Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (new From Software game)

[NJClaw]

I also beat the weird death shaman dancing around purple balls after 10+ tries, before watching a vid of a dude using confetti to deal 4x damage. I feel robbed of my time.

You fought the Shichimen Warrior without confetti or the umbrella? That's some next level endurance challenge right there.

Bloodborne is the only game I haven't played from them, is it as good as this ?

The short answer is YES.

The long answer would require analyzing and comparing the various elements that make up the two games. The gameplay is more similar to Dark Souls for the most part (more to DS3 than DS1), but there are specific aspects where Bloodborne is even more different from its predecessors than Sekiro. Even if in different ways, both Dark Souls and Sekiro (at least during bossfights) are centered around active defense: you wait for the enemy to make his move (evading it in the correct way), and then attack during the available window; on the other hand, in Bloodborne, you are strongly encouraged to do the opposite: continuously unleashing your attacks on the enemy and switching to dodging only when needed. BB doesn't have the overwhelming set of weapons that's usually available in souls games, but (apart from very few examples) every weapon is truly unique, with unique movesets and gimmicks. The setting, art direction, and atmosphere are top notch: you won't find an objective universal opinion on which game is better in this department, but the fact that someone thinks that BB is even better than DS and Sekiro should tell you enough about how good it is. It's really a matter of tastes. If you already have a PS4, you should play it without even thinking about it. Otherwise, you should consider borrowing one from one of your friends.

 

[Multidirectional]

I wouldn't wanna play Bloodborne with shitty framerate and that horrible aliasing I've seen in videos of it. So either they release it on PC or it doesn't exist for me.

 

[Bester]

I wouldn't wanna play Bloodborne with shitty framerate and that horrible aliasing I've seen in videos of it. So either they release it on PC or it doesn't exist for me.

It has an input lag of about a fucking SECOND, too.

I bought PS4 just for Bloodborne and then sold the console mid game. Couldn't play it like this.

I'll wait for PS4 emulator and then it'll be 4k 60fps. Just gotta wait about 6 to 9 years. No biggie, just finished Demon's Souls like that. It was worth the wait.

 

[NJClaw]

I wouldn't wanna play Bloodborne with shitty framerate and that horrible aliasing I've seen in videos of it. So either they release it on PC or it doesn't exist for me.

Yes, the framerate is a disgrace. In certain areas the game is barely playable, and if you get unlucky you can even reach 1 FPS in critical moments. It's still a masterpiece, though. One of the best games of the past generation.

 

[Multidirectional]

Yes, the framerate is a disgrace. In certain areas the game is barely playable, and if you get unlucky you can even reach 1 FPS in critical moments. It's still a masterpiece, though. One of the best games of the past generation.

Well if they want to keep that mastahpeese playable under shitty conditions only then fuck it.

 

[NJClaw]

Yes, the framerate is a disgrace. In certain areas the game is barely playable, and if you get unlucky you can even reach 1 FPS in critical moments. It's still a masterpiece, though. One of the best games of the past generation.

Well if they want to keep that mastahpeese playable under shitty conditions only then fuck it.

It really isn't From Software's call, they would have already ported the game otherwise (it's Sony's IP and they insist on being big gays). The game will probably be able to reach 60 stable FPS on the PS5 (since it can already reach them sometimes on the PS4 pro), but FS would have to release some sort of patch to remove the current 30 FPS lock.

 

[MajorMace]

You fought the Shichimen Warrior without confetti or the umbrella? That's some next level endurance challenge right there.

I did and it was actually quite fun. I used all my remove-fear items though.
Fun besides being randomly hit by a purple ball and dying out of terror, that is.

 

[Silva]

The setting, art direction, and atmosphere are top notch: you won't find an objective universal opinion on which game is better in this department, but the fact that someone thinks that BB is even better than DS and Sekiro should tell you enough about how good it is. It's really a matter of tastes.

No, it's not a matter of taste - Bloodborne has the best art direction in the series and one of the best ever in gaming. Period.

It was probably the biggest budget From ever had for a game and, coupled with a real care from Miyazaki and the rest of the team at the time, it totally shows. A piece of cloth from Bloodborne has more personality and detail to it than whole swathes of areas from DS2/3. The Threaded Cane alone probably received more animations than any weapon in the series, etc.

