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Steam page Launch Trailer Gameplay deep dive trailer So this one basically got dropped out of nowhere. It was first brought up during an Xbox and Bethesda Developer Direct on January 26th, and was dropped on Gamepass and Steam a few hours later. Supposedly this shadow drop strategy, with no marketing or even official announcement before release, was down to 'viral positivity' at publisher Bethesda Softworks surrounding the game.  Hi-Fi RUSH is a character action game from Tango Gameworks, a studio previously known from The Evil Within and its sequel, and Ghostwire Tokyo. However, compared to those previous games, Hi-Fi RUSH is completely new territory for the studio, both in terms of gameplay and aesthetics. The game is currently available on Xbox, Steam and Gamepass. You play as Chai, a 25 year old with pretentions of future rockstardom and a right arm that's in a sling for undisclosed reasons. You volunteer for Project Armstrong, a project by industrial giant Vandelay Technologies (no idea if this is meant to be a Seinfeld reference), to replace your bum arm with a robot arm. During the process, through a series of mishaps, your portable music player, which is totally not an iPod, falls onto the production line and ends up getting embedded into your chest. You're designated to be a garbage collector, with your robotic arm producing a handy magnetic grabber. However, due to the music player in your chest, you have the ability to turn scrap into a Flying V guitar, which you'll immediately need to use to fight off the Vandalay robots, who have been ordered to scrap you, since you're a defect. From there, it's standard character action game fare. Fairly linear levels, moving from fight to fight, each of which is graded at the end based on your performance. The levels end with a big boss battle, and a final score that reflects how you did overall. There's currency to collect to unlock upgrades and new moves, steadily layering on the complexity as the resistance from your enemies increases. You start out simply fighting off the robots that want to scrap you, but soon you uncover an extensive plot by Vandelay Technologies. Along the way you pick up a rag-tag band of allies, who can help you with special abilities both in combat and to solve puzzles, as you take down the company's various directors one by one.  The combat is exactly as tight as it needs to be for a character action game. You fight off hordes of mooks, with the occasional heavy or two thrown in, with a mix of up-close and personal and bad guys plinking away at you from range. You have a light and heavy attack, both of which can be strung together in various ways to create combos, and a variety of big gently caress-off special attacks that can be unleashed once a meter is filled up. Jumping and dodging give you ample mobility, and you'll soon unlock the ability to pull yourself towards enemies, which can also be integrated into your combos. Everything feels quick and responsive, which is the most important thing for a character action game like this. You never feel like your character doesn't do exactly what your controller told them to do.  The biggest defining element of Hi-Fi RUSH is its incorporation of rhythm elements in the gameplay. Your attacks do more damage if they strike in time with the beat of the background music, your combo finishers have exact timing, and there's a strong rhythm aspect to special intermission moves when fighting bosses. In order to help with timing, not only does Chai move to the rhythm, swaying his hips and snapping his fingers, but HUD elements and various environmental elements pulse. If that's not enough, there's an optional visual aid for your timing that can be turned on and off. Of course the rhythm is also incorporated in dodging, parrying and platforming. Playing within the rhythm of the background music also affects the soundtrack. Attacking on the beat not only results in more damage, but also adds guitar licks, percussion and cheers from an invisible audience all added on. Note that the game rewards you for sticking to the beat, but does not punish you for not doing it, beyond your attacks doing less damage, and your score at the end of combat being lower than it could have been. Visually, the game is stunning. Think high-definition Jet Set Radio, colourful and vibrant, with a whole world that moves to the beat. Playing closer attention reveals various visual elements designed to enhance the feeling of being in the middle of a playable cartoon. It's yet another reminder of the age-old chest nut about competent visual design being more memorable than simply having the highest polygon count.  Ingame cutscenes are interspersed with stills straight out of a comic book, which make the action lines and print dots that are used subtly during gameplay far more clear, in all the best ways:    The levels themselves are filled with little details, including various NPCs who are usually good for a funny one liner, each one with a distinct personality. LU-C1LLE, the robot receptionist who first greets Chai in the game's opening cutscene, seems to have at least one or two exasperated PA messages in each level. There's the obligatory collectibles hidden around the stages, and plenty of areas you can only unlock by replaying the levels. Overall, the game will take you anywhere from 6 to 10 hours to make it to the end credits, depending on your difficulty, exploration and aptitude for games like this. Besides replaying the levels to uncover secrets and find more abilities and cosmetics, beating the game also unlocks the Rhythm Tower, a timed game mode designed to truly test your prowess. It really is a great addition to the genre, fitting right in right alongside of the Bayonettas, Devil May Crys and God Hands. At $30 it's definitely worth checking out, if only because how fresh and new it feels, both within the genre and the current state of the game industry at large.
