@RogerRoger Thanks for reading! And yes, I did debate whether to use that image but he is the most bizarre of the members (ahem) of the Twisted Trio. But if you have ever been interested in the series but overwhelmed by the number of Yakuza games, it's a great one to jump in and try.
There are other courtroom/detective mechanics I didn't mention like having to decide what evidence to show to prove your point or using the right dialogue choices (one trophy is for nailing the final court case) so there is more to detective life than just following people endlessly.
And the gang mechanic just wasn't fun. You did get rewards for taking down the mini bosses but they were crafting materials I never used so it find a bit pointless, even if taking them on was the quickest way to get the mechanic over and done with. For five minutes.
@Ralizah Thanks to you for reading too! I did like the side case mechanic and it meant that there were a few semi-regular clients you pick up as well but it just gave a bit more structure to it all. And the Twisted Trio really are peak Yakuza for names and overall ridiculousness.
I know what you mean about the main series though. I picked up Zero as I'd heard such good things about the whole series and it was on sale. My first trophy for that was Sept 2018 and the Y6 platinum pinged in August 2021! I thought I was going to have to dig out my PS3 and find the old games on eBay to play the whole series but luckily the 3-5 remake was announced just before I started Kiwami 2. It's been a fun series to have in the library to pick up with a few other games between instalments.
So I'm not quite dedicated enough to plug in an old console for Yakuza Dead Souls and I've not heard great things about Fist of the North Star. There's also the historical setting games (with some familiar looking faces) that never got localised as well!
Like a Dragon and Lost Judgment are both on the PS5 hard drive ready to go at some point though but not quite yet..
Playing as one of two (very similar) pixie (technically alien) protagonists, you must explore the rooms of a girls' dorm in order to learn more about Earth culture. Along the way you'll (clumsily) platform your way around collecting "Picoins" (which can be spent at the shop in the main menu on upgrades & new clothes, mainly lingerie), blasting squid-like baddies, and collect information (by examining sparkly areas in the room & by using "happy bullets" to shoot the girls in certain areas...), all while you make sure you stay out of the girls' line of vision (this can be trivialized with a tap of the d-pad, which causes you to strike a "pixie pose", becoming invisible to them even if they're looking right at you, the presumption being they see you as an anime figure).
Each of the game's 8 chapters is broken up into three "Orders", the first two of which consist of the exploratory gameplay mentioned above. While sometimes the collecting of info is the mission clear requirement, most times you'll have to do something specific, like find a specific item, shoot a specific spot (like a window to open it), or kill all the squids. As you're graded on how many Picoins & info you gather, try to get everything before clearing the mission objective (while you're graded on time to clear as well, there's no defined time limit). Partway through you'll obtain a "Hookshot" that makes scaling the rooms easier, but from my experience there's no place you can't reach beforehand, with a well timed jump from the right spot.
The third "Order" of each chapter is always a boss fight referred to as "Maiden Suppression". One of the girls will be overwhelmed by emotion & get lost in some sort of exercise (such as Yoga, Treadmill, or even Pole Dancing...), and you'll have to avoid the various "Auras" (different bullet types) she produces during the activity & eventually calm her down by shooting her in various "areas" causing her to go into ecstasy. There is no stealth requirement during these sections, and sometimes things are made extra hectic by the presence of the squid enemies.
Each chapter is capped off by a bonus "Bath Time" segment, in which the "boss" of the chapter will be taking a bath and you have the chance to make some major Picoins by again shooting her in certain areas & even getting the chance to jump on & physically scrub her (which nets ridiculous Picoins). There is no stealth requirement here, and you can replay them in free play allowing you to cheese enough money to buy whatever you want in the shop (especially considering the further you get, the longer you can make the segment last).
Essentially half the game is a visual novel (with it's fair share of translation errors), which you'll be exposed to for lengthy periods in between chapters & orders. While there is an endgame narrative revolving around a "Phantom Thief" stealing buildings, it's mostly fluff surrounding the girls & at no point is it something you'll take particularly seriously. Apparently there are different possible endings, but whether or not it's influenced by the choices you make (you'll get like one multiple choice question each chapter), by how much info you gather during the exploration segments, or by a mix of both I don't know.
Once you complete the game you unlock a suite of options, such as a 3D character viewer, gallery of all the 2D art & videos, costumes to purchase for the dorm girls, and even the ability to disengage stealth & damage altogether.
Also as a side note, there's one early chapter that's just a Hyperdimension Neptunia crossover.
Conclusion: It's very much a clunky "B grade" Japanese game with extremely narrow niche appeal, but that said I don't think it's as bad as the "3" NL gave it, as it's not really broken in any sense. If you like quirky Japanese games & don't mind the (very) saucy material, it might be worth a look.
@RogerRoger I had no idea there was a Boba Fett game (sort of) like this. It's pretty cool they actually featured a bounty hunting element (however rudimentary it may have ended up being),
While it does sound a bit clunky by modern standards, it also seems like they put a lot of work into making this as authentically Star Wars as possible. The puzzle-platforming with the jetpack sounds like a pretty good addition to the gameplay as well.
