A good idea, in terms of lore and story (an Italian soulslike!), devastated by the technical development. Clunky animations, enemies and bosses with super armor constantly eating frames, feinting, never stop attacking. I just got shot by captain spaventa because I couldn't land the last hitwith him flying around, stomping, and slashing.
This is too much, it's not even fun anymore.
Go back to develop mobile games.
Wasn't expecting to love TWO soulslike in a month, LotF and Lies of P.
And I admit I had high expectations on both, but the former is the one who surprised me the most.
A huge step forward compared to the first one, in every direction.
They did their homework well, and took huge inspiration from Souls games, in both art/design and gameplay/combat system.
After 12 hours in, 3 main and 5 mini bosses down, what I loved the most is the Umbrial Lantern mechanic, it really gives the game a deeper layer of gameplay and a lot more variety; you have to learn basically two maps for each area, including exclusive shortcuts, traps, enemies, and even bosses and strategies.
And while sometimes you're forced to use it, some other times it will give you the creeps...like using it on the open area right next to the Skyrest Bridge "Nexus".
Great job indeed, kudos to this talented studio who gave new life to a forgettable, and about to be forgotten, game.
Mr. Coo truly looks like a work of art, and indeed it is, but also like lan unfinished product.
I mean, you can't end a game like that, after like one or two hours of gameplay.
If you're good at point and click adventures, you'll complete it in a jiffy, without even looking for help.
And it's a shame, it's a kinda unique game but it was meant to be episodic they should have put a huge disclaimer about it.
My favourite PS5 game to date, loved every second of it. Main story is fantastic, less cryptic than From games, as well as every character and their respective quests. I wasn't expecting the ending plot twist, loved that as well and how they left something open for future DLCs or (finger crossed) sequels.
I hope they will create a soulslike fairy tale world, imagine Alice in Wonderland made like Lies Of P!
References from the original tale and its original artworks are top notch, if you happen to find a book of it you'll know what I mean. I came across a copy of it after finishing the game, and had a blast on how they adapted it.
I had Bloodborne, Sekiro, and even Nier vibes while playing it. Combat system is very good, as well as character growth and abilities. They improved dodging a lot from the demo, and made a few tweaks on it, like when you slide after being hit. There might be a slightly better cancel on some attack animations, but nothing to worry about when you master the weapon moveset.
Also when you unlock Lv. 7 P-Organ in NG++ nothing can stop you with the right gear, sothe game really adds something into replayability, since you can't farm upgrading items.
Boss fights are challenging and offer a lot of variety, some of them are so good that end up being better than some From-made bosses. I didn't even know Neowiz existed as a studio before Lies Of P, and now they are amongst my favourites.
Looking forward to play the DLCs and future releases.
One of the best entries in the Devil May Cry series indeed. Seriously, let's be honest, this is a good game, great in some aspects, but definitely not so Final Fantasy-ish. There's no party whatsoever, you fight alongside npcs that may or may not be there, it wouldn't matter. And sometimes they kinda distract you, with Thorgal jumping around, Jill spamming spells everywhere, while you try to understand what the hell is going on with Clive flashy moves. Npcs who sometimes have little to no personality. Jill will never be as good as Tifa, Aerith, Rinoa, or Yuna. And it's a shame, because others like Cid are very good. Same for the antagonists, many of them are poorly written and developed. Another huge letdowns are the complete absence of party customization (no equipment, weapons, setup), and that there's basically no depth in combat. No elemental weaknesses or strategy, you can take down a Piros or a fire based boss with Phoenix fire moves, lol. About enemies, there's no variety, and except for some iconic foes, they're too generic. Bees? Deers? Wolves? A FF game deserves something better. Same goes for the world and areas, they're too generic and poorly designed. There are also lightning issues in some dungeons, everything looks dark and grey. What's good then? Well the story is great, and some fights are epic. I'm halfway through the story and can't wait to take down the next antagonist. Clive is a great MC alove the way he's developed and the story of his family. Combat way too DMC-ish for a FF but good without a doubt. So a good game that feels like it's developed from SE team C, while A and B are creating a true FF which is FFVII Rebirth. It will be a nice adventure, but not a good FF.
Got my first plat on PS4, no DLCs, and really enjoyed the game. Beautiful art style, nice story, and challenging combat system in some fights. Recently got it again on PS5 (it was free on PSN) this time playing it all on Bloody Whisker difficulty. Man it was brutal, not because of the insane damage enemies do, but because of their speed. You'll learn how to use Ultra Instinct against Stalkers, Ratnor Rodentson, Sha Moon, and basically every DLC boss. If the base game/original difficulty might be challenging, this was 10x times harder. Really loved it, only flaw is that it has 0 replayability, and no NG+ with extra rewards whatsoever.
