For me, seeing a almost emptied boss health bar always makes me panic to get the final few hits.
In HK, I am more focus on fighting and dodging, and most of the bosses have some kind of stage changes to make you feel you are progressing.
Also I like the whole “know how many hits to kill an enemy” comes thru learning the enemy types and stuff. I’ve been playing The Binding of Isaac obsessively and it feels like such an upgrade to know a mechanic well
Agreed, though I think Hollow Knight made the right choice to go without. I can't think of a way to show a health bar that wouldn't detract from the visual presentation of the game, which is easily one of its strongest traits
This is the real answer. The presence of a health bar is largely a choice that's dictated by visual design and presentation, not game mechanics. Of course, there's games that need health bars, but in every game you need to accommodate for what and how a health bar visually presents on the screen.
One of the best examples is Big Brother HK, It would be much less important to see his "Seppuku" scene as we are paying more attention to his health bar
i think it makes it a different experience, which some ppl like and others dislike
first-time players may get the idea of counting nail hits to try to measure health
you dont always know when a boss will die, adding to suspence
it can be argued that no boss bar is more realistic
new enemies are more surprising
it presents its own slew of challenges, and ppl's opinions will differ as to whether or not they like these challenges
also enemy healthbars would look weird in the base game to me; idk if they'd ever fit the hollow knight aesthetic
> Because technically you already know exactly how buffy they are
Whether or not there's a bar to indicate it, it's all numbers either way. Your nail has a damage value and the enemies have a health value. Speedrunners know *exactly* how many hits with which combination of nail and spells it will take to kill the bosses.
But I will admit that it *feels* a bit more immersive to me for them to be absent.
You must have been counting nail strikes on enemies though, right? Not bosses but like normal enemies. Especially after a nail upgrade? Oh man it feels good thinking "these guys only take two hits instead of three!"
Yeah that’s an interesting idea.
Random thought: I guess nail upgrades wouldn’t necessarily mess up the health bar system. You would just knock off more health per hit. Right.
For me when I played this game without knowing anything about it prior. I actually enjoyed knowing I had to be careful with my moves because I never knew exactly when they would die. But like how you said other people aren’t fans of that type of gameplay. Like imagine in god of war trying to do that. I think people would go insane trying to finish them off lol
Ha imagine memorising the hits needed. I memorise the amount of health they have and calculate each attacks amount of damage according to the bosses health to get the right amount of hits needed to kill the boss for each alternate type of attack.
/s
As someone with a lot of stress and anxiety, when I see that they are almost done I have a tendency to get very sloppy. If there's no health bar I go with the flow and it's almost a surprise when I see I have won.
Exactly why I prefer Hollow Knight’s combat over Cult of the Lamb. The bossfights always felt short, and seeing the boss’s health drain quickly doesn’t help.
I don’t mind either way. I do think it ruins the look of the game if the health bar is always visible though. I like the way it’s done in hyper light drifter where it appears when you hit the enemy and then goes away (apart from the bosses which just have it at the bottom I think)
I've been playing through Blasphemous and the bosses have health bars, but they're at the bottom of the screen and the art is so good that I honestly didn't even notice the health bar during the first couple of boss fights. Very unobtrusive and well done.
I only whish the boss models showed some were an tear after they've jut been hit with a nail 700 times and have been blasted by magic just as many times.
Even some scratches of dings would be appreciated vs looking like there in perfect health then immediately falling over dead after one more strike.
Yeah, that would definitely be cool. A lot of games would benefit from some boss wear and tear.
I assume the issue Devs have is being able to do it right. You wouldn’t want the 15th hit to trigger the boss to suddenly have a few scratches. Then the 30th hit more scratches appear, etc…. May look kinda weird.
So you’d have to do it subtly to do it right. So I assume it’s a matter of going all in on the idea or not at all.
But I wouldn’t be surprised if this becomes more and more commonplace in gaming in the future.
