It looks pretty rough, and DS2 has a weird rhythm to the dodging and invincibility frames that takes time to get used to when switching back and forth. I’m glad I played Scholar for the remixed content, but I retired the game immediately afterwards.
Sounds like the BB DLC is good, but not amazing. If I do a NG+ run through is it worth doing the DLC?
New content is always worth it in these games. The DLC may be difficult in NG+.
It doesn’t look as good as Bloodborne, but it runs at twice the framerate. Absolutely worth playing!
So are these types of games the new Megaman or what? Explain them to me.
More like Conkers Bad Fur Day meets Lode Runner.
More like a ruthless Zelda, akin more to the exploration of the NES games as opposed to the puzzle solving of more modern Zelda games. At least that’s what it harkins back to for me, though I suspect that for the speedrun community it is much more a Megaman type of experience.
I branded the original Dark Souls that way, but the checkpoints and level design become more fair with each new game.
I’m thankful for that, some of the run backs in Demon’s Souls are miserable. Though I have to admit that knowing you have to run the level again if you fail does tend to ramp up the tension of the bosses.
My wife and I bought our a PS4 over the holidays and Bloodborne was the first game (and only, really) game that I’ve bought for it. I had heard of, but hadn’t played, Dark Souls and thought it sounded right up my alley. Boy was I right. I’ve only played it a bit (Fallout 4 and Elite continue to dominate my gaming time), but so far it’s great.
Of course, I just need to figure out how to level-up and stuff.
Do you want that question answered, or would you rather figure it out yourself?
Oh I’ll figure it out on my own. I sort of figure some stuff is locked behind progress in the game world and forcing me to learn to not die constantly is part of that :)
Yeah, Just keep pushing out into the world and see what comes. :)
I will offer one piece of non-spoiler advice though, if you find yourself up against a brick wall, try venturing off in another direction. You might find another path that is a little easier, or perhaps something that can help. Some folks can get really frustrated since they have heard Souls is hard so they just keep beating their head against a wall, when in fact, a little more exploration might have improved their lot.
Since people are revisiting the other Souls games in anticipation of Dark Souls 3 I figured I’d return to playing this one. I loved it when it came out, but I guess I got distracted by another game, then Witcher 3 happened. Fired it up last night and got hit with a 9 gb patch, but after that it was easier than I thought to jump back into it. Played a ton of it and brought down 7 bosses. Amygdala gave me some trouble, but I think I was overleveled for some of the other bosses since they were pretty easy. The addiction is back, think I’ll get the DLC since it looks like I’m at the point of no return.
I started fresh the other day and weirdly didn’t die until Father Gascoigne and was just cruising along. I even killed the first werewolf in the clinic bare handed.
It’s clicking nicely so I’m going to see how far I get before DS3 distracts me.
I don’t think this is for me. In fact, I’m actively less enthused about a “faster paced” Dark Souls 3 if this is what I have to look forward to. I can’t even beat the first boss. I’m on attempt 12, have leveled up to 25 (that’s 15 more levels than when you start) - farmed enough materials to get my axe to +3, watched videos for tips and tricks and even some cheese tactics, and even found the secret weapon you can use to take him out “easy” Easy. HAH. Can’t even get to his third phase reliably. I’ve been in the first area since Saturday, I still don’t know what any other part of the game looks like.
Part of it is the speed the game seems to flow. I don’t have the best timing, so the only way to succeed is to parry with the pistol. Which, when mistimed, is pretty much a re-try for the entire combat, especially in his second phase. I beat Dark Souls and Dark Souls 2, multiple times even, but this is just confounding me. It’s neat, it’s pretty, but I couldn’t even get past the first area before the frustration over took the fun and beat the piss out of it. In a rage I just powered off my PS4, so no way I’m beating him tonight. I refuse to play any more tonight, after 2 hours of grinding and trying to get ready. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe I never touch it again. I’m leaning towards the latter right now.
I didn’t like Bloodborne at all either. But from watching Tom’s Dark Souls 3 stream, I really don’t think the game feels all that different from Dark Souls 1. Just different in a few improved ways, at least, from watching it, and then playing Dark Souls, I kept thinking, boy I wish I could do such and such that I saw Tom do in the new game. But the rhythms of combat didn’t seem all that much different to me.
That’s one of the hardest bosses in the game relative to your experience level. I would spend the time to learn to parry instead. Dash back and do it on his second or third swipe, then dash forward to riposte. Like all Souls bosses, it helps to learn to dodge first without ever trying to counterattack.
That fight took me at least 20 tries and I almost gave up on the game as well (assuming you mean the first non-optional boss fight, which is what it sounds like from your description). I’m glad I stuck with it, if that’s any consolation, as I really enjoyed the rest of it and never had the same level of frustration as with that boss battle.
Thinking about frustration in this series, I can think of a point in each one of the four games where I either seriously contemplated giving up or actually did give up but then came back much later.
Demon’s Souls - almost quit after getting stuck on Old King Allant
Dark Souls - quit the first time attempting the Bell Gargoyles; returned some time after the DLC was released and finished.
Dark Souls 2 - quit once before even reaching the first boss and almost quit after the second attempt when reaching The Pursuer.
Bloodborne - mentioned above.
Interesting that all but the first in that list are early in the game.
A lot of people like to fight Father Gascoigne around trees or the headstones, but every time I try that I hate it.
For me, I like picking the fight by the stairs with more room to maneuver and not get stuck on shit. If I need a breather run all the way along the top and drop through the gap in the railing on top of the small mausoleum then roll off there and run back to the stairs.
Then again, that’s just my thing but it works better for me.
Thanks for the advice, guys. It’s good to know I’m not just suddenly terrible at these games - not that I’m an expert or something, but I do feel more competent than not by and by. I actually did give it (five or so) more shots and finally beat him… with fire. For some reason it never occurred to me until just a few minutes ago to actually just BUY some cocktails and toss them during that last phase, which worked perfectly and I beat him! Yay!
It’s further good to know I can still lean on some different game play options in Dark Souls 3 next week, with options like magic, heavy armor builds, shields, and the like as opposed to ONLY Dex/Parry builds - which is what I’m weakest at. I parried even Father Fuckface a few times, which was awesome, but it seems like you have to be freaking exact to pull it off, and I’m just not that guy anymore (if I even was as a young lad).
The main thing I remember taking away from the Father G fight is that it’s not always best to back off and heal. In Dark Souls if you get hit, you generally back off and heal. In Bloodborne though, you can heal yourself by attacking some more and that is what got me through that fight. He’d get a hit on me and I’d rush in and beat him with the cane a couple times, doing damage while restoring my health. The game really encourages a more aggressive play style compared to Dark Souls which caused me to get my ass beat for the first few hours.