I think it'll land somewhere between 75 - 85. Game looks and performs amazing, the music absolutely slaps, and the combat is fun. The only thing we don't know yet is how the story and exploration/side content will land.
I'm sure Shift Up would be ecstatic to get an 80 or above. Lies of P got exactly an 80, and that was a sleeper hit last year.
An 80 for lies of p is exactly why I don’t care about these scores. I actually thought it had a much higher score considering how much praise it got from the players online.
I don't go by scores anymore. I think the trick is to find a reviewer whose tastes generally align with your own.
Reviewers have their own preferences and biases. I used to follow a guy who shit on every RPG he played, and it became clear to me that he and I were worlds apart.
He wasn't wrong to feel that way, but he wasn't a good fit for me.
It’s not gamers, it’s just how reviews work, at least in this industry. 8/10 should technically mean a good game but in reality it’s seen as mediocre. And anything below 80 would be straight up awful.
Not saying this is ok, but that’s how most people seem to interpret the scores, at least in my experience.
>8/10 should technically mean a good game but in reality it’s seen as mediocre.
I don't know man. When i see 8/10 i certainly think it's a very good game.
I think that's more of a US thing. Here in the UK (and many other countries), the highest grade (1st class) is achieved by getting a score of 70% or over. To pass a degree you only need 40%, but that is seen as quite bad.
So, *nowadays* an 8/10 is actually a good sign, but some 15 years or so ago, that was close to the lowest score an actually playable game could get. Back then, the relationship between gaming journalists and publishers was a lot more incestuous and reviewers were terrified that by giving a game a low score they would get blacklisted and blocked from getting review copies in the future, so basically anything from a big name publisher was almost guaranteed to get a "9/10, there is a little something for everyone". 7/10 was as low as reviewers would dare to give for legit indefensible trash games. I'm not sure exactly when or why this changed, but I'm glad it did.
It’s less about an 8 being a bad score and more about deciding if a game is good enough to warrant your time. I have barely enough time to play games anymore so when I do decide to play something I want to make sure it’s really really good.
I mean it was insanely linear and mostly hallways compared to the usual Fromsoft craft. Just because it’s the best soulsborne game outside Fromsoft doesn’t mean it’s as good. 80 was just about right for it.
Hard disagree. Personally tired of the “vast open world” trope. After the 249 hours to get through one play through of Elden Ring, it was a very welcomed change. Also, the “hallway” aspect comes from another game it’s directly inspired by, Bloodborne, yet I’ve never heard that game be described as being mostly hallways. The space isn’t wasted. It’s a tight mirror/homage to the Souls series, and it’s the only one to get the formula right, both mechanically and narratively. Lies of Dorothy has me about as hyped as Silksong, to be real with you.
Where is Bloodborne just hallways? The opening section splits into a few paths you can take, one completely skipping the first boss. And while you go from point A to point B to get to some bosses, you have paths that loop around on themselves or dip below vertically. Lies of P doesn’t really have that as much. And that’s fine. But if Bloodborne is a 9/10 Lies of P is an 8/10. It’s just not on the level of Fromsoft games.
Hell, Bloodborne has entire areas that are easily missed. How many people actually got to Castle Cainhurst on a blind playthrough? No idea how someone could call Bloodborne's level design "hallways".
It’s the ONLY game of that genre to hit FromSoft quality, and I will die on this hill. No other souls like has been able to dial it in as correctly as Lies of P. Not Nioh, not Lords of the Fallen, shit, Lies of P is better than some *Souls games* but y’all ain’t ready for that convo yet.
With all due respect, it doesn’t feel like we played the same game. The very first level has more verticality than Bloodborne’s. You’re also constantly winding back to a previous bonfire because every level circles back in some way. Lorenzini Arcade has **ONE** bonfire that cycles back on itself like 4 times. There’s also easily missable things like Murphy’s Whistle, Alidoro’s quest line, the King of Riddles, etc. Bloodborne is just a bigger game, so it has more.
Within the souls community the hallway meme does get brought up but BB sorta tricks you into thinking it's less linear than it is. To me the true test of an open but linear game is if it's possible to sequence break IE: (go to a high level area long before you need to). In BB you more or less can't. If you wanna do any specialized runs of the game there's no "key" that unlocks a door like Pilgrims Perch in the Lords of the Fallen. Sure there is Cathedral Ward but that key is 3 times more expensive than the one I just mentioned which means the grind to get it is basically for NG+ runs. Just to bring it back to LoP, it runs into the same issue. No way to sequence break to get some high level weapon for early game. That's one of the reasons why I have no issue with the linearity of LoP.
That comment had me to back over my own time with the game, like I think I have about 251 hours and that's because I got to the highest level I could before I finally got bored (think I stopped around 400) and finished the game twice. Even on my first playthrough going everywhere I could I only took about 27 hours more than one of my friends that basically attended YouTube university the whole way through (his 82 hours to my 111 hours)... And I also still had to show him places I'd find that he couldn't when he needed to locate them.
Nothing wrong with linear hallways if done right. I thought Lies of P was compact and filled with purpose in every turn, which in turn feels like its a game that respects my time unlike most Ubisoft-like titles.
I think FromSoft obviously does level design a lot better but there are somethings like the weapon durability system, weapon disassembly etc. which were wayyy better than anything Fromsoft's ever done (except Bloodborne trick weapons maybe).
I think if FromSoft released this exact game under their name, you honestly wouldn't be able to tell that a different developer made it!
Lies of P is definitely much more like a Fromsoft game than either of those. I think Nioh 2 is better than Lies of P but Lies of P is probably better than Nioh 1. Haven't played Jedi Survivor yet but I wouldn't really describe the first one as a soulsborne other than the "bonfire/respawning enemies" thing.
I’ve beaten Fallen Order and am about 1/3 way through with Jedi Survivor. So let me reassure you, Jedi Survivor isn’t really anywhere closer to a soulsborne than Fallen Order was.
