Soulsborne thead (Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne)

[Austin]

Bloodborne PSX is available! This is sort of a "demake" for PC and is a free download. It's Bloodborne remade in a PS1 visual style. It's unfortunately not the full game (not even close as it only goes up to the Father Gascgoine fight), but is still really cool to see.

 

Trailer:

 

 

Itch.io site download: https://b0tster.itch.io/bbpsx

[Ninjabba]

Looking at that Demake makes me want to play Nightmare Creatures again

[Lostdragon]

Well, caved in and preordered Elden Ring on PS4. 

 

Really hoping this isn't another Sekiro experience for me this time around. 

 

 

Edited February 8, 2022 by Lostdragon

[adamchevy]

I’m thinking about picking up Dark Souls remastered for the switch. I played Demon Souls on the PS3 many years ago and I enjoyed it. I wish from software would remaster 3D Dot game heroes for the switch .

[Razzie.P]

42 minutes ago, adamchevy said:

I wish from software would remaster 3D Dot game heroes for the switch .

Same.   That's such an awesome games.

[youxia]

Seems Elden Ring is killing it, review-wise, getting 9-10/10s all round. I'm happy for the From Software, they deserve it. Though am not quite sure I'll enjoy it as much as the previous games. I did try to keep a lid on spoilers and only skimmed a few previews, but some changes did sound worrying. I'm sure it'll still be epic, but...hmm. We'll see, I guess, though myself not anytime soon, seeing as I scalped my GPU some time ago and don't have a modern console atm.

[newtmonkey]

I played Elden Ring for a couple hours, and I like it so far.  I'm a fan of the series (I've completed each game 2-3 times including Demon's Souls).

 

The game feels 100% like Dark Souls.  However, the open world doesn't really do anything for me.  It's not bad, but it's also not very interesting.  It does add something to the game, as there is a stealth mechanic and you can sneak by groups of enemies.

 

The game has a crafting system, but it seems mostly optional, thankfully.  So far, it's nothing impressive; you are gathering plants in the open world to make junk.

[Lostdragon]

54 minutes ago, newtmonkey said:

I played Elden Ring for a couple hours, and I like it so far.  I'm a fan of the series (I've completed each game 2-3 times including Demon's Souls).

 

The game feels 100% like Dark Souls.  However, the open world doesn't really do anything for me.  It's not bad, but it's also not very interesting.  It does add something to the game, as there is a stealth mechanic and you can sneak by groups of enemies.

 

The game has a crafting system, but it seems mostly optional, thankfully.  So far, it's nothing impressive; you are gathering plants in the open world to make junk.

I ended up doing a 40 mile round trip to get my copy on PS4 thanks to an Amazon driver, 4 of us in the house (had it delivered to place I knew I would be all day as Car in for MOT) and rather than knock, ring any doorbells, driver left it in the woodshed. ?

 

Only discovered after I had returned home. 

 

 

Anyway... 

 

 

Only dabbled with it this evening and yep, it's so Souls familiar, though you can now jump, clearing groups of foes effects flasks etc. 

 

 

I'm loving the art style and very much liking the game. 

 

 

Too early for me to say if the open world adds a whole lot, but the relief this isn't going to be a Sekiro experience for me, is immense ?

[Razzie.P]

7.5 hours in with Elden Ring, and I'm pretty torn.  Overall, it's been the most boring effing game I've played in a long time.  But then it has those little moments that feel like a souls game, and I get hopeful.   But man, that open world mess is a huge bore.  I feel like I ride around for hours doing nothing, finding nothing, fighting nothing.    In past souls games, enemies were something you had to fight and overcome to proceed.  Now, other than bosses, it seems you have to go pick the fight yourself, not because you need to (you can just ride around them and carry on) but because there's nothing to do in there. 

[Lostdragon]

8 hours ago, Razzie.P said:

7.5 hours in with Elden Ring, and I'm pretty torn.  Overall, it's been the most boring effing game I've played in a long time.  But then it has those little moments that feel like a souls game, and I get hopeful.   But man, that open world mess is a huge bore.  I feel like I ride around for hours doing nothing, finding nothing, fighting nothing.    In past souls games, enemies were something you had to fight and overcome to proceed.  Now, other than bosses, it seems you have to go pick the fight yourself, not because you need to (you can just ride around them and carry on) but because there's nothing to do in there. 

I've gone in with the mindset that the open world is going to be rather barren and it's more an environment designed for exploration and discovery. 

 

It's been years since i played the Remaster, but Shadow Of The Colossus had boring sections of riding between epic boss fights (so wanted to love that game, but controls killed it for me) and previews of Elden did warn of a rather empty environment, fights were found in the dungeons etc. 

 

 

Time will tell if the gamble has worked I guess, hoping to spend some quality time on it this afternoon. 

[Lostdragon]

6 hrs, 42 mins in now and a level 23 character. 

 

 

Done a few dungeons and dungeon boss fights with co-op play, found a few NPC characters, fought off an invading Spirt. 

 

Niggles? 

 

Horseback combat I find a bit clunky. 

