Arcesius' Pursuit of Completion

[Joe Dubz]

As always, your write up is second to none here Arc! Sounds like you are making really good progress. I just finished world 3 on normal last night and will probably use a similar approach to yours in order to step up my game.

 

3 hours ago, Arcesius said:

I'm using your comment here as an incentive to write a little update about this game  Just a heads-up though about the last part.. No, there is no cheese for No Pee Breaks.. But it is "only" about 2.5 hours long. The hardest trophy will probably be beating 30 songs in Endless mode though. As far as I know, after each round you get a random negative modifier that you can remove with earned currency during that mode, but you cannot afford to remove every single modifier. That run might be pretty tough. Haven't unlocked the mode yet, so we'll see! 

Ah interesting, 2.5 hours is rough but totally doable. Hoping to get Mrs. Dubz in on the action to alleviate some of the burden ? It wouldn't be half bad with someone to switch off with every few songs. Any idea if either of those 2 setlists are set to Hard difficulty or what?

 

3 hours ago, Arcesius said:

You also get to recruit more party members. But... I am only using one non-starting character... Maybe I should experiment a bit more, but I found a party that works well, covers all elemental bases, heals well... why change things up if it's working? 

 

Funny enough, if you are using the same characters as in this GIF, I have stuck with the same crew as well! As you mentioned, everything is pretty well covered with this crew so I see no reason to change it just yet. 

 

At any rate, cheers and good luck playing through this beast of a game!

[Arcesius]

17 hours ago, Joe Dubz said:

As always, your write up is second to none here Arc! Sounds like you are making really good progress. I just finished world 3 on normal last night and will probably use a similar approach to yours in order to step up my game.

 

Very nice! I want to ask though, what control scheme are you using? Just curious ?

 

I have now World 1 - 3 completely done on Hard, and missing 1 song on Hard in World 4... Currently clearing songs on Hard in World 5  I don't have much time to play though, and will again be gone over the weekend. Real life getting in the way!! ?

 

 

17 hours ago, Joe Dubz said:

Ah interesting, 2.5 hours is rough but totally doable. Hoping to get Mrs. Dubz in on the action to alleviate some of the burden  It wouldn't be half bad with someone to switch off with every few songs. Any idea if either of those 2 setlists are set to Hard difficulty or what?

 

Nah, you can play both the No Pee Breaks and the Endless Mode on Easy. So the songs should not be a problem. However, for No Pee Breaks, the enemy level is set to be the average level of your party + 1, so I think it's not a "switch your brain off" type of challenge... we'll see soon enough!   

 

 

17 hours ago, Joe Dubz said:

Funny enough, if you are using the same characters as in this GIF, I have stuck with the same crew as well! As you mentioned, everything is pretty well covered with this crew so I see no reason to change it just yet. 

 

At any rate, cheers and good luck playing through this beast of a game!

 

Yeah that's my party ? I should probably practice with the other characters as well, especially since we'll probably have to use all 8 characters for Endless Mode if the negative modifiers start to stack up... 

 

Good luck to you too! And if you have any questions whatsoever, this is the place to discuss  For example, each world has 4 sidequests to unlock... did you figure out how? ?

[Joe Dubz]

8 hours ago, Arcesius said:

Very nice! I want to ask though, what control scheme are you using? Just curious 

Hmm so I have been using  &  for the left half, then  &  for the right half. I also use the arrows with the timing on them, the ones that turn red and yellow for the 1/4 and 1/16th notes, respectively. It has been working pretty well for me thus far! Otherwise, I didn't modify anything with the control scheme otherwise. I just left it on whatever it was by default! I must say, I feel like all these years of playing Guitar Hero and Rock Band (plus the occasional RL guitar ?) have really honed my timing skills ??

 

8 hours ago, Arcesius said:

Good luck to you too! And if you have any questions whatsoever, this is the place to discuss  For example, each world has 4 sidequests to unlock... did you figure out how? 

 

I certainly appreciate that my man, especially considering there is not much info out there otherwise!! You know it's rough when even the guides on Steam are practically nonexistent ? Yes I think I figured the sidequests out, that's when you have to beat the minibosses for each level right? I still need to go back to the first level or 2 to finish them off, once I realized that's how it works, I think I got every single one after a certain point!

 

That does make me feel better tho, about being able to play the long playlists on easy. The game is kind of a pushover at that level, but I'm sure the modifiers and +1 enemies will still make it a great challenge! 

 

Sounds like you are making great progress tho! I finished the last boss last night, did everything on Normal so far. I did try the first song on Hard, and honestly I didn't think it was much worse than Normal was. I'm sure I'll be singing a different tune once I get to the harder songs!! I'm honestly considering swapping this in to the UR challenge, although I want to see how the rest of hard mode goes first.

 

[Arcesius]

7 minutes ago, Joe Dubz said:

I must say, I feel like all these years of playing Guitar Hero and Rock Band (plus the occasional RL guitar ) have really honed my timing skills 

 

Ah you have an advantage over me there then! ? Actually, you could play the entire game with a Guitar Hero Guitar! Could even color the arrows to match the frets ? do you still have one? I could imagine that it'd be super fun that way.