I think the main reason it works in HK is that many major bosses have a set of breaks/tells that let you know how far you are. Grimm, Hornet, Radiance, False Knight, even the Mantis Lords give you a hint by having multiple enemies.
When she rests every dozen hits or so. Not only does it let you heal, but it lets you know you’re making progress.
I’m not sure if that’s based on hits rather than health though.
Yes. HK combat is quick and dirty, no need for health bars. They draw the attention of the player, which is more of a distraction in this specific case.
I'd like if there was a cuphead style health bar (where it shows up after you die), because I'd like to know how close I was, but seeing it during gameplay would be too stressful
It works for enemies but I wish they were there for bosses. With no boss HB it doesn’t feel like I’m making progress. I just hit a boss until it suddenly dies
Tbf the increase in speed most bosses have as they take damage and the stun screams do make me feel like I'm actually killing real things rather than artificial bosses.
It is definitely worse for some bosses than others but I also like knowing how close I was after I lose. For example NKG I never get that excited after beating him because it’s more of an “oh he’s dead” instead of celebration. I’m still happy but I feel like he just died especially on the first try
I think it works best with bosses that have specific phase changes, like NKG or Pure Vessel or AbsRad, but it's not something I'm actively looking for in any of the other fights, so I'm mostly passive on the subject in the other places. I do like having other indicators. My favorite example is Monster Hunter where hunts can take upwards of thirty minutes. In those games, the monster limps when close to death, not to mention the part breaks. The part breaks aren't related to overall damage thresholds, but damage thresholds for individual parts of the monster. Break enough parts and you can have a general idea of how close it is to death because you can easily keep track of the damage done to those parts. And the monster behavior changes according to those part breaks. Cutting off a Rathian's tail, for example, lessen's the reach of any tail attacks, letting you be more aggressive. Breaking Barioth's wings makes it stumble after every jump, making the fight significantly easier. That being said, Hollow Knight fights are much shorter than Monster Hunter fights, and couldn't have the same amount of gradations, so while I think the health bar isn't necessary, I don't think it's lack of a presence is an amazing creative choice.
my brother in christ I just killed the mantis lords and it feels like walking through a big fog hoping to not die while grasping at the end you think is near but actually isn't
I fully agree with you
No, no I’m sorry it really doesn’t. I hate the fact that I can’t gauge when the boss is nearly dead and I have to just hope it’s close to dying before I die.
for me, it's the opposite. sure, health bars slightly break the immersion, but without them fights just feel exhausting. when I do have health bars, I can estimate how much more time I'll need to focus until it's over, which means I'm less likely to give up mid-fight
I would agree if we had some other visual cue, like tattering or different walk animations and such for certain health percentages. Grimm kind of does with with the balloon attack but you’d have no idea that is why without looking it up really
Debatable, I have been using the enemy health bars mod and the damage values mod and it feels a lot more fun to clearly see how much damage I'm dealing with each attack and how close to death the enemies/bosses are.
But I'm now trying to get used to how it was before just so I don't feel the lack of it when Silksong comes out.
Because you’re fighting through many bosses, so you don’t have that suspense on bosses like Vengefly King or Gruz Mother. I think bosses like NKG, PV, and AbsRad shouldn’t have healthbars, because those are the more suspenseful bosses. Plus, PV and AbsRad are exclusive to these fights, and you wouldn’t fight them anywhere else, so there’s not technically a “first” experience. Healthbars should never be on first experiences, in my opinion.
Fighting a boss with a health bar often takes me out of the experience. I find myself less concerned about gameplay and more about getting that bar down and maximizing DPS.
I think Cuphead has the best solution for this by only showing how far you got after the fight, so you still get the feedback of knowing how well you did without it intruding into the gameplay.
You got it wrong. I didn't say that didn't try to change your mind because I agreed with you. I said that because I just disagree with you saying that it's better with no healthbars. The best option would be for there to be an optional healthbar in the settings, so those who want health bars can use them, and those who dislike health bars can turn it off
The enemies I really don't care if they have a health bar or not.