 

 

You can spend a while exploring ruins, only to find nothing and people leaving 'hidden path ahead' messages at walls, when there is no such thing, wore thin on the Souls games, let alone here. 

 

 

The open world is... Patchy. 

 

 

I found foes either stuck to set environments and you had to stumble onto their domains and then you got either a mini boss fight, pack encounter or bigger foes to deal with. 

 

There are roaming patrols around the landscape, but it's not as empty as I feared, found enough locations by pure accident so far, to stave off boredom and aimless trekking. 

 

 

So far, it's solid. 

 

Not another Sekiro, but not the masterpiece some of the press claim. 

 

 

As for what exactly George R Martin did on the game, so far I honestly couldn't tell you, it feels typical From Software.. 

Edited February 26, 2022 by Lostdragon

[Razzie.P]

1 hour ago, Lostdragon said:

You can spend a while exploring ruins, only to find nothing and people leaving 'hidden path ahead' messages at walls, when there is no such thing, wore thin on the Souls games, let alone here. 

 

Yes, that got annoying long ago.  I’m about 12 hours in, now, and the most amazing thing I’ve seen so far was a single “hidden path” message that actually had a hidden path.

 

1 hour ago, Lostdragon said:

found enough locations by pure accident so far, to stave off boredom and aimless trekking. 

 

Lucky!  Most of my game so far has been boredom and aimless trekking.   BUT… the area in the  castle after beating the first “story boss” has been amazing, so my past couple/few hours have felt like I was playing “Dark Souls 4.”  I do dread going back outside, though.

 

1 hour ago, Lostdragon said:

As for what exactly George R Martin did on the game, so far I honestly couldn't tell you, it feels typical From Software.. 

Same.  

[Lostdragon]

I suppose the "hidden path" messages have become the running joke of the Soulsborne games for players now, but the joke grew stale long ago for myself. 

 

I'm assuming From have tried to make the environments outside the castle feel more organic if that's the correct word? 

 

 

The dragon that's set up home on the lake, doesn't stray far from it, the giants pulling the carriage with  undead soldiers and noblemen as escorts, the patrolling soldiers, all follow the paths they did in life. 

 

 

They also wanted a feeling of a desolated environment. 

 

 

I'm sure technical constraints played their part as well. 

 

I'm more dissapointed with the actual dungeons, caves you find, size wise so far they feel like scaled back versions of the ones in Bloodborne, often over once you really start exploring, just the odd puzzle to solve, mini boss to fight and no real sense of victory once boss felled. 

 

 

Hated that with DSII, bosses just thrown in for the sake of it. 

 

As for George's work... 

 

 

Marketing massively oversold the game by having his name attached. 

 

 

There's some art design that wouldn't look out of place in Game Of Thrones, but so far i have seen nothing that departs from From's art direction, something i am thankful for, as it's gorgeous. 

 

 

I'm glad I bought it day one, the servers are busy, not sure how it'll be in the weeks to come once people move on. 

Edited February 27, 2022 by Lostdragon

[Lostdragon]

13 hours ago, Razzie.P said:

Yes, that got annoying long ago.  I’m about 12 hours in, now, and the most amazing thing I’ve seen so far was a single “hidden path” message that actually had a hidden path.

 

 

https://www.pcgamer.com/do-not-try-jumping-a-beginners-reference-to-elden-ring-messages/

 

 

[Lostdragon]

A decent afternoons play today. 

 

Found a few warp gates, nice addition. 

 

 

Just took out first proper boss, Margit The Fell. 

 

 

Unlocked good few new areas, including Table Of Lost Grace, lot of new NPC's there, but bit cheap, supposed to be a non combat area, so didn't expect an invasion fight lost a lot of runes to that. 

 

 

But yeah, enjoying it, yet to find anything to physically cast magic etc.. 

 

 

[adamchevy]

How does Elden Ring compare to Breath of the Wild? I ask because that’s the last open world game I’ve played. I’ve heard that IGN gave Elden Ring a 10 so it must have something going for it?

[Gentlegamer]

19 hours ago, adamchevy said:

How does Elden Ring compare to Breath of the Wild? I ask because that’s the last open world game I’ve played. I’ve heard that IGN gave Elden Ring a 10 so it must have something going for it?

You can't climb and hang glide around the map, you have a ghost horse you can summon at any time that has a double jump. And your weapons never break.

[Lostdragon]

On 2/26/2022 at 4:28 AM, Razzie.P said:

7.5 hours in with Elden Ring, and I'm pretty torn.  Overall, it's been the most boring effing game I've played in a long time.  But then it has those little moments that feel like a souls game, and I get hopeful.   But man, that open world mess is a huge bore.  I feel like I ride around for hours doing nothing, finding nothing, fighting nothing.    In past souls games, enemies were something you had to fight and overcome to proceed.  Now, other than bosses, it seems you have to go pick the fight yourself, not because you need to (you can just ride around them and carry on) but because there's nothing to do in there. 

Fatigue is starting to set in with myself now. 

 

This morning I unlocked another good few swathes of the map, found a third merchant, another cave, some very Doom-esq looking areas, a few secret areas etc. 