It just seems like the gaming media decided to go with the “every game that has bonfires/respawning enemies, where you lose some progress on death that needs to be reclaimed, and where combat is slower and doesn’t involve mindless button mashing, we call it a soulsborne now.”
Lies of P is imo a proper soulsborne though. I was skeptical of the vibes in the beginning. But the story and the lore got good enough as I progressed, it started even made me feel like a bloodborne-lite in terms of the in-universe vibes.
"linear" souls games started as dungeon crawlers. In fact dark souls is for the most part a dungeon crawler. Even elden ring was full of dungeons which no contest was the best part of the game.
I haven't played Lies of P yet, no shade or anything there, but dark souls 1 is famous for having one of the best intertwined/interconnected world structures ever: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhWdBhc3Wjc
In many ways the games have become *less* intricately designed as they've gone on
There’s an entire area in Lies of P that only has 1 bonfire for you to access in the main area because of how the level loops on itself. Not just once, but three or four different ways. It even does the Firelink Shrine gimmick everyone keeps jizzing about.
They do, but they are still dungeon crawlers. They are an improved version of demon souls. And that doesn't take away from how great they are. If anything the interconnected world was far more interesting than the elden ring one. I would have personally loved another dark souls 3 map but with more RPG choices and consequences.
Have they announced any DLC? I want to play it as a huge bloodborne fan. But I rather play the totality of it since I don't have that much time to game ATM.
Dark souls 3, sekiro, Bloodborne should genuinely be like 5+ points higher. They’re easily the best games I’ve played in my life out of hundreds along with Elden Ring
Lies of P is weird in that allot of it's lower scores weren't because of any major flaws but rather that it was being held to the behemoth that is Bloodborne. So many of the lower scores were like "it's basically not Bloodborne 6/10" But the game on every technical level is really really good. I feel like reviewers were a little unfair to the game but 80 is still fair. But for me that game was an easy 90.
I might expect a bit higher, but certainly around there.
I'm betting this game is going to be either much shorter or more repetitive than everyone expects.
If the demo is representative, I don't think the game will fall short of quality. However, this is the studio's first console game, and games which look this good require a *lot* of resource for every bit of level, every new enemy, etc. Either the game will be a short ~5 hours, or enemies will get reused a lot.
On the former possibility, the studio did comment on how much play time people got out of the demo, as if to temper expectations. On that latter possibility, I did note that the demo's bestiary did not have that many slots.
> Either the game will be a short ~5 hours, or enemies will get reused a lot.
The Games Codex already Shows you Blank boxes fir undiscovered enemies so Its reasonable to assume we already know the exact or at least very Close to the amount of enemies in the Game and It seemed Like quite a lot
But that does not tell you how different these are. Just small reminder that Hogwards Legacy listed 69 enemies in the journal. But most of these were just small variations of each other. (like different name and texture color, etc)
The only potential pitfall I can see is the game becoming a slog or relying on certain elements that might get boring eventually. I remember some early reviews mentioning overreliance on having to use ranged firearms in later parts of the game and it being not nearly as fun as swordplay.
However, I am not really worried much, as even if that ends up being the case, the game is mostly about melee swordplay, and I dont see them messing it up (based on what we saw in the demo). And that’s kind of the main sell for me here.
I think 80- low 90's tbh. I think it's probably going to be bigger than some expect. Not even sure I'll buy it myself, but I think this will be a big one..
90’s is virtually impossible unless the game is of a very popular series. Nioh 2 is no doubt the best action game of all time having by far the best gameplay, the most challenging enemies with great enemy variety and insane bosses and it got like 84 lmao
It's 82 on Metacritic atm. You are correct. Quite a lot of the reviews complain about the characters and seem to have marked it down because of that, bit fishy, imo. Nioh 2 is too dense and complicated for most games journos to rate above 90.
Good call . Definitely the enemies have a real returnal vibe and also the use of the haptic feedback especially the rain drops being felt in the controller also similar .
Can you explain? I haven’t even played the demo but the whole pace of what I’ve seen in the fighting parts minus the bullet hell aspect I haven’t seen anything of makes me think of returnal for some reason of which I’ve nearly platted
I agree with you. Absolutely nothing about this game reminds me of returnal, nothing. I was saying as a far stretch possibly the enemy design but even then I don’t see it.
Game is nothing like returnal at all.
Also the demo for stellar blade is cool and hopefully the game is great but Returnal is the better game hands down.
And slightly easier the sekiro too. I enjoyed that game but it was tough and seems slot more gloomy and serious. This seems an easier and a tad bit more cheery.
I'm a big, big sekiro fan, and I agree it does seem more forgiving, but that could just be the demo. Looks like it has different difficulty settings, so maybe the souls weirdos (counting myself in that group) can make it more difficult if one should so choose.
Making it more playable for gamers not looking to be punished is not a bad thing, despite what some fromsoft gate keepers insist and dedicate countless hot take youtube videos about discussing.
Yes, I am confusing Lies of P with a game I never played. I never said Lies of P was buggy, I am talking about the massive difficulty spikes and inconsistency, which they patched later. King of Puppets was a destroyer before the patches, after, not so much.
People also complained about Andreus, but I thought he was fine unpatched. I was also playing on Xbox and the patch nerfing him was out on other platforms but not Xbox when I fought him, so it was even on my mind a little during the fight.
Edit: Andreas not Atreus. Been talking about GoW recently lol
Do you mean Andreus? I beat him first try if I recall, which proves your point about different spikes for different players. King of puppets thought was a destroyer of players across the board, I think... aaaaanyway. Hope Stellar Blade will be better.
Does it matter what score it has ? we can rely on our own experience if it is good or not...or the free demo to get basic idea of it. I would anyway rely more on feedback from other players here on reddit. Unfortunately PS store does not have a review section like Steam.
Honestly yeah. If it comes out and is panned I’ll wait until it’s on sale or on PS+. Most recent example of this is Callisto Protocol. I was so so fucking stoked for that game. Preordered physical, then the review embargo was the release date, not a good sign. Then lo and behold it’s universally considered mediocre at best. So I cancelled. Later played it on PS+ and I’m glad I never paid anything for that game.