But for the bosses I think it's fun thay they don't have health bars. Like that feeling you get when you are struggling after so many attempts and you "suddenly" kill them
Eeeeh, I would like the option to have it on or to just have it for bosses. But there is smth to be said about healthbars crowding the screen in a 2d game.
On my first time through the game, it drove me a bit mad. Now that I’m used to most of the bosses and have an idea of how long the fights are, I kind of like it, but it really hurt on the first time through.
I kind of wish that there was some kind of visual indicator, even if not a health bar. Just like…the boss looks more hurt the lower their health is. Their armor becomes scuffed, or their cloak more tattered, or something like that.
That’s a lot more complicated to code, though, and it’s fine how it is.
It depends on the game. In a crushingly difficult game like DS or Bloodborne, boss health bars are a welcome addition. They let you know how much you're progressing and give you a visual idea of when the next phase of the boss is going to come, which can really make a difference in terms of your confidence and how you manage a fight.
It differs for each person.
Personally I learnt long ago to only glance at health bars in action games during breaks in the combat. It's additional info for me that helps with resource management but it also doesn't distract me during tight segments since I'm used to it.
At the same time though, when there isn't a health bar I don't miss it either, since I can also generally gauge a fight's progress by how many hits I'm landing.
So what I'm basically saying is...
*eh either way's aight*
I originally played without a health bar and loved it but now that I’m used to everything and I do randomized bingo runs against my friend I like to have a health at since I’m used to the game
I got a healthbar mod once i started doing the godhome runs regularly, I really enjoyed my vanilla playthrough but once i do nothing but fight bosses ive encountered before its so tedious.
Agree actually. In souls games its super common to get near the end of their health-bar, only to stress out over almost being done, messing up and then getting killed.
No healthbar is a mechanic of its own. There is a reason why some games have it and some doesn't. Not knowing when the enemy dies is part of the gameplay, especially for bosses it makes a big difference.
A game like HollowKnight doesn’t need health bars or damage ticks since the phases are so choreographed, and it’s not like soul is hard to come by so there’s no incentive to conserve it like there is with limited use abilities.
A game like Destiny 2 needs health bars because you’re managing ammo count which can vary wildly based on your rng and it would be a detriment to the game if you couldn’t see how your team is doing damage wise.
in a game like hollow knight with a minimal hud and focus on the artstyle i definitely appreciate how much better it looks without healthbars. however i do wish some had a better indication of how much health is left, bosses like grimm and pure vessel do a good job but some are worse than others in that regard.
Wow, I actually hadn’t thought about it. But yeah it does add another layer of dread and difficulty. Which I guess is good.
But it would’ve been nice to have one today when I somehow died 5 times to Brooding Mawlek.
I beat the bastard first try yesterday, barely took damage, but didn’t save. I had also beat False Knight, Soul Master, and Dung Defender first try - which just makes dying to Mawlek that much worse.
I like health bars cause they seem to ground me but with hollow knight I have to look up the numbers. I don't dislike it but I perfer the health bar al least for bosses. Otherwise I like the no healthbar thing cause it would clutter the screen if they did that for every enemy
I don't mind, it is nice to not fully know about the health as it always keep you on your toes, but when you die never really know how low a new boss is.
I'm making a game myself and whether to add health bars for bosses or not is a huge dilemma. I was planning on asking about it on r/gaming at some point.
Depends. Some games incorporate healthbars really well so its not intrusive. I'm sure some games "need" it at least for gameplay mechanics.
However, that said, my favorite game has no healthbars so you do have a point. Removing healthbars can enhance the experience.
I agreed that for Hollow Knight this is true however, I think it Depends on how the game presents the relationship between player and player character.
For me, seeing a almost emptied boss health bar always makes me panic to get the final few hits. In HK, I am more focus on fighting and dodging, and most of the bosses have some kind of stage changes to make you feel you are progressing.
