Topic: The PlayStation Fan Thread

@BLP_Software What I don't think people realize is that Yooka Laylee was created specifically for the fans of Banjo. Not necessarily every collectathon fan ever. Banjo has a specific, unique charm that I suppose led to it having more of a cult following rather than mass appeal. Which explains why so many people unfamiliar with the games, or who weren't particularly fond of Banjo in the past anyways, find YK to be disappointing.

That said, yeah it needs to improve on a list of things. Music could have been much better from Kirkhope. It was a disappointing show from him, but Wise's tracks were good at least. And I think people were expecting worlds to be more like the original game, where you can go in and 100% without needing to figure out when you need to backtrack like in the sequel, Tooie. After so many years, its clear they're rusty with designing platformers, but after all that, I think its exactly what was promised. We said we wanted a game like Banjo and we got it. With all the annoyances like grating voices. However things like sequence breaking really need to be addressed. I haven't done it, but seeing as you and many others have been able to, they need to fix it in any future patches or sequels

@Operative2-0 I realise that and I understand that, and I was very willing to give Yooka-Laylee a shot to experience those Banjo style games at a price that wouldn't kill me (Getting carts or an Xbox One!).

But, I don't look at a product based on what the hype is. I look at the product. What I paid for. Is what I paid for a good game for me? Not really no. I think it looks great though.

The sequence breaking is horrifically frequent. See, I know how things in Unity work. I can look at an object and tell you where the colliders are, and as such, when I realised how they had done all the objects, I figured, okay, let's see if the put empty game objects to act as invisible walls.

No, they didn't. And it would've taken no time at all. Slap an empty game object down. Size the collider to suit where you don't want a player going, and it's a solid object.

But no. They didn't. Worse, the game uses mesh colliders. Ever wonder why leaves on bushes are solid to their shape? Mesh collider. Its not a hitbox around the object, it's how Unity makes a hitbox to the geometry. I caught on fast and as it turns out, EVERYTHING has this kind of collision. Which means if it has a lip to a ledge, or the middle of a bush or pile of leaves, it's solid.

@Ralizah Firstly, I think you are one of the few to openly explain why they didn't have the greatest of times with Bloodborne (or any game for that matter), which is always nice to see. And secondly, I actually agree with your gameplay-style complaint, in that you have to be aggressive to stand a chance.

Coming from the slow and methodical gameplay in Demon's and Dark Souls, I actually disliked the game at first, so much so, I didn't return to it after a couple of weeks.

Then something clicked.

I met Father Gascoigne, and found out about his story with the little girl you talk to by the dimly-lit window. It really affected me, actually, because it was a tiny (and missable) detail in a very large and sprawling 'world'. A father and a husband becomes a beast when he was looking for his wife on the night of the hunt.

For me, committing to and accepting such a drastic gameplay change from Demon's and Dark Souls was the only way I got past that previous hurdle and played the game with a newfound mentality. I didn't play a single other game for nearly three months (I took so long to complete Bloodborne, simply because I barely had any spare time to play it).

Unlike Dark Souls, I felt that the second half of Bloodborne was better than the first. And there are at least two big optional extra areas - Cainhurst Castle (plays like a new 3D Castlevania) and the Upper Cathedral Ward - that you would have a surprisingly difficult time of naturally stumbling upon.

And the bosses! I liked them early on (Father Gascoigne, Vicar Amelia and the Blood-Starved Beast), but some of them that comes along later in the game are arguably some of the best in the entire Souls series.

Anyway, I am beginning to ramble and I am aware that what I have wrote probably won't change your mind however, I was once in a similar-ish position as you; disliked it immediately, dropped the game for a couple of weeks, returned out of curiosity then... well, it gradually ended up being my Game of the Generation.

"May you find your worth in the waking world."

@Peek-a-boo I have a love/hate relationship with the hands-off, organic storytelling in these games. On one hand, it's nice that the story isn't really pushed on you, and that you learn more if you poke around, which is the way things would actually work. On the other hand, the game doesn't really give me hints about what I'm missing, which means I just don't see a lot of it. I like the way BotW handled it, where you know there are locations you need to find to get the story, but it isn't forced on you. I don't want the game to lead me by the hand, but I also don't want to have to poke around every inch of every environment just to make sure I'm not missing some detail of the story.

Another problem I have with Souls games in general, but Bloodborne more specifically, is the lack of any kind of in-game reference for where I'm going. I don't want flashing arrows or anything, but even a rudimentary map of some sort would be nice. This isn't a "flaw" in these games (it's a design choice), but my sense of direction in general is awful, for some reason. And it's easy for me to get lost even in areas I know pretty well. As such, the open, kind of non-linear design of these games bugs me, as I get lost easily, and I can only stumble around with no idea where I'm going for so long before I get frustrated. The reason I mention Bloodborne is particularly aggravating in this regard is because, unlike Dark Souls, which at least has some pretty distinctive looking areas, everything looks pretty much the same to me. 70% of the game seems to be gothic Victorian neighborhoods or spooky wooded areas, so I often have no idea where I am in relation to the rest of the map.

