Also Dark Souls. I was confused at first as I mostly ignored the story part since it’s not given to you on a plate and just stopped. Then years later I did a proper run and I’ll never forget it.
I’m still bouncing on DS. I’ve tried about 4 or 5 times now, getting farther each time, but honestly… Hating it more each time. The last time I just full on started cheating with Cheat Engine after a lot of frustration and I… Still ended up frustrated and exhausted by the gameplay.
That’s about where I’m at with it. The way people talk about it makes it feel like a stepping stone I’m supposed to experience at least once, but it’s not enjoyable for me. It’s just unrelenting punishment for the entire game.
If you want a “lite” kind of similar game. Jedi Fallen order had a similar kind of thing going on but I was able to play all the way through it. It wasn’t quite as punishing when you died.
Sorry anyone that doesn’t appreciate my comparison, that was just my thoughts on it. I know they are very different games overall.
It was the checkpoint thing and the combat that made it seem similar to me. Where you proceed through parts of the map before it lets you save and later you can open up shortcuts. Obviously Dark souls has more options for weapons but fundamentally they felt similar to me. I did not get very deep into Dark Souls.
I bounced off Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls, and it wasn’t until I played Bloodborne that I finally got it.
Don’t worry about souls (XP) and losing them when you die. Stick early XP into health for a bit to give you more chances to learn, and stamina for more rolling about. Your damage will come mostly from weapon upgrades.
Spend your first runs in a new area learning the enemy attacks and layout, and what you can block or have to roll away from. This is the main thing you’re levelling by playing. The old “gitting gud”. And it will happen, because honestly it’s not that hard for the most part. It’s just uncompromising, and will punish you when you stop paying attention.
Shortcuts are everywhere. Just about every area has something to unlock to make getting back to the boss faster.
Too much armour will be a hindrance. It’s heavy and makes it so you can’t move or roll as fast.
I totally get all of that, but like… It’s not fun? And I’m really REALLY bad. It took me way too long to get the timing down for even Undead Berg and other lower level areas. Like, it took me an embarrassing amount of time to even get out of the starting area. I just panic in games too much as soon as anything goes wrong. 😂
Yeah, I get you. I think some of the disconnect is because it looks like a standard hack and slash action game, but it kind of isn’t.
I dunno, it’s hard to explain. It’s like a lot of the difficulty is just understanding what it wants you to do. And you can hardly go look at how “good players” do it, because they’re running past everything in their underpants and parrying which is stupidly hard in DS1. The only place I needed to parry was the very last boss.
I found a good start in DS1 for most enemies was to put your shield up, walk in really close, and try and get behind them to stab. It’s kind of cheesy, and there’s a few things it won’t work for, but it served me pretty well until I got the hang of it more.
The first time was on PC and I started in Vvardenfell and I think I just didn’t like the setting or feel like using PC controls.
The 2nd time was years later, I was literally wanting a new mmorpg, so there was more desire, I did it on console, began in Khenarthi’s and found a fun guild. Worlds of difference for so many reasons.
I started with Dragon Age inquisition and I dropped it within the first half an hour. Years later, I started with DAO and now it’s my favourite serie; I replay dao way too much btw
Like just about everyone, I started the game by forgetting to equip the armour and weapon. Instadeath and rage at the weakest mobs.
Came back to it later and read some of the hint text, which helped to pass the first map. Then several months to grind away and complete every quest. Top game with an eclectic sense of humour. Very recommended.
Dota 2. First time I played it it was not for me, I only played it to hang out with my friends. Many years later I had an itch for it, so I started playing again. And I haven’t stopped. It is an excellent game.
Sekiro. Tried getting into it twice, but couldn’t - I always got mentally stuck at Lady Butterfly.
Third time, someone told me that I shouldn’t fight her until later, and HOT DAMN is this a good game. I’m still working on the final fight of the normal route, but can’t wait to go back and do the other endings!
I did the same thing. Bought it many years ago, it didn’t click with me. Tried again in 2020 and I’ve so far done all achievements and played through it about 5 times. Absolutely love it!
I still can’t get that game to click with me. I love an RPG but I just can’t get into it. I even love the characters etc and Netflix show (the first season anyway). Don’t know why, and at this point I can’t bear the thought of starting over again.
It didn’t click with me with either, I tried it for a few hours then put it down and forgot about it. A couple of Christmases ago I went back into it with a mindset of “just focus on the story missions rather than exploring every nook and cranny” and I got far enough that it really started to click and I was hooked.
The story is incredible, pretty much the whole way through. The progression and combat is delightful. The world is beautiful so you end up exploring it whilst naturally following your quest markers. To top it all the expansions are amazing and have really incredible moments.
Hollow Knight and Darkest Dungeon both fit this for me. When I initially played them there would be some pain point where I got frustrated with some wall in the exploration or a tough setback (like some classic darkest dungeon bullshit like 3 spiders getting critical hits in a row killing a hero at full health). But the atmosphere of both games kept pulling me back again and again, and each time I’d get a little bit further.
Now I can say I’ve beaten Darkest Dungeon probably a half dozen times, nearly 100% Darkest Dungeon 2, and beaten every pantheon in Hollow Knight (with bindings on all but P5).
Not sure if my obvious masochism was the biggest factor in these games pulling through for me, but I can still say they are fantastic experiences for anyone willing to dig in and face the challenges they have to offer.
Deep Rock galactic. I played it very early, didn’t feel it and refunded it. A year or so later I stumbled upon it again and bought it again. I really like it now.
Played them as demos back when that was a thing and I didn’t get why there’s spheres popping up making battle stop (semi-turned based combat) and why there’s a dude named Ashley.
Tried again a couple years later after playing FF7, connecting that they were all by squaresoft, and it all made sense. Absolutely became a couple of my favorites.
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