No bow is also very fun. That's another thing I only used in the bow tutorial mission and then never again.
I'm here to chop people up with a sword!
Same way I play souls games too I guess.. no parries or bows! Dodges and swords are the best!
I dunno, I once took out something like 4 horses, 8 Mongols, and a cart with a single Exploding Arrow. I thought "Well, surely, I'd have to do some mop up, but let's see what happens..." And then... boom. I was all like "Damn. I guess I'm attacking the fort now, because that caravan leaving the fort is D. E. D. Dead."
+3
DemonStaceyTTODewback's DaughterIn love with the TaySwayRegistered Userregular
No bow is also very fun. That's another thing I only used in the bow tutorial mission and then never again.
I'm here to chop people up with a sword!
Same way I play souls games too I guess.. no parries or bows! Dodges and swords are the best!
I dunno, I once took out something like 4 horses, 8 Mongols, and a cart with a single Exploding Arrow. I thought "Well, surely, I'd have to do some mop up, but let's see what happens..." And then... boom. I was all like "Damn. I guess I'm attacking the fort now, because that caravan leaving the fort is D. E. D. Dead."
I never said they weren't good! In fact you can probably break a lot of stuff with them. But that's kinda the point. I don't want to easily pew pew things from a mile away. I wanna fight everything with my sword! Face to face! All of you guys bring it on at once!
I just think both play wise that's more fun and RP wise that's like WAY more awesome.
I legit sell all my arrows and bombs to vendors since I don't use them.
+1
GoodKingJayIIIThey wanna get mygold on the ceilingRegistered Userregular
I posted that one a few pages back but it was not up to Chance’s conical standards.
Battletag: Threeve#1501
PSN: Threeve703
+1
Librarian's ghostLibrarian, Ghostbuster, and TimSporkRegistered Userregular
The one problem with this narrative is making you do the "dishonorable" ghost stuff when like, I could totally take this castle "honorably" by myself if the game let me, I just killed 200 mongols on the road to get here.
GoodKingJayIIIThey wanna get mygold on the ceilingRegistered Userregular
No bow? No bow! The bow is great. Tell me you don’t want to use a bow after you drop an exploding arrow on four hapless mongols.
Battletag: Threeve#1501
PSN: Threeve703
0
Ninja Snarl PMy helmet is my burden.Ninja Snarl: Gone, but not forgotten.Registered Userregular
I don't want the archers gone. I just want a swarm of hornets to jump them the second they pull out an arrow and horribly sting them until they're left on the ground, crawling, swollen, and bloody. Then I would look at them, put away my sword, and leave.
Because while I respect that the Mongols want me so dead that they're willing to risk friendly fire in every single fight, I'm over here trying to have epic fucking swordfights against six people at once and getting punked by an arrow mid-swing IS NOT EPIC.
0
DemonStaceyTTODewback's DaughterIn love with the TaySwayRegistered Userregular
No bow? No bow! The bow is great. Tell me you don’t want to use a bow after you drop an exploding arrow on four hapless mongols.
I don't like any sort of explosive things in a game like this. Heck even in games with guns I don't use things like grenades or explosive traps or anything like that.
I know what I like and I only wanna use the things I like!
No bow? No bow! The bow is great. Tell me you don’t want to use a bow after you drop an exploding arrow on four hapless mongols.
I don't like any sort of explosive things in a game like this. Heck even in games with guns I don't use things like grenades or explosive traps or anything like that.
I know what I like and I only wanna use the things I like!
Yep. I always have to actively remind myself to use explosive options, usually. I remember specifically reminding myself, repeatedly, to use my explosive arrows in TloU2 and then just never did outside of like a bloater.
'Chance, you are the best kind of whore.' -Henroid
No bow? No bow! The bow is great. Tell me you don’t want to use a bow after you drop an exploding arrow on four hapless mongols.
The explosive arrow and... I forget which is the one you have to target and throw and which is the quick fire, but the targeted bomb - I think it's the black powder bomb - are very, very effective and I expect I'll use 'em more this hard/lethal run.
On my Normal run they were way too effective, and got themselves right in the way of me enjoying some sweet sweet swordplay. Via all the dead Mongols they produce - not one able to lift a blade!
