Topic: Souls-likes (& dislikes)

@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.

@Gremio108 I think that's the key Grem. The maps are littered with things to find, a couple of hours here and there is perfect. Sitting for 7-8 hours like a final fantasy or mass effect, doesn't work in elden ring because it's so stressful 😫

Also I think builds mean a lot in elden ring. I'm a tanky sword wielder with fat armour. Low intelligence, using no spells. I think sorcery has an upper hand here as smashing enemies from a distance would be easy. So I'm not burned out yet!

@themcnoisy Arrows ftw, as they have more of a range then most spells I believe. You do well going through the game without any kind of magic use (either offensive or defensive), as some later bosses I found difficult without.

That is the beauty of these games, you may find a way.

I tried Steelrising a few nights ago (PS+). I only played a few hours but it seemed pretty crap. The graphics (on performance mode) were surprisingly terrible, and not saved by the art direction IMO

Perhaps I am missing out on something that improves with perseverance, but I have uninstalled.

@woollypump I’m yet to play it but have heard positive things… the main thing being the level-design and metroidvania-like exploration.

@JohnnyShoulder I've hit yet another roadblock and may have to invest in some arrows. No idea where I need to go after beating Godrick and Morgott. I have 2x red dots on my map and no ideahow to get there. Apparently the ivy holding the door shut is a little too spikey for my avatar. The only bosses or areas left are an underground lake of rot and the mountain over west with a larva dragon. I need the arrows.

Quite good timing that this thread has gained some activity recently as I’ve just returned to Nioh 2 for what will hopefully be my last visit before getting everything done and dusted. At the Golden Castle, which I assume is real close to the end… never seen so many boss fights in one level! 😅

@woollypump I booted Steelrising up briefly when it came to PS+, but turned it off after like 30 minutes. I thought the character and enemy movement was just so bad, especially for a Souls-like, which entirely hinges on the gameplay. So disappointing, since I thought the setting/premise was pretty cool. It just came off as a second-rate Lies of P.

I'm always playing a Souls-like of some sort, whether it's the main focus or just something in the background when other games take most of my attention. Right now, I have Lords of the Fallen installed, which I've been inching through. It's nothing amazing, but I find it to be pretty competent.

Basically, just waiting for Elden Ring/Lies of P DLCs, but I definitely have my eye on Rise of the Ronin.

So after quite the journey - I started it back last October, I’ve finally wrapped Nioh 2! Not gonna lie, that plat popping was extra sweet on this one what with how challenging I found certain sections (predominantly the bosses during the first half of the game tbh).

Took around 160 hours, had a grind for rng and as I already mentioned, some really tough bosses and enemies, so the platinum percentage of 5.2% very rare on PSN (& 23.54% - Uncommon on PSNProfiles, which is frikkin crazy!) doesn’t quite do it justice. At least I’ll know the struggle I guess 😅.

Great game and as good as a souls-like gets if not made by From Software (though I’m still to play Lies of P). It was bloody intense though… and pretty huge too, so I played it piecemeal, which is very unlike me. Put a month in back last October, then another month late December/early January and then finished it off this last week. Highly recommended to souls-veterans.

@colonelkilgore Congrats, brother. Sounds like a feat, indeed.

Wasn’t it difficult to keep your timing accurate by breaking up the game like that? My understanding is that the parrying is an important part of the Nioh combat.

Personally, I’ve always hated parrying. I lean toward being a dodger and a roller rather than a blocker and a parryer. But these Soulslikes are starting to really fall in love with the parry mechanic. I don’t like it.

@colonelkilgore Well done. As you know I didn't get on with Nioh 2 despite enjoying Nioh 1, it felt a bit like Dark Souls 2 to me...too many gank squads.
Still I am looking forward to Rise of the Ronin and as there are difficulty options then I can always avoid getting gud if need be. I think there aren't any trophies related to difficulty except completing an expedition/mission on hard.

@Th3solution cheers buddy. So there is something called a burst-counter, which is similar to a parry I guess… but you can only use them on certain enemy attacks (basically unblockable attacks that flash red). The timing is pretty forgiving though tbh… as long as you use feral or brute, the phantom timing was very parry-centric though thinking about it.

The big thing on each return to the game was re-acquainting myself with using the R1+d-pad for all of your item hot-keys. In the heat of battle, trying to remember exactly where a specific item is mapped (you can map up to 8) can be a struggle. It came back to me relatively quickly during this recent return-visit though, which was a pleasant surprise.

@CaptD I get it mate, some of those early areas and bosses are very unwelcoming to the new starter. I have the PS5 remasters of both Nioh games and have decided that when I eventually return to take them on that I’ll follow a specific build guide. I went very laissez-faire this time and I think that really made things a lot harder than they needed to be. During my post-game plat mop-up, I’ve watched some vids where certain builds are just annihilating enemies that took me hours of pinpoint perfection.

@colonelkilgore Huge congrats! That’s quite the accomplishment. I’ve got like 120 hours into Nioh II and even thinking about going for the platinum has me laughing at myself hysterically. Fantastic game with a truly mind bogglingly great combat system. Glad you enjoyed your time with it and again, congratulations!

@Jimmer-jammer well I’ve left it installed mate, in case you do want to chase that plat with some jolly co-op 👍

@colonelkilgore Aw, thanks! My biggest issue is having to use all of the weapons. I’m a bit like a kid you could say, in that there are some play styles that I just don’t jive with, zapping the fun out of it for me. Like when I very patiently try to teach my daughter how to hold a hockey stick properly because she’s clearly struggling and she looks at me like I’m an idiot because she’s having fun doing it her way and, well, it’s hard to argue with that 😂

@Jimmer-jammer yeah I wouldn’t ever have left the kusarigama if it wasn’t for all the different weapon trophies. Having watched some FightinCowboy vids of his Nioh 2 build this afternoon, I’ll be going axe all the way when I play the remaster 😎

@colonelkilgore Nice! I’m usually a swordsman but fell in love with the switchglaive and never looked back. Wouldn’t be out of place in Bloodborne actually.

@Jimmer-jammer the switchglaive was my alt weapon as it goes. Yeah a nice weapon to play with that… and nice variation between the stances. I found I was struggling when using the kusarigama against human bosses and would normally then switch-to-the-glaive in mid-stance to take them on.

@colonelkilgore That’s definitely part of the beauty of the combat system - even switching weapons and stances becomes an integral part of the ballet. Some of the enemy types are just so much fun to fight too and overall are such a step forward from Nioh I thought. The Enki is probably my favourite. Once I learned their rhythm, I really never tired of fighting them. Did you have a favourite?