Support NeoGAF

[Lomax]

point is, i've completed all of the souls games except bloodborne many times, i have over 400 hrs on all the games combined, i've beaten every boss and area solo, etc.

i just take my time with these games cos i enjoy them a lot, but i've never had this much of a difference between my time and others', so when i say i'm surprised i would love it if people don't get defensive and tell me to "git gud", directly or not

i hate that

Personally I think people should be jealous of you, in that you seem to be getting way more hours of entertainment out of it than they are. Honestly I think there's a chunk of people at this point that just play it because its "Dark Souls" and they like the idea of beating something that's supposed to be really hard. So for them the only real goal is to beat it as fast as they can and move on.

in other news what in the actual fuck is the dark souls board game that only wanted 50k pounds is gonna do with a freaking million and a half

honestly i can't see how they can make good on that amount of money cos like, wtf

Board game kickstarters are usually more about being able to afford bulk purchasing and production, so increased money is a non-issue. There's not going to be feature bloat or unrealistic cost projections or any of the other things that plague video game kickstarters. The "goal" was probably just the minimum they needed to be able to get it printed and manufactured. If there's one thing Kickstarter has worked exceptionally well for, it's physical games. Which isn't to say they couldn't screw it up, because of course they could, but it's a completely different situation from video game kickstarters. It's a retail product with production costs, not a nebulous concept that has indeterminate development costs.

 

[zkylon]

Well true, except the Drake Sword is a huge clutch for beginners because it doesn't teach you the value of upgrading weapons until much later.

yea, but i mean, it's not like learning to upgrade is that big of a deal, it's mostly that the drake sword makes the early game less challenging but do what you must to make those shitty gargoyles easier lol

Personally I think people should be jealous of you, in that you seem to be getting way more hours of entertainment out of it than they are. Honestly I think there's a chunk of people at this point that just play it because its "Dark Souls" and they like the idea of beating something that's supposed to be really hard. So for them the only real goal is to beat it as fast as they can and move on.

i don't think jealous, everyone gets what they want out of the game, i personally enjoy a lot of different things about them, studying item/enemy placement not only for lore but also design. people say the souls games are merciless or whatever but they're actually really generous, they're just very smart about it that you don't notice it, so that in your head the game still feels brutal and hopeless, but actually you're passively gathering tools to make the game easier without even realizing it

but yeah, different people enjoy different things, i'm just surprised how little time the game takes them cos it's a bunch of really intricate dungeons with more or less difficult bosses and side quests and general loose direction-giving so you may get stuck sometimes (i wandered for like an hour after the deacons of the deep before i realized there was a second path out of farron keep). it may be smaller than dks2 but it's pretty big so yeah, people are really really quick at this game, it's amazing

Board game kickstarters are usually more about being able to afford bulk purchasing and production, so increased money is a non-issue. There's not going to be feature bloat or unrealistic cost projections or any of the other things that plague video game kickstarters. The "goal" was probably just the minimum they needed to be able to get it printed and manufactured. If there's one thing Kickstarter has worked exceptionally well for, it's physical games. Which isn't to say they couldn't screw it up, because of course they could, but it's a completely different situation from video game kickstarters. It's a retail product with production costs, not a nebulous concept that has indeterminate development costs.

i see, that makes a lot of sense actually

they're selling a feature complete game through kickstarter, that's basically it

 

[Tellaerin]

Dark Souls accomplishment of the day:

Hiding on a ledge beneath and to the side of a huge dragon guarding a bridge, and plinking it to death with a shortbow.

(Hey, it may not have been stylish, but it got the job done. An ugly win's still a win.)

Also cleared out a shrine protected by some big knight with a gigantic mace, and ran into what looked like a huge headless statue with a scepter that hurled lightning bolts. Tried killing it a couple of times, almost succeeded once, then decided to just run on past. Ended up in a forest, where I was eaten by an animated bush. >.>

Rocking an axe now. Think I may stick with it, since it seems to be working for me better than swords were. Had some Balder Armor drops that looked good, statwise, but I feel less mobile wearing it than I was in chainmail.

Wish there was a photo mode where I could take pictures without the HUD or my character being visible. The scenery's gorgeous, even on my ancient relic of a PC. This is a game you want to hold up to show people the importance of good art design.