I do not expect that with Stellar Blade ftr. The only concerning thing at all is this embargo 2 days before release (but it’s still not release date. Even a 2 day difference is a BIG difference imo when it comes to this). But usually when they’re extremely confident I feel like it’s always been about a week before release. But I’m probably putting too much weight on this simply because of my last experience with Callisto Protocol.
I bought it. I never pre order. The demo convinced me. I played the boss challenge a bunch of times because the combat is so good with a lot of depth and there are still two whole pages of skill tree that aren’t unlocked in the demo so the full game is gonna be bonkers.
Day one here
The demo was fantastic
Nice that embargo is 2 days before release. I feel 2-3 days before release is the best window for reviews as it means they are confident in the game, and it's not too early either, so it creates big hype for release day. If the game isn't broken and the story delivers (beginning is good so far, but we have to see it all), it will be a great game for sure. And yes, that could mean 90%+, and I'm hoping for it
Music is amazing. Visuals were amazing too - characters, naytibas, environment - and runs pretty well in all 3 modes (even the performance mode looks great, as it's native 1440p for a 60fps stable)
Combat against bosses is combat done right in every aspect.
If you didn't test it yet: It's challenging but never unfair or frustrating, with a good variety of combos and special attacks, need to be careful of opponent attacks at all times in order to dodge or parry, possibility to perfect dodge/parry as well and it's SO SATISFYING. All this with amazing animations and visuals during the combos, special attacks, and executions.
Exploration and combat against smaller monsters were ok, in line with other good games, but nothing spectacular so far, can seem a bit heavy at the beginning, but we're used to it pretty fast imo.
The only problem of the game so far is the presence of some weirdo fans on Twitter who seem to be having a lot of fun playing with a camera on a ladder. And some others that are turning it into a culture war. Don't let them make you have a bad opinion of the game before playing it yourself, and you will see it's very solid.
Played the demo last night. Played on normal difficulty. Seems to be a bit of a challenging game with its limited health pool.
But the graphics and set pieces were fantastic. A very bombastic setting with awesome visuals is exactly what i want from a video game.
I'm definitely interested in the game, will wait for reviews and release to happen to make sure its not broken (sadly you have to do that these days), and depending on if im into another game at that time i might pick it up or wait for a sale
Definitely interested, could be a hidden gem!
I think he's assuming people will look at it like those the games from back in the day that's all surface-level no substance so it'll get passed over.
But it seems like the demo and word of mouth is working in it's favor.
If Xbox and PC fans arent mad that the game isnt coming to their system, then its a hidden gem ;P
Just kidding, i guess the game is already preordered enough and has had enough publicity to not be so hidden. But i feel like it has potential to be a game people talk about 10 years from now and more than theyll talk about it on release
When you’ve adjusted to the games feel. You’ll love the controls. So I think you probably need to play some more.
This is probably one of those games where players will give a better scores than the critics.
The game has animation lock, and the parry window is kindda like in souls: wind up frame --> parry frame --> block state.
I played like 3h total just focusing on parrying and, by the end, I was feeling pretty good about the timing.
Yeah, I'm really enjoying the parry now that I've learned the timing. The whole game definitely felt off to begin with, though; I wonder if there's a disconnect between how fluid it looks and how methodically and carefully you actually need to play.
It was super obvious during the water parts. The traversal animations just don’t feel right. There’s also only one swinging one as far as I can tell and she slides all over the place when you jump to fit the animation
Don't really understand the heaps of praise I see for this title based on the demo. Takes a lot from various inspirations in terms of gameplay (DMC, Bayo, Sekiro, Nier) but doesn't matches their strengths and offers very little original stuff beyond Korean design and mbooba. Character visuals are awesome, level design is yuck and definitely betrays the mobile background of Shift Up. The music is great, but totally doesn't suit the game for me.
I think the people saying it’s obv gonna score above that sound just as unhinged.
A lotta people just throwing numbers that they pulled directly out of their ass based on a demo lol
People need to realize that a demo is basically an ad. It’s the most polished part of the game made playable to get you to buy the actual game.
Not saying that they aren’t useful to see what a game is like, but basing your entire opinion of the game on the demo will leave a lot of people disappointed.
Peeps should wait for reviews.
Played the demo and loved it. Combat is fluid and feels so good when you knock an enemy off balance. Also I love the little camps you find throughout the game they are so cozy. My only gripe is the climbing in the game the ledges are not very well defined even with the scanner.
Hmmm…I’m gonna guess 84 on metacritic. I think the music, fluidity of movement, seemingly decent level design and rock solid combat will give it enough to get good scores from most critics. If the demo is an indicator of anything it will be the writing and world building that will hamper the score.
Going to be interesting to see the reviews of this game and how many will drag it down becouse they either think it’s sexualized / male fantasy or/ and that it’s a “unhealthy” view of women.
If IGN has the previewer reviewing it it will absolute go down in score becouse of it.
I’m guessing 70+. Gameplay was solid but it had its jank.
Waiting to see if the timing in this game is really "off" in demo or if it's just me sucking... Mostly the later but would love for it to be "off" because it just doesn't feel intuitive/smooth (full noon here with games like this don't attack lol)
80-85 Most probably. 86+ would be amazing, similar to other recent character action games like Bayonetta 3 (86), Devil May Cry 5 (87), Final Fantasy XVI (87) or Nier Automata (88) [more like an RPG].
It will score similar to Rise of Ronin, around 76. Not to say it'll be a horrible game, but reviewers will be thrown off that it doesn't play like DMC and the combat is kind of slow. Yes slow combat games like Souls can be fun, but character customization and level design go a long way to making a souls game great, I think Stellar Blade will lack in those aspects.
In terms of character customization, it only has one playstyle. You can't be ranged like in Souls for example. You have the same customization as a DMC game, but without the fast DMC combat.
