Arcesius' Pursuit of Completion

[DrBloodmoney]

 

58 minutes ago, Arcesius said:

For that reason, I also think it is the best Top-5 list to start with... Otherwise I might start some of them soon and run out of options to talk about!   

 

So, "5 Games I'm scared to start" coming soon! I will definitely get to "Fewest Owners" as well, since that is what started this entire idea   

 

Looking forward to it mate!

 

By the way - I noticed no one put forward any "suggest a different one" - and I didn't want to rock the boat necessarily, but I did think of one I would certainly be interested in hearing you wax-lyrical on - "Top 5 Games that Surprised You"?

 

Not sure if it would be they weren't the genre you expected, or had a twist you didn't see coming, or were much higher (or lower) quality than you imagined going in...

 

... up to you, but could make for an interesting read if you fancied approaching it! 

 

[KindaSabbath]

On 24/08/2021 at 8:19 AM, Arcesius said:

Ok, you guys are insane. I put the poll up pretty much for fun, but was expecting to get like 5 votes... Now it's like 30 ? What is this, the Ribbon 3.0 thread? ?

 

In any case, "Games I'm scared to start" is winning... by a landslide ? You monsters want me to face my fears, don't you? Just to make things clear.. I won't be writing about any potential game that exists.. I won't pick stuff like Cloudberry Kingdom because

1. I have no PS3 and
2. I have no interest in that game. 

Instead, I will restrict my choices to games I already own or have access to, and which I actually want to play (and will eventually!). 

 

For that reason, I also think it is the best Top-5 list to start with... Otherwise I might start some of them soon and run out of options to talk about!   

 

So, "5 Games I'm scared to start" coming soon! I will definitely get to "Fewest Owners" as well, since that is what started this entire idea   

 

Awesome idea Arc, looking forward to this quite a bit!

 

I voted for fewest owners as they're typically the games that have the least amount of information out there, and you seem to enjoy putting together guides/mini guides and sussing things out before sharing your experiences... you could even think of them as "games everyone else is scared to start" because of the lack of info.

 

I had no doubt that it would lean more toward games your scared to start, though! Lol. I'm interested to see what games would scare you ?

Edited August 25, 2021 by KindaSabbath

[Arcesius]

Hey there!

 

Sooo... Ihad to unexpectedly replace my laptop (I was rocking a MS Surface that I got while doing my PhD... That poor thing actually survived for over 7 years... a MS product! Can you believe that??), so I didn't yet get to start with the first Top-5 List. But we are not in a hurry, are we? I'll get to it as soon as I'm set up again  

 

In the meantime, I wanted to address some of your comments 

 

 

On 8/22/2021 at 10:53 PM, Eqill5 said:

I went with games you’re scared to start. I’m really struggling to believe there’s actually 5.. ha! Unless they fall into genres that just aren’t your forte? 

 

Honestly... I can't either ? I have 3 games, 4 if you stretch the definition of "scared" a bit. But I have not yet checked all my games, and I don't have everything installed since I got a PS5 and just installed games I want to get to soonish... 

 

I'll do some more digging, I'm sure I forgot about a game or two that I have and give me the shivers... 

 

 

On 8/24/2021 at 10:13 AM, Kcrack_Km said:

Is it possible to be scared of certain games when you've already fired up necrodancer? ?

 

Lol... Well, I was scared of Crypt as well before starting it ? The thing is though... If I don't manage to complete Crypt, I can accept defeat. I can live with that game being the only one I cannot complete. Not so much with other games though.  

 

That being said, I haven't yet reached my limit in Crypt, that much I know. I just don't have the time right not that it requires. Once my son is a bit older... We'll get back to it  

 

 

On 8/24/2021 at 10:20 AM, DrBloodmoney said:

By the way - I noticed no one put forward any "suggest a different one" - and I didn't want to rock the boat necessarily, but I did think of one I would certainly be interested in hearing you wax-lyrical on - "Top 5 Games that Surprised You"?

 

Ah, that is a very nice idea, thanks for the suggestion!! I will definitely get to this one eventually, it should be both interesting to read, but also interesting for me personally to revisit such surprising moments!  

 

 

22 hours ago, KindaSabbath said:

I voted for fewest owners as they're typically the games that have the least amount of information out there, and you seem to enjoy putting together guides/mini guides and sussing things out before sharing your experiences... you could even think of them as "games everyone else is scared to start" because of the lack of info.

 

Yeah I certainly do! I have just purchased a game with ~400 owners and 6 achievers last week ? Apparently it sits somewhere between Super Meat Boy and Splasher in terms of difficulty, and there is only limited info on it. I am thinking about putting a guide together for this one, since at least it's in a genre I feel comfortable with (you know... unlike The Metronomicon ?). 

 

I will definitely start (and hopefully complete it) before I get to this "fewest owners" list, so that I can talk about this one as well!

Edited August 26, 2021 by Arcesius

[Copanele]

13 minutes ago, Arcesius said:

Sooo... Ihad to unexpectedly replace my laptop (I was rocking a MS Surface that I got while doing my PhD... That poor thing actually survived for over 7 years... a MS product! Can you believe that??), so I didn't yet get to start with the first Top-5 List. But we are not in a hurry, are we? I'll get to it as soon as I'm set up again  

I have to admit, in PSNP terms, that MS product would be a sub 1% UR ? That longevity IS impressive

[Shrooba]

45 minutes ago, Arcesius said:

Lol... Well, I was scared of Crypt as well before starting it  The thing is though... If I don't manage to complete Crypt, I can accept defeat. I can live with that game being the only one I cannot complete. Not so much with other games though.  

 

That being said, I haven't yet reached my limit in Crypt, that much I know. I just don't have the time right not that it requires. Once my son is a bit older... We'll get back to it  

 

 

A great plus of Crypt of the NecroDancer's trophy list is that, even though it's an incredibly tough game, at least there's no looming server shutdown! ? I believe the only online trophy is for doing a daily challenge, but it isn't the hardest trophy at least. Crypt can be demanding, so take as long of a break as you need from it. It's always good to come back to something with a clearer mind.

[Arcesius]

Well, it is now the first time where it really pisses me off that PS5 icons are not resized... ? Having finished my first proper PS5 game, I needed to resize the game icon to add it to the OP, which now means I have a distorted, squeezed image. Super tragic, I know ?

 

Anyways: 

 

 

Demon's Souls 

 

 

 

The Pitch

As the Slayer of Demons, travel to the five regions of the Kingdom of Boletaria, slaying powerful and imposing Demons on your quest to face, ridicule and defeat... the pathetic coward that is the true King.  

 

 

 

The Best

Demon's Souls is the first proper PS5 game I played. And holy shit. While I can't compare it to the original, playing a game like this in 60 fps is... WOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHH!! ? Honestly, the gameplay is just soooo smooooth... And the game looks gorgeous. Well, as gorgeous as a rotting, decrepit kingdom filled with grotesque demons can look ?

 

In any case, Demon's Souls is just more of the RPG-style games I love to play. A dark, depressing atmosphere (don't worry, I have plenty of light and color in my life ?), a large pool of weapons that I will never use (just give me that Uchigatana), and tough enemies that will make your life miserable. And like with the other entries... Ginormous, grotesque, unique bosses to first yell "wow" at and then run at while shouting a war-cry, just to be one-shot like an idiot by a sweeping attack with a 2-minute wind-up animation. 

 

This game was a wonderful experience through and through, and the perfect game to have as my first experience with what the PS5 has to offer!  

 

 

The Worst

Let's get the most obvious point out of the way... Boletaria would make it onto any "What NOT to name your Kingdom" list ? 

 

Alright, with that said, let's talk about more important issues. I for one am glad that Item Burden is not a thing in other titles. I mean, come on... it's not like the amount of stuff your character can carry is realistic anyways, so why have a limit in the first place? Luckily you can send anything directly to storage without having to go to The Nexus, and since I would always send anything there I knew I wouldn't need (any weapon, any piece of gear, any crafting material since it looked like I could upgrade my weapons without having the shards on my char, ...), it didn't give me too much trouble. Still, I don't think it was properly implemented. 