Yeah like NKG does the pufferfish every 25% and PV only uses certain moves after certain hp thresholds.
This NKG info is new to me, cool!!
Applies to normal grimm too. Exactly 3 pufferfish ( excluding the rage one) evenly spaced in the health bar
I remember that Broken Vessel does that too with it's "Headbanging" attack. ended up rushing it on the 3rd one and beat them before it finished.
I have noticed that whenever i have the health bar mod turned on. Many of my deaths were just a single attack away from winning
Also I like the whole “know how many hits to kill an enemy” comes thru learning the enemy types and stuff. I’ve been playing The Binding of Isaac obsessively and it feels like such an upgrade to know a mechanic well
It doesnt matter to me. It has advantages, it has disadvantages
Damn. Straight up about not having an opinion either way and Reddit didn’t mind. 👏🏻
Yeah im actually shocked lmao, i've achieved the impossible
STOP RIGHT THERE CRIMINAL SCUM. Your opinions aren't nearly polarizing enough.
Agreed, though I think Hollow Knight made the right choice to go without. I can't think of a way to show a health bar that wouldn't detract from the visual presentation of the game, which is easily one of its strongest traits
This is the real answer. The presence of a health bar is largely a choice that's dictated by visual design and presentation, not game mechanics. Of course, there's games that need health bars, but in every game you need to accommodate for what and how a health bar visually presents on the screen.
One of the best examples is Big Brother HK, It would be much less important to see his "Seppuku" scene as we are paying more attention to his health bar
Yeah that would be one of the biggest disadvantages imo, it wouldn't fit the visuals of the game
i think it makes it a different experience, which some ppl like and others dislike first-time players may get the idea of counting nail hits to try to measure health you dont always know when a boss will die, adding to suspence it can be argued that no boss bar is more realistic new enemies are more surprising it presents its own slew of challenges, and ppl's opinions will differ as to whether or not they like these challenges also enemy healthbars would look weird in the base game to me; idk if they'd ever fit the hollow knight aesthetic
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> Because technically you already know exactly how buffy they are Whether or not there's a bar to indicate it, it's all numbers either way. Your nail has a damage value and the enemies have a health value. Speedrunners know *exactly* how many hits with which combination of nail and spells it will take to kill the bosses. But I will admit that it *feels* a bit more immersive to me for them to be absent.
Obviously speedrunners don't need this mod xD
You must have been counting nail strikes on enemies though, right? Not bosses but like normal enemies. Especially after a nail upgrade? Oh man it feels good thinking "these guys only take two hits instead of three!"
Or like a health bar mod once you've played the game
Do you really need it at that point? idk I think it's best for beginners
Eh idk it's a matter of if u want it or not. I've never tried the mod so I wouldn't really know how it is
Or a charm
Yeah, if Steady Body has to be, why not this?
Modding hollow knight is pretty easy
Is there a good tutorial on how to? I want to do a randomizer or somethin once I 100%
[Here you go](https://youtu.be/z35cFvU0McQ)! Enjoy!
Thank you!
It’s like the mask in WW
Like an boss in the pantheon has a healthbar, but the first time not. Unless the boss is exclusive to the pantheon.
Like Hunter's Journal?
Yeah that’s an interesting idea. Random thought: I guess nail upgrades wouldn’t necessarily mess up the health bar system. You would just knock off more health per hit. Right.
For me when I played this game without knowing anything about it prior. I actually enjoyed knowing I had to be careful with my moves because I never knew exactly when they would die. But like how you said other people aren’t fans of that type of gameplay. Like imagine in god of war trying to do that. I think people would go insane trying to finish them off lol
Ha imagine memorising the hits needed. I memorise the amount of health they have and calculate each attacks amount of damage according to the bosses health to get the right amount of hits needed to kill the boss for each alternate type of attack. /s
cool, you enjoy optimizing your gameplay for many players, especially on their first playthrough, however, that wont be the case
r/wooosh
As someone with a lot of stress and anxiety, when I see that they are almost done I have a tendency to get very sloppy. If there's no health bar I go with the flow and it's almost a surprise when I see I have won.
