So Bloodborne

[Casual Shinji]

Good to know you're the authority on depth and difficulty then.

Hey, I could argue all I want about how the game is indeed hard and has depth, but something tells me that would be futile.

The Souls games have very little actual skill-based difficulty. I played Dark Souls and I completely understand why it would be futile to argue the game is hard and has depth too, circle strafing breaks the game. How about making through Sen's Fortress first run, no walkthrough, and not dying once or getting hit by a trap if you just fucking pay attention. Even Extra Credits says Dark Souls can be an easy game.

How does circle strafing break the game? Sure, if you're facing one or two mooks you can make short work of them with this tactic, but nearly any other scenario circle strafing will just get you within the attack range of another enemy or at the mercy of some environmental hazard. Just because you can strafe behind an enemy doesn't mean you're not still extremely vulnerable if you make the wrong move. Yes, the game is easy if you don't make the wrong move, but by that definition every game is easy.

Yes, you pay attention and be on your guard at all times, and Sen's Fortress isn't that hard... And you know why you have to pay attention and be on your guard constantly? Because otherwise you get killed. That's considered the direct opposite of easy.

 

[hybridial]

Poison Arrows are what break the game.

They break the fuck out of it.

 

[ERaptor]

I was very excited for the game.

Until I saw "Sony" and the fact that it's now locked behind a few hundred bucky worth of useless plastic.

Allright, let me step back a bit. I'm happy for everyone that owns a Playstation. Really am. And I hope you enjoy the game, because it looks AWESOME. But I wont be taken hostage by Sony and their console that will get obsolete in another year or so, and with such a limited game library.

Will definetly get the game IF it comes to the PC. Or the PS2 for that matter, because that thing was actually worth the money, at least for me.

 

[Erttheking]

Several hours in. Only managed to get to the first boss once and got my ass royally kicked by it. I have no idea what I'm doing, no idea where everyone is, I'm struggling to get through the starting area (Those freaking werewolves before the boss) and all in all I'm completely helpless.

I feel like I'm playing Dark Souls for the first time again. Which is a good thing.

 

[Rednog]

My biggest problem with the game so far is that is still suffers from the same problems as the souls games.
I don't get how after 3 other games they still haven't figured out how to not fuck up the camera royally when it comes to giant enemies. I was seriously pissed off when I got to the Cleric Beast and my camera proceeded to give it a colonoscopy. That's just bad considering it's supposed to be the tutorial boss. I honestly don't know what they were thinking, I never got to a point where I actually learned the boss because the animations are just bleh.

I found out pretty fast it would miss 75% of the time when I was humping it's leg and when it did hit me I could pretty much just keep hammering attack to heal back to full before it hit me again. I tried a few times to parry it, but I honestly couldn't find the sweet spot, some people are saying that it's really unreliable and it actually takes more than 1 shot, I honestly don't know. But there really shouldn't be that kind of ambiguity for the first boss. I honestly don't know what to make of this game yet, I beat the boss on my second try and just turned off the console. I went online and looked up 4-5 videos of people beating the boss, I saw other people having the boss just put down it's head after an attack combo for a riposte attack and people hammering on the arms would cause it to break off and do massive damage. I honestly don't know how I never saw any of that.

This is no Pursuit or Asylum Demon, which is kind of sad because those bosses actually did a decent job of teaching you. The Cleric Beast was just a mess of hair physics and bad camera for me.

Also I still can't figure out of this game punishes you for taking hits in the back of not. I've taken several blows from the front with no problem. But times the camera or lock on goes wonky and I side step into an enemy and get hit in the back I pretty much die instantly, even from the common guys.

 

[joest01]

I don't get how after 3 other games they still haven't figured out how to not fuck up the camera royally when it comes to giant enemies.

Actually in DkS2 you could lock on to body parts of larger opponents.

 

[Rednog]

I don't get how after 3 other games they still haven't figured out how to not fuck up the camera royally when it comes to giant enemies.

Actually in DkS2 you could lock on to body parts of larger opponents.

For some of them sure, but not all. Bloodborne allows that too, but it honestly doesn't help much. For Cleric Beast you can lock onto head and torso...but even then the torso is so high up the camera freaks out. And pretty much why I made the colonoscopy quip, aiming for the torso when your at ankle height pretty much sends the camera straight up the monster's butt.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Several hours in. Only managed to get to the first boss once and got my ass royally kicked by it. I have no idea what I'm doing, no idea where everyone is, I'm struggling to get through the starting area (Those freaking werewolves before the boss) and all in all I'm completely helpless.

