Sno

Hyper Light Drifter

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I think it should still recharge when you hit enemies. I just want to reliably have full bullets at the start of every fight without having to break boxes.

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sometimes there's boxes, sometimes there aren't. All part of the resource management. Besides, alongside bullet reflection and absorption, not to mention just the base dash, there are more than enough tools to deal with a fight you go into with no ammo. It's not like it charges from hitting enemies particularly slowly.

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Adding invincibility frames seems like such a bizarre change to me. Doesn't that fundamentally change how the combat works? Before, being good at combat felt like it was way more about positional awareness than about precise timing, but I guess now good timing can get you out of way more. I understand if they wanted to make the game easier (although I liked the difficulty where it was) but why not do that by making enemies attack less frequently or giving the player more hp, rather than change the nature of how you fight? To a lesser extent the faster medkits also feels like this to me, since I though the whole point was to make it so you couldn't reliably heal mid combat and it wasn't nearly long enough to be annoying outside of combat in the first place.

 

The weirdest thing, though, is that this was a mandatory change rather that an additional difficulty setting. Unless there's some technical reason they couldn't do that I don't understand why they would.

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Yeah, the changes are a bit weird and I'm kinda glad I finished the game before they happened. I liked the feel of the game, but if this makes it accessible to more people then it's worth it.

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It would be nice to have it as an option though. I haven't played much more than East and West since DS3 came out and it'd be great if I had the chance to see which style of balance I preferred. I know they're mostly slight changes but still.

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I beat the game yesterday afternoon. They pushed out the invincibility patch just after I opened up access to the South portion of the map and I didn't feel like they were huge changes. I think the patch helped smooth out the difficulty curve at the beginning before you can afford upgrades, but it certainly didn't make the game a cakewalk. The last boss fight still felt very challenging to me.

 

Overall, I enjoyed the game. I might go back and try to find all the modules and monoliths, but just running through the game as is felt satisfying.

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Just finished the normal game. I'm glad that I read that article about Alex Preston's health before finishing the game. I found the general 'story' to be a little bit too abstract until I read that article. 

 

Combat-wise, I think it was just a little easier than I was hoping (so I'm looking forward to new game +), but I really like these kinds of games. I chose to unlock the multi-dash and reflect projectiles. I think the reflect projectiles seems necessary as its utility as an increase in battle options is counter-balanced by the, but the multi-dash just completely changes the experience. With multi-dashes, I felt safe zip-zooping back in and out of enemy attacks, and dashing away was always generally safe enough that I rarely had to worry about the exact hitbox size of where I landed. I guess I should try doing a runthrough without upgrades to see if the gameplay garners that kind of experience. The dash is long enough that the utility of distance outweighs timing iframes. I don't think I played before the iframes patch, so I can't say if that changed the experience. 

 

The other thing that was missing combat-wise for me was the experience of testing endurance in boss battles, though I'm anticipating + will get closer to that. Bosses didn't really have enough health that you had to master both timing actions AND keeping your mind sharp over time. I might be drawing too much off my experience with Vindictus though. 

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Boy, am I awful at that chain-dash move. I can occasionally pull one off mid-battle, and I can pull off just enough to make it a fun little way to get across the map, but if a certain section requires me to chain dash across it, it ain't happening. I managed to cheese a couple with invincibility frames and healing, but there are others designed to prevent you from doing that. I really like that the game seems to know just how difficult it wants to be, but in this case it feels like the game is disappointed that I can't pull off a weird parlor trick, even though I have the overall combat down to an art-science. I eventually had to tell myself I just won't 100% this game, even though I would really love to.

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You really dont need that chain dash. I only got it just before the final boss and never really used it....Pretty much the only upgrades I used were the dash attack and bullet reflect.

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Yeah, I'm running up against the end of the game pretty fast, so I'm sure I can actually beat the game, but I was actually getting into the wall-hugging, secret-area-finding part of the game. I was specifically lamenting

 

The 800-dash challenge, the room with a bunch of crystals, and a room in the south that I'm pretty sure has the very last module I need.

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So I beat the last boss in this today and after I went back to find the rest of the modules and all that, re: finding hidden things,

 

were there always little markers on the ground next to basically all of the hidden stuff or are those put there after you finish?  Or were those added in a patch after the first week and a half?  I kinda stopped playing this for Dark Souls 3 and only picked it up again today to beat the last couple bosses, but I did not notice them through almost the entire game but now I'm seeing them everywhere.

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Yeah, I'm running up against the end of the game pretty fast, so I'm sure I can actually beat the game, but I was actually getting into the wall-hugging, secret-area-finding part of the game. I was specifically lamenting

 

The 800-dash challenge, the room with a bunch of crystals, and a room in the south that I'm pretty sure has the very last module I need.

