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[Bumblebeetuna]

Did anyone know you can time focus to throw axes or spears back at the enemy? Just learnt this. I wonder if there are other hidden mechanics I don’t know about.

Woah, had no idea. I will have to try that.

 

[SpearHea.:D]

Wow the cave sequence, incredible audio. This turned into an horror experience.

 

[Represent.]

Yeah, the cave with all those particles is wicked. Shining moment of the game so far. Went from Fantasy to horror real quick.

Also, the game shouldnt boot up unless you have headphones. I think it should be mandatory

 

[Orbital2060]

 

[Fess]

Did anyone know you can time focus to throw axes or spears back at the enemy? Just learnt this. I wonder if there are other hidden mechanics I don’t know about.

Wait what how??

 

[Fess]

Yeah, the cave with all those particles is wicked. Shining moment of the game so far. Went from Fantasy to horror real quick.

Also, the game shouldnt boot up unless you have headphones. I think it should be mandatory

The fight there when pushing through that gap and getting grabbed mid way and going into that wild fight was a 10/10 moment!
Imagine if going from that to similar things was the whole game and no slooow puzzles

 

[Punished Miku]

Did anyone know you can time focus to throw axes or spears back at the enemy? Just learnt this. I wonder if there are other hidden mechanics I don’t know about.

Yep, I did it once while hitting focus at the same time. Looked sick.

 

[LastBattle]

Wait what how??

I tried adding the video but it won’t let me. Basically as Miku mentioned you hit focus while the projectile is coming towards you. I also didn’t know you can do a leap attack by sprinting and attacking while in focus.

 

[adamsapple]

The fight segments with the orange lights in the background are so fucking cool.

 

[djjinx2]

I got to and finished the hidden world level last night and thought it was brilliant, with the headphones and claustrophobic camera angles was quite scary and made me jump a couple of times. The combat with the zombie type dudes was fun too and just the right amount to break up the simple puzzles.
Game is really good.
It's too late though the negative social media crowed had got it's claws in and everything I see about the game is negativity now.

Negativity starts with the Hardcore and filters down. Anything Xbox these days has a harder time overall (Xbox tax blah blah)

 

[UnrealEck]

I played a bit of the first game just there and couldn't keep going. There's not enough gameplay there for me. I just watched a recap on youtube for the story.
The character is quite interesting though. I didn't realise she was Scottish and knowing of the game for a while, I just thought she was some generic 'European' warrior.

I have Gamepass so I'll fire up the second game. I'm more or less checking out the visuals and audio.

 

[balls of snow]

Rolled credits.
Tameem you bastard, you told a better story than what Horizon FW tried to do. That actually was heartfelt.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

Does anyone like environmental puzzles this game has??

I wish their were many of them, in huge, complex areas requiring a lot of exploration to reach the solution.

What they have here is decent and takes me a couple of minutes. Wish there was more of it.

Also, parry timing seems spot on. Reminding me of good Japanese action games. Game needs a lot more combat as well.

Personally would like to see Ninja Theory do a semi linear action game next. With gameplay and puzzles taken from this game and expanded upon.

 

[Agent_4Seven]

Played some more....

What they did with the giants (at least the very first one you meet, haven't seen the other yet) is fascinating. The first one reminds me of Sphynx from DD''2'' cuz it's just as weird af, but I haven't seen more of her yet cuz I just got though the Descent part of the game with puzzles and stuff. This whole section was clearly inspired by Descent movies, minus mythical norse stuff. I liked this part a lot, but I can understand if someone may think that it's too long. The puzzles are very simple, but I think they did a good job here cuz it's different from other puzzles in the game with symbols. The way you get to the actual thing you need to go through is really cool visually as well as the whole dark section with particles reacting to your movement like a fluid. There's also a few fights here and they're completely different visually and in terms of how you need to fight in comparison to human enemies.

Here's the thing about combat though. I know that there has to be some sort of power fantasy and they've explained that in the first game already with the mirror and what it does, but when I'm playing on Hard, I'd love to get through fights without using focus at all and it doesn't look like you can do that.

