Topic: Souls-likes (& dislikes)

@Hapless yeah I intend to play it on the difficulty that the game originally released at when I eventually get around to it. I’m hoping for it to be my 300th plat, as Bloodborne (which happens to be my fave game of all-time) was my first… and I thought it’d be a nice full-circle moment due to LoP being so heavily inspired by it.

Started up Demon's Souls on PS5 today. I've been on the fence about starting it up as I'm also playing Silksong but I haven't been in a mood to play that game lately, while I've been really wanting to play something like Demon's Souls.

I played it for 4 hours straight today and it's so good. It's as I expected, I'm absolutely loving the challenging nature of the game. I want to take my time and explore everything this world has to offer, which is good because the game does reward you greatly for exploration. I'm also playing it with online features turned on and it's nice to read messages throughout my playthrough that other people have left. It's like we're all on the same journey. Although I feel like the messages do sometimes spoil upcoming enemies and bosses, so I'll have to see if I want to keep having them turned on.

All in all, it's a fantastic game so far and it's made me even more interested in buying more Soulsbornes and Souls-likes.

@LtSarge definitely keep the messages on buddy, it’s all part of the experience… “try finger, but hole…” 😉

edit. Glad that you’re enjoying it so much straight off the bat! - Umbasa 🍻

@graymamba Good call, I have to agree with you in that regard. I played Dark Souls and Bloodborne without messages and it does feel like I missed out on a huge part of the "Souls experience". I'll keep them on!

@LtSarge Another vote here for keeping the messages and ghost images on. Often the messages are actually players who are trying to troll or deceive, so you can’t always believe them.

But mostly I enjoy the online features for the reasons you state — it helps you feel a sense of camaraderie with other player around the world. And can make the journey seem less daunting and frustrating.

And another vote.... especially for something like Sekiro, where co-op isn't an option - helps you feel like 'you're not alone' (!)

@Hapless Fair enough on the Ubisoft and AC comments. I’ve only been able to get one of the newer open world AC games done, Origins, and I liked it well enough. I’ve been meaning to play Odyssey for ages but other games keep pushing it back. Like I mentioned about JRPGs being long, WRPGs and equally as time-intensive, if not more so, and it makes me have to be really selective. Being on about hour 160 of Baldur’s Gate 3 and still not done yet is a testament to that. (Absolutely loving it though)

I have Nioh 1 & 2 in the library, by virtue of PS+ and I’ve meant to play them. I actually did load up Nioh once and played about an hour of it, just to see and it seemed alright but I wasn’t committed to it yet, was just sort of demoing it. I have grown to adore the From / Souls games and am making my way through them. And so my plan was to play all of them first (still have DS3, Sekiro, and Elden Ring to go) before trying Nioh and some of the other Souls-adjacent games.

I assume you’re pretty hyped for Nioh 3? It looks like they are changing the formula a little, from what I’ve read though.

@Hapless I haven’t played the Nioh 3 demo (big Nioh fan though and will definitely play the full game) but I have heard that it plays with the formula quite a bit. I’ve heard things about it being more ninjitsu-focussed and open-world. Not sure how accurate those reports are but sounds interesting.

@Hapless yeah I wouldn’t know… still to actually play RotR and heard just as many positive reactions as negative. I do have it in the backlog though, so I’ll get around to it at some point… have no idea if that’ll be before I play Nioh 3 or not though.

I’m going to go against public opinion, at least the opinion in this thread and say that on the first play through messages should be off. Too many messages give away secrets, wall here, treasure this way. Obviously that is supposed to be an element of the game but i find it distracting, at least on the first play through.

The other thing is the bloodstains and I’m reminded of my first play through of Demons Souls back in 2009, I was wandering through a certain area and noticed loads of bloodstains and instantly thought “hey up, trap here”.
Ever since then I have decided to make my first play throughs offline.

Of course that just my two cents and everyone should play in whatever fashion gives them the most enjoyment.

@graymamba
Have you seen Where Winds Meet?
Just seen it on a video by ACG concerning November releases, a quick google later and it appears to be a solo/coop F2P game. Certainly looks interesting although F2P might put a spoke in the wheel.

@CaptD I saw a trailer or part of a trailer a couple of months back and does look interesting. Didn’t know specifically what type of game it was though… apart from it being free-2-play multiplayer. So it’s a souls-like is it? Cool, I’ll have a watch of that ACG vid to get a better idea 👍

Decay of Logos is free on the store atm. Not the best souls-like ever (maybe the woist tbh) but free is the magic number.

@graymamba At first glance I thought it might be a Lego Souls-like. Strange combination, that would be. All those little kids trying to enjoy their nice chill Lego game and just getting killed over and over again in the opening area. 😅
I like the idea though.

@Th3solution Decay of Legos 🤣

I think Lies of P is probably the best non-FromSoft soulslike out there at the minute which reminds me, I never really got started with the DLC...

Hey it’s Aaron from PushSq...
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UlIKWNwIu0E
I hadn’t heard of Valor Mortis, it looks like it could be pretty good.

Also in the vid is Lords of the fallen 2. Looks a good year, which is going to be game of the year which is a question that IGN is already asking, crazy click bait sheet.

So after getting through my Gears of War-induced funk, I was looking forward to starting something new and thought why not play one of my two annual souls-likes. This one’s a bit of a niche one for sure, particularly given the massive non-From releases these last few years like Lies of P, Black Myth: Wukong and Nioh 3… but I’ve always been one to give the underdog a chance and ended up going with a little AA sci-fi souls called Hellpoint.

It ain’t bad! By no means a classic… and if you’re not the type of person who wants to play every souls-like available, there are definitely better examples of the genre to devote your time too. It’s better than some that I’ve played though, like Code Vein, Lords of the Fallen (2014)… and probably Immortal: Unchained too. I like it more than Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order too but I’d imagine that I’m in the firm minority on that one.

Level design seems pretty good from the areas I’ve visited so far. Plenty of short-cuts, secret areas, loop-arounds and verticality. Combat is okay… it feels a bit stiff in fairness but is responsive and there are loads of weapons, most of which have very distinct move-sets and specials. I’ve only fought a couple of bosses so far and they have been on the poorer side as far as souls-likes go… but they are only the first couple, so hopefully there are some better ones to come.

@Yousef- I definitely agree with you about Dark Souls 1 and 2 being special games… and I’d even add Demons Souls, Dark Souls 3 and Bloodborne to those. They all have that almost tangible from soft atmosphere that no one else seems able to manifest. Maybe 1 and 2 specifically stick out for you for nostalgia reasons… it is a powerful drug? One game in particular that I would recommend to people who struggle to get their souls itch scratched by non-from games would be the Lords of the Fallen 2023 reboot. It just had ‘it’… whatever it is.

Luckily for me, I’m able to get my souls-fix from pretty much anything that follows the formula. My original sig on here used to read “I ain’t ever played a souls-like I didn’t like” and that still stands true to today. Theres just something about the fundamental game-play loop of the genre that hits my receptors just right… they’re like my gaming Goldilocks-zone or something.

I just ***** hate playing the part I already "beat" again when I die and it feels like a big waste of time. So I despise the genre passionately other than it being an inspiration in small doses for the games that respects your time.