I feel like I'm playing Dark Souls for the first time again. Which is a good thing.

You can completely ignore those werewolves. Once you unlock the shortcut near the first bonfire, you just run up the second floor of the house with that wheelchair guy and you can just circumvent those werewolves. You still have to deal with the big ogre dude, but he's not too tough.

Thankfully I had some jolly co-op to help me with the Cleric Beast.

The huge hooded dude with the axe near the very start of the game is a fucking nightmare though. He looks like one of those regular ogres, but that guy is just relentless in his desire to destroy you, should you aggro him. He can leap like 20 feet to clear the distance to you. I still haven't gotten him.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

How does circle strafing break the game? Sure, if you're facing one or two mooks you can make short work of them with this tactic, but nearly any other scenario circle strafing will just get you within the attack range of another enemy or at the mercy of some environmental hazard. Just because you can strafe behind an enemy doesn't mean you're not still extremely vulnerable if you make the wrong move. Yes, the game is easy if you don't make the wrong move, but by that definition every game is easy.

Yes, you pay attention and be on your guard at all times, and Sen's Fortress isn't that hard... And you know why you have to pay attention and be on your guard constantly? Because otherwise you get killed. That's considered the direct opposite of easy.

I fought one enemy at a time because the shield controls were horrible when fighting multiple enemies. You can literally hold up your shield blocking and strafe to the enemy's back, that's horrible AI. Great thing Bloodborne has like no shields. I realize the "pro" Souls players played the games basically how you play Bloodborne but I shouldn't have to gimp myself to get a challenge from a game. And, Bloodborne does that style of gameplay much better than playing Souls without a shield.

Other games I die because I didn't execute my attacks. I don't die in say Bayonetta because a random enemy is corner camping or that I'm going too fast (it's usually I was playing too slow). Every enemy in Dark Souls is easy (outside of a few bosses) whereas in other games enemies are hard to kill and there's no easy way of doing it.

Poison Arrows are what break the game.

They break the fuck out of it.

Along with several other things like just plain arrows.

 

[Benpasko]

but I'm not sure how I'll feel about the absence of shields (Shields are gone, right? I haven't seen them in any of the trailers).

I'm about 7 bosses in now, opened up all of the different 'archstones' (more or less), and I've found one crappy plank shield so far. No list of block percentages like Dark Souls though, so I couldn't tell you how effective it is.

 

[default]

I feel when reading this thread that with the Souls games you either 'get' it or you don't, as pretentious as that sounds.

People are just talking about how easy it is to break the game, how bad the AI is, how easy it can be if you just turtle and how there is no depth. The vast majority of that stems from the fuckwits who say 'OOOH THIS GAME IS SO HARD AND CHALLENGING I'VE DIED LIKE 50 TIMES ON THIS ONE BOSS' and other people trying to prove that they are wrong or that the game is cheap as they play through themselves for the first time. They are naturally biased and resistant going in. That is not the focus of the game nor where its main appeal lies. These are the same people that will say that Dark Souls 2 is objectively better. I could go on for hours about Souls games (and have done), but I won't this time. It's fine if you don't like it. Souls games aren't for everyone.

Can't play Bloodborne, pretty sad about it. It looks beautiful and stylish and awesome. It looks like it's taking back the core of what a Souls game should be.

 

[Fappy]

Just beat my first playthrough about an hour ago. That was one of the creepiest games I've ever played, Jim was right.

Also, if anyone wants a tip on how to get the true ending I can offer a spoiler-light walkthrough. It's actually really simple.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

I feel when reading this thread that with the Souls games you either 'get' it or you don't, as pretentious as that sounds.

People are just talking about how easy it is to break the game, how bad the AI is, how easy it can be if you just turtle and how there is no depth. The vast majority of that stems from the fuckwits who say 'OOOH THIS GAME IS SO HARD AND CHALLENGING I'VE DIED LIKE 50 TIMES ON THIS ONE BOSS' and other people trying to prove that they are wrong or that the game is cheap as they play through themselves for the first time. They are naturally biased and resistant going in. That is not the focus of the game nor where its main appeal lies. These are the same people that will say that Dark Souls 2 is objectively better. I could go on for hours about Souls games (and have done), but I won't this time. It's fine if you don't like it. Souls games aren't for everyone.

