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.
Two questions - two answers. Curious to hear your thoughts!
I'll be doing some Bloodborne CoOp for a YT stream (Not my stream). Played some DS3 last night for the same stream. Hmmm. Worst optional boss? That damn clown in the post picture the first playthrough of LoP. It was more difficult than the actual boss that comes after it.
That's so cool! Feel free to drop a link for exposure ✨ Hope the stream goes well!
Calling the clown harder is a bit of a stretch, I feel like, but it's certainly frustrating as hell lol
Haha fair. The next boss just really reminded me of a dark souls-esque boss and the dodging just kind of clicked (I suck at parrying).
Stream was good, channel link is below.
Even after 7 playthroughs, that one combo in their 2nd phase gives me a lot of trouble. Haven't figured out a way to either dodge or parry it in its entirety, so I always end up half dodging half parrying and most of the time just running away as far as possible :D Though using a shot put or burst damage to deny the combo from starting in the first place was something I could pull off a couple times
Awesome!
I feel dodging is significantly easier, timing is weird with that combo, like you have to start moving a little bit before him? Idk, but dodging got me most consistently out of it. Still my favourite fight from the base game
˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗
It's a really awesome fight. The lore implications, especially on a repeat playthrough, are just chef's kiss
Going in I did not expect for this game to pull my heart strings (ba dum, tsss) so much. I got the bad ending last, and let me tell you I was NOT prepared. ( ˘̩╭╮˘̩)
Me too, I feel you so much
Agreed.
That's fair. I did also use consumables a bit. I think dodging to the left of it works. But stamina is the hardest part.
I attribute to that annoying fuck my only moment of rage in Lies of P.
Yeah. It was terrible. I don't think I beat it until almost the end of my playthrough.
More mini bosses rather than bosses but the Chained Ogre and Blazing Bull really bother me. They aren’t the worst to fight but they’re such different fights from the rest of Sekiro that placing them so near the start of the game really messes with new players I feel. Sekiro plays very different from the other Souls games so I feel it’s necessary to really nail the beginning portion to teach players the importance of deflects, but then you’ve got these two, where you’re better off dodging/avoiding attacks and that could confuse new players. If they were placed at the mid-game I wouldn’t have an issue with them.
If you want an actual boss, probably the Crystal Sage. Every time I replay DS3 I either sweep the boss and find it boring, or get one-shot from behind. I hate gank bosses in any implementation and this one is my least favourite.
100% agree on the Sekiro bosses. Few of my gripes I have with an otherwise perfect game
If those two bosses were either removed or reworked, and there was better relatability (not sure how it would work, given the style of game, without making major changes so it’s probably impossible), it would be my #1 game of all time probably. As it stands, I can replay Elden Ring far more without it feeling repetitive, and couple that with Shadow of the Erdtree, which, hot take, I believe to be the best content they’ve ever come out with, keeps Elden Ring at the first spot. Dark Souls would be a strong contender but the last third of the game holds it back for me. Dark Souls III is also close, and is probably second place for me, but the first bit of the game is a little rough. Elden Ring does have a rough portion too, but the open world makes it largely skippable. It’s got tight competition from other games outside the Souls series too though. I’m starting to get into Morrowind finally and could eventually see it eclipse Elden Ring but we’ll see. Skyrim and Oblivion are both really high on my list too. Dishonored and the Arkham games are also really high, along with both RDR games.
I’m curious, what’s your favourite Souls game? And your favourite non-Souls game?
I agree. There are a couple more mini-bosses, like the Headless, which I really don't care for and wouldn't care if they were removed, but the bull and the ogre are the most egregious examples. Like, include them if you want but not as the first two bosses - they just have barely anything to do with the main gameplay loop.
Good picks! I haven't finished Shadow of the Erdtree and I'm yet to finish a single Dark Souls game (DS3 is the one I was on my way to finish a couple months ago but I lost interest), but I know that all of them are worthy of being good favourites. No love for DS2? :P
I've always wanted to get into Morrowind, but the combat turned me off majorly. Might have to give it another go since the last time I tried was like 10+ years ago and I probably lacked the patience to properly see to playing it. Coming from Skyrim, definitely also one of my favourite games of all time, it's just too different in many ways that I wasn't prepared for. Same goes for Oblivion but to a lesser extent. I used to watch my older brother play on our 360 which was fun - I'll have to check out the remake at some point for nostalgia's sake.
