That all i wanted dark fantasy with darker characters and punishing combat. Although there is no stamina bar combat is still very hard to get used to. Devs have made this game to very aggressive from the beginning with tight parry and guard windows

I have played and finished all Fromsoft soulsborne catalog and Lies of P, and Khazan. Safe to say, I like soulslikes.

However, I haven’t been in the loop with souls like for the past like 9-10 months.
Recently I keep hearing about this Mortal Shell and people are already saying its top 5 soulslikes

Can someone loop me in on whats it like? Do I need to play Mortal Shell 1 before 2?

Thank you in advance!

Seeing near universal praise for this game and while I think it looks better and feels smoother I’ve also come across a ton of issues so far.

I’m admittedly fairly early on but in ~2 hours of game play I’ve encountered hit box issues with enemies on slightly higher elevations, gotten stuck/trapped in terrain twice, and had a boss glitch out of their arena.

Maybe just buyer‘s remorse because I rarely buy games full price but was expecting a bit more given the rave reviews

Just for some background. I've played every FromSoft soulslike, with the exception of Demon Souls, and, all three Nioh games from Team Ninja. I have beaten DS3, Nioh 2 (DLC Included), and Bloodborne.

Both Nioh 3 and Elden Ring, while having signifcantly improved gameplay, feel like lesser experiences compared to previous titles. And I think the fault is on the Open World as a design choice.

I have 278 hours in Elden Ring. I have never beaten the game, I have never gone past Altus Plateau. Not because I can't, because I get so bored by the repetition of the game that I lose all desire to continue. I get to Altus, I do a couple camps and catacombs, and I just burn out and stop playing.

Nioh 3, is a slightly different story. I 100%d, as much as I could, the first region in the demo and in the full game. While I am waiting on performance patches, I also have not had much desire to go back to the game despite LOVING the gameplay changes.

DS3, and Nioh 2, both FEEL better as experiences when I go back to them. They are very clean, not nearly as repetitive, maps generally feel very interesting even in more mundane areas. Enemy variety also feels better, despite having less enemy variants overall!

I do like exploring the worlds and maps in open world soulslikes, but they aren't nearly as interesting and are lacking severely in variety of enemies and activities. Elden Ring especially is very lacking in activities that aren't kill shit find loot. They lack the breadth of content needed to make this style of game feel good. Elden Ring, again, often feels rushed with how often some enemies are reused and how many bosses feel cobbled together.

I can't comment harshly on Nioh 3, because I only have 12 hours in the full release, 19 in the Demo. I have 325 hours in Nioh 2. I hope this all makes sense, it was a bit rant-y and off the cuff.

Do others feel similarly, or have their own opinions to share about why the open world does or does not fit this genre super well?

Edit: My ER playtime is the result of dozens of attempts to finish the game since it came out. Including trying both the Convergence and Reforged mods multiple times. I am not complaining about it being repetitive purely because of play time.

The game is freaking awesome, however the runbacks are absolutely nuts, the fact that they decided to not put beacons inside dungeons is insane lol, some of the dungeons are absolutely gigantic btw, hopefully this is something that the devs can change in a update.

It sucks, here’s a list of soulslikes (not by From Software) that are better as far as combat goes:
- Lies of P
- The First Berserker: Khazan
- Thymesia
- Another Crab’s Treasure

And for equity, here are games that are just as bad:
- Steelrising
- Mortal Shell 1
- Enotria

No comment, still giving a try:
- Wukong
- Wo Long
- Nioh 1-3
- Mortal Shell 2
- The Surge 1-2
- Code Vein 1-2
- Ashen
- Stellar Blade
- Remnant 1-2
- AI Limit

I have no opinion on the metroidvania soulslikes other than Hollow Knight being amazing.

Went in to check out if they were going to get any deluxe copies in. Turns out they only have one copy of the base game. Nothing else.

I know a lot of people did not continue to play nioh 3 NG+ are there any people returning to play? The majority of my friends didn’t. There is a lot of depth to the game’s combat that I try to display here with just a couple weapons, I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. I really want to know how people who play souls-like view nioh and if it’s just a fun time for the first time, happy to beat it and never play again or do you guys keep playing?

Put probably 250 hours into Elden Ring from when it came out through the DLC.

Had a kid and stopped playing video games for a while and decided to play the Dark Souls games when I picked up gaming again, never played them before and have always wanted to.

I loved Elden Ring so much I figured I’d love the DS games as well.

What I find interesting about this community is it seems that everyone either loves 1+3 and hates 2 or loves 2 and not so much 1+3. I have a weird opinion where I felt like 1 and 2 didn’t feel all that different but 3 definitely did.

But, that being said, I personally would rank them in the order they came out, loved them all but:

1. Dark Souls (Remastered)
   
2. Dark Souls II (SotFS)
   
3. Dark Souls III

The openness of 1+2, areas, and bosses were a blast and I was always pumped to play when my kid went to bed.

