City of Tearsjaspobrowno t1_j181l3k wrote
My god this game was good and this artwork is awesome
Jackalodeath t1_j18m8tw wrote
I put off playing this game for so long due to the "Dark Souls of Side Scrollers" comments littered about threads involving it. Finally gave it a whirl in late Oct since it's on Game Pass.
I was not ready for that atmosphere and soundtrack. It was like my nearly 40 year old ass had gotten sent back to 1998 and I was playing Castlevania: SoTN for the very first time.
That is to say I was dying to dumb shit, getting lost at least 3 times every hour, secret passage-checking every wall that showed a gap between rooms on the map, fiddling with equipment combos, and letting the game idle for way too long just to listen to the music and ambience.
Unlike SoTN this game got a visceral response from me. Namely because of >!one little girl that decided to mine crystals against everyone's warnings.!< My son got to see his dad tear up over a fucking video game about bugs.
epizeuxius t1_j1938jy wrote
Shhh... if you never visit Myla after the infection spreads, technically she is still alive... sobs in corner. I used to visit her just to hear her hum :( . Why you do that Team Cherry.
Jackalodeath t1_j1998b7 wrote
Same!! I only visited her again to show him that not everything in the game was doom and gloomy. I've never had something in a game turn around and bite my ass clean off like that. :(
Supposedly there is a legit way to beat it without it happening, but it affects the % complete and makes the game even harder.
boxotimbits t1_j18p44a wrote
Why would it being like DS turn you off? HK is an amazing game and its actually what got me into DS.
Jackalodeath t1_j1978g4 wrote
* This ended up a bit longer than expected, sorry.
Mostly that "most punishing game series ever" trope that gets tossed around so much. My reflexes and patience ain't nowhere near what they used to be - which, granted, ain't saying much - so I assumed I'd find myself raging at it, and I'm not a fan of getting pissed at recreational activities I'm supposed to be enjoying.
Then one day someone posted here about how the 2004 release of Ninja Gaiden was like DS's grandpappy or something to that affect, and back then I aced that game with a drunken, shit-eating grin on my face. I already love the "simplicity" of Metroidvanias, so I thought ~10 years of life-altering mistakes, booze, and pill abuse couldn't have fucked me out that badly, right? Right? How hard could a "2D" game really be?
The answer was "plenty," but it struck a chord I had forgotten the sound of. For the first time in over a decade I found myself leaning in, standing up, saying shit like "Oh come on!!", but it wasn't at the game; it was at me, swinging my nail too early, getting greedy on offense, misjudging how hard I had to press jump, or simply not looking down before carelessly dropping into a new area (damn Primal Aspids and Giant Hoppers.)
It took some hours but I genuinely felt like an engine that had just been cranked up for the first time in ages; sure there was schmutz clogging the intake, the fuel was starting to coagulate, but I needed to get back out on the highway and blow it out if I planned to keep using it. If I "broke down" then at least I could say I tried.
>!When Myra attacked me, I gave the kid the controller, asked him to put her down, get me to a bench, and I went to collect myself.!< He lost all my Geo, but the kid adored it. Decided I'd take a break and see how he'd go about it; He's going all-in on a "mage" build, where I relied solely on the Nail - spells were just for progression uses and some i-frames here and there. We're gonna beat it/start the Grimm Troupe stuff at the same time; don't get much time with him and he usually goes for stuff like Borderlands, Rainbow Six, Titanfall, Roblox, or Fortnite; which is fun to watch, sure; but he (well, we) can be as careless and spaztic as we want without many "consequences." Always fun to see how quickly kids shift gears and adapt to shit, especially compared to my raggedy ass.
Also I just don't want it end yet. At least not until there's a better idea on when Silksong will roll out :(
boxotimbits t1_j1992ox wrote
I definitely think HK is harder than DS1, especially with the DLCs. It's really not all reflex based, especially if you use a shield and heavy armor (which is a completely viable way to beat ds1). Some of the HK fights are fairly technical like you mentioned and the DS series overall often provides that same "if I just did things right I would win" feeling while dying over and over. But DS1 is an amazingly built world with a lot of emotional connection to NPCs that feel much more organic than plenty of other games. Some bosses are challenging, sure, but it's not as technically difficult as the later games in the series.
All that said, I would strongly recommend the game. And once you beat the first you might just find yourself wanting to continue the journey through the other 6 from software games in the same spirit.
Jackalodeath t1_j19mg7i wrote
Oh believe me, HK reignited a long-snuffed flame.
