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Dark Souls Remastered Network Test (Switch) available in eshop now
- Thread starter Tambini
- Start date
I'll never be able to wrap my mind around why people love this game so much. I get most people don't, it's mainly a hardcore, vocal minority on the internet. But still. It's dark, drab, kind of ugly, awkward, slow, clunky, and...not fun? Definitely not appealing in a visual or control sense. Skeletons with shields? Not the most original concept either. I guess it gets so much love in places like this exclusively cause it's..hard? Sure, but that doesn't make it any good. I didn't notice even one vaguely impressive thing about it.
I'm going to have to work out some solution to get wireless headphones working. I exclusively play in tabletop mode, and this is the first Switch game that really feels like headphones are a must.
These games have sold millions of copies each. It's not just a vocal minority of players who like the series. Each entry has sold more than the best selling Metroid game, as well as a number of Zelda titles. Not sure why there's a need to downplay the franchise.
Dark Souls isn't a game only a small amount of people have played lol.
I'm saying this as someone who got every achievement in Dark Souls 3 - if you never found a moment where you clicked with the gameplay, you likely won't ever like Dark Souls. I dropped the first one after feeling disappointed with it. Picked it up again a year later, and something about it just clicked and felt amazing. Without that moment, I wouldn't have bothered with the rest of the series
I can't get past the first hallway in this, but at least I seem to be getting the timing down for the parry and the counterattack follow up. Love parrying mechanics in action games.
The remainder of today's block (so, a little more than half an hour) is the only time I'll be able to play this weekend. From what I'm reading in this thread about the learning curve, I take it I shouldn't bother? I would have loved to spend a few hours today learning the basics properly and getting a hang of the UI and controls, but if that takes a bit of work, it sounds like I won't really get to experience much of anything in such a short span, as though this were a time-limited demo station on a busy show floor.
Yep, it's a portable version of Dark Souls.
It seems like there's a good amount of players experiencing the game for the first time. Enjoy!
It seems like there's a good amount of players experiencing the game for the first time. Enjoy!
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Millions of people buy McDonald's everyday, doesn't mean it's good.
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Having just played through DS3 and being comfortable with the combat it feels like I'm cheating when invading right now. I'm like 35-5. Black knights and sunbros everywhere.
....but your initial argument was that there really aren't many people who like these games...
That's just...not true
Like with all games, the vast majority of people buy it once.
200,000 becomes 1,000,000 with repeat sales coming from a small minority of people. Are you saying people don't buy this game multiple times? I've seen people admit this hundreds of times on this very forum. And the people most excited about the Switch release are those who have already owned it.
Tried it. Looks and plays well. Didn't really hear the sound issues, but maybe I wasn't listening for the right things?
Only thing that bothered me was the shadows seem to have crushed blacks, straining my eyes. Not sure if the game was always like that. I previously played the game years ago on PC with a monitor that made things look washed out, so maybe I didn't realize how dark the blacks are, lol.
This demo isn't the best vertical slice, tho. Doesn't capture the more open-ended nature and creative designs of the full game.
Only thing that bothered me was the shadows seem to have crushed blacks, straining my eyes. Not sure if the game was always like that. I previously played the game years ago on PC with a monitor that made things look washed out, so maybe I didn't realize how dark the blacks are, lol.
Nah man, they're just legitimately good games and people buy them because they like them.
This demo isn't the best vertical slice, tho. Doesn't capture the more open-ended nature and creative designs of the full game.
It did well in its original run, though. Before there were remasters for double-dipping.
It's a very popular series that has been hugely influential. A true classic.
It's OK if you don't like it, though.
Dark Souls was a unique game at a unique game when the industry (and especially Japanese games) was suffering from mind numbing repetition. Everything was either a FPS or a Gears clone.
This video illustrate the concept better on why people love these games (even if it is a critique of the series):
Never played a dark souls before. I sure do suck. But I'm attributing some of that to trying to cram in playtime at the last minute without really having a chance to read up on the mechanics. Hopefully I can have more time when the Japanese times open up again because I don't feel I've been able to give the game a fair shake. Game seems fine performance wise in handheld to me though (admittedly have zero to compare to).
Jesus Christ. The only two Souls games I really put time into have been Bloodborne and Dark Souls 3. I'm absolute trash with the lower mobility my character now has. I'm getting punished by even the easiest dudes.
Just because it's too complex for you to understand doesn't mean it's not impressive in just about every area of game design. Avatar checks out for sure.
Just invaded someone with another guy and they tried to gank me, ended up on top. Feeeeels goood
I played for a little over two hours in docked mode using a Switch Pro Controller, I only noticed a few things of what many posted here, so a few notes.
-The controller felt as responsive as it should for Dark Souls.
