City of Tearsboxotimbits t1_j18p44a wrote
Reply to comment by Jackalodeath in City of Tears by voithos
Why would it being like DS turn you off? HK is an amazing game and its actually what got me into DS.
Jackalodeath t1_j1978g4 wrote
* This ended up a bit longer than expected, sorry.
Mostly that "most punishing game series ever" trope that gets tossed around so much. My reflexes and patience ain't nowhere near what they used to be - which, granted, ain't saying much - so I assumed I'd find myself raging at it, and I'm not a fan of getting pissed at recreational activities I'm supposed to be enjoying.
Then one day someone posted here about how the 2004 release of Ninja Gaiden was like DS's grandpappy or something to that affect, and back then I aced that game with a drunken, shit-eating grin on my face. I already love the "simplicity" of Metroidvanias, so I thought ~10 years of life-altering mistakes, booze, and pill abuse couldn't have fucked me out that badly, right? Right? How hard could a "2D" game really be?
The answer was "plenty," but it struck a chord I had forgotten the sound of. For the first time in over a decade I found myself leaning in, standing up, saying shit like "Oh come on!!", but it wasn't at the game; it was at me, swinging my nail too early, getting greedy on offense, misjudging how hard I had to press jump, or simply not looking down before carelessly dropping into a new area (damn Primal Aspids and Giant Hoppers.)
It took some hours but I genuinely felt like an engine that had just been cranked up for the first time in ages; sure there was schmutz clogging the intake, the fuel was starting to coagulate, but I needed to get back out on the highway and blow it out if I planned to keep using it. If I "broke down" then at least I could say I tried.
>!When Myra attacked me, I gave the kid the controller, asked him to put her down, get me to a bench, and I went to collect myself.!< He lost all my Geo, but the kid adored it. Decided I'd take a break and see how he'd go about it; He's going all-in on a "mage" build, where I relied solely on the Nail - spells were just for progression uses and some i-frames here and there. We're gonna beat it/start the Grimm Troupe stuff at the same time; don't get much time with him and he usually goes for stuff like Borderlands, Rainbow Six, Titanfall, Roblox, or Fortnite; which is fun to watch, sure; but he (well, we) can be as careless and spaztic as we want without many "consequences." Always fun to see how quickly kids shift gears and adapt to shit, especially compared to my raggedy ass.
Also I just don't want it end yet. At least not until there's a better idea on when Silksong will roll out :(
boxotimbits t1_j1992ox wrote
I definitely think HK is harder than DS1, especially with the DLCs. It's really not all reflex based, especially if you use a shield and heavy armor (which is a completely viable way to beat ds1). Some of the HK fights are fairly technical like you mentioned and the DS series overall often provides that same "if I just did things right I would win" feeling while dying over and over. But DS1 is an amazingly built world with a lot of emotional connection to NPCs that feel much more organic than plenty of other games. Some bosses are challenging, sure, but it's not as technically difficult as the later games in the series.
All that said, I would strongly recommend the game. And once you beat the first you might just find yourself wanting to continue the journey through the other 6 from software games in the same spirit.
Jackalodeath t1_j19mg7i wrote
Oh believe me, HK reignited a long-snuffed flame.
Some personal stuff has them on the back burner, but I'm absolutely diving balls-first into the Fromsoft games once things get sorted. Best part is, my own reluctance towards them has inadvertently kept me from learning basically anything meaningful about the series, so that's several hundred (possibly thousands knowing me) hours worth of - from what I've seen/read - masterfully crafted lore, gear, and skills I get to experience for the very first time. All I really know are the memes about a massive sword-wielding dog, dodging, Sun worship(?), campfires are your personal Jesus, some fan theory involving Bloodborne and menstruation, and "You Died" in a very specific font. I'm excited to say the least!
