As far as defining the genre, then we get into what exactly is souls doing that's different? Difficulty and trial-and-error? Roguelikes have been around for decades. The combat system? The Surge is kind of fun but when I play it I'm just further convinced that what I actually enjoyed about dark souls was the multiplayer. Semi-asynchronous multiplayer was what actually made dark souls special for me. The combat was barely passable and clunky as fuck, lots of gimmicks and gotcha bullshit further complicated by bugs and engine jankiness.
You can't really just call it trail and error. Plenty of games today have that, it's just their trial and error is frustrating in a way that doesn't leave you feeling good when you've succeeded.
But that's basically exactly how I feel when I play dark souls. There's never satisfaction when I win, because inevitably the way to win was some dumb gimmick that trivializes a fight that's otherwise almost impossible. Gwyn was like fighting a brick wall until I put on golem armor and ironskin and just spammed parry in his face.
I only like the single-links, though I haven't gotten a heavy yet, missed the big hammer in the underground and can't go back to where it was. Dual-link feels horrible and one-hand is boring.
Also that song is really getting on my nerves.
I don't like being the guy who says people are having fun wrong, but almost all Souls-like games I've played have been bad clunky games that people play as a statement about what kind of gamer they are.
So basically you're saying because you ruined the fun for yourself by resorting to cheese instead of getting good, the games aren't fun? Well no shit. You can beat anything and everything without resorting to cheese, and if you're not willing to try it's probably just a case of mismatch and the games aren't for you. Pretty much everyone has a couple bosses and sequences that push their shit in. Some people bitch out and summon for them, some people resort to cheese every time, some people cheese for progression then do them legit in subsequent NGs, some people git gud right then and there. Cheesing and summoning inherently destroy all the fun and emotion of what should be tough, elegant fights, reducing them to farces. This is not a difficult or unique concept to grasp. Trading flow, feeling, and fun for progression is the age-old cost of cheesing single-player progression in any game.
Yeah, DaS and DaS 2 were pretty damn wonky in hindsight. But they're still charming and fun despite that. (also kinda suggests you haven't played anything more recent, BB and DaS 3 were both very fluid and relatively unbuggy, From netcode aside) Also kinda lulzy that you finger the multiplayer as your favorite bit when Souls multiplayer is without exception the clunkiest cheesiest element of the series. I think you're projecting a lot--Souls fans (that is, people who don't do one playthrough of NG so they can say they did) don't really give a shit about the games' reputation beyond memes. We love them because they push for thoughtful, skillful play and have enough in the way of build paths and playstyles that you can keep going for hundreds of hours without getting bored. And, yes, because they're hard as balls at points and will gladly fuck you over if you get lazy or sloppy.
The list of games that have provoked genuine, strong emotions in me is damned short, and Souls games are on there for a reason: the immense satisfaction and pride you get whenever you overcome a challenge. And that never really changes. You feel it the first time you beat a tutorial boss, and you feel it when you complete a self-imposed challenge runs with hundreds of hours behind your belt. It's a bit like hyper-optimizing grindfest games like Disgaea, except that instead of min-maxing stats you're doing it to your muscle memory, reflexes, and inner rhythm. Purely in terms of getting into the zone, I have a hard time thinking of any game that has pushed me to that point as effectively or as intensely as a Souls game.
And that's just the mechanical side of things. The environments are gorgeous, the storytelling is wonderfully subdued and well-integrated in a time of incredibly unsubtle and straightforward stories. The characters do more with a handful of lines than many games manage with dozens of hours of cutscenes.
Yeah, there are the occasional morons who use them like certain other types of people buy and display leather-bound books that they'll never actually read or think about. Why are you paying any attention to them?
That's the impression I get from Surge, but I'm concerned enough about the short lifespan and low replay value, so not gonna drop cash for now.
Author
Topic: The Surge- MASSIVE ENERGY AXE Souls alike. (Read 15617 times)