Games you are currently playing - Part 7

Soldier13Fox

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Oct 8, 2013
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Just started Dark Souls 3. It's my first Soulsborne, wanted to try it to know if buying other FromSoft product was worth it.

I'm at the first level (Highwall of Lothric) and am pretty much enjoying it. I actually was expecting even harder than the game is.

I mean, it's hard, but if you're patient, look at your surroundings and tread carefully, it gives you most of the clues you need. I dislike the lack of bonfires quite a bit though, but mostly because of playing time issues. Combat is pretty good and I like the ennemies. The atmosphere is outstanding. I'm enjoying it for now.
The whole, "it's hard" thing is both a good and a bad thing when it comes to the Soulsborne games. I think it turns a LOT of people off; people that would likely enjoy the games shy away since it's too hard. It is hard, but it's generally pretty fair. The rush you get after beating a boss that bested you 20-30 times prior is insane. Have fun and try to do it blind if you can! My favorite games of all time...
 

GlassesJacketShirt

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Aug 4, 2010
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Sherbrooke
Just started Dark Souls 3. It's my first Soulsborne, wanted to try it to know if buying other FromSoft product was worth it.

I'm at the first level (Highwall of Lothric) and am pretty much enjoying it. I actually was expecting even harder than the game is.

I mean, it's hard, but if you're patient, look at your surroundings and tread carefully, it gives you most of the clues you need. I dislike the lack of bonfires quite a bit though, but mostly because of playing time issues. Combat is pretty good and I like the ennemies. The atmosphere is outstanding. I'm enjoying it for now.

I think DSIII is also very refined compared to the first two entries in the series, it helps in preventing some frustrating elements I won't mention here. Also think DSIII has excellent boss quality (not all of them are hits but none of them are objectively awful), and if you have the DLC included then boy oh boy are you in for a tough, painful but wonderful treat.

Could talk about these games forever.
 
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Frankie Blueberries

Allergic to draft picks
Jan 27, 2016
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I preferred the original Dark Souls (you should try the remastered one after you finish Dark Souls 3 - you can get it on sale for $10-15). Just a personal preference, but I enjoyed the map/intertwined world and atmosphere more.
 

Oogie Boogie

Registered User
Apr 9, 2011
23,920
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Near the end of Bravely Default II, which has been better then Bravely Default 1 (Which I liked).
Curse of the Dead Gods (A fun roguelike)
About to start up on Foxhole soon (this afternoon or tomorrow)
 

GlassesJacketShirt

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I preferred the original Dark Souls (you should try the remastered one after you finish Dark Souls 3 - you can get it on sale for $10-15). Just a personal preference, but I enjoyed the map/intertwined world and atmosphere more.

The first half of Dark Souls I is in its own stratosphere in terms of level design, heck even the boss quality is pretty decent overall.

Having said such, its second half is considerably weaker and the interconnected design dissipates almost entirely. Don't think it's a coincidence this comes after being able to transport between bonfires due to the Lordvessel.
 

Andrei79

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Jan 25, 2013
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The whole, "it's hard" thing is both a good and a bad thing when it comes to the Soulsborne games. I think it turns a LOT of people off; people that would likely enjoy the games shy away since it's too hard. It is hard, but it's generally pretty fair. The rush you get after beating a boss that bested you 20-30 times prior is insane. Have fun and try to do it blind if you can! My favorite games of all time...

It's funny because when I started playing, the first thing that came to mind was that this plays like older games. Being patient, careful, taking time to understand the mechanics and level design... This is pretty much what we grew up on before everything was dumbed down. I've always taken time to just learn the mechanics without necessarily going further in a game. I'm at a bonfire now and just practicing rolls, parrying and backstabs.
 
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Andrei79

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Jan 25, 2013
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I think DSIII is also very refined compared to the first two entries in the series, it helps in preventing some frustrating elements I won't mention here. Also think DSIII has excellent boss quality (not all of them are hits but none of them are objectively awful), and if you have the DLC included then boy oh boy are you in for a tough, painful but wonderful treat.

Could talk about these games forever.