 

Then, of course, we have to talk about the Tendency System. I actually like it. A lot! Especially World Tendency, and how affects specific aspects of the level. So what is this doing in this section? ? Well, the ways to manipulate Tendency - especially Character Tendency - are a giant pain in the ass. Actually, the LACK of ways to manipulate Character Tendency is the problem I have, especially towards white. If I want to go black, I can just invade and PvP a bit. But for going white? I have to be invaded... So it's not even up to me! I actually tried to get PWCT by killing the named Phantoms, but somehow it didn't work (and I had to kill a lot of Reapers to buy Ephimeral Stones for 30k souls a piece to even reach PBWT in each region...) before begging @Koro249 to install the game again and invade me. 

 

Finally, we get to the two aspects that actually bothered me. First of all, this game is too dark. Sure, in each subsequent game you have your narrow alles, dark places, swamps... But you also have your colorful forests, bright cities and dragon lairs above the clouds. In Demon's Souls you got none of that. It's just one dark place after another. With no breaks (except below The Nexus, but that doesn't last long...). 

Secondly, even though I really dig the bosses... Wait, let me change sections. 

 

 

The Challenge

Where were we? Ah, yes. Bosses in Demon's Souls are (almost) all giant pushovers! Like, wtf? Similar to The Surge 2, the trash mobs in the areas leading to the bosses are way more dangerous than the bosses themselves! And sure, I have a bit of experience with these types of games, but come on.. Besides Maneaters (and funnily enough, Fool's Idol in NG+... She would almost one-shot me for some reason..) I can't think of any boss that posed too much of a challenge. And maybe it was my build.. I went with a two-handed Crescent Uchigatana and a Kriss-Blade off-hand for style and stronger Soul Rays, but man... I am actually a bit disappointed. 

 

"But Arc, you have played a lot of these games... you are good at them". Well, no. Actually, playing PvP I noticed how "not good" I am at these games. Holy hell, there are players out there that would decimate me. I had absolutely no chance against some of these monsters ?

 

And maybe it really has to do with my experience with these games, but still... I also play a lot of platformers and a new one still gives me trouble. I would expect the PvE aspect to be a bit more challenging. I still believe - now that I've played them all - that Dark Souls III and Bloodborne have the most challenging bosses (not all are challenging... but the most challenging bosses are from these two games), and I don't think that is because I've played those two games first. 

 

 

Additional Comments 

(This won't be a returning section... But I need to address something that did not belong to any of the above sections)

 

I love every single entry in the series, now including Demon's Souls. I want to make this very clear ?

 

Having finally played the "game that started it all", it is a mistery to me why the first Dark Souls is the more popular game. Everything found in the games that came after Demon's Souls is already found here. 

Patches and his traps, a not-too-talkative Blacksmith, a NPC that will start murdering other NPCs in the "hub" if left alone, the bridge-Dragons, the poisonous sewer... Bloodborne also copies the "level select" and "consumable healing items"... 

 

I almost want to say that especially the first Dark Souls doesn't really do anything new... right? Not even in terms of level design. At least Dark Souls II and III have their own unique characteristics (level design, weapon special attacks), as does Bloodborne. But Dark Souls? Not really, it's just Demon's Souls without the tendency system and without item burden. Sure, those are the worst elements of Demon's Souls, but simply removing those two elements does not result in a fundamentally different game. The one thing that Dark Souls does better is having an interconnected world (which is arguable one of its strongest aspects). 

 

Don't get me wrong, I wasn't expecting a game with no similarities to the other Souls games. But I have to admit that I am indeed quite surprised to see how little novelty there is to be found in Dark Souls, seeing that everything is already present in its predecessor.  

 

 

Feel free to disagree! I would love to start a discussion here. Again, I am trying to understand how the series evolved, but bear in mind that I played the games in reverse order... Bloodborne --> Dark Souls III --> Dark Souls II: SotFS --> Dark Souls --> Demon's Souls... 

Edited August 27, 2021 by Arcesius

[Destructor-8]

14 minutes ago, Arcesius said:

Well, it is now the first time where it really pisses me off that PS5 icons are not resized...  Having finished my first proper PS5 game, I needed to resize the game icon to add it to the OP, which now means I have a distorted, squeezed image. Super tragic, I know 

 

Feel free to disagree! I would love to start a discussion here. Again, I am trying to understand how the series evolved, but bear in mind that I played the games in reverse order... Bloodborne --> Dark Souls III --> Dark Souls II: SotFS --> Dark Souls --> Demon's Souls... 

 

Awesome job! I just noticed you played all these in the reserve order lol. I wonder how that must have been by doing these games in reverse order, though I've not played these but it must be nice to have the whole lot done now. Nice going!

[Shrooba]

Awesome review, and Demon’s Souls is a great choice for your first PS5 game! On the subject of the PS5, what are your thoughts on the controller and the haptic feedback? Definitely give Astro’s Playroom a go as well; it seems like just a tech demo, but it also really shows off the capabilities of the controller. ?

 

Anyway, it’s interesting to see your thoughts on the game from the perspective of playing the other entries first, it always gives a unique view on things when you do it in a different order, so this was a fun read! 

[Copanele]

Oh did I hear Dark Souls???????

 

Anyway, big congratulations for the platinum  as expected, after playing the games in REVERSE order, of course you realize that Demon's Souls bosses are complete jokes. The true bosses of this game are worlds 2-2, 4-2 and 5-2. But yes when this game FIRST came out...it was a dark medieval RPG, NO compass, NO "Easy mode" to select, the grunts hit like trucks (like normally if a skeleton would hit you, it would take you 1/10 of your life, not 3-4/10 or whatever damage is in Demon's Souls).

 

You the best, you love the games and are crazy skilled at them, mad appreciation for them and you, I love these games to death also, you know the drill, let's skip the sweet nothings and pleasantries and let's get to the QUOTING!

 

32 minutes ago, Arcesius said:

The Challenge

Where were we? Ah, yes. Bosses in Demon's Souls are (almost) all giant pushovers! Like, wtf? Similar to The Surge 2, the trash mobs in the areas leading to the bosses are way more dangerous than the bosses themselves! And sure, I have a bit of experience with these types of games, but come on.. Besides Maneaters (and funnily enough, Fool's Idol in NG+... She would almost one-shot me for some reason..) I can't think of any boss that posed too much of a challenge. And maybe it was my build.. I went with a two-handed Crescent Uchigatana and a Kriss-Blade off-hand for style and stronger Soul Rays, but man... I am actually a bit disappointed. 

So first of all, maybe it's not very known, but 90% of the game is hella weak to magic  seriously, other than the skeletons from 4-1/4-2 and False King, enemies fall from magic like flies. Soul Ray is the hidden cheap cannon of the game and Sticky White Stuff (or whatever it's called in the remake) applied on a weapon decimate foes like there's no tomorrow.

 

Want to cheese the only truly difficult boss in the game, Flamelurker? Majik is the answer!

Also after you went through the fires of hell that was DS3, you won't need a shield anymore = you can safely 2hand the Uchigatana = 2 handed with a weapon which inflicts bleed AND has magic is stupid OP in Demon's Souls. Arcesius of BROletaria is here to slay.

 

45 minutes ago, Arcesius said:

 

"But Arc, you have played a lot of these games... you are good at them". Well, no. Actually, playing PvP I noticed how "not good" I am at these games. Holy hell, there are players out there that would decimate me. I had absolutely no chance against some of these monsters 

 

And maybe it really has to do with my experience with these games, but still... I also play a lot of platformers and a new one still gives me trouble. I would expect the PvE aspect to be a bit more challenging. I still believe - now that I've played them all - that Dark Souls III and Bloodborne have the most challenging bosses (not all are challenging... but the most challenging bosses are from these two games), and I don't think that is because I've played those two games first. 

So, let me use here an analogy from ... ahem...fighting games, including that abysmal Injustice 1 that you played  I came to the conclusion that:

PVP=/=PVE

In PVE - bosses have a limited pattern. Yes they can catch you off guard, but you will ALWAYS roll through the flames of Midir. You will ALWAYS be able to parry Orphan of Kos at certain attacks. You will ALWAYS be able to punish False King Allant when he does his stupid AoE. You will always use Solomon Grundy's combo holy crap I am so tired of his BORN ON A MONDAY thing.

In PVP - you will NEVER predict what MrNakedFuckWithSticks2000 will do when he rolls then does a prostate emote then pulls a humongous Black Knight Greataxe and parries you with the power of Wi-Fi. 