Also a pity they didn't balance the combat better. Shame to have so many weapons that you don't feel the need to use because your blaster can be spammed on the majority of enemies.
Great review as always!
@RR529 A friend of mine grabbed this game. It's... odd. Like Mister Mosquito filtered through the lens of a C-tier fanservice anime.
Also, it's interesting how Hyperdimension Neptunia seems to keep crossing over with these properties. Both this and Senran Kagura, off the top of my head, and probably others as well. Presumably to boost sales, since HDN games seem to sell fairly well. That IP is like the biggest fish in a very small pond.
Most of the saucy anime games NL and PS have given ridiculously low scores to are still better than they're given credit for, in my experience.
“A good beginning makes for a good end.”
-Louis L’Amour
True watershed moments in gaming don’t come everyday. Seminal games that completely change the landscape of our beloved hobby are rare indeed. This is true especially in recent generations where monetization and profit overshadow innovation and risk; where sequels, ‘me-too’ clones of popular franchises, and annualized reskins pepper the charts month after month.
In Demon’s Souls Remake, we have the opportunity to experience the beginning of a gaming movement. What the original Demon’s Souls game ushered in has been one of the most shifting sensations in the industry. The first in what has become a long line of “Souls” games and “Soulsborne” clones, who would have guessed in 2009 that Demon’s Souls would become the trailblazer for a new gaming sub-genre.
To be fair, the “Souls-like” sub-genre of action RPGs has actually developed in more of a gradual evolution (even now expanding into the open world with Elden Ring ) In fact, Demon’s Souls was loosely based on FromSoft’s earlier King’s Field series. Furthermore, the very intention of Miyazaki, Kajii and Co. at FromSoftware when they developed the game was to recapture some of the lost aspects of older retro games. Nevertheless, there was enough unique aspects which Demon’s Souls brought together that I believe most would consider it to be the “first” of the modern “Souls formula” gaming phenomenon.
Looking at it thusly, when I decided to play Demon’s Souls, I expected it to be rough around the edges — akin to maybe trying a chef’s first attempt at a new dish before he’s had time to experiment, adjust ingredients, and finely season the flavor. And, although this is a remake (and an excellent one by BluePoint), the unaltered core of the game has left me quite impressed. The foundation of the Souls gameplay, the intricate world building, and inventive ideas were really ahead of their time.
A Tumultuous Development
”Frustration is fuel that can lead to the development of an innovative and useful idea.”
-Marley Dias
As with most trailblazing new IP’s, development was rocky, and the project was near collapse when Miyazaki came to take over the faltering initiative. He later said that he felt little risk if he failed since the game’s development was already headed towards collapse.
Compared to other games at the time ( Uncharted, Mass Effect, and Assassin’s Creed ) which focused on blockbuster narratives and cinematics, what FromSoft was proposing was certainly a horse of a different color.
The game didn’t demo well, and was unconventional, difficult, and cryptic enough to give Sony cold feet. Apparently Shuhei Yoshida spent several hours while demoing the game and never made it out of the opening area. In fact, in the end, Sony decided to not publish the game outside of Japan (later it was picked up and published by Atlas in NA and Bandai-Namco in PAL territories). It was a decision Sony later regretted (and probably has tried to atone for with this BluePoint remake).
Of course one of the chief concerns was the game’s difficulty. Ostensibly in the early pitches for the game, Miyazaki even hid details about gameplay (such as the loss of progress upon death) due to concern Sony would force them to change the game to make it easier. Miyazaki and Kajii agreed to not reveal the unforgiving death mechanics until the game was ready to release. Yet, for the record, Miyazaki has stated his intent with the game was never to make the game hard for mere difficulty’s sake, rather to make it feel satisfying through overcoming challenge, and to foster a sense of accomplishment.
The Legacy of the Game
”Legacy is not what I did for myself. It's what I'm doing for the next generation.”
-Vitor Belfort
In the end, the final product has been the recipient of numerous awards and accolades. It’s certainly not overstatement to say that Demon’s Souls is one of the most influential games of it’s time.
For starters, (interestingly and somewhat ironically) Shuhei Yoshida stated the very design of the PS4 was directly influenced by Demon’s Souls. Specifically, the share button was a feature directly related to Yoshida’s enjoyment of watching video and streaming clips of gamers playing Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls. Furthermore, the game’s approach to asynchronous communication and sharing features inspired some of the PS4’s share functions.
Another aspect of the game which influenced the future of gaming was it’s use of the shoulder buttons for attacks, a new idea at the time but a mechanic subsequently so oft copied that it feels hardly novel now 13 years later.
In the end, the game has spurred dozens of imitators and homages, even creeping into huge franchises like Star Wars with Jedi: Fallen Order. It’s safe to say we may not have games with asynchronous messaging such as found in Death Stranding without the success of the Souls series.
My Experience with the Game
”You cannot write out of someone else’s big dark place; you can only write out of your own.”
-Anne Lamott
The history and accolades of the game are well documented, but but what about my review of the game?
In a word, I found the game impressive. One might even say it was monumental (😉 Easter egg pun intended). After the build-up I cited above, it would be difficult for any game to live up to such hype. Nevertheless, if anything, Demon’s Souls Remake surpasses expectations.