Aso, after getting the torch in the woods you almost immediately notice that shadows from it are awful (not all, only those that very close to the camera), at very low resolution and it's VERY distracting cuz everything else is exceptional visually (minus low res mirror screen effects as well, but you won't notice it unless you'll be looking for it). I wonder if it can be fixed with an Engine.ini edit. It's kinda hard to see on screens, but shadows are very blocky, missing a lot of details or there's no shadows at all from objects. What's also not great and distracting is that the torch has a ghosting effect as well as screen space illumination effect where it lights up things in screen space far into the distance and it shouldn't. Maybe it's caused by Lumen or it's a bug, idk, but it doesn't look good. Maybe DF already mentioned it in their video, I just haven't seen it and won't be watching it until I finish the game.

Spoiler

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

Rolled credits.
Tameem you bastard, you told a better story than what Horizon FW tried to do. That actually was heartfelt.

I was thinking about this a day or so ago, the characters and story in this little 6-7 hour game are better written and more memorable than most of the characters you see in big 80 hour AAA titles, FW included.

This also made all those dumb Order comparisons even sillier. No one remembers anyone from that game, they were all cliche trash characters.

 

[twilo99]

I feel like I should be rating this on the iMDB website

 

[Fess]

8.7 hours in, finished the giant at the shore , still hate the puzzles but I’ve accepted the slow speed now, I’m all in enjoying the immersive brutal combat, story telling, environments and general design. I don’t want it to end.

 

[Hayabusabruh]

Was hoping this song made it into the game during a fight. Only a tiny bit of the intro during the waterfall.

 

[Bungie]

It's fucking insane, you have complete camera / focal control over all the scenes, shows that it's all real-time, no pre-rendered video shenanigans.

One of my only complaints is we didn't get to see this side of her enough.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

I am noticing pc graphics whores are getting a whiff of this title.



Depending on how long it stays top dog in graphics department, I can imagine some of them trying it out on gamepass for a month. I mean, even matrix demo had a ton of downloads. It could get closer to that. Could actually turn out to be a good investment for them.

 

[OverHeat]

Credit are rolling what a fucking experience!!! A big 9/10 for me.

 

[XXL]

Wrong thread.

 

[Romulus]

Got damn that other thread is full of people that are insulted people enjoy this.

Anyway, HB2 is definitely the first Xbox game I've really enjoyed in 5 years or so and the true next gen king of graphics. Went into it knowing it was light on gameplay. Never thought Xbox would pull it off and expected ubisoft levels of downgrades. Nope. I didn't want this game to end. 9/10

 

[RPS37]

Random thoughts:

• I’m really liking this game now.
• I’ve never gripped my controller this strong before.
• This game is so many dark vibes but I finally got to a real positive part and was pretty into it.
• i also just got to a super badass transition that I had to record.
• Lastly, I can only imagine what it’s like to play this on a huge 80 inch high end OLED.

 

[Fess]

Finished!

Stepped over the finish line in 9.9 hours. No idea where the 5 hours talk comes from, must be speed running, I didn’t even find all the runes and trees.

What a game, or interactive experience, can’t define it. This is not easily forgotten. One of a kind playthrough.

Didn’t like the puzzles though. I didn’t think it was possible to make puzzles more annoying than in Ragnarök but Ninja Theory showed that it was possible. Some were like iPad puzzle games made for 2 year olds, they even auto-locked when you got somewhat close, so dumb.

But I loved everything else! The acting and story telling is superb. Melina needs to get awards for this. And the raw viceral combat was the highlight for me, which was a surprise. It’s wild, brutal, immersive, gets the adrenaline pumping, I absolutely loved it, every single fight. I want a whole game of that! And the graphics is the best ever for me, nothing comes close.

In the end the extreme upsides makes me ignore the downsides, I’ll still drop one point because the lows are hilariously low.

9/10
PC maxed out.

 

[TrebleShot]

Ha, so I got gamepass to play this over the weekend 7.99 for PC,
I just went in to cancel gamepass now ive finished it and ended up with a refund.

So I just played this for free. Did I hack the system?

In terms of the game.

I actually enjoyed the combat, I think this will stand the test of time and people will be praising it in a few years like the order.
Its pretty boring otherwise, there were many many slow walking sections that attempt to keep you engaged with the audio which works 50% of the time the rest it is mind numbing.

The story its telling is very basic, probably only saved a bit by the performances but the story itself isnt very interesting at all and tries to make it more impactful with raw emotion, the problem is it falls flat and boring because there hasnt been enough time with Senua or the other characters.