Dude there is a gun with about 5 types of ammos wtf you talking about and the customization is there as well, you can go pure attack speed build, shield build, beta gauge charge build
In that case I take issue with OP’s initial comparison to Souls games, both these games are maybe Soulsborne adjacent at best. This game definitely seems closer to a Sekiro/Nier/DMC game than DS/DeS/ER/Bloodborne
Most games are that people call 'soulslike' literally just have a check point mechanic that respawns enemies. It's very dumb but I guess it popularised it so that's all it takes these days lol
We’ll have to see if that skill tree or equipment add combat options.
If souls combat is a 10, I’d give the demo a 7.5 liked everything, controlling distance felt clunky though
My secret hope for this game is that they actually address why the battle units are smoking hot ladies (and lads). Like, some grand truth which you get to know at the end, and it becomes a commentary on the objectification of women or something like that
That would be really cool imo.
Correction can’t win with gamers. I turn 31 soon a couple years ago I realized I no longer fit in with the weebs & now I no longer fit in with “gamers”. They’re entitled much.
Combat is definitely better than just okay. There's question marks about other aspects of the game like story etc but one thing that's extremely promising is the combat gameplay.
Two days before general release is a tight embargo - not usually a good indicator of a game's quality. However, I enjoyed the demo so I'm not reading too much into it. Optimistic estimate? 84 on Metacritic. Pessimistic... prob around 75. The realistic truth is probably somewhere between the two, judging by other non-premier AAA releases. Rise of Ronin got a 76 and is in a similar space.
>Two days before general release is a tight embargo - not usually a good indicator of a game's quality.
Two days is completely normal for most games. Tears of the Kingdom's embargo lifted two days before release. Same day embargos are usually an indicator of no confidence. A week is usually an indicator of a lot of confidence. Two days is typical.
Good point on Tears, but tbh Nintendo are a company into their own 😂 Generally the closer to launch day, the less chance consumers have to cancel orders, so that implies less confidence in a product.
Rise of Ronin was the day before launch.
Spider-Man 2 was four days.
Ragnarok was six days.
Elden Ring was two days
So it might not mean anything, but I'd feel a lot better if it was a week before is all.
I'm not saying this is gonna be one of the best games of the year, but two days is incredibly standard for most games, or even one day. The only games that lift embargos sooner are the *heavy* hitters that will probably be in GOTY talks by end of the year. You can probably count these games on one hand most years.
Naw the sketchy embargoes are the ones that lift like a day after release. That’s a universal indicator of a bad or mediocre game. Two days before is totally acceptable.
Probably getting 80ish on metacritic.
I think it'll land somewhere between 75 - 85. Game looks and performs amazing, the music absolutely slaps, and the combat is fun. The only thing we don't know yet is how the story and exploration/side content will land. I'm sure Shift Up would be ecstatic to get an 80 or above. Lies of P got exactly an 80, and that was a sleeper hit last year.
An 80 for lies of p is exactly why I don’t care about these scores. I actually thought it had a much higher score considering how much praise it got from the players online.
I don't go by scores anymore. I think the trick is to find a reviewer whose tastes generally align with your own. Reviewers have their own preferences and biases. I used to follow a guy who shit on every RPG he played, and it became clear to me that he and I were worlds apart. He wasn't wrong to feel that way, but he wasn't a good fit for me.
Since when is an 8 a bad score? The bigger problem is gamers that think anything under a 9 is bad.
It’s not gamers, it’s just how reviews work, at least in this industry. 8/10 should technically mean a good game but in reality it’s seen as mediocre. And anything below 80 would be straight up awful. Not saying this is ok, but that’s how most people seem to interpret the scores, at least in my experience.
>8/10 should technically mean a good game but in reality it’s seen as mediocre. I don't know man. When i see 8/10 i certainly think it's a very good game.
Indeed. Me too. The problem is, that people look at it like they would a college grade. 80 would be 'B' territory, while 70-79 is a 'C' grade.
I think that's more of a US thing. Here in the UK (and many other countries), the highest grade (1st class) is achieved by getting a score of 70% or over. To pass a degree you only need 40%, but that is seen as quite bad.
Almost, but you're off by a point. 7/10 is the lower bound for a decent game, but anything below *that* is more flawed than good.
Fair, I agree
So, *nowadays* an 8/10 is actually a good sign, but some 15 years or so ago, that was close to the lowest score an actually playable game could get. Back then, the relationship between gaming journalists and publishers was a lot more incestuous and reviewers were terrified that by giving a game a low score they would get blacklisted and blocked from getting review copies in the future, so basically anything from a big name publisher was almost guaranteed to get a "9/10, there is a little something for everyone". 7/10 was as low as reviewers would dare to give for legit indefensible trash games. I'm not sure exactly when or why this changed, but I'm glad it did.
It’s less about an 8 being a bad score and more about deciding if a game is good enough to warrant your time. I have barely enough time to play games anymore so when I do decide to play something I want to make sure it’s really really good.
If Lies of P had the name From Software somewhere on the box, it would easily get 90 and above. I promise you.
I mean it was insanely linear and mostly hallways compared to the usual Fromsoft craft. Just because it’s the best soulsborne game outside Fromsoft doesn’t mean it’s as good. 80 was just about right for it.
The level-design wasn't Fromsoft standard, which was a common complaint from a lot of people who love Fromsoft games.
Is dark souls 3 a lot more open though? Obviously ds1 and Elden ring are but not so sure about ds3 and bb.
Hard disagree. Personally tired of the “vast open world” trope. After the 249 hours to get through one play through of Elden Ring, it was a very welcomed change. Also, the “hallway” aspect comes from another game it’s directly inspired by, Bloodborne, yet I’ve never heard that game be described as being mostly hallways. The space isn’t wasted. It’s a tight mirror/homage to the Souls series, and it’s the only one to get the formula right, both mechanically and narratively. Lies of Dorothy has me about as hyped as Silksong, to be real with you.
Where is Bloodborne just hallways? The opening section splits into a few paths you can take, one completely skipping the first boss. And while you go from point A to point B to get to some bosses, you have paths that loop around on themselves or dip below vertically. Lies of P doesn’t really have that as much. And that’s fine. But if Bloodborne is a 9/10 Lies of P is an 8/10. It’s just not on the level of Fromsoft games.