Uuuh, love Dishonored. Which is your favourite: 1, 2 or Death of the Outsider? I'd probably have to go for 1. I have fond memories of playing it on my trash-ish laptop I got for university and having lots of fun. I had a major crisis when I didn't pay attention to how I was playing the game and got the angry Samuel ending so I just restarted the game. D: Though I like 2 a lot too!
That's a tough question I had to think about for a bit. For soulslikes, I still need to make my mind up. For the past several years, Sekiro was my number one and Bloodborne followed closely - Sekiro was even my favourite game, period. Then Lies of P entered the scene and surpassed Bloodborne for me, moving to 2nd place. Nowadays, I've probably played through Lies of P + DLC more often than Sekiro (platinum + around 6 or 7 playthroughs?), its story and soundtrack are very near and dear to my heart, and the combat is basically the perfect mix of Sekiro and Bloodborne which is just chef's kiss. So probably Lies of P for soulslikes.
As for non-soulslikes, it's probably a toss-up between Slay the Spire and Disco Elysium. I've played a lot of Slay the Spire - Switch, PS4/5, tablet, phone (I've got like 250h on my phone), PC - and it just might be one of the best-designed games ever released. And Disco Elysium is special to me in a similar way to Lies of P. It's got a powerful narrative, it's deeply philosophical and helped/helps me with lots of daily struggles I've faced/been facing. It's another game (apart from Lies of P, Bloodborne and Sekiro to a lesser extent) I'd get a tattoo for because of the symbolism. It's so sad that there will never be another Disco Elysium because of corporate greed and corruption.
So yea, huge wall of text - sorry for that :D But turns out, I had more to say than anticipated. ✨
I didn’t love the Headless either but they weren’t the worst and weren’t mandatory.
I’d definitely recommend finishing Shadow of the Erdtree if you liked Elden Ring. It’s definitely harder than the base game but it’s definitely worth it to me. And Dark Souls III is fantastic too. If it weren’t for the swampy areas near the beginning it would be a near perfect game to me. The DLCs are really hard but really cool too. DS2 never hooked me, I got a few hours in but never finished it.
Morrowind’s combat is definitely divisive but once you get used to it, it’s great. It really rewards investing in a weapon type, as the higher your skill level in the weapon, the better your chance is to hit. The difference between an apprentice swordsman and a master swordsman is way bigger than in Oblivion or Skyrim. It can definitely be punishing in the early game though for sure. I’d think of Morrowind less of a precursor to Skyrim and more as its own thing. Skyrim and Oblivion are quite similar, but Morrowind is very different, almost a different genre entirely. If you do play Morrowind, definitely play it on PC with OpenMW. It’s basically the only way to play it these days.
The first Dishonored is definitely my favourite, but I really liked 2 as well. I haven’t played the last one yet, I’ll get around to it eventually.
I really need to give Lies of P a proper chance. I played it for an hour or so but never picked it up again. I do own it, so I have no excuse except for time. Which to be fair is quite limited these days.
Slay the Spire and Disco Elysium are both games I’ve looked into but never played. One of these days for sure.
Across all my playthroughs, I've probably only bothered killing all the individual ones once for the prayer beads. Just not an enjoyable fight at all.
I think I might have burnt myself out on Elden Ring back when it released. Prior to Elden Ring, I didn't really have much of an interest in soulslikes so I opted to watch a playthrough of it by Northernlion. Having seen everything, my motivation to play the game waned. It was still lots of fun to co-op it with my SO, she loves the game a lot, but after ~200h across two characters, I just can't get myself to finish the DLC even though I know it's objectively good. I just don't vibe with open world games at all, same goes for ER. Quite a shame and unfortunate for my SO since she loves the game a lot and would also like to see the DLC.
Oh yea that makes sense. I'll have to give it another shot at some point. Any point in playing Skywind whenever it's released? Probably not since it's just Morrowind but in Skyrim.
