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[INC]

Just completed

Probably my favourite new ip this gen

Theres a few things that need sorting in the next game, but overall its a solid release, very few bugs, which is amazing to see

No samurai/ghost story paths is odd in a SP game

No loadout saving is annoying, I'd like to lock charms to armour sets

Loads of little tweaks for the sequel

But yeh 8.5/10 for me

Perfect length for open world game for me

 

[CrysisFreak]

New fan song in appreciation of the game.

 

[tmlDan]

I love this game. I'm about a little less than 1/2 way through Act III. I'm pretty sure I have completed all side missions because a trophy popped up saying so.
I have all techniques unlocked and everything upgraded.
I fear the end game is going to be a bit of a slog.

So, for all its praises, I'll list the things I don't like or wish were changed:

1. Travelling with NPCs, I spent about 7-10 minutes on horseback listening to the old woman drone on about how she hates her sister (in Japanese no less). I didn't care, I just wanted to get to the destination and fight somebody. If you won't allow me to skip this (I remember a game having a "skip to destination" button), at least put my horse on auto pilot so I can get a drink.
2. Cutscenes should be skippable. No excuse for that.
3. The game needs Gear sets/Transmogs, whatever you call it. If a mission works better as an archer, let me select my Archer build. If stealth, etc. In Act II, I happily changed the different sets. In Act III, I'm so OP, I don't want to futz around for 5 minutes trying to find the right charm through a list of about 50. I'll just wade into any situation with my Ghost build which defeats the purpose. Not sure how this didn't get past testing.
4. Not enough Techniques/abilities. I'm maxed out so there is little reason to beat a camp with the special objective or bother with a random encounter. They should have taken about 1/2 of the charms and made them techniques, like poison windchimes or hallucination 50% stronger, etc.
5. Craftable ammo. No big deal but it would be nice to be able to use the buttload of supplies I have no use for anymore. I waste time travelling to a Trapper before a mission.
6. I hate, HATE, the investigation missions which seem to be more active in the later game. I'm not a novice to these coming from ACreed games but 1/2 the time I don't know what the game wants me to do. I just run around in a circle until i get out of the investigate zone.
7. Small nit, the Traveller's suit rumbles when you are close to a collectible but I have no idea how to find it unless I stumble on it. There was another game that did this mechanic better, like it should stop rumbling if you aren't in the same direction, etc. Even better, let me see the outline of it in listen mode if I am wearing the suit. I just give up after awhile.

Some of these are definitely good recommendations but we're really nitpicking at this point lol.

IMO i like how they don't let you skip cut scenes or moments, you should only be allowed to skip after your first playthrough - i really enjoyed the normal conversations.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Still loving this game. Trucking along in Act II, just maxed out my weapons and the Sakai armor.

The difficulty of the "stand offs" (I think that's the right term) really ramped up in this Act, though. Any tips on determining when an enemy is just feinting vs. actually attacking?

 

[BluRayHiDef]

Does anyone else think that this game is long?

 

[xrnzaaas]

Does anyone else think that this game is long?

Nah it's okay. The game doesn't even block the main story progression and you can keep doing main missions without interruptions if you want to.

 

[Shinobitron]

Still loving this game. Trucking along in Act II, just maxed out my weapons and the Sakai armor.

The difficulty of the "stand offs" (I think that's the right term) really ramped up in this Act, though. Any tips on determining when an enemy is just feinting vs. actually attacking?

The only thing that kind of worked for me was loosening the grip on my controller and focusing on the enemies sword hand. it helped me stop pushing the strike button if I felt a feint was coming. more power foes like the brutes and spear guys are harder I believe they fake twice before striking, but it could be random.

 

[HotPocket69]

Does anyone else think that this game is long?

For an open world checklist game it’s THE perfect length.

So no.

 

[decisions]

Still loving this game. Trucking along in Act II, just maxed out my weapons and the Sakai armor.

