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

[Lost Dragon]

Sweet.

 

Looks like i missed a lot on my 1st play through.

 

Just picked up the Black Church outfit...as well.

 

Playing with 99 insight this time and the townsfolk i encounter are saying new phrases and i am hearing new audio in places.

 

Game still feels fresh enough as well.

 

I had feared over familarity with locations and bosses..

 

 

I did consider picking up Dark Souls remaster on PS4 as it's been years since i played that, but thought i might find the combat a little clunky, having spent so long on Bloodborne and DSIII of late.

[Gentlegamer]

The only reason to play Dark Souls Remastered is for PVP.

 

The original releases are superior otherwise.

[Austin]

Dark Souls Remastered is superior.. when strictly playing non-Switch console versions of the first Dark Souls. Original PC version is another story.

[Gentlegamer]

[Lost Dragon]

There are 4 cords?

 

I don't want to kill a baby just to get 1 of them..

[Gentlegamer]

There's 4 cords.

 

It's ok to kill the baby, it's an Old One.

[Austin]

Right.. I've seen that video. It's good and makes fair points, but it is also commenting from the perspective of primarily playing the PC original after the community hack, then moving on to the PC Remastered version. It barely applies to console-exclusive players.

 

Strictly comparing the console versions, you're looking at going from 30fps (at the best of times) with the PS3 and 360 originals, to a mostly solid 60 in the PS4 and Xbox One with the Remastered version. Then there are the higher in-game resolutions and a few quality of life improvements.

[Lost Dragon]

Taken a similar step now on PS4 as i did on PS3 after spending a lot of time on the Souls games..

 

Trying something similar..but different.

 

On PS3 it was Dragon's Dogma which was doing ok, till i hit a game breaking bug.

 

On PS4 it's Lords Of The Fallen, which i had received as part of PS+ some months ago, but never really tried as had yet to finish Bloodborne and DS3.

 

 

Art direction it's a little generic..

 

I do like the game mechanics..combat feels..heavier (cannot say more realistic. .i have never been in a sword fight with a Demonic Creature etc) and i like the changes to risk/reward..

 

Your experience points you lost on death , start ticking down until retrieved..save points let you bank experience or keep going and increasing multiplier, but if you die...

 

 

We shall see..it's a freebie so no loss if i tire of it soon.

[Lost Dragon]

:-)) Well that did not take long.

 

Reached second boss on Lords and Nahhh..just not feeling it.

 

Maybe it's because i am coming off the back of the fast paced combat of Bloodborne or fact the bosses just feel so generic...i honestly could not say..

 

But deleted it and fired Bloodborne back up.

[Austin]

I've heard mixed things on Lords of the Fallen.

[Lost Dragon]

I knew Lords Of The Fallen was going to be very linear.. You play as 1 character, story spoon fed to you,came keen to give you powerful weaponry almost from the get go..here..have a magical Gauntlet for projectile attacks..

 

Graphically, it was text book genetic from locations i saw which killed the desire to explore and wait,was that Lens Flare i saw? :-))

 

 

But boss fights felt such a chore that i made no attempt to use 1 of the gameplay differences to Souls..

 

If you don't collect your disappearing experience spark, you can stay near it and it slowly recharges your health, so it can be used as an extra health boost in a fight.

 

Maybe the fights got better further in?

 

But those i encountered lacked imagination.

 

Big chap rises out of ground, heavily armed, circle each other, get in a few hits, he raises a shield around him, summons weaker foes, fight them, back to fighting him, rinse and repeat..

 

Not worth the time.

[xenomorpher]

Because of this thread I decided to revisit Demon's Souls instead of buying Bloodborne. I found out about the item duplication glitch and used it just a little to get by so I can explore and goof around with a new build. I planned on getting re-accustomed to the game by doing this and switch back to my original character. Ended up that I played 8 hours straight, which is something I haven't even remotely done since I was a teenager. I think the longest I've played a game recently was two hours. This game is still like crack and challenging even with cheating. I think the different worlds really helps, and I still haven't been to two of them yet. They REALLY need to do this formula again.

[zzip]

I played Bloodborne first, and then the Dark Souls games in reverse order because that's how they released on PS4.