'Chance, you are the best kind of whore.' -Henroid
i haven't picked up the dodge slash skill on normal because by the time i got around to paying attention to that tree, i was already able to do a spinning double slash to deal with any slow boys that tested me
i doubt i'll do a hard mode run but if i do it looks like that might be the way to go!
Sekiro : You want an easier difficulty? Play an easier game. It's obvious that you don't get what we're trying to do, here.
Ghost : Come one, come all! Enjoy yourselves! You get a harder mode and you get an even-easier mode than the easy mode!
Sekrio : Have you no dignity?
Ghost : I'm sorry? Did you say something, Sekiro? I couldn't hear over all these sales records I'm shattering. Just so loud every time you break another one, y'know?
Sekiro : ...my combat is so tight, though...
Ghost : Oh God, the tightest. Absolutely. Biggest debut for a new IP - did you hear?
Sekiro : Okay fuck you, Ghost.
Ghost : Get in li-hiiiine, 'cause erryone wants a piece o' dis ayyyys.
Sekiro : I fucking hate you.
"A From Software game would know the difference between honor and victory." - Sucker Punch Studios, probably.
Sekiro : You want an easier difficulty? Play an easier game. It's obvious that you don't get what we're trying to do, here.
Ghost : Come one, come all! Enjoy yourselves! You get a harder mode and you get an even-easier mode than the easy mode!
Sekrio : Have you no dignity?
Ghost : I'm sorry? Did you say something, Sekiro? I couldn't hear over all these sales records I'm shattering. Just so loud every time you break another one, y'know?
Sekiro : ...my combat is so tight, though...
Ghost : Oh God, the tightest. Absolutely. Biggest debut for a new IP - did you hear?
Sekiro : Okay fuck you, Ghost.
Ghost : Get in li-hiiiine, 'cause erryone wants a piece o' dis ayyyys.
Sekiro : I fucking hate you.
"A From Software game would know the difference between honor and victory." - Sucker Punch Studios, probably.
Hang on, hang on, I've got a Part II in me.
FO : Hey guys! Are we laughing about games that haven't sold enough to warrant sequels? Sorry, Sekiro, I guess-
Sekiro (in the rhythm of a Rick & Morty cadence) : Shut the fuck up, Fallen Order.
Ghost : Yeah, get the fuck outta' here!
Sekiro : No one wants you here.
Ghost : Get the fuck outta' here.
Sekiro : Fuckin' poser.
Ghost : Hate that guy.*
I don't think Sekiro or Ghost actually hate Fallen Order and I completed my playthrough of it and started a second, I just think it's funny to imagine these two games looking down on FO, and FO just wanting to be in their club.
Meanwhile, naturally, Sekiro is looking down on everyone.
Okay so here's Lethal Mode combat, to give you an idea of how much damage Jin can take. It's more forgiving than you'd think - the biggest difference seems to be enemies move and attack faster, I think.
I mean R2 is a pretty heavy slow-mo thing when it's held down, so I've not run into issues switching to other items or stances. Usually, I hold down R2 as I kill a dude, and switch to the appropriate stance of the nearest enemy to me. Also, you get some interesting attacks if you jump and light/heavy swing, and apparently this allows you to also evade a lot of attacks (even unblockable ones), regardless of stance.
Also this is 100% of the reason why I killed the last guy the way I did. I have literally never done that move intentionally before, until I tried it on that one guy lol.
'Chance, you are the best kind of whore.' -Henroid
Re: Sekiro v Fallen Order v Ghost of Tsushima comparisons
Chance, I'm going to agree with you again about your FO assessment. As I was playing it I constantly felt as though someone at Respawn Entertainment had played a lot of Sekiro, but didn't understand what made combat in it click. "What if we punished players by locking them into attack animations!? Sekiro was such a casual game for letting you break out of your attack animation to parry..." I played (and platinum'd) FO largely because of the Star Wars hype going into that holiday season. Throwing Stormtroopers off of cliffs was pretty fun, but I've got no desire to play it again.
GOT is great, and the combat clicked for me, and now I'm simply refining all my tools before switching the game to hard or potentially lethal mode. Comparing it to Sekiro, I think they're very different experiences. Overall, the best comparison I think for GOT is Red Dead Redemption: I get similar vibes with the storylines & side quests along with all the random encounters. The set pieces add some good challenge and compelling story telling. I also am reminded of Shadows of Mordor with the way that enemies surround you, and how you have to be willing to abandon an attack to instead defend against another opponent. Story and themes wise however I still love Sekiro more.