Having said that I dont hate it, id say its a 6 or 7 out of 10, if they made it shorter with less exposition and more tighter focus on just the combat and minimal walking sections it would feel more enjoyable. As it is, its like watching a very very long movie that needs heavy edits.

Should have been about 3 hours long and cost £15.

 

[Madserb2023]

I enjoyed the game for what it was. These immersive walking games are all over the indie space and this is one of the better ones. Most opinions seem to be along the lines of I expected God of War so 4/10. Rarely do I blame people for not understanding a game but in this case it's warranted. I hate sports games. I have never understood why you would want to play a game of a game. I have tried Madden multiple times and it kills me. It's so stop and start but my friend loves them and swears blind there is huge depth. If I was to play the best sports game game of all time I would give it a 1/10.

 

[Draugoth]

 

[SlimySnake]

Is there a mod to remove the voices in her head?

I honestly dont think i can take it anymore. they are talking non stop in cutscenes too even though there are multiple characters all speaking at once.

 

[Rubim]

Is there a mod to remove the voices in her head?

I honestly dont think i can take it anymore. they are talking non stop in cutscenes too even though there are multiple characters all speaking at once.

Now you undestand how she feels.

 

[niilokin]

Game looks very interesting, I still have to play the first one as well so when I have time (I keep saying this to myself for years) I'll play them both back to back.

 

[Beechos]

Game is really really good. Although the combat is simplistic. The cheography and the brutality of the combat felt like I was in a battle scene from game of thrones/lotr. Story, art style, charter design, audio is all on point.

The fire effects in this game reminded me of seeing the water effects in waverace 64 for the 1st time it's that good and ahead of everything else.

 

[Dacvak]

I just found out this game is only like 7 hours long. That’s absolutely perfect for me! I barely have any time to play games recently, but I can spread this game across a week or so.

I literally know nothing else about this game (aside from it apparently looks really nice), but I hope it’s fun. I don’t give half a wet shit about story, but hopefully the gameplay is enjoyable, while being a pillar demonstration of UE5. And since it’s on game pass, it costs me nothing extra to try it out.

Hope it’s good!

 

[Beechos]

I just found out this game is only like 7 hours long. That’s absolutely perfect for me! I barely have any time to play games recently, but I can spread this game across a week or so.

I literally know nothing else about this game (aside from it apparently looks really nice), but I hope it’s fun. I don’t give half a wet shit about story, but hopefully the gameplay is enjoyable, while being a pillar demonstration of UE5. And since it’s on game pass, it costs me nothing extra to try it out.

Hope it’s good!

You'll prob be dissappointed if you are looking mainly for gameplay. The game is def more about story than anything else.

 

[Dacvak]

You'll prob be dissappointed if you are looking mainly for gameplay. The game is def more about story than anything else.

Ah poop. Is the combat at least decent and mindless? I definitely will not care about one iota of the story, but if it looks super gorgeous and the combat is decent, that’ll be enough for me. I don’t even want it to be challenging; I just want a game I can veg out to and forget a year from now.

Is it a good recommendation for me, or nah? (And if so, should I do XSX or PC?)

Edit: Btw, I’m kind of a tech whore when it comes to game engines, so if this is the best UE5 has to offer at the moment, that’s pretty cool to me.

 

[Dacvak]

I just want some cool set pieces and serviceable combat. I just watched a recap of the first game’s story, and I could not be less interested in it. So as long as this game lets me skip boring cutscenes and has decent gameplay and visuals, I’m in.

I’m honestly looking for a light 7/10 experience with a UE5 game. I feel like this is a good candidate.

 

[Dacvak]

Yep. Nevermind. Ignore me. I just played the first 20 minutes of this game and it’s literally everything I hate about AAA gaming. This is terrible, tropey, and boring from the get go. I’m out.

And by the way, for a game that touts itself on graphics, the oceanic water rendering looks like it was designed for the PS3.

 

[RedC]

I just finished it.

Beautiful story.

It took me a while to get into it, but as long as you keep your expectations in check on what the game is, rather than what you wanted it to be, it's a very enjoyable experience.

Will wait some time and replay the others' perspective.

 

[bender]

Yep. Nevermind. Ignore me. I just played the first 20 minutes of this game and it’s literally everything I hate about AAA gaming. This is terrible, tropey, and boring from the get go. I’m out.

