Topic: The Chit Chat Thread

@Gremio108 honestly no matter how much i played i just never got better, it's one of those games i just can't get to grips with

@FullbringIchigo Dark Souls 3 was the first one I completed. The first game didn't click with me first time around, even though I'd played through Demon's Souls and loved it. Went back to Dark Souls on PS3 but still couldn't do it, finally completed it with the PS4 remaster. So it turned out that Dark Souls 1 was the final Soulsborne game I completed!

This DLC is reminding me why Dark Souls 3 is my favourite of the bunch. It's an absolute masterclass in game design. So much detail, the locations are dripping with menace and you can almost smell the death and decay. So yeah, they're not really the most welcoming games to be honest. Once you crack them, they're incredible. But I can totally see how some people could never click with them. I almost didn't.

I'm sure I've said this one or twice @Gremio108 round Push Square but I played Demon's Souls with five different characters/builds before I finally "got" the gameplay

It was Christmas 2013 and I'd bought it both for myself and my daughter. I'd seen some gameplay and thought it looked quite interesting... I'd heard it was a but difficult but I shrugged off thinking it couldn't be that hard.

Started with a knight and got past the Phalanx. I died a number of times but it was manageable though I was seeing what people meant by the difficulty. After that though I really started struggling with the game.

I then tried the cleric thinking the heal spells would help me out. Made it past the Phalanx once again. Buuut I still couldn't seem to progress past that.

And it happened three more times over the holiday... I tried a different class, got past the phalanx only to fail once again as it seemed to get insurmountable.

I was determined not to let this game beat me... but I was admittedly getting weary and I was back to work in a few days so I promised one more time or bust.

So I made a thief.

... Dunno why or how but everything fell into place.

Was still tough as nails but I finally managed to conquer it.

I've since went on to the other Souls games and Bloodborne and found them nowhere near as demanding (Though there was something Dark Souls 2 that put me off and I didn't touch it for a whole year)

When I start a Souls game for the very first time now I make them a thief (Or a Bandit in the second dark souls) and give them the same name as the character that I beat Demon's with... It's tradition now and I guess a little good luck charm as well

Also I really like three as well.

Probably the only thing about it is that even if I never really did it... I quite liked the freedom in 1 and 2 (to a lesser extent) gave you to choose what way you'd like to go from the get go compared to 3 which leds you from one area to the next (Though the areas are sprawling and very intricately designed)

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy So, Dark Souls 3 is less open and exploratory than DS1/Bloodborne? Might actually try that one. I hate getting lost in those games.

Not really @Ralizah I probably didn't explain that quite right.

It's more so that in the original dark souls you can instantly choose from The Undead Burg, New Londo, the Catacombs...

Dark Souls 2 letting you go to four different areas from the start.

Dark Souls 3 has the same open and labyrinth like level design style (In fact most of the areas are even bigger and more sprawling then before) just there's no diverging branches really compared to the other titles it's just one area after the next.

Sorry if I got hopes your hopes up!

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Gotcha.

What I liked about Nioh was that, despite the complex, Souls-esque level design, each area (in the demo, at least) was its own self-contained zone. No wandering into entirely different areas trying to find your way to a save point.

DS3 still sounds like an overall improvement, though, insofar as you can't stumble into late-game areas early on and then fail to escape.

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy @FullbringIchigo @Gremio108 This is beginning to sound like Soulsborne Anonymous lol.

It took me the best part of 3 months of playing Dark Souls on and off to make any real progress. Then I couldn't get past the silver archers in Anor Londo and then I couldn't get past the Crystal Caverns. I gave up at that point and only beat the game when the remastered version came out last year. I too went through a few builds before settling on one. Now I also go for whatever character in can use now and arrows with, as i would be lost without em.

I'm not the greatest gamer so if I can get through the games i think almost anyone can. It does take a lot of patience, all of your concentration and a change of mindset. Especially on your first go with the games.

@Ralizah DS3 is defo the most accessible of the four games I've played. I'm not including Sekiro as I think that plays different enough to stand out on its own. There are still a few areas where the enemies will trounce you and are probably best left till a bit later in the game to try and beat them. The huge crabs spring to mind.

Oh yeah that's pretty much impossible @Ralizah.

If that's one of your biggest quibbles then Dark Souls 3 has a much more linear progression to it (Finally thought of the correct term lol)

You can try to sequence break, but you have to kill an npc which then triggers a boss fight that you REALLY aren't supposed to do yet. I tried it once. It didn't end well at all even if I was on a second playthrough

I also played that Nioh demo when it came out but I never got on with it at all. In fact I only played it for ten minutes before deleting it (though in hindsight I never gave it fair shake at all). Been so long I kinda forgot that the levels were self contained! 😂

Might try the second Nioh though as that has a character creator and hopefully it'll iron out any problems the first had

Plus something about Sekiro hasn't interested me at all despite being by Fromsoft so maybe Nioh 2'll be my samurai souls...

I think the bow that the thief class had in Demon's Souls was what got me through quite a bit of it @JohnnyShoulder !

I never really used a bow again in any other souls games, though in my current playthrough of Dark Souls II SotFS I'm using a crossbow and maining a spear for the first time.

I actually never had much of a problem with the Silver Knights In DS I either... I just legged it and somehow managed to get past them without any problems!