While I'm griping about Souls, let me mention one last small thing: the lack of a pause button. Now, I get it: not a flaw, but a design choice, and it makes sense when online features are integrated seamlessly into the game world, but all the same, it makes me avoid the game more often than not. This might not be an issue for people who live alone, but if you're part of a family, and if distractions are just a part of life, it can be really aggravating to play something that won't let you stop the action for a moment. Very inconvenient. I've tried pushing the home button as a substitute for a pause button, but I'm still unsure if that actually stops what's going on in the game.

The comparison to Castlevania is interesting! It certainly feels more like a proper 3D Castlevania than that last one we got, which was a sort of GoW knockoff. Maybe I'd take more to the hyper-aggressive feel of the game if I went in expecting something more like that.

If we're talking bosses... I'll admit there were a few cool ones. While the first boss fight is pretty rudimentary, I really like how it starts. You're just walking along a bridge, and some gargantuan monster just leaps down onto the bridge in front of you and starts lumbering forward, followed by ominous choir music. It's pretty unsettling the first time you see it, and the transition from world exploration to boss fight was pretty brilliant.

In terms of the actual boss designs, my favorites would have to be Darkbeast Paarl and Amygdala. Paarl because its lightning attacks were hard to learn, making it super-satisfying to beat (plus, look at the thing! It's hideous!) And Amygdala just felt different from any of the other bosses I encountered: loved his spider-like design, in particular. He was one particularly tough nut to crack.

Most of the other bosses I fought just kind of became indistinguishable from eachother, though. Dozens of fleshy, tendriled Lovecraftian monstrosities.

@Ralizah Some interesting points you have raised there!

As I was saying before, the reason why Bloodborne took so long for me to complete is not just the lack of spare time (and slap bang in the middle of my final year of teacher training too), but because of the 'design choice committee' of not implementing a pause button, as well as the nature of the game being (too) difficult to drop when you are needed elsewhere.

At least the offline mode allows you to hide somewhere safe-ish, save/quit to the title screen and come back to it another day. And yes, the open design of certain levels, especially Forbidden Woods (and those horrible snakes-like enemies) even makes a person with a great sense of direction like me end up running around in circles, which I can only imagine is much worse for you.

I believe that the murky atmosphere is a design choice thing, mostly because it is a separate visual layer rather than a basic foggy effect. That too can make things have a sense of familiarity in terms of the environments, except from the changing of the (pale or blood) moon, which affects the time - and tone - of the day.

I had to resort to a guide for one thing in particular, but even then, it was mostly because I did not have the luxury of walking around and finding out for myself, and preferred to simply 'get on with things' at the time.

It's perfectly fine if you have little desire to return. If you got as far as defeating Amygdala, then I think it's safe to say that you gave the game a fair old try! Most folks seem to give up somewhere along the narrow cobblestone street that leads up to the bonfire, or when they meet those two werewolves on the bridge...

I'm actually sitting on an (old) NG+ save point in which the nearest boss is this:

I don't know whether it's already done but wouldn't it be interesting if the Souls games introduced the BotW blood moon concept.

@Peek-a-boo

I found that same inverse in quality between Bloodborne and Dark Souls.
Dark Souls 1 is brilliant for the first 10 hours or so and then declines after that. Bloodborne was fairly dull for the first 10 hours and then gets better after that. Cainhurst and Nightmare of Mensis I thought were both excellent.

Dark Souls 3 was quite even in quality throughout.

@Grumblevolcano

What would that mean though? The enemies already regenerate.

@Peek-a-boo Oh yeah, I'm sure the murkiness is intentional. I just wish murkiness hadn't been married to big, open-ended environments that are hard to navigate and differentiate.

I do want to replay it one day, as there are aspects of it I enjoyed (especially the way the initially frustrating combat 'clicks' with a player after a few hours of frustration and the game becomes a hundred times easier). I'm just going to do a few things to make my experience more pleasant. Primarily, I'm going to print out a map so that I have some idea of how the various areas connect. I'll also look up how to access some of the game's hidden areas, NPCs, etc. so that I get a fuller experience of the game (I got pretty far, but I know there's a lot I've yet to see).

I'll treat it like The Legend of Zelda. For reference, I'd never enjoyed trying to play the game on my own with no help, as I found its world confusing, exploration was repetitive, and enemy encounters were brutally difficult. I finally resolved to just enjoy the game one day, so I printed out a map, consulted a guide for the order in which I should visit the dungeons and, I'll confess, I had a much, much nicer time with the game.

@Dezzy Again, we have slightly different views on the Souls series; I wholeheartedly agree with you in regards to Bloodborne having a slow start, followed by a consistently brilliant second half whilst Dark Souls gradually declined in quality after fighting - and eventually defeating - Ornstein & Smough in Anor Londo.

Dark Souls III was a mixed bag for me; I would argue that the game doesn't truly shine until you reach Irithyll of the Boreal Valley where the likes of Lothric Castle, Grand Archives and Archdragon Peak follows, which are all superb locations with an interesting level design.