The difficulty of the "stand offs" (I think that's the right term) really ramped up in this Act, though. Any tips on determining when an enemy is just feinting vs. actually attacking?

They get much harder in Act III. The key is to watch for the opponents body moving forward. Feints involve blade movements and the body moving in other directions. To reach you they will have to move forward so that is how you know it’s the real swing.

 

[BluRayHiDef]

Nah it's okay. The game doesn't even block the main story progression and you can keep doing main missions without interruptions if you want to.

For an open world checklist game it’s THE perfect length.

So no.

I mean in regard to both the main story and the additional quests. It's a long game.

 

[Abear21]

Finally caved and got this last night, I couldn’t decide between this, Death Stranding, or Outer Worlds. I think I made the right decision as the sale prices on those games hasn’t hit the sweet spot for me yet.

Wow that intro was lengthy! I pushed through early morning and think I’m finally free to explore on my own. I’m pleasantly surprised how invested in the story and characters I already am and I didn’t expect this.

After hearing how beautiful this game was I gotta say I’m honestly a little disappointed (PS4 pro) I was tired though so I’m looking forward to seeing this with fresh eyes today. I’m playing on hard and it seems like what normal should be, it’s not too difficult yet, but I have died a few times, which I enjoy. I also think hard difficulty is making me want to explore and find upgrades because I truly need them!

Cant wait to dive back in tonight, the combat is addictive and just want slice and dice and explore on my own! Thanks everyone in this thread for keeping the conversation around this game going, it pushed me to purchase and I’m glad I did!

 

[Le Big Mac]

An interesting Article on Yuriko's story over at CulturedVulture. I adored her 2 part quest - I honestly think the level of subtlety in it's side quests are handled better than the main quests. There's an unspoken level of depth in so many of the characters that many will just miss.


Take on Yuriko's story

 

[Knitted Knight]

"Go to your reward" after a bow below bridge at Yarikawa gate, rumble shake signaling collectable. Any hints?.. lost trying to find this one.

 

[idrago01]

An interesting Article on Yuriko's story over at CulturedVulture. I adored her 2 part quest - I honestly think the level of subtlety in it's side quests are handled better than the main quests. There's an unspoken level of depth in so many of the characters that many will just miss.


Take on Yuriko's story

Spoiler

my impressionn was they didn't start a relationship until after his mother died or do i have that wrong

 

[Ar¢tos]

An interesting Article on Yuriko's story over at CulturedVulture. I adored her 2 part quest - I honestly think the level of subtlety in it's side quests are handled better than the main quests. There's an unspoken level of depth in so many of the characters that many will just miss.


Take on Yuriko's story

I really liked Yuriko's tale and to make it even more worth it, she gives you the best and most OP wep in the game,

Spoiler

the hallucination dart, it's so broken.. It's like a Firecracker on meth and cocaine. I once managed to clean a large camp with 2 of them. One mad enemy and every other enemy in sight or not rushes to attack him, then all you need is a firebomb and maybe "clean up" whatever is still barely alive.

 

[cormack12]

what altars do you need to bow at? The vanity ones or the fox ones?

 

[BluRayHiDef]

The side quests pertaining to Norio the Monk span nine "chapters" alone. So, how can anyone say that this game is not long? I don't think that it's a problem, because the length assures that players get their money's worth; however, I didn't expect the game to be this long. Damn.

 

[nowhat]

what altars do you need to bow at? The vanity ones or the fox ones?

If you're talking about the trophy, they're mostly "hidden", in that most of the time there's no visible altar, just a wooden sign suggesting you take a bow (and then you'll see various stuff happen in the environment for a while). Just peek at a guide, no one will now.

 

[BluRayHiDef]

The dodge mechanic doesn't seem to work. Whenever I hit "O" just before being attacked, Jin rolls away and winds up too far for me to counterattack. I'm dueling Yasumasa and dodging his attacks is paramount to beating him, but dodging isn't working for me.

