Zero Punctuation: Demon's Souls
- Thread starter Yahtzee Croshaw
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Yahtzee, thanks for reviewing this. It's one of my favorite all time games. If you aren't really good at video games then you'll probably hate it though.
Seems to me a lot of people here - and Y included - did not bother to actually check out the game's various mechanics:
-no save points? the game saves constantly, every kill, every swing, every herb you eat. Have you ever played a little game called "Diablo 2"? Yeah, same thing, if you abort mid-mission, you have to start over, but keep everything you earned so far. And there are save points midlevel, too, they're just not called that way. Like when you open up a shortcut to - exactly - NOT have to go through the whole level again...
-frustrating? maybe. but what Y here describes, that pure deceitfulness of something spawning and insta-killing you? well, simply not there. at least not for someone with eyes to see: like the pile of burned bodies, still smoking, and the sound of giant wings... Who could have guessed that some danger lingers here?
-trial and error? quite the opposite. DS has no room for it, because error gets punished quite severely. So you don't try, you watch and learn. Let that guy swing through the air a couple of times, see, what he can do. Be careful, all the time. And wow, no trial and error there, and even though I died a lot, I also finished a lot of the levels and bosses on my first ever encounter with them. Still took a lot of time, because it won't happen if you rush into it...
-boring combat? Like no QTEs? no special surroundings that make that ginormous boss feel and play like one of those mindless zombies a couple of minutes earlier? I call that quite an amazing mechanic, that lets me - the tiny guy with the steel thing in his hand - fight enormous dragons and stuff, with just the same tools I had all along. Now, those are boss fights, instead of just interactive and cool-looking cut scenes...
Sorry for the long lovepost, but it had to be said, i think...
-no save points? the game saves constantly, every kill, every swing, every herb you eat. Have you ever played a little game called "Diablo 2"? Yeah, same thing, if you abort mid-mission, you have to start over, but keep everything you earned so far. And there are save points midlevel, too, they're just not called that way. Like when you open up a shortcut to - exactly - NOT have to go through the whole level again...
-frustrating? maybe. but what Y here describes, that pure deceitfulness of something spawning and insta-killing you? well, simply not there. at least not for someone with eyes to see: like the pile of burned bodies, still smoking, and the sound of giant wings... Who could have guessed that some danger lingers here?
-trial and error? quite the opposite. DS has no room for it, because error gets punished quite severely. So you don't try, you watch and learn. Let that guy swing through the air a couple of times, see, what he can do. Be careful, all the time. And wow, no trial and error there, and even though I died a lot, I also finished a lot of the levels and bosses on my first ever encounter with them. Still took a lot of time, because it won't happen if you rush into it...
-boring combat? Like no QTEs? no special surroundings that make that ginormous boss feel and play like one of those mindless zombies a couple of minutes earlier? I call that quite an amazing mechanic, that lets me - the tiny guy with the steel thing in his hand - fight enormous dragons and stuff, with just the same tools I had all along. Now, those are boss fights, instead of just interactive and cool-looking cut scenes...
Sorry for the long lovepost, but it had to be said, i think...
That's just a backstep move. The actual dodge maneuver (roll) is easier to perform and dodges quite handily. There's also a block action that works really well.benjtfell said:
Yeah....this review is really funny, but it is evident that Yahtzee barely scratched the surface of this game. He didn't seem to even level up his character. Oh well; dude must be too busy to give this game proper time. Or maybe he just had a little too much sugar and spice in his diet growing up....
The review does communicate the all important disclaimer : This game is hard. It might frustrate you. If you are weak of heart, or lacking of balls (tits for you girl gamers) then it might not be for you.
I bought the game purely on word of mouth. Demon's Soul's is designed to be hard from the get go, so I do not care about the difficulty at all. I reminded me of all those games from the old NES where the only way you can beat the monsters is to grind your way through the game. This game is just as hard as the old school games like Battletoads, Bayou Billy, Adamantium Rage, Metal Slug, and many other games.
Do not give me the canard that this game is difficult and frustrating, whereas the older stuff is just challenging. I do not buy that line. A difficult game is difficult no matter what era the game is made. The only reason why older games get the challenging moniker is because of Nostalgia.
Now if you excuse me, I have a dragon to kill.
Do not give me the canard that this game is difficult and frustrating, whereas the older stuff is just challenging. I do not buy that line. A difficult game is difficult no matter what era the game is made. The only reason why older games get the challenging moniker is because of Nostalgia.
Now if you excuse me, I have a dragon to kill.
you can order the korean versian off of ebay for around £35sms_117b said:
the box and instructions were in korean, but the the in game language and tutorial are english
its an evil game, ive only managed to beat two bosses n given up
I just have one problem with this
He says:
"Nimbly I hoped back as he swung he sword, then he took a step forward and cut my nipples out. Oh, Okay, A dodge move that can't dodge shit. I guess that would make a hard game."
BUT YOU JUST SAID IT DODGED THE FIRST ATTACK! WHAT? DID YOU EXPECT YOU WOULD DODGE EACH AND EVERY ATTACK EVER BY PRESSING IT ONCE? *caps lock is cruse control for cool.
Also, despite the difficulty DS is designed briliantly. Look up some for the boss fights on youtube, they're amazing.
He says:
"Nimbly I hoped back as he swung he sword, then he took a step forward and cut my nipples out. Oh, Okay, A dodge move that can't dodge shit. I guess that would make a hard game."
BUT YOU JUST SAID IT DODGED THE FIRST ATTACK! WHAT? DID YOU EXPECT YOU WOULD DODGE EACH AND EVERY ATTACK EVER BY PRESSING IT ONCE? *caps lock is cruse control for cool.
