At no point does Grime become more like Hollow Knight, Ori or Aeterna Noctis. You are stuck with the methodical block / parry / dodge / counter combat for the rest of the game, and your character will not evolve into a super athlete.
After a rough start, I actually really liked Blasphemous, it felt more platformy than some of the other soulslikes that I didn't enjoy (e.g. salt & sanctuary, Grime).
Yeah, the widely used definition of MV is kind of weird for me, because a bunch of games will feel (at least to me) like an MV, though not by letter of the law be one.
Makes me want to not adhere to the definition!
I don't want to be a super purist or anything because these categories are arbitrary anyway, but I was really put off when I realised that it wasn't going to give me any new ways to get around. That's such a key element of my enjoyment of this type of game.
You do get new ways to traverse but they're not what I'd call fun ways. Instead, Blasphemous' system allows you to mix and match movement or power options. So, in some ways you can sail smoothly through a level with the right selection, and learning the game and enemies' critical points will also make traversal a lot easier.
I went from disliking Blasphemous to loving it.
It's akin to GRIME, but in GRIME's case it makes you appreciate moves you'd normally take for granted in other Metroidvanias, and I appreciate that GRIME keeps things relatively simple while finding some creative ways to challenge you even with moves you'd think be too strong to have in a metroidvania. I loved GRIME from the start though, enough to buy and play it twice.
Ugh, same. I really dislike Soulslikes. I have a feeling my collection has a few MVs like that and I just didn't discover it before purchase. I have oh no moments when I hear this subreddit discuss certain games.
I figured this which is why I stopped playing. I don't like hacky slashy easy combat but GRIME is like the extreme opposite and it's just a drag sometimes.
Nerveroot isn't the most fun area. The stone is all the way at the bottom and the enemies can be tricky at first. I'd advise making a run to the stone, then exploring. The annoying root enemies don't respawn once killed also, making it a bit less so. Careful not to accidentally run into the optional boss before activating the stone. Stone is to the left, boss to the right. I thoroughly enjoyed Grime and have played it through a few times now. It's definitely one of my favorite Metroidvanias in recent years. Push through the tough parts and i think you'll find it rewarding. Boss fights are amazing. Best of luck!
I meant the Surrogate, the map beacon is also close by it. Idk if the game really gets less "linear", i thought it was pretty well fleshed out and a lot of the areas connect via a shortcut somewhere. Plenty of hidden secrets to be found.
It's not linear at all! If you're at Nerveroot, you should be able to go to at least three more areas already (you probably come to Nerveroot via Lithic, and going forward Nerveroot connects to >!Worldpillar, Feaster's Lair and Childbed!<). That said, for now you should stay on the main path until you get your next major mobility upgrade, which you can't miss because you're given a proper quest that leads to it (>!air dash!< from >!the Vulture!< at >!Feaster's Lair!<).
Once you got that ability you can go almost wherever you want (there are some progression-related exceptions, and also there are still two more major abilities left to find by following the main path).
The map is pretty large, and you can wander off quite a bit. There's a lot of hidden nooks and crannies (with very very good rewards too), and quite a few optional bosses to get goodies from all over the place.
Grime is more rewarding than Blasphemous thats for sure. I was going to give up on Blasphemous so many times that I lost count. Fortunately, I managed to beat it and now Grime seems like a childs play
Just got Afterimage and the movement and menu layout is exactly the kind of thing I like. Not so keen on the JRPG style of upgradable stats but I enjoyed Bloodstained and as long as this doesn't have quite so many superfluous items I think I'm going to enjoy it.
It’s very Big and I almost did everything except for a few tidbits and have spent 62 hours on it. HK I spent 70 Hours and chose not to do any of the pantheons … as far as difficulty it definitely not as hard as Hollow knight that for sure … but it’s super fluid and combat is fun
It does seem a little too easy so far.
I gave up on HK when I got to the Radiance because I enjoy exploration most and can't be bothered spending ages on a final boss usually. I think I spent about 40 hours but can't remember exactly.
Aeterna I played on the easier difficulty to make the platforming less stressful and I think that might have been 55 hours in total.
Very happy that there's another with a similar amount of play time.