 

Found new maps, plants and materials etc.. 

 

But... 

 

 

The caves just aren't interesting to explore and now as well as the usual mini boss or bosses lurking in the depths, the game has started throwing in 1 hit kill foes. 

 

The new areas seem a remix of the starting areas.. another lake, only this one has multiple dragons lurking in it. 

 

 

Despite finding multiple merchants and blacksmiths, crafting guides, materials, smithing stones etc, my level 43 character is still stuck using the same armour and the same base level, only upgraded in attack strength and I have been playing for over 20 hrs now. 

 

 

The games art direction in character, environment etc design is fantastic, but there isn't enough to reward expiration and the reused art assets only further fuels the feeling over over familiarity. 

 

 

I think they would of been better to drop the open world aspect, it's adding very little of real worth to the overall experience for myself. 

 

 

[Lostdragon]

George's involvement explained. 

 

 

*You’d be forgiven for not having total clarity on Martin’s role in making Elden Ring. Marketing campaigns have promised ‘a new world created by Hidetaka Miyazaki and George R.R. Martin’. Martin himself refers to his work on the project as “worldbuilding”, which matches FromSoftware’s characterisation of his involvement.

 

“George R.R. Martin wrote the mythos for Elden Ring, creating a history set long before the events of the game,” said producer Yasuhiro Kitao in a FromSoftware interview released by Bandai Namco. “With that foundation, we then created the story, the world, and the actual gameplay.”

According to the New Yorker, Miyazaki deliberately restricted Martin’s contributions to backstory rather than script. “In our games, the story must always serve the player experience,” said the director. “If [Martin] had written the game’s story, I would have worried that we might have to drift from that. I wanted him to be able to write freely and not to feel restrained by some obscure mechanic that might have to change in development.

 

 

https://www.gamesradar.com/george-rr-martin-attributes-almost-all-the-credit-for-elden-rings-success-to-miyazaki-and-his-team/

[Lostdragon]

Wrapping up play for a few days now. 

 

This afternoon's play really highlighted what I find works and doesn't in Elden Ring. 

 

An awful lot of time spent wasted exploring above and below ground and with it frustrating platform jumping, only to be rewarded with a new pose or Talisman. 

 

 

From really needed to balance out the risk/reward mechanic in a lot of areas, the cave levels just scream filler.. 

 

 

But on the flipside.. 

 

 

Encountered my second true boss... 

 

GODRICK THE GRAFTED. 

 

Literally hand me my ass, let alone those coperating with me, his second stage of the fight is pure From Software and just glorious. 

 

 

I just can't shake the feeling they've tried to be over ambitious this time with the game itself. 

 

 

The lore isn't gripping me like any of the Soul's games - had the same issue with Sekiro) and they appear to of gone for quantity over quality with the NPC characters. 

 

Found yet another merchant, again nothing of worth to buy. 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 1, 2022 by Lostdragon

[Razzie.P]

Yeah, seems like my takeaways from my playthrough so far is pretty much the same as yours.   I'm a couple of "true" bosses past Godrick, and still feels like 2 experiences.  At times, I wanna shout "best game ever!!!" and then I'm back to that boring ass (but amazing) open world stuff.   And I don't think it's the game's fault, really, I just don't enjoy wandering around aimlessly going "ooh..." and "ahh..."  But for gamers who DO love that sort of thing, BEST GAME EVER!!! I suppose.

 

I'm at the point now where I'll see ruins or a cave and think "no point."  I'll just mark it and maybe come back later.

 

Even still, though, I'm enjoying it overall, and have a feeling it's gonna be one of my favorites when all's said and done.

[Lostdragon]

Hit n miss playing over the past few days. 

 

Saturday was simply a grind fest day, just wasn't feeling it, at all ?

 

 

Took down Godrick Sunday evening. 

 

 

Since then, opened up a lot of the main map and misc areas, found Patches, some sweet new weapons and finally some useful armour sets etc. 

 

 

Most of the new areas are really handing me my ass and then some, need to grind and work on my character build a lot more. 

 

 

But it's feeling a lot more like a Soul's game now. 

[zzip]

I encountered these "vortexes" (for lack of a better word) near the Castle Morne area.   When I first approached, a pop-up appeared that told me how to use them, but I closed the pop-up too fast,  and now I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with them?   Can anyone tell me?

[Austin]

12 minutes ago, zzip said:

I encountered these "vortexes" (for lack of a better word) near the Castle Morne area.   When I first approached, a pop-up appeared that told me how to use them, but I closed the pop-up too fast,  and now I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with them?   Can anyone tell me?

Not really sure what you are talking about. Do you mean the vertical wind things? If it's what I'm thinking of, when you're on your horse you just press the jump button and you'll be whisked super high into the sky (to get to higher areas).

[zzip]

11 minutes ago, Austin said:

Not really sure what you are talking about. Do you mean the vertical wind things?

That's probably it

 

12 minutes ago, Austin said:

If it's what I'm thinking of, when you're on your horse you just press the jump button and you'll be whisked super high into the sky (to get to higher areas).

Ah, I didn't try the horse!    thanks