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bawk posted:I thought the story was pretty good, and the ending was pretty It was to balance the sister game, Samus Returns, where you fight Ridley at the end. I really wish they'd remaster that and just toss it on the Switch already.
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Jul 4, 2023 17:43
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, looking forward to the next game they put together that follows along on this particular story path. 
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Fuzz posted:It was to balance the sister game, Samus Returns, where you fight Ridley at the end. I really wish they'd remaster that and just toss it on the Switch already. Aw poo poo, I never played that one. Or Metroid 2, actually. I do hope it gets a switch release because I don't have the hardware to play it and  isn't an option Afterimage seems fun so far but it also perfectly captures the feeling of walking past my roommate at 2AM who's 1 and a half seasons in to some anime I've never heard of, and they're in the middle of a plot dump episode. They sure said a lot of words all in a row that probably mean something. Oh look! Cool wolf! 
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Jul 5, 2023 14:12
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Play AM2R, aka Another Metroid 2 Remake, it's on the PC for free. It's favors backporting good features over fidelity to the gameboy original, and that's totally fine. It's a good romp, go for it.
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Jul 5, 2023 14:27
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Serephina posted:Play AM2R, aka Another Metroid 2 Remake, it's on the PC for free. It's favors backporting good features over fidelity to the gameboy original, and that's totally fine. It's a good romp, go for it. Seconding this, it's good. I finally played all the 2d Metroid games like, last year, and it was probably better than the gba games, even with Fusion having nostalgia for me. Oh also I finished Ender Lilies, it really picks up after you get a proper dash, especially with the relic that increases stun damage. Before that my big hammer just never quite hit hard enough. Some of the bosses are incredibly frustrating and the last area is a huge difficulty spike I regret doing before clean up, but the vibes more than make up for it and the spirits remain cool.
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Jul 6, 2023 08:54
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AM2R is straight up the best 2d Metroid game without "super" in the title.
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Jul 6, 2023 19:40
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GRIME is the weekly free title on Epic Games Store.
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Jul 6, 2023 19:44
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Schwarzwald posted:AM2R is straight up the best 2d Metroid game without "super" in the title. I would say the same but I absolutely hate the Metroid fights in that game, and given how much of it is given over to fighting Metroids it really detracted from the overall experience for me. The exploration and all the other bosses though, top work
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Jul 7, 2023 11:28
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I feel like AM2R just barely goes over the line with certain excesses, but it's nonetheless a really good game. Though my actual lukewarm take is that nothing beats the atmosphere of original Metroid 2.
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Jul 7, 2023 13:54
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Yeah neither Metroid II remake actually nails the atmosphere of the original, and if anything Samus Returns is even less faithful of a remake than AM2R The remakes are both great games though. I slightly prefer AM2R but both were fun
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Jul 7, 2023 15:43
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Yeah, a big part of the original was just that creepy foreboding and growing terror as you continue through it, but at the same time the system limitations were such dogshit it's not worth it. In that regard AM2R gets way closer to feeling that, "alone in an extremely hostile environment," vibe than Samus Returns did. The melee counter just really made things far less scary because part of the point of old school Metroids is that when stuff gets up in your grill or bumrushes you with a dive you have no real defense and it's terrifying because they'll gently caress you up if you don't dodge. The melee counter obviates that entire vibe because now you're waiting for those attacks to counter and then leave the enemy wide open for you to gently caress them up.
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Jul 7, 2023 16:03
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At least it's a way of reliably hitting them, having locational hitboxes on enemies that can move freely and rapidly across the screen really just doesn't work by itself with Metroid's fight mechanics either imo
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Jul 7, 2023 16:13
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I never got around to playing AM2R, I'm surprised how into it people are. I had heard how it was a more linear game as opposed to normal Metroid style. There's also a video essay by the Game Maker's Toolkit guy who makes the argument that the jank of the original Metroid 2 gives it a kind of survival horror feel, that ends up lost when the remakes give you lots of quality of life improvements, or even badass action movie moments. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WkEoYvlUF0 Although if you're not worrying about capturing the vibe of the original, the changes don't matter as much as creating a new fun experience. I get the impression that Samus Returns wants to be outright revisionist about making Samus into a bold, fearless hero.