 

 

7 minutes ago, Joe Dubz said:

Sounds like you are making great progress tho! I finished the last boss last night, did everything on Normal so far. I did try the first song on Hard, and honestly I didn't think it was much worse than Normal was. I'm sure I'll be singing a different tune once I get to the harder songs!! I'm honestly considering swapping this in to the UR challenge, although I want to see how the rest of hard mode goes first.

 

Yeah the first songs on Hard are like a 6-6.5 difficulty rating. You probably won't have too much trouble overall though I'd imagine, being used to these types of games.

 

Personally I'm struggling with the 8.5-9.5 difficulty songs ? but nothing that can't be overcome with some more practice! ?

[Joe Dubz]

1 hour ago, Arcesius said:

Ah you have an advantage over me there then! Actually, you could play the entire game with a Guitar Hero Guitar! Could even color the arrows to match the frets do you still have one? I could imagine that it'd be super fun that way.

OMG Arc, could that truly be?!! I feel like I might be able to crush this game if I could use my trusty RB "axe"!! I sure do, still pay Rock Band 4 somewhat regularly, with the wifey when our friends come over... I can do all but the hardest songs on Expert on those games, so I'm wondering if that will translate well to this game with the guitar too?! I will definitely be giving this a try later and I'll let you know how it goes ?

[Arcesius]

Alright this post is going to be a brief summary of some stuff I figured out while messing around with Endless Mode in The Metronomicon. Information about this game is really scarce, and so I wanted to quickly write down some things I found. 

 

I have otherwise done everything in the game, including completing all Story songs on Hard difficulty, all Arena Challenges on Hard difficulty, and even finished the 2.5 hour 50 song playlist without pausing the game...  

 

 

@Joe Dubz and @Baker, I tag you here since you are playing or will soon play this game and I think the following is crucial for Endless mode: 

 

• The best STR and MAG gear drops from Flavius in Adventure mode (The Moon boss), so fight him repeteadly until you have everything you need. 
   
• By completing each of the Boss Rush sidequests in Adventure mode, you get a piece of equipment. If you equip that and take into Endless Mode, you will fight Flavius on song 10 and, if you beat him, will unlock him as a playable character. This is important because you really need as many allies as possible if you want to beat 30 songs in endless mode, and Flavius is really good! 
   
• You will receive one negative modifier at random from song 1 to 10, two from song 11 to 20 and three from song 21 to 30... Ideally, you want to reach song 20+ with one party of four, and then switch to a fresh party for the last 10 or less songs. 
  Depending on the modifiers you get, this might not be possible however, since you can only remove one each turn... 
   
• After each song, you get to buy one single negative or positive perk before starting the next song. Initially, there is no option to remove one of the negative modifiers. Now, when you finish Endless (either die or quit), all credits that you have earned (and not spent) will be saved. Before starting the next run, you can purchase different permanent perks. One for each character and three global ones. One single perk costs 10k credits... 
  Now, the "More Options" global perk does two things: instead of 7 you get 10 perks to choose from after each song and, more importantly, it adds the option to remove a modifier! This is absolutely necessary, so make sure to purchase this one. 
   
• Once you have purchased 4 perks for 10k credits each, you unlock a fourth global perk that you can purchase... "Second Chance". This makes it so that you can purchase 2 perks after each song instead of one. Also very, very, very useful!

I have just unlocked "Second Chance", and my PB so far has been 22 songs in Endless Mode. This is really tough, way more than expected! ? Will continue tomorrow if possible  I can already see that plat! 

 

You all have a nice weekend! Hopefully I'll catch you with my review soon, depending on how my next attempts go and how the RNG treats me... 

Edited August 14, 2021 by Arcesius

[AJ_Radio]

Interesting. Never heard of this game before. I’ll have to look at gameplay footage when I have the time.

[Baker]

I’ve played The Metronomicon for about 15 minutes just to see what game is like and.. I don’t know if I will enjoy this enough. Staring at button inputs the entire time isn’t something for me. Ofcourse I haven’t touched the RPG part of it so I’ll await your review. ?

[KindaSabbath]

This game has piqued my interest quite a bit after reading a few of your updates. I do love rhythm games and it seems like the fusion with RPG elements makes for a really unique experience. Going to keep an eye out for your review and then maybe look into it some more! 

[Joe Dubz]

@Arcesius thank you very much for sharing all this fantastic info! Wow I must say I didn't realize how intricate endless mode is. I appreciate you paving the way and figuring this all out, I'm sure this will be extremely helpful when I give it a go! 

 

I have just a handful of songs left in the Arena, then I'll be attempting to tackle endless and the no pee breaks one next...

 

For the latter, that will be a bit more tricky for me to find the 2.5 hours uninterrupted to get this done! Would you say it took you about that long, out of curiosity? I usually have about 1.5 or 2 hours to game at night when the Mrs. goes to bed, so I guess I'll need to sacrifice some sleep to get that part done ????