Sekiro was just such a tight experience from the first scene to the last scene. Of course I struggled with the combat (and still avoid the headless because of how janky the combat with them is), but getting good felt so good. My NG+ 6 & 7 were like victory laps at a national championship. Sekiro also just gives you a lot of Japanese flavor without any sort of explanation or context. It keeps the sort of wonder and excitement (and to be honest exoticism) of traveling Japan without a guide book, which I honestly prefer to the familiarity I get from GOT's Jidai-geki tropes.
To condense it all into an analogy, Sekiro is an incredible 7-course meal prepared by the finest chef. GOT is a buffet at a 5-star hotel's restaurant. The quality of the food in either case is undisputed, but one caters to taste and the other one takes you on a specific experience... Oh, and FO in this analogy is a Star Wars Themed restaurant at Disneyland.
飛べねぇ豚はただの豚だ。
+2
GoodKingJayIIIThey wanna get mygold on the ceilingRegistered Userregular
edited July 2020
My game just wigged out at the beginning of my next story mission. Yuna repeated the same line twice and I got a free legend level in the middle of a cutscene.
My game just wigged out at the beginning of my next story mission. Yuna repeated the same line twice and I got a free legend level in the middle of a cutscene.
I had one where a peasant woman was standing at the gates of a town, thanking me for helping her and something else. She repeated it every 15 seconds. Then a story fight occurred in the plaza she was at and she didn't stop the whole time.
'Chance, you are the best kind of whore.' -Henroid
The Kappa side quest was broken for me for awhile. I go to examine a thing and I zoom in and just sit there. Waited a bit but nothing so I could still fast travel away so I went about my way. Went back a couple times and the same thing happened each time despite inspecting different clues. Finally it worked at some point for no describable reason.
Let me get the gameplay benefits of one armor set while having the visuals of a different set.
Spider man did this. It was brilliant. When you unlocked new armor it came with its own special ability. You could take that out and slot it into any armor you wanted. I wish more games did stuff like that.
Battletag: Threeve#1501
PSN: Threeve703
+5
AegeriTiny wee bacteriumsPlateau of LengRegistered Userregular
I happen to have played these games in exactly this order: Jedi Fallen Order, Sekiro and now GOT. Of these, Sekiro has the absolute best sword fighting and combat system I have probably ever played. It's so well refined and extremely well done, that once you master it the combat just has this amazing pace and visceral feeling that I don't think anything else I've played has replicated. I rarely got frustrated with Sekiro, except for the Headless and the Demon of Hatred who both feel a bit out of place in the games overall context. Sekiro does have a lack of accessibility and similar though, so if you're not prepared to learn how to parry and get good at the game it's not forgiving. You'll hit an immovable brick wall and just not be able to proceed, which sucks because Sekiro has a really good story and the later encounters are terrific.
Jedi Fallen Order was a hot mess. It kind of worked, but you can clearly see that the combat system wasn't as tuned or well thought through as Sekiro. It has a lot in common with Sekiro, but it doesn't feel as rewarding to master and play. The parrying in particular not being able to interrupt attacks makes things overly defensive in a lot of ways. In comparison to Sekiro, people watching Fallen Order would be able to tell where the player is blocking/parrying, while a masterful swordfight in Sekiro looks basically like the player is constantly attacking themselves and seems like a genuine back/forth. Plus breaking an opponents guard for an instant death blow is just satisfying, while Jedi Fallen order feels more janky and like what you're doing isn't what's happening. The death trooper guys with the shock weapons are good examples - I still have no idea what their parrying windows are. Thankfully, you can lean on Force Powers and just power yourself through the game without really needing to learn how to fight with a lightsaber (outside of two boss fights).
Ghosts feels like a toolkit style game, like Assassin's Creed. The combat is janky but in a weird way - if you use the correct stances you can just wreck absolutely everything. If you get really good at rapidly changing the stance you're using, you can murder a guy and then straight up go into a second enemy to ruin their day. Stance changing means you can basically not bother with being overly defensive at all and in fact, IMO the game encourages it. You don't want to be waiting for enemies to attack, because they have so much shit that's not parryable and going on the offense is much easier. If you *can* parry though some mass fights just look like a glorious dance of death, where you pounce between enemies and just murder them endlessly.
