#soulslikes

[prokopetz]

I understand that when soulslikes do the whole "the Golden Age was a self-serving lie, the Kingdom has always been as rotten as it is now" thing they mean societally, but sometimes I like to imagine they mean it, like, physically. The Guardian of the Realm has always been a nine foot tall horsedog.

[breezingwing]

I think dark souls games were onto something when they decided that the only way for your character to get stronger was to kneel in front of a girl

[demilypyro]

Real hardcore gamers only

[smbhax]

Elden Ring

[adorablegorilla]

Spoiler-Free Thoughts On Silksong So Far:

This game is Team Cherry creating in full confidence in their abilities, and every aspect of the design reflects that, including the many rougher edges. It doesn't feel as smooth or as easy to get into a flow state in as in Hollow Knight, and that all feels very intentional.

While Hollow Knight was called a Soulslike for its more superficial elements, Silksong feels much more in common with the namesake games. Enemies are more like Souls enemies; common enemies are tougher, have longer windows between attacks, but can combo you with flurry attacks or by overwhelming you if you aren't careful. Some common enemies are tough enough to be drawn out fights. Many bosses can kill you in only a few hits. The game isn't afraid to let you walk into a boss arena you physically can't defeat with the tools you have and gave to walk out of and come back to ala Asylum Demon. Environmental hazards and traps are way more prevalent and dangerous. Even the NPCs talk more like Souls characters, from the plucky naive idealists to the stalwart smiths to the eccentric travelers to the foolishly pious to the nihilistic loners. I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up running into a Patches analogue down the line.

It's a very different game from the first Hollow Knight, and that's done with 7 years of intentionality behind it. It's much tougher and more willing to be mean to the player, and not everyone will jive with that. I can't honestly speak about whether I like it more or less than Hollow Knight yet, but I can honestly say that I'm fascinated and captivated by it.

[bloodbrown]

[tinsin]

Why are they called "From Soft," but people say their games are "Too Hard?"

[summergoodwife]

Tragically as a souls hater (/j) I think "Dominicus System but John died but we're barely managing to keep the sun from imploding" would be a phenomenal setup for a soulslike game. Call it Bones of Dominicus or smth