Definitely do once you get around to it! It took me some time to get into it, but I'm so glad I did. Such an awesome spin on the original novel and so much symbolism hiding in there. Feels like the closest thing to Bloodborne 2 there will be until Bloodborne 2 comes out (let me have my copium).
Both are acquired tastes but definitely worth checking out too. Both are on sale quite often too (though there's nothing wrong with pirating DE since the company, the management specifically, is a shell of its former self and shouldn't be supported)
I had a friend do the same with Elden Ring, it’s a shame since it’s such a great game. I get it though.
About Skywind, I’ll probably give it a shot at some point eventually but a big part of Morrowind is its gameplay, as unintuitive as it may be sometimes. Skywind certainly wouldn’t be a replacement for Morrowind like a truly faithful remaster might be, but would be fun in addition to playing the original. Someone’s actually making Morrowind in the Elden Ring engine too, I’m really curious how that’ll go.
I picked up both Lies of P and Disco Elysium so maybe I’ll give them a chance whenever I put Morrowind on pause again, though I have been meaning to jump back into Oblivion so we’ll see. I was also in the middle of a Skyrim character playthrough when I jumped to Morrowind so I might finish that first too.
Happy Skyrim day btw
Likewise to you too. It’s Remembrance Day in Canada today so it feels a little weird playing a game where you kill people, but I don’t think the States has Remembrance Day so it makes sense they released it on November 11.
Laughs in German >:D
I’ve always wanted to visit Germany. I’ve never been outside Canada aside from a few visits to the States (won’t be going there anymore) and once to Mexico, plus a cruise that visited Mexico and Cayman Islands. I’d love to travel to Europe, and Germany would be high on my list of places to check out. Maybe one day. Won’t be any time soon though unfortunately.
Never been on a cruise before - must be cool!
Germany is slowly on its way to go the US route at least when it comes to politics. White-presenting foreigners shouldn't have to worry about being treated any different than your average Germany, but if you're read as belonging to any minority group, depending on where you go, there are definitely people who won't be liking you at the very least. More so in rural areas. Germany has been down that route before - just stop lol.
Though I doubt there's any place you could go visit right where fashism isn't on the rise
Yeah, the cruise was great. It was my first and so far only, I’d definitely do one again, as long as it doesn’t dock in the States at all.
I’m white as a sheet, blond hair and blue eyed, if I were a bit taller I’d be the poster boy for the Aryan race probably, so I think I’d be fine. Now if I were to discuss politics I might get in shit but I know how to keep my mouth shut when I need to. I’m not avoiding the States for fear of my life or anything, I’m the farthest thing from a visible minority, plus I’m married to a woman who could pass as being white and have a very white kid, so family trips wouldn’t be an issue either, I just refuse to go to a country that threatens my country’s sovereignty and is bringing about the fourth Reich. It’s more of a principle thing.
Yea makes sense. A buddy of mine moved from Ghana to Arizona for his master's degree and got married there. I text him very rarely but last time I did, he mentioned that he'd need to watch out what kind of texts he's sending to me because border control and stuff check phones. Absolute insanity. Plus he's black so another thing he'd need to be mindful of.
Being white in the US is bad as is but being a minority is, as grim as it sounds, a death sentence in some cases. Dark times we live in. Somewhat sheltered in Germany in comparison.
That’s awful, your friend shouldn’t have to deal with all that, it’s ridiculous. Looking like I do, I thankfully don’t have to worry about that, plus I’ve heard many countries are more receptive to Canadians than Americans. I’m not sure if it’s true but it’d make sense.
I was thinking the second one was Violator:
... Whom I would have sworn was played by Danny Devito, but was apparently played by John Leguizamo.
I was busy working this weekend. All I had time for were a few Megabonk runs. Least favourite could be a lot of the bosses from ds2. I'm not a hater but a lot of the bosses felt pretty uninspired. I guess ancient dragon? All I can remember is running away when he's flying, getting a few hits in when he lands and repeat.
Is one of these from Spawn?
