Soulsclone - How does it work?

Ashen.
Then there are tons of 2D ones, like Hollow Knight, Salt and Sanctuary, Unworthy, Eitr, Titan Souls, etc.

>Ashen
>xbox/windows only
Shit

>widely
Aka only on Yea Forums because someone once said that DS2 sucks and now you can't admit otherwise because it breaks the opinion meta

>hollow knight
Not sure why this metroidvania is seen as a Souls-like so many times here. Haven't played it though.

>literal indieshit and porn games
What about actual games

Some porn games are better soulsclone than the actual soulsclones.

Attached: RJ203687_img_main.jpg (560x420, 179K)

DS2 was panned by actual fans of the series when it came out. It abandoned what made the two previous games great (atmosphere, level design, enemy design, boss design) in favor of dumb shit like adding 5000 armor sets and PvP arenas.

It has a fairly shit userscore on Metacritic.

Ashen seems interesting. Will keep an eye on that

>Forced useless companion
>"Artistic" bland polygon models
>Xbone
>You can't make male/female player character, only masculine/feminine character
Just don't.

Boss design, maybe
As for the rest you're full of shit
"actual fans" still sounds like a bunch of Yea Forumstards
Because it's a hard game like all of them

>From games are extremely high quality across the board

Attached: Steel-Battalion-Heavy-Armor-Logo-580x352.jpg (580x352, 75K)

Not at all, it's still highly rated on metacritic.

On top of that thread onb/v/ started positive and we got fashion souls thread which generated talks much longer than DaS3

No I'm not.
Dark Souls 2 has dogshit MMO enemies, dogshit level design, and dogshit atmosphere. Like look at this enemy and ugly fucking game.

Attached: DARK_SOULS™_II_Scholar_of_the_First_Sin_20151025023854.jpg (1920x1080, 849K)

Unworthy, Gloom and Void Memory for some barely known one. They're pretty good but Void Memory is janky as fuck.

>From games are extremely high quality across the board

Attached: 60$ game in 2014.jpg (1920x1080, 407K)

Given the developement history of DaS2 the fact that we got a Jank masterpiece is proof of the skill of From. But of course normies in disguise can't support that, hence the endless screeching

>Literal skeletons aren't MMO enemies
>Snake person good, lion person bad
Ok
>dogshit dogshit dogshit
Care to go into more detail or are you leaving it at meme answers

Attached: Serpent.jpg (500x630, 325K)

It took people a while to understand what was shit about the game and it came out when people were super thirsty for the next Souls game. People that like the game don't actually like Souls games—they like other arpgs.
This can be evidenced in your own post referencing side-shit like fashion.

>Fashion side-shit
You fags keep contradicting yourselves
You'll spend hours gushing about the armor designs of other souls games but when it's 2, it's shit
If only you didn't give into the opinion meta brainrot
>N-no haha it just took people a while to understand the game is shit, that's it!
You literally just admitted that people loved the game, but then started hating it because that's the cool Yea Forums thing to do

>It took people a while to understand what was shit about the game
So people who hate DaS2 are litteral retards?

>People that like the game don't actually like Souls games
Why? DaS2 is just Jank souls with much more content.

when you die you have to get your money back but thats all souls like elements I remember otherwise it really is just a melee focused metroidvania

The lion looks extremely cartoony. The snake doesn't. There's a difference of design: the snake is well-designed and the lion is a generic MMO enemy with an axe. Look at the giant cats in Dark Souls 1: they're weird and terrifying despite being a rather simple design. Compare this to the man-scorpions that seem almost comical.
Skeletons are like an invisible enemy in terms of design: they're never offensively bad in any game.

Dark Souls 2 levels are linear, wonky, and full of weird shit like the waist-high platform at the Belfry bonfire. The sort of level design that's aggressively bad. Usually it's just lazy (like bad Dark Souls 1 levels), but sometimes it veers off into comedy (like rock piles).

Atmosphere speaks for itself.

>That snake doesn't look cartoony
I'm going to sleep
Goodnight, man

>Dark Souls 2 levels are linear
you didn't even play the game, fuck outta here

>the lion look cartoony
How? It look like a werenigger.

I'm not contradicting myself at all. I give zero shits about the armor in other games.
Being uncertain why you hate something right out of the gate isn't "loving the game, but then started hating it because that's the cool Yea Forums thing to do."
Don't try to blame Dark Souls 2 shortcomings on Yea Forums.