My biggest problem with the combat system? Way too many fucking archers. Archers break the combat system in this game way too much. Each archer slows up enemies so they aren't doing anything, they interrupt your combos/attacks from off screen - highlighting this games worst issue which is the atrocious camera - and frankly, they're just not any fucking fun. They get in the way of the almost batman like dance of switching stances, using gear/equipment (kunai, smoke bombs etc) and so on. I really wish there were significantly fewer archers in the game and more focus on the otherwise competent sword fighting mechanics. There is a reason I just leave archers to bleed out in encounters whenever I don't need the resolve.
I'm still having a lot of fun and despite it being an open world game, I'm discovering that it doesn't give me as much "Open World Fatigue" as I would have expected. If we're comparing combat to something like Sekiro though, I'll take Sekiro any day because it's just brilliant. The timing windows are perfect and with only a handful of exceptions, attacks are 100% readable and reactable. Ghosts is let down by some enemies have poorly readable attacks, the timing window honestly feels extremely inconsistent and some enemies like archers highlight the weaknesses of the camera having no lock on. Likewise while it doesn't happen to me often, being in the correct stance but watching Jin attack an enemy who isn't anywhere near who you actually want to is very annoying. I've learned how to minimize the game doing that, but it's still maddening when it occasionally happens.
Okay but "Ochoa! Oooochoa!" (Or whatever it is they say.)
It's very reliable to the point that I don't need to see where they are. They wouldn't call out if they didn't have LoS on me, and a properly timed dodge will evade it regardless.
...right?
'Chance, you are the best kind of whore.' -Henroid
+2
AegeriTiny wee bacteriumsPlateau of LengRegistered Userregular
edited July 2020
It really doesn't matter, because they can and will do it in the middle of you attacking and some combats have a *lot* of them (like 3+). They can also attack from a great distance away where you can't always hear them and so it's a random arrow from nowhere. Some of the bigger set pieces particularly love this. If you're going to give me a camera where I can't lock onto an enemy so I can easily control what I'm targeting and where I'm looking, don't attack me from off screen. 101 basic combat design. It's especially infuriating if you didn't see the type of archer, because again, long range and off screen and you fail to account for one of the assholes that fires 3+ arrows in quick succession.
This does mean that one of the most useful skills you can get in the game is the one to straight up block arrows. Makes life much easier because you cannot be hit by random off screen arrows while blocking. You can also just walk right towards like 5 archers and just smack all of them while they can do nothing to you except wait for death.
Edit: My entire problem with them is that they are an artificial layer of difficulty, they slow up combat and they're just annoying - not challenging. They interfere with the actual functional parts of the combat system while not adding anything to the game, except to show how irritating the camera is.
Let me get the gameplay benefits of one armor set while having the visuals of a different set.
Spider man did this. It was brilliant. When you unlocked new armor it came with its own special ability. You could take that out and slot it into any armor you wanted. I wish more games did stuff like that.
Diablo 3 also does this. You can change any bit of gear you've got into any other style that's valid for it you've unlocked. So you can always have a pretty look and not run around with an extremely goofy hat.
The combat is not what makes Fallen Order a kinda trash game.
It's the lack of fast travel, the absolute garbage map, and the too obvious delays to load more level... including crawl spaces and WAY TOO SLOW elevators while you do nothing... those make Fallen Order a kinda trash game.
Well, there's also the fact that every collectable is aesthetic and doesn't help you... I've never heard anyone say 'I want every collectable in a video game to be a color variant... '
Quiotu on
+2
AegeriTiny wee bacteriumsPlateau of LengRegistered Userregular
It turns out that Ghosts of Tshushima has sold more than 2.4 million copies over its first three days. This pleases me greatly, as this means it should be well on track to do 10 million (or more) lifetime sales. I'm really wondering what a PS5 sequel to this game is going to look like. It does, unfortunately mean, that it dethrones Horizon Zero Dawn as the best selling new IP of this generation.
It turns out that Ghosts of Tshushima has sold more than 2.4 million copies over its first three days. This pleases me greatly, as this means it should be well on track to do 10 million (or more) lifetime sales. I'm really wondering what a PS5 sequel to this game is going to look like. It does, unfortunately mean, that it dethrones Horizon Zero Dawn as the best selling new IP of this generation.