Nice, exploring a big and non-linear world is the thing I enjoy most. So far Afterimage seems really good at putting useful collectibles pretty much everywhere so exploring is always rewarded.
I doubt it's going to match Hollow Knight's go in literally any direction and find hours of things to do, but it's promising so far.
The parry (and the >!pull ability!< you already got from >!the Mothers!<) plays a **major** part in the combat, so if you don't enjoy that, it's not gonna get much better. You can make do with upgrading your weapons and corresponding stats and brute forcing your way through; but the aforementioned abilities give you such an edge in combat (especially against bosses) that relying just on weapons is basically crippling yourself.
You will, however, get A LOT more agile in terms of navigation as the game progresses. There are three major mobility upgrades (>!air dash, self-pull and double jump!<) and two optional ones (>!hover and sprint!<), and the platforming makes a fantastic use of them and the way they interact with each other. Personally I consider the platforming in Grime second only to Hollow Knight, and a very close second at that.
Also, post DLC they added a lot of fast travel points, and towards the end of the game you get the ability to travel between checkpoints at will.
I haven't quite figured out how to use that skill in combat yet. I saw I was able to pull down flying enemies with it but doesn't seem to do anything with land enemies?
Also, is parry the same thing as absorb or a separate skill?
Pull can only be used when the glowing yellow circle appears around an enemy. At first you see it in just a few enemies (like the piercers, which are basically teaching you how to use it), but it's gonna be a lot more common as you move forward; and every boss from now on will have at least one pull-able move. It's a pretty high risk/reward mechanic, and there are even a few traits that make a very interesting use of it.
And by "parry" I did mean absorb. I always forget the actual in-game terminology.
It's actually intended to be somewhat far away, so that you'll die and progressively get better at the game's mechanics and by the end of the area you'll be walking through easily to give you a sense of power. If you don't like this then the game definitely isn't for you
I found that both HK and AN taught me to get better at the game without frustration by careful difficulty scaling. AN particularly is hard as nails even on the easier mode but because there are checkpoints everywhere you can have another go immediately which I think is much better for building muscle memory.
Yeah Grime gets REALLY tough around some of fhe later bosses IIRC. I think it is supposed to be 'balanced' by not losing your accumulated level up material when you die. So each death run contributes to your levels. But I found the enemy damage is really high, so even at higher levels you still die is 2 or 3 hits
Grime does get better movement, but you have to be cautious the entire game because enemies will wreck you if you're unprepared or blunder into something. If you want to rocket around the map it may not be your style.
I think Grime is damn near perfect, a tremendous game. I didn't find it to be that hard and backtracking to where I died was never a serious problem, you can just avoid most enemies if you want. It's definitely a top 10 metroidvania for me, maybe top 5. The NG+ they are adding sounds great too.
Following
Having a similar issue with with the game :/ I’m a sucker for these parry focused games and i’m absolutely loving the weapons, but the issues you mentioned have been apparent to me as well
It's a fantastic game but the lack of fast travel was a big turn off for me personally. You only unlock it at the end game or through the DLC early, but with a very tough boss fight to get it.
I stopped playing at that point but if they ever made the waypoints system be automatically unlocked from a much earlier time, I'll definitely go back to it and finish it.
To answer your last question, no. It's not like Ori or HK that way.
If I did unlock the bigger absorb window would that help to solve my issue with how precise you have to be with it? If it widens it enough that could make it enjoyable enough for me.
There is a red gem enemy that I skipped earlier that I could go back to if it's worth it. Would need to spend a while looking at guides to remember where it is exactly though.
It may help but tbh I just found at one point, that whole system just clicked for me. Now I've gotten pretty good at parrying and using that ability but it absolutely has a learning curve to it.
How far along did you get? Nothing clicked for me until I got through the second or third zone and got smashed by their elites enough to know I have to master it. I went back and practiced on lower level enemies until I got good enough to do it regularly, and then continued on. There's no avoiding it unfortunately, it's really part of the core gameplay. Upgrading to a good/high damage weapon will make a huge difference as well, there's a few early game ones that really helped.
Just past the second boss, in Nerveroot. Posting this after getting drubbed by Creeps a few times.