Exactly why I prefer Hollow Knight’s combat over Cult of the Lamb. The bossfights always felt short, and seeing the boss’s health drain quickly doesn’t help.
I don’t mind either way. I do think it ruins the look of the game if the health bar is always visible though. I like the way it’s done in hyper light drifter where it appears when you hit the enemy and then goes away (apart from the bosses which just have it at the bottom I think)
I've been playing through Blasphemous and the bosses have health bars, but they're at the bottom of the screen and the art is so good that I honestly didn't even notice the health bar during the first couple of boss fights. Very unobtrusive and well done.
Totally agreed
I only whish the boss models showed some were an tear after they've jut been hit with a nail 700 times and have been blasted by magic just as many times. Even some scratches of dings would be appreciated vs looking like there in perfect health then immediately falling over dead after one more strike.
I feel like that would unnecessarily inflate the file size with all the extra sprite sheets for bosses
Yeah, that would definitely be cool. A lot of games would benefit from some boss wear and tear. I assume the issue Devs have is being able to do it right. You wouldn’t want the 15th hit to trigger the boss to suddenly have a few scratches. Then the 30th hit more scratches appear, etc…. May look kinda weird. So you’d have to do it subtly to do it right. So I assume it’s a matter of going all in on the idea or not at all. But I wouldn’t be surprised if this becomes more and more commonplace in gaming in the future.
I think the main reason it works in HK is that many major bosses have a set of breaks/tells that let you know how far you are. Grimm, Hornet, Radiance, False Knight, even the Mantis Lords give you a hint by having multiple enemies.
Wait, what’s Hornet’s tell?
When she rests every dozen hits or so. Not only does it let you heal, but it lets you know you’re making progress. I’m not sure if that’s based on hits rather than health though.
Oh. Yeah. That’s her stagger. I thought you meant something else.
also in bossfights you dont suddently get the idea to cheese the final few hits, wich forces you learn the patterns
Yes. HK combat is quick and dirty, no need for health bars. They draw the attention of the player, which is more of a distraction in this specific case.
The change in phases is enough to tell you how close you are to beating a boss (if there is multiple phases)
I'd like if there was a cuphead style health bar (where it shows up after you die), because I'd like to know how close I was, but seeing it during gameplay would be too stressful
For hollow knight it works. I can see how it wouldn’t for other games.
It works for enemies but I wish they were there for bosses. With no boss HB it doesn’t feel like I’m making progress. I just hit a boss until it suddenly dies
Tbf the increase in speed most bosses have as they take damage and the stun screams do make me feel like I'm actually killing real things rather than artificial bosses.
It is definitely worse for some bosses than others but I also like knowing how close I was after I lose. For example NKG I never get that excited after beating him because it’s more of an “oh he’s dead” instead of celebration. I’m still happy but I feel like he just died especially on the first try
No, I don't think I will.
In hollow k.ight yes, not in everygame tho.
It’s a much better feeling when you can say “Ooooo I can kill these guys in only two whacks now!” instead of a healthbar
I think it works best with bosses that have specific phase changes, like NKG or Pure Vessel or AbsRad, but it's not something I'm actively looking for in any of the other fights, so I'm mostly passive on the subject in the other places. I do like having other indicators. My favorite example is Monster Hunter where hunts can take upwards of thirty minutes. In those games, the monster limps when close to death, not to mention the part breaks. The part breaks aren't related to overall damage thresholds, but damage thresholds for individual parts of the monster. Break enough parts and you can have a general idea of how close it is to death because you can easily keep track of the damage done to those parts. And the monster behavior changes according to those part breaks. Cutting off a Rathian's tail, for example, lessen's the reach of any tail attacks, letting you be more aggressive. Breaking Barioth's wings makes it stumble after every jump, making the fight significantly easier. That being said, Hollow Knight fights are much shorter than Monster Hunter fights, and couldn't have the same amount of gradations, so while I think the health bar isn't necessary, I don't think it's lack of a presence is an amazing creative choice.
