Topic: PS4 recommendation thread

@TheBrandedSwordsman The Order: 1886 comes to mind. It's fairly short, but you can get it cheap nowadays. The setting is obviously completely different from Uncharted 4, but it's a linear, story driven game. Not to mention that it's still one of the best looking games on PS4.

Edit: I see it has already been recommended!

@Kidfried good to have ya 🥲

@Kidfried

You are so right. I myself loved the The Invisible Hours, it’s unique way of using the move controllers to play the game had me hooked. I’ve played it several times and will have this game in my collection always.

@Kidfried

It ties into the main story, but I doubt you'll have trouble understanding Forbidden West without it, so probably not.

Yeah. I mean, it's about what you'd expect from a really good DLC expansion: new robots, an interesting story, and a new region of the world to explore that feels like its own thing. It's Horizon's Blood and Wine, basically. Decently lengthy if you engage with side-content as well.

Impossible to say, but I did take a year-long break from the game after plat'ing it before returning to TFW, and it didn't take me long to get back into the swing of things. It helps that the region has its own story and feels fairly distinct from the main game. You seem like an intelligent and resourceful person, so I'm guessing it won't take long to re-invest.

@Kidfried I started it over a year since finishing the main game and didn't get very far. I kept getting annihilated by pretty much the first robot I came across and haven't been back since.

@Kidfried I picked it up one of eternal sales and just bounced off it for something else. I’d still like to go back to it at some point but there’s always something else to play first!

@RogerRoger @Kidfried @Thrillho Stock up on blaze canisters is all I'll say. Them Frostclaws wanted to tear me a new one!

@Thrillho @TheBrandedSwordsman @colonelkilgore (Moving the discussion here as it’s more fitting on this thread...) I’m not sure I’m ready to tackle it yet, but I’m warming up to the idea of Dark Souls 3. I did a little research and it’s quite overwhelming to look at the depth of builds and options. I know that’s one of the real strengths of these games is the near infinite replayability due to challenging enemies and so many ways to build your character. I remember when I was trying to get through Bloodborne that I found a good guide on getting stats to a “sweet spot” where it maximized your ability and defense before it caused upscaling of the enemy, ....or something like that. I don’t remember the details of how it worked but I had a target build that seemed a good goal to hit for persons like me trying to do a first run. I found a few builds on the Fextralife that seemed like they looked promising for a less-experienced player, but I didn’t see anything obvious about avoidance of hitting certain numbers on some categories which could backfire on you. It’s all pretty complex. Any advice on build?

Also, related question — coming off Bloodborne (which has been a couple years ago now) would you suggest going with a shield? I think my playstyle is more action/hack and slash-like as done I’m BB, rather than the defense/parry/strategize style. Yet, people say having a shield makes DS easier for beginners. To me it sounds more boring and I’ve never been one to utilize shields in games. (That said, in GoW recently I did start to enjoy the shield combat and parry abilities, but I just never have been good at that). If you say I really need to start with a shield set up and learn to use it I can, but that goes against my personal inclinations.

@Th3solution I would say go for a Strength/Dex build - the classic build, but make sure you put points into Vigor as well, I think that is your HP bar, it's either that or Vitality, I always get them mixed up, but you can Google it, with regard to the shield, if you beat Bloodborne without one, why would you need one for DS3? It's the same s*** ,after all, practically speaking, the combat is very fast-paced but against certain bosses later in the game you may need one, there are always cheese strategies or summons though that negate the necessity of a shield, you can always run past enemies to get to the boss for the most part, unlike Dks1 or Demon's Souls, due to the enemy placement in those games, but enemy placement is a lot more forgiving in Dks3, just like in Bloodborne.

@Th3solution so it depends on your style but I would suggest finding a decent 100% defence shield pretty early on just to ease your way into the game. You don’t need a party shield (unless you want to of course) but just one to block attacks while your getting acclimated.

Personally, I’m a ‘dodge-roller’ as my defensive go to with a two-handed ultra great sword but it’s whatever you feel comfortable with. I think sword and board would be a great introduction for you and then expand from there. The possibilities are almost endless in Souls (as opposed to Bloodborne where while it is my favourite game ever, it is far more limited in terms of build variety).

If you don't mind me chiming in here too sol I wouldn't say I'm particularly good at the souls games @Th3solution and I've played them all a bit more hack & slash like yourself then I was "supposed" to (Especially with the first Dark & Demon's) and to be honest I completely forgot there was a block button half the time in Code Vein.

A shield helps even if you never use it to parry (I sure as hell haven't) just to help mitigate damage every now and again (Especially arrows or magical/Fire/Dark/Lightning from spells)

Honestly before you do or look at any of the stat/build malarky nonsense though just go in blind and see how it goes sol, retry the game a couple of times, experiment with all the different weapons and starting classes, try some magic and just find something you like best before commiting to some actual "build" stuff.

You won't really know if you like any of 'em til you actually try 'em.

Pumping up your vitality/Hp at the very least is very, very useful regardless of how you play.

@colonelkilgore @TheBrandedSwordsman @Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Thanks for the input! All very useful. Ya know, I didn’t even try many different weapons in BB. I think I just lucked out choosing the Sawblade (I think that’s what it’s called) at the beginning and that carried me through a huge portion of the game until I transitioned over to the Greatsword... starts with an “L”.. Loriant? Longimer?... whatever it was called 😂, I ended up doing late game stuff with that mostly. Anyways, the experimentation part of things might be the way to go. When I played DS1 back on PS3 I did a standard shield and sword / Knight class and I don’t recall being near as engaged with the combat as I was with BB. But times change and I’m a much more patient and mature gamer now, so perhaps it would work.