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Feb 2, 2023 15:52
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I am currently playing through the game on Very Hard, have all the Spectra doors unlocked and am working on improving my just timing to S-Rank some of these stages, which do get quite challenging on the higher difficulties. If you enjoy character action games at all then you absolutely must play this game. It is an instant classic. Hi-Fi Rush rules!!!
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Feb 2, 2023 15:58
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Rhythm parry. Is this Sekiro? Jet Set Sekiro?
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Feb 2, 2023 17:51
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I feel like I just don’t have the hearing or timing to do parries for rage attacks or long sentry guns sequences. I can’t make my brain hear when to start the pattern. If I can start at the right time I can do it but I feel like I only get the first parry 20% of the time.
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Feb 3, 2023 01:58
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This game is missing only one thing. A loving song by The Pillows. I would have screamed. G-Mawwwwwww fucked around with this message at 02:11 on Feb 3, 2023 |
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Feb 3, 2023 02:07
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Just wrapped up a fun normal difficulty playthrough on gamepass, what a fun time. Loved the surprise of the Joy Formidable song near the end, I don't know most of their music super well but was always a fan of that specific song. I've got a terminal case of dropping off a game as soon as I see end credits, but I could see myself jumping back in for all the extra content I missed the first time through.
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Feb 3, 2023 02:19
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https://i.imgur.com/RGIISo7.mp4
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Feb 3, 2023 02:37
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I need tips to get better perfect timing scores but I'm pretty sure the only answer is "get gud"
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Feb 3, 2023 03:59
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There are a lot of visual clues to see when you're on the beat including the onscreen assist by pressing the Menu/Select button, but personally I've found that I have an easier time trying to listen for it rather than using any visible references, which can get quite chaotic. You have to fight the tendency to mash in these games and just limit yourself to one discrete action per beat (minus the partner assists, which do not impact your just timing).
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Feb 3, 2023 09:11
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No joke: I found that my performance improved quite a bit by vocalising the beat under my breath while playing.
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Feb 3, 2023 11:32
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I finally rolled credits today (I say finally when the game took me about 11 hours to beat - honestly wish more games were shorter these days, so I'm not complaining) and as someone who's indifferent to DMC/Bayonetta-likes but loves rhythm games and cartoony art styles, I absolutely adored this game. It does suck that with Bethesda publishing there's no chance of a PlayStation or Switch port when this is getting praised across the board, but as someone who has yet to get a current Xbox, it's at least nice that they're still making PC versions a thing for their first-party games. The postgame is quite beefy, which was a nice surprise. Beyond the new stuff they add, this is the first character action game I've played where I feel a strong motivation to go back and aim for S-ranks across the board, followed by bumping up the difficulty level.
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Feb 5, 2023 06:21
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i was losing my poo poo during the stage 9 boss, was not expecting a fiona apple song at all, even it it was a cover
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Feb 5, 2023 06:27
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Going for all S-Ranks now on Rythmn Master. It can actually be pretty challenging to do well on some of the earlier battles because they're over before you really have a chance to get your hit multiplier up. Right now I'm rolling with the Rank 2 chip that increases meter growth and Rank 3 for battery drops. If you can land a nice meaty beat hit on the bad guys then you'll get a ton of bars for jam combos and special attacks. 808-Gigawatt Cat Attack is what I'm currently using since it gives you a x10 multiplier, provided you're close enough for it to land. On any wave with an elite machine it's an easy S. Oh and don't forget to spam partner attacks at the start of every wave so that you don't autofail the mission from taking a stray hit.
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Feb 5, 2023 17:22
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Tried this the other day - I love the vibe, but when does the tutorial end? The last thing I unlocked was the dodge button. I want to play more, but I feel like I've already spent way too much time watching cutscenes/tutorials and almost nothing on actual gameplay  (Not dissing the inclusion of tutorials and gentle onboarding, I just think that there should also be a "please skip to the actual game" button)
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Feb 5, 2023 23:39
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I was watching someone play this and it looks really good. What surprised me most was that it starts at $30 on Steam - I would have thought the polish this game has warranted $50 or more.
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Feb 6, 2023 03:01
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This game is incredible, I am already hungry for a sequel and this is the first character action game that is actually driving me to try a harder difficulty level than default.
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Feb 6, 2023 04:49
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I love this game a ton, I just wish the checkpointing was better because having to sit through the same 1 minute conversation over and over when you are struggling on a fight gets really annoying. Are there any suggestions for how to beat the Yellow Samurai robots? The encounter I'm in has Samurai Bot and 1 of the motorcycle barrier bots and if I focus on the barrier bot I get smoked by the Samurai, and if I focus on the Samurai the barrier bot just protects it.