 

[Bryank75]

The dodge mechanic doesn't seem to work. Whenever I hit "O" just before being attacked, Jin rolls away and winds up too far for me to counterattack. I'm dueling Yasumasa and dodging his attacks is paramount to beating him, but dodging isn't working for me.

I actually didn't upgrade my dodge to a roll, I think it's way better not to upgrade it till way later. Helps in sword fights.

 

[nowhat]

The dodge mechanic doesn't seem to work. Whenever I hit "O" just before being attacked, Jin rolls away and winds up too far for me to counterattack. I'm dueling Yasumasa and dodging his attacks is paramount to beating him, but dodging isn't working for me.

Are you sure you're tapping "O" just once? Double tap will do a roll (provided you've unlocked the relevant skill), you can't use dodge-attack with it.

 

[BluRayHiDef]

I actually didn't upgrade my dodge to a roll, I think it's way better not to upgrade it till way later. Helps in sword fights.

I gave up and dropped the difficulty from hard to easy for the duel with Yasumasa; I did the same for the duel with Ryzo. I'll bump it back up to hard now. By the way, I'm passed off about this.

 

[BluRayHiDef]

Are you sure you're tapping "O" just once? Double tap will do a roll (provided you've unlocked the relevant skill), you can't use dodge-attack with it.

Yes, I'm hitting it just once.

 

[Bryank75]

Yes, I'm hitting it just once.

They should allow you to disable it, at least inside duels.

 

[nowhat]

Yes, I'm hitting it just once.

I'm afraid can't help you then. If you've unlocked the "dodge-attack" skill (whatever it's officially called), you should get a brief window of "bullet time" after a successful just-in-time dodge, where you can press square or triangle to hit back.

 

[Keihart]

The dodge mechanic doesn't seem to work. Whenever I hit "O" just before being attacked, Jin rolls away and winds up too far for me to counterattack. I'm dueling Yasumasa and dodging his attacks is paramount to beating him, but dodging isn't working for me.

never happened to me once, i got staved when trying to pull of perfect dodges tho, but never rolled instead of dodge, in fact, i kinda stopped using the roll unless in specific situations, there are big attacks that can be jumped or rolled, if you normal dodge those you get hit, it's either perfect dodge, jump or roll away without retaliation.
You might be spamming the button without noticing or your control it's faulty.

 

[BluRayHiDef]

They should allow you to disable it, at least inside duels.

I'm afraid can't help you then. If you've unlocked the "dodge-attack" skill (whatever it's officially called), you should get a brief window of "bullet time" after a successful just-in-time dodge, where you can press square or triangle to hit back.

Okay, I've realized that I was spamming "O." I just got into a battle with some roaming Mingols and decided to be more conscious about how I press "O," in order to make sure that I hit it only once. Jin successfully dodged; however, I didn't experience any bullet-time effect.

 

[nowhat]

Okay, I've realized that I was spamming "O." I just got into a battle with some roaming Mingols and decided to be more conscious about how I press "O," in order to make sure that I hit it only once. Jin successfully dodged; however, I didn't experience any bullet-time effect.

First, make sure you have the relevant skill unlocked (so that would be "Perfect Dodge" under the "Evasion" skill tree, the very bottom one). And then - you just have to time it really tight and press square or triangle afterwards. I'm not sure, coming to think of it, if you get the "bullet time" automatically or just as a visual effect if you successfully land the counter-attack, but you should notice if you get it right.

Oh one more thing for duels, pretty much everyone has a standoff-like pose they take, they hold on to it for a while and then deliver a blow (or few) that you have to dodge, no parry available. But when they're winding up, "Sprint Strike" works wonders. Again found under the "Evasion" skill tree.

 

[PanzerAzel]

The difficulty of the "stand offs" (I think that's the right term) really ramped up in this Act, though. Any tips on determining when an enemy is just feinting vs. actually attacking?