-The fps felt stable didn't notice any dip, at 30, yes, but stable. Not sure what people mean by frame pacing but I'm not seeing it.
-I noticed something odd about the sound, like the mixing of the sound effects is messed up.
-I tried to invade once and couldn't, but otherwise I didn't run into any other problem with the game.
-The controller felt as responsive as it should for Dark Souls.
-The fps felt stable didn't notice any dip, at 30, yes, but stable. Not sure what people mean by frame pacing but I'm not seeing it.
-I noticed something odd about the sound, like the mixing of the sound effects is messed up.
-I tried to invade once and couldn't, but otherwise I didn't run into any other problem with the game.
You don't have to do multiplayer. Just die once when you start to become hallowed (your number if the top left drops to 0) and players won't be able to invade you.
Gotcha... Yeah, I am definitely not even close to being able to stand toe to toe with him. I made a dent in his life on one particular attempt, but my luck ran out and he crushed me in a few consecutive blows.
I've explored further and found a key on a body, but I don't know where I'm supposed to use said key. Do gates or doors that require keys have visible locks on them, or is it kind of like you go up, go into your inventory, and "try" to use one and either it works or doesn't?
I'm not noticing any issues on my play through thus far. I got invaded and I was able to summon and leave messages just like in the OG. I also think that it plays a little better than the PS3 version and has some upgraded textures as far I can discern. Oh and playing it in bed is a game changer since having a baby takes up all waking life's free time. Haven't tried docked yet, maybe tomorrow...
Played undocked, it ran solid FPS and without any real graphical issues.
Played on the handheld mode, it was hard, but the Pro controller make it like a dream.
Played on the handheld mode, it was hard, but the Pro controller make it like a dream.
i dont know how people can say that it runs solid or fine when whenever i get near an enemy the game stutters...must be the same people that say that doom is amazing on the switch when its a big blurry mess that made my eyes hurt and gave me headaches. oh well
Felt like a noob (does that word still exist?) since I spent most of the time trying every single class but could only get some progress done with the Black Knight. Got owned by the "elite mobs" with mostly every other class.
Made it to the bosses on the roof of the cathedral without issues with BK and killed every mob on the map but got owned by them.
Made it to the bosses on the roof of the cathedral without issues with BK and killed every mob on the map but got owned by them.
Or maybe people are telling the truth I literally had no stutters in undocked mode relax my guy
I don't work there. I shared my experience with the game as someone who initially couldn't wrap their brain around why my friends were so fucking into it. 24 hours later...
Oh wait, I just saw your follow-up posts. You actually angrily hate this game somehow and this wasn't meant in good fun lol.
They very conveniently put some fires in the boar's arena and high ground you can bait it from...hint hint.
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There're two keys in this demo, and only one of them opens an area you'll be able to access within the confines of the demo zone.
suuuure. i tested it both on handheld and docked on all servers (japan, europe and us) with the same results, no matter how strong my internet connection was. so,no i dont believe you had no stutters or issues with frame pacing, since its the same game on the same hardware. all my games run as intended and the switch works just fine
the frame rate or frame pacing or whatever it is just not as stable as it should, its as distracting as the 360 version
Lol that's fine you don't have to believe me but I have no reason to lie, otherwise Id be complaining like you too, I hear sometimes restarting the console with certain games can help to frame rate for some guys idk how true that is.
So I managed to put in half an hour—enough to get an elementary whiff of the satisfaction in improving, learning from mistakes, pushing forward slowly but incrementally, and poking my nose into alternate paths where I was immediately smoked. Initially I was put off by the controls because they reminded me of every reason I dropped Skyrim, but once I got a grip on using the lock-on everything was much better: at the very least, it's unlike Skyrim in that the third-person movement actually handles like third-person and not like first-person with a pulled-back camera.
I was interested in Dark Souls to begin with because of its reputation for strong exploratory 3D world design (something to fill the void left by Metroid Prime) and its outsized influence on the progression structure of more recent games I admire tremendously. That hasn't changed, and I've kept in mind the warnings in this thread that it doesn't demo well, and that the introductory experience in the real game is supposedly smoother. I'm well aware that I've barely seen the game and am in no place to form a fair impression, and I wish I had a few more hours to dig into it today and see if it clicked. I can already see a hint of why the progression might be highly satisfying over a long stretch.
Still, I think I may put this on the back burner. I'm weighing Dark Souls against two other last-generation ports that release within a week of it (TWEWY and Valkyria 1) and I think one of those will have to take priority. Might even play Salt and Sanctuary first, as I'm more comfortable in 2D, although that lacks the thing that interested me in Dark Souls in the first place, the 3D world layout. The port quality seems acceptable to me as a neophyte, though; no performance issues, and it looks fine to me on the small screen, though enemy health bars are a little hard to make out.
