Why Do Turn Based Games Have MORE Combat?

Here's how much I loved Arcane.

I bought a Turn Based RPG taking place in League's universe…

God damn.

What about Ruined King though?

Well, I was actually rather enthralled at first. Despite my hatred for Turn Based Combat, its simple system was rather compelling.

Basically, you select between "Instant" moves that don't cost you any points, and in-fact, give you back Mana to use for "Rift" moves, which are far more powerful, but cost Mana to use.

While this is happening, there's a "time" chart below that applies to both your party and the enemies.

Sometimes there's even a set point in the timeline that a bonus will be applied.

This all makes it rather satisfying when you setup the perfect line of attacks to do maximum damage to particular target.

It also gives combat a decent enough flow that while not fast, isn't outright dull.

If I could get through games like Knights of the Old Republic, I could do this right?

Well, there's one thing KOTOR doesn't have.

Random encounters.

The main reason I dislike Turn Based Combat is about as simple as this game's combat.

I adore pacing.

I care about it immensely in all my work, and I respect it hugely when I see someone who cares about it more than me in whatever it may be, music, movies, motion comics, etc.

In shooters, driving, or action RPGs, I don't feel the game has effectively paused while playing because that gameplay is the experience. Even when I know a pathway's blocked so we can spend twenty minutes going the long way around so the game's campaign isn't two hours long, it doesn't immediately strike my monkey brain as hitting the pause button because, we're still moving forward.

There's still new things to see, and maybe new enemies to fight.

Turn Based games like Ruined King don't have that.

They'll introduce a character I find compelling, an objective's surely going to create an interesting development in the plot.

I'm walking towards this interesting development and BAM!

A random NPC walks up and the game transitions to the same combat void that's been there since the first hour, so we can kill two enemies I won't remember in ten minutes, because in ten minutes, another NPC will appear like a jumpscare, so we can go to the same combat void!

At least in DOOM 3 when enemies appeared exactly like this, I could one tap them with a shotgun, not spend minutes clicking on icons to watch the same animations slowly play out over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over…

Even pseudo turn based games like Dragon Age Origins have this problem of needing to cast spells every five yards despite being a slow-paced tactical combat RPG.

These games setup encounters in ways that I just can't imagine players would genuinely engage with them.

They're not important for story development. They're easy to clear through regardless of difficulty. The experience reward for completing them is minimal.

It's just eating up time!

If action games are criticized for having story interrupt the action, why are turn-based RPGs given a free pass to spam shitty combat every two seconds?

Even if someone enjoyed the gameplay loop, wouldn’t they get tired of it? Especially for such lame context as fighting people trying to rob you?

This is something that in a normal game would take thirty seconds, not multiple minutes of clicking in menus.

In games like Darkest Dungeon or Civilization, it's not just the context is more interesting. You're deciding to invent the wheel or build a giant death robot, not fending off some robbers in the street; in those games, the turn based combat is the point.

There isn't ensemble cast, extensive conversations, or an epic plot to tell.

You're playing those games to build your own narrative through the gameplay loop.

None of that exists here.

There's one more thing I wanted to explore though…

In Chess, there's checkmates.

Putting your enemy into a position that's literally impossible for them to escape.

There's no point in playing out the next sequence of events because there's no use, your opponent is going to die, so you shake hands, and move on.

Every game like Ruined King that I've played has these.

Your enemy is at health that cannot hold against any of the upcoming moves from your party members without carrying any health potions, or healing abilities.

Your enemy is done.

They are in a checkmate…

YET.

The game insists on playing out these turns for an encounter that wasn't interesting to begin with but especially not when your enemy couldn't fend off an angry snail.

The same is applicable in the opposite scenario too.

I just don't get it.

If Chess figured this out two thousand years ago, why are turn-based games made in the modern day so insistent on wasting that same time?

I wanted to keep playing Ruined King, but I dropped it, and I'll likely just read up some things online about the characters or a cutscene compilation.

I wanted to get into the world, and I was enjoying what I saw of it in Ruined King, making it all the more frustrating when Ruined King itself didn't seem interested in letting players explore it.

Not without throwing another Thief in the way…