yeah i think that’s the other unstated side of my point – if you don’t like it on a vibes level, there’s not many more levels to like it on.
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I happen to find the vibes immaculate. I like all the melancholy bugs. I think the game does excellent “new area reveals” which is one of my favorite things in 2D search action games. The screen transition and then wow, a new environment and critters! I eat it up with a spoon.
The verbs are solid, the level design is a little meh although a few of the zones have good gimmicks. It’s fun to fight shit and Git Gud.
Count me among the Silk Song longers, though I should definitely take OSB’s recommendation in the meantime that game looks tite
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I was just looking at the PSN Preorders. Groaning at Silent Hill 2 Remake and noticing Dead Rising Remake and Romancing Saga 2 Remake
and
Grasshopper is rereleasing Shadows of the Damned but farmed out Lollipop Chainsaw rerelease
And Epic Mickey Remake, Suikoden Rerelease (this one is fine), Edgeworth Collection, Castlevania DS but now on a TV, Sonic Generations and Shadow
It was kind of funny when Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios remade a game that was already on the same hardware but really feels like we are in a moment of not bankruptcy because there are plenty of cool video games that have come out this year and if anything much shit is actually a sign of health but boy it don’t feel good.
I didn’t even know about this Search Action game by WayForward set in Yar’s Revenge??
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I feel like you might have known about l, but then saw this and decided to not transition that to long term storage. That’s what I did until I read this post.
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as someone who feels the same as you and kind of pushed through with gritted teeth (cause it seemed to be striking close enough to a lot of things i feel like i should like) i noticed some of its strengths only began to show really deep in, as previously visited characters and locations went through gradual story phases that implied a great span of time passing as you backtracked for the nth time trying to hold that massive map in your head. it’s an appropriate slow and heavy pace to how sleepy everything is aesthetically so i guess it’s the payoff for that aspect, but it feels like all the unique ideas for the game were conceived at that scale and little thought was given to making the connective tissue engaging (or even comfortable).
also, i loved this creepy lady
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isn’t there already a romancing saga 2 remake on psn?
it’s a shame that wayforward used to be a name that signified okay games with beautiful graphics, but now signifies mediocre games that look like shit
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there’s a “remaster” of the original with a bonus dungeon and the first English translation, the new thing is a 3d remake
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All of the JRPG remake talk ignores that Falcom has a game coming out called “The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 1st” like its ascending to TitS nobility.
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you end up unlocking similar moves. I played the first area (before anything unlocks) and reached the same conclusion. thanks, no I get it.
other local gamers vibed with it, and I got to appreciate the mapmaker’s wife sighing “bapa nada” as you return, and the Dung Defender’s extremely jovial ah, hups and hahs as he leaps around the arena
one mark in its favour is it rarely wastes your time with exposition
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Surprised this forum doesn’t have a « Hollow Knight SUCKS… or does it? » topic considering how recurrent this discussion has been
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i would love to work out what exactly happened between the release of the og Demons Souls and the release of Dark Souls 2 to where there Souls-type games became “mainstream gamer franchises for gamers” because it’s still very fascinating to me, as someone who has been plugged into broad gamer culture for decades because i still don’t know how this trajectory happened.
they are fairly inscrutable to me personally which i know is part of the charm and think the level of reward you described above is certainly a part of it, the only one i could ever get into from this linage is Sekiro but it’s also the only one that has both a novel setting (compared to the others) and a hook shot so i don’t know if that’s just what my particular type of brain glommed onto. i have such a small frustration threshold when it comes to these kinds of games, and it makes me really think about why some people play the ones that they do (in a nice reflective “wow that’s interesting” way, not in an old man yelling at cloud” way)
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From what I recall at the time, people really got behind early Souls being the pioneer of a resurgence in ‘old-school’ game design, particularly difficulty but also low exposition and high player choice. They were also genuinely innovative for how their multiplayer worked (bloodstains, invasions, certain bosses) which I think was one of their less discussed influences on games onwards. From there I think their difficult reputation developed into clout and critics who didn’t like them or found them too hard were seen as not ‘getting’ what makes games generally very special. They are really good games on their own merits but I think there was a subtle zeitgeist pressure there as well beyond ‘git gud’ memes.
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Seconding this entire post. I also think the following contributed:
- Original and compelling visual design
- Light horror theming
- Best in class player character animations
- Variety of approaches to the game thanks to the RPG elements
- All of the above contributing to a game that is more fun to watch on Twitch than most.
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One thing I’ve never seen written is that Souls has a real powerful immediate tactile appeal, the way the camera is positioned, weighty and realistic movement, while also moving away from the topical trend of elaborate animations outside of the player’s control (Arkham / Witcher combat)
Demon’s Souls was the first game when I felt like I could be the character on the screen and the series is still the closest to the ideal of experiencing a D&D campaign in action
I think there’s a huge normie appeal there and then afterwards the quality of level design etc has to win them over
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but also
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i don’t think you’re wrong to find them frustrating in the ways you do, but it’s really just because the way you and enemies move and swing your weapons is so hypnotically good
other people beat me, yeah
Ouka Studio’s whose game Visions Of Mana came out today to go under.
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Saw an ad for a Quidditch game coming out & I recently discovered that, since 2022, people who play Quidditch IRL refer to it as “Quadball” to distance themselves from JK so big Warner is already behind the Quadball curve with this.
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I remember playing Hammerfight after getting it in one of the original Humble Bundles, not getting along with it, turning mouse sensitivity so high that it was almost impossible to use any of its menus and the game now rotating and moving at such speeds to become both easier to handle and much more visceral of an experience.
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You mean this one?
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