[Arcesius]

 @Baker @KindaSabbath I'll make sure to write a review that can help you decide ?

But let me say this... If you don't enjoy the gameplay, don't play the game. The RPG elements are there and they are an important part of the game, but they won't save the game from not being fun if you don't enjoy the rhythm-game aspect. 

 

Conversely, I think the game can also be fun for someone with experience in rhythm games. The gameplay will probably feel easy then, but the other aspects can keep the game interesting.

 

 

9 hours ago, Joe Dubz said:

@Arcesius thank you very much for sharing all this fantastic info! Wow I must say I didn't realize how intricate endless mode is. I appreciate you paving the way and figuring this all out, I'm sure this will be extremely helpful when I give it a go! 

 

Yeah I would have approached this differently had I known myself ? I could only go for one attempt yesterday and cleared 26 songs without changing my party. Then died like an idiot because.. well, I didn't change my party ?

 

9 hours ago, Joe Dubz said:

For the latter, that will be a bit more tricky for me to find the 2.5 hours uninterrupted to get this done! Would you say it took you about that long, out of curiosity? I usually have about 1.5 or 2 hours to game at night when the Mrs. goes to bed, so I guess I'll need to sacrifice some sleep to get that part done ?

 

It's exactly 2.5 h. You cannot be slower or faster. The songs don't end when you kill the miniboss (they do in Endless), but instead you need to survive each song in its full lenght. You are basically playing Adventure mode in one sitting, without menuing or breaks.

 

I was in the same boat as you though... Usually I have 1-2hours to play, but Ms. Arc went with our son to a party so I had 3h on Sat afternoon to do this ? I was also worried that I wouldn't find the time...

 

But it's very easy. So one attempt id all you need ? good luck!

[Joe Dubz]

@Baker @KindaSabbath I would have to wholeheartedly agree with @Arcesius here. While the game may not be for everyone, if you even slightly enjoy rhythm games then this game is such a blast!! It's actually pretty accessible and not too difficult on Easy, however you do have to play through just about everything on the hardest setting, so you would essentially need to git gud if you plan to plat it. The RPG aspect is part of what drew me to this, however having rhythm and proper timing to be able to survive is essential. 

 

7 hours ago, Arcesius said:

Yeah I would have approached this differently had I known myself I could only go for one attempt yesterday and cleared 26 songs without changing my party. Then died like an idiot because.. well, I didn't change my party

 

 

It's exactly 2.5 h. You cannot be slower or faster. The songs don't end when you kill the miniboss (they do in Endless), but instead you need to survive each song in its full lenght. You are basically playing Adventure mode in one sitting, without menuing or breaks.

 

I was in the same boat as you though... Usually I have 1-2hours to play, but Ms. Arc went with our son to a party so I had 3h on Sat afternoon to do this I was also worried that I wouldn't find the time...

 

But it's very easy. So one attempt id all you need good luck!

Aww man Arc, you are so very close to nabbing this one!! That's pretty impressive how quickly you appeared to breeze through all this; I've been struggling with a few of the Arena Challenges, I honestly didn't need to repeat songs more than once or twice on Adventure mode as opposed to this one! But I'm down to only 3 left, so I should be able to start tackling the other modes. I think for me I might end up going for the Endless stuff first, until I am able to have the 2.5 hours needed for the other one. 

 

Again man, very grateful for the help and all your research! Did I see somewhere that I need to enter some sort of code to access the No Pee Breaks playlist? 

 

[Arcesius]

16 minutes ago, Joe Dubz said:

Aww man Arc, you are so very close to nabbing this one!!

 

I literally nabbed it about 45 minutes ago ? My first attempt after the 26 songs yesterday... Feels good! 

 

 

16 minutes ago, Joe Dubz said:

That's pretty impressive how quickly you appeared to breeze through all this; I've been struggling with a few of the Arena Challenges, I honestly didn't need to repeat songs more than once or twice on Adventure mode as opposed to this one! But I'm down to only 3 left, so I should be able to start tackling the other modes. I think for me I might end up going for the Endless stuff first, until I am able to have the 2.5 hours needed for the other one. 

 

Yeah I haven't played many rhythm games, and those that I have play completely different... Beat Saber, Crypt of the NecroDancer and Thumper are all very different, and not comparable with The Metronomicon... So initially I had probably more trouble than you did, and needed to get used to the gameplay. 

 

But eventually... it just clicked. I didn't need to think anymore about the button presses... it just happened automatically ? Always a very nice feeling when you notice you are getting better at what you are doing. 

 

In any case... some of the arena challenges are no joke!! Are you down to the last 3 or did you not do them in order? The last ones are relatively easy, especially since you can choose your own party... you've got this!!   

 

 

16 minutes ago, Joe Dubz said:

Again man, very grateful for the help and all your research! Did I see somewhere that I need to enter some sort of code to access the No Pee Breaks playlist? 

 

Hey no worries! I also took two screenshots of my parties for Endless, including gear and spells, so I can share with you guys how I approached this and how I used my characters  

 

As for No Pee Breaks... You need to go into Story Mode and then enter 4x Touchpad L1. This will start the playlist with your current party and selected difficulty settings! 