I’m seriously considering playing it due to the Dark Souls FOMO I’m feeling on the forums! 😅. My plan had been to have Demon’s Souls be my next Souls game but alas.... my faith in getting a PS5 this year just keeps dwindling so I don’t think I can count on that anytime soon.

Question mostly for Foxy — Code Vein is actually also in my backlog, so from knowing what you know about me and based on your experience, what is better to start with between Code Vein and Dark Souls 3? I think I remember you saying DS3 was your least favorite of the trilogy of I remember correctly, but do you think CV would be a good way to warm up to the combat again, given it’s a little easier with the NPC companion mechanics? Or would it even make much difference? With no option for Demon’s Souls, I could go either way.

@Th3solution so the combat IS better and therefore more engaging in Bloodborne... but you can play DS3 ‘somewhat’ similarly. And Ludwig’s Holy Blade maybe... maybe my favourite game weapon of all time, so satisfying to use.

Also, I know you angled this next one at Foxy in particular but I’ll chip in for what it’s worth (& if you don’t mind of course)... Code Vein is ‘fine’. It’s becoming a common line from myself on here that ‘I’m yet to play a Souls-like I haven’t liked’ and as Code Vein (imo) is a Souls-like, that statement obviously applies to CV... but it would be pretty far down the quality list in Souls-likes tbh. It’s (again) ‘fine’ but the level design is considerably more simplistic and the combat is floaty at best. It feels like the huge, impressive (looking) weaponry is made out of polystyrene and that hits don’t have that satisfying ‘connect’. Personally, I would only suggest CV for people who have rinsed the Dark Souls games and are now looking for something similar but new.

@Th3solution With regard to the Foxy question - Go for Dark Souls 3, it's a much better game imo.

@colonelkilgore Yes! Ludwig... that’s the word I was looking for. Ludwig’s Holy Blade. Yea it was pretty much the all-around destroyer there on the second half. That is, until a certain section with these big brutes and wolves that were really susceptible to the lighting/electric effects of that mace-looking thing that has electrical powers... 😂 I forget the name 🤣, give me a break though — it’s been a couple years! Anyways, I used that weapon exclusively for that section and it worked brilliantly and was the best place to grind in the whole game. It was also useful against one or two bosses... I think the big spider one was the boss that comes to mind that I spammed the electrical attacks against.

Wow, the more I think about it, the more I realize I did experiment a little bit with a few weapons gradually through the game. But choosing the Sawblade was key to enjoying the early game and getting past that first werewolf dude.

@TheBrandedSwordsman I figured the DS quality was overall better and so perhaps it makes sense to start off with the better of the two. I was just wondering if it was a better training ground since it’s a touch easier in general, especially the early game, if I remember correctly from what I read.

@Th3solution It probably is better training ground for sure, those early levels are absolutely fine and I was able to do some grinding after the second boss. If I remember correctly the optional boss in the third area's defeat allows you to create boss weapons from boss souls.

No Dark Souls III is my favourite actually @Th3solution 😄 I'm not too keen on Bloodborne myself because of the lack of build/weapon variety and I enjoy the dark fantasy/medievally setting a smidge more the victorian setting. Not a bad game by any means though. Just not my cup of tea.

As for your question... When I was playing through Code Vein in December & January I did say I found it a lot easier to play through myself. It would probably be a good way to warm yourself up to the souls mechanics again sol after being away from them for so long.

As @colonelkilgore says though the combat is a little floaty and I think that's partialy down to some of the team comprising of people who worked on the God Eater games? (Which is bandai namco's anime Monster Hunter series if you weren't aware) from trying the demo of the third GE it did have some similarities in how it felt (along with a few other things).

It's ultimately up to you. I enjoyed my time with Code Vein and I believe @nessisonett did too. Code Vein won't light your world on fire but I found it a solid entry and I appreciated there was a bit more of an upfront focus on the story/narrative compared to souls and the backstories of the all the characters getting a little more fleshed out too (Even if the characters aren't anything particularly special).

I wasn't expecting a whole lot from it and came out pleasantly surprised. I'd say there's a solid base there to be built upon for future installments too (If Bandai Namco ever stops pumping out anime arena fighters 😧)

Plus it has that lovely photo mode Sol!

Dark Souls III is obviously the better game of course (Better level/world design, setting and combat) but I'd say Code Vein has it's merits! I'm hopefully gonna start actually writing a review for it soon... But uhh... Don't quote me on that 😄

@colonelkilgore Yep, I also go for two handed greatswords on bosses but one handed with a shield for mobs. It’s too easy to get murdered while out and about without a shield.

@Th3solution You could just play the game and see if you like it? You might be over thinking things a little and making it more complicated than it actually is. It might be a tad overwhelming at first, but it will be no matter how much you deliberate and help you get before hand.

Start a game, if you like it continue to play it. If you don't like it, stop playing and move on to something else. It should be that simple.

@JohnnyShoulder But that’s too logical! 😛

But yeah, at the end of the day, that’s what I’ll do. I do try to give a game like this plenty of breathing room to warm up to; I’m certain that the first hour isn’t going to be a particularly stellar experience, so will plan accordingly.
My next game was going to be something else but the peer pressure has gradually moved Dark Souls 3 up the list 😄, so I’m just going to follow my mood. I haven’t had game time this week anyways. Hopefully tomorrow.