Ever since Ryse: Son of Rome was unveiled as a launch title during Microsoft’s big E3 presentation, impressions of the game have called the game’s fun factor into question. Though the game’s graphics are clearly next-gen and intricate, the numerous quicktime events seen in the game’s early gameplay trailer made it seem easy or on-rails. Subsequent trailers have revealed that the combat has a bit more depth, but an emphasis is still being placed on bloody, instant-execution abilities.

Today Microsoft revealed another look at Ryse, this one focusing on the specifics of the game’s combat. The new video has many of the game’s designers describing combat as “brutal,” “up-close,” and “intense” (the word brutal was used multiple times). The gameplay footage itself still emphasizes insta-kill executions, which each appear to have a Zack Snyder-style slo-mo stutter attached to them. Players will have to damage enemies enough that the executions are available, and the build-up to those executions seems to resemble recent action games such as the Batman: Arkham series.

Regardless of how interesting the combat may or may not be, the animations should be nice. Developer Crytek brought in a Roman weapons expert to consult.