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Jul 7, 2023 16:42
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Afterimage is loving long. I popped the achievement for beating all bosses (it doesn't seem to count the extra final boss you fight against otherrenee because I haven't beat that yet) but I think I've tapped out a lot of the content. I have a very small handful of places left to find and most area completion percentages are between 85-90%. The very last powerup I found is the knockoff power from Hollow Knight, which you use to find (among other things) a pretty dang good Hollow Knight accessory.  Just gotta open a couple big doors, like in the Field of Geo by the cat. And there's an area in the northwest of the Scorch place that's got me stumped, seems like it is exit-only. I think I've got 5 quests left and I've got 10 glyphs/heals, I think I'm missing 2? I've got a week off work next week, is there another title that's this long for content?
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Jul 10, 2023 16:39
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bawk posted:I've got a week off work next week, is there another title that's this long for content? Dunno if it's as long, but Yoku's Island Express is awesome and a ton of fun and has a great amount of content.
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Jul 10, 2023 18:32
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I think I've still got that one in my library, I remember putting it down but not why I did. I'll probably end up playing that a little bit this week/weekend
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Jul 10, 2023 19:55
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bawk posted:Afterimage is loving long. I popped the achievement for beating all bosses (it doesn't seem to count the extra final boss you fight against otherrenee because I haven't beat that yet) but I think I've tapped out a lot of the content. I have a very small handful of places left to find and most area completion percentages are between 85-90%. The very last powerup I found is the knockoff power from Hollow Knight, which you use to find (among other things) a pretty dang good Hollow Knight accessory. I looked it up online when I was done with everything else and didn’t see any way to open that door, nor the fire one in the unmapped area you can only reach using the boatman. they felt like unused chekov’s guns to me.
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Jul 10, 2023 20:06
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The only other MV I can remember playing recently that was as along as Afterimage is Souldiers.
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Jul 10, 2023 20:47
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Owl Inspector posted:I looked it up online when I was done with everything else and didn’t see any way to open that door, nor the fire one in the unmapped area you can only reach using the boatman. they felt like unused chekov’s guns to me. Well son of a bitch! Thanks for saying that. What about the weird platform above the final boss arena? E: NEVERMIND! lmao. Here I was wondering "drat I wish there was more to this game, it's so huge and I love the movement/weapons, oh well time to go beat the final final boss" and uhhhhhhhhhh there's a whole New Game+ with a different loving main character! E2: ultrachrist posted:The only other MV I can remember playing recently that was as along as Afterimage is Souldiers. I checked it out, looks like it got mixed reviews at first release but since then they've patched the game and recent reviews say it's more stable/worth the time, and at 40% off I can't say it'd be a waste of time to give it a try. Thanks! bawk fucked around with this message at 06:19 on Jul 11, 2023 |
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Jul 10, 2023 20:57
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Is Afterimage closer to Hollow Knight (love) or Bloodstained (hate)? I'd love to sink my teeth into a really long HK style game.
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Jul 11, 2023 06:45
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Spermanent Record posted:Is Afterimage closer to Hollow Knight (love) or Bloodstained (hate)? I'd love to sink my teeth into a really long HK style game. It's sorta in between? It's full of stupid bullshit, I finished the game last night through all 9 endings and understood very little despite actively paying attention to all the notes, weapon descriptions, and cutscenes. That being said, it maintains the checkpoint/souls mechanic from Hollow Knight (which took it from Souls) but it uses the XP you've gained since last level up. It never feels important to collect unless you're just trying the same boss over and over. Importantly, this means enemies stay dead until you rest at a checkpoint, so clearing screens while looking for secrets does actually make it easier. There's several different weapon types but you're probably gonna end up using dual blades, because they appear to have the highest/fastest DPS by a landslide, with the worst range. Range does not matter because if you're close enough to get hit when using dual blades, you're close enough to get hit when using the greatsword. The movement is great, you start with very little options, but by the end you can literally scrape every wall and ceiling when looking for secrets. It's not as good as HK for fluid movement, it feels a little janky, but it's still very fun to get a new ability and solve some difficult platforming challenge. There's a bunch of stats to stare cross-eyed at if you want to min-max a magic build, or create a build based around a specific weapon/accessory with a unique ability (there's quite a few that do) but you can also beat the game without cracking level 80 and stacking attack-up accessories to damage race the final boss And, personally, once you beat the first final boss (you fight a blue person, then a red person) you can put the game down. "New Game+" isn't a NG+ where you get to do the same game over again in a different order with all the abilities, it just tries to poorly add more story to the game with a different character, in a non-exploration-based 10 Chapter side story. The bosses you unlock to fight through NG+ are solidly mid compared to the pretty tough final blue/red boss fight I mentioned earlier, and the new area has palette swapped enemies with no unique weapons or items to find. If HK is an A/A+, Afterimage is a solid B/B+. I should try Bloodstained again, I have bounced off it twice now because of the enemy respawns going pretty quick and the controls feeling clunky.