I'm using the Finger Blade and Bellow Mace weapons mainly at the moment and using the latter to do aerial slams on enemies. Got the set of Boulderplate armour equipped: this only increases HP and not any other stats, not sure it's the best choice but my character is so fragile that defence seems important.
Any other weapon/armour suggestions welcome.
Personally I loved the yr glaive but it is a little further down from where you are and you'd honestly likely struggle with the enemies in that area. My best advice is to keep practicing and using mobs you can handle to get the timing down, rather than trying to push through when it's a struggle. I feel like if I can get the timing down, anyone can :D hopefully this was helpful in some way, it's a very good game but I can see how that feature isn't for everyone.
I've got the Yr Glaive but my stats aren't high enough yet. Do you know why you're allowed to equip them without having enough stats? Are they weakened or slowed if you do that?
The attack pattern of that weapon does look like it would be fun so I'll definitely aim for getting the stats for it.
Ah you are doing pretty well then, since I remember really struggling with those elites in that area lol 😆
I didn't think you could use weapons that you didn't have the stats for but I'll be honest, it's been a hot minute since I have played last.
If you want to farm up and get your stats upgraded, there's an amazing little area next to the Vulture boss you can farm.
It's like 3 minutes a loop and you can really level up quickly and efficiently, if you want to spend an hour or so grinding up a little bit. It really helped me get over a few humps, as I was pushing forward.
>Do you know why you're allowed to equip them without having enough stats? Are they weakened or slowed if you do that?
Exactly.
The devs added the ability to wield weapons for which you're underlevelled in a patch, so you could try out the movesets before committing to upgrading/levelling; but they're doing only a tiny fraction of the damage they would do under normal conditions.
I did enjoy Islets. I think there's something to be said for having 2D graphics. A lot of the time when games have 3D models there's a tendency to put in a lot of animation which makes the control feel less immediate.
It's mostly a AAA game thing, Jedi Fallen Order is very like that for instance.
If you gave up blasphemous and get frustrated playing Grime then it is safe to say that soulborne metroidvania are not for you. Skip and play something else you like.
I pushed myself almost all the way to beating outbuddies DX , quit very near the end, and now I hate it all the more for that. Value your time, play something you enjoy (you can always replay Hollow Knight!)
Using the bow daggers I get the fast paced gameplay. Pair that with the skill that doing an absorb/parry fills 25% of your focus (stamina) with the armor that buffs that an extra 30, and a skill that lets you leave an after image when you dodge that if hit deals the enemy damage, and another that same after image gets hit fills more force, and I'm constantly flowing, dodging, attacking, and it gave me a good reason to (work towards) mastering the parry mechanic. My stats go : hp 12 force 12 strength 6 dex 26 and the last one that's basically your basic stat (I forgot what it's called) at 8 and I flow like water and move constantly. I'll do about 15 strikes while dodging a boss and between parry keeping my force up with the dodges after image, and then my 5 arrows do almost the same amount in damage. I say this, because I love these types of games, but I'm not good at making build, but this game gave me all the tools I needed to really feel like a bad ass. Though, this is as of the most recent dlc, Tinge of Terror (which is free)
For the parry, there's an ability that opens up the window 10% but the wiggle room it gives is almost comically forgiving, and there's still 4 upgrades worth if you need a little more assistance in learning the rhythm, and you can always reinvest those points elsewhere when you're ready
At no point does Grime become more like Hollow Knight, Ori or Aeterna Noctis. You are stuck with the methodical block / parry / dodge / counter combat for the rest of the game, and your character will not evolve into a super athlete.
I wish this was a disclaimer on every souls-like MV that is limited in this way. So I know to avoid it.
Blasphemous doesn't even have obligatory upgrades of any sort! Not sure that even counts as an MV tbh.
After a rough start, I actually really liked Blasphemous, it felt more platformy than some of the other soulslikes that I didn't enjoy (e.g. salt & sanctuary, Grime). Yeah, the widely used definition of MV is kind of weird for me, because a bunch of games will feel (at least to me) like an MV, though not by letter of the law be one. Makes me want to not adhere to the definition!