World Building, Aesthetics, Level Design
”Some people are so afraid to die that they never begin to live.”
-Henry Van Dyke
For me, the most breathtaking part of Demon’s Souls is the game world. Taking place in a fictional kingdom named Boletaria, it’s swimming in ambiance. Based on a European Middle Ages backdrop, steeped in dark fantasy with knights, mages, and archers; enemies like gargoyles, slugs, underground golem-like creatures, and dragons. The game just oozes with atmosphere. Each archstone, or sub-world within Boletaria, is it’s own unique art style with each having a splendid array of dark artistic panache.
The level design is really good. It has a touch of 3D Metroidvania to it, but also has an openness whereby things can be done in varied sequences. Each archstone can be relatively linear to get to the boss, but there are a lot of side routes to take along the way, short cuts, and secrets to find. Sometimes there is more than one way to get to the boss, and if you take the quicker routes then you’ll likely miss out on a lot of the adventure. Certainly you miss some of the pick-ups, but more critically, you’ll miss out of some of the beautiful architecture, environmental nuance, and clever set pieces and enemies.
The Souls Formula
”Death is nothing, but to live defeated and inglorious is to die daily.”
-Napolean Bonaparte
Much is made of the very specific gameplay recipe that has made the Souls games such a rage the last 13 years. This involves the collection of the Souls of enemies as currency, the use of these to level up and become stronger, yet the fact you lose all access to these if you die and don’t make it back to your blood spot to retrieve them. Effectively this means you have a “high risk - high reward” dilemma when fighting through a level. It is very possible to spend hours trying to make it through an archstone, only to die and have nothing to show for it. The frustration of such deaths are only magnified when its something silly like walking off a cliff accidentally.
But the Souls games have a lot more going for them than merciless game design. Somehow, the more you play, the more you want to keep exploring. The satisfaction of besting an enemy, and the elation of conquering a level boss are the dopamine junkie’s best fix.
Although the storyline was better than I expected, honestly the narrative was not compelling enough to push me forward. It was the ability to soak up the disturbingly beautiful landscape, to find satisfaction with beating enemies and leveling up, and the push to see what the next boss was like.
The asynchronous online component to the game is a key piece as well. There’s undeniably a the feeling of loneliness when trudging through a dark dungeon and fearing what cheap-shot is around each corner. Well, Demon’s Souls has a solution to your despondence. Through the genius of online communication, messages can be left by other players and these are often key to knowing the danger that lurks around the next blind spot, or the hidden treasure underneath a bunch of wooden boxes. And sometimes the messages are simply words encouragement. Not only that, the ever present shadows of other players around the world are constantly playing randomly, and you can see a blood spot where someone has died and click on it to see the last few seconds of their mortal struggle. Sometimes this helps you learn from others’ mistakes and avoid them yourself.
In addition, there is co-op. I personally didn’t take advantage of calling on other players to help with bosses or levels, but that is also available to lessen the blow of despair. The co-op capabilities apparently can really lighten your load should you find the going too tough.
Whether alone, with friends, or with random people online, the game is amazingly innovative and the Souls formula is still unmatched in how it drives players both simultaneously insane and gleeful with joy.
Replayability
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
–Winston Churchill
Yet another hook that Demon’s Souls has set in each of its fans is the near endless replayability of the game. The various classes add a variety to the gameplay, above and beyond the already built in openness with which the game can be approached. Even in the middle of my playthrough focused on being a magic wielder, I was already wondering how the game might feel if I was a thief, hunter, knight, or priest. Being one class does not lock you out of experiencing some aspects of the other classes, but each Soul point spent is a lost opportunity to spend it elsewhere, and using your souls leveling foolishly will definitely make the game harder. So you have to save some of you experimentation with skills and weapons for another playthrough.
That said, the length of the game is just about right. I could have spent more time if I wanted to, but after 60 hours and progressing to Soul level 83, I was plenty strong enough to take on the final bosses (certainly a more skilled player than me could have got by with much less of a build). There was a great satisfaction when I completed the game, and it definitely didn’t overstay its welcome. And like I say, I could have finished it sooner if I really wanted to.
PS5 performance
I think much has been said regarding the quality of BluePoint’s remake and I won’t dwell on it only to say the game performs admirably on the current gen machine. Beautiful sharp textures, stable frame rate, great audio… basically all the stuff. The haptics are well done, although the absence of adaptive triggers for anything outside of shooting the bow was disappointing. Being a mage meant I didn’t really get to experience bow and arrow combat. Ah, like I said above — there’s always the next playthrough.
I do think the load times are a wee bit longer than I expected from a PS5 game. They aren’t intrusive by any stretch, but I never felt they were particularly snappy like I’ve experienced in other games like FF7R Intergrade, R&C Rift Apart or Astrobot’s Playroom.
The Downside
”I am not afraid of death, I just don't want to be there when it happens.”
-Woody Allen
Speaking of disappointment, what are the game’s failings?