 

Unpopular opinion: Dark Souls 2 is the best game in the series. It was also the toughest in the early game, but it got better later on.

[Gentlegamer]

Because of this thread I decided to revisit Demon's Souls instead of buying Bloodborne. I found out about the item duplication glitch and used it just a little to get by so I can explore and goof around with a new build. I planned on getting re-accustomed to the game by doing this and switch back to my original character. Ended up that I played 8 hours straight, which is something I haven't even remotely done since I was a teenager. I think the longest I've played a game recently was two hours. This game is still like crack and challenging even with cheating. I think the different worlds really helps, and I still haven't been to two of them yet. They REALLY need to do this formula again.

 

You have a heart of gold, don't let them take it from you.

[Lost Dragon]

Thread bump but..

 

Been playing nothing but Nioh of late.

 

Probably the best of the Souls clones so far i have played, more depth to the combat, but a tad rougher around the edges, graphically.

 

I'm eternally grateful to the various kind souls (no pun intended) who assisted me online with it, boss fights espically.

 

Just completed main campain this evening.

[Austin]

Good time to bump--I recently tried Blooborne for the first time and have since finished it three times. Excellent game overall, it's easy to see why it's so highly regarded.

[Lost Dragon]

Good time to bump--I recently tried Blooborne for the first time and have since finished it three times. Excellent game overall, it's easy to see why it's so highly regarded.

For myself, it's THE PS4 exclusive that justified going with Sony this generation.

 

I came away loathing Uncharted 4 and dissapointed in Infamous and it's expansion...

 

 

Bloodborne did for PS4 what Demon's Souls did for Playstation 3.

 

If Sony can secure something on par with these as an exclusive for PS5, take my money.

 

I end up playing less games these days, but putting so much into those i do fall in love with.

[Austin]

Yeah. It was good to the point that if From announces a sequel for the PS5, that system will likely be a day one purchase for me.

 

And it's gotten me immediately interested in other Fromsoftware games (like the one that was just announced at E3). I liked the Dark Souls games, but Bloodborne tipped the scale to becoming an outright fan.

 

Will be trying to pick up Sekiro soon-ish.

 

I actually have Nioh as well (speaking of that) but probably won't fire it up for a bit. After binging on Bloodborne for a few weeks then Dark Souls 1 just before that, I need to take a retro break for a bit.

[Lord Thag]

I wasn't big on either Nioh or Lords of Ragnar Lothrbrok, err, the Fallen :-P

Both games felt like Dark Souls fan fiction. Playable but lacking the creative spark that makes the originals so good.

I loved Demon Souls and DS1. DS 2 was ok, but not great, and DS 3 is brilliant, by far my favorite. Great games.

I am less than enchanted with Sekiro though. It's extra hard, and it forces you to play one specific way. Stealth is almost secondary too, as it never works on any of the bosses. It's very well done, but I find it not all that enjoyable. The DS games were tough but fair. Sekiro feels tough and cheap, a lot of the time, even though I can always figure it out and get farther in. You're also constantly thrown against cheap minibosses, which breaks up the flow of exploration. I can play it, and I'm most of the way through, but I have to say... probably will never t ouch it again when I beat it. This one was their bridge too far.

[Lost Dragon]

I'm still having very cold feet about Sekiro myself.

 

No online play.

 

You have just confirmed fears it's taken a similar route to D.S II...minibosses just for sake of it and perhaps unnecessarily difficult.

 

It just doesn't sound an enjoyable and more importantly, rewarding experience.

[Austin]

Well, so much for a "retro break". I purchased both the original Dark Souls (PS3/360, 2011 version) and Dark Souls II (PS3/360, non-Scholar) to see the differences from the later versions I am familiar with. I ended up blowing pretty much the entire weekend playing through Dark Souls again, as well as clocking a few hours into Dark Souls II after.

 

Playing Dark Souls 1 completely stock on the PS3 (non-patched), I was surprised to see how many differences there are compared to the latest patched version (as well as the Remaster version). A lot of the differences simply come down less or more of certain things (less souls, more souls, bigger stats, less stats, etc.), but that can significantly change how you progress through the game. Here are the changes I picked out/noticed during my playthrough:

 

- Enemies give far less souls. This makes it harder to level up quickly.