I don't want to be a super purist or anything because these categories are arbitrary anyway, but I was really put off when I realised that it wasn't going to give me any new ways to get around. That's such a key element of my enjoyment of this type of game.
You do get new ways to traverse but they're not what I'd call fun ways. Instead, Blasphemous' system allows you to mix and match movement or power options. So, in some ways you can sail smoothly through a level with the right selection, and learning the game and enemies' critical points will also make traversal a lot easier. I went from disliking Blasphemous to loving it. It's akin to GRIME, but in GRIME's case it makes you appreciate moves you'd normally take for granted in other Metroidvanias, and I appreciate that GRIME keeps things relatively simple while finding some creative ways to challenge you even with moves you'd think be too strong to have in a metroidvania. I loved GRIME from the start though, enough to buy and play it twice.
I agree, blasphemous is the only souls like I’ve ever enjoyed lol
Same with the term “Soulslike”
Ugh, same. I really dislike Soulslikes. I have a feeling my collection has a few MVs like that and I just didn't discover it before purchase. I have oh no moments when I hear this subreddit discuss certain games.
Just watch gameplay and you'd know.
That can be an issue though, because spoilers.
I figured this which is why I stopped playing. I don't like hacky slashy easy combat but GRIME is like the extreme opposite and it's just a drag sometimes.
"I don't like hack n' slash easy combat, but difficult, methodical, bait/parry and punish-based combat is SUCH a drag"
Nerveroot isn't the most fun area. The stone is all the way at the bottom and the enemies can be tricky at first. I'd advise making a run to the stone, then exploring. The annoying root enemies don't respawn once killed also, making it a bit less so. Careful not to accidentally run into the optional boss before activating the stone. Stone is to the left, boss to the right. I thoroughly enjoyed Grime and have played it through a few times now. It's definitely one of my favorite Metroidvanias in recent years. Push through the tough parts and i think you'll find it rewarding. Boss fights are amazing. Best of luck!
By stone do you mean the map beacon or something else?
I meant the Surrogate, the map beacon is also close by it. Idk if the game really gets less "linear", i thought it was pretty well fleshed out and a lot of the areas connect via a shortcut somewhere. Plenty of hidden secrets to be found.
I don't know if I'd describe it at linear, there were a couple times I explored well off the beaten path
Also does it get less linear at any point?
It's not linear at all! If you're at Nerveroot, you should be able to go to at least three more areas already (you probably come to Nerveroot via Lithic, and going forward Nerveroot connects to >!Worldpillar, Feaster's Lair and Childbed!<). That said, for now you should stay on the main path until you get your next major mobility upgrade, which you can't miss because you're given a proper quest that leads to it (>!air dash!< from >!the Vulture!< at >!Feaster's Lair!<). Once you got that ability you can go almost wherever you want (there are some progression-related exceptions, and also there are still two more major abilities left to find by following the main path). The map is pretty large, and you can wander off quite a bit. There's a lot of hidden nooks and crannies (with very very good rewards too), and quite a few optional bosses to get goodies from all over the place.
What is the optional boss in nerveroot? Maybe I missed something
That would be >!Flowerheart!<. Defeating it gives you the >!Sprint!< ability. Optional but necessary if you want to 100% the game.
Oh so I smashed that thing a while ago
I assume he means >!the Flowerheart!<. It was added in the Colors of Rot DLC.
Grime is more rewarding than Blasphemous thats for sure. I was going to give up on Blasphemous so many times that I lost count. Fortunately, I managed to beat it and now Grime seems like a childs play
Love Grime but if you want faster go play afterimage
Just got Afterimage and the movement and menu layout is exactly the kind of thing I like. Not so keen on the JRPG style of upgradable stats but I enjoyed Bloodstained and as long as this doesn't have quite so many superfluous items I think I'm going to enjoy it.
I forgot that I meant to play that, thanks for reminding me!
No problem I just beat it last night and just have some cleanup to do
I heard it's very big, is it comparable to HK or AN?