At the moment I'm scratching a ninja itch I thought Gaiden would handle with AC: Odyssey (it's pretty and "free" so why not), which is turning out to be more RPG than anything (not complaining, still fun if a bit grindy.) From what I've gathered it uses a similar-ish gear/skill system as the Souls games; you pick a certain "class" or specialization that fits your playstyle, refine it with gear/ability synergies, and boil it down until you're practically a god that doesn't like being touched.
That in itself is my gaming bread and butter, right next to exploration/"sandboxes." Yet over the past... decade? Seeing the sheer magnitude of people singing Fromsoft's praises on practically every aspect of the Souls and "Soul Sisters" games, I can't wait to wedge myself into those worlds like a starfish hiding from a Nurse shark. I've heard DS2 is a bit of a... "Departure," from their usual quality - don't know exactly why, but it seems to be treated like the red-headed stepchild. So unless I get a great deal on all 3 Souls, Sekiro(spelling?), Bloodborne (this'un really piques my interest from the aesthetics alone, though I may have spoiled it a bit watching Jacksepticeye's playthrough; thankfully his train of thought derails every few moments and the past 2 years futzed my memory), and Elden Ring, I may pass up DS2.
In your opinion, would you say DS, 3, Bloodborne, Elden Ring, then Sekiro would be an ideal order of attack, skill-check wise? I've read Sekiro puts the timing and "reading" your opponents on a whole other level, comparitively speaking. If you've had the pleasure of playing them all of course.
boxotimbits t1_j1a6lqd wrote
DS2 is very polarizing. Miyazaki didn't work directly on it and personally it is my least favorite. However it is still a phenomenal game and I wouldn't recommend you skip it. It has the best weapon and armor variety and introduced an incredible dual wield mechanic called power stancing. The DLCs each have really brutal sections so I wouldn't hesitate to coop them if you don't want the challenge. The biggest issues (imo) with it are that the world isn't built at all as cohesively as the first dark souls and that there are lots of ganks (enemies randomly attacking you from hidden places or far away). Also the bosses are not quite as diverse as other dark souls games.
Jackalodeath t1_j1abt1b wrote
Ah, okay; that Miyazaki not being directly at the helm was portrayed as they tried to make the game without his involvement whatsoever. Typically I try to average out player gripes/praises since so many have a penchant for hyperbole, but the average was always 2 being on the bottom rung.
Thank you so much for the insight!
KarmaticArmageddon t1_j198p8i wrote
A lot of people who aren't very good at video games or who don't have a lot of time to play are put off by games that are compared to Dark Souls.
No one ever says a game is "the Dark Souls of genre" because they're saying it has great atmosphere, deep lore, and an incredibly well-made level system that connects its levels together so well — which are all great attributes of the first Dark Souls.
What people usually mean by "the Dark Souls of genre" is unrelenting difficulty, a brutal checkpoint system, complicated inventory management, and harsh consequences upon death.
I can totally get why someone who only has maybe an hour a day to play would see something compared to Dark Souls and decide to avoid it because they don't want to spend weeks dying to the same boss until they've perfectly memorized its moveset — which is the image of Dark Souls that a lot of its fanbase has cultivated.
To be clear: I fucking love Dark Souls. I've played and replayed Demon's Souls, DS1–3, Bloodborne, Sekiro, and Elden Ring more times than I can count.
NinjaJehu t1_j19d4np wrote
No Bloodborne?! That's my favorite one in the entire series. Maybe no PS4?
KarmaticArmageddon t1_j19owxw wrote
Oh I love Bloodborne. I picked PS4 over Xbox solely because of Bloodborne. I just forgot to put it in the list lol
NinjaJehu t1_j1a1ur6 wrote
Ah gotcha. Yeah, Bloodborne was a system seller for me as well!
KarmaticArmageddon t1_j1a52ud wrote
I've gone back and replayed all of them with my PS5 and they look so good at 60 FPS, but Bloodborne never got that update so it's still just 30 FPS. I'd love to replay it, but it just feels jittery and unresponsive now that I'm so used to 60 FPS.
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