We have to confront a hard truth that few people seem to want to face about the Souls games...

We have to confront a hard truth that few people seem to want to face about the Souls games, but here it is: the combat is nothing remarkable.

In terms of actual complexity there's not much going on. There's not much depth, and that wouldn't be a problem, except the series has increasingly leaned on its action elements more and more as time has gone by.

If you're a staunch defender of the series this is where you might be tempted to rattle off all the attack animations your favorite weapons has... It's true that there are differences in range and damage, but the effect on the enemy is usually identical. They lose some health, possibly suffer some hitstun which either lasts long enough to get another attack in or it doesn't, in which case you go back on the defensive until your next opening. Positioning is important, but that's about the extent of it.

In terms of defensive options the series is a lot better, with the ability to block, parry, or dodge most regular attacks...Unfortunately, against bosses, parrying is often completely impossible and blocking is often ill-advised, which leaves you with rolling as your one and only defensive action. So prepare to roll again and again, and again and again and again. When you're not rolling you'll generally be getting 1-2 hits in with whatever weapon you choose, hits that usually provoke no response from the boss whatsoever making every weapon basically the same thing apart from whatever damage types and numbers it has.

You go in, you learn the moveset. maybe you die a few times along the way, until you know the boss's moves like the back of your hand. Then you dodge past them, punish at the right times, and win the battle. It's perfectly serviceable gameplay but doing it 20x in one game is just excessive.

I'm not saying you should be able to juggle Hollows or anything, but if the game is going to be so relentlessly focused on action then I have fewer reasons not to just play a better action game.

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This you?

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Catering to a larger audience has simply sucked more and more soul out of the series. Players whine about "gimmick" bossfights, so bosses become basic combat encounters and nothing more. Players want "honorable" PvP so they can test their skills against each other in a shallow, laggy, min-maxing, backstab, magic spamfest instead of having fun with the things you can uniquely do in these games, like disguise yourself as an environmental doodad before kicking an unsuspecting player off a cliff. Never underestimate a community's ability to take a cool feature and use it for the most boring thing imaginable. Players want convenience so they can fast-travel and respec their stats, removing absolutely any and all tension wherever possible just like every other RPG from the past ten years. At some point, you just start to wonder what's next on the chopping block. Maybe the next game will have a built-in function to back up your save file so you don't have to think too hard about any of those pesky decisions. If current trends keep up, sooner or later all we'll be left with is a generic blob of game. Enjoyed by everyone, and loved by no one.

Completing the three Souls games consecutively without getting hit is quite literally the hardest feat ever done in gaming. Cope.

matthewmatosis, nice

>muh artificial limitations mean the game is good

how many times are you going to post this? take your risperidone.

Yeah obviously its not complex, but it is punishing

hahahahaa
literally just hold sprint and roll under the 4 second attack windups that every single enemy has

its always the mfs with the goddamn naruto or dragon ball pfp