[Joe Dubz]

HUZZAH, congrats Arc!! I had no doubt in my mind you'd be popping that plat soon ????

 

4 minutes ago, Arcesius said:

In any case... some of the arena challenges are no joke!! Are you down to the last 3 or did you not do them in order? The last ones are relatively easy, especially since you can choose your own party... you've got this!!   

Hmm so it ended up being more of a haphazardly approach I took... I'm missing 2 from the last tier, and one from the tier prior which is just the easy 3 songs in a row... The notable ones I'm thinking of were the no cure one, as well as the one in last tier where you are dizzy and spinning fighting the robot I think? The latter has been tricky but I think I just need to go back and play that song without all the craziness, just to better anticipate what is coming! I am confident I will be through those before I go to sleep tonight ?

 

7 minutes ago, Arcesius said:

I haven't played many rhythm games, and those that I have play completely different... Beat Saber, Crypt of the NecroDancer and Thumper are all very different, and not comparable with The Metronomicon... So initially I had probably more trouble than you did, and needed to get used to the gameplay. 

 

But eventually... it just clicked. I didn't need to think anymore about the button presses... it just happened automatically  Always a very nice feeling when you notice you are getting better at what you are doing. 

 

I think what you said here speaks VOLUMES... It is soooooo freakin satisfying when you finally get it and it becomes 2nd nature! Breezing through some of those tricky note sections is a feeling quite unlike any other. This game is so well done, fantastic soundtrack, just such a unique idea in general!! Very highly recommend it if anyone thinks they are up for the challenge. 

 

I am very much interested to see your party and perk choices too! Looking forward to reading your review and thanks again bud ?

[KindaSabbath]

On 16/08/2021 at 6:40 AM, Arcesius said:

 @Baker @KindaSabbath I'll make sure to write a review that can help you decide

But let me say this... If you don't enjoy the gameplay, don't play the game. The RPG elements are there and they are an important part of the game, but they won't save the game from not being fun if you don't enjoy the rhythm-game aspect. 

 

Conversely, I think the game can also be fun for someone with experience in rhythm games. The gameplay will probably feel easy then, but the other aspects can keep the game interesting.

 

Firstly congrats on the Plat! You just absolutely destroy these rare platinums, it's pretty damn impressive!

 

I haven't played a bunch of rhythm games but I love the ones that I have. Aaero is one of my favourite games of all time (don't laugh at me, it's awesome!). Thumper was fantastic! Other than that, I used to shred guitar hero as a young gun - many years ago!

 

I'm also learning guitar. Not sure how much any of this would help me complete the game but I reckon there's a good chance it will hold my interest!

 

On 16/08/2021 at 6:40 AM, Arcesius said:

 It's exactly 2.5 h. You cannot be slower or faster. The songs don't end when you kill the miniboss (they do in Endless), but instead you need to survive each song in its full lenght. You are basically playing Adventure mode in one sitting, without menuing or breaks.

 

This would be my main concern. The requirement of uninterrupted gaming time is one of the only things putting me off Wolf 2. I have kids, some young, so it's very hard to find a few hours with no distractions!

 

20 hours ago, Joe Dubz said:

The RPG aspect is part of what drew me to this, however having rhythm and proper timing to be able to survive is essential.

 

The rhythm aspect is definitely the draw for me. Seems like a pretty cool blend though with the RPG elements.

 

20 hours ago, Joe Dubz said:

I think what you said here speaks VOLUMES... It is soooooo freakin satisfying when you finally get it and it becomes 2nd nature! Breezing through some of those tricky note sections is a feeling quite unlike any other. This game is so well done, fantastic soundtrack, just such a unique idea in general!! Very highly recommend it if anyone thinks they are up for the challenge. 

 

Agreed. I love games that give you this feeling. The challenge has to be high to give that sense of accomplishment. The game definitely ticks many boxes for what I enjoy! No doubt you will also have that sweet completion soon enough!

Edited August 17, 2021 by KindaSabbath

[Arcesius]

The Metronomicon: Slay the Dance Floor

 

 

 

The Pitch

Having just finished studying the dark arts of... dancing... and graduating from Dance Academy, you are tasked with travelling around the world, crashing treacherous dance parties and ultimately discovering and destroying the source of the infernal music!

 

 

 

The Best

I started The Metronomicon not because of the music, or the artstyle, or the individual gameplay aspects and genres... But because of everything it combines into one game. A hybrid rhythm-game RPG? Damn, that sounds unique! 

 

And it definitely was ? You know, it could have been easy to mess this up... For example by making the RPG elements in this, at its core, rhythm game, inconsequential. But they definitely are not, and while in contrast to proper RPGs the options are somewhat limited, they still make a difference and are fun to experiment with  

 

For starters, each song has a Song Difficulty that is only affected by the selected difficulty (Easy, Normal, Hard), and only affects the rhythm-game aspect of The Metronomicon. You can hone your skills by playing on the difficulty that suits your current skill level best, and since the entire adventure is structured in such a way that you can just replay whatever song you like at any time, it also doesn't feel weird to play on lower difficulties first. In my case, I played everything up to World 4 (of 5 total) on Normal and then went back and played the entire game up to the end on Hard. The improvement was noticeable, and I could now clear songs on Hard without too much trouble that initially seemed out of reach. 