Does every boss have a shortcut like on the High Wall ? Just wondering if it's worth trying to find them on every map or I'd be wasting time.
 

GlassesJacketShirt

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Does every boss have a shortcut like on the High Wall ? Just wondering if it's worth trying to find them on every map or I'd be wasting time.

I think most bosses have a shortcut of getting to them, but they're usually obvious. Crystal Sage might be an early game exception, and some shortcuts save on enemy encounters but might not be dramatically quicker. The best example of shortcuts is the Cathedral of the Deep, a gigantic level that bases its design on one bonfire (with a second one being tucked away that is mostly for other purposes) but keeps providing shortcuts that all tie it back in to the rest of the level.

One boss you should definitely find the shortcut for is the Abyss Watchers encounter, which is located once you get to the section with the dark soldiers fighting the weirdo alien looking critters before opening the big doors. Anything to avoid the poison swamp once you're through with it.

Edit: Also super important you open the gate near the church bonfire in Irithyll of the Boreal Valley. Chances are the boss past the fog gate will kill you several times (probably the toughest boss in terms of difficulty spike in the game), you don't want to miss going down the stairs and opening the small gated shortcut.
 
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Bagge

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May 4, 2013
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Copenhagen
Phasmophobia is easily the best game in the last year.

Ghost wouldn't come out so I yelled into my mic and told it to go f*** itself.

Ghost decided to f*** me instead.

10/10 How to scream like a little girl simulator.
Does this has any connection to the game Phantasmagoria from 1994? First game I ever played
 

Soldier13Fox

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I think most bosses have a shortcut of getting to them, but they're usually obvious. Crystal Sage might be an early game exception, and some shortcuts save on enemy encounters but might not be dramatically quicker. The best example of shortcuts is the Cathedral of the Deep, a gigantic level that bases its design on one bonfire (with a second one being tucked away that is mostly for other purposes) but keeps providing shortcuts that all tie it back in to the rest of the level.

One boss you should definitely find the shortcut for is the Abyss Watchers encounter, which is located once you get to the section with the dark soldiers fighting the weirdo alien looking critters before opening the big doors. Anything to avoid the poison swamp once you're through with it.

The music during the Abyss Watchers fight is amazing.
 

Soldier13Fox

jävlar anamma (f'ing embrace, get with it)
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Because I recommended it to someone who had just completed D3, I started a replay of Grim Dawn. Fun game in the hack and slash style of Diablo from the makers of Titan Quest. One of these days I'll give Path of Exile a fair shake as well...
 

RandV

It's a wolf v2.0
Jul 29, 2003
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Wishful thinking, but I'm hoping they'll add that Hearth and Home update quickly because they'll lose players pretty quickly if there isn't new content soon-ish. My friends and I beat the game a week or two after launch, there's very little to do now that is a challenge other than the monotony of collecting resources. I know it's a small team of people so I don't think a big update would be coming yet.

I don't think there's any reason to be worried. This isn't a big massively expensive "live service" game, they could just stop now and you could consider it a massive success. As things are though they've made bank already so that takes off that pressure. Rather than a steady consistent player base you'll probably see it rise and fall alongside content updates, there's no real rush.

This game though makes me hopeful I'll see the game I've been wanting forever, an Elders Scroll type game built of random generation. Bethesda did this with TES II: Daggerfall, which was something ridiculous like 200,000 square kilometers of alpha-version random generation, then switched to hand crafted map for Morrowind and never went back. Now you don't want it to be that big, but I can't help thinking how an improved version of Daggerfall's core but with Valheim's maps/biomes would be like.
 

Andrei79

Registered User
Jan 25, 2013
15,244
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I think most bosses have a shortcut of getting to them, but they're usually obvious. Crystal Sage might be an early game exception, and some shortcuts save on enemy encounters but might not be dramatically quicker. The best example of shortcuts is the Cathedral of the Deep, a gigantic level that bases its design on one bonfire (with a second one being tucked away that is mostly for other purposes) but keeps providing shortcuts that all tie it back in to the rest of the level.

