Schell Games spent time tuning each weapon in order to give them each a unique playstyle and weight.[1]
During development, the core gameplay of attacking and blocking came together quickly, but the team was unsure of the gameplay systems supporting the combat. Schell Games scrapped systems like weapon durability, being able to loot enemies, holsters, and weapon throwing; they felt the mechanics slowed down the core gameplay.
The game refocused on empowering the player, with a developer stating "Something we knew early on was that, when our combat was in full swing, the player would feel incredibly heroic. The combination of wide swings and blocking choreography encourages the player to stand (or sit) up straighter, completely losing any sense of VR-shyness we saw in some of our early playtests. So…why not lean into that feeling of power?" Schell Games redesigned the mechanics in order to support this focus around empowerment, with features that didn't support the idea being cut, and mechanics like dashing and weapon summoning becoming essential to combat.[2]
Discussing how to make the combat more bombastic, the team stated "Because wider/bigger swings deal more damage in our game, we needed to encourage players to take larger swings... To achieve this, we clearly delineated three levels of feedback – small, standard and big. These thresholds of effort ensured players would play in a way that not only encouraged them to lean into the fantasy, but it also helped prevent players from potentially injuring themselves." The sound design, graphics and haptic feedback were used in order to "reinforce the power fantasy" that Until You Fall was trying to create.
A rogue like structure was chosen because the developers felt it allowed the player to master their combat at their own speed, learning mechanics that helped them master combat through repeated playthroughs.[3]