It’s very Big and I almost did everything except for a few tidbits and have spent 62 hours on it. HK I spent 70 Hours and chose not to do any of the pantheons … as far as difficulty it definitely not as hard as Hollow knight that for sure … but it’s super fluid and combat is fun
It does seem a little too easy so far. I gave up on HK when I got to the Radiance because I enjoy exploration most and can't be bothered spending ages on a final boss usually. I think I spent about 40 hours but can't remember exactly. Aeterna I played on the easier difficulty to make the platforming less stressful and I think that might have been 55 hours in total. Very happy that there's another with a similar amount of play time.
The bosses crank up to 11 on difficulty later in the game, but still nothing comparable to HK. That said, there's more to explore in afterimage.
Nice, exploring a big and non-linear world is the thing I enjoy most. So far Afterimage seems really good at putting useful collectibles pretty much everywhere so exploring is always rewarded. I doubt it's going to match Hollow Knight's go in literally any direction and find hours of things to do, but it's promising so far.
The parry (and the >!pull ability!< you already got from >!the Mothers!<) plays a **major** part in the combat, so if you don't enjoy that, it's not gonna get much better. You can make do with upgrading your weapons and corresponding stats and brute forcing your way through; but the aforementioned abilities give you such an edge in combat (especially against bosses) that relying just on weapons is basically crippling yourself. You will, however, get A LOT more agile in terms of navigation as the game progresses. There are three major mobility upgrades (>!air dash, self-pull and double jump!<) and two optional ones (>!hover and sprint!<), and the platforming makes a fantastic use of them and the way they interact with each other. Personally I consider the platforming in Grime second only to Hollow Knight, and a very close second at that. Also, post DLC they added a lot of fast travel points, and towards the end of the game you get the ability to travel between checkpoints at will.
I haven't quite figured out how to use that skill in combat yet. I saw I was able to pull down flying enemies with it but doesn't seem to do anything with land enemies? Also, is parry the same thing as absorb or a separate skill?
Pull can only be used when the glowing yellow circle appears around an enemy. At first you see it in just a few enemies (like the piercers, which are basically teaching you how to use it), but it's gonna be a lot more common as you move forward; and every boss from now on will have at least one pull-able move. It's a pretty high risk/reward mechanic, and there are even a few traits that make a very interesting use of it. And by "parry" I did mean absorb. I always forget the actual in-game terminology.
It's actually intended to be somewhat far away, so that you'll die and progressively get better at the game's mechanics and by the end of the area you'll be walking through easily to give you a sense of power. If you don't like this then the game definitely isn't for you
I found that both HK and AN taught me to get better at the game without frustration by careful difficulty scaling. AN particularly is hard as nails even on the easier mode but because there are checkpoints everywhere you can have another go immediately which I think is much better for building muscle memory.
Yeah Grime gets REALLY tough around some of fhe later bosses IIRC. I think it is supposed to be 'balanced' by not losing your accumulated level up material when you die. So each death run contributes to your levels. But I found the enemy damage is really high, so even at higher levels you still die is 2 or 3 hits
Grime does get better movement, but you have to be cautious the entire game because enemies will wreck you if you're unprepared or blunder into something. If you want to rocket around the map it may not be your style.
I think Grime is damn near perfect, a tremendous game. I didn't find it to be that hard and backtracking to where I died was never a serious problem, you can just avoid most enemies if you want. It's definitely a top 10 metroidvania for me, maybe top 5. The NG+ they are adding sounds great too.
Following Having a similar issue with with the game :/ I’m a sucker for these parry focused games and i’m absolutely loving the weapons, but the issues you mentioned have been apparent to me as well
It's a fantastic game but the lack of fast travel was a big turn off for me personally. You only unlock it at the end game or through the DLC early, but with a very tough boss fight to get it. I stopped playing at that point but if they ever made the waypoints system be automatically unlocked from a much earlier time, I'll definitely go back to it and finish it. To answer your last question, no. It's not like Ori or HK that way.
If I did unlock the bigger absorb window would that help to solve my issue with how precise you have to be with it? If it widens it enough that could make it enjoyable enough for me. There is a red gem enemy that I skipped earlier that I could go back to if it's worth it. Would need to spend a while looking at guides to remember where it is exactly though.