Well, first of all the World/Character Tendency mechanic is a bit too obtuse for its own good. I appreciate the incredible depth and variance of the game, but adding this whole piece of background trickery was just a little too much for my taste. For those who’ve not played the game — basically the world will turn more “white” or more “black” depending on actions you take. Likewise your character has a similar yet independent moral rating. Many games have used this character morality choice system (paragon vs renegade in ME, honorable vs dishonorable in RDR2, or good Cole vs evil Cole in Infamous) but in Demon’s Souls not just that but the whole game world changes based on your actions. If you move more toward a black world then enemies get harder and more demons show up. If you move toward white then the opposite is true. And, more importantly, you are purely locked out of many side quests if the world isn’t pure white or pure black. Again, it adds to the replayability of the game, but it kind of did my head in.
Which leads me to another complaint — sometimes the game is just too cryptic for its own good. Certain parts to the game really require a guide to get through or understand. For example, there is a certain boss whereby if you don’t kill an certain NPC beforehand then the boss will just continually respawn when you defeat it. The game doesn’t really tell you or even hint to this trickery. The NPC isn’t even very near to the boss. That level was one of the toughest levels to begin with and if a person isn’t using some online help, it just might drive them to the brink of DualSense destruction. If there is one thing I’d tell newcombers, it’s that you should have no shame in using the internet for this one. And when a game can’t be enjoyed without an online wiki, I’m not sure that’s entirely a good thing.
And really, the learning curve is just too steep at some parts. Even within an archstone, one can be making nice progress and just slam into a brick wall of difficulty. Likewise there is a lack of balancing from boss to boss. I’ve hung around these forums long enough to know other Soulsborne games have this ingenious design whereby some bosses are easy for some players and hard for others. One player may struggle with a certain boss where another will beat it on the first try. However, in Demon’s Souls it’s pretty common that bosses are universally hard or easy for most players.
And finally, I think the game needed more consistent and more effective shortcuts. Opening shortcuts within a level is a staple of the Soulsborne games and yet another method to help the player keep their sanity when they die in the boss fight. There was too much variance with how useful the shortcuts were and a few of the worlds had too long of a trek back to the boss. I think FromSoft might have become better at rewarding a player for opening a shortcut in subsequent games, just like they have become better at boss balancing.
Conceding to a Fitting End
”When your time comes to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song, and die like a hero going home.”
-Tecumseh
To say Demon’s Souls is an RPG both retro and visionary is an accurate oxymoron. It’s surprising and impressive that it stands the test of time and symbolizes a milestone in the gaming domain. The Remake is an excellent way to experience this foundational masterpiece, whether for the first time, or as a returning slayer of demons.
@Th3solution
Excellent write up Sol, thank you. Not sure it'll convince me to play the game but interesting food for thought. I especially enjoyed the quotes you include to begin each section, thought that was a touch of class.
“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”
@Sorteddan Thanks and I would definitely say that the game, although exceedingly well crafted, isn’t for everyone. But hey — there was a time when I thought these games weren’t for me, so you never know.
And I’ve always been a sucker for a good quote. Glad you enjoyed them.
@RogerRoger I appreciate your kind words and your positive feedback.
It is true that a lot of the history of the game is amusing in retrospect, but things could have easily gone south. And it’s easy to look from the sidelines after the fact and wonder why Sony dropped the ball and let the game go to other publisher initially. But for every classic that they miss out on, there’s a disaster they avert when they back out of a project. It’s just funny to look back in retrospect and think that they had a gold mine right under their feet with the Souls idea.
And part of the low expectations I had for the game stemmed from my attempt to play the first Dark Souls back on PS3. I found the lore and the narrative direction to be off-putting at the time, so I expected something even more underwhelming in Demon’s Souls. In actuality, I think I just wasn’t ready for the style of storytelling and gameplay that these games encompass. I imagine it would go better now if I tried DS1.
And I do suspect that these FromSoft games wouldn’t be in your particular wheelhouse, given the slight horror vibe they have. This game is certainly not on the level of Bloodborne as far as creepiness, but there is plenty of white knuckle fear going on during some of the levels. There are a few really disturbing creatures in the game, and one very ominous spider that I’m sure would cause some distress. But the photo mode is a pretty nice feature! I tried to take photos throughout and by the end I only ended up with about 8 screenshots. It felt like I took way more, but I didn’t. If the blasted picture uploading feature to the app was working properly then I would have included my own shots in the review, but I had to make due with grabs from the internet.
@RogerRoger So actually… there is a Dark Souls Remastered for PS4 already, so that would definitely be the way for me to go in the future if I decide to return to the game, rather than try to play it on PS3. I doubt a full remake will happen anytime soon. But I had picked up the complete edition of Dark Souls 3 for PS4 a while back, and I think that might be the next Souls I play, even though there is apparently a loose narrative thread that links the three Dark Souls games together and I would be jumping into the last entry. I believe DS 3 has a patch that has the game playing at 60fps on PS5, but I’m not sure is DS 1 has such a patch. And well, DS 2 is the most maligned of the group so I’m unlikely to play it unless I get desperate.
