Been a while since I played this one, I think the last time I did so was in.... 2017 - 2018? I platinum'd the PS3 version and I got so burned out by it I had no reason to go back to it, and the remaster was also an expensive scam (and argueably a visual downgrade) so I didn't really bother with that one when it released.
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I also wanna make that clear that I replayed it with the original PC version (Prepare to die edition). Works ok with DSfix but the performance is still wonky and I got softlocked many times while sitting at bonfires. The things I deal with just so I won't have to pay R$154 bucks for a crappy remaster. lol
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Playing it again sure was nice! It felt like the very first time I tried it, the learning curve and mystique were back and I really missed that. It might not be the best looking From game from a technical perspective but I think there's a case to be made for this being their most gorgeous one in its artistic direction and visuals. The amount of striking imagery and diverse areas it has is just stunning, really makes it for a memorable experience.
I also adore the story and lore in this one to this day and such an interesting little cast of NPCs to be found throughout this bleak world. And the music!! Oh my gosh, the music. Easily the best Souls OST to this day.
Hmm, But here's the thing. Is the gameplay still good? Yes... For the most part. Feels difficult to put into words but I can't help but feel like this game really aged poorly compared to the other Souls games that came before and after it.
The combat is solid but it feels a bit janky and delayed compared to Demons's Souls. I'm really not sure if it's only in my head or not but It just doesn't feel anywhere as smooth as that game, specially when rolling. Not to mention that you're locked into only 4 directions when you roll and for some reason that REALLY feels like a huge problem in this particular entry considering what it demands from the player. The amount of times where I ended up rolling forwards when I meant to go sideways was just absurd.
The design of the world itself also feels like a mixed bag these days. Feels half good and half bad, with most of the great areas being the beginning and the roughest stuff starting from Anor Londo. The game also tries to be a bit of a 3D metroidvania in the beginning and while it does feel pretty well thought out the backtracking can be a bit grating if you forget to ascend any weapons or do certain NPC quests, and that whole aspect just disappears when you get the lordvessel. I can't help but prefer the more linear area approach that Demons's Souls took and it's not surprise that later entries dropped this aspect completely and have fast travel from the very start. Lost Izalith just sucks, too. What a needlessly large and empty place and it hurts to look at.
But the worst thing about the design in this is the ''platforming'' (if you can really call it that). Any time when you need to jump, roll or fall somewhere it just feels god awful. I'm really not sure if the surfaces in this are slippery as fuck or if the chosen undead is made out of cinder blocks, and it doesn't help that some parts on the ground have TERRIBLE collision at times so you can't exactly walk over them and have to rely on rolling/jumping which raises an even higher risk of falling to your death. It does not feel great and i'm pretty sure From realized this since they definitely improved this in later games.
The boss fights also haven't aged too gracefully. Some of my favorites still hold up (Ornstein and Smough, Manus, Four Kings, Gaping Dragon and Sif to name a few) but a lot of them are just so easy in a not so interesting way. It's weird, Demons's Souls also feels pretty light by today's standards but that one has so much more variation and polish to it, meanwhile here a lot of the bosses are just so basic. And again, Lost izalith has the worst of it in this regard too. Ceaseless Discharge and Centipede Demon feel straight up unfinished and Bed of Chaos is quite easily the most awful boss in any of these games. And why is there two recycled Asylum demons that infinitely spam AOEs??
It's very strange really, I think my nostalgia for this game is what elevates it to four stars but if it wasn't for that I don't think i'd be quite as positive about it as I am with other games by From.
But I still respect the fuck out of it. A very ambitious game and considering how influential it was (for better or worse), I'm still not sure if there has ever a game that felt as groundbreaking as this since then.
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I also wanna make that clear that I replayed it with the original PC version (Prepare to die edition). Works ok with DSfix but the performance is still wonky and I got softlocked many times while sitting at bonfires. The things I deal with just so I won't have to pay R$154 bucks for a crappy remaster. lol
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Playing it again sure was nice! It felt like the very first time I tried it, the learning curve and mystique were back and I really missed that. It might not be the best looking From game from a technical perspective but I think there's a case to be made for this being their most gorgeous one in its artistic direction and visuals. The amount of striking imagery and diverse areas it has is just stunning, really makes it for a memorable experience.
I also adore the story and lore in this one to this day and such an interesting little cast of NPCs to be found throughout this bleak world. And the music!! Oh my gosh, the music. Easily the best Souls OST to this day.
Hmm, But here's the thing. Is the gameplay still good? Yes... For the most part. Feels difficult to put into words but I can't help but feel like this game really aged poorly compared to the other Souls games that came before and after it.
The combat is solid but it feels a bit janky and delayed compared to Demons's Souls. I'm really not sure if it's only in my head or not but It just doesn't feel anywhere as smooth as that game, specially when rolling. Not to mention that you're locked into only 4 directions when you roll and for some reason that REALLY feels like a huge problem in this particular entry considering what it demands from the player. The amount of times where I ended up rolling forwards when I meant to go sideways was just absurd.
The design of the world itself also feels like a mixed bag these days. Feels half good and half bad, with most of the great areas being the beginning and the roughest stuff starting from Anor Londo. The game also tries to be a bit of a 3D metroidvania in the beginning and while it does feel pretty well thought out the backtracking can be a bit grating if you forget to ascend any weapons or do certain NPC quests, and that whole aspect just disappears when you get the lordvessel. I can't help but prefer the more linear area approach that Demons's Souls took and it's not surprise that later entries dropped this aspect completely and have fast travel from the very start. Lost Izalith just sucks, too. What a needlessly large and empty place and it hurts to look at.
But the worst thing about the design in this is the ''platforming'' (if you can really call it that). Any time when you need to jump, roll or fall somewhere it just feels god awful. I'm really not sure if the surfaces in this are slippery as fuck or if the chosen undead is made out of cinder blocks, and it doesn't help that some parts on the ground have TERRIBLE collision at times so you can't exactly walk over them and have to rely on rolling/jumping which raises an even higher risk of falling to your death. It does not feel great and i'm pretty sure From realized this since they definitely improved this in later games.
The boss fights also haven't aged too gracefully. Some of my favorites still hold up (Ornstein and Smough, Manus, Four Kings, Gaping Dragon and Sif to name a few) but a lot of them are just so easy in a not so interesting way. It's weird, Demons's Souls also feels pretty light by today's standards but that one has so much more variation and polish to it, meanwhile here a lot of the bosses are just so basic. And again, Lost izalith has the worst of it in this regard too. Ceaseless Discharge and Centipede Demon feel straight up unfinished and Bed of Chaos is quite easily the most awful boss in any of these games. And why is there two recycled Asylum demons that infinitely spam AOEs??
It's very strange really, I think my nostalgia for this game is what elevates it to four stars but if it wasn't for that I don't think i'd be quite as positive about it as I am with other games by From.
But I still respect the fuck out of it. A very ambitious game and considering how influential it was (for better or worse), I'm still not sure if there has ever a game that felt as groundbreaking as this since then.