Watch their feet/legs if you're in high grass and ignore their upper body feints. Release only when they begin moving towards you. I still find it hard doing this as they really don't allow you much time at all (especially with the ronin), but it's better than trying to predict from their upper body. I've also found that ronin typically feint more (generally three times, and mostly always more than the Mongols), and if a long pause occurs, usually their next move will be their real attack.

 

[BluRayHiDef]

First, make sure you have the relevant skill unlocked (so that would be "Perfect Dodge" under the "Evasion" skill tree, the very bottom one). And then - you just have to time it really tight and press square or triangle afterwards. I'm not sure, coming to think of it, if you get the "bullet time" automatically or just as a visual effect if you successfully land the counter-attack, but you should notice if you get it right.

Oh one more thing for duels, pretty much everyone has a standoff-like pose they take, they hold on to it for a while and then deliver a blow (or few) that you have to dodge, no parry available. But when they're winding up, "Sprint Strike" works wonders. Again found under the "Evasion" skill tree.

I've maxed out both the Deflection and Evasion skill trees.

 

[BluRayHiDef]

Watch their feet/legs if you're in high grass and ignore their upper body feints. Release only when they begin moving towards you. I still find it hard doing this as they really don't allow you much time at all (especially with the ronin), but it's better than trying to predict from their upper body. I've also found that ronin typically feint more (generally three times, and mostly always more than the Mongols), and if a long pause occurs, usually their next move will be their real attack.

This game is pretty hard depending on the difficulty. On Hard and Lethal, you don't get much time to read enemies' body language to determine if they're about to attack, and you don't get much time to respond when they actually do attack. Precision and speed are paramount.

 

[KURDISTAN YPG]

i hope to god this games sells better then lou2 n out pass it- so cuckman can fuck off from naughty dog

 

[BluRayHiDef]

i hope to god this games sells better then lou2 n out pass it- so cuckman can fuck off from naughty dog

This game is amazing, but TLoU2 is on another level due to the quality of its cinematics and the subsequent impact of its story.

 

[Keihart]

Okay, I've realized that I was spamming "O." I just got into a battle with some roaming Mingols and decided to be more conscious about how I press "O," in order to make sure that I hit it only once. Jin successfully dodged; however, I didn't experience any bullet-time effect.

This only happens with perfect dodges, those you have to time very well, it's harder than parries but it's more effective too because it works against any attack, pulling it off against any attack tho...i just try to go for it when there are red attacks that i feel are worth it. Slow mo happens after the dodge it's considered perfect so you have time to execute the counter.

Not related, but the game has so much care put into the shinto and budhism part of things and i get it, it makes so much sense. Like, big part of the culture in japan it's related to shinto even if people don't consider themselves religious, everyone does this little rituals so it's cool that Sucker Punch recognized this and made it part of the game....i mean, using omamori charms as perks, paying respects at jinja and even making the birds, foxes and wind into some sort of kamis, it all feels very japanese.

 

[IntentionalPun]

Okay, I've realized that I was spamming "O." I just got into a battle with some roaming Mingols and decided to be more conscious about how I press "O," in order to make sure that I hit it only once. Jin successfully dodged; however, I didn't experience any bullet-time effect.

I'm pretty sure that effect actually only shows up after you've already quickly hit square/triangle.

It's just an effect that shows off that you managed to hit O+Square quickly enough.

 

[Keihart]

I'm pretty sure that effect actually only shows up after you've already quickly hit square/triangle.

It's just an effect that shows off that you managed to hit O+Square quickly enough.

No, it happens after the perfect dodge, the counter can pressed during the slow mo.

 

[IntentionalPun]

No, it happens after the perfect dodge, the counter can pressed during the slow mo.

Guess I never really tried.. I always hit o+square faster than it has time to slow down for me, and it still slows down.

 

[Keihart]

Guess I never really tried.. I always hit o+square faster than it has time to slow down for me, and it still slows down.

if your dodge it's not perfect but you don't get hit you execute the "dodge and strike" i think it's called, one of the first skills on the evasion tree that allows you to connect a slash after a dodge quicker. When it's a perfect dodge you do the yoshimitsu move, the one that looks almost like harakiri.