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Jul 11, 2023 15:55
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Thanks for that overview! Sounds like I'll wait for a bigger discount. I absolutely hate Metroidvanias with stat based progression rather than item based. Hollow Knight is pretty much my ideal game but Haak, Islets, Ato, Monster Boy, Axiom Verge, Haiku were all great. What are your fave MVs with no stat progression?
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Jul 11, 2023 16:51
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While stats do appear in Afterimage, and you can spend Skill Points (which you find in the world or eating food, not leveling up) to increase stats, movement matters way more. I fought more than one boss who had a red skull next to their name (to let you know you're underleveled compared to this enemy/boss) and just dodged around all their attacks and killed them anyway. Besides the skill points, I think all stats come from finding better equipment, and you can ignore most other numbers besides Main Attack+ and Defense+ when picking what to use. Stats are there if you like stats, but barely matter if you don't, and the red skull is a recent thing for players to recognize if they're off the main path. That way you can tell if you should come back later, in case it seems too hard. I would dodge most stuff when exploring normally, and a few times check the Bestiary stats on a monster I killed to see if I was underleveled by a lot, or just a little, before walking through an area again. If you make it past them, you might find armor or weapons that boost your defense to the point that levels don't mean anything
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Jul 11, 2023 19:32
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I actually really liked bloodstained, I think because I had a lot of fun with all the collectable abilities.
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Jul 11, 2023 19:36
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King of Solomon posted:This is the thing that always confuses me with Blasphemous. Why do people call it a Metroidvania when it lacks the core, defining feature of the genre? This feels like an odd critique, given Blasphemous features one of the more unique exploration options. Blew my mind realizing every pit was a new path
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Jul 11, 2023 19:42
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Speaking of Blasphemous isn't the sequel coming out soon? I've heard very little about it other than seeing like one trailer.
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Jul 11, 2023 19:46
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Atoramos posted:This feels like an odd critique, given Blasphemous features one of the more unique exploration options. Blew my mind realizing every pit was a new path It's not really a critique, Blasphemous seems cool. It's more that I was confused because it seemed like people kept calling it a Metroidvania when, as far as I knew at the time I posted that, it wasn't one.
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Jul 11, 2023 19:48
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unattended spaghetti posted:Speaking of Blasphemous isn't the sequel coming out soon? I've heard very little about it other than seeing like one trailer. Yeah, August 22 iirc
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Jul 11, 2023 19:50
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Atoramos posted:This feels like an odd critique, given Blasphemous features one of the more unique exploration options. Blew my mind realizing every pit was a new path This was a huge one, holy poo poo that ruled Blasphemous is cool because you don't better navigate the world, the world reveals the secret paths to you
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Jul 11, 2023 19:53
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Blasphemous is best when it isn’t trying too hard to be dark souls. The lore and “penitent one” talk comes across as juvenile. Honestly most games would improve tremendously if they had less “lore”.
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Jul 11, 2023 20:00
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To each their own but I'm glad you didn't design Blasphemous.