One boss you should definitely find the shortcut for is the Abyss Watchers encounter, which is located once you get to the section with the dark soldiers fighting the weirdo alien looking critters before opening the big doors. Anything to avoid the poison swamp once you're through with it.

Edit: Also super important you open the gate near the church bonfire in Irithyll of the Boreal Valley. Chances are the boss past the fog gate will kill you several times (probably the toughest boss in terms of difficulty spike in the game), you don't want to miss going down the stairs and opening the small gated shortcut.

Thanks for the tips.

DS3 has been weird up to now. It kind of reminds me of a number of games a the same time. I feel like I'm trying to finish Battletoads or Batman on the NES. It's old school in the way you end up remembering every detail in your level by heart. The dread and slow pace is a lot like Resident Evil 4 (the best of the franchise by far imo). And at the same time, it's kind of a grim, dark, Zelda that's in Berserks world, where your protagonist is silent and the story/lore is given to you through subtext and landmarks.

I wasn't sure if I'd be able to find enjoyment in the repetitive nature of the game, but for some reason I keep coming back and doing long sessions. But man, I must have put in a few hours just on the high Wall trying to find and learn everything. This looks like it's going to be a 70-90h game for me.

Im finishing BoTW after 100h+ and after DS3, I still have RDR2 and Kingdom Come Deliverance. No idea how long all of this is going to take me lol.
 
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GlassesJacketShirt

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Thanks for the tips.

DS3 has been weird up to now. It kind of reminds me of a number of games a the same time. I feel like I'm trying to finish Battletoads or Batman on the NES. It's old school in the way you end up remembering every detail in your level by heart. The dread and slow pace is a lot like Resident Evil 4 (the best of the franchise by far imo). And at the same time, it's kind of a grim, dark, Zelda that's in Berserks world, where your protagonist is silent and the story/lore is given to you through subtext and landmarks.

I wasn't sure if I'd be able to find enjoyment in the repetitive nature of the game, but for some reason I keep coming back and doing long sessions. But man, I must have put in a few hours just on the high Wall trying to find and learn everything. This looks like it's going to be a 70-90h game for me.

Im finishing BoTW after 100h+ and after DS3, I still have RDR2 and Kingdom Come Deliverance. No idea how long all of this is going to take me lol.

Clear your schedule, all I can say. :p
 

Andrei79

Registered User
Jan 25, 2013
15,244
27,206
Still playing Dark Souls 3. I'm finishing Irithyll of the Boreal Valley. It's quite a game that the further I go, the more I want to play. I'm fully addicted to the point I'm watching lore videos on youtube to understand the story more. I've beaten most bosses in my first or second try (just finished Wolnir and Sulyvahn on my first tries). I was one hit away from beating the old demon king on my first try but rushed it and then lost patience. That one took 4 tries. I might be over levelled though, if that's possible. I explore every nook and cranny. If I go too far along without a bonfire or with too many souls, I go back to the last bonfire. This game is basically built for patient gamers like me lol. Anyways, so happy I got into this series.
 

Soedy

All Hail Cale
Nov 27, 2012
2,633
2,086
Hamburg, Germany
Started a solo legendary run on the Halo games. Only did this with Reach, 4 and 5. Finished CE and just started Halo 2. Why am I doing this to me?
 

HanSolo

DJ Crazy Times
Apr 7, 2008
97,166
31,730
Las Vegas
Been bouncing between Apex Legends on Ps4, my third route hard mode run of Fire Emblem Three Houses, a Hades run every other two days, NHL 20 be a pro, and the occasional hour of Rocket League.
 

explore

I was wrong about Don Granato and TNT
Jun 28, 2011
3,752
3,434
Finally got around to playing Witcher 3, I think six years after I bought it

The nice thing is that I've now got a good enough computer to play it at 4k/max settings and still get 60 FPS. I hope NVIDIA comes out with a DLSS 2.0 update for Witcher 3 so I can get an FPS bump so it doesn't drop below 60 FPS

Graphics has aged really well for the game, and the story telling is solid. I've only put in about an hour, but I'm looking forward to playing through the game and finally learn the story
 
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