Welcome to Bonfire Sit! Now Learn To Become a Parry God

It only made sense to make my first post, and the accompanying collection of recommended games, on Bonfire Sit lean into one of my favorite video game mechanics and, if you'll permit me to stroke my own ego, one of my specialties: parrying.

In truth, this list was inspired by a thread on BlueSky that was posted by PenToPixels and Minnmax's Janet Garcia, who decided that she wanted to be better at action games and Souls-likes by getting better at parrying, which often features prominently in those genres.

Parry systems are frequently in RPGs too. A classic example is the wonderful Super Mario RPG, which uses a similar timing-based system in its battle mechanics. A notable recent example is the excellent Expedition 33. Point being, the skills needed to parry in games aren't restricted to being useful for just action games. That means parrying is for everyone!

And so, Janet asked for guidance on the games she should start with to "git gud" and the suggestions were fascinating in how diverse they were.

Of course, I have my picks for anyone that wants to go on a parry training arc, so I thought I'd put together my own list of games that I believe could help people following in Janet's admirable elf-improvement footsteps. These games will help you understand how parrying works and become confident in executing them. I've tried to include a suggestions across genres, not just for the sake of variety but also because I believe that the skills needed to become parry-proficient can be developed and honed in so many different ways. Plus it's more fun that way.

Hi-Fi Rush

What does a colorful action game about a self-proclaimed rocker fighting an evil corporation have to do with parrying? Quite a lot actually. Hi-Fi Rush is all about hitting buttons on a beat to time your attacks, which is the core of all parry systems. It's rare to find games that simply ask you to parry one attack and then move on. Most games will ramp up to multi-hit attacks that require quick successive button presses. Hi-Fi Rush–or any rhythm game really, so if you have a Guitar Hero, break it out–is a great way to get familiar with and hone your timing and rhythmic button pressing skills. You don't need to master it or perfectly hit the beat every time, but playing the game will re-wire your brain to instinctively see, hear, and react. That skill will transfer over to a variety of other games and genres. Hi-Fi Rush also has some good tutorials to ease you in.

Bloodborne

All of From Software's most well-known games have parry mechanics–one game in particular will show up later on this list. It may surprise you to learn that Bloodborne has the most approachable of them all, given its reputation for being hard as nails. Although the timing isn't forgiving, it also isn't so strict that someone just trying to learn how to parry will feel at a complete loss. In fact, it's quite the opposite, as the parry mechanic is tied to a Rally system, which means that if you take a hit, you can quickly strike back to recover health. That gives you a kind of safety net that makes experimenting with parry timing less punishing. Bloodborne's parry also trains you to react to a successful parry by following up with a visceral attack, teaching you a one-two-punch dynamic that will be essential in most games. A particularly useful aspect of using Bloodborne is also the variety of enemies. Yharnam's freaks come in all shapes, sizes, and speeds, so you'll get to figure out a bunch of timing windows based on animations and sounds. It's another way to train yourself to parry on instinct. Godspeed, Good Hunter.

God of War and/or God of War Ragnarok

Given that he's a ruthless god-killing warrior, you might not think of Kratos as someone that needs to parry, but he's the best example of a good defense leading to a wealth of offense opportunities. In the 2018 reboot of God of War and its sequel, God of War Ragnarok, Kratos quickly gains the ability to take the sting out of incoming attacks, force his attacker onto the back foot to create an opening, and then put on the beatdown. What's particularly good about using these two games to get comfortable with parrying is that there's a forgiving window to execute the maneuver, so it's one of the games I always recommend as a starting point. Additionally, a little time-slowing effect on successful parries is handy for developing the ability to seamlessly switch from offense to defense and vice versa. Basically, it's a good game to practice getting caught off guard, but still reacting quick enough to parry, then shift into attacking. It also features a bunch of enemies that use projectiles, so that forgiving window is also good to get comfy with bouncing fast-moving ranged attacks back.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Successful parrying comes down to hitting the button within a very specific window of active frames in an animation. Usually, that window of frames is hard coded into the game, but accessibility considerations have paved the way for games to give players control over those active frames. Jedi: Fallen Order, for example, allows parry-padawans to increase or decrease the window to their liking. Because of this, you can start with very generous timing demands and, as you build confidence, tighten the window up until it's at its most strict. Since it's entirely within your control, you can move up and down the scale to keep yourself on your toes. And also, unlike other games, Fallen Order lets you swing around a lightsaber while you practice your parrying, so when you finally start nailing them, you'll feel like a real badass Jedi. And who doesn't want that?