 

I think you catch my drift by now ? 

 

51 minutes ago, Arcesius said:

Don't get me wrong, I wasn't expecting a game with no similarities to the other Souls games. But I have to admit that I am indeed quite surprised to see how little novelty there is to be found in Dark Souls, seeing that everything is already present in its predecessor.  

 

 

Feel free to disagree! I would love to start a discussion here. Again, I am trying to understand how the series evolved, but bear in mind that I played the games in reverse order... Bloodborne --> Dark Souls III --> Dark Souls II: SotFS --> Dark Souls --> Demon's Souls... 

 

This one is abit trickier to answer. The thing is, our Lord and Savior Hidetaka Miyazaki (blessed be his name) took the dying Demon's Souls project and revived it to manage to stand on its two legs with his own vision alone. This game is phenomenal considering what Miyazaki had to work with, however it wasn't his actual aim.

That vision was more or less completed with Dark Souls. Imagine Demon's Souls as a beta for Dark Souls.

 

To get to the main point, what Dark Souls did:

• a more structured story (until fans demanded DS2 and DS3)
• interconnected world which makes sense - no windmills into volcanos. Demon's Souls wasn't interconnected.
• Actual challenging and unique bosses (Demon Souls has interesting bosses too, but there's nothing there compared to the first wtf in the game, Gaping Dragon)
• Some truly memorable locations - Anor Londo.
• TONS of SOLID Berserk references. My man loves Berserk and it shows. They are in Demon's Souls too, but not that much.
• Personal preference, but I believe the soundtrack was way more focused and better.

Now, the reason why there's no novelty for you (and the reason why I don't disagree with your statement) is because yes, playing them in reverse changes the experience big time. My order of play was Dark Souls -> Demon's Souls -> Dark Souls II -> Bloodborne -> Dark Souls 3 -> Sekiro (let's add it into the mix too) and I have to say, for me personally nothing beats Dark Souls. It's my first introduction to the series and I LOVED it alot, so much that it changed my entire way of approaching videogames. I could even say that it's because of Dark Souls 1 that I am currently going for challenging games instead of games with selectable easy mode. For me, I couldn't reproduce that Souls feeling in any of the other sequels, Bloodborne included.

 

But that is MY experience. You, starting with the masterpiece that is DS3, how the hell could you go back in time to DS1 who has 4-way rolling instead of 8 way rolling  or having to deal with Ruins of Izalith which weren't completed on time! Or returning from the greatness that is Pontiff Sulyvahn to...idk, Pinwheel? 

And that's why both me and you are correct when selecting Dark souls x as favorite Souls game. Any Dark Souls is the correct Dark Souls if you love it enough. Even @DrBloodmoney is correct with his unconditional love for Dark Souls 2, which is the entry I'd gladly call a priest to baptize abit  (the game, not the man).

Sorry, had to tag you Doctor, I am still salty because of the ADP stat ?

 

Of course, this is my take on the whole thing. Also up for mega discussion about the subject, but please remind me to stop from time to time, cause it's hard to stop the Dark Souls train once I start it ?

 

Also World and Character Tendency are nice in concept but ass in practice. Can't change my mind there. At least they solved the item burden thank Lord Umbasa!

[DrBloodmoney]

Great Demon’s souls write up!

 

I do think on the point “Dark Souls doesn’t do anything new, even it terms of level design” - I think it’s easier to feel that way now, looking back, but the seamless interconnection of the biomes was quite a marked difference from Demon’s Souls, and gave a more cohesive structure to the whole thing… maybe not a massive thing now, but still…

[Arcesius]

6 hours ago, Shrooba said:

Awesome review, and Demon’s Souls is a great choice for your first PS5 game! On the subject of the PS5, what are your thoughts on the controller and the haptic feedback? Definitely give Astro’s Playroom a go as well; it seems like just a tech demo, but it also really shows off the capabilities of the controller.

 

Well, I like the controller a lot... I love how it lies in my hand, I think it is very comfortable to use. But I don't have yet much experience with the haptic feedback. Only Demon's Souls had some sort of feedback, and when shooting many arrows in quick succession it could actually be pretty counter productive ? I think I will have a good idea once I get to Returnal  

 

And deleting Astro's Playroom is pretty much the first thing I did after booting up my console ? But I keep hearing good things about it, so will definitely consider installing it again and giving it a go! 

 

 

5 hours ago, Copanele said:

Anyway, big congratulations for the platinum  as expected, after playing the games in REVERSE order, of course you realize that Demon's Souls bosses are complete jokes. The true bosses of this game are worlds 2-2, 4-2 and 5-2. But yes when this game FIRST came out...it was a dark medieval RPG, NO compass, NO "Easy mode" to select, the grunts hit like trucks (like normally if a skeleton would hit you, it would take you 1/10 of your life, not 3-4/10 or whatever damage is in Demon's Souls).

 

For sure, I tried to account for that in how I percieve the game. I think it is a milestone in game design for sure! Only that from my perception, a lot of the "praise" goes to Dark Souls, and having now played this one I realize that Demon's Souls is responsible for a lot more than I thought! If I had the chance, I would erase my memories of all the games and play them in order.. 

 

 

Quote

So first of all, maybe it's not very known, but 90% of the game is hella weak to magic  seriously, other than the skeletons from 4-1/4-2 and False King, enemies fall from magic like flies. Soul Ray is the hidden cheap cannon of the game and Sticky White Stuff (or whatever it's called in the remake) applied on a weapon decimate foes like there's no tomorrow.

 

Want to cheese the only truly difficult boss in the game, Flamelurker? Majik is the answer!

 

I read that Flamelurker is supposed to be difficult, but with my build I melted him both in NG and NG+ on my first attempt. I didn't know that magic is so OP, and most of the time I was slashing with my Uchigatana anyways, but there were many situations where ranged magic was really useful! Even False King droped dead before he knew it... Hoaming Soul Arrow when close, Soul Ray while he is summoning his AoE... Slash slash, good night! ?

 

That's not to brag though, there were a couple of bosses that gave me quite a bit of trouble! It is just that the majority of them went down without a fight. 

 

 

Quote

Also after you went through the fires of hell that was DS3, you won't need a shield anymore = you can safely 2hand the Uchigatana = 2 handed with a weapon which inflicts bleed AND has magic is stupid OP in Demon's Souls. Arcesius of BROletaria is here to slay.

Yeah I think this is the advantage of having played Bloodborne first... I never used a shield in any of these games, and Bloodborne is why. I either dual-wield something (DS III was fantastic for this), or two-hand a DEX weapon. Just my preferred style of play, and probably the reason I adore Nioh so damn much. 

 

 

Quote

So, let me use here an analogy from ... ahem...fighting games, including that abysmal Injustice 1 that you played  I came to the conclusion that:

PVP=/=PVE

In PVE - bosses have a limited pattern. Yes they can catch you off guard, but you will ALWAYS roll through the flames of Midir. You will ALWAYS be able to parry Orphan of Kos at certain attacks. You will ALWAYS be able to punish False King Allant when he does his stupid AoE. You will always use Solomon Grundy's combo holy crap I am so tired of his BORN ON A MONDAY thing.

In PVP - you will NEVER predict what MrNakedFuckWithSticks2000 will do when he rolls then does a prostate emote then pulls a humongous Black Knight Greataxe and parries you with the power of Wi-Fi. 

 

I think you catch my drift by now  

 

Can you believe that the guy I was explicitly referring to had the audacity to use a clap-emote before continuing to kill me without breaking a sweat? ? The guy was just waiting at the beginning of 4-1 for people to invade him... After meeting him three times in a row, I switched to 3-2 ?

 

I know that PvP =/= PvE, but the people that focus on PvP really show you that there is a level of mastery in the game to be attained that goes beyond what's needed to beat the game. I am nowhere close to being as good as one can be in this game. And that's actually amazing to see. 

 

 

Quote

This one is abit trickier to answer. The thing is, our Lord and Savior Hidetaka Miyazaki (blessed be his name) took the dying Demon's Souls project and revived it to manage to stand on its two legs with his own vision alone. This game is phenomenal considering what Miyazaki had to work with, however it wasn't his actual aim.

