Topic: Push Square Game Club Spooktacular: Resident Evil 4

Yay! I finally defeated the Mantis Lords. Now I'm wondering what horrors the game has in store next, but for now it's nice not to be attacked around the Mantis Village.

@nessisonett couldn't agree more, its less obtuse than dark souls without being obvious. The npcs all have a fair bit of charm so far. I spent a fair bit of geo on a key, hoping to find where it goes and that I've not wasted cash! Bought it and had instant buyers regret, thinking I should have saved for the lantern!

@mookysam Congrats, I remember that being a bloody pain when I first played it!

@mookysam A great boss but a tough one at that stage of the game! And yes, it’s nice to be able to get through the area without being attacked anymore..

I've made it to the city of tears, and it is making me cry (pun intended). I did however find a guy who upgraded my nail, so there's that. I see @mookysam didn't like the mantis village and was happy to get past that boss. I was unaware there was a boss there and was simply happy to just grab the mantis claw and run because those mantises where doing a number on my sanity. Welp, I guess I have to go back then!

I may have just picked up the claw and NOPE I’m out of there. I fought the boss at that stage my first playthrough so can’t decide when to do it this time.

@R1spam I actually enjoy how the lore presents itself. When playing Soulsborne games, usually I beat a boss and then immediately look up its lore otherwise I have no idea what is going on in the story. It's the way I am able to comprehend what's going on. This takes a different approach where it gives you little droplets, but the droplets are all understandable.
On a side note, I also prefer the atmosphere of this game to Soulsborne games. It feels oppressive, but frequently gives you your cuteness fix (I have already become attached to the caterpillars).

Also a big shoutout to the soundtrack, it’s absolutely incredible. This gen has been great for soundtracks in general but indies totally stepped up with this, Celeste and HLD springing to mind.

Wait, the Mantis Lords are OPTIONAL?!!! Yeesh I’d been at that since Wednesday. 😂 The first mantis is easy enough, but getting the right pace for the two together was rather tricky. @nessisonett @Thrillho @Trisque Anyhoo, I’m now up to some big phantom thing in the rainy city. I don’t care for the teleporting ghost bugs in the section leading up to it.

@nessisonett Yeah, the music is quite lovely. It gives it quite a lonely, sad feel but is pretty and soothing at the same time.

Well, after @mookysam showed me that I missed some content, I have attempted to get back to the mantis village to battle the mantis lords. I want to experience everything that I can in this game, I don't know why I didn't play it earlier.
I also unlocked the soul sanctum and royal waterways but I also want to go back to some previous areas and explore the pathways I was unable to reach before obtaining the moth wind cloak and mantis claw. There is so much to do!

Earlier I beat the Soul Master boss in the Soul Sanctum. I found it considerably easier than the Mantis Lords and defeated it on my fourth attempt, so maybe my skills are slightly improving. One of the few criticisms I have thus far is that the benches are often quite far away from bosses. The purply area after that is really pretty, but certain enemies there are quite frustrating. I don't know what they're called, but they look like Diancie and shoot crystals.

Now back in the rainy city after going through some spooky caves a.k.a. Resting Grounds, which had some interesting story events. It all seems rather mysterious and now I can activate the wilted tree things. There were some quite scary growly bugs lurking in the shadows!

@Trisque The Mantis Lords are horrible so I think it was wise to leave it, even if it was inadvertent. One of my favourite aspects of Metroidvania games is going back to old areas with new abilities and the feeling of continuously getting stronger. A lot of people don't seem to like backtracking, but here it is done quite elegantly and always feels meaningful. There aren't many fast travel points which is a shame given the size of the map, but honestly I haven't used the feature much anyway.

@mookysam hmm, you may be right. I tried to get back through the mantises again and once again started going crazy. I think I'll stick to exploring the soul sanctum and (God willing) will return to the mantis lords at a later date.

Update: Have defeated the boss of Soul Sanctum (I wonder what's behind that door? Sly has what I believe to be the key and I'm saving up to acquire it). That was quite the impressive boss fight. I never felt like any of the bosses moves felt cheap, and the reveal halfway through the fight was nicely done as well. Once I did that, I went back and defeated the mantis lords. I love the beginning of their fight. Went past them and found that the area after them is scary and decided to continue in the Royal Waterways before returning. There's a shortcut in the Royal Waterways to the bench near the mantis village, so to those who haven't beaten the boss yet and want to continue don't feel like it'll be a pain to come back.

@Trisque One thing I really liked about the game is that it never felt like you were going the “wrong” way when exploring. You could hit areas you didn’t feel ready for but very few would completely stop you from being able to work your way through.

The map also links together really well so there are so many ways to go through the game.

@Thrillho oh most definitely. I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that the Royal Waterways connect to the Fungal Wastes and when I found out that there is a neat shortcut in Crystal Peak to Dirtmouth. The map is so intricately linked together and encourages exploration so strongly. I know that from where I am in the game I can get to this place @mookysam mentioned called the Resting Grounds, but I haven't found it yet. I've been having too much fun exploring other parts of the map to do so. There's so much to do in this game, I'm suffering from abundance lol.

I really wish Hollow Knight came to Vita, I’ve been playing using Remote Play and it works so well. It controls a lot nicer with the D-Pad and the lighting is great on the OLED.

@nessisonett won't lie I'm playing on a switch and its perfect game for handheld. Even with joy cons it feels so precise

@R1spam I have it on Switch but it’s on PS Now so I’m playing on PS4 this time. The HD Rumble was great on Switch but I’ve made my distaste for the joy cons known on many occasions because now even my right stick is drifting.

@nessisonett personally I really enjoy it on a bigger screen. Though it does seem like a game that would be great if portable, playing it on a big screen helps me to simply appreciate the wonderful art of the game.