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Jul 11, 2023 21:15
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virtualboyCOLOR posted:Blasphemous is best when it isn’t trying too hard to be dark souls. The lore and “penitent one” talk comes across as juvenile. I think some of the lore is pretty cool in Blasphemous. One of the bosses is an archbishop who was tasked with "solving" the dreamworld they find themselves in, and realizes he is in way over his head. As Archbishop of Mother of Mothers, he resigns himself to dying and keeping the secret of his ignorance, only for his congregation to exhume his remains and disturbing his rest so they can adorn him in all of his fineries and literally prop him up for all of his afterlife, too.
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Jul 11, 2023 21:15
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bawk posted:I think some of the lore is pretty cool in Blasphemous. One of the bosses is an archbishop who was tasked with "solving" the dreamworld they find themselves in, and realizes he is in way over his head. As Archbishop of Mother of Mothers, he resigns himself to dying and keeping the secret of his ignorance, only for his congregation to exhume his remains and disturbing his rest so they can adorn him in all of his fineries and literally prop him up for all of his afterlife, too. Eh. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but things like this just have me rolling my eyes and mashing skip. It reads like something a teenager would find cool. I’m a firm believer in the best story is the one in the head of your audience and it’s better to pepper in some interesting bits but ultimately never attempt to tell a complete story. Every time I have given a game a chance on their story I have regretted it. Lore has caused more narrative issues than helped. Less is more and all that. Metroid Other M is my go to example. Clarity: my go to example of lore ruining a game. virtualboyCOLOR fucked around with this message at 21:29 on Jul 11, 2023 |
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Jul 11, 2023 21:24
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Blasphemous has six required exposition dialogues that are less than two minutes long combined. None tells directly about the lore at all. Unless you're specifically looking for the story, it's just a platformer with hosed up looking enemies and a killer soundtrack. How much less do you want exactly?
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Jul 11, 2023 21:29
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Manager Hoyden posted:Blasphemous has six required exposition dialogues that are less than two minutes long combined. None tells directly about the lore at all. Unless you're specifically looking for the story, it's just a platformer with hosed up looking enemies and a killer soundtrack. How much less do you want exactly? I think I was clear in my previous post: zero cringe lore and zero “penitent one” dialogue. Honestly if Blasphemous had zero dialogue it would be exponentially better. The world is fascinating, the gameplay is mostly good (but extremely buggy), and the level layout in phenomenal. But the dialogue is embarrassing and is a drag. Thankfully you can skip basically all of it. vvvvv exactly virtualboyCOLOR fucked around with this message at 21:40 on Jul 11, 2023 |
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Jul 11, 2023 21:35
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Eh I disagree but I suppose I understand because I roll my eyes at the twee Disney horseshit from Ori
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Jul 11, 2023 21:38
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virtualboyCOLOR posted:I’m a firm believer in the best story is the one in the head of your audience and it’s better to pepper in some interesting bits but ultimately never attempt to tell a complete story. Every time I have given a game a chance on their story I have regretted it. Lore has caused more narrative issues than helped. Less is more and all that. This is literally how Blasphemous is though? Like I mostly agree with the sentiment and liked Blasphemous’s lore and vibe because it is this. I couldn’t tell you the story in it, but it’s vibe and peppered bits here and there was great. It and Grime (and I suppose Hollow Knight as well) are the only games I’ve played attempting the souls style “lore” that I think pulled it off.
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Jul 11, 2023 21:44
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virtualboyCOLOR posted:Eh. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but things like this just have me rolling my eyes and mashing skip. It reads like something a teenager would find cool. Blasphemous tells you all of that through an item description after killing him, and another item or note you find in the world. If you don't like stories then 
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Jul 11, 2023 21:44
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I’m excited to go back to catholic hell and play as The Penitent One (TPO) in the sequel to blasphemovs
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Jul 11, 2023 21:49
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Manager Hoyden posted:Eh I disagree but I suppose I understand because I roll my eyes at the twee Disney horseshit from Ori Ori is one I'll never understand, like if Thomas Kinkaid made an adaption of a Ghibli film, just really pandering schmaltz not even on the level of a Disney film, but people go crazy for it
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Jul 11, 2023 21:49
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"El Penitente" is so much cooler though. Always play in Spanish.
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Jul 11, 2023 21:50
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