THE FIRST BERSERKER: KHAZAN
• if anyone calls this a Dark Soul just know they're on their boss baby shit; this is much closer to nioh. got the mission structure, "do it again backwards" sidequests, living weapon, burst counter, not-kodamas, modular skillsets, diablo loot, gear reforging, and even the different monster vs. human stamina functions and "fuck's the point of this" shortcuts. ain't even debatable
• combat rips. there are so many sick details like being able to use javelins mid-combo to prolong exhaustion so you can regain stamina and get the reset. perfect dodges give resources back so you can weave lights and skills during enemy attack strings, dodges can do damage, deflects can do damage, and there are traditional parries, counters that nullify trades, and an almost rekka-like fluidity to how dual wield combos function. my charge can alternate between a debuff or a dash attack that can chain into a dodge and back into a standard combo, and i haven't even invested in the other two weapons (spear, greatsword) or my install yet cos there's too much other stuff i wanna try out. it's kinda bonkers that this team hasn't been doing this for ages cos they're running laps around anyone who's not in the business of inscrutable historical fiction. not only is the expression fantastic, the practical application is too
• there's no nice way to say this, but if you're complaining about lifebars being too big you're doing something wrong. the amount of Highly Decorated Souls Veterans i've seen tossing out accusations of "artificial difficulty" (still don't know what this means but i'm sure it's real stupid) and saying they spent 10+ mins per boss attempt's really making it clear how many folks are unable to break the attack once, roll nineteen times conditioning. almost every defensive option leads to opportunities for damage and you got gap closers and repositioning tools out the ass. bro, please... attack the enemies, steal your turn, be an active participant. when these damage windows open you gotta put your shitkicking foot in and throw out your dirtiest 20 second anime combos while the boss hollers like crispin glover's grendel
• enemy roster's surprisingly big and the boss lineup's one of the best in recent memory. good dudes in armour. good monsters. good mages, if there is such a thing. got hallucination fish, necromancers, beastmen, scalies, body horror freaks, nods to dmc/sekiro, and one who feels like three guilty gear characters smashed together. there isn't a single miss here in presentation or otherwise and i love that there're harder versions stashed away in optional side missions. difficulty curve could stand to be a little less woozy, but other than that this is pretty much the gold standard (vampire & final boss were my favourites!)
• against all odds the skill trees are not only decent, but somehow really good. this'll sound so loopy that i don't blame anyone for not believing me, but i was 40 points deep and still looking forward to unlocking more. they also cleaned up some of nioh's menu bloat, onboarded the itemization properly, and didn't shunt build impact to some unheard of ng++++ containment zone. bit too streamlined for me to want team ninja to head in this overall direction, but they should certainly be taking notes on how to be a little more graceful
• my biggest complaint's that while the level design's functionally solid, the environments are incredibly bland. i don't know if we've cycled back around to colour being too gay to put in games again, but between this and monster hunter wilds i'm so sick of the Tasteful Neutrals. i had to laugh when i revisited one of the most washed out maps during a side mission and it was even more washed out the second time around -- shit was practically greyscale. fuck are we even doing man. soon as someone makes a disgusting reshade that cranks the saturation i'm applying it and never looking back
• not a fan of the fromsoft hub, but the jarlings are just too cute. love finding them so i can see more of them hanging out :)