The photo mode for DeS is relatively bare bones, but it has all the basic features necessary. My screenshots don’t do the game’s visuals justice, but I did like the looks of the character I created, so maybe I’ll use one of those to enter into the annual competition. Like most of my screenshots, I miss the most epic and cinematic moments while I’m playing, and only remember to use it when I’m at the quiet places between.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@Th3solution thanks for the tag about this review buddy… I waited until I had sometime spare as I was really looking forward to the read. It didn’t disappoint either, I think you hit on a large number of points that are intrinsic to the From Soft alchemy there, so congrats. Also, congrats on seeing this through to the end, I know there were moments where your dual-sense almost didn’t survive… you you made it 👏.
Also, I couldn’t help but chuckle at you including a Vitor Belfort quote. As a huge MMA fan, Vitor is an absolute oddity. Almost unbeatable at his TRT-drenched best… and also impossible to fully comprehend due to the genius of his derangement… or his deranged genius. An apropos yet quite random person to quote for this review… my favourite part! 🤣
@colonelkilgore Thanks for taking the time to read it. There’s a certain satisfaction and feeling of closure to writing my thoughts down. The quotes just sort of happened and I felt they were helpful to break up what became a rather long piece. The intent was to keep the review sections fresh with an intro quote and although I like classic sayings from people like Napolean and Churchill, the inclusion of Belfort and Woody Allen hopefully kept it from becoming too stuffy 😜
Glad you enjoyed it!
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@RogerRoger Yeah, the game’s character creation suite is pretty good. Not on the order of some of the more intricate ones out there, as you basically have just the option of two body types (what they call “A or B”, ie traditional male style or female style), so you can’t make your character taller or slimmer, etc. But the facial options, hair options, tattoos, skin and hair color, etc are all quite good. If I think of it I’ll post or send you a pick of the Sol Slayer of Demons. 😄
Incidentally, as I mentioned before, I’m likely to start Mass Effect soon and I’ll likely spend the first two hours with the character creator since I’ll basically be stuck with it for a while. When I played ME2 and 3 back on PS3 I did a bro-Shep that looked good in the creator suite, but looks slightly deformed in the cutscenes. 😂 Here’s hoping the Legendary Edition has a little better consistency.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@Th3solution Impressive write-up! I really like how you situate your exploration of Demon's Souls within the wider context of From Software's unique and emergent game design philosophy (which, you're right, has been wildly influential in the medium). While I'm not a fan of some of their choices myself, it is impressive to hear that the game's designer was willing to engage in a bit of trickery to preserve design elements that he knew wouldn't pitch well.
While we know there's a market for the formula today, history has a way of disguising just how resistant people often are to change and new approaches. The common sense of today is often something that wasn't viewed quite as matter-of-factly even a few years back.
The cryptic elements don't surprise me one bit, but the World Tendency mechanic you highlighted definitely sounds interesting. It's one of those 'out there' ideas you'd probably never see from more established studios.
The replayability element is cool, although the game sounds a little long to really encourage that for most non-hardcore fans, based on your own reported playtime.
Interesting use of quotes in each section as well. Did you happen to have those on-hand, or did you need to do a bit of fishing for the perfect ones to compliment each part of your review?
Overall, it's cool to hear the game has held up so well over time, and it's a good thing Bluepoint helped to rescue this modern classic from remaining exclusive on very dead hardware.
And even if the loading isn't great compared to other PS5 games, it's certainly a visual spectacle on the system. All of the videos I've seen online look great. This must look absolutely splendid on a 4K set.
@Ralizah Thanks for reading and also for the praise.
Yeah, the world tendency bit was a neat idea, and one that works fine in the context of a From game where they want to make everything so hidden and mysterious. I thought about other games that might have tried it, and the best example I could think of was Dishonored, which is a game I never made it very far into, but apparently if you play more stealthy and non-aggressive then the world stays a certain way, but if you kill a lot of people then the world gets infested with more rats and disease and such. I’m not sure how much it affects the gameplay or story aspects, but my impression was it’s more cosmetic that anything. Whereas in Demon’s Souls there are clear changes in enemy types and placement, as well as NPCs, treasures, and entire storyline aspects that only show up when the world is at one extreme or another.
As far as the quotes, I had a couple in my back pocket, as I like to collect favorite quotes, but most of them I dug up from the internet to fit into my outline. I really enjoyed that and might use it again in future reviews. We’ll see.
And yes, the game is visually stunning. In fact, I see from the first impressions piece on Elden Ring that BluePoint set the bar very high with DeS and so From’s new game doesn’t quite impress as much graphically. Visual fidelity and performance aren’t everything, but they sure help me get into a game, and often can help carry a game if I’m struggling with it.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
”Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop.“
-Lewis Carroll
I’m not an expert on racing games. I need to start with that. So my analysis and breakdown of my experience with Dirt 5 is definitely open to skepticism.
Truth be told, I’m not really an expert on any genre of gaming. Come to think of it, I’m not sure I’m an expert on any single subject, gaming related or not. But I digress….