 

[BluRayHiDef]

First, make sure you have the relevant skill unlocked (so that would be "Perfect Dodge" under the "Evasion" skill tree, the very bottom one). And then - you just have to time it really tight and press square or triangle afterwards. I'm not sure, coming to think of it, if you get the "bullet time" automatically or just as a visual effect if you successfully land the counter-attack, but you should notice if you get it right.

Oh one more thing for duels, pretty much everyone has a standoff-like pose they take, they hold on to it for a while and then deliver a blow (or few) that you have to dodge, no parry available. But when they're winding up, "Sprint Strike" works wonders. Again found under the "Evasion" skill tree.

This only happens with perfect parries, those you have to time very well, it's harder than parries but it's more effective too because it works against any attack, pulling it off against any attack tho...i just try to go for it when there are red attacks that i feel are worth it. Slow mo happens after the dodge it's considered perfect so you have time to execute the counter.

Not related, but the game has so much care put into the shinto and budhism part of things and i get it, it makes so much sense. Like, big part of the culture in japan it's related to shinto even if people don't consider themselves religious, everyone does this little rituals so it's cool that Sucker Punch recognized this and made it part of the game....i mean, using omamori charms as perks, paying respects at jinja and even making the birds, foxes and wind into some sort of kamis, it all feels very japanese.

I'm pretty sure that effect actually only shows up after you've already quickly hit square/triangle.

It's just an effect that shows off that you managed to hit O+Square quickly enough.

I just completed the duel against The Spirit of Yarikawa, and even though I understood how to properly execute a dodge, the duel was still too difficult. I had to lower the difficulty again.

It seems that you have to block all of an enemy's non-illuminated strikes and then dodge and counter the blue-illuminated strikes; however, the strikes occur in rapid succession and are therefore too fast for me to react to properly. I'm just not good enough.

Attempting to dodge and counter a non-illuminated strike results in an immediate strike from the opponent. I just can't figure out quickly enough whether to dodge and counter or to block.

 

[IntentionalPun]

I just completed the duel against The Spirit of Yarikawa, and even though I understood how to properly execute a dodge, the duel was still too difficult. I had to lower the difficulty again.

It seems that you have to block all of an enemy's non-illuminated strikes and then dodge and counter the blue-illuminated strikes; however, the strikes occur in rapid succession and are therefore too fast for me to react to properly. I'm just not good enough.

Attempting to dodge and counter a non-illuminated strike results in an immediate strike from the opponent. I just can't figure out quickly enough whether to dodge and counter or to block.

It's a challenge for sure.

It's a bit like playing a racing game with lots of curves while moving fast.. you have to react to something, and then immediately look for the next thing (like you would driving looking ahead for curves in the road.)

 

[Keihart]

I just completed the duel against The Spirit of Yarikawa, and even though I understood how to properly execute a dodge, the duel was still too difficult. I had to lower the difficulty again.

It seems that you have to block all of an enemy's non-illuminated strikes and then dodge and counter the blue-illuminated strikes; however, the strikes occur in rapid succession and are therefore too fast for me to react to properly. I'm just not good enough.

Attempting to dodge and counter a non-illuminated strike results in an immediate strike from the opponent. I just can't figure out quickly enough whether to dodge and counter or to block.

Yeah, reading some opponents it's pretty hard. My strategy was trying to figure out which moves i can predict...like for example, when an enemy goes into a battojutsu like stance, almost always is triying to make a red move so if i'm close enough i try to use the moment to break his guard.
Also, breaking their guard with stone stance it's pretty ineffective because you are open for attacks if they dodge, i like to use the water stance flurry plus a couple stone attacks, it breaks most enemies guards.
Also, if your enemies it's guarding and i have meter i just go for supers, heavenly strike and dance of wrath are pretty OP, so dumping your full meter at the start fo the fight and then building meter again it's a good way to end fights fast even on lethal.
Also, wind stance it's pretty good at closing gaps, like , wind stance triangle, water stance charge triangle flurry and then a couple of stone stance triangles are a quick way of breaking the guard even on duels.