That vision was more or less completed with Dark Souls. Imagine Demon's Souls as a beta for Dark Souls.

 

That is actually pretty much exactly what I wanted to say with my endless rambling... Demon's Souls really feels like a beta for Dark Souls. That is precisely why I feel that Dark Souls does not necessarily innovate much. It just takes everything that made Demon's Souls great, and doesn't really do much more to stand out. I actually agree that Dark Souls is the better game... But I think its fame and good reputation is actually pretty unfair to Demon's Souls. 

 

 

Quote

But that is MY experience. You, starting with the masterpiece that is DS3, how the hell could you go back in time to DS1 who has 4-way rolling instead of 8 way rolling  or having to deal with Ruins of Izalith which weren't completed on time! Or returning from the greatness that is Pontiff Sulyvahn to...idk, Pinwheel? 

And that's why both me and you are correct when selecting Dark souls x as favorite Souls game. Any Dark Souls is the correct Dark Souls if you love it enough. Even @DrBloodmoney is correct with his unconditional love for Dark Souls 2, which is the entry I'd gladly call a priest to baptize abit  (the game, not the man).

Sorry, had to tag you Doctor, I am still salty because of the ADP stat 

 

Oh hell yes! I didn't even want to rank the games, I think they are all fantastic. But while I can see a lot of changes and innovation going from DS to DS2 to DS3 to Bloodborne and then to Sekiro, I don't see any innovation at all going from Demon's Souls to Dark Souls. And I was surprised by that. I was expecting a unique game, and instead I found - as you accurately put it - a beta for Dark Souls. 

 

I think any game past Dark Souls is very, and I mean very different than the other games in the series. People can argue all they want about DS III just being filled with nostalgia, but the game still is a big change from both DS and DS II mechanically, in terms of level design, and has some of the most incredible and exciting boss fitghts in the entire series (Gael probably being my favorite boss fight from all the games...). In contrast, if I try to imagine what I would feel had I played Demon's Souls first and then Dark Souls... I would feel like I'm playing pretty much the same game. And I don't feel like this is a widely spread view. 

 

 

Quote

Of course, this is my take on the whole thing. Also up for mega discussion about the subject, but please remind me to stop from time to time, cause it's hard to stop the Dark Souls train once I start it 

 

Ah no need to stop at all.. I love reading about games I enjoy from people much more knowledgeable than myself  

 

 

4 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said:

I do think on the point “Dark Souls doesn’t do anything new, even it terms of level design” - I think it’s easier to feel that way now, looking back, but the seamless interconnection of the biomes was quite a marked difference from Demon’s Souls, and gave a more cohesive structure to the whole thing… maybe not a massive thing now, but still…

 

I absolutely agree, and that is pretty much the only thing I can think about that really does have a big impact on how the game is percieved. But to me, it is nothing crucial. Hell, I adore Nioh, it is without a doubt my favorite soulslike game ever made... And in that game you are choosing your missions from a map ? Still, the levels themselves are so well crafted that to me, it doesn't matter at all. 

Edited August 27, 2021 by Arcesius

[HusKy]

29 minutes ago, Arcesius said:

And deleting Astro's Playroom is pretty much the first thing I did after booting up my console  But I keep hearing good things about it, so will definitely consider installing it again and giving it a go! 

 

Big facepalm right there. ?

[Grotz99]

Had to check your profile, but I'm surprised you didn't play Demon's Souls before. It is as you say, not really a hard game, but there is something about the PS5 version that made it special. Was curious if you were going to play some as coop, that is where I had a ton of fun, especially if you do 2v2 in PVP.

 

BTW magic in that game is broken and screw anyone who uses it PVP!

[Copanele]

Lmao RIP Astro's Playroom  

2 hours ago, Arcesius said:

Can you believe that the guy I was explicitly referring to had the audacity to use a clap-emote before continuing to kill me without breaking a sweat?  The guy was just waiting at the beginning of 4-1 for people to invade him... After meeting him three times in a row, I switched to 3-2 

 

I know that PvP =/= PvE, but the people that focus on PvP really show you that there is a level of mastery in the game to be attained that goes beyond what's needed to beat the game. I am nowhere close to being as good as one can be in this game. And that's actually amazing to see. 

I see PvP in Souls games like the equivalent of Way of the Nioh. You REALLY need to know your equipment's strengths and weaknesses in order to face those mad lads and survive. And then there's the mind games, how to fool him that I will use a roll slash when actually I will swap to my off hand weapon and murder him...

PvP is brutal not gonna lie  there was an event in Dark Souls 3, the Gentleman's Brawl or something where we had to fight with Caestus only. Damn it was crazy fun and crazy difficult.

 

But yeah PvP is mostly mind games + knowing your equipment big time. Also minmax-ing is the way to go in PvP. Not my preferred style of choice to be honest.

 

2 hours ago, Arcesius said:

That is actually pretty much exactly what I wanted to say with my endless rambling... Demon's Souls really feels like a beta for Dark Souls. That is precisely why I feel that Dark Souls does not necessarily innovate much. It just takes everything that made Demon's Souls great, and doesn't really do much more to stand out. I actually agree that Dark Souls is the better game... But I think its fame and good reputation is actually pretty unfair to Demon's Souls. 

 

 

 

Oh hell yes! I didn't even want to rank the games, I think they are all fantastic. But while I can see a lot of changes and innovation going from DS to DS2 to DS3 to Bloodborne and then to Sekiro, I don't see any innovation at all going from Demon's Souls to Dark Souls. And I was surprised by that. I was expecting a unique game, and instead I found - as you accurately put it - a beta for Dark Souls. 

 

I think any game past Dark Souls is very, and I mean very different than the other games in the series. People can argue all they want about DS III just being filled with nostalgia, but the game still is a big change from both DS and DS II mechanically, in terms of level design, and has some of the most incredible and exciting boss fights in the entire series (Gael probably being my favorite boss fight from all the games...). In contrast, if I try to imagine what I would feel had I played Demon's Souls first and then Dark Souls... I would feel like I'm playing pretty much the same game. And I don't feel like this is a widely spread view.  

I will admit, in this regard I feel you are correct, as in, the innovations aren't as obvious as the transition from DS1 to DS2 and then DS3 omg this game is amazing wtf. The improvements that Dark Souls 1 did were more subtle (such as Estus flasks instead of mindless herb grinding, no more annoying sub-bosses like the Red Dragon, the fact that you can see the Firelink Shrine from Demon's Ruins if I remember correctly, plunging attacks that were finally added in DS1 ). Also, Dark Souls DOES feel less clunky than Demon's Souls. Kinda hard to demonstrate with Dark Souls 3 ruining everyone's fun with that perfect gameplay  but it is abit less clunky.

Oh and Dark Souls has fewer dumb puzzle bosses. Unfortunately it also has the worst boss in the series, Bed of Chaos. So...win some, lose some I guess?

 

Also maybe the lack of innovation is the fact that Dark Souls is a spiritual successor, while DS2 and DS3 are direct sequels. Regardless, Dark Souls is the game who put FromSoft on the map  

(this was mostly a ramble, but overall I agree that DS doesn't bring that much innovation compared to DeS, just subtle improvements)

 

2 hours ago, Arcesius said:

I absolutely agree, and that is pretty much the only thing I can think about that really does have a big impact on how the game is percieved. But to me, it is nothing crucial. Hell, I adore Nioh, it is without a doubt my favorite soulslike game ever made... And in that game you are choosing your missions from a map  Still, the levels themselves are so well crafted that to me, it doesn't matter at all. 

Ah there's a thing  yeah if the way the world is unfolded ain't that crucial, there won't be a major difference between the Nexus - Boletaria&neighbors and Lordran for you, indeed. 

I loved Nioh too but honestly mission select kinda annoyed me because I never managed to care where I was going. Yes something something Kanto something something Osaka gimme the Amrita suckas! And most of the time I like to care about the direction I am headed towards  

 

Damn, talking about Soulsborne is so awesome, I can barely wait for Elden Ring!

As a side note @Arcesius, if you are curious about how Demon's Souls got to Dark Souls and sequels, you can read Hidetaka Miyazaki's Wiki page. Just if you are interested, of course, to see how he came with all the ideas and what was his starting point.