As for my contribution to “Soulsborne Anonymous” — I also quit after playing a couple hours of the first Dark Souls game on PS3. I quit mostly due to complexity of the world and not being accustomed to the things like lack of map or directions, minimal tutorials, etc. The difficulty was part of it as well, but I can’t even remember how bad I was dying l, but I do remember feeling a lot of anxiety about trying to make the next bonfire save point and worrying about losing my souls. I also never really understood the mechanics of playing as a spirit or whatever after you die. That whole thing was never explained well. The overall stress of the game just made it not fun so I moved on from it pretty quickly.
With Bloodborne, I was more patient and committed and I actually did online research to understand the game and it’s mechanics and world. Many of you here remember my playing it a year or two ago and posting a lot on the forums about it. I received a lot of help from you all and honestly I don’t think I would have even made it past Father Gascoigne without the Push Square community, much less to finish it and see all three endings. I distinctly remember posting about my frustration after 5 or 6 deaths at the hands of Gascoigne without ever getting close to killing him and some users encouraged me and told me that Gascoigne was probably one of the toughest bosses and if I could just get through him then future bosses would be easier.
In the end, I really really enjoyed that game.
If there was one thing I learned from others and from my own experience is that the game’s “easy mode” is to grind and over-level in the early areas before moving on. The game was still hard and I had to YouTube a few boss fights, but I got really good at the common enemies and learned a way to get a lot of experience in a short time through repeating an area over and over and over and over ...
I think the area I used most is called Hemwick or something, after the boss fight with the witches who teleport around, where I would do a run through some witches, then use the lighting rod weapon on those 3 big orc guys and then kill a couple wolves and it would yield a ton of blood echoes and I would just rinse and repeat over and over. It made the game more approachable for a player like me who’s not the best at the combat.
Good times.
I really need to get on with Dark Souls 3.
I assume the same tactic could be used — that is if I have the patience to run through early areas over and over to over-level then it will make the game easier? Does anyone else try that?

Anyways — sorry for going so long about that but it’s interesting that most of us have similar experiences with these games, that is - having frustration early on and quitting, but coming back later and pushing through it until it sticks.

I actually came over here to this thread to continue with the marmite discussion, but I got enticed into Soulsborne talk. 😅

For those not following the MGS5 thread— @themcnoisy has labeled it a true “marmite game”, which is a term thrown around the forums quite a bit and I know it basically means a “love it or hate it” type of experience and/or and “acquired taste” where it takes time to warm up to and like it for what it is. Anyways, I think now I really want to try marmite. Thanks @RogerRoger for offering a shipment, but I think I should be able to track down a World Market or buy it online.
So marmite questions for an American who has no idea what to expect —
How do you eat it? The website says something about putting it on toast. I tried to watch the video about marmite mind control and how they can make a lover of marmite out of its harshest critic, but the video is blocked in the U.S. apparently. There was something about putting it on something that is sweet? Does it work best mixing it over jam on toast or what? I know it’s supposedly salty.
Also, if I can find vegemite, is that close enough?
Any other advise about what to do with marmite if I find any?

@Th3solution Yeah marmite I mostly have on toast with butter. I don't spread a great deal on the bread, not like I would do with peanut butter or jam. You can have it in a sandwhich too.

On Dark Souls 3 yeah you can level grind, but just the other games that will only get you so far as it has some of the toughest bosses in the series. I've said this before, but i recommend starting of with the first game. There is a lot of lore tying back to the first game in the third, and some of the bosses and areas will mean more when face them.

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy I was the same with Nioh, something about didn't click with me. Might try out the sequel, like some of the ideas it has introduced. I highly recommend giving Sekiro at least a try. The combat is really tight and the movement n traversal really set this apart from the other games.

Yeah I was kicking my self when I realised you could just run at the silver knights. I spent ages with poison arrows trying to kill them.

... Don't listen to them @Th3solution! Marmite is EEEEEEEEVILLLLLL!!!

Also that advert is honestly the worst advert I've seen for a long while 😂

I did take a look through the Sekiro topic @JohnnyShoulder when you guys were playing it... I dunno I was never good at parrying in any the souls games. The fact Sekiro seems based around parrying really has me worried

@Th3solution Marmite on crumpets with a layer of butter in between are the bestest.

Sadly no crumpets in the house but this’ll do.

Also, a tiny amount mixed into gravy gives it a nice flavour too.

So true. Wiser words have never been spoken.

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Yeah I was never best at it, but you soon git gud.

Like I said before I do not think of myself as a hugely skilled player, but I managed to beat Sekiro. The fact that you can't bring in outside help, like I did for the other Soulsborne games makes it even more satisfying and rewarding than those games when you get past a difficult section. When I finally beat the last bosses, I can't remember the last time I felt like that.

If I could lend ya my digital copy, I would send it over to ya so you could have a go!

Thanks for the marmite advice, all. I am surprised that the stuff is not used in other creative ways, like in the case of peanut butter where I put it in all kind of things like toast, sandwiches, smoothies, waffles and pancakes, dip apples or bananas in it, or sometimes just eat it by the spoonful. I figured I was going to hear advice like - “Marmite is only good if you mix it with x, y, and z and enjoy it with a lightly tart Chardonnay to offset the marmite’s brackish zest.” Fortunately, it sounds like it’s claim to fame is as a condiment, so that should be easy to experience. The gravy idea sounds good though, if it’s as salty as people say.

@Th3solution Just spread it thinly on top of butter (or margarine) on white toast or crumpets. I've read stories of excited Americans wanting to try it and spreading it thickly as though it were jam or peanut butter. They then couldn't understand its popularity here. 😂 Whatever you do don't put it on top of jam or something sweet. Marmite is intensely salty and savoury and it would he a vile combination.

@RogerRoger Vegemite is revolting. It's so sweet and gross. Marmite all the way!