Can't play Bloodborne, pretty sad about it. It looks beautiful and stylish and awesome. It looks like it's taking back the core of what a Souls game should be.

I went into Dark Souls looking for a game with a good combat system and a challenge, nothing more. I really don't get phased by people saying stuff like "It's so hard" or "hardest game ever" because it has at least a 99.9% chance of being hyperbole. There's a quite a few issues with the combat system like so much dependence on a lock-on system, that went out of style during PS2/Xbox gen.

There really isn't that many playstyles in a Souls game regardless if you are going complete dex with the fastest, quickest weapon or complete strength with the hardest hitting thing in the game, you're still going to be blocking then attacking when you have an opening. The problem is dex characters can block too well, that's the strength character's thing. I died quite often at the start because I didn't think I could depend on blocking, I thought the stronger enemies (well, stronger ones than my character) would be able to go through my stamina and take out some health routinely with one hit. I thought I was constantly going to be having to make decisions about whether to block and lose some health or dodge losing no health or losing a lot. The fact that I could block like everything made that rarely come into play. And then you have your magic builds, that's pretty much it melee or magic.

There's just a lot of game mechanics that aren't well thought out. The fact that you can lower your shield between enemy hits in an attack chain and recover stamina super fast meant there was really no stamina management needed on my part. What's the point of even having stamina if I don't have to manage it? There's really no reward for playing risky. Why dodge when blocking is safer even for a dex character? Why parry when enemies don't force you out of playing it safe? The RPG mechanics aren't very sound either with a core stat that does nothing, imagine DnD with a core stat that did nothing. Then you have a form of magic not tied to a stat. That kind of stuff is RPG 101.

I hope you see that the Souls games have some foundational flaws and that's why I don't like them. Not because I didn't get it because I did get the other stuff. Dark Souls has some really great level design and atmosphere.

With all that said, Bloodborne is WAY better than Dark Souls because a lot of the flaws have just been taken out of the equation due to the changes in gameplay. Due to shields being taken out, the control scheme is much more suited to the basically hunter style of play. Parrying enemy attacks is really needed whereas in Dark Souls there really was no point in taking the risk when other methods were way safer as you only had X amount of health to get you to the next bonfire. The fact that Bloodborne really cut down on the RPG mechanics means it's almost impossible for From to fuck up on them as well. Bloodborne is basically as good as combat can be with the somewhat antiquated controls (and camera) while having the top-notch atmosphere and level design. Plus, the world is just more interesting in Bloodborne as the Souls games are still heavy derived from your standard medieval fantasy. I still don't get why From can't fix those ragdoll dead enemies and enemies being able to hit you through walls and objects.

 

[SeventhSigil]

Been avoiding progressing too much further boss-wise (I want my roommate around, we both quite enjoy saying "THE HELL IS THAT THING?!?" during the inevitable ten to fifteen minute intervals) so mostly been popping around the opening region, and the very early part of the Cathedral region. Grinding for echos, practicing my moves- still need to get the hang of parrying- etc.

Something I've quite enjoyed are the subtle little mindgames it sometimes plays with you. A few examples;

Down in the sewers, when you spot a certain not-going-to-spoil-but-very-LARGE creature. You can see its silhouette easily enough, see it moving, and can therefore easily choose NOT to go into the dark, damp tunnel that the creature is almost as large as. But, naturally, if you want to try and find all the cool shinies you can, you know that you HAVE to check that tunnel out, which means engaging that... thing. So, deep breath, gather your jimmies, and off you go! (Worth it, too, a bit further into the tunnel is a Hunter badge you can find on a corpse.) This has happened a few times in my playthrough thus far, where you see something big and Dear GOD, you don't want to fight it, and technically nothing's keeping you from just leaving... except it's potentially between you and something awesome, and both you and the devs know it.

Another example, of course, is the fake-out. Thinking 'Eh, I've got this,' only to realize your horrible mistake the moment you engage. Spotting a lone sniper, but having wild dogs charge at you the moment you approach him, turning a simple charge-and-gut into something more chaotic. Or seeing what LOOKS like a Hammer-Fist sized opponent, cloak and all, only when you approach to attack it turns out the thing was kneeling, and oh look, IT HAS A GIANT BALL-ON-A-CHAIN!