- Less shards are available in the world. This makes it harder to upgrade weapons quickly.

- Certain enemy types don't give souls at all (whereas they do in later versions). E.g., ghosts, slimes, skeletons, mosquitoes, etc. New Londo and the Catacombs were especially depressing to go through because you pretty much have to kill enemies to survive in these areas, but they give nothing in return.

- Some enemies seem to be more tank-like and stagger less. The kick move in particular, useful against shield-wielding enemies in later versions, is nearly useless here.

- Enemies will be aggravated from much farther away. A good example is the Capra Demons on the descent to the Demon Ruins. In the later versions you can nearly get in their faces before they decide to do anything, while in this early version they will start running at you before you even see them. This makes the area much more threatening (and honestly, more exciting to go through).

- Bosses seem more aggressive but that could just be me (or it could be an effect amplified by the poor framerate). I died a lot in particular at the Quelaag and Bell Gargoyle bosses, whereas I normally rip right through them in the Remastered version.
- There are red phantom enemy types in the Painted World that were removed in later patched versions (requires you to be human to see them, but there are a lot of them). There may be more of these at other parts of the game (can anyone confirm?) but I will admit to playing through the game mostly Hollowed.

- Items fed to Frampt give different values than in later versions. Some things are worth far less, while some other things are worth a lot more (throwing daggers and prism stones for instance are worth 100 a piece!).

- Camera and lock on is even more wonky than the patched versions. Some enemies at a few specific moments also glitched out like crazy.

 

This information obviously won't be news for folks that bought the game at launch, but if you're like me and started many years late, this older version is very interesting to experience. This is especially so if you want a greater challenge than what you may be accustomed to in later versions. I won't recommend new players start here, but for people that want the greatest challenge with the first Dark Souls, this is absolutely the way to do it.

 

-----

 

All right, Dark Souls II. I had only previously played through Scholar of the First Sin up until now so I was really interested to try the original game after hearing some people say there are differences between the two. I just defeated the second boss and have been surprised at all the enemy placement differences. Some changes are subtle, like moving an enemy from one wall in one version to another wall in the other. Others are much more drastic with completely different enemy types and layouts. Some of the tougher enemies (like the big ogre types in the Forest of Fallen Giants) are completely missing in the original game. Some rooms have been much easier as a result, while others have been more challenging. So far it's been a fun experience playing through the game again. I am constantly expecting things to be one way (the Scholar edition way), only to have them be totally different and be pleasantly surprised. I'll follow-up on this as I get farther into the game, but as of this moment it seems the original Dark Souls II is the more welcoming way to experience the game for the first time.

Edited June 17, 2019 by Austin

[Lost Dragon]

I found myself returning to Bloodborne this evening, rather than trying to get into Resident Evil  2 Remake or start on anything else in my pile of shame, so please don't tempt me to back into DS I or II ?.

 

 

It's a curious thing, whilst i am not tempted by Sekiro and really not sure yet about Elven Ring..Bloodborne has become my comfort zone From Software title of late.

 

If the optical drive on my PS3 had not died,  i swear i would of returned to Demon's Souls right about now.

[Lost Dragon]

Still chipping away at Bloodborne NG+

 

Really shouldn't of attempted Micolash yesterday after doing 7 nightshifts.

 

My head was not in the right place for a tedious chase set piece with those annoying puppet type foes constantly getting on my tits and Micolash doing 1 hit kills.

 

 

Still....

 

He has been taken care of ?

 

This play through i appear to have unlocked a optional boss i missed on my original playthrough:

 

Amygdala (Nightmare Frontier).

 

 

Myself and a player i had summoned (getting harder and harder to find people joining for co-op these days ?) were hacking away for ages, barely dented it.

[Gentlegamer]

Have to break Amy's leg then beat on its head for massive damage, if I recall.

[Lost Dragon]

13 hours ago, Gentlegamer said:

Have to break Amy's leg then beat on its head for massive damage, if I recall.

? I was totally unprepared for the boss fight as literally stumbled into area by accident whilst exploring level for any items i previously missed.

 

Low on blood vials, runes set to capture maximum Blood Echoes,  you name it.

 

I was just hacking away at it's tail for the most part.

 

Surprised i lasted as long as i did.