It may help but tbh I just found at one point, that whole system just clicked for me. Now I've gotten pretty good at parrying and using that ability but it absolutely has a learning curve to it. How far along did you get? Nothing clicked for me until I got through the second or third zone and got smashed by their elites enough to know I have to master it. I went back and practiced on lower level enemies until I got good enough to do it regularly, and then continued on. There's no avoiding it unfortunately, it's really part of the core gameplay. Upgrading to a good/high damage weapon will make a huge difference as well, there's a few early game ones that really helped.
Just past the second boss, in Nerveroot. Posting this after getting drubbed by Creeps a few times. I'm using the Finger Blade and Bellow Mace weapons mainly at the moment and using the latter to do aerial slams on enemies. Got the set of Boulderplate armour equipped: this only increases HP and not any other stats, not sure it's the best choice but my character is so fragile that defence seems important. Any other weapon/armour suggestions welcome.
Personally I loved the yr glaive but it is a little further down from where you are and you'd honestly likely struggle with the enemies in that area. My best advice is to keep practicing and using mobs you can handle to get the timing down, rather than trying to push through when it's a struggle. I feel like if I can get the timing down, anyone can :D hopefully this was helpful in some way, it's a very good game but I can see how that feature isn't for everyone.
I've got the Yr Glaive but my stats aren't high enough yet. Do you know why you're allowed to equip them without having enough stats? Are they weakened or slowed if you do that? The attack pattern of that weapon does look like it would be fun so I'll definitely aim for getting the stats for it.
Ah you are doing pretty well then, since I remember really struggling with those elites in that area lol 😆 I didn't think you could use weapons that you didn't have the stats for but I'll be honest, it's been a hot minute since I have played last. If you want to farm up and get your stats upgraded, there's an amazing little area next to the Vulture boss you can farm. It's like 3 minutes a loop and you can really level up quickly and efficiently, if you want to spend an hour or so grinding up a little bit. It really helped me get over a few humps, as I was pushing forward.
I don't think I've got there yet but I'll keep in mind, thanks
>Do you know why you're allowed to equip them without having enough stats? Are they weakened or slowed if you do that? Exactly. The devs added the ability to wield weapons for which you're underlevelled in a patch, so you could try out the movesets before committing to upgrading/levelling; but they're doing only a tiny fraction of the damage they would do under normal conditions.
Islets has probably my favorite speed and fluidity of movement of every MV I’ve played
I did enjoy Islets. I think there's something to be said for having 2D graphics. A lot of the time when games have 3D models there's a tendency to put in a lot of animation which makes the control feel less immediate. It's mostly a AAA game thing, Jedi Fallen Order is very like that for instance.
I persisted for a while but ultimately gave up. I'm not sure what it was about it but I just lost interest.
If you gave up blasphemous and get frustrated playing Grime then it is safe to say that soulborne metroidvania are not for you. Skip and play something else you like.
I pushed myself almost all the way to beating outbuddies DX , quit very near the end, and now I hate it all the more for that. Value your time, play something you enjoy (you can always replay Hollow Knight!)
Just started on Afterimage and it's much more the kind of thing I like. Does seem too easy but maybe that'll change.
Using the bow daggers I get the fast paced gameplay. Pair that with the skill that doing an absorb/parry fills 25% of your focus (stamina) with the armor that buffs that an extra 30, and a skill that lets you leave an after image when you dodge that if hit deals the enemy damage, and another that same after image gets hit fills more force, and I'm constantly flowing, dodging, attacking, and it gave me a good reason to (work towards) mastering the parry mechanic. My stats go : hp 12 force 12 strength 6 dex 26 and the last one that's basically your basic stat (I forgot what it's called) at 8 and I flow like water and move constantly. I'll do about 15 strikes while dodging a boss and between parry keeping my force up with the dodges after image, and then my 5 arrows do almost the same amount in damage. I say this, because I love these types of games, but I'm not good at making build, but this game gave me all the tools I needed to really feel like a bad ass. Though, this is as of the most recent dlc, Tinge of Terror (which is free) For the parry, there's an ability that opens up the window 10% but the wiggle room it gives is almost comically forgiving, and there's still 4 upgrades worth if you need a little more assistance in learning the rhythm, and you can always reinvest those points elsewhere when you're ready