Finally, and this might have been unintended, there was ONE instance where I found myself in a deathly quiet room, peering down a shortish corridor at an ornate treasure chest on the far end. No sign of monsters or hazards... but naturally I ended up inching around the entrance to the corridor, and then finally spam-rolling down it like freaking Zorro, because I was conviiiinced it was a trap. Only it wasn't a trap. -_- It was perfectly safe and offered me a shiny weapons gem. ....totally convinced they threw that segment in there just to mess with those of us who were quite accustomed to getting ambushed.

 

[default]

I feel when reading this thread that with the Souls games you either 'get' it or you don't, as pretentious as that sounds.

People are just talking about how easy it is to break the game, how bad the AI is, how easy it can be if you just turtle and how there is no depth. The vast majority of that stems from the fuckwits who say 'OOOH THIS GAME IS SO HARD AND CHALLENGING I'VE DIED LIKE 50 TIMES ON THIS ONE BOSS' and other people trying to prove that they are wrong or that the game is cheap as they play through themselves for the first time. They are naturally biased and resistant going in. That is not the focus of the game nor where its main appeal lies. These are the same people that will say that Dark Souls 2 is objectively better. I could go on for hours about Souls games (and have done), but I won't this time. It's fine if you don't like it. Souls games aren't for everyone.

Can't play Bloodborne, pretty sad about it. It looks beautiful and stylish and awesome. It looks like it's taking back the core of what a Souls game should be.

I went into Dark Souls looking for a game with a good combat system and a challenge, nothing more. I really don't get phased by people saying stuff like "It's so hard" or "hardest game ever" because it has at least a 99.9% chance of being hyperbole. There's a quite a few issues with the combat system like so much dependence on a lock-on system, that went out of style during PS2/Xbox gen.

There really isn't that many playstyles in a Souls game regardless if you are going complete dex with the fastest, quickest weapon or complete strength with the hardest hitting thing in the game, you're still going to be blocking then attacking when you have an opening. The problem is dex characters can block too well, that's the strength character's thing. I died quite often at the start because I didn't think I could depend on blocking, I thought the stronger enemies (well, stronger ones than my character) would be able to go through my stamina and take out some health routinely with one hit. I thought I was constantly going to be having to make decisions about whether to block and lose some health or dodge losing no health or losing a lot. The fact that I could block like everything made that rarely come into play. And then you have your magic builds, that's pretty much it melee or magic.

There's just a lot of game mechanics that aren't well thought out. The fact that you can lower your shield between enemy hits in an attack chain and recover stamina super fast meant there was really no stamina management needed on my part. What's the point of even having stamina if I don't have to manage it? There's really no reward for playing risky. Why dodge when blocking is safer even for a dex character? Why parry when enemies don't force you out of playing it safe? The RPG mechanics aren't very sound either with a core stat that does nothing, imagine DnD with a core stat that did nothing. Then you have a form of magic not tied to a stat. That kind of stuff is RPG 101.

I hope you see that the Souls games have some foundational flaws and that's why I don't like them. Not because I didn't get it because I did get the other stuff. Dark Souls has some really great level design and atmosphere.

With all that said, Bloodborne is WAY better than Dark Souls because a lot of the flaws have just been taken out of the equation due to the changes in gameplay. Due to shields being taken out, the control scheme is much more suited to the basically hunter style of play. Parrying enemy attacks is really needed whereas in Dark Souls there really was no point in taking the risk when other methods were way safer as you only had X amount of health to get you to the next bonfire. The fact that Bloodborne really cut down on the RPG mechanics means it's almost impossible for From to fuck up on them as well. Bloodborne is basically as good as combat can be with the somewhat antiquated controls (and camera) while having the top-notch atmosphere and level design. Plus, the world is just more interesting in Bloodborne as the Souls games are still heavy derived from your standard medieval fantasy. I still don't get why From can't fix those ragdoll dead enemies and enemies being able to hit you through walls and objects.

