One of the most characteristic elements of modern video games isgenre mashups, which combine two or more types of mechanics in a single gameplay structure.
Shooters with RPG elements, action-adventure games with management systems, a card game that is also a roguelike, a horror game, and a puzzle…Options are endless, offering a vast variety that wasn’t possible in the past.
However, some outstanding titles have exceeded expectations by perfecting multiple mechanics at once, and those are the ones you can find on this list of10 genre mashups that worked incredibly well.
10Yoku’s Island Express
Metroidvania / Pinball
Despite sounding almost impossible, yes, there is a game that connects two genres as different asmetroidvania and pinball, and that game isYoku’s Island Express.
Its premise of an open-world pinball adventure works like a charm, combining the arcade classic’s core mechanics of bumping and ramping with a non-linear structure and unlockable abilities.
With bosses and platforms,Yoku’s Island Express doesn’t inhibit itselfbecause of its pinball-focused nature, but rather enhances those well-known elements thanks to its more than distinct gameplay perspective.
9Brutal Legend
Hack-and-slash / Real-time Strategy
Brutal Legend
Brutal Legendis an action-adventure game that, for many reasons, didn’t get the reception it deserved, but time has put it in its rightful place as an underrated gem.
By marrying opposite paradigms such as hack-and-slash and real-time strategy, the game brought a gratifying mix of high-octane action and thoroughly calculated tactics—a rare combination for the standards of 2009.
Shifting from stage planning (managing resources, buildings, and units) to classic action slasher (executing brutal melee and ranged attacks) is still a magnificent gameplay loop that heavily remembershow amazing Brutal Legend was.
8Crypt of the NecroDancer
Dungeon Crawler Roguelike / Rhythm Game
Crypt of the NecroDancer
Regardinggenres creatively combined, the mention ofCrypt of the NecroDanceris unavoidable, as having a dungeon crawler inside a roguelike inside a rhythm game is a wildly fun fever dream.
Have you ever imagined what it would be like to navigate dungeons while fighting all kinds of beasts through the menacing act of dancing? Me neither, but Brace Yourself Games did and gifted us a superb video game as a result.
To this day,few titles have reached the level of originality that Crypt of the NecroDancer holds,and, with thousands of games being released every year, that’s the biggest testament to its quality.
7Cult of the Lamb
Resource Management / Action Roguelite / City-building
Cult of the Lamb
Cult of the Lambis a roguelike action game, but it also belongs to the strategy genre since it adds resource management, city-building, and survival elements to the mix.
Therefore, after going on adventures, upgrading your arsenal, and defeating bosses in procedural levels, you go to your settlement to build your village and form your cult using the resources gathered in the expeditions.
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With a loop that feels satisfying on both sides,the combination of two opposite gameplay focuses is the cornerstone of Cult of the Lamb, whose great duality turned it into one of the best indies of 2022.
6Borderlands 2
Borderlands 2
In 2009, the birth of theBorderlandsseries marked the popularization of the looter shooter subgenre of RPGs, butBorderlands 2elevated the formula to new heights three years later.
Incorporating shooter gameplay and procedurally generated weapons and equipment,the sequel’s addictive quality has been impossible to replicate, as it remains one of the most fun titles ever created.
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With the sum of Diablo’s rewarding systems, an immersive context, and phenomenal gunplay, this FPS, RPG, and open-world game is a banger combination that showshow far mixing genres can go.
Resource Management / Horror
To imagine a fishing game that can frighten you like no other experience in the industry is really difficult, but that’s exactly whatDredge, thecozy horror gemof 2023, does.
On the surface, the game is an exploration adventure where you catch and document the sea fauna, complete requests, use your funds to upgrade your boat, and repeat the cycle. In the deep,it’s a Lovecraftian nightmare where the night makes you see things no human should notice.
A kind of game by day, another kind of game by night:Dredge is an independent masterpiece that blends its dichotomy into an unforgettable experience. Or forgettable, if you count memory loss due to witnessing cosmic horrors.
4Neon White
FPS / Platform / Puzzle
Neon White
Neon Whiteis a single-player speedrunning FPS that uses cards, platforms, and puzzles to build a one-of-a-kind game that can only be described as aunique genre mashup.
Each mission is a time trial where cards are used as weapons and discarded for movement skills, which you have to balance to attack and move in puzzle-like levels as you discover the best combinations and paths to reach your goal.
If you add the fact that you may give collectibles to NPCs in a visual novel format to gain their affinity, you soon realize thatNeon White does a lot of different things. Fortunately, it does them all right.
3Darksiders 2
Hack-and-slash / RPG
Darksiders 2
Usually and unfairly forgotten,Darksiders 2is an epic odyssey that uses the principles of the hack-and-slash and RPG genres to buildan amazing action-adventure game.
Having theAAA appeal while being AA, it features the thrilling combat mechanics, spectacular platforms, and dazzling puzzles that characterize hack-and-slash, while also offering deep character customization with numerous builds, diverse skill trees, and tons of loot.
Through its open-world context, the game blends both cores into a gameplay loop that breaks from their respective standards, creating something familiar yet fresh that surprises because of its universal excellence.
2Inscryption
Deckbuilding Roguelike / Horror
Inscryption
Speaking of surprises, I find it hard to believe that I will ever be as shocked as I was when I first playedInscryption. Nothing in this life could have prepared me for what I was about to witness with that wonder.
At first glance, Inscryption is a card game with roguelike mechanics. At a second glance, it’s an escape room with puzzles and horror elements. At a third glance,you’re no longer playing a video gamebut living an otherworldly experience.
Inscryption belongs to the kind of game that is hard to describe due to the relevance of mystery to its proposal. It’s for sure one of thebest roguelikes, but henceforth…you just have to believe.
1NieR: Automata
Hack-and-slash / Shoot em' up
NieR: Automata
While theDrankengard seriesand the originalNiershowed us how delightfully bizarre Yoko Taro’s work can be, the Japanese director elevated everything to its maximum withNieR: Automata’s unparalleled proposal.
PlatinumGames' masterpiece is one of thebest hack-and-slash of all time, but also one of the most distinctive thanks to the incorporation of multiple genres such as shoot em' up into its core mechanics.
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The amount of shifts in gameplay elements, camera, and even tone is key to the title’s identity, whose fluent succession between melee combat and bullet hell battles leads the game to greatness.
Ultimately,NieR: Automataembraces many shapes and styles within video game norms, feeling like an attempt to represent the medium’s history through two classic genres that work perfectly in unison.