Some personal stuff has them on the back burner, but I'm absolutely diving balls-first into the Fromsoft games once things get sorted. Best part is, my own reluctance towards them has inadvertently kept me from learning basically anything meaningful about the series, so that's several hundred (possibly thousands knowing me) hours worth of - from what I've seen/read - masterfully crafted lore, gear, and skills I get to experience for the very first time. All I really know are the memes about a massive sword-wielding dog, dodging, Sun worship(?), campfires are your personal Jesus, some fan theory involving Bloodborne and menstruation, and "You Died" in a very specific font. I'm excited to say the least!
At the moment I'm scratching a ninja itch I thought Gaiden would handle with AC: Odyssey (it's pretty and "free" so why not), which is turning out to be more RPG than anything (not complaining, still fun if a bit grindy.) From what I've gathered it uses a similar-ish gear/skill system as the Souls games; you pick a certain "class" or specialization that fits your playstyle, refine it with gear/ability synergies, and boil it down until you're practically a god that doesn't like being touched.
That in itself is my gaming bread and butter, right next to exploration/"sandboxes." Yet over the past... decade? Seeing the sheer magnitude of people singing Fromsoft's praises on practically every aspect of the Souls and "Soul Sisters" games, I can't wait to wedge myself into those worlds like a starfish hiding from a Nurse shark. I've heard DS2 is a bit of a... "Departure," from their usual quality - don't know exactly why, but it seems to be treated like the red-headed stepchild. So unless I get a great deal on all 3 Souls, Sekiro(spelling?), Bloodborne (this'un really piques my interest from the aesthetics alone, though I may have spoiled it a bit watching Jacksepticeye's playthrough; thankfully his train of thought derails every few moments and the past 2 years futzed my memory), and Elden Ring, I may pass up DS2.
In your opinion, would you say DS, 3, Bloodborne, Elden Ring, then Sekiro would be an ideal order of attack, skill-check wise? I've read Sekiro puts the timing and "reading" your opponents on a whole other level, comparitively speaking. If you've had the pleasure of playing them all of course.
boxotimbits t1_j1a6lqd wrote
DS2 is very polarizing. Miyazaki didn't work directly on it and personally it is my least favorite. However it is still a phenomenal game and I wouldn't recommend you skip it. It has the best weapon and armor variety and introduced an incredible dual wield mechanic called power stancing. The DLCs each have really brutal sections so I wouldn't hesitate to coop them if you don't want the challenge. The biggest issues (imo) with it are that the world isn't built at all as cohesively as the first dark souls and that there are lots of ganks (enemies randomly attacking you from hidden places or far away). Also the bosses are not quite as diverse as other dark souls games.
Jackalodeath t1_j1abt1b wrote
Ah, okay; that Miyazaki not being directly at the helm was portrayed as they tried to make the game without his involvement whatsoever. Typically I try to average out player gripes/praises since so many have a penchant for hyperbole, but the average was always 2 being on the bottom rung.
Thank you so much for the insight!
KarmaticArmageddon t1_j198p8i wrote
A lot of people who aren't very good at video games or who don't have a lot of time to play are put off by games that are compared to Dark Souls.
No one ever says a game is "the Dark Souls of genre" because they're saying it has great atmosphere, deep lore, and an incredibly well-made level system that connects its levels together so well — which are all great attributes of the first Dark Souls.
What people usually mean by "the Dark Souls of genre" is unrelenting difficulty, a brutal checkpoint system, complicated inventory management, and harsh consequences upon death.
I can totally get why someone who only has maybe an hour a day to play would see something compared to Dark Souls and decide to avoid it because they don't want to spend weeks dying to the same boss until they've perfectly memorized its moveset — which is the image of Dark Souls that a lot of its fanbase has cultivated.
To be clear: I fucking love Dark Souls. I've played and replayed Demon's Souls, DS1–3, Bloodborne, Sekiro, and Elden Ring more times than I can count.
NinjaJehu t1_j19d4np wrote
No Bloodborne?! That's my favorite one in the entire series. Maybe no PS4?
KarmaticArmageddon t1_j19owxw wrote
Oh I love Bloodborne. I picked PS4 over Xbox solely because of Bloodborne. I just forgot to put it in the list lol
NinjaJehu t1_j1a1ur6 wrote
Ah gotcha. Yeah, Bloodborne was a system seller for me as well!
KarmaticArmageddon t1_j1a52ud wrote
I've gone back and replayed all of them with my PS5 and they look so good at 60 FPS, but Bloodborne never got that update so it's still just 30 FPS. I'd love to replay it, but it just feels jittery and unresponsive now that I'm so used to 60 FPS.