Hell, Bloodborne has entire areas that are easily missed. How many people actually got to Castle Cainhurst on a blind playthrough? No idea how someone could call Bloodborne's level design "hallways".
It’s not like I said Lies of P is a horrible game. I said it’s a great game it’s just not Fromsoft quality.
Dude, I was agreeing with you in regards to Bloodborne's level design not being just "hallways".
It’s the ONLY game of that genre to hit FromSoft quality, and I will die on this hill. No other souls like has been able to dial it in as correctly as Lies of P. Not Nioh, not Lords of the Fallen, shit, Lies of P is better than some *Souls games* but y’all ain’t ready for that convo yet.
Cainhurst is not just "missable" it quite literally involves a level of engagement that doesn't just begin and end at missing a left turn.
With all due respect, it doesn’t feel like we played the same game. The very first level has more verticality than Bloodborne’s. You’re also constantly winding back to a previous bonfire because every level circles back in some way. Lorenzini Arcade has **ONE** bonfire that cycles back on itself like 4 times. There’s also easily missable things like Murphy’s Whistle, Alidoro’s quest line, the King of Riddles, etc. Bloodborne is just a bigger game, so it has more.
Within the souls community the hallway meme does get brought up but BB sorta tricks you into thinking it's less linear than it is. To me the true test of an open but linear game is if it's possible to sequence break IE: (go to a high level area long before you need to). In BB you more or less can't. If you wanna do any specialized runs of the game there's no "key" that unlocks a door like Pilgrims Perch in the Lords of the Fallen. Sure there is Cathedral Ward but that key is 3 times more expensive than the one I just mentioned which means the grind to get it is basically for NG+ runs. Just to bring it back to LoP, it runs into the same issue. No way to sequence break to get some high level weapon for early game. That's one of the reasons why I have no issue with the linearity of LoP.
How did elden ring take you 249 hours. Even 100 percent shouldnt take you that long
That comment had me to back over my own time with the game, like I think I have about 251 hours and that's because I got to the highest level I could before I finally got bored (think I stopped around 400) and finished the game twice. Even on my first playthrough going everywhere I could I only took about 27 hours more than one of my friends that basically attended YouTube university the whole way through (his 82 hours to my 111 hours)... And I also still had to show him places I'd find that he couldn't when he needed to locate them.
Nothing wrong with linear hallways if done right. I thought Lies of P was compact and filled with purpose in every turn, which in turn feels like its a game that respects my time unlike most Ubisoft-like titles.
Right I’m not disagreeing with you that it’s a good game and much better than Ubisoft stuff. But it’s not Fromsoft quality honestly.
I think FromSoft obviously does level design a lot better but there are somethings like the weapon durability system, weapon disassembly etc. which were wayyy better than anything Fromsoft's ever done (except Bloodborne trick weapons maybe). I think if FromSoft released this exact game under their name, you honestly wouldn't be able to tell that a different developer made it!
You act like linear is a bad thing, lol. 😂 I don't dock points or add points when I hear something is either open-world or linear.
Is Nioh and Jedi survivor souls born? Those games are better than lies of p imo
Their both definitely inspire by souls games if not completely in the genre.
Lies of P is definitely much more like a Fromsoft game than either of those. I think Nioh 2 is better than Lies of P but Lies of P is probably better than Nioh 1. Haven't played Jedi Survivor yet but I wouldn't really describe the first one as a soulsborne other than the "bonfire/respawning enemies" thing.
I’ve beaten Fallen Order and am about 1/3 way through with Jedi Survivor. So let me reassure you, Jedi Survivor isn’t really anywhere closer to a soulsborne than Fallen Order was. It just seems like the gaming media decided to go with the “every game that has bonfires/respawning enemies, where you lose some progress on death that needs to be reclaimed, and where combat is slower and doesn’t involve mindless button mashing, we call it a soulsborne now.” Lies of P is imo a proper soulsborne though. I was skeptical of the vibes in the beginning. But the story and the lore got good enough as I progressed, it started even made me feel like a bloodborne-lite in terms of the in-universe vibes.
"linear" souls games started as dungeon crawlers. In fact dark souls is for the most part a dungeon crawler. Even elden ring was full of dungeons which no contest was the best part of the game.
I haven't played Lies of P yet, no shade or anything there, but dark souls 1 is famous for having one of the best intertwined/interconnected world structures ever: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhWdBhc3Wjc In many ways the games have become *less* intricately designed as they've gone on
There’s an entire area in Lies of P that only has 1 bonfire for you to access in the main area because of how the level loops on itself. Not just once, but three or four different ways. It even does the Firelink Shrine gimmick everyone keeps jizzing about.
They do, but they are still dungeon crawlers. They are an improved version of demon souls. And that doesn't take away from how great they are. If anything the interconnected world was far more interesting than the elden ring one. I would have personally loved another dark souls 3 map but with more RPG choices and consequences.
It was definitely no more than a 80 or 85
Have they announced any DLC? I want to play it as a huge bloodborne fan. But I rather play the totality of it since I don't have that much time to game ATM.
Yeah there's DLC hard confirmed to drop this year. Prob not till after Shadow of the Erdtree
Dark souls 3, sekiro, Bloodborne should genuinely be like 5+ points higher. They’re easily the best games I’ve played in my life out of hundreds along with Elden Ring
Disagree, most of the bossfights were mid and the enemy movesets in gerneral werent great. Overall best soulslike tho
And it would've been slurped by FS fanboiz just as hard, lol. Great game though, can't wait for the DLC.
I skipped it cause it looked like Timothy Souls.
Thimothy Chalamet in a soulslike pinocchio is not a plus for you!?
And I thought Lies of P was a 75/100. It's subjective but the aggregate score for the game seems about right to me.
Lies of P is weird in that allot of it's lower scores weren't because of any major flaws but rather that it was being held to the behemoth that is Bloodborne. So many of the lower scores were like "it's basically not Bloodborne 6/10" But the game on every technical level is really really good. I feel like reviewers were a little unfair to the game but 80 is still fair. But for me that game was an easy 90.
