could be something to the doll theming + this seems kind of gay (positive)
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There’s a 2023 prototype/demo here:
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There’s also this like 9 GB group “demo disc” with a 2024 version of the prototype/demo but you have to slog through a 5-10 min unskippable and kinda horrid unrelated (ie not by this game’s dev, I don’t think) group intro and extra menus to get to it; also, this version of the prototype mostly seems to layer on additional filters/mechanics that just serve to bloat it out:
The combat is a bit nebulous and the buttons are slightly switched around from the Souls layout in a way that just seems designed to confuse those instincts, ie run/dash is on left face button instead of right face button and use/heal is on top face button instead of uh right face button or whatever. There’s a boss but maybe you have to hit her a certain number of times in quick succession to kill? Couldn’t quite figure that out and eventually gave up, a bit frustrated with the blobby combat.
Maybe the best Souls attempt I’ve seen outside of From, certainly by a solo dev. But the fluffy combat and increasingly convoluted prototypes don’t have me too confident I’ll be into the final version, so I haven’t wishlisted the Steam entry, which is
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Some of the dev’s pages if you’re curious:
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That sounds about right!
I saw the demo but couldn’t bring myself to download all the other horror jank. Thanks for posting your impressions!
Blobby combat sounds like a rejected Noel’s House Party game.
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Yeah, the 2023 prototype is a mere 157 MB download and has more streamlined play (and clearer graphics), so I’d definitely say try that one rather than the 2024 giant group collective “demo disc” if you’re only slightly curious about how this particular game plays.
I guess I tried it 'cause I’m still looking for more Souls-y games I could play, after From’s (just finished Ds1 so it’s on to Ds2 now : D). Haven’t found any yet that I’ve quite clicked with.
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If what you like about Souls games is tapping roll underneath big sweepy combat animations there’s plenty to recommend; if what you like is the marriage of recursive tricky dungeon design with impeccable atmosphere there is no one who comes close
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Bleak Faith: Forsaken is the only -like I’ve played that touches the essence of the Souls atmosphere. And it does so while introducing its own aesthetic concepts (Gigeresque robots, a water level, structures blending futuristic and medieval materials) instead of just running back the dark fantasy aesthetic again
It doesn’t really have the tricky dungeon design (it has more megaspaces along the lines of Anor Londo), much enemy/boss variety, nor much in the way of well-balanced combat.
All this (not to mention more than a few bugs — it was made by a tiny team) make its audience a lot more niche than most Soulslikes. Like, I had to be good at Souls to beat the first boss (the only DkS3-style one), but then I also needed to not particularly care about expressing my skill further to enjoy the rest of the game. But it turns out atmosphere is the #1 most important aspect for me, so I explored the whole game.
If these caveats sound acceptable, I can definitely recommend Bleak Faith: I was captivated by it for a whole weekend, and even as I remember it now, its spaces have a certain sharpness and vertiginousness to them
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Aesthetically it looks interesting, except it relies on the common crutch of flashing neon effects, which my eyeballs can’t hang with. Almost all Souls-wannabes–well okay, almost all current developers–seem to think From omits flashing FX by accident or something. ; )
(Except they didn’t in Sekiro which I am also not going to play. ; D)
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in case the link breaks
FlyKnight trailer; cool weird lo-fi bug-themed multiplayer dungeon crawler
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The uncanny shading and frame drops in FlyKnight are nice to look at.
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First Kingsfieldlike I’ve seen that looks like it has some legs (6 of em ayyyyyyy)
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new s-tribute ports coming for steam heart’s and advanced vg
what an age we live in
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Steam Hearts???
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It’s so important…
the kemonomimi porn stg
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Alert! Runescape is escaping containment!
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My old housemate worked as an animator at Jagex on RuneScape and when I asked him to move out with two months notice, I came home the very same day to find half his stuff thrown in the trash including all his dishes (my dishes) and even his sleeping bag. The only thing he left in the middle of his empty room we’re a pair of his girlfriends underwear. I called him bit he completely iced me and he still has my keys!
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