 

[Arcesius]

Hellooooo everyone! As promised, here is the first episode of the Mini-Series, where we talk about games that meet specific criteria  While I promised a Top-5 list, I actually decided while writing that I will only choose 3 games to talk about. That is not because I didn't find two more, but rather because the post is already long enough as it is ? 

 

Sorry for all the tagging! There's gonna be quite a bit of that here ?

 

 

Mini Series #1 – Games I'm afraid to start

Welcome to a new mini-series of sorts, where I talk about games that meet certain criteria! This first episode is going to be somewhat special though… Since I'm going to talk about "games I'm scared to start", I cannot really talk about my experience with said games (you know... since I don't have any experience with them just yet ). Instead, I want to quickly go over each game, maybe give a brief summary of what type of game it is, and explain why it is that I have such massive respect for it.  

 

Now, when it comes to being "afraid" of starting a specific game, most of the time it is due to having heard certain things about the game in question that makes me wanna think twice before I start it. And no, I don't mean hearing things from the general public, or randoms on reddit. I'm not talking about a "Dark Souls"-style effect, where a mainstream-medium talks about a specific game coming out being "so hard", or "borderline impossible". I'm talking specifically about information and statements from people I know, and from which I know what they are capable of. 

 

As an example, starting Splasher was not necessarily an impulsive decision. I waited with starting it until I felt that I was in the correct mindset to tackle it. I had witnessed first hand how much @Miles, or @Stardroid, or @SlimSanta94 had struggled with certain challenges the game threw at them, and knowing what these monsters are usually capable of really put things in perspective. Will I be able to add my name to that exclusive list of achievers? Do I have what it takes to 100% that game? I think knowing that such skilled players had struggled with the challenge allowed me to approach the game in a much more – how to put it… - careful but also focused manner.

 

This is also why this list is not a "games I will probably never start" list. On the contrary. It is a list of games that I will play eventually, but games that I will only begin once I know I am ready for whatever challenges they have to offer. And it certainly is a list of games I feel excited about getting to eventually!  

 

3. Sine Mora EX

 

 

Most definitely not the hardest Shmup out there, I know. And it seems that the PS4 version, the one that I'll be playing, is the easiest of the three available… BUT… do you see any other Shmup on my profile? The last time I played a game of this genre was Solar Striker on the Game Boy, and I wasn't particularly good at it... ?

 

So, what is Sine Mora EX? Well, it's an ancient side-scrolling 2.5D shoot'em up initially released in 2012 and re-released for the PS4 (among other systems) in 2017. Instead of using a classic "health" mechanic, the player has a timer that ticks down. If you run out of time, it's game over. Taking damage temporarily accelerates the timer ticking down, and killing enemies adds time back to the timer. So it's a balancing act of sorts, and as far as I understand, this also means that you cannot just ignore enemies and try to not get hit, but really have to chase some enemies down or risking running out of time. 

 

   

 

Now, I am not one of those people that is already saying "man, I'm too old for games that require quick reflexes!". I still have it, ok? ? But I guess if there is a genre that could actually show me that the statement is true… it'd be this one. Moreover, every second post in the game's forum starts with "Man, this game is hard as balls", and I distinctively remember when @Baker returned to the game after a break and wrote in a status update something along the lines of "I put 40 hours of practice into this game over the last week…" when he only had one trophy left…

With all of that, the questions in my head are "Is this the right game to try out for the genre? If shmup-veterans still say that this is a hard game, do I even stand a chance? What if I really am too old for this shit?" aaaand… those are questions that sure want to answer, but only if the answer is one I like  

 

 

2. Dirt Rally 2.0

 

 

Oooooh racing games… Another genre I don’t have much experience with… Outside of competitive, blood-boiling, curse-throwing Mario Kart sessions with friends until 3 AM back when I was in University of course, but I don’t think that counts  

 

Fast forward to 2019… A game I had been eyeballing with for a long time goes on sale for the 100th time… Trackmania Turbo. And the nightmare begins ?
I LOVED Trackmania Turbo… I really did. But the game didn’t love me back. It did everything it could to crush me, and it often succeeded… What you hear about that game is not exaggerated. It is brutal, and it will test your perseverance, your patience, and your skill. It was a game that really humbled me, and is probably the game on my profile with which I suffered the most. 
But I succeeded eventually, and finally added my first racing game to my profile. It was then eventually followed by WipEout: Omega Collection, a much easier game that I also enjoyed quite a bit. 

 

So now, here we are, craving my next racing game. And with me is Dirt Rally 2.0, a PS+ game with tons of DLC. And one of those DLCs in particular is why I am scared to even fire this game up. 

 

What is Dirt Rally 2.0? First of all, while a racing game, it differs significantly from the other two racing games I have played. Both Trackmania Turbo and WipEout fall into the fictive Arcade Racing subgroup. Dirt Rally is a Racing Simulator, and as such requires an completely different understanding of its mechanics. If there is one thing that I’m looking forward when I get to this game is to experience driving through Spain, Finland, New Zealand… We’ll see if I have time to take in the scenery   

 

      

 

Ok, so new genre.. but what is so bad about Dirt Rally 2.0 that it makes it onto this list? It’s basically two statements about a DLC-Trophy: Flatout.  

 

• @Destructor-8: “Flatout from Dirt Rally 2.0 makes Trackmania Turbo look easy”.

Well fuck me then Honestly, if there is one person on here that knows racing games is gotta be him (and Alexgaara, let's not forget Alexgaara). Now, Alex already did a fantastic job putting a thread together collecting tips and times and whatnot for this specific DLC/trophy. But seeing Destructor-8 struggling to get Flatout, while at the same time being so experienced with racers is really.. indimidating! Have you seen the sheer amount of completed racing games on his profile? And man, he rated Trackmania a 9/10... and then goes on to make that statement ?

 

• @Mori: “Flatout is still one of my top-5 proudest trophies on PSN”

Ffs… Have you seen what this guy has been able to pull off otherwise? Having played quite a few games with him in recent years and having experienced first-hand how somewhat effortlessly he is able to get some of the hardest stuff done, anything in his top-5 list should be a “do not attempt”-zone for me. I remember getting ready for our Divinity: Original Sin 2 one Saturday. We get into the party and he was playing Dirt Rally 2.0. He had been trying the last Flatout event for a ridiculous amount of time and wasn't about to give up. It took him a while longer, but he finally managed to pull through and was just so freaking exited to have been successful. I already noticed then by his reaction that this must have been an incredible accomplishment... I just had no idea just yet how incredibly difficult this must have been. 

So here we are… a couple of pretty scary statements, a thread full of information I don’t quite understand about threshold breaking and a genre I’m not familiar with at all. If this doesn’t scream “stay away”, then I don’t know what does ?

 

 

 

1. Super Meat Boy Forever

 

You saw this one coming, didn't you? ?

There are no excuses here… It’s a genre I enjoy and know am good at, it is the sequel to a game I’ve beaten… And still, I can not start Super Meat Boy Forever without having second thoughts. And there are multiple reasons for it. 

Super Meat Boy Forever was first announced back in 2014, where the idea was to have a game releasing strictly on mobile. For a while, nothing really happened… A couple of years later, in 2017 and after Edmund McMillen left Team Meat, the project was re-announced, but the idea was now to bring the game to consoles. After pushing back the release date at least four times, the game finally released in December 2020. 
And while the game is no longer a mobile-game, the gameplay could very well fit in one. You see, this is no longer a traditional platformer like its predecessor. It is an endless runner, and the player is only either jumping / punching or sliding. You cannot control in which direction Meat Boy is running, you cannot control its speed. 

 

 

   

 

And this is already the first reason why I am scared to start this game. I adored Super Meat Boy. It is not my favorite platformer as you all know (This Episode is sponsored by The End is Nigh. The End is Nigh, the best platformer Arc has ever played (I hope you imaniged that line spoken by a woman's voice, advertisement-style ?)), but it is a really fun and well put together platformer. Meat Boy feels incredibly satisfying to control, the level design is on point, and the challenge it offers is daunting but manageable. SMBF feels… way different. After playing the original game I kept checking for news and updates regarding the sequel, I truly was excited for a new game to come out. And while I like how the result looks like, I really don’t want to be disappointed by its gameplay... Does that make sense? 

