What are Action Adventure Games?

Action Adventure games combine aspects of the action and adventure genres. From action games they take mechanics like combat, health, and lives. From adventure games they take the exploration, puzzle-solving, and story-driven aspects. Action adventure games can be similar to role-playing games, but they lack vertical progression - getting stronger via leveling, increasing stats, acquring new gear, etc. Instead the focus is on horizontal progression - exploring, gaining knowledge, new ways of movement, new skills or abilities that are different rather than strict upgrades, etc. Nevertheless, the two genres are adjacent and often bleed into one another, leading to many games being put into both categories.