AM I KAWAII UGUU

Attached: 1554030299762.jpg (150x150, 14K)

>but why?
Because they aren't made by Fromsoft so the bias towards them is there not there. Fromsoft games are actually pretty well designed from a gameplay perspective but from a technical perspective they are horribly designed. They are constantly filled with mediocre visuals, bugs, and bad performance especially on PS4 which is their main platform which has been plagued with frame pacing issues on DS/BB. They only manage to avoid criticism against their shit visuals because they are good at disguising it with a good art style and in BBs case visual garbage like chromatic abberation.

It doesn't. Run for the hills.
I did. I platted it and completed double ring runs.
It looks like shit.

>wow DaS2 is so shit visually and REAL souls fan care about the visual
>its really good with its armor
>WHO GIVE A SHIT ABOUT THE ARMORS

get your eyes checked if you think this isn't cartoony, at the very least admit you're biased

@456623656
>It looks like shit.
compelling argument

>>its really good with its armor
When did I say this?

>the best one on that list is a NoR, a literal porn game
The fact that a porn game is the best "okayish" soulsclone speaks volumes.

>Opinion parroters have no reading comprehension
Honestly that explains a bit

when did metroidvanias become souls clones?

then why is everything after Dark Souls 1 garbage?

Attached: 1548450102514.png (1024x1024, 91K)

You're the soulsborne equivalent of a genwunner

No I don't. You have to zoom in on its tiny face to pick this out. Compare this to the overall goofy shit like this lion fsggot and all sorts of gay shit like ice porcupines

>copypasted DeS
>good

I'm not attuned to the crazy conversation you're having with yourself inside your head.

the souls gameplay formula is boring and it replaces storytelling with look it up on youtube or make it up yourself
can we be done with it and make more action games?

>this is gay shit
>but the snakeman with an enormous head isn't cartoony shit

At least point out what the snake do better than the lion

Attached: Sin_IceRat.jpg (1364x768, 213K)

As pretentious as it sounds, From Software has a greater purpose behind their games.

Every little piece of their games is supposed to serve something bigger. The greatest example is when Miyazaki is asked about why he makes his games so difficult, and he basically says that difficulty for the sake of difficulty was never the point; the difficulty is there to immerse you in the world and establish a tone. Sekiro is not difficult because it wants to make you angry, it's difficult because it wants you to pay attention and learn the game. You're supposed to play like a disciplined shinobi, otherwise you will get killed.

The problem with Soulsclones is that they lack this greater purpose, there's no larger idea behind the game design. They take individual aspects of Souls games, but they fail to understand what all these pieces represent.

TL;DR: From games are greater than the sum of their parts.

nioh was great though
western devs are just retarded and are unable to make decent gameplay

You won't be able to convince him
He drank the Yea Forums narrative kool-aid and he's clearly biased against DaS2
That should be enough to let you know he's too dense to listen to any arguments

>dark souls 1 becomes popular for being difficult
>the entire marketing of the series shifts to telling you how much you're gonna die
>"hey guys, remember how HARD dark souls was!?"
>"let's start putting more bullshit into the next games because all that matters is that it's HARD"
>"prepare to die AMIRITE XDD"
if the evolution of the Souls series is not a complete downward spiral I don't know what is

Attached: 1546811754295.jpg (250x241, 32K)

>DS1 enemies are not goofy

LMAO

Attached: 2RF9YqW.png (728x581, 190K)

Attacks with its head, actually freaky looking, has a snake sword. Also, it's a snake. Lions and porcupines aren't scary, let along the incredibly goofy look of the MMO lion mook.

Half a decade has passed. It's time to move on from that debate. No one will change their opinion over that game anymore.

>tiny face

Attached: 1554030299762.jpg (500x630, 132K)

I give zero shits what Yea Forums thinks though? Why do you Dark Souls 2 contrarians have such a victim complex. You are like the niggers of Souls fans.

But the games get easier with each iteration, user. Demon's Souls was the hardest and it was all downhill from there.

Whats goofy about a lizard with curse releasing sacks on its head?

No, the controls just got better and you got better at playing them, that's why you think they got easier

>Demons hardest.
>literally just mash r1 for infinite, broken shields, broken bows, magic 1-shots all the bosses.
It's one of the easiest games.