But at the same time, each song has also a separate difficulty rating... Enemy Difficulty. This affects the RPG aspect of the game, and cannot be influenced by selecting the difficulty, but instead by leveling up your characters. As your characters level up and get stronger, the enemies become more manageable. As a consequence, playing through the game on Normal first allows you to then go back to the start and play songs on Hard and be allowed to make mistakes, since the enemies now don't necessarily kill you in a few hits. This means that you have way more leniency, and the game feels less frustrating as well.  

 

Now, the RPG elements don't end there (wouldn't be much of an RPG if they did...). Every enemy belongs to one element, and have one elemental weakness. The good thing is that you don't need to memorize this, but can be recognized by the health bar. For example: 

 

     

 

Here, the crab is weak to physical attacks, while the Gangsta-Phoenix is fire-elemental and hence weak to water-based attacks. 

 

Moreover, you have buffs and debuffs that affect gameplay in pretty clever ways and allow for synergies. You can bleed (or make enemies bleed), so your health will slowly deplete. But you have also attacks that deal more damage to bleeding enemies. You have haste and slow, regen, protect, etc... But you have also very interesting status effects that really affect the type of gameplay that you find in The Metronomicon. As one example, you can be "dizzy", which results in the following crazyness: 

 

 

You see how the notes move around? Now combine this with spinning arrows, color-blind (all arrows black), blind (see arrows much later), ... it's really creative!  

 

 

The Worst

There are two things here I think would be fair to mention. First of all... I'm not an EDM guy. At all. Luckily for me, there were a couple of heavy rock songs (that coincidentally were also amont the most difficult ones... you know, they "shred" ). Unfortunately, they are very rare. Still, I grew to enjoy most (not all) songs, and some were even stuck in my head when I was not playing. 

 

More importantly... this type of gameplay requires you to watch the inputs at all times. You need to read the notes on the fly, since you are switching characters constantly and they all have different notes. That also meant that it was very difficult to see anything that was happening on the battlefield. The game looks nice, the animations are great... But you won't be seeing much of it while you are playing the game yourself. 

 

 

The Challenge

Let me say it like this... For anyone with any kind of experience with rhythm games featuring this type of gameplay, I can imagine that The Metronomicon would be rated a bit easier than I did. It is not the most challenging game, but in my case I needed to get used to the gameplay first. 

 

There are four "challenges" worth mentioning... 

 

• Clear all Story songs on Hard: This was the first hurdle for me to overcome. As stated above, I needed to practice this game by playing most of Adventure Mode on Normal first, just to get used to this type of gameplay. However, by leveling up, acquiring better gear and getting better at the game, I could then pretty quickly clear all songs on Hard, something that initially seemed like a very daunting task! 
   
• Complete all Arena Challenges on Hard: This was no joke... All but the last 5 Arena Challenges have a pre-determined party with some set equipment / spells, and a set goal for you to achieve... This can be killing an enemy that does nothing but heal and a party that has no damage dealers, to fighting bosses while afflicted with several status effects, to survive a marathon of songs on the hardest difficulty and a high enemy difficulty. The biggest challenge here was getting used to playing with characters I had not used at all during Adventure Mode, but practicing this turned out to be helpful for the hardest challenge in the game. 
   
• No Pee Breaks: Sounded harder than it turned out to be. You need to survive a 2.5h long playlist composed of all 50 Story songs, in one sitting, without pausing. Since you can do this on Easy and with whatever party you want, surviving wasn't an issue. The bigger problem was finding 2.5h of uninterrupted gameplay (and.. not drinking beer while going for this... you know, no bathroom breaks allowed!). 
  However, once I found the time, I got it on my first attempt. Really nothing to worry about. 
   
• Endless Mode: The real challenge. And a super fun mode, too! Here, you need to survive 30 songs in a row. After each song, you are afflicted by a random negative modifier. Some are worse than others.. one of your characters can get locked, or some of their abilities... you might be afflicted with a negative status effect, or lose a level... your gear can get locked, etc... The problem is, you only get one negative modifier from song 1-9, then two from songs 10-19 and then three (!!!) after each song past 20. You can't affort to discard one such negative modifier after each song, so you need to learn to accept some of them... 
  Additionally, there is almost no information about this game, so there were a few things I needed to figure out on my own that - had I known them beforehand - would have made this mode a bit easier to complete. 

Overall, I think the game was scary at the beginning, seeing some of these songs on Hard Mode made me question whether I would eventually be able to become somewhat decent at the game... but I quickly adapted to the gameplay and ended up having a very good time with it  

 

Since I decided to not write a Trophy Guide for this game, and giving tips on Endless on my own checklist would result in no one ever finding the post ever again, I decided to at least post a Mini-Guide in the game's subforum: Mini-Guide for Endless Mode. Hopefully it can be of some help! And if not, at least the information is now documented somewhere ?