I read the negative reviews after starting the game, and downloading a whopping 167 GB patch! Maybe that fixed all the issues? Because so far (2 hours in) I haven't experienced a single one, I'm on performance mode. Game looks awesome though. Raised the score after making it to the last story chapter, I must say this game deserves a 10 for me. I was expecting everything but THAT plot twist. Don't know how it's going to end, but so far it was an incredible experience, well written and more Star Wars than the latest movies.
As a seasoned Soulslike player, Steelrising surprised me. Ok, it's not as big and polished as Elden Ring, and the graphics might be quite outdated, but the setting had me. Love the design in general; Aegis, her weapons and armor sets, and enemies/bosses; they made a great job. Level design is also very interesting, because again it may not be as good as From games, but it has Metroidvania mechanics that make you go back exploring to unlock new areas and secrets. Some areas might look "empty", and sometimes confusing to travel at first, but in general there are a lot of shortcuts and secret passages that will help you. CS is always good, the stun mechanic really gives you a huge advantage against most enemies and bosses, and weapons are different and fun to play. NG+ is very good because it adds new enemies (mostly different element based and reskins), weapons, and even lv. 4 modules, love this, and it was helpful while doing a 2nd for the platinum. DLC is also good, new huge area with more new enemies (three new this time), weapons, modules, and a boss. Really happy when "minor" studios deliver games like this one, great job indeed!
This game gave me so many good vibes from just the preview images on the PS Store, that I got it day one, without watching trailers, gameplays, or anything else. Glad I did it, and played it without knowing anything. Survival horror at its finest, thanks to its setting. Managed to cared me, and made me feel very uncomfortable countless times. The Story is a bit short, got the plat in 9 hours, including the brutal no-deaths speedrun, but beautiful and well written. Level design is good and every area is kinda unique, although the mechanics are simple, but what I loved the most are the bosses. At least two of them have better design and mechanics than 90% of the one I faced in many other AAA games. Maybe with a 2/3 hours longer story, and a couple of other boss fights, it'd have been perfect for my tastes. But I won't complain, I look forward to dlcs, sequels, or other projects from this talented studio!
As a huge OP fan, i liked this **** not that much. Character models are good, CS is good, story is nice, but that's pretty much it. Some areas are way too big (the desert) and repetitive, as well as dungeons. On the other hand, the main island is too small. Bosses are ok but you fight the same in every OP game (3 Admirals, Doflamingo, Smoker, Crocodile...). Other OP titles had much more characters to play as and fight. Also i don't like when developers abuse generic elemental enemies as ****'re in the OP world, make at least some human enemy with a bit of personality, not the same colossus over and over again, it's getting lame.
I have mixed feelings on Wo Long. It's basically Nioh 3 with a chinese setting, but with some pros and cons. Good CS overall, with Sekiro influences. Parrying is difficult sometimes, and some enemies/bosses spam attacks like crazy, but once you get the hang of it, negating every boss move is quite awesome. Nioh-like character growt and equipment system, forging and upgrading are quite simple, but sometimes also not so intuitive. Nice Level design, quite Nioh-ish but more vertical (another Sekiro influence). Not-so-good graphics, levels and characters looks quite updated for a PS5 game (models from a DW game maybe?), but some bosses are very good in the other hand. Boring story, jumps from the Yellow Turban rebellion into another 2 or 3 major battles with the elixir gimmick. Main antagonist is another Kashin Koji wannabe, quite generic/lame. But game was fun overall, looking forward to play the DLCs.
I had a blast with Wild Hearts. 2nd run with bow type character, will do a 3rd later to try the cannon. Some may say it's a MH clone, but for me it's a Hunting Game; it's like saying KOF is a SF clone because it has punches and kicks. It may not be as polished as the Capcom counterpart (only played World/Iceborne), but it has much more variety in monsters (too many dragons/lizards in MH) and bigger (but fewer) regions, which is better for me. What I'm loving the most is its Japanese setting and influence overall, even in smaller details. Kemonos are very well designed creatures, fun to hunt. Weapons are fun to use and I have a Bloodborne-ish feeling when you awaken or transform them, and another thing I love is the Armor sets evolution, from balanced to human or kemono. Some of them look dope. The Karakuri mechanic is fun as hell, as well as the "inspiration" you get in some hunts to create healing springs, walls, cannons...really adds a deeper level of fun in hunting. As I said it may not be the most polished game, and has its flaws for sure, but gameplay is solid. And most importantly FUN.
