Topic: User Impressions/Reviews Thread

@LieutenantFatman I would love to go for a bloodtinge build as I didn't develop those much in my playthroughs - using things like the Chikage and Simon's Bowblade

@Rudy_Manchego I appreciated your well delivered post on your relationship to Bloodborne. I could really relate. I couldn’t quite get into Dark Souls 1, but I adored Bloodborne. I think of it as a game I could replay repeatedly to try new builds, if not for my large backlog.

I also never summoned for any help in my entire playthrough, and only had a few invasions all of which I got beat fairy badly except for once. I’m not particularly skilled but I got through the game on grinding and overleveling and watching YouTube videos, but it made me enjoy the game so much more than dying repeatedly.

I remember I watched a YouTube video of a guy who completed the whole game in like 10 minutes. It was amazing to see him beat all the main story bosses with an early low leveled character with a saw blade and make these strange shortcuts through the map that were taking advantage of technical bugs and glitches in the code. It’s funny that when you see someone defeat a boss using extremely under leveled skills and weapons, it gives you confidence to defeat it with your normal leveled character.

@Th3solution Your experience with invasions mirrors mine. I had one moment of glory when someone attacked me in the Nightmare of Mensis and I rolled out of the way and they fell down into an abyss and died. Wish I could say that was skill rather than me panicking when I tried to run away!

Seeing people who have run the game that many times and can just smash through bosses with no leveling etc. is what I imagine people who love football feel when they see someone go through the defence and score. It looks so easy yet I know I could never do it in a million years!

Thanks for reading too!

@Rudy_Manchego @Th3solution And there you have the series version of easy mode, along with summoning. Which makes me even prouder of being able to beat Sekiro. 💪

Well done @Rudy_Manchego on finally getting that sweet bloodborne platinum 👏

I had the exact same problem as you with that damn Watchdog in the defiled chalice dungeon... I had to overlevel like a mad woman just trying to increase my health so I could actually tank a few hits from that evil puppy.

Kudos on doing it on a new game plus too!

Everything else after that was fine though (The extra health didn't really add anything to the fact I ripped through the remaining chalice bosses like swiss cheese)

@JohnnyShoulder Mate - I have nothing but admiration for those that had the patience to beat Sekiro I personally feel from my time with Sekiro that it is too exclusive - the level gameplay and emphasis on stealth means very little in nearly all boss fights which I found quite jarring. You literally have to be good enough to beath Sekiro, there are no ways round it. I also didn't like the fact I felt the game world suffered if I died - I get losing souls/echoes or possibly needing to farm HP vials etc, as annoying as it is, but actually having in game characters suffer if you die was too far for me. However, it just means the game is not for me and I know yourself and lots others really enjoyed it.

I'd disagree with summoning - it increases boss health and can actually make some fights harder but leveling is a way to improve your odds.

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Thanks! I had a pretty good amount of vitality for the Defiled Watchdog but still most of his moves could one shot me which was really the challenge on the level. On higher chalice levels it was easier. After the Watch Puppy, it took me about 4 goes for Defiled Amygdala but that one is just about patience really. Pthumerian descednent was all about the parry (which I am also not good at) but was a fun fight. I struggled at first with the Headless Bloodletting beast, mainly due to camera but it was all about recognising its moveset while the camera goes beserk. As for the final platinum boss - I defeated them on my second go. Easily the creepiest boss in the game and I loved the sound design and moveset but if you don't get too greedy, probably one of the easiest in the game.

For me all of them were easy once I got past that infernal watchdog @Rudy_Manchego (Maybe I took a few goes against the descendant... I don't quite remember that boss though )

Agreed on the "platinum" boss in particular. Much as I enjoyed it the aesthetics, sound design and such as a fight it was a bit too easy for that point in the game.

I kinda hope that the Bloodborne remaster for PS5 isn't true though... I'd rather it be a Bloodborne 2.

Granted I haven't played the DLC which does seem to add a lot of interesting weapons but my main gripe about Bloodborne is probably the lack of weapon variety and build potential in the base version.

Well at least to me as I never gelled with the weapons all that much. Much as I like the idea of trick weapons I rarely switched them from thier base forms to be perfectly honest 😅

I do like everything else about BB but I feel my first playthrough was pretty much the exact same as my second (Just I knew the layout and what to do that second time) whereas all my runs in the Dark Souls games have always felt rather different.

@Rudy_Manchego Nice writeup and congrats on the plat!

I preferred Bloodborne to the DS games myself bit couldn't bring myself to play through it again after finishing it. I can't remember whether I used summons in BB but I certainly did in DS3. I did enjoy helping other people out on bosses I enjoyed though but it was always quite annoying to be summoned to help and then that person gets killed immediately.

@Rudy_Manchego True about bosses health increasing, but most of the time when I summoned the player was so OP the fight was over before I could get a look in, and the extra health the bosses had meant nothing.

In regards to Sekiro, there is a way to cure the curse that some npc's get, so it is not the be all and end all that some make out.

@Thrillho I haven't tried helping others to be honest so I might give it a go. At the very least my martyrdom might help others!

@JohnnyShoulder Yeah but I think the psychological impacts of characters getting a curse is what got me. It really feels like the game was telling me I was poop. I mean, I was sure, but I'd rather the, yeah you are poop but why not give it another go? A little like me trying out for sports at high school and getting given the participation medal.

@Thrillho @Rudy_Manchego @JohnnyShoulder So, having never used the summon mechanic, if you summon for help and then you die in the first minute of the fight but the person you summoned prevails without you, do you get credit for the victory too?
And what is the incentive for giving assistance and answering summons? I guess you gain experience as well?