Dark Souls is flawed as hell. There are parts of it that are outright shit. There are so many badly designed gameplay mechanics and unbalanced RPG elements. It's awful at teaching new players what to do and where to go. There is a lot of evidence to suggest the FromSoft Souls team is not particularly technically proficient. Especially around the end of Dark Souls 1 you can see how they were rushed to finish, and the game suffers deeply for it. Part of being a Souls fan is being willing to ignore or not use that stuff in order to accentuate the amazing parts of the game. It's why there is such a massive metagame around the etiquette of PvP. But what is good about the Souls games is very good, and it's worth putting up with/ignoring the slag to appreciate and revel in the gold. No other game gives me the same thrill of drifting a massive, twisted, dark and surreal world as a fragile little cipher as Dark Souls. No other game has given me the same heart-wrenching awe of distance, space-relation and discovery when looking in the distance and seeing a place from afar I have visited before through a gap in the fabric of the earth. No other series has shown me the potential in the design of creative and engaging multiplayer/singleplayer integration (as unpopular and controversial as the invasion system is). No other series has given me the same tight, bare-bones, a little goofy but utterly engrossing combat without the useless flab and shallow sparkle of a thousand other modern melee combat engines. There's also the secrets, the hidden intricate detail, the bosses and world and wonderful aesthetics, a combination of traditional European legend and folklore through the scope of Japanese aesthetics and design philosophy. It's totally understandable if you don't like it and I understand why, but there is a lot to love about Souls and those are some of the reasons people enjoy it despite the garbage.

Bloodborne is definitely a step in the right direction as it is removing and trimming down a lot of the excess, unbalanced shit (shields, magic, turtling, circle-backstabbing, long-range poison arrow spam) to a more core, tightly designed experience. With that, you unfortunately lose a lot of player variety but I think it's worth it as long as the numbers are right for a consistent, engaging experience.

 

[Sleepy Sol]

Just beat my first playthrough about an hour ago. That was one of the creepiest games I've ever played, Jim was right.

Also, if anyone wants a tip on how to get the true ending I can offer a spoiler-light walkthrough. It's actually really simple.

I think I already locked myself out of getting the "true" ending since I believe I've progressed too far to the point some items are unobtainable and the world's state is irreversible. My fault for generally ignoring most NPCs, I suppose. :< I'm not sure when the game actually ends, though. I think I'm basically at one of the last areas, but not completely sure.

I hope this isn't one of those games that makes me feel like a total ass for not getting the "best" ending.

 

[MerlinCross]

Bloodborne is definitely a step in the right direction as it is removing and trimming down a lot of the excess, unbalanced shit (shields, magic, turtling, circle-backstabbing, long-range poison arrow spam) to a more core, tightly designed experience. With that, you unfortunately lose a lot of player variety but I think it's worth it as long as the numbers are right for a consistent, engaging experience.

And yet we'll see people complain about some new unbalanced shit in a few months time.

I also 'like' the fact the fact you really only need one weapon. I mean who needs that left hand anyway? Usually why I run one of the two hander transformed weapons. Hell at the rate it's going, why have magic in the game at all. Or guns. Wait guns have that stun thing with a very small window to do so and a not much bigger window to execute after. Yay gameplay?

 

[Casual Shinji]

With all that said, Bloodborne is WAY better than Dark Souls because a lot of the flaws have just been taken out of the equation due to the changes in gameplay. Due to shields being taken out, the control scheme is much more suited to the basically hunter style of play. Parrying enemy attacks is really needed whereas in Dark Souls there really was no point in taking the risk when other methods were way safer as you only had X amount of health to get you to the next bonfire. The fact that Bloodborne really cut down on the RPG mechanics means it's almost impossible for From to fuck up on them as well. Bloodborne is basically as good as combat can be with the somewhat antiquated controls (and camera) while having the top-notch atmosphere and level design. Plus, the world is just more interesting in Bloodborne as the Souls games are still heavy derived from your standard medieval fantasy. I still don't get why From can't fix those ragdoll dead enemies and enemies being able to hit you through walls and objects.

Parrying enemies in Bloodborne is as extraneous as it was in Dark Souls. Unless you're facing the larger, slower enemies, you'll just be firing your gun haphazardly to get a parry, much like spamming that shield bash in Dark Souls. Just like with DK's shield bash parry, it's there for the risk takers to test their mettle. More than anything you'll just be looking for that attack wind-up and then hitting the dodge button, followed by going in for a few quick slashes and backing off again. In that respect it's not too different from playing a ninja build in Dark Souls.

The only thing that's really been gimped, or should I say completely taken out, is the backstab during combat. Though this seems to have leaked into the regular "passive" backstabs, since they can now be performed as a double attack; One charged heavy attack to bring an enemy to its knees, which already does a shitton of damage, and the follow up where you rip their spine out with your bare hands. You can take out a rhino the size of a small bus with this method.