What I intend to share is personal insight into Dirt 5 from a casual players approach. During my 25 hour march toward the game’s platinum trophy, I accumulated the thoughts contained in this review. I won’t be going into too much detail about how it might compare to other games in its class, well… because I haven’t really played any. This is my first Dirt game and my first rally focused racer.
T̲̅h̲̅e̲̅ B̲̅a̲̅c̲̅k̲̅g̲̅r̲̅o̲̅u̲̅n̲̅d̲̅
”The background reveals the true being and state of being of the man or thing. If I do not possess the background, I make the man transparent, the thing transparent.”
-Juan Ramon Jimenez
I won’t get much into the Dirt 5 development background, as it’s really not that noteworthy. Probably the most interesting aspect is that it’s made by Codemasters, the maestros of the compound word (starting with their studio name), who made Onrush and include many members from the defunct Evolution Studios team that made Driveclub and Motorstorm. And surely they missed an opportunity to carry on the tradition here by not calling this game “Driftdirt” or “Dirtspin.” Or maybe more fittingly “Rallyroar”, or “Roadshift” because contrary to the game’s title, you spend half your time on surfaces other than dirt — namely ice, snow, water, mud, and asphalt.
The second amusing thing about the game’s background is that they certainly spared no expense on the voice acting. The game stars none other than the high-nobility of the voice acting world, Troy Baker and Nolan North. I know… there really is no escaping these guys. They have invaded even the games that don’t have playable characters. And the thing is, I’m not really sure we even needed that kind of star power here. This game doesn’t require the breadth in performance of an Uncharted 4. …Alas, I’m getting ahead of myself.
T̲̅h̲̅e̲̅ P̲̅r̲̅e̲̅m̲̅i̲̅s̲̅e̲̅
”I'd like to think that most of what I do is self-evident if you're listening to it or seeing it. But I don't mind the fact that it's hard to describe.”
-Jon Brion
The game is a racing game. What more is there to tell? You drive mostly in circles and go vroom, vroom. Ah yes, it has a storyline. Sort of.
The career mode where you’ll spend most of your time (unless you delve into the online competition or the “Playground” where you can create tracks, share, and play others’ tracks) has a semblance of narrative to tie together your grind through race after race (after race, after race…) and it functions as a way to motivate further engagement, but just barely. The story is told through “podcasts” between racing chapters where commentators try to interest the player on an ongoing rivalry between racer “A.J.” and “Bruno” (Baker and North, respectively) and the two smack talk back and forth and a third party, John Pumphrey, serves as an intermediary. Kind of. It’s all a bit of a mess, and despite good acting performances, the premise is a little silly. More on that later.
I don’t know much about it but the fictional Donut Media podcasts that play as the story diversion are based on an actual real-world Donut Media YouTube channel for which Pumphrey is one of the primary hosts. Not being a racing or pop culture aficionado, I have no idea how popular or beloved this channel is, but the whole thing smacks of corporate pandering and backscratching.
Speaking of, during your career, you can enlist with a variety of sponsors. Many are household names like Oakley, Michelin, Good Year, or Monster. Some are companies I’ve never heard of. Regardless, the corporate sponsorship portion of the gameplay is largely secondary and I mostly ignored it.
Overall the game plays out as a progression of races, which culminate in a couple championship races. I can’t believe I’m saying this l, but — I’ll hold back more detail to avoid spoilers. That feels weird to say. I mean, the storyline is as thin as air, but I don’t want to rob someone of the chance, if they would rather experience it themselves.
The only other significant thing about the gameplay is the inclusion of “Gymkhana” events into the competition. For the uninitiated, these events aren’t races, rather timed events on a course where you rack up points for performing tricks with your car. It sounds funner than it actually is.
”The best part of the journey is the surprise and wonder along the way.”
-Ken Poirot
Where does the game really shine? Primarily two aspects of the game come to mind — the variety of surfaces you race on, and the dynamic and colorful racetracks.
First and foremost, there is a certain joy when driving on all the varying terrains in the game. When you drive on dirt, it feels distinctively different from driving on snow, ice, or on asphalt. Even hitting puddles and sometimes streams of water will give the player a different sense of speed, acceleration or deceleration, and traction. This is all magnified significantly by the DualSense. The haptic feedback is really great and when I say you “feel” the road under your car, you really do — through the controller. Many tracks have more than one surface you drive on through the race, and to instantly tell the difference when you hit a patch of ice, or make the transition from dirt to asphalt at 80 mph is really an impressive feat.
I turned off haptics and adaptive triggers after I completed the career mode and needed to grind for mileage for trophies and there was a real drop-off in the joy of driving when you can’t feel it through the controller. It takes a good fun experience and makes it so-so.
The second impressive feature of the game is the visual flare that the races contain. While driving there will be flashing lights and laser shows in the background, fireworks and confetti when you cross a finish line, and airplanes flying overhead leaving spectacular plumes of colored smoke. Some of my favorite appearing tracks were the ice stages at night where there was neon lights shining from under the ice and colorful displays of pyrotechnics from the sidelines. And if the race occurred during a thunderstorm, the lightning effects while driving were quite dazzling.