The A/B situation is an absolute deal-breaker, but I have strong opinions on button layouts to the extreme that I won't buy an Xbox because of the reversed ABXY, and won't use that layout on PC either. If I'm on a Nintendo platform, there is a right way to handle confirm/cancel, and I shouldn't ever have to acknowledge that an alternative convention even exists. How nobody caught this up to this stage boggles the mind—wouldn't it have at least shown up in impressions of earlier Switch builds this summer?—but let's hope it's fixed for the release (like Shovel Knight was when it made the same mistake at launch), because until then, no sale.
I was interested in Dark Souls to begin with because of its reputation for strong exploratory 3D world design (something to fill the void left by Metroid Prime) and its outsized influence on the progression structure of more recent games I admire tremendously. That hasn't changed, and I've kept in mind the warnings in this thread that it doesn't demo well, and that the introductory experience in the real game is supposedly smoother. I'm well aware that I've barely seen the game and am in no place to form a fair impression, and I wish I had a few more hours to dig into it today and see if it clicked. I can already see a hint of why the progression might be highly satisfying over a long stretch.
Still, I think I may put this on the back burner. I'm weighing Dark Souls against two other last-generation ports that release within a week of it (TWEWY and Valkyria 1) and I think one of those will have to take priority. Might even play Salt and Sanctuary first, as I'm more comfortable in 2D, although that lacks the thing that interested me in Dark Souls in the first place, the 3D world layout. The port quality seems acceptable to me as a neophyte, though; no performance issues, and it looks fine to me on the small screen, though enemy health bars are a little hard to make out.
The A/B situation is an absolute deal-breaker, but I have strong opinions on button layouts to the extreme that I won't buy an Xbox because of the reversed ABXY, and won't use that layout on PC either. If I'm on a Nintendo platform, there is a right way to handle confirm/cancel, and I shouldn't ever have to acknowledge that an alternative convention even exists. How nobody caught this up to this stage boggles the mind—wouldn't it have at least shown up in impressions of earlier Switch builds this summer?—but let's hope it's fixed for the release (like Shovel Knight was when it made the same mistake at launch), because until then, no sale.
i turned the console off between the japanese and euro tests, with no impact on performance whatsoever, the performance its just messy. somebody earlier mentioned that's maybe because it has so many messages and bloodstains in such a condensed area. That i can believe, but anyway its a shame this "demo" turned me off on buying it, unless i read reviews and see enough footage showing improvements
Your Switch DNS numbers may be off, change them to 001.001.001.001 and 001.000.000.001 respectively in internet settings on Switch for the most stable performance
It's not that it's hard. It's that it demands your patience, and that's rare in modern game design. Your patience, and your deliberate actions. The combat feels good because it's all very deliberate. Weapons have weight and windup. You learn to time your attacks and distances from your enemies. I think it's quite fun.
It might be worth giving it another shot. A lot of people had a moment of clarity at some point and ended up loving it.. But if that doesn't describe you, that's fine I guess. Trust me, there are things to love about the game, and you aren't giving it due credit, but it also might just not be for you.
My dude you have are having a closed mindset on an limited demo, that doesn't even touch on the lore or full game, that makes dark souls so great. I feel that you had something against this game before you even tried it.
I'm certainly not trying to imply that if you think the very basic mechanics suck ass it'll magically be a different game, but to me, this is a less-than-ideal area to drop brand new players into. Especially with the boar present and no lead-up to how you may have been customizing your character and so on.
The actual game has a clearly defined tutorial 'stage'. It's not called that but the area is a clear break from the main game world with several enemy encounters set up to teach specific mechanics and ultimately even a boss.
It can be changed in the full game. For whatever reason it is locked this way for the demo.
Where is the door that one of the keys does work on?
You know, I kind of expected to dislike the game. It keeps kicking my teeth in, and yet, I kept jumping right back in and trying again. I dig the atmosphere, as drab and macabre as it is, and the weighty feel of the combat.
That's not to say I don't have my criticisms though... I'm not too crazy about how when I take damage, it's not always obvious via a reaction by my character. I wouldn't know sometimes unless I see my life bar depleting. That leads to a lot of deaths that feel kind of cheap. It's also kind of frustrating that any/every action feels like you get punished for it (via stamina depletion). They let you defend with L, but blocking an attack takes stamina. You can dodge, but it's slow as hell and also drains stamina. I don't know if levels or equipment alleviate that down the line, but it feels egregious in the demo (as a newcomer).
Good to know. As a network test demo I can understand if we were provided a UI from a different build, but this was enough of a concern that one really does have to be sure this was not final.
