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Loving the game. I'm about half way through and I think it's an improvement over Bloodborne in almost every way for me. I'm also finding it way less frustrating to progress and it's because of the flexibility the game provides. The game gives you multiple ways to tackle an area. Stealth is a great addition and works really well. Also, there is almost always a way to do a stealth deathblow on mini bosses and this is by design. You can always find alternative routes to get behind them or on top of them to start the fight with a deathblow. These are the ways it's better than Bloodborne for me Short loading times - I think this is the biggest one for me. This in addition to fast traversal keeps me coming back to bosses that kick my a*s. I must have spent 4 hours on Lady Butterfly. This boss really taught me and made me appreciate the game mechanics but the reason I could keep coming back was the fact that I didn't have to wait more than 30 seconds before I could jump back into action. It's the same with most boss fights and it was one of the unfortunate aspects of Bloodborne where it was often a lot of time and effort to actually get back to the boss. This would often lead to a loop where you're waiting longer than actually playing the game and it was incredibly frustrating. I think developers of "hard games" should really ensure there is "minimum time to boss" to avoid frustration. God of War aced this as well. Simplified stats and items - I could never understand and appreciate all the stats in Bloodborne and the overall RPG mechanics were a bit overwhelming. I was always worried about investing the skill points wrongly or upgrading the wrong weapon or not wearing the right outfits at the right time. I like the reduced stats and items in this game. You can focus more on upgrading your real gameplay skills and worry less about items and stats. And the ones that are there and easy to understand and upgrade. The various skill trees are also easier to understand and invest in compared to anything in Bloodborne. Better death mechanic - I think this is the area where Sekiro is the most forgiving compared to Bloodborne and other Souls games. You get a decent amount of replenishable items after death to tackle most bosses. There are boss exceptions where you need special items but so far they all seem optional. But it is much easier to spend/use your money and experience and create a floor you cannot fall below to then take on a boss again and again. I've never had to go farming for items in the middle of runs to beat a boss which again allowed me to keep getting better and kept me motivated for one more shot to beat the boss. The concept of coin purses is a lifesaver as well. Better level design? - I loved the level design in Bloodborne but I love it even more in Sekiro. I like how at any given point, you have multiple paths to explore. This was also the case with Bloodborne to an extent but Sekiro has a greater sense of freedom. I also really like how open and wide the levels are and I think the grappling mechanic is really under-appreciated in this game. They essentially put in a Japanese Spider-man game within the game and it's like no big deal. It did take me hours to accidentally stop using the prosthetic when I wanted to grapple (R2 instead of L2, damn you Spider-man!). Little details like you don't fall off if you accidentally run to the edge, you don't insta-die if you jump off into the abyss, the way the grappling indicators work, all of these make exploring fast, easy and enjoyable. You're never fighting the controls trying to get to or running away from some place and I think it's quite an achievement. The combat - I think this is a logical progression of the combat from Bloodborne. My understanding is that Bloodborne was designed specifically to incentivize Souls players to play aggressively and not hid behind a shield all the time, especially with the regain system. Well, Sekiro takes it to the next level. I like the fact that you don't have to manage your stamina and you can ignore your health in certain situations as well. Especially, if you're close to breaking your enemy's posture and you're confident about your skills. The game is also does a much better job helping you understand the enemy's moveset. It's always clear which attacks you can block, counter or side-step. The key is in learning the patterns. In Bloodborne there was a lot of trial and error to figure out these things and the process of learning the moves was quite slow and frustrating compounded by the slow loading and other issues I mentioned. I'm honestly quite surprised how much I'm enjoying this game. The game is obviously hard but I haven't been frustrated even once like I was with Bloodborne (which I finished) and Dark Souls 3 (which I abandoned mid-way). I'm fairly confident I'll finish this game. Like others, I'm also doing more mini-bosses before tackling the main bosses. I don't mind being OP for some of the encounters. I feel I deserve the occasional easy boss based on investing my time in learning how to play the game and just when I get too cocky the game brings me back to reality by introducing a new normal enemy that'll kick my a*s in 5 seconds.
So Sony wasn't able to force MS to offer BC in the last generation. But MS was able to put enough pressure with the help of game devs to force Sony's hand this gen. I understand they're in second place. But they've played their cards right in this regard to make things happen. Regarding BC, I'm not sure I buy this reasoning around the Cell. The 360 wasn't based on the x86 either and at launch they had the same argument. But they added it retroactively by building the tech. It's still not out of the box BC. Even if you have a disc, the console downloads a BC compatible version from the Xbox store. And they have to test and potentially add customizations for each game to be BC and they keep adding newer games to the library. Regarding next gen, don't put it above these companies to make customer hostile decisions to make more money. Especially when they're in a position of leadership. I think BC is a given now, but I would credit MS for it rather than the notion that these consoles are based on x86 architecture.