I didn't mind High Wall of Lothric and Undead Settlement as the starting areas however, the places that followed the latter two made me go through a 'slog phase' whereby I wasn't all that bothered to play the game. The Road of Sacrifices, Cathedral of the Deep, Farron Keep, Catatombs of Carthus and the Smouldering Lake were all hard work in terms of mustering up the enthusiasm (to get through) for me.

After five areas in a row that I didn't particularly enjoy, especially Farron Keep and Catatombs of Carthus (urgh...) it was a genuine relief when I defeated High Lord Wolnir and walked up the steep stone staircase to see that bright white moon and a castle that's bathed under a twilight sky.

Probably my favourite moment in the whole game, that was.

@Ralizah Oh, I don't see why not! I have used a map for some games in the past, and they actually make the experience somewhat more enjoyable.

If it's any help, this is a particularly useful guide as it tell you everything there is to know about all the areas, and it doesn't spoil things in advance either. The colour-coded map below shows Yharnam and beyond:

A spoiler free Bloodborne walkthrough.

A detailed study of Bloodborne progression maps.

I hope they may be of some help!

@Peek-a-boo Thanks for the resources! I almost never rely on external help for most games, but once I get to the point where I'm struggling to enjoy something, I'll do whatever I need to do to get the most out of it. Not sure I'll ever get all the trophies, but the least I can do is revisit it sometime and see it to the end.

So sony(or whoever is helping make it.) reuploaded the sly cooper movie trailer recently. I would love a new Sly game, or even just the PS2 trilogy on PS4.

@Peek-a-boo

I like Lothric Castle the best. They are brilliant at designing castles. It reminds me of Mont Saint Michel:

@Ralizah @Dezzy As ever, it is always a pleasure for me to talk about Bloodborne and Dark/Demon's Souls however, I feel like this thread is going to end up being renamed in honour of said series!

I have been playing the Gran Turismo Sport beta (again) this weekend, and there are certain moments when I genuinely believe that the game I am playing is comparable to real life. It simply boggles the mind!

The drivers animations - and how he reacts to the most subtle movements inside the car - is superb.

This and Star Wars Battlefront II will take up a significant amount of my spare time later in the year...

@Peek-a-boo

Is that on the regular PS4?

@Dezzy You can see a small handful of those gifs on GT Planet, and the guy played the Gran Turismo Sport beta on his OG PlayStation 4. Crazy, isn't it?

In other news, Bluepoint Games are working on an unannounced remaster:

It could be any of the following; Demon's Souls, inFAMOUS 1 and 2, Killzone 2 and 3 or the Resistance Trilogy.

I'd like to replay Killzone 2, which was my second favourite FPS last generation however, a Demon's Souls remaster would literally make me squeal with happiness! It would sell very well too, going off of the back of the popularity of both Bloodborne and Dark Souls.

@Peek-a-boo Both remasters that they've done have had a sequel come soon after (Uncharted 4 came in 2016 and Gravity Rush 2 came in 2017) so if the games you list are the only possibilities maybe Resistance Trilogy and Resistance 4 announced at E3?

@Grumblevolcano Maybe. That was my initial thought as well. However, it clearly says ''to please the masses''. If that's relevant in any way, I could see it being another remaster in the vein of the Crash Trilogy, Wipeout Collection, Parappa the Rapper, etc. Just a remaster of a classic PS1/PS2 title.

If it's a remaster to drum up interest for a sequel, I have no idea what it could be. Most likely related to an unannounced project if that's the case.

I wouldn't mind a true SOTC remaster though, as I never had the chance to play the PS3 remaster.

I am pretty sure that Ted Price (head of Insomniac Games) said that Resistance was always going to be a trilogy, and that the third game was going to be the conclusion to the story they wanted to tell.

And since they only just finished Ratchet & Clank a year ago whilst developing Spider-Man at the same time too, I highly doubt that a fourth Resistance game is on the cards. The third game sold the least (out of the three) as well so, who knows if they ever feel compelled to go back one day.

Anyway, my number one most anticipated indie game of this year is out tomorrow, hooray!

Destructoid and Polygon have both given the game a very glowing review along with two 9/10's, and Eurogamer concludes their review by writing, "An elegiac, memorable and affecting tale of the misfortunes suffered by the members of a deeply eccentric family."

Rock, Paper, Shotgun are even more glowing!

Talk about too many games, again: tomorrow will see the trio of Little Nightmares, Outlast II and What Remains of Edith Finch being released all at once. The other two will have to wait by the sidelines, I'm afraid...

That's a weird coincidence. Three horror-ish indie titles on the same day. Anyway, I think I'll get What Remains of Edith Finch tomorrow, I still have no idea what the game is about, but I've only heard positive things so far. However, Little Nightmares seems to be receiving positive reviews as well.

Wasn't there another indie title coming this week? GNOG and RiME are May, but I could've sworn there was another one this month...

Sony posted a new gameplay demo for Hob, still looking good: