Soulslike - Discussion, News, Memes
This is a community for discussion, news, and memes pertaining to the video game sub-genre "soulslike".
Given Lemmy's size, the definition of soulslike may be treated relatively loosely. While games like the numerous FromSoft titles, the recent Star Wars Jedi games, Lies of P, Nioh and similar games should be the focus, games that incorporate soulslike elements - like Hollow Knight and Blasphemous, for example - may also be discussed here.
Basic Lemmy-quette applies. Additionally, since flairs don't exist yet, please do make sure to include a marker to denote what game your post is about in square brackets for clarity's sake. An example could be:
[BB] This enemy is so difficult!
or
[DS1] Anyone struggling with the gargoyles?
Friends:
Should you have any questions, please do let me know.
- Firestorm Druid
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Really hope they don’t make any more open world souls games. Open world games are already a plague on gaming and have consumed enough genres and series.
The level design is where souls games really shine, the interconnected world with secrets and shortcuts. The thought put into it really matters and you just can’t get that when the devs have to fill a literal continent. They can’t do that with dense levels. So you end up with a copy pasted empty world with clusters of details in places like the legacy dungeons.
Open worlds are unoptimized, lazy and uninteresting from a gameplay perspective.
It’s needless padding added to bloat out a game. Tedious walking (Torrent is only for single player 🙄) just to get to the next spot that has actual content. Most of the areas in Elden Ring are just landmasses that contain a single item worth gathering too.
An open world is a design choice with a subtext that to me says "go anywhere, you'll find something interesting no matter what". And when it's well executed, that's a fun way to play, just going in whatever direction looks intriguing and enjoying it every time.
That's... Not what the vibe of a Souls game is to me. I expect to be on my guard at every turn, creeping past dangers, searching for goodies, progressing carefully and learning the enemies' patterns. In that headspace, I'm not recklessly chasing my way to the horizon in search of fun, I'm warily hunting my way through an ugly crapsack world.
The twisting, vertical, meandering, highly constructed and closed-in design of those worlds lends itself to the sense of prowling through a dreadful mystery.
If he loves open worlds so much, I wish he'd do so in a setting that fits the subtext. Using open worlds as a "sense of scale" gimmick is not fresh or impressive anymore.