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Anaction-adventure game is avideo game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both theaction game andadventure game genres.
An action adventure game can be defined as a game with a mix of elements from anaction game and anadventure game,[1] especially crucial elements like puzzles[2] inspired by older adventure games.[3] Action-adventures require many of the same physical skills as action games, but may also offer a storyline, numerous characters, an inventory system, dialogue, and other features of adventure games.[4] They are typically faster-paced than pure adventure games, because they include both physical and conceptual challenges.[4] Action-adventure games normally include a combination of complex story elements, which are often displayed for players using audio and video. The story is heavily reliant upon theplayer character's movement, which triggers story events and thus affects the flow of the game.[5] Popular examples of action-adventure games includeThe Legend of Zelda,God of War,[4]Grand Theft Auto, andTomb Raider series.[6]
There is a good deal of controversy over what actually constitutes an action-adventure game.[7] One definition of the term "action-adventure" may be '"An action/adventure game is a game that has enough action in it not to be called an adventure game, but not enough action to be called an action game."[8] In some cases an action game with puzzles will be classified as an action-adventure game, but if these puzzles are quite simple they might be classified as an action game.[4][9] Others see action games as a pure genre, while an action-adventure is an action game that includes situational problem-solving.[8][9] Adventure gamers may also be purists, rejecting any game that makes use of physical challenges or time pressure.[4] Regardless, the action-adventure label is prominent in articles over the internet and media. The term "action-adventure" is usually substituted for a particular subgenre due to its wide scope.
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Although action-adventure games are diverse and difficult to classify, there are some distinct subgenres. Many games with gameplay[10] similar to those inThe Legend of Zelda series are calledZelda clones[11] orZelda-like games.[12][13][14] Popular subgenres include:
AGrand Theft Auto clone belongs to asubgenre ofopen world action-adventurevideo games in thethird-person perspective. They are characterized by their likeness to theGrand Theft Auto series in either gameplay or overall design.[15][16] In these types of open world games, players may find and use a variety of vehicles and weapons while roaming freely in an open world setting.[17][18][19]
Metroidvania is a portmanteau ofMetroid andCastlevania; such games are sometimes referred to as "search action",[20] and are generally based on two-dimensional platformers. They emphasize both exploration and puzzle-solving with traditional platform gameplay.[21]
Survival horror games emphasize "inventory management" and making sure the player has enough ammunition and recovery items to "survive" thehorror setting. This is a thematic genre with diverse gameplay, so not all survival horror games share all the features.[22][23][24][25] TheResident Evil franchise popularized this subgenre.
Action-adventure games are faster-paced than pure adventure games, and include physical as well as conceptual challenges[7] where the story is enacted rather than narrated.[26] While motion-based, often reflexive, actions are required,[5] the gameplay still follows a number of adventure game genre tropes (gatheringitems, exploration of and interaction with one's environment, often including anoverworld connecting areas of importance, and puzzle-solving).[27] While the controls arearcade-style (character movement, few action commands) there is an ultimate goal beyond a high score.[27] In most action-adventure games, the player controls a singleavatar as theprotagonist.[4] This type of game is often quite similar torole-playing video games.[28]
They are distinct fromgraphic adventures, which sometimes have free-moving central characters, but also a wider variety of commands and fewer or no action game elements and are distinct too fromtext adventures, characterized by many different commands introduced by the user via a complextext parser and no free-moving character. While they share general gameplay dynamics, action-adventures vary widely in the design of their viewpoints, includingbird's eye, side-scrolling, first-person,third-person, over-the-shoulder, or even a 3/4isometric view.
Many action-adventure games simulate a conversation through aconversation tree. When the player encounters anon-player character, they are allowed to select a choice of what to say. The NPC gives a scripted response to the player, and the game offers the player several new ways to respond.[citation needed]
Due to the action-adventure subgenre's broad and inclusive nature, it causes some players to have difficulty finishing a particular game. Companies have devised ways to give the player help, such as offering clues or allowing the player to skip puzzles to compensate for this lack of ability.[29]
Brett Weiss citesAtari'sSuperman (1979) as an action-adventure game,[30] withRetro Gamer crediting it as the "first to utilize multiple screens as playing area".[31] Mark J.P. Wolf creditsAdventure (1980) for theAtari VCS as the earliest-known action-adventure game.[32] The game involves exploring a 2D environment, finding and using items which each have prescribed abilities, and fighting dragons in real-time like in anaction game.[8]Muse Software'sCastle Wolfenstein (1981) was another early action-adventure game, merging exploration, combat, stealth,[33] andmaze game elements,[34] drawing inspiration from arcadeshoot 'em ups and maze games (such as maze-shooterBerzerk) andwar films (such asThe Guns of Navarone).[35]
According toWizardry developer Roe R. Adams, early action-adventure games "were basicallyarcade games done in afantasy" setting.[36]Tutankham, debuted byKonami in January 1982,[37] was an action-adventure released forarcades.[38] It combined maze, shoot 'em up,puzzle-solving and adventure elements,[39][30][40] with a 1983 review byComputer and Video Games magazine calling it "the first game that effectively combined the elements of an adventure game with frenetic shoot 'em up gameplay."[39] It inspired the similarTime Bandit (1983).[41]Action Quest, released in May 1982, blended puzzle elements of adventure games into ajoystick-controlled, arcade-style action game, which surprised reviewers at the time.[42][43]
While noting some similarities toAdventure,IGN argues thatThe Legend of Zelda (1986) byNintendo "helped to establish a new subgenre of action-adventure", becoming a success due to how it combined elements from different genres to create a compelling hybrid, including exploration, adventure-style inventorypuzzles, an action component, amonetary system, and simplified RPG-stylelevel building without theexperience points.[10]The Legend of Zelda series was the most prolific action-adventure game franchise through to the 2000s.[44] Roe R. Adams also cited the arcade-styleside-scrolling fantasy gamesCastlevania (1986),Trojan (1986) andWizards & Warriors (1987) as early examples of action-adventure games.[36]
Games likeBrain Breaker (1985),Xanadu (1985),Metroid (1986) andVampire Killer (1986) combined a side-scrollingplatformer format with adventure exploration, creating theMetroidvania platform-adventure subgenre. Similarly, games like005 (1981),Castle Wolfenstein andMetal Gear (1987) combined action-adventure exploration with stealth mechanics, laying the foundations for thestealth game subgenre, which would later be popularized in 1998 with the releases ofMetal Gear Solid,Tenchu: Stealth Assassins, andThief: The Dark Project.
Thecinematic platformerPrince of Persia (1989) featured action-adventure elements, inspiring games such asAnother World (1991) andFlashback (1992).Alone in the Dark (1992) used3D graphics, which would later be popularized byResident Evil (1996) andTomb Raider (1996).Resident Evil in particular created thesurvival horror subgenre, inspiring titles such asSilent Hill (1999) andFatal Frame (2001).[8]
Action-adventure games have gone on to become more popular than the pureadventure games and pureplatform games that inspired them.[45] Recent examples include theUncharted franchise,The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild andArk: Survival Evolved.
Action-adventure – A game which is nearly all action (see action game), but that also includes a good deal of strategy and more advanced problem solving.
Action adventures were basically arcade games done in a fantasy setting such asCastlevania,Trojan, andWizards & Warriors.
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