Soulslike - Discussion, News, Memes
This is a community for discussion, news, and memes pertaining to the video game sub-genre "soulslike".
Given Lemmy's size, the definition of soulslike may be treated relatively loosely. While games like the numerous FromSoft titles, the recent Star Wars Jedi games, Lies of P, Nioh and similar games should be the focus, games that incorporate soulslike elements - like Hollow Knight and Blasphemous, for example - may also be discussed here.
Basic Lemmy-quette applies. Additionally, since flairs don't exist yet, please do make sure to include a marker to denote what game your post is about in square brackets for clarity's sake. An example could be:
[BB] This enemy is so difficult!
or
[DS1] Anyone struggling with the gargoyles?
Friends:
Should you have any questions, please do let me know.
- Druid
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I've played almost all of my Souls games on console. I have a PS4, which I got from a family member for either 0€ or years of IT support. I only played Lies of P on Steam (got it on a giveaway here, thanks).
But I'm not a happy console gamer. For years I have wanted to get a gaming PC soon™. The biggest reason I want to switch to PC isn't even Sony's nonsense. I want to play mods. Seriously, there are so many amazing mods for Souls games, especially Elden Ring, and I really, really want to play them. First and foremost, Randomizers, but Convergence also looks amazing too.
I won't have as much time to play this weekend; I will be even busier than during the week. But if I find time to play: I'm at the end of my SL1 run of DS3, and I'm having a lot of fun. Only four bosses remain, but those four Bosses are Soul of Cinder, Friede, Midir, and Gael. So maybe my playtime is going to double, since those bosses seem to be really hard at SL1. Soul of Cinder was kicking my ass up and down his arena yesterday. In a normal playthrough, Soul of Cinder isn't really a problem; he doesn't have that much HP, and you can just tank his nonsense, but at SL1 you have to actually engage with his, quite frankly, ludicrous movepool.
Also, I have to say I'm enjoying DS3 more and more with each playthrough. On my first playthrough, I was a bit disappointed in the game; it didn't meet my expectations. But on repeat playthroughs I'm getting more and more into it, and I'm vibing more and more with it. Some of the moments in the game are just so cool: Soul of Cinder, Gael, and Friede. And at SL1 I'm now enjoying parts I didn't previously, such as the Demon Prince fight. I still think their visual design is subpar, but the fight is thoroughly enjoyable when you actually engage with it.
💙 My pleasure.
The day consoles allow for mods, outside very few exceptions like Skyrim, will probably also be the day physical games return. So never, sadly. It's so sad that so many developers turn a blind eye to mods in general.
Sounds tough, your playthrough. I've not gotten that far in DS3, but judging by what the game offered in the earlier fights in terms of complexity, I can imagine it only getting harder. Especially on SL1. How's the journey been thus far?
It's cool that you're enjoying your time with DS3 more now than you did before. I've often had the experience that repeat playthroughs of a game kinda made me like it less, but soulslikes usually had the opposite effect for me.
I think I've enjoyed every Souls game on a repeat playthrough even more except Bloodborne, which I still enjoy exactly as much as on my first playthrough (that's super high praise since I was blown away on my first playthrough).
Early and mid-game went super smooth since I had a pretty detailed plan with tons of contingencies. I did Dancer early with a +7 Broadsword. That took me a bit of time, but way less than on my first playthrough. And with the +10 Broadsword I got from that, I destroyed the rest of the early game and mid-game. Pontiff and Champion Gundyr took a moment, since I never parried them before, but with parrying they get totally defanged. Seriously, Champion Gundyr goes from a pretty hard Boss to a super easy boss. Pontiff also gets easy, but I had to realize how super early I had to parry.
I expected to get stuck on either Aldrich or Twin Princes, but I first tried Aldrich (after practicing in the Anri quest), and in the Princes fight, I just had to find the rhythm (and use the, for this fight, busted Dragonslayer's Axe).
The first real difficulty I encountered with Demon Prince. When you have almost no margin of error, this fight becomes brutal. I think this boss took me more tries than all the Cinders combined.
I also raged against the NPC bosses. Halflight almost got me to tear my hair out. I eventually got him with Pontiff’s Greatsword. I also resisted the temptation of using a very easy cheese, where you poison him and he doesn’t notice you. I’m definitely doing that in the future, though. I beat him once "legit", and now I’m going to cheese him every time. Gravetender+Wolf was also irritating, but less so than Gravetender, and the cheese for that one honestly looks more painful than the actual fight.
Now I only have the four hardest Bosses in the game left… Cinder on a normal playthrough is honestly probably easier than Twin Princes, but not on SL1. He has such a large and fast moveset. He is the roll catch champion.
Of the other three, I’m least afraid of Gael — he is probably going to make me eat those words, since I haven’t even tried the fight yet on SL1. Friede’s 3-phase fight terrifies me, but I have multiple contingency plans for her. I also found this 74-page guide on her.
I’m not afraid of Midir, but of Midir’s camera. Since DS3’s lock-on is garbage — at least when compared to ER. Since I don’t claw grip (I like my hands) and I don’t have any back buttons, I need the lock-on, but in the Midir fight, the lock-on can just decide to not work anymore almost randomly.
^I^ ^will^ ^never^ ^say^ ^a^ ^rude^ ^word^ ^against^ ^Bayle’s^ ^camera^ ^again.^
Souls fans are on another level. Holy fuck.
Sounds like a pretty smooth ride overall. Glad it's going well.