Crytek: Ryse combat is "mashing to mastery"

Crytek's upcoming Xbox One action game Ryse: Son of Rome has been designed with a concept called "mashing to mastery," according to design director PJ Estevez.

Speaking with Gamereactor, the developer explained that Ryse has been designed so anyone can play, but will also be challenging to gamers who want to "master" their techniques.

"We have this concept we call mashing to mastery. The idea is that anyone can play it and they can mash the buttons and fight, but if you get the right timing you're able to actually master it," Estevez said. "Master the reaction you get out of the AI. You worked on the AI, you get them to this executable state and you execute them and we're like: 'Why does it have to stop there?' 'Why do I have to stop and watch this movie play out?'

"Because we've all played games that have executions and like 30 minutes into it you're like 'Really, I smash this guys head, then I stab then I kick him,'" he added. "So we're like, well, let's continue the flow, let's make it open up a window and give guys who want to spend time learning it more of a reward bonus."

Estevez acknowledged that some gamers may have seen the button prompts during the game's E3 trailer and groaned about the game using quicktime events. However, these slow-motion execution moments are meant to accentuate the experience, Estevez said.

"It's probably one of these things where you see it on stage and you see the button prompts and everyone's like, 'Aww, it's a QTE!' But no, it's really about the flow and maintaining it."

Ryse: Son of Rome is due out in November alongside the Xbox One. The game, formerly a Kinect-exclusive for Xbox 360, follows Roman soldier Marius Titus as he seeks to avenge the death of his family.