Ok so Awards are over, so I can finally post here without the "hey, review bombing!" The Good - Draupnir - Sindri - Thor design - Overall variety in enemies and bosses (compared to the first game) The Bad (everything else) - Kratos is a wuss and you only see a glimpse of the God of War that he is after fighting Heimdall. Other than that, it's God of Mumbling (*hmpf* in one of his best lines) - Disney-ish influence all over the place; childish dialogues full of gags, probably written by a 10 years old "you've been bifrosted bro!". Inside Out squirrels. inclusive Giants and other characters because hey, there cannot be a White Wakandian, but for the Sake of Gods Norse Mythology was full un Black characters. - Odin says "f*ck" and things like that like there's no tomorrow. Very appropriate in a GoW game. - Crappy enemies that go ice skating while they're far but attacking because they HAVE to hit you, or force you to block/parry. - Enemies that won't stagger unless they decide you can make them stagger, like... - ...Berserkers; they have to finish their attack patterns before you can do anything. And they're soooo boooooring. - Oh another Valkyrie...maybe **** wait there's more! *sigh* - Some huge areas (Svartalfheim, Vanheim) and others that are just a corridor (Helheim) or wasted (Jotunheim). They're just an asset for GoW 3? - Crappy story, Ragnarok is something that happens in the background while you make your way though corridors killing anonymous enemies. - No sense of wonder whatsoever. Asgard is just a bunch of huts with a tavern nearby, and the realms in general lack structures that make you feel like you're exploring something mythological. - No sense of wonder fighting bosses, except maybe for Nidhogg. I want to fight things like Posedon, the colossus from GoW or the hydra from the first game, something that makes me say "oh shiii how am I supposed to take it down? but I'm the God of War!" not a bear. - Thor is wasted, and you can't use Mjolinr. The God of War is no more.
I played every From title since Demon's Souls on PS3, when it was still an obscure game found in the back of some retailer's shelves. I loved all of them, they always were beautiful, inspired, and challenging. But fair. Elden Ring is by far the most beautiful; visually stunning and with one of the best maps ever created, you just can't stop exploring. But. There's a huge But. It crossed the line which separates a challenging, yet fun, game, from a painful and frustrating experience. After 105 hours I'm sick of being stunlocked by everything, from floor damage to arrows, even when wearing a Scale Armor. I'm sick that every type of enemy, even dragons, keep jumping around like ninjas. I'm sick of the near-infinite enemy combos that end up with a dodge or backstep /repeat. I'm sick of the constant need of using an overall artificial difficulty which is nowhere near to the concept of Fun. Yes, Elden Ring is where From games stopped being fun.
Been playing for a few days and I have to say it, this is Worst MK in the entire series. I still remember when I played the first one in the arcade, and them the others on PS1, 2 and 3. Those games had Personality. But with this entry, the series lost all its appeal to me. Same old story, boring new characters, crappy game mechanics (the worst is when you jump, most of the time the AI reads your imput and walk towards you, and crossups don't work). Final story boss is completely wrong (no recovery, all she does is teleporting and spamming). About the design, female characters were almost asexualized (no more curves, makeup, all covered in body armors, Sheva looks like a guy), while males kept their stud shapes. MK was always an exaggerated game in ALL terms, but now they completely lost it. Another deological/mainstream art direction which is keeping games plain. Just look at the unlockable cosmetics section, they ALL LOOK THE SAME. Armors, armors, and even more armors. No more iconic clothing, again, for the female characters. Sonya, Cassie, Briggs...they all look the same. And Frost became just another cyborg ninja. Speaking of unlockables, the game inherited the worst of the videogame industry. Loot boxes, in-game currency (extremely hard to farm), microtransaction and loads of equipment which (again) all look the same. Injustice 2 was 1000x times better than this. MK died for me today.
I've been hoping three years for this game to be released on PS4. A love letter to Max Fleischer and 30's cartoons, with the finest art style I've ever seen in a videogame. Combat is also fun, bosses are challenging and unique. A true Gem.
As a fan of the original, it was the best game ever until chapter 18 happened. The intro, the feeling of bursting into the reactors living again this incredible story, the fight with the Airbuster, knowing you Avalanche mates better (Jessie!), meeting Aerith and walking on the rooftops with her, Wall Market, the Shinra Building, how some regular enemies from the original became bosses. I even liked some of the new content (a lot of fanservice and some filler but ok). But THAT final twist completely destroyed the love, FF7R could have follwed the original script and ended up being the best game ever, but no. Also, I'll never accept the fact that the game is censored; Tifa changes (while her Dissidia NT counterpart is perfect), Don Corneo picking only Cloud... No I'm not gonna buy part 2, and other SE games that involve Nomura and the Ethics Department.