Answer: Autistic fanbase.

Attached: Gentle Persuasion.jpg (418x534, 78K)

Got it for free. Not fun.

>Tfw remembering how stupidly hyped I was for DaS2
>Bought the 360 version because I couldn't wait for the PC release a month later
>Enjoyed the game but was disappointed and had a lot of complaints with the game, varying from many minor things to a few major issues, ultimately tarnishing it but not ruining it for me
>Only put in around ~200 hours into DaS2 in total, compared to ~1000 hours in DaS1 from release to even now as I've been playing it for the past month on the Switch
>DaS2 was the biggest "got too hype and got really disappointed" game I played aside from Halo 4
>Remember being really hyped for DaS3 but more cautiously, but still haven't played it anyway because my PC is a toaster (can't even run SotFS) and I don't own any console it's on
But ironically, playing DaS1 again so much on Switch has made me want to play through DaS2 again despite its flaws.

Also, does anyone have that image of the maps showing area progression for each game through basic lines? DaS1 starts really complex and becomes a few straight lines at the end, DaS2 was just a straight line with an X crossing at the bottom, and I don't remember DaS3's.

Attached: DaSIIStartingClasses.jpg (1393x1347, 701K)

Not really, poise and defense makes DaS much easier than the more evasion based BB and DaS3

If it serves as any consolation, the third one is actually great. I find it hard to go back to the original after experiencing the more fluid combat in the third one. So 3 ended up as the one i replayed the most.

lmao ds2 even has a place where you can see the amount of people who died in the game in Majula and gives you an achievement for dying

Look like MMO shit to me desu

Attached: 6208936277_738f4148b2_b.jpg (880x1024, 313K)

because dying mechanics and difficulty seems to be tied to dark souls nowadays, despite them being the basis of so many games before vidya was casualized.

because a From game isnt only the sums of its parts. The main thing that drawn me to DS1 was how vast the world was. I didn't care about how the main player is the chosen one or shit, i just wanted to climb that mountain and save my bro. The NPCs are dripping with lore and backstory, and none of them is spoonfed to you. It was all "show, not tell" kind of thing.

iirc: it was so successful because the world that they created was so interesting to discover and explore.

DaS3 has better combat, visuals and bosses.
But the story, setting and atmosphere fall short of DaS. It is still a solid entry into the series though.
Bloodborne is overall excellent and on par with DaS, albeit the atmosphere is a different one.

Attached: 1522564033296.jpg (1237x1871, 234K)

My issue with stuff like Lords of the Fallen is that it's trying way too hard to be Souls and not actually trying to be its own thing while being inspired by Souls. Even Surge, which is sci-fi souls, is way too generic, way too janky, way to dull to properly stand on its own.
If From announced a new IP of sci-fi Soulsborne, you'd imagine all these cool ideas, amazing art, atmosphere filled with possibilities, the kind of storytelling that the west usually struggles with, the level design that folds on itself, the variety of weapons, etc.
If some other devs say they're making a new IP inspired by Souls but sci-fi, you imagine generic sci-fi ideas that have been done a million times, art design is deviantart tier, gameplay is obnoxious, etc.

I dont know why people have issues with 3 story in setting. It has the best castle and area diversity in the series. And the story managed to finish the overarching themes of the games. Which is a feat on it's on.

>area diversity in the series.
I have to disagree with this. It's mostly cathedrals. In 1 or even 2 there was a better diversity of areas that were very distinct.

My main complain with the setting is the relatively linear progression and lack of interconnection of areas in comparison to DaS.

BB has a similar problem to a minor extend.

limited warping and being able to level up at bonfires gave DaS a better feel of being on a journey that I wish the other games had.

Why is DS2 so ugly, clunky, and slow?
It's the anti-thesis of an action game.

I think it was originally meant for the PS4 but Bando Namcai decided to have it on PS3 which meant cutting all their efforts down.

Darksiders 3 went soulsway.