 

[NJClaw]

The setting, art direction, and atmosphere are top notch: you won't find an objective universal opinion on which game is better in this department, but the fact that someone thinks that BB is even better than DS and Sekiro should tell you enough about how good it is. It's really a matter of tastes.

No, it's not a matter of taste - Bloodborne has the best art direction in the series and one of the best ever in gaming. Period.

It was probably the biggest budget From ever had for a game and, coupled with a real care and love from Miyazaki and the rest of the team at the time, it totally shows. A piece of cloth from Bloodborne has more detail and personality to it than whole swathes of areas from DS2/3. The Threaded Cane alone probably received more thought and animations than any weapon in the series, etc.

There are people who prefer the art direction of DS1 and DeS, though, so it's definitely a matter of taste. It doesn't mean that I agree with them, but those people still exist: I think they are wrong, but they still exist.

In my opinion, the care and detail put in the items' sprites alone should be enough to prove the superiority of BB:

Spoiler

I mean, come on, look at those.

 

[Egosphere]

Bloodborne is fantastic, although I understand people who prefer DS1.

 

[Egosphere]

I wouldn't wanna play Bloodborne with shitty framerate and that horrible aliasing I've seen in videos of it. So either they release it on PC or it doesn't exist for me.

It has an input lag of about a fucking SECOND, too.

Frame-rates - yes. But input lag? Never had that problem on the standard ps4. It was much more responsive that DS2, which I uninstalled after 2 hours because it felt like I was playing some physics-based youtube meme game.

 

[praetor]

having played DS1 on the PS3 originally, and having played countless games in the previous decades on PCs that barely met minimum requirements... i found the framerate issues in BB overblown (plus, i don't think it's the framerate, but some other thing that's the issue.. frame-sync or whatever? i'm out of the loop with the graphixwhore lingo. there's videos on youtube). it's annoying at best

the loading times, however... now that is fucking infuriating!

 

[Filthy Sauce]

The setting, art direction, and atmosphere are top notch: you won't find an objective universal opinion on which game is better in this department, but the fact that someone thinks that BB is even better than DS and Sekiro should tell you enough about how good it is. It's really a matter of tastes.

No, it's not a matter of taste - Bloodborne has the best art direction in the series and one of the best ever in gaming. Period.

It was probably the biggest budget From ever had for a game and, coupled with a real care and love from Miyazaki and the rest of the team at the time, it totally shows. A piece of cloth from Bloodborne has more detail and personality to it than whole swathes of areas from DS2/3. The Threaded Cane alone probably received more thought and animations than any weapon in the series, etc.

There are people who prefer the art direction of DS1 and DeS, though, so it's definitely a matter of taste. It doesn't mean that I agree with them, but those people still exist: I think they are wrong, but they still exist.

In my opinion, the care and detail put in the items' sprites alone should be enough to prove the superiority of BB:

Spoiler

I mean, come on, look at those.

I have a mole on my back that looks like pic #2. Should I be concerned?

 

[Silva]

the loading times, however... now that is fucking infuriating!

Are you sure of that? I don't get that here on a my standard PS4. I heard it was true when BB was launched but a patch fixed that.

What annoys me is the fact you must teleport back to Hunters Dream before going anywhere else (instead of going anywhere from any lantern, like DS3 does). It makes farming boring.

 

[[UCHIHA]XxDarkSasuke420xX]

Bloodborne does have the best art direction
and this is coming from an uchiha who hates 'gothic' settings
but, as an artist, I cannot deny the truth that Bloodborne's art direction is best, even though I hate the setting

 

[Silva]

Bloodborne does have the best art direction
and this is coming from an uchiha who hates 'gothic' settings

You know you're not Sasuke Uchiha, because that's a fictional character, right? And if you mom says otherwise she is lying to you.



P.S: And Itachi is the more badass brother anyway.

 

[[UCHIHA]XxDarkSasuke420xX]

Bloodborne does have the best art direction
and this is coming from an uchiha who hates 'gothic' settings

You know you're not Sasuke Uchiha, because that's a fictional character, right? And if you mom says otherwise she is lying to you.