Horizon had the unfortunate timing to launch next to Breath of the Wild and to have diehard Nintendo fanboys go 'but BotW is better!' (debatable, they go for different types of experiences even in the same 'genre') literally every time someone tried to sing Horizon's praises across the internet near launch. Zelda fanboys are rabid.
Horizon, however, did have great word of mouth and huge legs on the sales.
In the lead up to Ghost I was... mad with hype and just ravenous for it. I bought a new TV specifically for it, and spent the week prior playing every great PS4 graphics showcase to try to slake the beast within. TloU2, Horizon, Spider-Man, Control, Dying Light. Hyper Light Drifter.
Only Horizon managed - the Frozen Wilds DLC actually - to hold my attention for like 4 good days.
Were it not for Aloy and those elemental-themed robo-Bears I fear I would've gone quite mad with Ghostlust.
Also I thought Fallen Order's map was awesome. It was like a map from Descent - 'member Descent?
'Chance, you are the best kind of whore.' -Henroid
Also Ghost doesn't have just the best new IP launch of the Generation but the best New IP launch in Sony's history so far.
In total 3-day initial launch weekend Sony Exclusive sales it's, as far as I know, 5th place behind TLoU pt II (ugh, sorry) at 4mil, FF7R at 3.5mil, Spider-Man 3.3mil, and God of War 3.1mil.
GoodKingJayIIIThey wanna get mygold on the ceilingRegistered Userregular
HZD is by far the best new IP of this generation, the best open-world game I've played, and frankly one of the best games I have ever played.
Wrapped up Tsushima tonight. Story went pretty much where I expected. It was fine. I have a lot of thoughts but I'm tired. Will finish up the last of the Mongol camps and probably call it a day.
For now, I leave you with my foray into Lethal mode. Boy, it's brutal.
AegeriTiny wee bacteriumsPlateau of LengRegistered Userregular
I got a great bug last night where Jin was attacking anything that came near with no animations. So I can walk up to doors and they just shatter for no reason. Dogs tried to attack me but simply fell over dead.
Posts
I do not. I skip the standoff if I'm at full resolve 'cause each dude one shot in standoff is one fun fight I'm denying myself.
I pick off archers from afair, if they're on lookout towers, prior to going in and that's it. No bow.
I'm here to chop people up with a sword!
Same way I play souls games too I guess.. no parries or bows! Dodges and swords are the best!
I never said they weren't good! In fact you can probably break a lot of stuff with them. But that's kinda the point. I don't want to easily pew pew things from a mile away. I wanna fight everything with my sword! Face to face! All of you guys bring it on at once!
I just think both play wise that's more fun and RP wise that's like WAY more awesome.
I legit sell all my arrows and bombs to vendors since I don't use them.
I posted that one a few pages back but it was not up to Chance’s conical standards.
PSN: Threeve703
PSN: Threeve703
Because while I respect that the Mongols want me so dead that they're willing to risk friendly fire in every single fight, I'm over here trying to have epic fucking swordfights against six people at once and getting punked by an arrow mid-swing IS NOT EPIC.
I don't like any sort of explosive things in a game like this. Heck even in games with guns I don't use things like grenades or explosive traps or anything like that.
I know what I like and I only wanna use the things I like!
Yep. I always have to actively remind myself to use explosive options, usually. I remember specifically reminding myself, repeatedly, to use my explosive arrows in TloU2 and then just never did outside of like a bloater.
The explosive arrow and... I forget which is the one you have to target and throw and which is the quick fire, but the targeted bomb - I think it's the black powder bomb - are very, very effective and I expect I'll use 'em more this hard/lethal run.
On my Normal run they were way too effective, and got themselves right in the way of me enjoying some sweet sweet swordplay. Via all the dead Mongols they produce - not one able to lift a blade!
Stone stance only, hard mode, a few points in the parry tree and I don't think any other skills are at play here.
Alrighty, Lethal mode, let's give it a shot!
i doubt i'll do a hard mode run but if i do it looks like that might be the way to go!
// Switch: SW-5306-0651-6424 //
No I've got run-slash. But the dodge slash may solve a new problem on Lethal mode...