@Rudy_Manchego I always saw it as a fun way to replay boss fights I particularly enjoyed or as a more enjoyable way of farming blood/souls. It was the same in Nioh too.

@Th3solution In all these games, if the host dies then you get booted out so it can be frustrating to wait around to be summoned only to get booted within a few seconds. Almost as annoying as them getting killed right at the end of the fight! And as I said above, it's a good way of getting the equivalent of XP. Some of the covenants (or the DS equivalents) have specific rewards for helping people too I think.

@Th3solution In Bloodborne you gain Blood Echoes, Insight Points and that awesome feeling of having helped someone. Got some really nice thankful messages too. I've only summoned about a handful of different occasions in the series, but started to leave my summon sign/ring by bell (no smirking at the back please) when I was more confident in the latter stages of DS3, when I went back to play the doc on Bloodborne and DS Remastered.

@JohnnyShoulder Smirk!

Sorry, couldn't resist!

@Thrillho I think I'll give it a go next time I play.

Tropico 6

Buenos dias el Presidente!

If you've ever played a Tropico game before then you'll already know what to expect. This is pretty much more of the same but with some tweaks.

For those who don't know, the series is a construction/management simulation game that sees you running a small island nation in the Caribbean through colonial, world war, cold war, and modern eras in either a campaign or sandbox mode. In either mode, you have to meet your objectives but also keep the local populace appeased/oppressed.

The sixth instalment of the series sees you be able to take control of multiple landmasses rather than just one central island, connecting them via ports or bridges. This makes for some nice aesthetic differences but doesn't alter the game drastically.

Raids are a new thing with each era having a raid building and each of these giving you different options from looting resources/gold through to manipulating the markets and give you better export deals. The game also allows you to use raids to steal famous landmarks from other nations. Fancy helicoptering Stonehenge into your country? No problem!

Other changes include the Broker who will give you tasks that earn money for your Swiss bank account (this can be used to buy off other nations, give you increased standing with a faction etc). New buildings are still unlocked via blueprints but these can now be bought (or looted or gained from completing objectives) rather than researched.

I really enjoy the series as they're light hearted sims that offer a good challenge but without getting too bogged down in the minute detail of some sims/city builders. The campaign is well structured with most of the missions focusing on one gameplay mechanism or quirk of the game from going all in on tourism, one that sees you being able to build multiple pirate raid buildings, one set on a volcano, and one where you can't build any houses. The final mission then puts everything together really well.

However, a few things really grated. First off, the game lets you mostly crack on and have fun but the economy can be a right pain at times. Your economy can suddenly collapse for almost no reason, particularly when changing eras, and it can be really hard to correct/counter this. I had to start a fair few missions again once I got into a death spiral with my economy and the levels can take multiple hours each so it can be pretty galling to have to do this. I dropped a few levels down to easy mode as I couldn't face the thought of having to start all over yet again. This also means that often your best strategy on a mission can be to ignore your objectives and tediously build up a functioning economy first. As each level is completely separate from each other (unlike Tropico 5), it can feel a bit frustrating having to do this each time.

The other big issue are rebels. I get why these guys exist but you can be minding your own business, building up your island and thinking your people are all happy with you but in the background these cretins are plotting against you. It's really hard to keep them from happening and, a bit like the economy, they can suddenly build up in number and it's game over. Keeping the people happy only works so far, and one raid building can help thin their numbers slightly, but if they get rowdy enough then they will start a rebellion where only a really strong military will save you (and in many missions you don't need much of a military, if one at all) so it's another frustrating way to see the game over screen.

Overall, I enjoyed my time with the game but having to restart a campaign mission you've already been working on for four hours for one of the above reasons is a real kicker.

@Thrillho Perfect write up bro.

You have hit the nail on the head with lost progression. In the trophy age, lost progress is reason to backlog a game - damn I have to do all that again!? With no guarantee of success?

Tropico 5 (the one free on psplus) was alright I suppose, but I couldn't get a ship to move and it broke my city and I had to restart a dead long section. I backlogged it and never went back.

Seems the same issues are prevelant here which is a shame

@themcnoisy T5 was the first I played as it was a freebie. I’d had this one on my wish list waiting for a price drop and it was worth the punt at half price. Not a great deal has changed since the previous game but I still had fun with it.

As for lost progress, I guess I should have just had more manual saves going on. The game auto saves loads but with only a few slots so those can be useless if the death spiral has been a slow one.

The most frustrating game for lost progress I can remember was Surviving Mars. I mean, the whole point is that you have to be much more careful over resources but one mistake in that game can trash a save completely. I’ve only ever got to a sustainable colony on that with a resource rich map and the game set so factories give double normal output. I have no idea how anyone managed it otherwise!

@Thrillho Oh lord, in Europa Universalis IV you can only earn achievements on Ironman mode so no saves for you! Try a world conquer attempt with a tiny nation and everything’s going well until Spain, France and the UK decide to invade you or the Ottomans decide you’re not worth their time. So many hours wasted 😂😂

@nessisonett Ouch.

The last mission in Tropico 6 involves you being invaded multiple times, particularly in the modern era. Unfortunately for me, one big invasion coincided with a rebellion at the same flipping time. It did not end well for me.

@Thrillho I remember 5 being rather unforgiving at times but yeah, that does not sound fun at all. Especially with ‘El Presidente’ ringing in your ears at every opportunity when you’re trying to save the bloody island from itself!