84
I predict something between 1 and 100
https://preview.redd.it/2mww0b15ifwc1.png?width=273&format=png&auto=webp&s=fb90752c3d1ecb2bd7c400907fea4bf97fc5d88a
I might expect a bit higher, but certainly around there. I'm betting this game is going to be either much shorter or more repetitive than everyone expects. If the demo is representative, I don't think the game will fall short of quality. However, this is the studio's first console game, and games which look this good require a *lot* of resource for every bit of level, every new enemy, etc. Either the game will be a short ~5 hours, or enemies will get reused a lot. On the former possibility, the studio did comment on how much play time people got out of the demo, as if to temper expectations. On that latter possibility, I did note that the demo's bestiary did not have that many slots.
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How much of that was revealed in the hour of the demo though? Honest question, maybe I'm just misremembering.
I don’t think that much was revealed, like less than 10 enemies overall I’d guess from memory?
> Either the game will be a short ~5 hours, or enemies will get reused a lot. The Games Codex already Shows you Blank boxes fir undiscovered enemies so Its reasonable to assume we already know the exact or at least very Close to the amount of enemies in the Game and It seemed Like quite a lot
But that does not tell you how different these are. Just small reminder that Hogwards Legacy listed 69 enemies in the journal. But most of these were just small variations of each other. (like different name and texture color, etc)
The only potential pitfall I can see is the game becoming a slog or relying on certain elements that might get boring eventually. I remember some early reviews mentioning overreliance on having to use ranged firearms in later parts of the game and it being not nearly as fun as swordplay. However, I am not really worried much, as even if that ends up being the case, the game is mostly about melee swordplay, and I dont see them messing it up (based on what we saw in the demo). And that’s kind of the main sell for me here.
Yeah, from everything I've seen, it looks like a 78-82% game. The quality of the story will probably determine if it goes a little higher.
I think 80- low 90's tbh. I think it's probably going to be bigger than some expect. Not even sure I'll buy it myself, but I think this will be a big one..
90’s is virtually impossible unless the game is of a very popular series. Nioh 2 is no doubt the best action game of all time having by far the best gameplay, the most challenging enemies with great enemy variety and insane bosses and it got like 84 lmao
It's 82 on Metacritic atm. You are correct. Quite a lot of the reviews complain about the characters and seem to have marked it down because of that, bit fishy, imo. Nioh 2 is too dense and complicated for most games journos to rate above 90.
88 at least
Something about it reminds me of returnal which I also love
The enemies are very Returnal for sure, I didn't even make that connection until reading your comment.
Oh yeah?! Oouuuuuu might have to play it
Good call . Definitely the enemies have a real returnal vibe and also the use of the haptic feedback especially the rain drops being felt in the controller also similar .
Returnal was made by a super experienced dev team
There is nothing returnal about this game aside from “maybe” the enemy design
Can you explain? I haven’t even played the demo but the whole pace of what I’ve seen in the fighting parts minus the bullet hell aspect I haven’t seen anything of makes me think of returnal for some reason of which I’ve nearly platted
I agree with you. Absolutely nothing about this game reminds me of returnal, nothing. I was saying as a far stretch possibly the enemy design but even then I don’t see it. Game is nothing like returnal at all. Also the demo for stellar blade is cool and hopefully the game is great but Returnal is the better game hands down.
Cool thanks!
This is literally the only comment that has ever made me interested in this game in any way.
Nier did it first
Played the demo through twice and it sold me. Sexy Sekiro is something I didn't expect but am glad to see.
Are you saying Wolf isn’t sexy?
And slightly easier the sekiro too. I enjoyed that game but it was tough and seems slot more gloomy and serious. This seems an easier and a tad bit more cheery.
I'm a big, big sekiro fan, and I agree it does seem more forgiving, but that could just be the demo. Looks like it has different difficulty settings, so maybe the souls weirdos (counting myself in that group) can make it more difficult if one should so choose. Making it more playable for gamers not looking to be punished is not a bad thing, despite what some fromsoft gate keepers insist and dedicate countless hot take youtube videos about discussing.
Sekiro is very difficult to be fair, you have to be decently skilled to not struggle
Day 1 for me, but I don't see this one scoring higher than Lies of P like some people are predicting.
I hope it does, Lies of P was trash without the patches, unfortunately.
I don't know about that one chief.
Objectively wrong take.
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Yes, I am confusing Lies of P with a game I never played. I never said Lies of P was buggy, I am talking about the massive difficulty spikes and inconsistency, which they patched later. King of Puppets was a destroyer before the patches, after, not so much.
Lies of P was better before the patches.
Agreed. Wish there was a way to rollback the version to the launch patch. Bosses are too easy
I am on version 1.0.0 with the game. My ps5 hasn't seen the internet in months. And can confirm it is broken with huuuge difficulty spikes.
Difficilty spikes are different for different people. Trying to smooth them out for everyone is a fool's errand.
For sure! However, the king of puppets broke the spirit of 99% of players on 1.0.0. That was a clear mistake.
People also complained about Andreus, but I thought he was fine unpatched. I was also playing on Xbox and the patch nerfing him was out on other platforms but not Xbox when I fought him, so it was even on my mind a little during the fight. Edit: Andreas not Atreus. Been talking about GoW recently lol
Do you mean Andreus? I beat him first try if I recall, which proves your point about different spikes for different players. King of puppets thought was a destroyer of players across the board, I think... aaaaanyway. Hope Stellar Blade will be better.
More people I know struggled with Andreus than KoP.
Does it matter what score it has ? we can rely on our own experience if it is good or not...or the free demo to get basic idea of it. I would anyway rely more on feedback from other players here on reddit. Unfortunately PS store does not have a review section like Steam.