Microsoft despite all the game cancellations and middling reviews for exclusives have really turned it around under Spencer. With backwards compatibility to the One X to gamepass. Even the Adaptive controller was an awesome initiative. They couldn't compete with Sony head on, but all of these initiatives have helped bring them back from irrelevance and have ensured there'll be at least one more competitive generation of consoles. They've also forced Sony to adopt gamer friendly practices like cross-play. Also, Sony now has to include backwards compatibility in their next gen console. MS would offer it for sure and Sony skipping it would really be the biggest self goal since MS's Xbox One launch. All in all, it's awesome and exciting that MS is shaking things up like this. Sony should continue their focus on awesome single player games, but it'll be interesting to see how they respond to the expansion of game-pass and other services that MS has in store.
Lol it's not what you think. The game will let you know when you should be scared.
I actually played RE7 in December last year. Had always wanted to play it since it came out just never got around to it. It was my first proper RE game. (I think I tried a PC port of RE4 years ago). I loved the game. It was the right amount of horror and jump scares. And after a few hours, it's more tense that it is scary. I really enjoyed the boss fights too. It was this game that actually put RE2 remake on my map. I had no idea it was coming this soon. I got it at launch and really enjoyed it as well. It's more polished than RE7 overall, but it's hardly as scary or intense. The zombies sound and move like they do in Plants vs Zombies. The first time you meet Mr. X is chilling but once you realize you can outrun him, he becomes a piece of cake to avoid. I have a PSVR but haven't tired RE7 on it. I've heard it's nicely done in VR. Anyone tried it?
I wouldn't be surprised if good-guy Spencer made a deal with Nintendo to allow PG to salvage the work they'd put in on the project.
I think GOW deserves all those awards, but RDR2 was pretty much the best gaming experience of the last few years for me. It's a tough game to review and score I guess. There are things that are objectively bad about the game, but there are other things it does that no game comes close to matching. GOW is the more polished game overall and does almost everything quite well. But it doesn't come close to matching the highs of RDR2 for me. Also, don't be that guy who shits on other people's opinions because they don't match yours. Nobody likes that guy.
Is there an option to tone down the motion blur on consoles? It's almost unbearable in the videos.
Listening to the stump mic chatter, Dhoni has been incredible at predicting what the batsmen were going to do. One of the stumpings and the last wicket were because the bowler did exactly what Dhoni asked them to do.
You can upgrade your camp and get a fast travel option (but only one way). You can also use stagecoaches to fast travel from town to town. I used these two options when I didn't want to go for a long ride (which wasn't often). You can also take the train, but I haven't tired it. I've finished the game now but still ride to most places doing open world stuff. I'm still discovering new things and having new encounters that continue to make these long rides rewarding.
I often went back to the camp at nights and sat around bonfires eating my stew and listening to stories. Arthur has something contextual to say for every single story if you comment after the story is over. Also, if you walk into a conversation between two people at camp, they'll naturally involve you as the conversation progresses (this seemed so natural but also blew my mind). For one of the camps that was by the lake, after the storytelling was done and everyone went to bed, I would often take the canoe out into the water and fish for a long time under the starry sky, just by myself, soaking it all in. It used to such a calming and peaceful experience. By the time I was done and heading back, people would be waking up. I would take the fish to Pearson, then pour myself a cup of coffee and talk to the early risers, before mounting my horse and heading off. This game offers so many such moments, that you create by yourself. There are no story or loot incentives. I remember reading an interview with a R* dev before the game launched and he described how their goal was to make the player forget that they're playing a game and leave them with memories of the place they were in. They absolutely succeed in that goal. I have so many memories of just being in this world because I made them through my actions. The story missions might fade but these memories will remain.
The whole map is shown in online from the beginning. A lot of the joy of the story mode is discovering new places. Also, you'll be playing with people who've most probably completed the story and there are some big moments in the story that can be spoiled with a few words.
This is the best role playing game I've ever played. There are countless moments where you have the freedom of choice. And the choices don't have arbitrary consequences. Most of times the consequence is how your choice makes you feel. This may sound silly but the reason RDR2 is able to pull it off is because of how consistent and real the world is. One small example - I was just riding around doing open world stuff when I came across a bunch of scattered sheep on a hill. As I rode down the hill I saw a homestead. I approached it and saw a man, presumably the owner. I approached him and tried to greet him. He did not respond kindly. Now, this is a fairly common interaction in the game and you can try and defuse or escalate a situation like this. I don't remember how exactly I responded but he got more aggressive and pulled out his gun. A gunfight ensued and I shot and killed him. In any other game, an encounter like this would not be that impactful. But in this case, after I shot him I started looking around and after a few moments I was filled with remorse. This man was a shepherd. There was an open and empty pen next to the homestead. The sheep I had encountered on top of the hill were his and they were now coming down the hill. There was also a shepherd dog near the house that I hadn't noticed and was now running around. I had shot and killed this dog's master. What was going to happen to him? What was going to happen to the sheep? I spent the next 10 minutes trying to herd the sheep into the pen, praising and petting the dog, before riding off. From that point on, I was always less cavalier about shooting people who responded negatively. I also realized that if you pay attention, you can learn a lot about the characters in the world. Who they are and what they do. There were a lot more moments like this, big and small where I made a choice because of how the game made me feel in the moment without worrying about the "gamey" consequences like loot or karma.
If you save them, they continue building the house and you have further interactions with them. Where I'm at the house is almost complete but they need some extra supplies to help complete it.