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Wolverine and Onimusha are cool and all but games forgot how to do dynamic dismemberment
A Destructoid opinion piece argues that modern sword-based action games, including the newly released Marvel's Wolverine and Onimusha: Way of the Sword, have abandoned the dynamic, freeform dismemberment mechanics pioneered over a decade ago, instead relying on scripted "kill animations" while regular combat treats blades as blunt weapons. The writer contends this represents a step backwards for genre realism and player satisfaction, despite the underlying technology having existed and proven popular for years.
The piece traces the origin of true dynamic cutting to Metal Gear Solid: Rising, unveiled at E3 2010 by Platinum Games, whose free-form slicing tech carried through, in a slightly reduced form, into the 2013 release Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. It also credits 2002's Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast with an earlier, cruder version of dynamic dismemberment, though that feature was locked out of the console release to satisfy ratings boards and only accessible via a PC unlock. The author says no major action game has meaningfully revisited this approach since Revengeance, despite studios pouring resources into graphical realism elsewhere, and calls on developers to bring back freeform blade physics.
In short
- Opinion piece says modern sword games lack real dynamic dismemberment mechanics.
- Credits Metal Gear Rising (2013) and Jedi Outcast (2002) as past examples.
- Wolverine and Onimusha only allow cutting in scripted kill animations.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Dynamic dismemberment can make sword combat feel responsive and consequential: where a player cuts matters, and enemies react to the actual blow rather than a repeated animation. Its earlier appearances suggest the idea can be compelling, so bringing it back could deepen combat and make blade-focused games feel more distinctive.
The case against
Scripted combat can be a deliberate design choice: it lets developers choreograph readable, polished encounters and maintain pacing, while freeform cutting may complicate animation, balance and consistent presentation. A feature that worked in particular games may not suit every action game, and development effort may be better spent on other aspects of combat.
Explained simply
Games like Marvel's Wolverine and Onimusha: Way of the Sword are recent sword-combat action titles that let players slice through enemies, but the way that slicing works is at the centre of the debate. Some games use fixed, pre-made animations for special finishing moves while ordinary combat treats blades more like blunt weapons, rather than letting cuts happen freely wherever the player strikes.
This is being compared with older games that allowed genuinely dynamic dismemberment, where a blade could cut an enemy at any angle or point of impact in real time, rather than following a scripted sequence. The best-known example is Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, released in 2013 by Platinum Games, building on technology first shown in 2010; an earlier, more limited version of the idea also appeared in 2002's Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast, though it was restricted on consoles for ratings reasons.
The wider point of interest is that this kind of freeform cutting technology has existed for well over a decade, yet is argued to have largely disappeared from newer action games even as graphics and other technical elements have advanced. It touches on ongoing conversations in gaming about how technical capability, developer priorities and audience expectations shape combat design over time.
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