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Feb 6, 2023 05:52
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SalTheBard posted:I love this game a ton, I just wish the checkpointing was better because having to sit through the same 1 minute conversation over and over when you are struggling on a fight gets really annoying. always kill the motorcycle bots first, they're zippy but die fast once you're able to lay your hands on them. the samurai typically take a long time between attacks, so you should be able to crush the motorcycle bot without it harassing you too much as for the samurai, wait until they use their quick-draw attack, then parry (use one of your teammates' counter specials if it's ready) and use your grappling hook to vault over their heads. they'll look around confused and give you time for a combo or two. when they go apeshit and start throwing out combos at you, just parry as much as you can, wait for their barrier to drop, and hit them with everything you have. with any luck they'll trigger their finale QTE before their invincibility goes up again
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Feb 6, 2023 05:57
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I picked this up after watching patstaresat play it, haven't played it myself yet though. I hear it way outsold Forspoken, which is hilarious, but are there any concrete sales numbers for it yet? Is it doing incredibly well or is it a mild success, the word of mouth is ridiculously positive at least. the style is out of this world, and everything about it from aesthetics to dialogue is top loving notch. even Chai being a dumbass marvelesque protag is charming in its own way, and characters like Rekka are just immaculately designed. I hope this does really well and doesn't get forgotten come goty time. also, mods should sticky this thread imo
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Feb 6, 2023 06:09
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Played up to the first boss and I'm pretty hooked. Game is fun, and I'm exactly childish enough for the slapstick of Chai getting absolutely thrown around into the scenery during every cutscene to never not be funny.
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Feb 6, 2023 06:40
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the moment you crash into the canteen and Invaders Must Die starts playing is one of the best gaming moments in recent years. love this game.
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Feb 6, 2023 12:30
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Track 10 is a brutal S-Rank on RM. Lots of one-on-one fights that are hard to get your rhythmn meter up for and you can just instalose the entire level if you take a hit at round start. Oh, and there's a whole rear end boss fight at the end. I will prevail!
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Feb 6, 2023 13:53
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exquisite tea posted:Track 10 is a brutal S-Rank on RM. Lots of one-on-one fights that are hard to get your rhythmn meter up for and you can just instalose the entire level if you take a hit at round start. Oh, and there's a whole rear end boss fight at the end. I will prevail! Isn´t it possible to S-rank tracks even if you die once or twice, provided you S-rank (almost) all the fights?
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Feb 6, 2023 14:32
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Kooriken posted:Played up to the first boss and I'm pretty hooked. Game is fun, and I'm exactly childish enough for the slapstick of Chai getting absolutely thrown around into the scenery during every cutscene to never not be funny. I was having a good time and the first boss kicked it into overdrive for me. Really wasn't expecting NIN to kick in but it was rad as hell. Still getting used to the combat, but I'm getting A rank mostly so maybe I have some rhythm after all! I don't, but the game is pretty forgiving.
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Feb 6, 2023 14:48
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KingaSlipek posted:Isn´t it possible to S-rank tracks even if you die once or twice, provided you S-rank (almost) all the fights? No. You’re allowed one continue if you’ve S-Ranked every encounter, but you’ll lose the Burger King crown. You need to hit S-Rank at least half the time to get an S rating overall, and if you die once that’s an automatic rank down.
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Feb 6, 2023 16:04
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I'm loving the game so far. I think I'm about halfway through my first playthrough, Korsica just joined. Are there any upgrades or skills I should focus on buying? Also any easy way to get more money besides the challenges? I never feel like I have enough money to justify getting more chip slots or special attacks. Been mostly getting additional moves for Chai.
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Feb 6, 2023 17:01
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The game encourages you to play through the campaign at least several times on higher difficulties. You'll also be able to access new areas in earlier stages by using the partner commands. By your second or third run you'll have acquired more than enough gears to buy all the upgrades and can then focus on the most important endgame priority of all: Fashion. Since you just unlocked Korsica, Twin Assault is a very good special with a decent frontal cone AOE and excellent hit stacking.
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Feb 6, 2023 17:08
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What are you supposed to do to avoid Mimosa's grab? It doesn't look parryable but maybe it is? tried dodging it but it tracks really well.
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Feb 6, 2023 18:03
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Simplest way to avoid Mimosa's grab is to just avoid grappling up to her until her wings are almost broken. But Mimosa is secretly the easiest boss in the game because you can keep her permanently grounded just by constantly spamming partner assists while landing Chai's 3-hit heavy attack combo. Her armor will be ~75% broken before she can even get up again, and you don't have to be particularly elegant about it, either. I went from struggling against her on Very Hard to S-Ranking her fight on RM in like 6 minutes just by ignorantly spamming the partner assists. In fact I'd expect this to get patched eventually since it kind of turns her into a joke.