Now, some people that both love the first game and tried out the second one tell me that SMBF is also a lot of fun, so that is at least somewhat reassuring. ?

 

But that’s not all. Let's get together, kids. I want to tell you a scary story...

 

Who here remembers @ExistentialSolid's exquisite checklist? The guy came into this corner of the forums with one idea: To find the game that destroys him. And what a checklist it was… He completed Ikaruga as his first game, and it seemed like he didn’t even break a sweat. Splasher was next, the one game that to this day I classify as the hardest game I completed… ExistentialSolid? Hah. He wasn’t even happy just completing the game’s challenges. He went back to the individual levels and full-game speedruns to improve his times, and got a ridiculous number of #1 Leaderboard spots. It was incredible to follow along with his progress and updates... 

And then… after getting bored with The Binding of Isaac, ExistentialSolid started the freshly released SMBF. And for the first time he found a game that destroyed him. SMBF is the reason his checklist doesn’t exist anymore. In a profile filled with insane games at 100%, SMBF still remains incomplete to this day ?

 

He is not the only one though. There is yet another name that cought my attention. There is one profile filled with very niche and very difficult games alike. A profile that I check from time to time for inspiration. A profile that – you guessed it – has SMBF incomplete on it. It’s @Big_Blue_Tree, a player that has otherwise an incredible record to show. 

 

And while I am almost sure that I want to play SMBF for my Platinum #100 milestone, I am in no hurry to get to #99  I am very certain that this game will be much harder to complete than the original. 

 

 

So there you have it… Three games I’m scared to start for one reason or another. I hope this post was entertaining, I will definitely try to get to some of the other options that were suggested or received some love in the poll  

 

In the meantime, I'll be trying to make progress in RAD. I will be gone over the weekend, and have some people that come to visit next week and they will be staying in my apartment, so no idea if I will even find the time to play at all... We'll see! 

 

Take care everyone!
 

Edited September 1, 2021 by Arcesius

[DrBloodmoney]

Nice man - I dig your Mini Series format!

 

I like you including the screenshots of the games too - I had no idea what Sine Mora even was, but the pictures tell a thousand words in that case!

 

I also had no idea the Dirt games were considered such brutal plats - I guess it's not a surprise that I didn't (I'm not much of a racing dude, and even less so rally games) but I'm actually surprised I had managed to miss that they were considered so brutal, just via site knowledge - usually that kind of stuff just seeps in through gaming osmosis / absorption ?

 

 

[Baker]

Nice write up. 
 

But I feel the need to correct you on Sine Mora Ex there. 

 

The game took me 55 hours total. Which is long completion time because after I’ve done the first easy promotions in the game I dropped it until I started it back up again months later. At this point I needed to relearn all enemy spawn points and boss patterns. That took some time. There was only one thing that took me effort to pull off. Beating any stage on Insane without picking up any power ups. Which has some RNG into it. That took me around 8-10 hours. 

 

Edit:

 

I’m sorry. I’ve read your post wrong. 40 hours sounds about right, probably a bit less, for completing all the hard stuff in this game for me.

 

Also, I am one to say my reflexes are not the same as 10-20 years ago. Because they aren’t. And it’s easy to see for me when I play MP online. Luckily you don’t need any reflexes at all in this game. There is almost no RNG. Everything is just memorisation. I dread the day my memory starts to deteriorate. ?

 

Awesome game!

Edited September 1, 2021 by Baker

[Destructor-8]

1 hour ago, Arcesius said:

Ok, so new genre.. but what is so bad about Dirt Rally 2.0 that it makes it onto this list? It’s basically two statements about a DLC-Trophy: Flatout.  

 

• @Destructor-8: “Flatout from Dirt Rally 2.0 makes Trackmania Turbo look easy”.

Well fuck me then Honestly, if there is one person on here that knows racing games is gotta be him (and Alexgaara, let's not forget Alexgaara). Now, Alex already did a fantastic job putting a thread together collecting tips and times and whatnot for this specific DLC/trophy. But seeing Destructor-8 struggling to get Flatout, while at the same time being so experienced with racers is really.. indimidating! Have you seen the sheer amount of completed racing games on his profile? And man, he rated Trackmania a 9/10... and then goes on to make that statement 

 

• @Mori: “Flatout is still one of my top-5 proudest trophies on PSN”

Ffs… Have you seen what this guy has been able to pull off otherwise? Having played quite a few games with him in recent years and having experienced first-hand how somewhat effortlessly he is able to get some of the hardest stuff done, anything in his top-5 list should be a “do not attempt”-zone for me. I remember getting ready for our Divinity: Original Sin 2 one Saturday. We get into the party and he was playing Dirt Rally 2.0. He had been trying the last Flatout event for a ridiculous amount of time and wasn't about to give up. It took him a while longer, but he finally managed to pull through and was just so freaking exited to have been successful. I already noticed then by his reaction that this must have been an incredible accomplishment... I just had no idea just yet how incredibly difficult this must have been. 

So here we are… a couple of pretty scary statements, a thread full of information I don’t quite understand about threshold breaking and a genre I’m not familiar with at all. If this doesn’t scream “stay away”, then I don’t know what does 

 

That was such a great write up! I can't wait to follow your progress on all of these games. I appreciate the reference also lol. I'm thinking of only continuing Dirt Rally 2.0 Flatout when I have the trophy checklist up, which would probably be a great way to update my progress on it & share my experience with others. I need to go back but recently I went over to do the GT5 Vettel stuff & it was great to have @Alexgaara give me motivation for those too. I think I might even do the last GT5 Vettel when I make my trophy checklist as maybe I can explain how I do what I do, in case it helps anyone else out. The last thing I did in Dirt Rally 2.0 however was one of the hardest parts of the game, which is also my favourite & that is Finland as you get such a rush from it. I've still got quite a lot to do in Flatout, but according to @Alexgaara that Finland one is meant to be one of the roughest parts of Flatout although I actually enjoyed it. There isn't really any other racing game at that difficulty level where you have that rush from playing it. It's similar to Trials Fusion in the fact that you don't really get annoyed whilst at the same time you don't really understand how you are doing what you are doing at first. I think Trials Fusion will help a lot going into it as you need throttle control, which you have used before when doing that game. That DLC trophy is easily top 2 or 3 in any racing game possible. It's minimum top 3 but I think it's top 2 when it comes to what is most out of reach. You will really enjoy it as I think it's the best racing game I've ever played. The first game is really good as well & still one of the best out there.

 

1 hour ago, DrBloodmoney said:

Nice man - I dig your Mini Series format!

 

I like you including the screenshots of the games too - I had no idea what Sine Mora even was, but the pictures tell a thousand words in that case!

 

I also had no idea the Dirt games were considered such brutal plats - I guess it's not a surprise that I didn't (I'm not much of a racing dude, and even less so rally games) but I'm actually surprised I had managed to miss that they were considered so brutal, just via site knowledge - usually that kind of stuff just seeps in through gaming osmosis / absorption 

 

Yeah these games aren't as well known as other games however whilst the first game is absolutely brilliant, I'd say Dirt Rally 2.0 is the best racing game I've ever played. The difficulty in this game is in the Flatout DLC & it basically requires you to go for times that are incredibly fast whilst you need to really be comfortable with throttle control at a level above many other games. It's certainly an experience whilst you are doing it & one that I don't think I've seen in any other racing game. I always thought I wouldn't like these games but now I really am glad I played these & in a way I think once it's all over, I think it'll be one of those game that you didn't really want to finish although that might change when I get further lol. I'll try to make a review of these games eventually.

Edited September 1, 2021 by Destructor-8

[KindaSabbath]

Some of these games you guys play are insane! Looking forward to seeing you look fear straight in the eyes, then crush it! Let's go! ?

[Shrooba]

2 hours ago, Arcesius said:

What is Dirt Rally 2.0? First of all, while a racing game, it differs significantly from the other two racing games I have played. Both Trackmania Turbo and WipEout fall into the fictive Arcade Racing subgroup. Dirt Rally is a Racing Simulator, and as such requires an completely different understanding of its mechanics.
 

Awesome read man! On the note of Dirt Rally 2.0, if you're hesitant on starting it at this moment, I would recommend trying out Gran Turismo 6 for the PS3. Since Gran Turismo games are comparable to that of "simcade" games, a mixture of both arcade and simulator racing experiences, I think it could be a good bridge that'll ease you into simulator-esque games. It's also the only GT without any pesky online trophies, they're all single-player.
The only issue is, I'm not sure you have a PS3! ?