P.S: And Itachi is the more badass brother anyway.

 

[Black Angel]

I wouldn't wanna play Bloodborne with shitty framerate and that horrible aliasing I've seen in videos of it. So either they release it on PC or it doesn't exist for me.

It has an input lag of about a fucking SECOND, too.

Frame-rates - yes. But input lag? Never had that problem on the standard ps4. It was much more responsive that DS2, which I uninstalled after 2 hours because it felt like I was playing some physics-based youtube meme game.

Dude, the input lag in general is real. I've replayed Sekiro on PS4 a lot, and nowadays I'm kinda addicted to doing the Sword Saint boss fight through Reflection of Strength, but the fact is that there's this slight delay between my input to the console that's more noticeable the more I play. I can't tell you how many times the game failed to do what I commanded it to do simply because the game failed to register the input by a split nano-second. Not to mention the capped 30 FPS means some of the enemy attacks would mean it's possible to still register the damage even though you supposed to manage to dodge it by a hair's breadth. For example, though I'm not entirely sure if it's a matter of framerate or actual positioning, or timing,

Spoiler

but I saw it's possible on PC to 'dodge' Sword Saint Dragon Flash's second attack after you deflected the first with the Umbrella then follow it up with Projected Force; but it's not possible on PS4, because the 30 FPS cap means the damage tick is 'dragged' across the 30 FPS animation (instead of smooth, near-instant 60 FPS) and make it possible to still register the damage. I'm highly likely very, very wrong here. But I can't think of any explanation of why you can smoothly 'dodge' that second attack with Umbrella's Projected Force on PC, but impossible to pull off on PS4.

Parts of the gameplay experience with Bloodborne is even worse. I can remember clearly a lot of times when the framerate just plummets. Sekiro on PS4 also has moments like that, but much less than Bloodborne.

 

[Silva]

Black Angel , are you sure it's not your TV input lag?

 

[Black Angel]

Black Angel , are you sure it's not your TV input lag?

That, I don't know. In comparison, Ghost of Tsushima was by far the smoother experience in comparison. But that could also be because I've mastered Sekiro and Soulsborne games in general so well that I have no problem tackling similar games.

 

[Lutte]

I can't tell you how many times the game failed to do what I commanded it to do simply because the game failed to register the input by a split nano-second.

I play on PC so not sure about anything related to the input lag on console and low framerates but there's something that can be confused for input lag in From games : the rather longer-than-average input queue bullshit they've got in their engine. Dark Souls 3 had it particularly bad of all From's games.
A demonstration of the bullshit :


Dude in the video presses dodge slightly too late and gets hit by gundyr, but the character still ends up dodging after getting up because the input was queued, which of course causes him to get hit again since that dodge dodged nothing and recovered into an attack. (no, dude who made the video isn't a whiny bitch, he's sl1'd all content in the game)
It's something I've experienced a few times myself.

From games really punish any sort of input imperfection from the player. When you're using a fast weapon like a curved sword which tend to make you do lots of attacks in a short timeframe to get your damage, you really need to be careful to not press more than one R1 at a time (ie wait until your attack is completely done) or else the game will prevent you from dodging when you need it because it keeps your R1 in input queue for far too long for an action game imho. It's not even about being unable to animation cancel your current attack, but avoiding being stuck into another attack.

This wasn't too much of a glaring weakness when we had slower paced games but in modern Fromsoft games the way their engine handles input is getting quite annoying.

 

[Momock]

This wasn't too much of a glaring weakness when we had slower paced games but in modern Fromsoft games the way their engine handles input is getting quite annoying.

It's not a weakness, I like it like that. It makes you observe the enemy and ponder if you should countinue attacking or not even more. I never used fast weapons, though.

 

[DJOGamer PT]

Except it's a weakness as it punishes players for mistakes they didn't make

 

[Momock]

You did the imput, you did the mistake, in my opinion.

 

[DJOGamer PT]

Except the guy did the input some 3 seconds before the game decided to perform it
Before he got punished by the enemy boss for his poor timing