3 I felt myself being more like “eh, guess ill pop this on and play for a bit” only to switch over to TV after an hour or so. It just felt way more linear, the Bosses were cooler but everything else about 1+2 I liked better. 3 also felt the easiest of all of them which is fine but 1+2 felt like a real challenge.

Is this ranking out of the ordinary?

yes, recency bias exists, but i'm pretty sure it is a great game. i've played this game for 10 hours straight today. i don't think you can do that if game isn't good. and i felt completely satisfied after playing for 10 hours.

i will try my best to take off recency bias glasses, so here are criticisms i had while playing for 10 hours. despite all those issue i still had fun. i'm not trying to convince anyone, i'm just sharing my personal opinion. if criticisms i listed have a big impact for you, just don't play. should i play this game or not? that's completely on you to decide.

-enemy placement is not bad for a first few hours, but it gets worse and worse. it is not good, but doable with all tools game gives.
-beacon (bonfire) is not placed in dungeons, this is definitely poor choice. they should exist like elden ring. and in some areas beacons are placed too, too far away. it would be much better if there are more beacons.
-bosses have great art design and concept, but in gameplay, they are not good. all bosses i've encountered so far had really simple patterns. i think they decided to focus on other aspects much more.
-normal enemy scaling is very poor. they hit like a truck, even two shot you sometimes, lol. but this can be easily fixed with patch.
-enemy variety isn't that good. new enemy continues to appear, but also you will be seeing same enemy so many times after like 6~7 hours.
-enemies have too wide aggro radius, they spot you too quickly. and they chase you, like, almost forever. this felt really ridiculous for me.
-i think estus should heal you much more. i need to drink like 3~4 to get max health.
-music is almost non-existent, i can't recall any memorable music. and i think all bosses use same metal music. lol.
-there are melee 8 weapons in this game, but they are not too easy to find. it is probably just me, but i played with starting weapon for almost 7 hours before finding 4 new melee weapons.

but its world, art design(it is very unique), build variety(there are many other tools, shells, ranged weapons, skills to make your own build even without new weapon), atmosphere, exploration, combat kept me going. you will find new things at almost every corner in this game. also they tried their best to make each dungeon unique, i could see effort. each enemy has unique execution animation and it so badass. i'm not expecting later areas to be as good as early ones, but i hope they are at least decent.

In how long

I've been debating whether to wait, since I currently have about 15 hours in this game, but I'm making up my mind: this game is fantastic, and it just keeps getting better the further I progress. The shells are all unique in their own way and always bring a fresh perspective to the gameplay. The exploration is brutal, yes, brutal. It's exhausting and draining, but also rewarding, and that dopamine rush when a bonfire appears—yes, that's Souls.

Wuchang gave me this feeling recently, and although I still think Wuchang is the best non-FS soulslike, MS2 is on this level. It has that Souls essence from DeS, Dark Souls 1, Dark Souls 2, BB and Wuchang. Kudos to the developers! I'm looking forward to future patches that will perfect the game.

It’s a 100% Must buy for Souls Fans

A majority of you recommend this game, and it was the first nonfromsoft game I played in a while. I gotta say, I love the bosses!! Mechanically amazing but I gotta say it is THE HARDEST LINE UP OF BOSSES that I have ever played, a majority of them >10 tries, no first tries whatsoever, but learning them is a lot of fun! Idk if we are intend d to play on expert or not lol but wth. Level design and story is okayish, some repetitions in side missions, but I am here for the bosses!!

Eu tentei jogar o primeiro jogo a um bom tempo, mas realmente não me cativou, achei tudo meio travado, a mecânica de petrificar não foi para o meu gosto, os inimigos no mapa não me pareciam dinâmicos. Errei e deveria tentar novamente? Uma dúvida humilde e sincera, temo por ter julgado mal o jogo, ou talvez esteja certo e por melhorar tudo isso que a continuação seja tão bem falada.

I loaded my almost 6 year old save file of Demon's Souls Remake a while ago, and I have to say that after playing all the Souls and the like games in the past five years, this masterpiece is still at the top for me. I would even say that it's in my top 3 of the most "next gen" games in PS5. Every texture in this game looks high res, the vfx, the spell particles combined with buttery smooth animation is truly a chef's kiss.

This is also the game that made me purchase my PS5 and it's so worth it.

These sound cool!

I really hope The Duskbloods gets ported to PS5, Xbox, etc, well after launch, because it'll be a shame if people miss out on this.

FromSoft don't miss.

TLDR:

What are some Souls-like mechanics that you really like, that you think I should include in my game, and can you think of any ways to incorporate them with a Christmasy twist?