"A From Software game would know the difference between honor and victory." - Sucker Punch Studios, probably.
Hang on, hang on, I've got a Part II in me.
Sekiro (in the rhythm of a Rick & Morty cadence) : Shut the fuck up, Fallen Order.
Ghost : Yeah, get the fuck outta' here!
Sekiro : No one wants you here.
Ghost : Get the fuck outta' here.
Sekiro : Fuckin' poser.
Ghost : Hate that guy.*
Meanwhile, naturally, Sekiro is looking down on everyone.
Okay so here's Lethal Mode combat, to give you an idea of how much damage Jin can take. It's more forgiving than you'd think - the biggest difference seems to be enemies move and attack faster, I think.
Y'know what? I'm thinkin' I will.
Also this is 100% of the reason why I killed the last guy the way I did. I have literally never done that move intentionally before, until I tried it on that one guy lol.
Chance, I'm going to agree with you again about your FO assessment. As I was playing it I constantly felt as though someone at Respawn Entertainment had played a lot of Sekiro, but didn't understand what made combat in it click. "What if we punished players by locking them into attack animations!? Sekiro was such a casual game for letting you break out of your attack animation to parry..." I played (and platinum'd) FO largely because of the Star Wars hype going into that holiday season. Throwing Stormtroopers off of cliffs was pretty fun, but I've got no desire to play it again.
GOT is great, and the combat clicked for me, and now I'm simply refining all my tools before switching the game to hard or potentially lethal mode. Comparing it to Sekiro, I think they're very different experiences. Overall, the best comparison I think for GOT is Red Dead Redemption: I get similar vibes with the storylines & side quests along with all the random encounters. The set pieces add some good challenge and compelling story telling. I also am reminded of Shadows of Mordor with the way that enemies surround you, and how you have to be willing to abandon an attack to instead defend against another opponent. Story and themes wise however I still love Sekiro more.
Sekiro was just such a tight experience from the first scene to the last scene. Of course I struggled with the combat (and still avoid the headless because of how janky the combat with them is), but getting good felt so good. My NG+ 6 & 7 were like victory laps at a national championship. Sekiro also just gives you a lot of Japanese flavor without any sort of explanation or context. It keeps the sort of wonder and excitement (and to be honest exoticism) of traveling Japan without a guide book, which I honestly prefer to the familiarity I get from GOT's Jidai-geki tropes.
To condense it all into an analogy, Sekiro is an incredible 7-course meal prepared by the finest chef. GOT is a buffet at a 5-star hotel's restaurant. The quality of the food in either case is undisputed, but one caters to taste and the other one takes you on a specific experience... Oh, and FO in this analogy is a Star Wars Themed restaurant at Disneyland.
PSN: Threeve703
Also, I think Sekiro combat is easier than Ghost, but I'm not going to pretend that's the standard take.
Let me get the gameplay benefits of one armor set while having the visuals of a different set.
I had one where a peasant woman was standing at the gates of a town, thanking me for helping her and something else. She repeated it every 15 seconds. Then a story fight occurred in the plaza she was at and she didn't stop the whole time.
*shrug*
Spider man did this. It was brilliant. When you unlocked new armor it came with its own special ability. You could take that out and slot it into any armor you wanted. I wish more games did stuff like that.
PSN: Threeve703
Jedi Fallen Order was a hot mess. It kind of worked, but you can clearly see that the combat system wasn't as tuned or well thought through as Sekiro. It has a lot in common with Sekiro, but it doesn't feel as rewarding to master and play. The parrying in particular not being able to interrupt attacks makes things overly defensive in a lot of ways. In comparison to Sekiro, people watching Fallen Order would be able to tell where the player is blocking/parrying, while a masterful swordfight in Sekiro looks basically like the player is constantly attacking themselves and seems like a genuine back/forth. Plus breaking an opponents guard for an instant death blow is just satisfying, while Jedi Fallen order feels more janky and like what you're doing isn't what's happening. The death trooper guys with the shock weapons are good examples - I still have no idea what their parrying windows are. Thankfully, you can lean on Force Powers and just power yourself through the game without really needing to learn how to fight with a lightsaber (outside of two boss fights).