 

 

 

Well, this was my review for The Metronomicon, a game I had heard about a long time ago and somehow forgot about, but I'm glad I gave it a go.. it was super fun, and very unique!! I also started Demon's Souls as my next game, and my first proper PS5 game... and like the other FromSoft titles, I am having a fantastic time from the very start... 

Edited August 17, 2021 by Arcesius

[Destructor-8]

1 hour ago, Arcesius said:

The Metronomicon: Slay the Dance Floor

 

 

Congrats dude! I followed this thread recently whilst you were on this game. I don't know much about it but it looks quite interesting & seems that you enjoyed it. Great work!

[Joe Dubz]

Such a stellarly exquisite review, my friend! You never disappoint with your reviews ?

 

I'm sure future players will be grateful for your mini-guide, I know I am! Actually just finished off the Arena last night, then took my first shot at Endless... Made it to song 14 on the first go, but I can see it gets harder the farther you go! I was able to save enough up to buy the More Options... option?! lol so that should def help ease the burden a bit. I'll keep cracking at it to save up for the other perks and eventually Second Chance as well.

 

Otherwise, it's just a matter of finding the 2.5 hours needed for No Pee Breaks and I will be joining you in dance-fighting glory! Thx again for all the extremely useful info bud ?

 

4 hours ago, Arcesius said:

The Worst

There are two things here I think would be fair to mention. First of all... I'm not an EDM guy. At all. Luckily for me, there were a couple of heavy rock songs (that coincidentally were also amont the most difficult ones... you know, they "shred" ). Unfortunately, they are very rare. Still, I grew to enjoy most (not all) songs, and some were even stuck in my head when I was not playing. 

 

Funny enough, it sounds like we have a similar taste in music... I usually prefer my rock hard and face melting myself!! There were def a few catchy songs that didn't fit that mold, but man some of them are just god-awful.... There are one or two where I feel like if I have to sit through them again, I'm gonna end up blowing my brains out!! Haha okay, definitely embellishing quite a bit there but still ?

[DrunkenEngineer]

I've been lurking this checklist for awhile and wanted to say it inspired me to start my own and really focus my gaming on PlayStation.

 

I'm envious of the progress you've built up in some really cool, tough games and hope to do the same!

[Arcesius]

21 hours ago, KindaSabbath said:

Firstly congrats on the Plat! You just absolutely destroy these rare platinums, it's pretty damn impressive!

 

15 hours ago, Joe Dubz said:

Such a stellarly exquisite review, my friend! You never disappoint with your reviews 

 

Haha, thanks guys!  Appreciate it! 

 

 

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I'm also learning guitar. Not sure how much any of this would help me complete the game but I reckon there's a good chance it will hold my interest!

 

I mean, your experience with music will certainly help with the rhythm aspect... But getting used to the controls is a different thing ? But in all honesty, the game looks more daunting at first than it actually is  You'd definitely have this in the sack in no time. 

 

 

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This would be my main concern. The requirement of uninterrupted gaming time is one of the only things putting me off Wolf 2. I have kids, some young, so it's very hard to find a few hours with no distractions!

 

Yeah, same.. I mean, I wouldn't play Wolf II even if I had the time (if there is a genre missing from my profile.... yeah, it's FPS games... just not really intersted in them), but challenges that take a long time for one attempt are usually my weakness as well. The longest speedrun in Splasher is about 75 minutes long... That meant for me that most days I would only get one, sometimes two attempts at it... And even so, during my successful attempt, I only played half of the speedrun before my son woke up. I had to leave my console on for over 24 hours before being able to resume the run on the next evening ? 

 

 

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I'm sure future players will be grateful for your mini-guide, I know I am! Actually just finished off the Arena last night, then took my first shot at Endless... Made it to song 14 on the first go, but I can see it gets harder the farther you go! 

 

Yeah I died about three times around song 15 and once on song 22... But once I unlocked Second Chance and had the two parties figured out, it only took two more attempts  You got this, I'm sure.

 

Just out of interest.. have you tried out my party suggestion, or did you find two parties with good synergies that work for you?  

 

 

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Funny enough, it sounds like we have a similar taste in music... I usually prefer my rock hard and face melting myself!! There were def a few catchy songs that didn't fit that mold, but man some of them are just god-awful.... There are one or two where I feel like if I have to sit through them again, I'm gonna end up blowing my brains out!! Haha okay, definitely embellishing quite a bit there but still 

 

??? I didn't want to be as harsh in the review, but holy shit... There is a song where the dude sings wrong on purpose for whatever reason.. Whenever this song would come up I just had to take my headphones off for a second ? 

 

There definitely are a couple of songs in there that are just trash.. There is no other way to put it. 

 

 

9 hours ago, DrunkenEngineer said:

I've been lurking this checklist for awhile and wanted to say it inspired me to start my own and really focus my gaming on PlayStation.

 

I'm envious of the progress you've built up in some really cool, tough games and hope to do the same!

 

Hey there! Thanks a lot for the comment, and welcome!  