AlmostButNotQuit t1_j19dktf wrote
How did I miss that? I must've breezed by her until I'd gotten crystal heart or something. :(
Jackalodeath t1_j19s8pd wrote
Apparently something specific triggers it; but I didn't know what. If that "event" doesn't happen, neither does the "problem." I'll spoiler it since there's no doubt some newer folks around this post; according to the wiki:
>!She begins showing signs of infection after defeating Soul Master - ergo learning the Desolate Dive spell. When I visited her, she outright attacked me, which apparently happens after getting the spell and the Crystal Heart.!<
How in the world people beat the game without doing those is beyond me, but someone figured it out.
kittehsfureva t1_j19yuub wrote
Can you? I know that the Crystal is needed to get double jump, and I was pretty sure that was needed for all of the endings.
But maybe it is not. You certainly could not >!fight radiance!<.
fghjconner t1_j1a8lpj wrote
The any% speedrun doesn't get >!wings!<. They do get Crystal, though I think they only need that for >!acid skip!<, so you could probably just get >!Isma's tear!< instead.
Edit: Actually, getting into >!Isma's grove!< requires Crystal as well, iirc. Luckily, the only thing it's really used for is getting to >!Lurian!<, who you can access through >!a shade gate!< as well. I think it is actually doable, if unlikely.
kittehsfureva t1_j1ayuvv wrote
Interesting. I'm rather certain >!wings are required to get the shadow cloak though. I remember there being some pretty hard gated double jump parts to get to the second Hornet encounter.!< It has been some time though I may be misremembering.
Fun to think about though, that little bug is such a tragic part of the game and a playthrough dedicated to saving her would be great.
I have not watched any speed runs of the game, I bet it would be fun.
fghjconner t1_j1azfxn wrote
Oh right, forgot about those jumps. >!You actually can pogo on a primal aspid to get up there, and I've even seen a youtuber do that on their first run. It's not something most people will probably try though.!<
Jackalodeath t1_j1aa08k wrote
The first "event" is the important one it seems; the second doesn't advance it otherwise.
After I got to a certain point I got nosey if I completed stuff in the right order and found all sorts of tips and tricks that would've been great to know when I got to em. Like Nail bouncing off spikes/mobs and "kiting" the second Soul Warrior by using Mantis Claw 'cause he only summons 25 adds-_-
I did the latter the hard way by getting Quick Slash and the Nail Art charge reduction first. The bouncing should've been obvious but I'm a bit denser than most.
kittehsfureva t1_j1aut9v wrote
First playthrough, I did not understand the power of the spike pogo. That is, until >!the white palace, where you damn well better learn it quick!<.
On my second playthrough, I was surprised how much quicker you could breeze through the game with pogo sticking. Especially when you rushed getting >!mark of pride and quick nail.!<
manor2003 t1_j18o9ll wrote
I heard many good stuff about Hollow Knight but i don't like games where i have no idea where I'm supposed to go, time too short, game too long and i have no idea what I'm doing so i just put it off.
bonelessunicorn t1_j18v636 wrote
Same, felt disoriented the whole time and didn’t even mind the frustrating checkpoints. Just not for me but it was really nostalgic and beautiful.
SmArty117 t1_j192ovg wrote
I think having no idea where to go is part of the point, you're just exploring a vast abandoned kingdom
manor2003 t1_j192z75 wrote
No directive is one thing but like Dark Souls games when you die you respawn far away from where you were and then need to do all that way again and defeat all the enemies in the way again
SmArty117 t1_j197ht5 wrote
Tbf there were a couple of bosses in HK where this really annoyed me and got super frustrating. I may have yelled at my screen a few times. But I liked the rest of the game too much to quit cause of that.
kittehsfureva t1_j19zca9 wrote
The only two places that really got me was >!The Soul Sanctum and The Hive !<
Everything else had pretty manageable benches, with most of the hardest ones being mercifully right next to the boss.
bunttyboy t1_j1ap2c3 wrote
I despised >!Soul sanctum!< as well like my god those >!Flying mages!< were such a pain in the ass
SimBoO911 t1_j1ap1k4 wrote
You should try Ori and the blind forest, a bit like metroid but my god this game is beautiful and the sound track is amazing too.
mauricioszabo t1_j19xnp5 wrote
I think my main criticism are the upgrades. They change waay too little of the game. Sometimes, things that takes a lot of charm notches make your attack like, 20% more powerful... which is fine, but at the same time, it's too little to feel any difference
It's a good game, and I understand this balance is tricky, but it feels kinda frustrating...
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