 

[zkylon]

These games are built like RPGs (because, well, they're RPGs) but their gameplay and especially their rep attracts a lot of people more inclined towards action rather than adventure.

I play these games the same way as you. I took about 35 hours for my first run through DS3, and i've spent another 40 just exploring and playing with multiple builds on other characters. I want to see which enemies drop what, where the secrets are, and so on. For other people, it's just another action game where the level of achievement is mostly tied to how quickly you can beat it in the hardest ways.

I know a dude who beat the game twice and started asking me when I was going to finish it when I was still like 15 hours in. He had 20 hours and already beat it twice, by running past almost everything even on his very first playthrough. That's just... so not at all what I find fun about these games.

yeah when soapstoning for bosses i'm surprised at how often i've seen people skipping cutscenes

granted it might just be second playthroughs but yeah, clearly for some people there's a bigger hurry to finish these games than me

but man beating this game in like 10 hours

holy shit

 

[texhnolyze]

Well true, except the Drake Sword is a huge clutch for beginners because it doesn't teach you the value of upgrading weapons until much later.

Don't worry, I also have the broadsword, bastard sword, and longbow fully upgraded (+5). I think I can already upgrade it to +6 and beyond but the game doesn't really explain it to me. Gotta read some guides on upgrading later, I guess.

Dark Souls accomplishment of the day:

Hiding on a ledge beneath and to the side of a huge dragon guarding a bridge, and plinking it to death with a shortbow.

(Hey, it may not have been stylish, but it got the job done. An ugly win's still a win.)

Also cleared out a shrine protected by some big knight with a gigantic mace, and ran into what looked like a huge headless statue with a scepter that hurled lightning bolts. Tried killing it a couple of times, almost succeeded once, then decided to just run on past. Ended up in a forest, where I was eaten by an animated bush. >.>

Rocking an axe now. Think I may stick with it, since it seems to be working for me better than swords were. Had some Balder Armor drops that looked good, statwise, but I feel less mobile wearing it than I was in chainmail.

Wish there was a photo mode where I could take pictures without the HUD or my character being visible. The scenery's gorgeous, even on my ancient relic of a PC. This is a game you want to hold up to show people the importance of good art design.

I think I saw a mod that hides some parts of the UI yesterday. I'm not really sure if it's toggle-able, can hide everything or not. Yes, the game is gorgeous with dsfix and some texture mods.

 

[Phawx]

Just got back from PAX East. Played about 20~ mins of Below. It's far more of a hardcore Zelda than it is a Soulslike. Though there are some Souls trappings.

The PSVR headset, while it's not the best VR headset, is most definitely the best looking and most comfortable.

Death's Gambit is Castlevania Soulslike. It swings a bit more toward the Castlevania angle but It's soooooo good.

Eitr is a Diablo Soulslike and most definitely leans heavy on the Souls flavor with a 2D Isometric vantage point.

Refactor is a Tetroidvania. After you explore a section of the map, you can then modify that part of the map which is shaped like a Tetromino. Physics still works, flipping a piece of the map 180 will cause all of the objects and enemies to obey gravity and fall and tumble. Really cool.

There is another game which was Magicka + Legend of Zelda, but the name is escaping me.

That's all I can think of at the moment. I'll try to expand on some of this later.

 

[Phawx]

everything was soulslike

and Roguelike!

 

[texhnolyze]

..and Zelda-like.

Speaking of which, is there a souls-like game where everything is not so dark, liveless and gritty?
Imagine Witcher, Elder Scrolls or Dragon Age world with all of the NPCs and cities, but with souls gameplay.

No, not Dragon's Dogma. Maybe close to it.

 

[Lomax]

Everything being a Zelda-like is my indie dream come true.

 

[zkylon]

i don't think there is, but i would be super open to it

looking for souls like games i've found about death's gambit

first time i hear of it, it looks pretty awesome

 

[Phawx]

i don't think there is, but i would be super open to it

looking for souls like games i've found about death's gambit

first time i hear of it, it looks pretty awesome

Yea Death's Gambit is dope. Plays really well too.

