I'm working on a Dark Fantasy/Horror game and I'm kind of on the fence regarding the implementation of combat. I'm leaning more toward not having combat because I feel like it could break the immersion of the creep factor of the game. I think it would give more of a sense of immediacy to the game's dangers if they're all present right on the map (traps, creatures that can just outright deal damage to the player if you touch them, etc.).
However, part of me wants to include combat because my original vision included a major boss battle at the end of the game between the heroes and villains. I think I could come up with an alternate in-map kind of challenge between them instead of a traditional battle so I think I could work around that. But another concern I have is that interesting battles are an important aspect of gameplay to many people and I don't want the lack of combat to turn people off from the game.
I'd love to hear some opinions from the community. Would no combat be a deal-breaker for you or possibly make the game more appealing? Would implementing a combat system diminish the horror elements? The story and characters are also definitively the most important aspect of the game if that makes a difference.
However, part of me wants to include combat because my original vision included a major boss battle at the end of the game between the heroes and villains. I think I could come up with an alternate in-map kind of challenge between them instead of a traditional battle so I think I could work around that. But another concern I have is that interesting battles are an important aspect of gameplay to many people and I don't want the lack of combat to turn people off from the game.
I'd love to hear some opinions from the community. Would no combat be a deal-breaker for you or possibly make the game more appealing? Would implementing a combat system diminish the horror elements? The story and characters are also definitively the most important aspect of the game if that makes a difference.