So instead, I'd suggest trying out F1 2021, the latest Formula One racing game; it could perhaps also serve as a good door into more realistic racing games. Do note that it does have a few online trophies, but they're nothing hard, and since the game is brand new, online shutdowns aren't anything to worry about for a long time.
I'll actually tag @Destructor-8 to ask something; would you consider the F1 games to be simcades or simulators? ?

Also on a completely unrelated note, CTR: Nitro-Fueled is another fantastic fictive arcade racer if you're looking for more of those!

[Destructor-8]

20 minutes ago, Shrooba said:

Awesome read man! On the note of Dirt Rally 2.0, if you're hesitant on starting it at this moment, I would recommend trying out Gran Turismo 6 for the PS3. Since Gran Turismo games are comparable to that of "simcade" games, a mixture of both arcade and simulator racing experiences, I think it could be a good bridge that'll ease you into simulator-esque games. It's also the only GT without any pesky online trophies, they're all single-player.
The only issue is, I'm not sure you have a PS3!

So instead, I'd suggest trying out F1 2021, the latest Formula One racing game; it could perhaps also serve as a good door into more realistic racing games. Do note that it does have a few online trophies, but they're nothing hard, and since the game is brand new, online shutdowns aren't anything to worry about for a long time.
I'll actually tag @Destructor-8 to ask something; would you consider the F1 games to be simcades or simulators?

Also on a completely unrelated note, CTR: Nitro-Fueled is another fantastic fictive arcade racer if you're looking for more of those!

 

I don't think @Arcesius has one however I can think of a few recent racing games that could be a decent recommendation depending on what someone is looking for. I've only played the latest F1 games & there was definitely improvement between each one which was nice. The F1 games are meant to be sims but it's really dependant on what assists you have on, which is similar to GT Sport although without assists I find the F1 games take longer than GT Sport to get used to. The more realistic sims are Dirt Rally & Assetto since both are for people who are looking to play games like those. The difference is that Dirt Rally is really fun after awhile & is well made but Assetto is the most realistic one to play. I think most people would find it very hard to play & it's the one that took me longest to get used to. I think @Arcesius has CTR now so I'm sure that one will eventually be played. I had so much fun on CTR going for those times, especially as it's one one my favourite all time games.

Edited September 1, 2021 by Destructor-8

[Joe Dubz]

Quite the exquisite write-up as usual, Arc! I am definitely digging this new format too.

 

I just dropped in to say your worst fears will probably be realized with SMBF... The precision required for those Dark Worlds is just CRAZY at times!! Your timing has to be absolutely crucial. One good example is if you punch an enemy and try to dash again immediately, you won't dash! You have to wait until the moment the punch animation is through before it will work again. Should you accidentally hit the button prematurely, you will not be able to dash again until you touch the ground or punch another enemy. This led to many, many deaths for me until I got the timing down better!

 

One big difference for me between this and the original is that I feel like the learning curve is sharper on SMBF. It feels like it took me a lot longer to get a grasp on everything, but it may just be that they throw many different crazy mechanics at you as you progress! Most of my time initially, and something I found pretty fun, was just figuring out how to navigate through the levels.

 

Another fun difference with the new one are the Warp Zones... Each one is its own minigame and they are all reminiscent of glorious games of the past, circa NES/SNES!! They have a ton of fun nods to these old games, which I always find charming. They aren't exactly pushovers either tho... Case in point: the F-Zero inspired minigame where you have to complete the race backwards under the par time of 55.5 seconds!! That one was a BEAST of a challenge to me! 

 

Another key difference with this one is the characters. Whereas in SMB, you had some peeps that could double jump, or ones that were smaller with smaller hitboxes, making certain sections easier. Well all that goes out the window here! There are 15 or so characters to choose from, however as best as I can tell it's all just cosmetic. They all play exactly the same and there are no inherent differences to speak of that I've noticed. 

 

With all that being said tho, I'm looking at things like this: you and I both had the wherewithal to stick out SMB, so I feel like this game won't be much different. Those Dark Worlds are going to be all about practice and perseverance!! I really want to make this plat 200, so I'm giving it my absolute all ? Good luck if you do decide to tackle this beast!

Edited September 1, 2021 by Joe Dubz

[Arcesius]

Thanks guys! Appreciate the nice feedback  It was something different for me as well, looking forward to getting to some of the other options! 

The thing is, after writing my post, I just cannot wait to get to these games ? What's wrong with me! 

 

 

19 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said:

Nice man - I dig your Mini Series format!

 

I like you including the screenshots of the games too - I had no idea what Sine Mora even was, but the pictures tell a thousand words in that case!

 

I also had no idea the Dirt games were considered such brutal plats - I guess it's not a surprise that I didn't (I'm not much of a racing dude, and even less so rally games) but I'm actually surprised I had managed to miss that they were considered so brutal, just via site knowledge - usually that kind of stuff just seeps in through gaming osmosis / absorption 

 

I'm somewhat of a visual guy myself.. I know that - if I was the one without any knowledge of the game in question - I would personally enjoy seeing some captures of the game without having to go look up information somewhere else... 

 

And yeah... I think the plat in Dirt Rally is actually harder than that of Dirt Rally 2.0. It really is all about that one DLC trophy though. That one seems to put this game above most games in its genre! 

 

 

18 hours ago, Baker said:

I’m sorry. I’ve read your post wrong. 40 hours sounds about right, probably a bit less, for completing all the hard stuff in this game for me.

 

Also, I am one to say my reflexes are not the same as 10-20 years ago. Because they aren’t. And it’s easy to see for me when I play MP online. Luckily you don’t need any reflexes at all in this game. There is almost no RNG. Everything is just memorisation. I dread the day my memory starts to deteriorate.

 

Awesome game!

 

Haha no worries! It was a long time ago, so I had to try to remember what you wrote exactly back then... In any case, you are probably right. I think Shmups in general require memorization over quick reflexes, but that doesn't make the game seem less daunting ?

 

I hope I will enjoy it, otherwise... It's gonna be a struggle! 

 

 

17 hours ago, Destructor-8 said:

Yeah these games aren't as well known as other games however whilst the first game is absolutely brilliant, I'd say Dirt Rally 2.0 is the best racing game I've ever played. The difficulty in this game is in the Flatout DLC & it basically requires you to go for times that are incredibly fast whilst you need to really be comfortable with throttle control at a level above many other games. It's certainly an experience whilst you are doing it & one that I don't think I've seen in any other racing game. I always thought I wouldn't like these games but now I really am glad I played these & in a way I think once it's all over, I think it'll be one of those game that you didn't really want to finish although that might change when I get further lol. I'll try to make a review of these games eventually.

 

You know, and this here is precisely why I still want to try it out. It seems to be a very enjoyable game that, despite its challenge, is just fun to play... I was surprised by Trials Fusion in a similar way. I didn't know I would end up liking that game so much. And so, when I was done, I looked back and was really happy to have put in the time to get (somewhat) good at that game. The way you talk about Dirt Rally 2.0, you really make it sound like it could provide a similar experience. Sure, it might take a while to learn the game, it might take a long time to complete, it might be challenging as hell... But as long as the game is fun, I really don't care about any of that   

 

 

17 hours ago, KindaSabbath said:

Some of these games you guys play are insane! Looking forward to seeing you look fear straight in the eyes, then crush it! Let's go! 

 

Right, cause you play children games only ? But to be honest, @Baker said it best in his own thread... He plays the games he enjoys, and it just happens that he enjoys largely genres that are relatively chill (despite him having completed insane games as well, of course). I try to do the same, but while there is an overlap in the games we enjoy, my preferences are quite different. 

 

I didn't really discover challenging games until I had a PS4... I played a lot of JRPGs, Hack and Slash (Onimusha, DmC, God of War, etc...) when I was younger, never got into multiplayer or online-focused games, I enjoyed party games on the Game Cube or the Wii... But I never played games for their challenge. 

