Topic: Souls-likes (& dislikes)

Well apparently I can perma take out the mortar positions so I won't have to worry about them on the run back. I just wish the dodge (even enhanced) was more effective in this game. I'm a "Sekiro" veteran and even I find the perfect parry timings a bit anorexic to say the least.

@LN78 In fairness, during my NG+ run I'd say that the Door Guardian was probably in my top 3 most challenging bosses. NG was tough enough, but NG+ was savage.

I agree with you on parrying also. I love LoP, but the parry window is so small you'd struggle to post a letter through it...

Great game though right? My favorite 3D non-From Souls game for sure.

@CJD87 @colonelkilgore Ha! Slapped him around on my third try this morning - an elemental grinder just before the critical attack did the trick! Very happy with that result - looking forward to jumping back on tonight - hopefully I'll be able to see it through to the end. I'm not really sure how this dev isn't getting the pants sued off them by FromSoft but they definitely have the recipe for the secret sauce. Very good game.

@LN78 good to hear

@LN78 Haha I know right.... how are From's legal team not banging down the door yet?!

Crazy to think this was/is the dev's first release also - just imagine what they'll follow up with. The rumored DLC will be a day #1 for me without doubt.

@CJD87 Agreed but obviously "Erdtree" will take priority! Right, I'm about to jump back on for the home stretch. Wish me luck- it could be a long night!!

@colonelkilgore You said you had played LotF, are you referring to the 2014 game or have you played the 2023 version? Because, as much as I hate to say it - the first level of LotF 2023 was a leaner, more muscular version of DkS 1. I know I've said that before but I'm just repeating it now, for effect.

If the rest of the game follows suit, if I return to it immediately after DeS instead of playing Rise of the Ronin when it is released imminently, then it will beat DkS 1 by a mile. A caveat of that being that there are no nasty surprises like Sen's Fortress, Anor Londo or the invisible walkways section of Crystal Cave to contend with.

N.B The Duke's Archive's was a b*tch to contend with as well, specifically the rotating staircases part anyway, haha, anyway different people find different bosses easier or harder, so maybe it's the same for the areas, doubtful though.

Food for thought ,nevertheless.

Laxasia was disappointing. Bait the 13 hit combo, block, punish and then just spam the throwables in phase 2 . The parry/dodge mechanics in this game may be a touch janky but the throwables are completely OP. Just a few minor balancing adjustments and this would be right in the sweet spot.

@TheBrandedSwordsman yeah the LotF I’ve played was the original… I do plan on playing LotF 2023 this year though. From what I‘ve seen in reviews and the like, it looks awesome… it’ll be nice to go back to a souls-like set in dark western-fantasy (like Demons Souls and Dark Souls).

Oh Cool to see this list of souls like game @colonelkilgore. Have anyone played Wo long Fallen? Its seems as a pretty cool game to me and is a game that Iam very interested in playing soon maybe.

@oliverp yes I can see that @Jimmer-jammer included his most difficult bosses from Wo Long on his list. It does look good tbh… and think that the Chinese mythology does appeal to me more than the Japanese mythology of the Nioh games. It’ll be a while until I get around to it though as I probably have at least 6 other souls-likes in the backlog and want to space out my playing of Nioh 2 and Wo Long as far as possible to keep it fresh.

@colonelkilgore Hm yeah I would also like to play the other older souls like games but yeah I honestly dont think I will make time for it (not right now at least). Wo Long looks a little bit to interesting to me.

I just watched the promo posted for AI Limit, which I guess is a anime souls-like.

It reminded me of Code Vein, which I just couldn’t quite get into, despite my initial interest with the proposition of a cool anime aesthetic with a Souls formula. I think CV didn’t click with me mainly because I didn’t care for the battle systems and it was all a bit too complicated. But after watching the AI Limit footage, I do think that one of the issues Souls-like games face, and especially one that is anime styled, is translating the visceral impact of combat. Souls games feel ‘crunchy’ and ‘heavy’ for the most part, which relays a sensation of realism, or maybe not ‘realism’ but ‘genuine’ or ‘affective’ combat.

Without the 3D realistic rendering, the animated style of Code Vein (and maybe AI Limit) just can’t carry that feeling of weight. Maybe it’s just me.

@Th3solution yeah I know what you mean about Code Vein… it felt like I was waving a seven foot great sword around that was made out of polystyrene 🤣.

Haven’t seen anything of AI Limit but will check out some vids when I get the chance.

@colonelkilgore There is an article on AI Limit on the front page of this site, if you fancy checking it out.

@JohnnyShoulder 👍 looks pretty decent 🤔… not excited in the way that I was by the Lies of P and Black Myth: Wukong trailers but will keep tabs on it for sure.

@Th3solution One of the things I love about FS games is I feel it is encouraged to be creative. No shame in cheesing at all, or any other means one can overcome the present challenge by. Limiting the player only by their own creativity is one of the ways in which these games become so personal.

@woolypump Isshin remains unbeaten for me also. I attempted to go back at one point but, as @colonelkilgore was mentioning, I was laughably rusty in the face of such a tough opponent. I really think a fresh play through is needed.

@oliverp Wo Long is fantastic! It’s tough to be sure but there is a system in place in which you can make the game easier by essentially farming for ‘morale’, a way to deal more damage and receive less. There’s a bit more to it than that but it’s a very well implemented system in its own right and adds an interesting wrinkle to difficulty.

Can I dump this here?
Gameplay impressions from fextralife on No Rest for the Wicked. Quite in depth and technical which you would expect from these guys.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kmd9lu5AOMA

Looks really good. Nice to see it features coop and I quite like the once its dead, it's dead change of pace from the normal souls likes although what does that mean for grinding.

Great topic 👏

I started Elden ring 3 weeks ago and promised myself I would push through and get good. I've never been the biggest fan of the souls formula, losing a ton of progress is soul crushing for me. Fortunately I found a farming area in Caelid with 4 dudes worth 1024 points each, so when I'm close to levelling up I make a b-line there, level up and go on my merry way.

I think Elden Ring is one of the best games I've ever played. Because I have the option of finding other stuff to do when I hit a wall. Others may run round naked with a pot on their head having the reflexes of the world thumb wars title winner. I on the other hand will do everything but that main boss and go in slightly overlevelled when I have no other choice. It's taken me 75 hours and I've just been battered by a gargoyle in Leyndell rofl 🤣

I'm playing strictly offline and trying bosses with only low level summons (Except Radhann when I pulled everyone with me which was epic). The immersion is second to none. Playing it this way, I'm learning the enemies and have beaten everything I have found thus far.

I don't get the 'flow state' a couple of youtubers have mentioned. I think the gameplay is a little to janky without significant training to perfect in the same way as say the contra series or tetris. But it's still one of the best implementations in 3d for sure.

@themcnoisy Glad to hear you're enjoying Elden Ring. I remember all your attempts at getting into Souls game down the years so I'm happy it's clicked for you! I'm going to do another run through soon. Some people complained about burnout in the second half of the game, but I found if you just keep playing at your own pace, it never gets old. Stormveil Castle was brilliant, and so was Castle Sol, one of my favourite locations in any game ever probably.