Bloodborne is definitely a step in the right direction as it is removing and trimming down a lot of the excess, unbalanced shit (shields, magic, turtling, circle-backstabbing, long-range poison arrow spam) to a more core, tightly designed experience. With that, you unfortunately lose a lot of player variety but I think it's worth it as long as the numbers are right for a consistent, engaging experience.

Unfortunately they took a step back with the hub world set-up. Now, the doll eases the annoyance somewhat, because she's just so charming and lovely, but it's less than stellar to have to constantly go back to the Hunter's Dream if you want to level up and repair your equipment. Something which you could do in Dark Souls simple be sitting down at a bonfire. All of which isn't helped in the slightest by the atrocious load times.

I fought one enemy at a time because the shield controls were horrible when fighting multiple enemies. You can literally hold up your shield blocking and strafe to the enemy's back, that's horrible AI. Great thing Bloodborne has like no shields. I realize the "pro" Souls players played the games basically how you play Bloodborne but I shouldn't have to gimp myself to get a challenge from a game. And, Bloodborne does that style of gameplay much better than playing Souls without a shield.

Other games I die because I didn't execute my attacks. I don't die in say Bayonetta because a random enemy is corner camping or that I'm going too fast (it's usually I was playing too slow). Every enemy in Dark Souls is easy (outside of a few bosses) whereas in other games enemies are hard to kill and there's no easy way of doing it.

Sure, shielding it is the easiest way to go, but claiming that it makes every enemy easy is really stretching it. Sometimes you don't have the choice of fighting one enemy at a time. You can keep your shield up, but that won't stop enemies from bashing away your stamina if you don't get a good feel for the eb and flow of your stamina bar and when to raise or lower your shield. Even with a strong shield and lenghty stamina bar, the stronger enemies have attacks that can bash right through it or knock your shield away. Then there's the enemies that use magic projectiles that circumvent most of your shields defenses.

 

[Somekindofgold]

I beat the blood starved beast this afternoon, which makes him boss 3 for me (though I would probably count Djura as a boss because of how hard he is).

The game is fun. For people saying 'its like dark souls', well it really isnt. It shares a lot of basic mechanics, but there are some things that make it very different. The gun parry system, the health system, the focus on dodging and attack all make it feel different from the Souls games in a good way.

Thats not even counting the Insight mechanic, the statistic that grows as you witness strange things and see/kill bosses and drives your character further into the depths of madness. It acts as a difficulty setting in many ways, as the stat goes up the world and enemies change in various, disturbing ways (the grave keeper's learning a ranged attack and growing eyes was when I first noticed it), and this in turn makes the game harder. But as you spend insight to call for people to help you in co-op the enemies return to their normal self.

Different character interactions and environment changes have also been confirmed when you hit 40+ Insight, and there are rumors of entire new areas opening up when your insight is high enough.

Aside from the gameplay Bloodborne is still pretty damn good. Yahrnam and its inhabitants are gorgeous in their creepiness, and the characters I've met so far have been quite memorable, with one of the bosses being particularly depressing if you take the time to do the side quest involving him. Its just a shame Eileen the Crow glitched into a floor so I cant interact with her and start her quest.

Several hours in. Only managed to get to the first boss once and got my ass royally kicked by it. I have no idea what I'm doing, no idea where everyone is, I'm struggling to get through the starting area (Those freaking werewolves before the boss) and all in all I'm completely helpless.

I feel like I'm playing Dark Souls for the first time again. Which is a good thing.

Pro tip: You dont have to fight them every time. Keep an eye out for shortcuts, they're everywhere in the areas and can cut down your travel time a lot. There is one in Central Yarnham that means you can skip right past the wolves and be at the first boss in about a minute after you respawn.

Of course you should probably kill them anyway since they're a nice source of echos/blood shards.

 

[Fappy]

Just beat my first playthrough about an hour ago. That was one of the creepiest games I've ever played, Jim was right.

Also, if anyone wants a tip on how to get the true ending I can offer a spoiler-light walkthrough. It's actually really simple.

I think I already locked myself out of getting the "true" ending since I believe I've progressed too far to the point some items are unobtainable and the world's state is irreversible. My fault for generally ignoring most NPCs, I suppose. :< I'm not sure when the game actually ends, though. I think I'm basically at one of the last areas, but not completely sure.

I hope this isn't one of those games that makes me feel like a total ass for not getting the "best" ending.

I don't think you can fuck it up unless you start the final boss fight before you do what you need to. I dunno, I suppose there might be one way to fuck it up but I am not sure.