On that subject, the day-night cycle and changing weather was another really impressive aspect of the races. Often the road and weather conditions would evolve over the course of the race. When you start it might be sunny and daylight, but by the time you complete the third lap it might be raining, snowing, or nighttime. Or a combination of a sudden rainstorm at night. It could make a single race feel like a completely different experience when you finish, compared to how it started.
”Mediocrity is the first enemy of prosperity”
-Henry Ford
Several aspects of the game were merely “okay” and fell short of their potential.
I mentioned the voice acting, storyline, and audio commentary that is sprinkled throughout the career mode. Although Baker and North perform admirably, the storyline is full of cheese and cringe. Honestly I just skipped the podcasts and didn’t even listen to all of them. However, there was something awesome about booting up the game and being greeted by Troy Baker saying, “Welcome back, Maverick.” Made me feel pretty cool, for a short moment.
Another mediocre aspect was the technical performance. I played on PS5 and yet the experience was not completely without flaws. Most of the load times are decent enough, and the visuals look fine, but nothing on par with what I’m seeing from GT7 videos and pictures. The fidelity is certainly passable, and probably above average. The game mostly ran smooth, but the frame-rate hiccups happen too often to make the game top-tier. I played in performance mode, and I felt like I shouldn’t have been having frame stutters but I had them about once or twice per play session. I don’t know how many fps I was getting, and I think I saw 120 fps is supported, but it didn’t feel that way to me. I’m not sure my set up supports 120 fps, but it should hold steady at 60 fps in performance mode, I would think. But it’s definitely dropping at times.
I spoke of the DualSense features above, and although the haptic feedback was really good, I’d say the adaptive triggers were less impressive in their usage. You could feel a slight locking of brakes when you hit them and skid, as well as a softness to the accelerator when you’re trying to power through a corner on the ice, but the effects were just too inconsistent. Sometimes the triggers just felt weird too. Like when hitting a puddle of water at 80 mph the right trigger would click and give way, and I’m not sure it really felt authentic with what it was shooting for.
A fourth aspect which felt mediocre was the racing gameplay itself. There is a certain approachable nature to the game, and it does have a nice balance of “arcadey” with a small dash of “simulation” in the racing. The inclusion of difficulty sliders made winning races less frustrating. But overall the driving part didn’t ever really excite on the level of other racing games I’ve played. There wasn’t quite enough satisfaction to taking a turn and drifting past an opponent. After about 10 hours with the game it begins to feel a little stale.
And finally, the music. It’s a mixed bag. A lot of the music is annoying, and a lot of it is catchy. Most of it is somewhere in-between. I did grow to like a few of the tracks and even looked up the OST on Spotify to listen to. I selected about 3-4 songs that I put into my playlist rotation, so I guess that’s saying something. In fact, one song took me quite a bit of effort to find and is probably my favorite from the game. For some reason it’s not included on any of the soundtrack albums online, so I had to literally Shazam it quickly when the song came on so I could find it and add it to my playlists. It is by a band called Child of the Parish and called “Thread the Needle’s Eye” and I just dig it.
”Whenever things go a bit sour in a job I'm doing, I always tell myself, 'You can do better than this.'”
-Dr. Seuss
So speaking of audio, the use of 3D audio in this game was woeful. I played most of it with the Pulse 3D headset, and there was really a large inconsistency of the sound quality. When you choose to enable 3D audio in the menu, I think its supposed to make the music sound like its coming from the stadium speakers as you drive by…? I think? What it does is make the music clip in and out randomly during the race and sounds really choppy — like a vinyl LP skipping on an old phonograph. Which then makes the sound effects of the cars and the tires on the road choppy too. There is a complete lack of audio balancing and its just a missed opportunity. So I turned off the 3D audio and then it made the music a consistent volume, but that volume was so low you could hardly hear it. Which is fine if you don’t like the song being played, but it also seemed to give the environmental sound effects less of a punch too. So there was no satisfying setting either way.
Now we need to talk about the art style. I praised the colorful designs of the different tracks and environments earlier. But the overall art and color palette of the game is too overstated. The menus and time between races feels too edgy and Fortnite inspired for my taste. You can decorate your cars and your racer tag with patterns that look like a unicorn threw up on them. Its all a bit over-the-top. Unlocking (and paying for) different skins and stickers for your cars is intended to motivate you to keep racing and earning (or spending) money, but for me, it was all just background noise.
The last disappointing aspect is the cars themselves. There is a real lack of variety or identity felt when you switch cars. You can feel the difference between how a Mini Cooper drives compared to a Ford Pickup, but the nuance between different cars within the same class is very slight. I completed the game by using the same dozen or so cars over and over, with little motivation to buy or try others. Since this isn’t a pure driving simulator I can’t fault the game for not allowing me to change the tires and mufflers, but a Porsche should drive differently from a Mustang. And RWD should feel different from AWD. There’s just not enough authenticity or attention paid to some of those unique aspects of your car.
Relatedly, the game’s physics is inconsistent, as is the other drivers’ AI. Crashing into other cars and guardrails is sometimes detrimental to maintaining your speed and momentum, but sometimes not. The cars do show damage overtime, but you don’t feel much negative impact of driving recklessly. There is dreaded rubber-banding in some races, but it seems absent in others. Overall, it is a knock to enjoyment when you don’t feel like your actions in the game translate into consistent consequence.
