Each character has standard attack moves
where successive hits on an opponent generate a «combo» of several different attacks.
You generally have to get three points to win the match (each time you eliminate all of your opponents you get one point), but sometimes you'll be on a boss where you first have to eliminate a horde of minions (each of which only require one hit instead of two), and you just have to reduce the boss» health to zero
through successive hits.
There's also stability to consider: take too
many successive hits, or a critical strike to the legs, and a mech can fall with potentially devastating consequences.
In Score Attack, players are scored based on their performance including
consecutive successive hits, headshots, damage and painkillers taken.
To be fair, Riptide does generally look great; the environments still appear very lush and the layers of bone and muscle modeling on the zombies that chips away
with successive hits is appropriately nasty.
Usually, when you get hit by a combo,
each successive hit is «scaled» down in damage more and more.
Just like in previous games, the shield can only withstand a certain level of damage and will shrink with
each successive hit.
The Exotic Perk, Synapse Junctions, increases the damage output of the Arc Staff with quick,
successive hits.