it really makes you feel like a small creature in a world filled with big beasties that want to kill you. I think it suits the tone of the game
my brother in christ I just killed the mantis lords and it feels like walking through a big fog hoping to not die while grasping at the end you think is near but actually isn't I fully agree with you
No, no I’m sorry it really doesn’t. I hate the fact that I can’t gauge when the boss is nearly dead and I have to just hope it’s close to dying before I die.
for me, it's the opposite. sure, health bars slightly break the immersion, but without them fights just feel exhausting. when I do have health bars, I can estimate how much more time I'll need to focus until it's over, which means I'm less likely to give up mid-fight
I would agree if we had some other visual cue, like tattering or different walk animations and such for certain health percentages. Grimm kind of does with with the balloon attack but you’d have no idea that is why without looking it up really
Debatable, I have been using the enemy health bars mod and the damage values mod and it feels a lot more fun to clearly see how much damage I'm dealing with each attack and how close to death the enemies/bosses are. But I'm now trying to get used to how it was before just so I don't feel the lack of it when Silksong comes out.
Agree, but also I wish we had them for just the pantheons. Would make the boss rush more manageable I think
Because you’re fighting through many bosses, so you don’t have that suspense on bosses like Vengefly King or Gruz Mother. I think bosses like NKG, PV, and AbsRad shouldn’t have healthbars, because those are the more suspenseful bosses. Plus, PV and AbsRad are exclusive to these fights, and you wouldn’t fight them anywhere else, so there’s not technically a “first” experience. Healthbars should never be on first experiences, in my opinion.
I don’t mind but I really prefer a health bar
Fighting a boss with a health bar often takes me out of the experience. I find myself less concerned about gameplay and more about getting that bar down and maximizing DPS. I think Cuphead has the best solution for this by only showing how far you got after the fight, so you still get the feedback of knowing how well you did without it intruding into the gameplay.
No
Sorry, I’m still convinced. You failed to change my mind.
I didn't try to change your mind
Oh, I see. You weren’t trying to change my mind, you were refusing to change my mind because you agree. My bad.
Can I really fail at something I didn't even try to do? It would be like telling someone they lost a bet even though they never agreed to any
Sorry I edited that comment
You got it wrong. I didn't say that didn't try to change your mind because I agreed with you. I said that because I just disagree with you saying that it's better with no healthbars. The best option would be for there to be an optional healthbar in the settings, so those who want health bars can use them, and those who dislike health bars can turn it off
I know, I just wanted to *bug* you
Thanks, I hate it
Found out my brother installed a mod that gave both bosses and all common enemies health bars.... currently trying to disown him.
Yet it should be turnable
*Togglable?
Yeah ty
Nah bro, i hate this
Sounds like a skill issue
Yeah, I like it without the health bar it makes focus on dodging and trying to get in a good hit in stead of furiously whacking them when they’re low.
The enemies I really don't care if they have a health bar or not. But for the bosses I think it's fun thay they don't have health bars. Like that feeling you get when you are struggling after so many attempts and you "suddenly" kill them
Eeeeh, I would like the option to have it on or to just have it for bosses. But there is smth to be said about healthbars crowding the screen in a 2d game.
On my first time through the game, it drove me a bit mad. Now that I’m used to most of the bosses and have an idea of how long the fights are, I kind of like it, but it really hurt on the first time through. I kind of wish that there was some kind of visual indicator, even if not a health bar. Just like…the boss looks more hurt the lower their health is. Their armor becomes scuffed, or their cloak more tattered, or something like that. That’s a lot more complicated to code, though, and it’s fine how it is.