Also, despite the difficulty DS is designed briliantly. Look up some for the boss fights on youtube, they're amazing.
Don't worry. The Trophies are much worse than that ;pOmegaXIII said:
Won't go into detail though, but it's the only game I got the Platinum Trophy in, purely cause the game is that awesome.
If you want a sense of achievement, you can't really go wrong with this game.
Also, just import it from the states, the PS3 isn't zone restricted.
This game is indeed stupid hard. I swore many swears each and every time I hacked and slashed my way through a level, before getting killed one enemy further than I did the time before. After awhile I took it personal and enjoyed the challenge, but after a slightly longer while I said "balls to this" and re-played Bioshock.
What's this? A review of a game which has yet to be released in the Europe! I thought Australia was backwards and got games last.
I looked at importing it, but out of stock in the few places I checked.
I looked at importing it, but out of stock in the few places I checked.
Yep it's hard and I LIKE IT. You have to learn your battle patterns and each enemy's weakness. Each death is a learning experience. Best game this gen imo instead of all that overrated crap that Infinity Ward keep churning out.
Sorry Yahtzee but you can't nitpick on a game that was designed to be difficult and unforgiving for being too difficult and unforgiving. Play further than the first dungeon and then create a new game. You'll wonder what you thought was so hard about those parts.
Oh yeah and dodging varies depending on your class, and is a roll to the side, NOT a step backwards. Man I can't believe people are putting what you say as fact when it's clearly riddled with uninformed crap and you didn't even complete fifty percent of the game. I know it's for comedy and it's your job to nitpick on stupid shit but man, people should stop taking it seriously.
And no save points? The game saves every time you gain experience, and after you get an item. Have you ever played Diablo, or any loot grabbing dungeon crawler? That's what happens there too. If you abort mid-mission, you have to start over, but keep everything you earned so far. And there are save points midlevel. Yet again, complaining because it's difficult.
This proves you played it for a few hours and it beat you and now you'd rather play those hand holding self-esteem raising games you "hate". That was the worst review from you I've ever seen. Your reviews usually have a point in with all that humour but this one was the worst representation of this game ever, full of contradictions and it was clear you didn't stick to your character style or level them.
Next time you call games these days too easy, make sure you don't call punishing and challenging games too hard.
Sorry Yahtzee but you can't nitpick on a game that was designed to be difficult and unforgiving for being too difficult and unforgiving. Play further than the first dungeon and then create a new game. You'll wonder what you thought was so hard about those parts.
Oh yeah and dodging varies depending on your class, and is a roll to the side, NOT a step backwards. Man I can't believe people are putting what you say as fact when it's clearly riddled with uninformed crap and you didn't even complete fifty percent of the game. I know it's for comedy and it's your job to nitpick on stupid shit but man, people should stop taking it seriously.
And no save points? The game saves every time you gain experience, and after you get an item. Have you ever played Diablo, or any loot grabbing dungeon crawler? That's what happens there too. If you abort mid-mission, you have to start over, but keep everything you earned so far. And there are save points midlevel. Yet again, complaining because it's difficult.
This proves you played it for a few hours and it beat you and now you'd rather play those hand holding self-esteem raising games you "hate". That was the worst review from you I've ever seen. Your reviews usually have a point in with all that humour but this one was the worst representation of this game ever, full of contradictions and it was clear you didn't stick to your character style or level them.
Next time you call games these days too easy, make sure you don't call punishing and challenging games too hard.
Yes. The combat works pretty much exactly like in Severance with lock-on, strafing and of course the endurance bar which is used for attacking, blocking, sprinting and rolling. I would say that if you loved Severance you're going to like DS too.arcstone said:
If I remember correctly Severance was pretty hard too...
edit: Europeans looking to import the game should take a look at axelmusic.com as they ship from within the EU so there are no additional customs / VAT costs.
I'm a little disappointed by Yahtzee this time. Demon's Souls is one of my favourite games this generation, and though it's fine if other people don't share my opinion, I'd hope reviewers would at least give it a chance. Yahtzee could have at least played through 2-1, 3-1, 4-1 or 5-1 before giving up--the game's nonlinear, 5 different worlds that you can start in, following the first--but I guess his patience is lacking? It's a little unprofessional as a reviewer, though, to give up after 1.5 levels . I realize Yahtzee isn't a reviewer in the standard sense, but still, he could have done at least a BIT of reviewing, rather than a brief snippet of the story, and only commenting that "The game is too hard."
Though I guess that wouldn't be quite as funny then, would it? Maybe he actually breezed through the game, but decided it would get more laughs if he listed a bunch of times when he died. Or maybe he'll come back to the game once his frustration has died down, and give it more of a review in an Extra Punctuation. Whatever happens, the video WAS pretty funny.
And a P.S. to those confused about the game's name: The apostrophe is correctly placed. Part of the (very minimal) plot is about demons who gather multiple souls from humans and lesser demons, and every time you kill a demon, you gain all the souls that demon has collected; i.e. gain that Demon's Souls. I agree with Yahtzee, though--it's a bit of a mouth full.
Though I guess that wouldn't be quite as funny then, would it? Maybe he actually breezed through the game, but decided it would get more laughs if he listed a bunch of times when he died. Or maybe he'll come back to the game once his frustration has died down, and give it more of a review in an Extra Punctuation. Whatever happens, the video WAS pretty funny.
And a P.S. to those confused about the game's name: The apostrophe is correctly placed. Part of the (very minimal) plot is about demons who gather multiple souls from humans and lesser demons, and every time you kill a demon, you gain all the souls that demon has collected; i.e. gain that Demon's Souls. I agree with Yahtzee, though--it's a bit of a mouth full.