’s possible to do in a fast game though – for example, the ko effect in smash ultimate: sidechaining or lowering the game volume in combination with an animation with heavy anticipation and time slow/stop on impact with a pronounced sound effect. this same technique is used for the entire match but it’s much, much subtler until the (usually) very last hit.