And by the way, for a game that touts itself on graphics, the oceanic water rendering looks like it was designed for the PS3.

Damn. You were so close to finishing it.

 

[evanft]

Yep. Nevermind. Ignore me. I just played the first 20 minutes of this game and it’s literally everything I hate about AAA gaming. This is terrible, tropey, and boring from the get go. I’m out.

And by the way, for a game that touts itself on graphics, the oceanic water rendering looks like it was designed for the PS3.

You just nailed it for me. It has all the hallmarks of terrible AAA games:

• Technically competent graphics with little artistic merit
• Complete lack of depth in the combat systems
• "Puzzles" that a monkey could solve
• Complete lack of interactivity in the world
• Random invisible walls and limitations
• IMMENSE amount of ugly post-processing for MUH CINEMATIC experience
• Narrative done in the most direct way possible without any sense of environmental storytelling or depth
• Some kind of gimmicky hook (voices in Senua's head) designed to get attention but ultimately makes the experience worse

 

[Roberts]

I'm slightly bummed I have so little time to play these days so I have to resort to 30 minute sessions that don't really help to feel the dramatic flow of the game and, yet, what a fucking game, huh? I can only guess I'm at the very end of the game and it has been an incredible experience.

 

[Beechos]

Ah poop. Is the combat at least decent and mindless? I definitely will not care about one iota of the story, but if it looks super gorgeous and the combat is decent, that’ll be enough for me. I don’t even want it to be challenging; I just want a game I can veg out to and forget a year from now.

Is it a good recommendation for me, or nah? (And if so, should I do XSX or PC?)

Edit: Btw, I’m kind of a tech whore when it comes to game engines, so if this is the best UE5 has to offer at the moment, that’s pretty cool to me.

If youre a gfx whore you'll prob in enjoy it just for the next gen gfx. The combat is super visceral and brutal kinda like if youre in the middle of a battle from something like game of thrones/lotr I would say it's decent. The walking parts will drag but if you like gfx I guess you can take in the scenery.

Lol nm just saw your reply already played the 1st 20 min.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

Am 8 hrs in. Maybe a couple of hours remaining.

Enjoying the game now. Sure there is walking, but none of it goes for too long and its well paced.

Got to see some interesting scenarios. Definitely worth playing especially via gamepass.

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

I can fix her too, it's called a boob job.
Dudes on hormones for like 3 months are more stacked.

 

[FoxMcChief]

I’m starting the first game using my Xbox Atmos Dolby headphones. The sound design is a work of art.

 

[Roberts]

Super happy the game stuck the landing.

I'm almost curious to see how people managed to finish it in 5 hours - I admit I didn't rush through it, took a few screenshots along the way but still ended up with 11 hours of game time.

 

[Hohenheim]

Enjoyed this quite a bit!
Didn't really like the first one, but this felt better. Combat was quite good and it had some really cool set pieces. The 3D audio made it extremely immersive and cool.
Puzzles boring as fuck, but thankfully there was just a few of them.
And it looked amazing on my 4K monitor. Ran smooth as as dream with 100+ fps too.

Not a game i'm gonna replay, nor will it be something on my GOTY list, but a really nice little experience.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

Super happy the game stuck the landing.

I'm almost curious to see how people managed to finish it in 5 hours - I admit I didn't rush through it, took a few screenshots along the way but still ended up with 11 hours of game time.

10+ hrs for me as well.

5 hrs is a bit of a stretch?

I was expecting it to end for last 3 days or so. Still going on.

 

[GymWolf]

10+ hrs for me as well.

5 hrs is a bit of a stretch?

I was expecting it to end for last 3 days or so. Still going on.

There are literal walktrought of the game that clock at around 5:30 min...

I usually don't give a fuck about simple collectibles to get trophies, i prefer when exploration is actually meaningfull so my playtime would be extremely similar.

It depends on how much fucks you give about collectibles and how many time you lose in photomode.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

There are literal walktrought of the game that clock at around 5:30 min...

I usually don't give a fuck about simple collectibles to get trophies, i prefer when exploration is actually meaningfull so my playtime would be extremely similar.

It depends on how much fucks you give about collectibles and how many time you lose in photomode.

If a walkthrough is taking 5 hrs then a normal play through will certainly take longer than that.

I am simply exploring everything, trying to find as many rock faces/shrines as possible.

But I do take longer than normal to finish games, so there’s that.