That's exactly what happened
>game is developed with PS4 in mind
>suddenly Bamco decides to restructure project and target PS3 and 360 instead of next gen
>Game has be gutted to run on 8-year old hardware
>lighting gutted, shaders gutted, level designs gutted (most of the time they just reverted to older scratchpad versions of levels and then kit bashed stuff from the newer versions to prettify literally pre-alpha tier assets )
>overall scope of game gutted
>happens with such short notice that From has to show the old version at its reveal because otherwise they'd have literally nothing to show at TGS
>results in a game that looks unfinished (because it is), is rife with dangling plot points and obvious signs of hastily covered up cut content

I'd give you "ugly", and then only in some areas, but about the rest... More like you're the anti-thesis of a good player.

Why didn't they use any of the more refined stuff for SotfS though.

Is it any good? I didn't like Darksiders 1 or 2 that much.

Not only would it have required a lot of work done, meaning a bigger budget for what was essentially a port, but it also could've made people angry that they had bought the broken version and were being asked to now buy the fixed version.
You always see this in "remasters". Even if they have famously cut content, they don't add it back in.

>is rife with dangling plot points and obvious signs of hastily covered up cut content

Well, to be fair that's just the standard FROM production and the standard DaS storytelling. Sekiro may be the first game in the whole line starting from DeS that did not have content they cut hastily due to inability to meet the deadline, and the entire DaS trilogy had deliberately incomplete and unexplained plots.

Shitters were and are still complaining about Sekiro's combat when there isn't anything wrong with it.

So Shovel Knight is a SOULSLIKE on this criteria. Fucking lol.

>Sekiro may be the first game in the whole line starting from DeS that did not have content they cut hastily due to inability to meet the deadline
People has been saying the same thing about BB and then a lot of shit got mined. FROM just sucks at managing their workflow.
Here's an unfinished prosthetic for example:
twitter.com/TKGP_TTV/status/1111016378197250049

Of course not. Theres a reason nobody talks about it here.

are the castlevania games soulslikes?

No, but Dark Souls was inspired by castlevania.

Those kinda seem like early models or ideas, not necessarily cut content.
For BB I remember some cool cut content but they likely had a reason to cut beyond just lack of time/budget.

lords was the only game in this souls like type games series that I actually played through and collected every single achievement, it was actually good but quite simple and streamlined

>I think it was originally meant for the PS4
Not even they knew what the fuck they wanted.

gameplanet.com.au/xbox-360/news/g51671efa40b72/Dark-Souls-II-PC-is-lead-platform-will-run-at-60-FPS/
>12 April 2013
>"However, the engine was not created with a next-generation focus"

pcinvasion.com/dark-souls-2-engine-was-created-with-next-gen-in-mind/
>February 27, 2014
>"In an interview with IGN, Ando-san, a programmer at From Software. revealed that the engine being used for Dark Souls 2 was designed with the Xbox One and PS4 in mind"

how can they not be soulslikes yet inspire them? how is dawn of sorrow not a soulslike

Diablo is a Soulslike because you have to corpse run.

Or you can just save and exit and get your corpse back on a reload.

>If From announced a new IP of sci-fi Soulsborne, you'd imagine all these cool ideas, amazing art, atmosphere filled with possibilities, the kind of storytelling that the west usually struggles with, the level design that folds on itself, the variety of weapons, etc.
but user, I already imagine it...
;____;

Das had a PvP arena

cos its a metroidvania, which is kind of an element of soulslikes, but they only really ran with it in the first 2/3rds of DaS1.

I still think the Basilisk eyes are one of the most interesting features in DS.

Attached: Basilisk.webm (966x682, 356K)

you lose exp then

The Zelda games were a big inspiration for Dark Souls, would you really say it's a soulslike?

I goit it from a humble bundle.
It is literally everything annoying about DS2, but cranked up to the point of it being obnoxious.

I still don't know how I am supposed to fight the giant enemies with tower shields without cheesing them with 1 shot stealth spells. Parries gives you a 1 second opening, They track yopu perfect 360 degrees so no back attacks, and they don't stagger.

Yeah, it's the kind of design that western games rarely managed to do right. That sort of mix of creepy and funny.

Attached: tumblr_m3rxuy8LxN1qitrvro1_500.jpg (500x500, 71K)

TIDDY

That was activisions (or whoever published it) marketing, not from software.

Aside from Nioh, none of the Souls clones have any understanding of what makes for good combat. They all have combat animations that are just terrible and just unsatisfying combat on the whole. They don't understand concepts like easing or how to apply the right amount of screenshaking and hitstop. Hitting enemies just doesn't feel good in the Souls clones.