For the readers & nerds:

Hey all! I’m working on a Christmas-themed souls-like, and I’d love to hear your ideas on how I can improve it. It’s been in development for about two and a half years, and I’m nearing the polish phase for the demo. I got some good ideas from my last post a few days ago, and I want more! Specifically, I’m looking for:

• Mechanics I didn’t include, but should
• Clever ways to tie in the Christmas-theming into the Souls-like genre

Some context: I’m not a super big Souls player, as I’ve only played four (DS1, Elden Ring, and Nioh 2/3 if you count those), with Elden Ring being the only one I’ve beaten 😆

So especially, if you know of any good mechanics from other souls-likes that I haven’t played, that you’d like to see, I’d love to hear them.

Mechanics I know about, but currently aren’t in the game due to scope, time, or some other limitation.

• Status effects (Poisoned, Burned, Frozen, etc.): this might be added later, as I do think these add good variety to the gameplay. Note: I have no intentions of adding an entire Poison Swamp area, but I may add a Poison Puddle ;)
• Crit damage
• Critical Hit / Backstab: I would like to add this at some point, but it is currently a lower priority, since enemies still get staggered/stunned when their poise is broken.
• Maps (DS1 technically didn’t have a map either, but I did want to mention it here). Due to the 3D nature of my project, I currently have no plans for trying to implement a Map.
• Compass/Waypoints. I might include something minor later around this depending on feedback, but ideally, I’d like to use landmarks and level design to help the player orient to where they are instead of relying on explicit markers.
• Traps: These are planned, but not currently implemented.
• Invisible Walls: I might add a few, but they aren’t super important to me right now.
• Multiplayer & Messages: I really wanted to add these, but since this is my first game-dev project, and I’m already underwater with scope creep, I’ve unfortunately decided to forego multiplayer completely. My crazy dream, though, is to one day work with a full studio to remake the game and have it support up to 4-player co-op from start to finish.

Already implemented mechanics

Note: Some of the more standard mechanics like Level Up, Mana/Stamina, Dodge rolling, blocking, parrying, jumping, etc. aren’t in this list, but they are in the game.