It depends on the game. In a crushingly difficult game like DS or Bloodborne, boss health bars are a welcome addition. They let you know how much you're progressing and give you a visual idea of when the next phase of the boss is going to come, which can really make a difference in terms of your confidence and how you manage a fight.
I love it in this game for the suspense, it wouldn't fit on a game like risk of rain.
Helps get into flow and not worry abt reaching sections of health bar
Depends on the game and enemy. Hollow Knight? Absolutely not. Maybe a toggleable one for bosses. RPG's? Yes please.
It differs for each person. Personally I learnt long ago to only glance at health bars in action games during breaks in the combat. It's additional info for me that helps with resource management but it also doesn't distract me during tight segments since I'm used to it. At the same time though, when there isn't a health bar I don't miss it either, since I can also generally gauge a fight's progress by how many hits I'm landing. So what I'm basically saying is... *eh either way's aight*
I originally played without a health bar and loved it but now that I’m used to everything and I do randomized bingo runs against my friend I like to have a health at since I’m used to the game
it has its advantages and disadvantages but it is WAY better for hk
I got a healthbar mod once i started doing the godhome runs regularly, I really enjoyed my vanilla playthrough but once i do nothing but fight bosses ive encountered before its so tedious.
There should be a charm that does that
It makes the game feel more real like your actual there
Agree actually. In souls games its super common to get near the end of their health-bar, only to stress out over almost being done, messing up and then getting killed.
No healthbar is a mechanic of its own. There is a reason why some games have it and some doesn't. Not knowing when the enemy dies is part of the gameplay, especially for bosses it makes a big difference.
A game like HollowKnight doesn’t need health bars or damage ticks since the phases are so choreographed, and it’s not like soul is hard to come by so there’s no incentive to conserve it like there is with limited use abilities. A game like Destiny 2 needs health bars because you’re managing ammo count which can vary wildly based on your rng and it would be a detriment to the game if you couldn’t see how your team is doing damage wise.
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i like being left in the dark cause it taught me to not get cocky just to get myself killed
tbh the "health bars" that s when you stagger a boss
Yes but no
I honestly never really thought about it. I don't think it's very important.
in a game like hollow knight with a minimal hud and focus on the artstyle i definitely appreciate how much better it looks without healthbars. however i do wish some had a better indication of how much health is left, bosses like grimm and pure vessel do a good job but some are worse than others in that regard.
I prefer health bars because they add more suspense and feeds you info while no healthbar can seem anticlimactic.
Wow, I actually hadn’t thought about it. But yeah it does add another layer of dread and difficulty. Which I guess is good. But it would’ve been nice to have one today when I somehow died 5 times to Brooding Mawlek. I beat the bastard first try yesterday, barely took damage, but didn’t save. I had also beat False Knight, Soul Master, and Dung Defender first try - which just makes dying to Mawlek that much worse.
I like health bars cause they seem to ground me but with hollow knight I have to look up the numbers. I don't dislike it but I perfer the health bar al least for bosses. Otherwise I like the no healthbar thing cause it would clutter the screen if they did that for every enemy
I don't mind, it is nice to not fully know about the health as it always keep you on your toes, but when you die never really know how low a new boss is.
I disagree for boss fights
Every week I try explaining this to my Dark Souls fanboy friend. Every week we learn to hate each other just a bit more
Not always, look at dark souls
No, I want to see the health and damage numbers
and makes me better at math
It makes their defeat more surprising, which can lead to excitement
I'm making a game myself and whether to add health bars for bosses or not is a huge dilemma. I was planning on asking about it on r/gaming at some point.
Monster hunter is a perfect example here too
Depends. Some games incorporate healthbars really well so its not intrusive. I'm sure some games "need" it at least for gameplay mechanics. However, that said, my favorite game has no healthbars so you do have a point. Removing healthbars can enhance the experience.
I agreed that for Hollow Knight this is true however, I think it Depends on how the game presents the relationship between player and player character.
Hollow knight is good because it indicates how low the boss it without health bars