Ghosts feels like a toolkit style game, like Assassin's Creed. The combat is janky but in a weird way - if you use the correct stances you can just wreck absolutely everything. If you get really good at rapidly changing the stance you're using, you can murder a guy and then straight up go into a second enemy to ruin their day. Stance changing means you can basically not bother with being overly defensive at all and in fact, IMO the game encourages it. You don't want to be waiting for enemies to attack, because they have so much shit that's not parryable and going on the offense is much easier. If you *can* parry though some mass fights just look like a glorious dance of death, where you pounce between enemies and just murder them endlessly.
My biggest problem with the combat system? Way too many fucking archers. Archers break the combat system in this game way too much. Each archer slows up enemies so they aren't doing anything, they interrupt your combos/attacks from off screen - highlighting this games worst issue which is the atrocious camera - and frankly, they're just not any fucking fun. They get in the way of the almost batman like dance of switching stances, using gear/equipment (kunai, smoke bombs etc) and so on. I really wish there were significantly fewer archers in the game and more focus on the otherwise competent sword fighting mechanics. There is a reason I just leave archers to bleed out in encounters whenever I don't need the resolve.
I'm still having a lot of fun and despite it being an open world game, I'm discovering that it doesn't give me as much "Open World Fatigue" as I would have expected. If we're comparing combat to something like Sekiro though, I'll take Sekiro any day because it's just brilliant. The timing windows are perfect and with only a handful of exceptions, attacks are 100% readable and reactable. Ghosts is let down by some enemies have poorly readable attacks, the timing window honestly feels extremely inconsistent and some enemies like archers highlight the weaknesses of the camera having no lock on. Likewise while it doesn't happen to me often, being in the correct stance but watching Jin attack an enemy who isn't anywhere near who you actually want to is very annoying. I've learned how to minimize the game doing that, but it's still maddening when it occasionally happens.
It's very reliable to the point that I don't need to see where they are. They wouldn't call out if they didn't have LoS on me, and a properly timed dodge will evade it regardless.
...right?
This does mean that one of the most useful skills you can get in the game is the one to straight up block arrows. Makes life much easier because you cannot be hit by random off screen arrows while blocking. You can also just walk right towards like 5 archers and just smack all of them while they can do nothing to you except wait for death.
Edit: My entire problem with them is that they are an artificial layer of difficulty, they slow up combat and they're just annoying - not challenging. They interfere with the actual functional parts of the combat system while not adding anything to the game, except to show how irritating the camera is.
Diablo 3 also does this. You can change any bit of gear you've got into any other style that's valid for it you've unlocked. So you can always have a pretty look and not run around with an extremely goofy hat.
It's the lack of fast travel, the absolute garbage map, and the too obvious delays to load more level... including crawl spaces and WAY TOO SLOW elevators while you do nothing... those make Fallen Order a kinda trash game.
Well, there's also the fact that every collectable is aesthetic and doesn't help you... I've never heard anyone say 'I want every collectable in a video game to be a color variant... '
Horizon had the unfortunate timing to launch next to Breath of the Wild and to have diehard Nintendo fanboys go 'but BotW is better!' (debatable, they go for different types of experiences even in the same 'genre') literally every time someone tried to sing Horizon's praises across the internet near launch. Zelda fanboys are rabid.
Horizon, however, did have great word of mouth and huge legs on the sales.
// Switch: SW-5306-0651-6424 //
On the other hand, I wish more games allowed me to just straight up climb anything I want any time.
Only Horizon managed - the Frozen Wilds DLC actually - to hold my attention for like 4 good days.
Were it not for Aloy and those elemental-themed robo-Bears I fear I would've gone quite mad with Ghostlust.
Also I thought Fallen Order's map was awesome. It was like a map from Descent - 'member Descent?
In total 3-day initial launch weekend Sony Exclusive sales it's, as far as I know, 5th place behind TLoU pt II (ugh, sorry) at 4mil, FF7R at 3.5mil, Spider-Man 3.3mil, and God of War 3.1mil.
Sucker Punch should be proud.
// Switch: SW-5306-0651-6424 //
Wrapped up Tsushima tonight. Story went pretty much where I expected. It was fine. I have a lot of thoughts but I'm tired. Will finish up the last of the Mongol camps and probably call it a day.
For now, I leave you with my foray into Lethal mode. Boy, it's brutal.
PSN: Threeve703
It was hilarious.
PSN: Threeve703