 

No need to be envious.. there is nothing on my list that you couldn't do yourself if you really enjoy going for some challenges  But hey, just make sure that you enjoy the games you go for! I have seen your checklist, I'll make sure to follow your progress. Good luck, and have fun! 

Edited August 18, 2021 by Arcesius

[DrBloodmoney]

 

Awesome write-up as always mate - can't say I had heard of this one, but it seems like a hell of a concept, and I feel like I understand the game concept much better for your post!

 

 

 

I gotta say - as a white man nearing 40 who's sense of rhythm is about as refined as his sense of time-travel...

 

21 hours ago, Arcesius said:

 

You see how the notes move around? Now combine this with spinning arrows, color-blind (all arrows black), blind (see arrows much later), ... it's really creative!  

...this gif scares the shit outta me ?

 

 

 

20 hours ago, Arcesius said:

Well, this was my review for The Metronomicon, a game I had heard about a long time ago and somehow forgot about, but I'm glad I gave it a go.. it was super fun, and very unique!! I also started Demon's Souls as my next game, and my first proper PS5 game... and like the other FromSoft titles, I am having a fantastic time from the very start... 

 

Umbasa ? - glad you're enjoying DSR already ☺️

[KindaSabbath]

Fantastic write up mate! The deluxe version of the game is currently on sale for £5.99 GBP. I'm going to have to snag that lol. My backlog just continues to grow ?

 

2 hours ago, Arcesius said:

Yeah, same.. I mean, I wouldn't play Wolf II even if I had the time (if there is a genre missing from my profile.... yeah, it's FPS games... just not really intersted in them), but challenges that take a long time for one attempt are usually my weakness as well. The longest speedrun in Splasher is about 75 minutes long... That meant for me that most days I would only get one, sometimes two attempts at it... And even so, during my successful attempt, I only played half of the speedrun before my son woke up. I had to leave my console on for over 24 hours before being able to resume the run on the next evening  

 

It's cool to see you have found a way to balance such trophies with having a family. I'm still figuring it out ?

 

Quick note on the FPS point: I know Vanquish is a TPS but I'm sure you mentioned to me somewhere that you'd like to do it at some stage? Shooters in general are possibly my strength as I played quite a few growing up. If you complete and like Vanquish (which is amazing gameplay wise, story is nonsense), would it open you up to other shooters? I've played the Wolfenstein games with my son on his xbox and they're very solid games with a good story. I've heard Titanfall 2 also has an excellent campaign. I mean, fairplay if there just not your bag, but, who knows - There may be a couple you enjoy!

[rjkclarke]

Hey Arcesius - you must have known I was going to pop in and say hello at some point... I've been following along from the bushes for a long time (hope that doesn't sound too weird haha)! So if you've seen them rustling occasionally, that was probably me exclaiming loudly at another one of the absolutely beastly gaming achievements you've managed to accomplish! ?

 

I have to agree with DrBloodMoney - that gif absolutely terrifies me too! Do you see the world like Will from Good Will Hunting or something? ? - I keep mentioning this specific thing, but I'm sure if I even attempted that game, my face would melt like that guy from Raiders of the Lost Ark.

 

That's such a great write up of Metronomicon - Super interesting. I can't say I'll ever attempt it, you never know though. It was an absolute joy to read though. It looks really charming, artistically - from those screenshots you showed of some of the enemy encounters. It almost seems a shame that a lot of your focus sounds like it ends up being watching for innputs so I presume you get less time to appreciate the aesthetic. I expect that's probably a manageable sacrifice though. I love your Enjoyment and Challenge'ometer too by the way. That's very unique.

[DrunkenEngineer]

9 hours ago, Arcesius said:

Hey there! Thanks a lot for the comment, and welcome!  

 

No need to be envious.. there is nothing on my list that you couldn't do yourself if you really enjoy going for some challenges  But hey, just make sure that you enjoy the games you go for! I have seen your checklist, I'll make sure to follow your progress. Good luck, and have fun! 

 

Thanks!  I'm definitely down for challenging games; how was S-ranking Dead Cells and Hyper Light Drifter?

 

I have those on Steam, and played them when they released and am interested in challenging myself for the platinum.  Any thoughts and tips would be helpful!

[Arcesius]

On 8/18/2021 at 9:14 AM, DrBloodmoney said:

Awesome write-up as always mate - can't say I had heard of this one, but it seems like a hell of a concept, and I feel like I understand the game concept much better for your post!

 

I gotta say - as a white man nearing 40 who's sense of rhythm is about as refined as his sense of time-travel...

 

...this gif scares the shit outta me 

 

Thanks, appreciate it!  The game is certainly very unique, and unlike anything I've played thus far... 

 

And I actually think that it might be a good entry point into these types of rhythm games... Even if that gif looks scary, it's nothing compared to the madness proper rhythm games will ask of you ? Though I'm not sure if I really am going to play similar rhythm games going forward.. I enjoyed stuff like Thumper or Beat Saber much more. 

