I've been working on a gummy alligator with a Punch-Out!! sort of rhythm. Your squishy is down in the fight now: read the attack, swipe the glowing arm or tail, then hit back while Gummy Gator is dazed.
A clean defensive sequence gives you a longer opening. I like that little reward, but I've practised the fight enough that I'm losing track of how much a new player can actually read. Knowing the next swing is coming makes a rather unfair playtester.
I've put together three short clips with game audio: a parry and opening, a combo and counterattack, and the finish. These are development renderer captures with scripted inputs, so the clean run doesn't tell me whether the cues are clear to a person. This is a preview of work in progress, not a new public build.
I'm tuning the handoff from defending to attacking next. I want that opening to be something you spot in the fight, without needing to stop and read instructions.