Ah, yeah that's understandably frustrating to have content barred like that. 

 

I don't know if this would help, but I noticed that, for any challenges that require chain dashing over a large number of spikes,

 

if you manage to get a 3-chain dash off (which I think is the point where doing a turnaround without dashing causes you to slide), and you hit a wall while you're over spikes (causing you to do the fallback animation and ending the chain), you will fall back on an area of spikes after they have retreated and before they can shoot up again, with enough time for you to get back up and start a new chain. This means you don't always have to pull off a full, perfect chain to get across those. It's a little finicky but it ended up being surprisingly forgiving for me. You just have to mentally prepare yourself for running headlong into a wall.

 

 

So I beat the last boss in this today and after I went back to find the rest of the modules and all that, re: finding hidden things,

 

were there always little markers on the ground next to basically all of the hidden stuff or are those put there after you finish?  Or were those added in a patch after the first week and a half?  I kinda stopped playing this for Dark Souls 3 and only picked it up again today to beat the last couple bosses, but I did not notice them through almost the entire game but now I'm seeing them everywhere.

I think they were always there. At least, I started a new game and they were there. Their shape ends up blending in with some of the square decorations throughout the game, which might be why they're hard to notice.

 

 

Also, unrelated:

I found out a strategy for the east boss. 

 

1. Enter into the room, and the boss will begin throwing exploding jars.

2. Walk diagonally toward the boss to avoid the first jar, so that you end up in front of the boss.

3. Hit the boss once

4. Your proximity to the boss will trigger the boss's "player is near" swipe attack, so dash back immediately.

5. The boss's attack animation is long enough that you can walk safely back toward the boss by the time it ends.

6. Hit the boss twice.

7. Repeat steps 4-6.

It takes a few tries to get the timing right, but it ended up being a very safe battle.

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I bought this game yesterday after hearing Jake's comparison to a Zelda game, and have to admit I really really like it, and enjoy the level of difficulty. I'm always shitty at these sorts of open-world games, but so far haven't gotten too lost... Man, I do like it a lot though. It's also the first game I've played a One controller on my PC!

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I have been looking forward to this game for so long. I thought about getting it on PC but waited for the PS4 version. I purchased the soundtrack months ago when it released on Bandcamp, and I listened to the hell out of it. Easily the best game soundtrack this year.

 

So it came out two days ago and even though I really wanted to get it, I almost didn't because of how difficult its supposed to be. But I felt like I had to experience it for myself after loving the art style and soundtrack so much. I may never finish the game and thats okay so I picked it up last night. 

 

Wow this game is gorgeous, like insanely gorgeous. I have played about one hour so far and I am really digging it. I went East first because I heard it was easiest to start. I did run into some hard areas but got through them okay. I am not enjoying the gun much so far because its hard to aim and shoot when you're frantically trying to fight enemies.

 

But I am very happy I picked it up. I really wish there was a PS4 theme because it would look so good.

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So I also played the first hour or so of Hyper Light Drifter. 

 

That intro is spectacular. I was enthralled the moment I turned it on. thenexus6, you're so right, the game is absolutely gorgeous. I don't take screen shots of games, ever, but I could stop snapping all the beautiful environments I was going through.

 

Unlike you, I went North first, as that seemed to be where the game was telling me to go. I found I internalised the combat after 2 or 3 encounters. It's surprisingly similar to Furi so I get into it fast. I killed the first boss, who was a lot of fun, took me about 3 tries and it was really fun.

 

It's worth mentioning that there's a sort of auto-aim for the gun. It's not perfect, but if you hit the fire button (not the aim) and you're facing in the right direction, you'll pop off a shot at the closest enemy in that direction. I learned to love the gun really fast thanks to that. It makes the loop of dash in - slash - dash out - shoot really satisfying. 

 

The art and atmosphere remind me a lot of Fez. Except I'm finding I actually want to play HLD, where I got bored of Fez's basic mechanics pretty quickly. I think this is a serious contender for GOTY this year. It's incredible.

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there has been a lot of debate - not just in this forum - of which direction is "easiest" or starting...it really doesnt matter.  i went north - west - east...seemed right?;  the weapon unlock from the north also suits my play style way better than east or west first - but also a coincidence

 

3-try bird boss is really good!  he gave me the business for the better part of a night

 

 

i also really liked playing HLD and was drawn to coming back everyday i played - except once i finished i stopped and didnt feel the need to 100% all the outfits, gold blocks, or insane achievos.  it felt like a complete experience and should just end...and when i come back later (months/year) to play again perhaps that'll be a different end goal

 

 

 

they've also added a multiplayer aspect, i wonder how the experience changes with a friend to take care of/help

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So I took down the east boss. I was a little disappointed because the design was great, and pretty freaky, but it had an easily exploitable pattern so I didn't even take damage when I killed it. 