 

 

On 8/18/2021 at 11:04 AM, KindaSabbath said:

Quick note on the FPS point: I know Vanquish is a TPS but I'm sure you mentioned to me somewhere that you'd like to do it at some stage? Shooters in general are possibly my strength as I played quite a few growing up. If you complete and like Vanquish (which is amazing gameplay wise, story is nonsense), would it open you up to other shooters? I've played the Wolfenstein games with my son on his xbox and they're very solid games with a good story. I've heard Titanfall 2 also has an excellent campaign. I mean, fairplay if there just not your bag, but, who knows - There may be a couple you enjoy!

 

Yeah for sure, TPS is a different story. Remnant: From the Ashes turned out to be one of my favorite coop games last year, for example. I'm not entirely sure about Vanquish yet, but I am definitely going to do Titanfall 2 at some point. I actually already own it thanks to PS+, and was thinking about using it as a test-game to see if I now enjoy FPS ? 

 

I actually played Injustice: Gods Among Us for a similar reason. It was given for free and I had never played a fighting game (except some good Tekken 2 a looong time ago), and wanted to see if I like fighters... BIG NOPE ??

 

But you will never see me play CoD or anything like that. I played Soldier of Fortune and CS in the past and, while fun with friends, those games never quite clicked with me. I was more the Diablo II and Final Fantasy guy. 

 

 

20 hours ago, rjkclarke said:

Hey Arcesius - you must have known I was going to pop in and say hello at some point... I've been following along from the bushes for a long time (hope that doesn't sound too weird haha)! So if you've seen them rustling occasionally, that was probably me exclaiming loudly at another one of the absolutely beastly gaming achievements you've managed to accomplish!

 

Hey there! Haha it doesn't... In fact, I have been lurking in your checklist as well, enjoying reading your progress on my favorite and objectively best Final Fantasy ? Glad to have you joining the party though! 

 

Thing is, with so many good checklists around it's really hard to find the time to read everything AND comment everywhere... But I enjoy your style of writing a lot   

 

 

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That's such a great write up of Metronomicon - Super interesting. I can't say I'll ever attempt it, you never know though. It was an absolute joy to read though. It looks really charming, artistically - from those screenshots you showed of some of the enemy encounters. It almost seems a shame that a lot of your focus sounds like it ends up being watching for innputs so I presume you get less time to appreciate the aesthetic. I expect that's probably a manageable sacrifice though.

 

Yeah that was my feeling at least initially. As I mentioned in some other post, eventually my hands started pressing the correct inputs without me having to think too much... Once I was good enough to just react to what was coming, I also started having more time during fights to enjoy the visuals, watch my characters actually dish out damage and cast spells. 

 

At the beginning though, it was pretty overwhelming ? I barely found the time to check the elemental weakness of my opponents, or check which buffs / debuffs were active at any given time! 

 

 

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I love your Enjoyment and Challenge'ometer too by the way. That's very unique.

 

Thanks a lot! I think this is the third or fourth one I created, but also the one I like the most. I started with a regular x/10 rating, and then had some gauge thingy going on... The current symbols are taken from my favorite coop game, Warhammer: Vermintide 2  After playing that game I knew I wanted to somehow integrate anything from it into my checklist, so I decided to use the "difficulty symbols" for a custom meter.  

 

 

17 hours ago, DrunkenEngineer said:

Thanks!  I'm definitely down for challenging games; how was S-ranking Dead Cells and Hyper Light Drifter?

 

So, the first thing to say about those games is that they are both heavily save-scummable, so S-ranking them can be very easy if you choose to do so. 

 

More importantly though... I enjoyed both games immensely. In fact, Hyper Light Drifter is probably still among my top-5 favorite games on the PS4. Although that is probably because it left a very strong impact at the time, being one of the first really good indie games I played. The gameplay is fantastic, I dig the artstyle, and the game is overall really fun to play through. The only frustrating aspect of the plat is that there are TONS of collectibles. I didn't mind so much, but I know people that were quite bothered by it. 

Otherwise, you will also have to play through the game on NG+, which is probably the "hardest" challenge for the plat since you only have 2 HP, meaning that most enemies can one-shot you. However, it is still very manageable, and by the time you are done you'll be good enough at the game that you will be able to finish a playthrough without dying (also required for the plat) without even having to save-scum. Definitely a game I can recommend... I just hope you enjoy it just as much as I did!   

 

As for Dead Cells... I played it on release, and I hear that the game has changed significantly since then. Especially in 4 Boss Cell mode, all enemies can teleport around now, which must be a massive pain in the ass. So maybe I'm not the best person to ask ? 

But when I played it, it was really, and I mean really fun. It took me a while before I got my first clear, especially since the final boss (final at the time) was really tough to beat! In the release version, you couldn't simply lock weapons for them not to appear during your runs. Every weapon you unlocked was unlocked forever, and since I liked experimenting with different builds, that also meant that I unlocked items that were garbage, and then kept appearing in my runs... That made some runs more frustrating, since I could simply not find anything of use to me. This has changed as well... You can now basically toggle on and off which weapons have a chance to appear during a run. 

 

Good luck if you ever decide to tackle them!