Savagezion said:
If it plays like Demon Souls, I would agree with Mr. Dizazta probably more than someone saying it is an RPG. The only thing RPG-y about Demon Souls was character equiptment and levels. CoD has both of those. The gameplay of Demon Souls is based on exact timing similar to QTE's without screen prompts. While not exactly like QTE's in the sense that there isn't only one combination that is viable - but exact timing of presses is the key and there is no flex on that. No "spray and pray" or button spam style 'tactics'. The game's atmosphere and story is basically "How long can you survive while we try to kill you? No matter how long you do, you're doomed."
Can't say I agree with the DS games having QTEs. QTEs, as they stand are usually either of the "press x not to die variety" or "press X to execute", and are usually used within contextual cutscenes or as a way to finish off an enemy by nipping at his health enough to earn an execution animation. In both cases, usually player agency is being taken away from you. It kind of made sense when God of War used it as it was aiming for "cinematic" goals that the PS2 just could not pull off (and so, they'd give you the illusion of control over what was happening by having a big "X" glow while a golem was being maimed by Kratos, and not you), and it's still kind of excusable in GoW because for the most part those games still require a fair degree of skill and player agency to go through. As opposed to say, Resident Evil 6, where the QTEs are just commands for the game to keep playing itself.
But I digress, the reason why I can't see how DS have QTEs is in the mere fact that you can go through the game without pulling them off once. There's no "need" for them, and even when you choose to go for them, they test your reflexes and ability to read the enemy's attacks in the same way that many an arcade game did in the past. The only thing being shared then is the timing. It helps to know exaclty when to press L2 to parry, the same way it helps to know where to stand to spam that cool AoE attack. In my view, that's just turning those attacks of opportunity that were so instrumental in D&D games as something that's skill based.
OT: I'd say if Diablo can be considered an RPG, then so can Dark Souls. Diablo is basically "choose class, go in dungeon, click click click click, level up, upgrade skills, gain loot, become stronger to go into next dungeon to rinse and repeat". There's a lot of that incorporated mechanically into dark Souls. You grind and loot, you level up, and your stats matter to an almost OCD degree (I find myself planning in advance for what kind of character I want to play, and map out the stats and their allocation even before the playthrough starts). Its leveling system is pretty much traditionally RPG, with stat alocation and dependence of proficiencies on how you invest said stats. You can costumize your character in any way you want with a degree of freedom matched only by Bethesda games (I mean, try and be zweihander wielding mage in Dragon Age, for example).
The Story in DS is sparse and intentionally so, but that does not mean there is no choice. Killing or not killing a character always brings about a consequence and sets up butterfly effects, if nothing else, because of how permanent that choice is. You can kill off a vendor for the items he rewards you, or choose not to kill off a certain character even though he raises warning signs of "this guy will screw you over" always has a consequence in the playthrough, made more pertinet by the fact that none of it is telegraphed. In Dragon Age or The Witcher, and not to take away from those games, you all but see the "THIS IS A CHOICE THAT WILL IMPACT YOUR STORY" sign flashing before every single crossroad. Not so in DS. Siegmeyer will stand there, looking vaguely lost and out of place, and it's completely up to you to indulge him or ignore him, and that is a choice in and of itself, made all the more impactful by the fact that it is permanent; kill a character and he's gone and you can't rewind the action. You'll have to live with it the rest of that playthrough until NG+. The game also has a lot of lore behind a deceptively bare bones story, which is given to you contextually and not through page long exposition dumps.
So, we have strong character costumization, dungeon crawling, leveling systems, in-game choice and agency in the progression of the story, and a world filled with lore to explore. Sounds like a RPG to me, even if it plays like a hell of a lot more than just that.