 

I have more thoughts:

This game is a Zelda game right? It's at least a love letter to the 2D Zelda games, and that's a great thing, because the creator(s) still managed to make it feel unique, to the point I didn't even think about it being a Zelda game for a long time.

 

It's super dark. Some of the things you see that have happened to the previous civilisations are terrifying. 

 

Edit: Haha, someone described the exact strategy I used above. Although I slipped in a few pistol shots while moving for good measure.

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I beat the East yesterday, boss took me four tries I think. I have taken alot of screenshots, I even copied some to USB and i'm using a few as my computer wallpaper.

 

Playing this game, I feel like I understand Dark Souls players a little better. I've never really played them myself, but have seen plenty of videos. It's that thing where 95% of your deaths are your fault. Biting off a little more than you can chew or not concentrating on something enough.

 

I went to this area in the East and it was just full of dudes - all of which throw stuff at you, and those plant things that explode after you hit them.

 

I was like "I can do this" - getting really close a few times. I didn't give up and finally beat the group. The swinging your sword in the air and into the ground animation played out. It was so satisfying, so much better than the mindless button mashing controlling games. I felt like Neo for a second.

 

I got a little bored with Fez after a while. I didn't make it very far into the game.

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I personally don't feel like HLD shares much with Souls games in terms of mechanics/difficulty. Souls games tend to hit you with a few dirty tricks here and there (which I've not seen in HLD) and the bosses for a first time player are absolutely brutal. The mobility and ranged attacks in HLD really reduces the challenge compared to a Souls game.

Example: if you're mobbed by 5 enemies in DS, you're probably dead. You can roll out of the way of a couple of attacks, but your stamina will limit that and something will hit you, stagger you and you're done.

In HLD, if you're mobbed, you can just dash away across the map and pick a few enemies off with the gun. Dash back in to make a couple of sword hits and generate ammo, then rinse and repeat. There's no stagger from being hit, the heal is instantaneous and most importantly, you have some incredible mobility with the dash.

Edit: That's not to say HLD isn't difficult, and isn't good. It can be quite hard because it looks like a simple hack and slash game, but it doesn't want you to play like that. I'm really enjoying the combat, and if it was more simplistic I probably wouldn't be so excited to constantly play the game.

The combat is also relatively difficult because there aren't that many enemies, and they don't respawn without leaving the "compass area." That means you get significantly less practice compared to many games. A lot of exploration punctuated with a few skirmishes initially, then once you get into, I guess a dungeon, you're hit with wave after wave of enemies which as a player you're not prepared for.

I think that works incredibly well.

In terms of story telling, both the indirect narrative, environmental story telling, and the post-cataclysmic event that occurred to the world you're exploring, I think yes, it does share some DNA with Souls. Although it's less subtle than a Souls game, which I kind of like. I was never one to read item descriptions, but seeing things in this world and finding survivors who tell their story is awesome.

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A mass of enemies is pretty possible to deal with in Souls as long as you don't get blocked into a corner. If you have an escape route, it's usually possibly to back up and funnel them through an entrance. The only real way they're different in how situations like that play out is that it is possible to get body blocked in Souls, which is a rough situation to deal with -- you learn to be very conscientious about not letting those situations happen. The closest equivalent in HLD would I think be getting stunlocked, which is rarer but also more difficult to avoid.

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Yeah, I agree that it's possible to deal with mobs of enemies, as many of the games have mobs that attack, my point was more that it's a lot harder than HLD. It was a major criticism against DSII, in that it created artificial difficulty (not something I agree with personally).

 

As you said, planning and situational awareness are important in Souls when encountering groups of enemies, but in HLD you can simply zip away to safety, meaning the combat is more reactionary than planned. You can still plan encounters in HLD, but you can plan on the fly thanks to the mobility. 

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Yeah, it was a big adjustment for me first playing that the dash let you go through enemies but didn't give you any invulnerability -- they ended up changing one of those, and not the one I personally would have chosen, but probably better than the way it was on release overall. I definitely consider that criticism of DS2 pretty bs, at least when framed that way; 'artificial' difficulty in that case being defined merely as 'difficulty that I don't like'. Learning how to deal with more than one opponent is a vital part of the challenge of those games, and is a big part of DS1 even as early as Undead Burg. But, yeah, to keep from talking too much about Souls in the thread for a different game, the combat is definitely a lot more reactive rather than strategic in HLD, pushing you to position yourself optimally on the fly rather than try to frame each encounter so you can handle it optimally from the get-go.

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Also for the record healing wasn't instantaneous in the initial release. I don't know exact numbers, but feels maybe 3/4 of how long Estus takes in DS1? I haven't played since that patch, but it feels a weird design choice to me.

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