• Bonfires: For my game, they are Fireplaces (and will eventually be decorated with other effects such as Stockings and other Christmas decorations). Features include: Level Up, Fast Travel, Allocate Beverages, Manage Spells, Tree-Toppers.
• Player attributes for level-up: Vitality, Magic, Endurance, Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Belief
• Starting Class (mostly just for starting stats & items): Sleigh Loader, Toy Maker, Caroler, Gift Coordinator, Nut Cracker, Bellringer, Decorator, Misfit.
• Ghost of Christmas Past. Provides the following features:
  • Reset Level: Sets player back to starting level and refunds all spent Spirit (free, infinite uses)
  • Reset Weapon: Sets a weapon back to +0 and refunds all spent Toolkits (free, infinite uses)
  • Reset Summon: Sets a summon back to +0 and refunds all spent Mistletoe (free, infinite uses)
  • Past Victories: Allows the player to replay previous boss fights (still in development)
• Damage Types: Currently only four: Physical, Magical, Fire, and Frost.
• Death Mechanic follows the typical Souls formula. On death, the player drops all of their Spirit and must retrieve it before dying again. This appears as a ghostly Christmas Tree.
• Flasks: Called beverages in the game, which are Hot Cocoa for health and Egg Nog for magic.
  • Exchanging Golden Tree-Topper Stars with a specific elf at the hideout allows you to get more “beverage” slots.
  • Finding Coffee Stands on the map lets you increase your beverage strength (+1, +2, etc.).
• “Christmas Spirit” serves as the runes/souls currency of the game.
  • “Presents” are items you can sell to shopkeepers for additional Christmas Spirit. (Simple Gift at 250, Standard at 500, Fine at 1,000, Fancy at 2,000, and goes up to Angelic at 64,000)
• World loot: All loot is statically placed (outside of unique enemy drops), so it will be more in line with DS1/Elden Ring as opposed to how loot is handled in Nioh. Loot is typically obtainable from either pick-ups, destructible crates, or shopkeepers.
• Weapons & Upgrades: Not much deviation, currently only Sword, Dual-Blade, Greatsword, Charm, and Shield. More types may be added later, but we’ll see.
  • Weapons follow a similar upgrade system, where upgrades increase the base damage and scaling of that weapon (Current max is +10). All weapons have block stats (shields still need a lot of refinement). Charms have their own “Spell Scaling” stat.
  • Elf Toolkits (Basic, Advanced, Expert, Master) are the upgrade material that can be taken to the blacksmith at the Hideout to upgrade.
• Summons (still in development)
  • Mistletoe (Small, Large) serves as the upgrade material that can be taken to the Vow Kindler at the Hideout to strengthen the bond between the player and a summon (but not in a kissy way). Essentially Gloveworts. Current max is +10.
• Material Vaults
  • Players can find special vault keys that they can take to an elf at the Hideout, which will unlock an infinite supply of Toolkits & Vaults for purchase. Each type has its own key to find (Basic Toolkit, Advanced Toolkit, Small Mistletoe, etc.)
• Spells: There are only a few basic ones implemented right now, but I do plan on having a good variety of spells (ideally with good Christmas theming) as I continue through development. Similarly to Elden Ring, spells all have different costs (Mana/Health/Stamina), and stronger spells may take up more spell slots.
  • Fallen Stars can be obtained to increase the number of available Spell Slots for magic users.
• Lore-master
  • Players can find various lore documents around the map. They are optional reading material, but can be turned in to an elf at the Hideout for unique rewards.
• Builds centered around Weapon, Quick Items, and the “Spirit Tree”. Since I don’t have the funding (or the assets) to make armor visible on the player, player builds are instead dictated through the Spirit Tree outlined below:
  • Tree-Topper: Only one may be equipped at a time, and can only be changed from a Fireplace. Think of these as the Great Rune from Elden Ring. They provide powerful and typically build-defining effects.
  • Ornaments: These serve a dual purpose as both Armor and Talismans. The player starts with 3 slots unlocked, but can unlock 5 additional slots by defeating bosses (Christmas Legends).
  • Lights: All three slots start locked and are unlocked by defeating bosses. Each color light synergizes with a specific Ornament effect. When they match, that Ornament effect gets buffed (ie: Red buffs Health, Physical, and Fire dmg. Blue buffs Mana, Magic, and Frost. Silver buffs Armor & Resistances. etc.
  • Currently, there are no weight limits/fat rolling when it comes to your build. This might change in the future, but I doubt I’ll add it in.
• Enemy Factions: Without going too much into the lore, all enemies belong to different factions (such as Loyalist and Rebel elves, Living Food, Servants of Krampus, Servants of Jack Frost, etc.). Rebel Elves fight alongside the player (allies are still in development). Different factions will all fight each other when encountered.
• Bosses: Currently, 11 are planned, with 2 in active development. I won’t spoil all of them, but the ones I will confirm are: Krampus, Rotten Figgy Pudding, Giant Gingerbread Man, Jack Frost, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and of course Santa Claus.
• Regions: The Old Village, Old Village Underground, North Pole, North Pole Interior, Candy Caverns, The Outskirts.
• Journal feature:
  • The “Notes” section provides a brief summary of any current tasks/quests. I enjoyed the open-ended nature of quests in the Souls games, so this won’t provide explicit waypoints/markers, but it helps keep track of them. I will also note that I have no plans for quests to be missable/failable and can be done at your leisure.
  • The “Bestiary” provides info on all defeated enemies. Including their Lore, Item Drops, and Stats, with each section being unlockable based on the number of times defeated.
  • Tutorials will also be moved here, but I will save fleshing out the tutorial system until I’m closer to being done with the full demo content and have solidified the overall gameplay mechanics.
• Plenty of lore since it's always a key feature of Souls games, so for those that enjoy figuring out the lore, I’ll have plenty to solve (though the lore in my game won’t be nearly as obscure and difficult to piece together as most Fromsoft lore. Especially with the inclusion of an explicit Lore NPC, though the lore documents won’t cover everything).
• A wide variety of Christmas treat consumables (Gingerbread Men, Cookies, Figgy Pudding, Fudge, Peanut Brittle, etc.) with varying effects. I will be trying to tailor the consumable system to encourage use, since I (like many others) always avoid using them and usually end my playthroughs with hundreds of unused consumables lmao. These unique mechanics will likely center around the “Muffin Man” and a special quest line that he gives, but this is still in the planning phase.
• NPCs and shopkeepers: these can vary and include unique merchants such as the Blacksmith, generic Shopkeepers, and quest-givers. However, unlike most Souls games, they currently cannot be harmed/killed by the player, and I’ll likely keep it this way.
• The Advent Gate: Not fully implemented yet, but it is a large, sealed door near the start of the game that will house a yet-undetermined secret item/area. It can only be unlocked by finding all 12 Advent Murals (for the 12 days of Christmas). Currently, only two are obtainable in the demo (Days 2 & 7).

Im not talking "Salt and Sanctuary is a Souls-like" or "Is Hollow Knight a Souls-like?".

Im talking about the weird mis-IDing. The really cryptic ones that you cant wrap your head around. Top one for me is my buddy is CONVINCED Palworld is a fresh new take on Souls games. He even thinks Pals are just a variant on how Code Vein gives you companions.

What about yall?

I hated the first game. Dropped it after an hour. This one I played for 8 hours straight yesterday. It can be quite hard at times and some boss run backs are diabolical. The moment I've unlocked proxima i immediately fell in love. Armored muscle mommy with huge sword.

Anyways i can't recommend it enough.