T̲̅h̲̅e̲̅ F̲̅i̲̅n̲̅i̲̅s̲̅h̲̅ L̲̅i̲̅n̲̅e̲̅
“The person who starts the race is not the same person who finishes the race.”
-Anonymous
Apologies to my British and European comrades, but I can only summarize it thus: If Dirt 5 were a restaurant, it would be Chili’s. Perfectly passable when you’re hungry for something. And there’s plenty to like on the menu, but it only does a few things really well. Most of the entrees are better at other restaurants. You could eat there twice a week for a while but eventually you’ll get sick of the handful of dishes that you really like and you’ll lose interest with trying anything new there and move on.
6̲.̲5̲ s̲k̲i̲d̲ m̲a̲r̲k̲s̲ o̲u̲t̲ o̲f̲ 1̲0̲
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
As with most racing games, Dirt 5 isn’t a game that’s very fun to discuss in a review setting, so I’m glad it didn’t come across as too boring.
As far as the game being a good segue into a more intense simulator like Gran Turismo, I think it could fit the bill, but it depends. The game has a more simulation qualities than a lot of the entry level racers or Kart racers. But I think if someone went from Dirt 5 to GT they would really have to be ready to micromanage their set up and it might take a lot of time. You can get away with running a poor racing line from time to time with Dirt 5, whereas in my experience with GT you’ll regret it if you don’t hit the turn at the right angles and speeds.
As for whether I am prone to jump into GT7, I’m not sure. Part of me feels like I’ve had my racing fill for a while. So I’m planning to wait a few months. However, I will say that a racing game seems to have fit perfectly as a companion game to play alongside my other traditional action RPGs. It’s different enough to get a nice break, yet not too complex where you lose where you are in the game, or forget the controls if you’re away too long. When I’ve tried playing two 3rd person action games concurrently then I always get my muscle memory wires crossed when I go back and forth. But with Dirt 5, I could take a nice break from Demon’s Souls, or more recently Mass Effect, and not miss a step. So I might have to pick up GT7 just so I can have the nice diversion companion game. Maybe I should try Sonic Team Racing? I have no connection to the world or characters, but if it’s mindless racing fun, then it might stick.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@Th3solution That was pretty thorough for someone who isn't particularly experienced with racers! Good write-up for a genre that's traditionally a bit difficult to review. It's cool to hear about the effective use of the DualSense's advanced haptics. Shin'en did something similar with the HD rumble in the NS launch title Fast RMX, where different terrain would make the controller vibrate differently. It didn't really stand out to me at first, but when I'd play with the rumble turned off, I always got the distinct impression that some aspect of the experience was missing. I imagine the effect is even more vital to the sense of immersion in this game, given the more advanced haptics in the PS5 controller. Pity to hear about the ineffective use of 3D audio, though.
Yeah, in my experience, sports games with licensed soundtracks usually tend to be a mixed bag overall, so not surprised to hear the same is true here.
I just realized it has been five years since I last went to a Chili's!
@Ralizah Thanks for reading and glad that as a fellow American you can relate to the restaurant analogy. Chili’s is really good when you’re in the mood or are with a group where you need a place with a large variety of options because usually everyone can find at least something they like on the menu. It’s perfectly safe. But just like how you haven’t been there in 5 years despite it being me of the most ubiquitous franchises in the States, most of us don’t really seek it out or list it as a favorite. Which is where I felt Dirt 5 was too — Not bad, not special, just satisfying in short bursts.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@Th3solution Awesome Review for Demon Souls Friend. Providing different aspects from your POV as well as generalized was just great. Overall a very well written review.
@RogerRoger Indeed It was a great write-up flowing into positives & negatives , pin-pointing various details & also the snap in the middle , the elephant machine one.. is just awesome. Its actually very well timed & is crazy in good sense(Machines in their Glory)..a superb image.. but the icing on the cake is that how you captured the Aloy running & her expressions making it completely funny & hilarious also if one focus on her. Its special & rare because its A mix of Awesomeness & comical(if one focus on Aloy)
@RogerRoger Thanks so much for the Forbidden West review! It was a pleasure to read and captivating beginning to end, despite the fact I knew from the game’s thread that your general thoughts on the game evolved dramatically as you progressed through it.
Sounds like the input and control criticisms are still valid, even after the acclimation period, so it’s too bad it mars an otherwise splendid experience. Regardless, your high praise for the game shines through despite it having that little quibble.
Sometimes convoluted control schemes are part of the developers gameplay vision and the awkwardness is intentional (What Remains of Edith Finch comes to mind), but in an action game like this, you just need the controls to flow in the most reflexive and unobtrusive way possible. Did you experiment with any button remapping options? I’ve always been averse to changing the default button layout out of fear it will mess up the experience, but lately I’ve been trying to from time to time when it’s an option. It sound like some of the issues here are deeper than just changing which button performs what action.
Lovely shots too, by the way! This game is sure to make up a large volume of the screenshot comp entries this year.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
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