 

[BluRayHiDef]

It's a challenge for sure.

It's a bit like playing a racing game with lots of curves while moving fast.. you have to react to something, and then immediately look for the next thing (like you would driving looking ahead for curves in the road.)

Well, I've given up on playing the game on Hard; I'm done frustrating myself. I'm sticking to Easy from now.

 

[PanzerAzel]

I just completed the duel against The Spirit of Yarikawa, and even though I understood how to properly execute a dodge, the duel was still too difficult. I had to lower the difficulty again.

It seems that you have to block all of an enemy's non-illuminated strikes and then dodge and counter the blue-illuminated strikes; however, the strikes occur in rapid succession and are therefore too fast for me to react to properly. I'm just not good enough.

Attempting to dodge and counter a non-illuminated strike results in an immediate strike from the opponent. I just can't figure out quickly enough whether to dodge and counter or to block.

Red strikes are unblockable, blues can be blocked which you don’t need to dodge. I usually use blue indicators to do a perfect parry. You have to tap the guard button a split second after the blue appears, so when they’re coming at you with a combo you need to do three-four quick taps when each lands.

What I find difficult are dodging the reds as they barely give you any warning (aside when they sheathe their blade, this always signifies an upcoming unblockable) and can do follow ups. I try to sidestep left, then right to keep them centerlined or find they usually always land, which on lethal is always fatal.

 

[NeoLed]

I don't get Sakai movement. Why is he sometime slow walk then other time jogging when I fully tilt the analog? On the wilderness

Is it the same with FF VIIR, to mask loading?

 

[Abear21]

Well, I've given up on playing the game on Hard; I'm done frustrating myself. I'm sticking to Easy from now.

I’m only 6 hours in but I’ve had some moments too, combat is tough and enemies keep hitting me from behind while I’m engaged with another, but I like that and the challenge so far.

The way the game keeps throwing new stuff at me while doing all the initial storytelling is pretty great. Now that I’m more free to roam I’m absolutely loving it. Graphics are amazing and the world feels surprisingly big. I opened the map and realized I haven’t seen shit yet. I don’t want to rush through this game but don’t think I’ll have a choice!

 

[PanzerAzel]

I don't get Sakai movement. Why is he sometime slow walk then other time jogging when I fully tilt the analog? On the wilderness

Is it the same with FF VIIR, to mask loading?

I’ve noticed this as well, there’s like a three second lag from full tilt to full run. Horse too. I suspect it’s just poor coding, glad to know it’s not my DS4.

 

[BluRayHiDef]

I’m only 6 hours in but I’ve had some moments too, combat is tough and enemies keep hitting me from behind while I’m engaged with another, but I like that and the challenge so far.

The way the game keeps throwing new stuff at me while doing all the initial storytelling is pretty great. Now that I’m more free to roam I’m absolutely loving it. Graphics are amazing and the world feels surprisingly big. I opened the map and realized I haven’t seen shit yet. I don’t want to rush through this game but don’t think I’ll have a choice!

On what difficulty are you playing?

 

[NeoLed]

I’ve noticed this as well, there’s like a three second lag from full tilt to full run. Horse too. I suspect it’s just poor coding, glad to know it’s not my DS4.

It's not even lag to jog. It's random. Full stop to walk, sometime full stop to jog.

Strangely, sprint is consistent. Maybe it is poor code and not loading masking

 

[M.W.]

Still in ACT 2 and pretty much fully upgraded. I am a fucking terminator.

 

[Abear21]

On what difficulty are you playing?

Playing on Hard. I’ve died about 10 times so far in just a few hours after the intro, I’m starting to get the hang of it though. Unlocked to skill to parry spear attacks thank god.