It was only when I got a PS4 that I made my first ever online account... and having a financially more stable situation (not being a student anymore), I could just buy games digitally... That opened a lot of doors I didn't know were even there! Additionally, joining PSNP was also a very deciding factor. I didn't know much about the indie market. I just bought games that, you know... were somewhat famous and had high ratings. Coming here allowed me to get inspiration from other people, and hear first-hand about amazing "hidden gems", or games that just are not THAT popular. 

 

I don't play "hard games" because they are hard. Similar to Baker, I play games that I genuinely hope I will enjoy. But in my case, it just turns out that those games are often - obviously not always - somewhat challenging. Still, I won't get out of my way to play a game only because it is hard, or it has low rarity trophies, etc... 

 

 

15 hours ago, Shrooba said:

Awesome read man! On the note of Dirt Rally 2.0, if you're hesitant on starting it at this moment, I would recommend trying out Gran Turismo 6 for the PS3. Since Gran Turismo games are comparable to that of "simcade" games, a mixture of both arcade and simulator racing experiences, I think it could be a good bridge that'll ease you into simulator-esque games. It's also the only GT without any pesky online trophies, they're all single-player.
The only issue is, I'm not sure you have a PS3!

 

Yeah, I don't  I had a X360 before coming back to PlayStation. In any case, thanks for the suggestions! The good thing about Dirt Rally 2.0 is that the game itself and most of the DLC isn't necessarily too hard to do from what I hear. It's only that one DLC challenge that is brutal. But that also means that I will have plenty of time to get used to the genre just by playing that game and doing everything else first! That's also why I am excited to get to it soon... I think it is a good entry point into the genre, easing me into it with moderately difficult challenges, culminating in an extreme task that will probably ask everthing of me.   

 

 

Quote

Also on a completely unrelated note, CTR: Nitro-Fueled is another fantastic fictive arcade racer if you're looking for more of those!

 

? I bought it a couple of weeks ago... Probably going to be among the next 2-3 games I tackle! 

 

 

15 hours ago, Joe Dubz said:

Quite the exquisite write-up as usual, Arc! I am definitely digging this new format too.

 

I just dropped in to say your worst fears will probably be realized with SMBF... The precision required for those Dark Worlds is just CRAZY at times!! Your timing has to be absolutely crucial. One good example is if you punch an enemy and try to dash again immediately, you won't dash! You have to wait until the moment the punch animation is through before it will work again. Should you accidentally hit the button prematurely, you will not be able to dash again until you touch the ground or punch another enemy. This led to many, many deaths for me until I got the timing down better!

 

You know, hearing that the controls are precise is actually pretty reassuring. From watching some gameplay (for example your videos), the "pauses" whenever you hit an enemy seem to break the flow of the game a bit, though maybe it is less noticeable when you are the one playing. 

 

Not only that, but the level design seems... confusing, to say the least. There are a lot of sections where I'm thinking "how the hell does he know where he has to go....". I guess after solving the section once it's clear, but it doesn't always feel intuitive to me. I hope I'm wrong though   

 

 

Quote

Another key difference with this one is the characters. Whereas in SMB, you had some peeps that could double jump, or ones that were smaller with smaller hitboxes, making certain sections easier. Well all that goes out the window here! There are 15 or so characters to choose from, however as best as I can tell it's all just cosmetic. They all play exactly the same and there are no inherent differences to speak of that I've noticed. 

 

I enjoyed having characters with different abilities in the original, but it is not a requirement for a good platformer in my book. Most platformers I've played stick with one character for the entire game, and it is never something I even notice. SMB was different in that regard, but it doesn't bother me that the sequel doesn't follow through.  

 

And hey, if this is the only negative you could list... Then the game really must be great!   

 

 

Quote

With all that being said tho, I'm looking at things like this: you and I both had the wherewithal to stick out SMB, so I feel like this game won't be much different. Those Dark Worlds are going to be all about practice and perseverance!! I really want to make this plat 200, so I'm giving it my absolute all  Good luck if you do decide to tackle this beast!

 

For sure... I just feel like it will be a completely different beast. I know you also didn't think that SMB lived up to its reputation. In this case, I think SMBF is being underestimated. But hey, I will see for myself soon enough

 

Good luck to you as well! You are making incredible progress, looking forward to more videos!  

Edited September 2, 2021 by Arcesius

[KindaSabbath]

1 hour ago, Arcesius said:

Right, cause you play children games only  But to be honest, @Baker said it best in his own thread... He plays the games he enjoys, and it just happens that he enjoys largely genres that are relatively chill (despite him having completed insane games as well, of course). I try to do the same, but while there is an overlap in the games we enjoy, my preferences are quite different. 

 

I didn't really discover challenging games until I had a PS4... I played a lot of JRPGs, Hack and Slash (Onimusha, DmC, God of War, etc...) when I was younger, never got into multiplayer or online-focused games, I enjoyed party games on the Game Cube or the Wii... But I never played games for their challenge. 

It was only when I got a PS4 that I made my first ever online account... and having a financially more stable situation (not being a student anymore), I could just buy games digitally... That opened a lot of doors I didn't know were even there! Additionally, joining PSNP was also a very deciding factor. I didn't know much about the indie market. I just bought games that, you know... were somewhat famous and had high ratings. Coming here allowed me to get inspiration from other people, and hear first-hand about amazing "hidden gems", or games that just are not THAT popular. 

 

I don't play "hard games" because they are hard. Similar to Baker, I play games that I genuinely hope I will enjoy. But in my case, it just turns out that those games are often - obviously not always - somewhat challenging. Still, I won't get out of my way to play a game only because it is hard, or it has low rarity trophies, etc... 

 

Exactly the reasons why, in my opinion, you also have such an impressive profile. Not so much because of all of the tough (which there are many?) completions... but because of your general, genuine passion and enthusiasm for these games! Your posts, your write-ups, the guides etc. You're very passionate about what you play and I respect the fuck out of that.

 

That's why I love these checklists. We're on a trophy forum. We love trophies. But in these checklists, I really feel the focus is on the games, trophies are a bonus.

 

I gravitate toward niche and hard as fuck games because that's what I enjoy the most. I'll only play what I'm interested in but if there's a game that I'm interested in, that just so happens to have a good level of challenge = my perfect kind of game. I really enjoy games that push you to master them. A trophy lists that pushes you in that direction is just the icing on the cake, for me. 

 

So I wholeheartedly agree - this place has put so many games on my radar that I was completely unaware of. So much so,  that if I keep adding to my backlog, I think I'm going to get a telling off from Mrs Sabbath ?

 

 

[Joe Dubz]

5 hours ago, Arcesius said:

You know, hearing that the controls are precise is actually pretty reassuring. From watching some gameplay (for example your videos), the "pauses" whenever you hit an enemy seem to break the flow of the game a bit, though maybe it is less noticeable when you are the one playing. 

 

Not only that, but the level design seems... confusing, to say the least. There are a lot of sections where I'm thinking "how the hell does he know where he has to go....". I guess after solving the section once it's clear, but it doesn't always feel intuitive to me. I hope I'm wrong though   

Oh yes, right... Those pauses are actually really helpful because they give you a split second to assess the situation!! Everything is moving so fast that it's really helpful once you get the timing down. 

 

As for the levels looking confusing, you're exactly right. It just takes practice and repetition to learn them well! A good example is I just started one of the harder levels yesterday, OxDEADBEEF... They are these crazy "glitched" levels and out of the roughly 4 hours I played yesterday, I could only get a no death run once on 5 out of 6. So I feel like that is going to be the general flow for the remaining no death runs!

 

5 hours ago, Arcesius said:

For sure... I just feel like it will be a completely different beast. I know you also didn't think that SMB lived up to its reputation. In this case, I think SMBF is being underestimated. But hey, I will see for myself soon enough

 

Good luck to you as well! You are making incredible progress, looking forward to more videos!  

This statement is incredibly true, as you can count me among those who severely underestimated this game ? But it really is a blast so I don't mind the punishment! Honestly man, I dunno if you or your fellow hosts would agree, but this one could certainly be considered as a most wanted bounty for the UR Cleanup ?

 

I appreciate the kind words Arc, and hopefully I'll have 1 more checked off before the weekend here! Cheers mate and I hope you've been enjoying Rad! Just let me know if there's anything the guide doesn't cover, honestly it could prob use a few updates but i just don't have the time ?

Edited September 2, 2021 by Joe Dubz