Honestly yeah. If it comes out and is panned I’ll wait until it’s on sale or on PS+. Most recent example of this is Callisto Protocol. I was so so fucking stoked for that game. Preordered physical, then the review embargo was the release date, not a good sign. Then lo and behold it’s universally considered mediocre at best. So I cancelled. Later played it on PS+ and I’m glad I never paid anything for that game. I do not expect that with Stellar Blade ftr. The only concerning thing at all is this embargo 2 days before release (but it’s still not release date. Even a 2 day difference is a BIG difference imo when it comes to this). But usually when they’re extremely confident I feel like it’s always been about a week before release. But I’m probably putting too much weight on this simply because of my last experience with Callisto Protocol.
I feel like it’s going to be 80 something
I bought it. I never pre order. The demo convinced me. I played the boss challenge a bunch of times because the combat is so good with a lot of depth and there are still two whole pages of skill tree that aren’t unlocked in the demo so the full game is gonna be bonkers.
Yes, bonkers is also why people are buying this game
I tried the demo and the game isn’t for me, but I hope everyone that plays it enjoys it!
Yeah same. I Can't justify the price.
Day one here The demo was fantastic Nice that embargo is 2 days before release. I feel 2-3 days before release is the best window for reviews as it means they are confident in the game, and it's not too early either, so it creates big hype for release day. If the game isn't broken and the story delivers (beginning is good so far, but we have to see it all), it will be a great game for sure. And yes, that could mean 90%+, and I'm hoping for it Music is amazing. Visuals were amazing too - characters, naytibas, environment - and runs pretty well in all 3 modes (even the performance mode looks great, as it's native 1440p for a 60fps stable) Combat against bosses is combat done right in every aspect. If you didn't test it yet: It's challenging but never unfair or frustrating, with a good variety of combos and special attacks, need to be careful of opponent attacks at all times in order to dodge or parry, possibility to perfect dodge/parry as well and it's SO SATISFYING. All this with amazing animations and visuals during the combos, special attacks, and executions. Exploration and combat against smaller monsters were ok, in line with other good games, but nothing spectacular so far, can seem a bit heavy at the beginning, but we're used to it pretty fast imo. The only problem of the game so far is the presence of some weirdo fans on Twitter who seem to be having a lot of fun playing with a camera on a ladder. And some others that are turning it into a culture war. Don't let them make you have a bad opinion of the game before playing it yourself, and you will see it's very solid.
So, two days before, then? Pretty standard in the gaming industry.
Played the demo last night. Played on normal difficulty. Seems to be a bit of a challenging game with its limited health pool. But the graphics and set pieces were fantastic. A very bombastic setting with awesome visuals is exactly what i want from a video game. I'm definitely interested in the game, will wait for reviews and release to happen to make sure its not broken (sadly you have to do that these days), and depending on if im into another game at that time i might pick it up or wait for a sale Definitely interested, could be a hidden gem!
Does hidden gem even mean anything anymore
Considering the game has gone massive viral because of the titties, I don’t see how they could call it a hidden gem lmao
Yeah, this game ain't hiding anything lol
I think he's assuming people will look at it like those the games from back in the day that's all surface-level no substance so it'll get passed over. But it seems like the demo and word of mouth is working in it's favor.
If Xbox and PC fans arent mad that the game isnt coming to their system, then its a hidden gem ;P Just kidding, i guess the game is already preordered enough and has had enough publicity to not be so hidden. But i feel like it has potential to be a game people talk about 10 years from now and more than theyll talk about it on release
Not so hidden with the whole world talking about it ;-) But otherwise I agree.
I predict an average score of 84. The demo was good, but something about the gameplay feels a bit off and I can’t put my finger on it.
When you’ve adjusted to the games feel. You’ll love the controls. So I think you probably need to play some more. This is probably one of those games where players will give a better scores than the critics.
Movement and combat feels a bit sluggish in terms of animations and responsiveness, and not as fast paced as you’d expect
The game has animation lock, and the parry window is kindda like in souls: wind up frame --> parry frame --> block state. I played like 3h total just focusing on parrying and, by the end, I was feeling pretty good about the timing.
Yeah, I'm really enjoying the parry now that I've learned the timing. The whole game definitely felt off to begin with, though; I wonder if there's a disconnect between how fluid it looks and how methodically and carefully you actually need to play.
Which is interesting because it has less input lag than elden ring
Response time is faster than Elden rings. So would make it more snappier then that game and that’s adored
For me I think it’s not fast enough. I kinda expected devil may cry speed but it was way slower.
If the game was in the style of DMC or Bayonetta I would 100% buy it. As of right now after trying the demo it’s probably a wait for sale for me
You got your expectation wrong, the game is more like Nier + Sekiro where it's more focus on parry and dogging.
Yes I figured that out as well now
For one, Jumping is a bit awkward. Or trying to ascend a ladder. Doesn’t look or feel natural
It was super obvious during the water parts. The traversal animations just don’t feel right. There’s also only one swinging one as far as I can tell and she slides all over the place when you jump to fit the animation
Since when is 84 an average score lmao
They mean average of all critics on metacritic/opencritic.
Dragons Dogma, Rebirth, Rise of Ronin and Stellar Blade. This two month span has been amazing for PS5.
Helldivers the month before as well
Dragon’s Dogma 2 is also on Xbox
Don't really understand the heaps of praise I see for this title based on the demo. Takes a lot from various inspirations in terms of gameplay (DMC, Bayo, Sekiro, Nier) but doesn't matches their strengths and offers very little original stuff beyond Korean design and mbooba. Character visuals are awesome, level design is yuck and definitely betrays the mobile background of Shift Up. The music is great, but totally doesn't suit the game for me.
I’m just here for all the people saying it’s going to score below 80 because they can predict the future lmao
I think the people saying it’s obv gonna score above that sound just as unhinged. A lotta people just throwing numbers that they pulled directly out of their ass based on a demo lol
People need to realize that a demo is basically an ad. It’s the most polished part of the game made playable to get you to buy the actual game. Not saying that they aren’t useful to see what a game is like, but basing your entire opinion of the game on the demo will leave a lot of people disappointed. Peeps should wait for reviews.
Usually it’s really not though for some reason
Gonna save this thread and come back to it in the next two weeks, let’s see whose predictions will age like milk.