 

[AHA-Lambda]

I'm really tempted to get System Shock before the sale ends, but System Shock 2 has been bundled like ten times, so I'm a little bit hesitant. I don't want to buy it and then have it show up in a bundle three weeks from now.

From my own experience, I loved SS2 but SS1 is so simply too dated even in the EE.
I'll be waiting for the remake version

 

[Soulflarz]

ds board game has 2m?!

wow
Didn't see that coming

 

[zkylon]

killed d

Spoiler

ragonslayer armour

. died to it once but got pretty close, so swap some equipment around and did a soapstone to go ember and got him on my second try

alright fight i guess, probably the simplest boss so far. unfortunately

Spoiler

you fight the armor so i was usually locked on to it and couldn't get a good look at the mosquito butterfly thing. i'm gonna do a couple summons to take a better look at it, the build up to this fight is pretty big since you're constantly seeing those insect things flying around and hearing it and everything but then during the actual fight it's just kind of a cheap thing that can randomly get you killed

also this happened

idk why but one time i got summoned neither me or the other phantom could get through the fog gate and so we started sitting around on the other side spamming hello stones and i guess the boss might've been close to the fog gate cos we both got hit by an attack and instakilled lol

it was pretty funny

From my own experience, I loved SS2 but SS1 is so simply too dated even in the EE.
I'll be waiting for the remake version

yea ss1 sounds like a nightmare to play today heh

 

[texhnolyze]

Wow, my The Division review is the 2nd most popular one right now.

Maybe I should make a video game reviews blog or something.

 

[Tizoc]

Wow, my The Division review is the 2nd most popular one right now.

Maybe I should make a video game reviews blog or something.

The ad revenue could make for some good quick buck

 

[Soulflarz]

I play so many games and people ask me for how they were enough that I fully acknowledge I should do that too (people have been telling that since I was 16 or so)
...I'm just lazy
and...uh
It's one thing to ask someone for an opinion and say they should do reviews and it's another to actually read all their reviews :V

 

[Granjinha]

Was looking at some the PAX coverage of some games and damn there is SO much cool stuff coming out.

this uncut, raw Pyre footage from TotalBiscuit is amazing, Supergiant is just incredible

Also saw some gameplay from Ruiner, Shadow Warrior 2 and Rain World. All three look awesome. <3

 

[zkylon]

it's also pretty hard to write reviews that add something that's not already being provided by other outlets

 

[Soulflarz]

it's also pretty hard to write reviews that add something that's not already being provided by other outlets

This

Then again, this is why I play all my games to their end
I do it so that friends can at least like uhm

have a non outlet-y opinion?

That is to say...people know the types of games I like, and it generally does not match up to outlets at all :x

 

[mrklaw]

how is 8-bit armies? being drawn in by the art style mostly, but a less complex RTS is attractive to me too.

 

[Salsa]

shark no mo

now mods will be fooled and unable to ban me

rocket league is pretty good guys

 

[Tellaerin]

shark no mo

now mods will be fooled and unable to ban me

Salsa
~Formerly SalsaShark~
Trust no one!
Keep your laser handy!
(Today, 02:33 AM)

Umm... >.>

 

[zkylon]

This

Then again, this is why I play all my games to their end
I do it so that friends can at least like uhm

have a non outlet-y opinion?

That is to say...people know the types of games I like, and it generally does not match up to outlets at all :x

i'm pretty sure there's tons of places you can go look for opinions similar to yours presented in a nice format

there's eurogamer and gamespot, there's giantbomb and rockpapershotgun, there's also kotaku, jim sterling and superbunnyhop. you can read rpgcodex reviews if you're into that sort of stuff, etc.

i feel like with so many voices you better provide something no one else those (or just be amazing at writing/video) or else you're prolly gonna go unnoticed

i wanted to write reviews of games i played as a way of gathering my thoughts after finishing games, even if no one reads it, but i don't really have the time for it or at least i'm having trouble making time for it. i really like putting my thoughts into paper, i should find some time for it

 

[Salsa]

Umm... >.>

fooled!

 

[Tizoc]

shark no mo

now mods will be fooled and unable to ban me

rocket league is pretty good guys

Who did u sweet talk?

 

[Deques]

shark no mo

now mods will be fooled and unable to ban me

rocket league is pretty good guys

~The Shark Formerly Known as Salsa~
Trust no one!
Keep your laser handy!

When?

 

[JaseC]

I thought Steam had fixed this stuff (?)

That's a multi-app package, not an actual bundle*, plus publishers don't have to confer an additional discount if they'd rather not.

* I can understand the confusion. On the System Shock 2 page, it says "Packages that include this game", but the package page says, as you've noticed, "Items included in this bundle", which really ought to say "Items included in this package", especially now that Steam has bundles.

 

[Nillansan]

i already have all windows 7 update , but still it wont recognize my X1 controller.

I didn't encounter any issues at all on my end. In order to get it to work on Windows 7, plug the Elite controller in and then run Windows Update, the drivers should either appear under Recommended Updates or under list of Regular Updates depending on your Windows Update settings. There is no need to manually download the drivers from Microsoft's site.

 

[texhnolyze]

Salsa is such a pro at hiding his identity.

The ad revenue could make for some good quick buck

I'll be swimming money in no time!

it's also pretty hard to write reviews that add something that's not already being provided by other outlets

There's a hole in outlets' reviews though. They only write them when the game is hot, or pre-release as usual. They tend to rush them because they are indeed have a time limit to release the reviews. They bound to miss the little details or what's happening at endgame, or the state of the game a couple months later. Some do write them, but very rarely.

 

[morningbus]

shark no mo

now mods will be fooled and unable to ban me

rocket league is pretty good guys

you were just tired of people confusing you for shalashaska

 

[Soulflarz]

fooled!

WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU

i'm pretty sure there's tons of places you can go look for opinions similar to yours presented in a nice format

I hate almost everything I play that I don't feel indifferent to
Games don't bring much new to the table almost ever
If I wanted to rate on a 5 average, people would kill me for constant 4s.


Okay, not really, I just don't praise games unless they really do something for me

And yes I'm sure someone has reviews similar to me, I dunno, Jason Schreier likes TrailsFC/SC
Hes probably closest by default of that :V

 

[zkylon]

unsurprisingly game of thrones continues to be crap

There's a hole in outlets' reviews though. They only write them when the game is hot, or pre-release as usual. They tend to rush them because they are indeed have a time limit to release the reviews. They bound to miss the little details or what's happening at endgame, or the state of the game a couple months later. Some do write them, but very rarely.

i've found the eurogamer/gamespot/kotaku/giantbomb/rps reviews to be pretty good even if i don't always agree with them

i don't think the reviews are rushed, they're not absolutely comprehensive but you often don't really need that

I hate almost everything I play that I don't feel indifferent to
Games don't bring much new to the table almost ever
If I wanted to rate on a 5 average, people would kill me for constant 4s.


Okay, not really, I just don't praise games unless they really do something for me

And yes I'm sure someone has reviews similar to me, I dunno, Jason Schreier likes TrailsFC/SC
Hes probably closest by default of that :V

i don't wanna shoot your dreams down but i don't think i wanna read someone that has a negative opinion of everything

i'd much rather have someone introduce me to new games rather than block off games i already know of

 

[AHA-Lambda]

Game of Thrones lost its way long ago imo :/

It trundles along like TWD cos it's popular but hardly ever gets called out for it

 

[zkylon]

i never really liked it much but it's good conversation for monday afternoons at the office i guess

 

[Crimsonclaw111]

That new King of Fighters trailer looks pretty sweet.

 

[Vuze]

Game of Thrones lost its way long ago imo :/

It trundles along like TWD cos it's popular but hardly ever gets called out for it

Yeah, TWD really turned into a snorefest. Stopped watching it two seasons ago I think.
Considering I haven't watched a single episode of GoT yet, hearing it met with the same fate certainly doesn't help.

 

[Ozium]

anyone here play Jalopy?

 

[AHA-Lambda]

Jesus Christ, is Mirror's Edge 2 £50 everywhere? =/

Fucking Origin D:

Yeah, TWD really turned into a snorefest. Stopped watching it two seasons ago I think.
Considering I haven't watched a single episode of GoT yet, hearing it met with the same fate certainly doesn't help.

It certainly did for me but that's not an opinion that seems to be as commonly shared as with TWD (from what I can see anyway).

It's greatest problem to me is one thing but a big one, the show lost all direction and steam since the end of season 3. Pretty much bugger all has happened since then >_>

If I even do bother watching S6 I know it'll be just out of some daft obligation to see where the story goes (i.e. not much)

 

[Deleted member 125677]

shark no mo

now mods will be fooled and unable to ban me

rocket league is pretty good guys

we are on to you

 

[zkylon]

you can't escape the "joke" bans

 

[PetriP-TNT]

Jesus Christ, is Mirror's Edge 2 £50 everywhere? =/

Fucking Origin D:

Pick it up from Humble Origin Bundle 4 in ~12 months mang!

 

[texhnolyze]

Is it just me or is there not much hype regarding Dark Souls III on gaf?
I mean, the OT is moving kinda slowly and no one post on the character creation thread anymore. Especially if it's compared to Bloodborne last year, the hype difference is quite noticeable. Is the franchise fatigue real, or exclusivity actually does matter? I'm pretty sure Souls is not a niche franchise anymore.

 

[bjaelke]

They're almost halfway through OT2...

 

[AHA-Lambda]

I think there has been a more pronounced feeling of fatigue, amongst critics certainly, and I'd guess your average Souls player will fall more into enthusiast circles than the norm.

Thing is the fatigue may well be less pronounced if you're not a PS player and have not played BB or Demon's

I know I feel fatigued and want a good break from it, as I've played all 5 and the series is near annual too.
Then again isn't it like Bandai Namco's most successful launch ever?

 

[JaseC]

Jesus Christ, is Mirror's Edge 2 £50 everywhere? =/

Fucking Origin D:

It's $40 on Origin BR.

 

[zkylon]

yeah dunno about the rest but yeah, the fatigue is real, even if i think this is probably the better game in many respects (definitely not all), i remember feeling more enthusiastic about dks2

i would gladly take biyearly dark souls games for the rest of my life, but i also feel like i want to be surprised and intrigued by something new entirely, even if it shares common roots with the souls games, but more different than bloodborne. i already know every trick they can pull off, there might be small changes every time and it's still a super enjoyable trick, but it's not leaving me bewitched anymore

and i really want a pc armored core

 

[texhnolyze]

They're almost halfway through OT2...

But DS3 is multiplatform..

I think there has been a more pronounced feeling of fatigue, amongst critics certainly, and I'd guess your average Souls player will fall more into enthusiast circles than the norm.

Thing is the fatigue may well be less pronounced if you're not a PS player having not played BB or Demon's

I know I feel fatigued and want a good break from it, as I've played all 5 and the series is near annual too.
Then again isn't it like Bandai Namco's most successful launch ever?

I've played Demon's for a bit back in the day. It's wrecking me so bad and kinda put me away from the series. Maybe I was just lacking in patience back then.

Anyway, after spending a good 18 hours into Dark Souls, I'm really looking forward to play DS2 and eventually DS3. According to general consensus here and from the Souls ranking thread, it seems that skipping DS2 might be a good idea. But I won't be able to afford DS3 these days anyway so DS2 will be my next destination. Here's hoping for a 50% off this winter sale for DS3.

 

[AHA-Lambda]

The Dark 2 hate is super overblown, it's a very worthwhile play.
It just had the uncomfortable task of following a game like Dark Souls 1 - a game that was many's first Souls game and expanded much on the ideas of Demon's.

I much prefer Dark 2 to BB in fact, sue me :/

 

[InfiniteNine]

Well Dark 2 isn't bad but it didn't focus on the things I liked about the other games. It just made me become disinterested in it in a while and it seems like the people that like 2 like the multiplayer functions there where those aren't even really apart of the equation for me aside from messages and random invasions. I like the feeling of aloneness in the titles and traversing a harsh world by myself. I didn't really particularly find the area design or combat too fulfilling in there either since it generally felt off to me compared to the other games.

So far for me:
Bloodborne, Dark Souls III, Demon/Dark Souls tie, and Dark Souls 2.

I generally prefer tighter combat as well so this makes the most sense to me. Also my dislike of 2 might be painted by SotFS since apparently the enemy placement and such feels more like a random mod than deliberate design in the update compared to vanilla.