LogFAQs > #976813071

I'll start by saying that I think this game has better bosses than elden ring. It also has a lot of really cool concepts and features. The weapon variety, armor, and ng+ system are all some of the best in the series. The disc chime is probably my favorite weapon in the series, next to the demon scar from ds3.

Unfortunately, all the good is bogged down by an equal amount of annoyances, and just downright strange gameplay decisions. Hollowing sounds good in concept, but in practice, the whole "I died a lot so I lose half my possible HP" thing is unnecessarily punishing. If I'm fucking up a lot, it's just going to make me want to stop playing if I start dying in 2 hits.

Agility is another thing that sounds good on paper. The idea of boosting certain animations like drinking estus through a stat seems like a nice idea until you realize that you'd have to level it pretty high for it to become even kind of Normal, but ultimately it feels like you'd want to be putting your points into something else. I frames being tied to a stat is not a good idea. A lot of things in the game just feel unnecessary and slow. Stamina regen, HP regen, interaction animations, healing, even some attacks all just feel so clunky. Pair this with aggressive mob enemies and reduced HP, and it quickly becomes very frustrating to try to get through certain areas.

Bonfire ascetics are really cool though. There are a lot of really unique mechanics in this game that I really really wish they would bring to later games. I definitely think this is the most creative and interesting souls game, and if it was a bit less clunky and a few different design decisions, it would probably be my favorite in the series. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.