The second one is from Lies of P which is the only souls like that approaches the actual souls games in quality. Highly recommend it.
First is Owl from Seliro which one could argue is not a souls-like but its own thing.
Third is a Nameless King for Dark Souls 3. I'm my experience the hardest dark souls boss but your experience will vary. Only one I never beat.
Fourth is ???
There are so many souls and they only included one of them. Odd choice for a photo.
Does Silksong count? I am on my second Steel Soul attempt.
My least favorite would probably be Headless Ape from Sekiro, though Savage Beastfly from Silksong is quite close to it.
Yup! How did your first attempt go?
I'd take on two apes (iykyk) any day of the week over the Savage Beastfly
Just you wait till they add a Beastfly Duo in the Silksong DLC
:<
Died to Moorwing... Contact damage :(
I hate Midir in DS3.
She's not hard, per se, but she is super fucking annoying. Big-ass arena, and, at least most of the time I am in the fight as a host or phantom, she spends the entire time flying from one end of the room, doing a ranged attack, and then immediately flying across the room as soon as you are in melee range. I spend nearly 10 minutes just running around trying to get in range of the asshole.
It'll be a work weekend for me but I'll probably play more DS1 when I come home... Just finished my first run, (I dragged it out because I didn't want it to end, 'twas so... ♡ magical) and as it happens to me with soulslikes I had to immediately go start NG XD. As for the optional bosses, I think I've mentioned it before but I've come to find I really dislike fighting field dragons. (silly me I thought at first Kalameet was a dumb field dragon, the likes I'd been ignoring the whole game XD thankfully, I was wrong. tough bastard, though! )
Still playing my Elden Ring RL1 run. I killed Bayle (The Sword Lance is awesome) and bounced off hard on Consort Radahn (Now I'm out of Bloodboil Aromatic). Only three Remenbrance Bosses remain for me: Consort Radahn, Malenia and Placidusax. So, I've technically already beaten it (I got more lucky than good with Radagon/Elden Beast).
Least favorite optional Boss? Some optional bosses are just bland, and I have no strong feelings about them. Maybe Darkbeast Paarl? No, I'm going with Metyr. I love the lore, design, and presentation of Metyr. The fight, though? Nah. I got super lucky (and planned well) on my RL1 run. Usually, though, this fight is a real slog, so I'm putting it off until the end of the DLC. I'll blast her with Shard Spiral for maximum damage. Fighting her in melee range is a nightmare, as is phase two with the laser and general mayhem. The presentation is great, but the fight can be a real slog.
Mad respect! You've got this! Yeah I've only played melee focused builds in ER and Metyr can go shove all her hand spawn up her ass.
I love the crazy shit Metyr does when super close to death, but she has just as shit hitboxes as the hands she births.
I'm working on Lunacid. It's not really a soulslike imo, but it is inspired by Shadow Tower and King's Field according to the developer's description on Steam. I'm also seeing a lot of other fromsouls influence, especially Demon's Souls and DS1. Having a blast and recommend it.
Least favourite optional boss is DS1 Demon Firesage. It's a rushed filler reskin of a boss where a boss isn't needed. The arena sucks because of the branch collision. It's not even much of a challenge otherwise.
The arena sucks because of the branch collision
The devs surely did an evil laugh while crafting that arena.
Lunacid’s coffin spell has me wanting more games to add completely weird spells.
I'm all for it. A more experienced player told me it can be used to climb and it kinda blew my mind.
Finally got around to continuing Another Crab's Treasure after my 60 hour Silksong binge.
Probably Jori, Elder Inquisitor from the Elden Ring DLC. Not a fun experience if you use a spellcasting build and can't backstab loop her.
Oceiros. There’s nothing particularly interesting about the fight, the hitboxes all suck, the arena is claustrophobic and janky, but above all else that fucking noise he makes before you enter the fog makes me want to do horrible things to the fromsoft audio team.
Yo whaat? I liked Oceiros a lot actually because the fight reminded me so much of a Bloodborne-style fight. I get your points, but in DS3 alone there's probably other bosses that are worse
Well I hated Bloodborne (heresy, I know) so maybe that explains it lol
Yea, that might :D