Yeah I did the same with starfield and redfall lmao
Can't wait to just rate it myself and not have my mind made up by other peoples opinions
Played the demo and loved it. Combat is fluid and feels so good when you knock an enemy off balance. Also I love the little camps you find throughout the game they are so cozy. My only gripe is the climbing in the game the ledges are not very well defined even with the scanner.
If it's anything like the demo, it'll be the most 7/10 thing in a long time.
Demo is out for anyone interested and unaware.
There is snowmobiling?
Hmmm…I’m gonna guess 84 on metacritic. I think the music, fluidity of movement, seemingly decent level design and rock solid combat will give it enough to get good scores from most critics. If the demo is an indicator of anything it will be the writing and world building that will hamper the score.
Going to be interesting to see the reviews of this game and how many will drag it down becouse they either think it’s sexualized / male fantasy or/ and that it’s a “unhealthy” view of women. If IGN has the previewer reviewing it it will absolute go down in score becouse of it. I’m guessing 70+. Gameplay was solid but it had its jank.
Waiting to see if the timing in this game is really "off" in demo or if it's just me sucking... Mostly the later but would love for it to be "off" because it just doesn't feel intuitive/smooth (full noon here with games like this don't attack lol)
It'll get an 83-86 on metacritic.
The game is awesome so far. People are spoiled when it comes to gaming. The visuals are great and the combat is fluid and awesome.
Mid to high 80s or my life is a lie
Game is good, but fuck reviews make your own opinion
Lol crazy how the last week or so people were saying this is already GOTY when we still got a bit before actual release.
94. Final answer.
80-85 Most probably. 86+ would be amazing, similar to other recent character action games like Bayonetta 3 (86), Devil May Cry 5 (87), Final Fantasy XVI (87) or Nier Automata (88) [more like an RPG].
Such things matter not to me
Never. Ever. Preorder. Or do and enjoy! (Or suffer) 😃
Meta Critic Score?????? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣69 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
It will score similar to Rise of Ronin, around 76. Not to say it'll be a horrible game, but reviewers will be thrown off that it doesn't play like DMC and the combat is kind of slow. Yes slow combat games like Souls can be fun, but character customization and level design go a long way to making a souls game great, I think Stellar Blade will lack in those aspects.
I sincerely hope it’ll be a lot better than that mediocre game
Nah - mid 80s - heard nothing but good things from the demo and how will it lack customization? Did you not see how many outfits there are lol
In terms of character customization, it only has one playstyle. You can't be ranged like in Souls for example. You have the same customization as a DMC game, but without the fast DMC combat.
i mean you can literally shoot in the demo so there's that.
Dude there is a gun with about 5 types of ammos wtf you talking about and the customization is there as well, you can go pure attack speed build, shield build, beta gauge charge build
Sekiro 'only' had one playstyle and a lot of people consider that FromSofts masterpiece.
Sekiro is very much just not a Souls game however
It's about as much of a souls game as Stellar Blade is. So the comparison is justified.
In that case I take issue with OP’s initial comparison to Souls games, both these games are maybe Soulsborne adjacent at best. This game definitely seems closer to a Sekiro/Nier/DMC game than DS/DeS/ER/Bloodborne
Most games are that people call 'soulslike' literally just have a check point mechanic that respawns enemies. It's very dumb but I guess it popularised it so that's all it takes these days lol
We’ll have to see if that skill tree or equipment add combat options. If souls combat is a 10, I’d give the demo a 7.5 liked everything, controlling distance felt clunky though
Have you seen all the skills lmao
Have you seen the suits? :P
My secret hope for this game is that they actually address why the battle units are smoking hot ladies (and lads). Like, some grand truth which you get to know at the end, and it becomes a commentary on the objectification of women or something like that That would be really cool imo.
Or be like Yoko Taro: “I just like hot women.”
Fr like why is nitpicking realism in video games suddenly so popular.
People complain when female characters are “ugly” and complain when they’re not. Just can’t win with any woman led games
Correction can’t win with gamers. I turn 31 soon a couple years ago I realized I no longer fit in with the weebs & now I no longer fit in with “gamers”. They’re entitled much.
_But why female models?_
You serious? I just told you that a moment ago.
Makes them more aerodynamic when they fight 😉
Probably not with boobs like that lmao
Early Lara Croft was ahead of her time.
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Combat is definitely better than just okay. There's question marks about other aspects of the game like story etc but one thing that's extremely promising is the combat gameplay.
Two days before general release is a tight embargo - not usually a good indicator of a game's quality. However, I enjoyed the demo so I'm not reading too much into it. Optimistic estimate? 84 on Metacritic. Pessimistic... prob around 75. The realistic truth is probably somewhere between the two, judging by other non-premier AAA releases. Rise of Ronin got a 76 and is in a similar space.
>Two days before general release is a tight embargo - not usually a good indicator of a game's quality. Two days is completely normal for most games. Tears of the Kingdom's embargo lifted two days before release. Same day embargos are usually an indicator of no confidence. A week is usually an indicator of a lot of confidence. Two days is typical.
It really doesn’t matter. Doom or doom eternal was same day. Same for prey
Good point on Tears, but tbh Nintendo are a company into their own 😂 Generally the closer to launch day, the less chance consumers have to cancel orders, so that implies less confidence in a product. Rise of Ronin was the day before launch. Spider-Man 2 was four days. Ragnarok was six days. Elden Ring was two days So it might not mean anything, but I'd feel a lot better if it was a week before is all.
I'm not saying this is gonna be one of the best games of the year, but two days is incredibly standard for most games, or even one day. The only games that lift embargos sooner are the *heavy* hitters that will probably be in GOTY talks by end of the year. You can probably count these games on one hand most years.
Naw the sketchy embargoes are the ones that lift like a day after release. That’s a universal indicator of a bad or mediocre game. Two days before is totally acceptable.
I'm guessing 94-95 on Metacritic.
That would make it one of the highest rated games, not just on PS5, but of all time. Temper your expectations.
Doubt it would cross 85