Street Fighter 6

Capcom's beloved fighting game series has a long and storied history with parry mechanics and the latest entry is no exception. What makes the game especially useful for those looking to lock-in on learning to parry is that it has a universal mechanic as part of the game's Drive systems, so all characters can do it. To parry, all you need to do is press the medium punch and medium kick buttons at the same time as an attack is incoming. Your chosen character will enter into a parry-specific stance complete with cool visual effects to show you they're in parry mode. However, if you hold both buttons down, you will remain in a parry-ready state for an extended period of time, making it one of the most lenient parry systems to practice with. That leniency doesn't extend beyond the training mode, however, as there is a gauge that governs your ability to use that parry ability and timing it poorly will leave you very vulnerable. That might sound rough, but it's a really good way of learning to thoughtfully generate, hold, and use resources strategically to parry. And the risk-versus-reward dynamic gives it an element of tension too. Jump into a few real fights against the CPU or human opponents and you'll quickly realize that being mindful of your resources and picking your moments to parry is very important. You'll need that in the future.

Batman: Arkham Asylum/City/Knight

The Batman games are brilliant for a variety of reasons, the most important being that it makes you feel like you're the Dark Knight in every respect. In combat, that means precise, calculated strikes that can disarm, incapacitate, or outright knock-out goons with beautiful, effortless elegance. Thankfully, that process is relatively simple for the player, as each game makes it obvious when to parry. The combat system is built upon Batman sensing incoming attacks and showing an on-screen indicator (little wave symbols above his Bat-head) to tell you when the time to hit the parry (referred to as a counter in these games) button. This is another game that makes it painless to get comfortable with the mechanic, but at the same time it asks you to weave parries into strings of attacks, as henchmen will try and ambush you while you're putting Bat-belt to ass on one of their friends. To keep up the combo streak, which is always being tracked and for which you are rewarded for, you'll need to transition back and forth seamlessly between attacks and counters, while also using gadgets like Batman's capes to crowd control. That is the beauty of its highly influential Freeflow combat system. Jump into the combat challenge rooms and you'll very quickly go from parry noob to feeling like you are the Knight.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Warning: DO NOT START HERE UNLESS YOU REALLY WANT TO JUMP INTO THE DEEP END. 

Excuse the all-caps alert there but it's vital you know that From Software's Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is very much the end-of-semester-exam game. This is where you go when you're familiar, comfortable, and confident with your ability to hit a parry button with very precise timing, keep parrying when up against a barrage of attacks by using sound as your rhythmic guide, as well as quickly read animations and react. On top of all that you'll also need keep an eye on a posture bar to know when to parry and when not to. In case it wasn't clear, this is where you come to prove you are a certified parrier. Sekiro starts very simple with sword-wielding enemies taking one or two relatively slow swings at you, but it very quickly escalates to "OH MY GOD MAKE THEM STOP" territory. And since it's From Software, you better believe each attack in this game is unforgiving and will shred your health bar in seconds if you're not careful. Sekiro also features some parrying encounters that I'd describe as being puzzle-based, so there's often multiple considerations that need to be made to create the openings you need to attack. Some of those are entirely based on successful timing, others require exploiting posture-breaks, and others will require you to use shinobi tools (this is where the Batman experience is very useful). Having said that, this is also THE parry game. The one that will both test you with ruthless gauntlets, but also make you feel like an unstoppable parry god when you emerge victorious. It's filled with skill-check encounters that will really test your mettle, but if you persevere, you'll leave agreeing that there's nothing quite as satisfying as parrying in video games. Good luck, young Wolf.