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Feb 6, 2023 18:51
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Anyone else get caught in a progression bug at the start of the Mimosa chapter? I cleared the first Korsica tutorial with the flames, then quit. When I load back into the game I respawned before the flame door but the partner doesn't lock on to anything when I call them in preventing me from getting any further.
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Feb 6, 2023 20:27
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I have nothing but praise for this game, and there's something that I'd like to point out: it isn't shy about poking fun at itself. My favorite moments include a freaking Xenogears parody to convey that they had to cut a level, a conversation with CNMN about Kale's gigantic robot that would have totally made for an awesome boss fight but didn't for, uh, some reason, and special conversations in the hideout if you quit during the final boss fight. Also, the game is genuinely funny. The script has this earnest charm to it that is incredibly endearing, and the voice acting and animation really bring it to life. QA-1ML: "I like defects." Chai: "That's good!" QA-M1L: "I like how they taste." Chai: "Ohh that's bad."
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Feb 6, 2023 20:47
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One of my favorite parts of going through the levels again for collectibles was when you come up to (3rd or 4th track spoilers) the Z-shielding boss right before you get Macaron..Since you can freely use Macaron while replaying any level, I decided to.see.if it would let me kill the Z-shield guy that you're supposed to lose two. CNMN calls you up to let you know "that's cheating" and then if you destroy it he's like "uhhh, well that breaks things, go to cutscene!"
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Feb 6, 2023 21:15
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I like 808's facial expressions and general epicness
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Feb 6, 2023 21:20
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"You're fired" oh... oh, should have used the flamethrower. Oh well, there's always next time.
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Feb 6, 2023 21:31
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UP AND ADAM posted:I like 808's facial expressions and general epicness Their special stun move is amazing. e: thread title is great BUT it is clearly a character action rhythm game. Like Kojima, Tango Gameworks has created a new genre of game. I do seriously wonder if playing the poo poo out of this game will improve my character action skills in general, because timing combos is the number one thing I struggle with in those type of games, and this game seems perfectly designed to help you adhere to strict timing. I guess it would actually do the opposite if the other games in question have significantly different timing required though. Professor Beetus fucked around with this message at 21:36 on Feb 6, 2023 |
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Feb 6, 2023 21:32
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exquisite tea posted:Simplest way to avoid Mimosa's grab is to just avoid grappling up to her until her wings are almost broken. But Mimosa is secretly the easiest boss in the game because you can keep her permanently grounded just by constantly spamming partner assists while landing Chai's 3-hit heavy attack combo. Her armor will be ~75% broken before she can even get up again, and you don't have to be particularly elegant about it, either. I went from struggling against her on Very Hard to S-Ranking her fight on RM in like 6 minutes just by ignorantly spamming the partner assists. In fact I'd expect this to get patched eventually since it kind of turns her into a joke. I have no idea what the Mimosa grab is because partner assist spam is so strong. The fight right before her with three phases of enemies on the electric floor was bullshit, it and the final fight were the only real trouble I ran into on Very Hard. Apparently the original (streamer mode) tracks are really good and worth playing through. Everyone connects this to Jet Set Radio because of the emphasis on music, but really it's an amazing new take on Viewtiful Joe.
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Feb 7, 2023 02:32
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That grab sucks, and you can get a perfect parry and you'll just get grabbed on the next beat. Just dodge away when you get the tell, same as her repeated dashes. Anyone have any tips for the fire bird? Felt like I played as aggressively as I could and got a D for time taken on that fight on v.hard. Is the trick just spamming gun?
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Feb 7, 2023 02:45
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This game is amazing and anyone who's ever enjoyed a character action game should buy it this instant. Though I wish they gave you parry earlier. For some reason trying to dodge on the beat always makes me late and gets me killed, but I can perfect parry all day long. Sindai fucked around with this message at 03:06 on Feb 7, 2023 |
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Feb 7, 2023 03:03
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Yeah until I got Parry I basically just treated my health like a running clock to hurry up and beat everyone ASAP, feels nice to be able to block everything, just by keeping the best for the most part, although my clear times have risen since I waste time defending instead of attacking now. Edit: actually after writing that out, I guess that might be why they gave it to you after dodging, which I'm not as good as but doesn't slow the flow down the same way since parrying you're sometimes locked into a combo block and maybe someone else joins in too.
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Feb 7, 2023 03:05
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Parry really feels like it should have been introduced earlier, NG+ feels so much better with it. That said, man this game is great. There's so much dang charm and it's entirely genuine with it. It's a romp in the best way.
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Feb 7, 2023 06:03
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