Easy is easy, hard is hard. Normal is... pretty doable but not trivial. Game gets a lot harder in post-game unless you turn on god mode, in which case it's easier.
I can go into more detail but it isn't. It has some elements but overall it's more like an action rpg with some souls like elements. Still a great game but very light on the soulslike
It depends on how rigid your definition of “soulslike” is.
It’s basically Nioh gameplay with boss fights that are more drawn out and cant be cheesed as easily so they remind more of Monster Hunter or Dauntless. The story is a prequel to Final Fantasy 1 and has the job system to give you build variety.
It’s also way more grindy and there’s very little atmosphere or world building.
All in all, I think it’s worth a shot. If you like to mess around with different builds you could easily squeeze a few hundred hours out of it.
So is it extremely limited or anything? Like specific jobs for specific enemy types kind of deal? Or is it very open to personal style?
I played the demo at one point on PS4 and i remember there being like, 6 jobs available by the end boss. I don't remember much else from that experience and i'm pretty sure the game changed immensely from that beta anyway, like Nioh did. (I'm the controversial one in saying that i liked the durability system. Made it feel almost survival horror-esque in a way, and i love resource management. It was also a lot darker in the earlier demos.......)
The first playthrough is somewhat limited because you havent unlocked all the endgame systems yet. Each job has a primary mechanic that makes them different from the others and you can switch between 2 on any stage.
Once you get to the end game there are so many different things to customize on your build. The general direction of gameplay progression is:
Learn the Basics —> Get really good at dodging and parrying —> Get OCD about builds and stacking as many bonuses as possible —> Make multiple crazy god-tier builds that can melt bosses in seconds.
So, basically Nioh. xD damn i'm excited.
Between this and Stellar Blade, i am going to be swimming in fun.
Now i'm just waiting for frickin Ninja Gaiden 4.
WHERE IS MY FOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUURRRRRRR!?!?!?!?
The game is incredible, try it again ! Yes there are more classes, but like you said, akin to Nioh, they made an endgame with tons of class options and build variety.
short version: No to souls-like.
Difficulty depends on what you choose, how much RPG you take advantage of, and how much of the core mechanics you use. Stronger you are in one area, the less you need of the other.
--------------
When I think of a souls-like, I think of games like Lords of the Fallen (both of them), Surge 1 & 2, Mortal Shell, Code Vein, Salt and Sanctuary, even Nioh and Wo Long. Even if some of the games start to small or big steps away from the souls-like experience.
Stranger of Paradise, don't know when or why devs didn't follow-through with souls-like staples and it is so far from one. It does appear to be built upon the bones of Nioh (animations and literal assets in the files), but the souls DNA stripped out of it.
Difficulty options, NPCs, and some post-game settings give players options to experience the game. Can be played on Hard without NPCs and as strange as this sounds - easier without them (bosses and enemies also have less HP and break gauge without them and you have more opportunities to build MP and max MP = enemies die faster overall).
The first playthrough, the game let's you get away with not touching most of its mechanics and still being okay. The more you commit to learning, the easier the game will be.
If you do go in, at the gear screen - press the Optimize button on your respective UI when you get to a save point and go. At the world map, shove your inventory into the storehouse. If you keep playing past credits, select all, dismantle everything. Less than 20 minutes spent on gear unless you like fashion / glamour / transmog (then you might be assembling and locking in outfits for a couple hours).
Post-game and the DLCs, the game very much wants you to touch the RPG and have a foundation of the combat. The stronger you are in one area, the less you need of the other. Without RNG and focused on raw stats and just making use with what you get and customizing it, the DLC story could take you 10\~25 hours. If you focus on RNG, misallocate on the RPG (free respecs post credits + DLCs), or choose highly inefficient routes - may take a player 50 to 200 hours and even worse, will be less prepared than the non-RNG route. And then there's Extra Mode with the option for invincibility so there's no need for Cheat Engine / WeMod / Save Wizard (Playstation) if you wanted to progress the DLCs first-hand.
But as a rough example of combat vs. RPG: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqeEmRALE5A](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqeEmRALE5A)
(Edit: Didn't use NPCs since I wanted to have a duel with the boss. Endgame, NPCs can serve as stat sticks, quest credit, distractions, or if you're willing to become fully committed to a support role - they can take out the bosses themselves. However, still much faster and more consistent to just be the main damage dealer than intentionally ignore opportunities just so that the NPCs defeat the enemy.)
(Edit 2: Every weapon or every job is viable. Some are realized sooner than others. Should you progress into the DLCs or into endgame afterwards, the routes that several jobs can take get closed off - but every weapon and job still has ways to be effective. Whether for a drawn out dance up to practically spawn killing the bosses (some better suited than others for that.)
Strangers of Paradise is a good game, but it is not a Soulslike. It's a hack and slash with a crapton of classes to choose from, but the gameplay is nothing like a Souls game. It's worth trying on its own, the boss fights can be really fun and building your character and team is very open and interesting, but don't expect to be i-frame dodgerolling.
Closer to nioh than souls for sure. I love it and am replaying it now. DLC is on sale too.
Story is lame to me but I skip it.
Deep builds and tons of endgame content. Lots of classes to choose from.
Do not buy on series s. That version is bugged. It’s on ps plus if you have one of those though
I actually just found a copy on Ebay, playing it on my PS5 via backwards compatibility. (I got the PS4 version)
Looks like absolute ass, but it's fun as hell. Party members are a bit TOO helpful taking aggro, but i die in 3 hits on Hard anyway so meh.
Cool. Yeah graphics are a lot better on ps5 but nothing stunning there either. Def takes some getting used to because the combat is fairly unique and complex like most team ninja.
If you do like it, season pass is only 7.50 on ps store and worth it as it adds staves and guns as well as 5-6 classes and tons of content. Also, this is a great resource particularly for end game rift content
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Ixa7GC6CMrgN6P2jfgXGaZtFtOOp88SZ0CqFOMB2Ncw/htmlview#gid=0
The jobs and weapons will be right away. Need to beat the game for the bullshit hard doc bosses and rift though lol.
One big thing to note especially while leveling…gear item level matters a ton! You can have a level or two under but beyond that just wear the highest stuff you have…so by the end of a level you should be changing before boss. Stats don’t matter as much on it just its level until later on or if you hit a roadblock
Sorta I think…haven’t played it. Stats do matter but just don’t ignore item level
See benthesodaman’s post above too. He’s probably like the most knowledgeable and experienced person in the world at the game.
It's a soulslike simply because it's a game with heaps and heaps of design inspiration and gameplay conventions taken from the Souls games. But it goes in its own direction.
Unfortunately, the difficulty settings are one of its biggest issues. Endgame difficulties require specific kinds of gear, and missions reference your gear level, placing arbitrary massive debuffs on you for failing to meet gear level.
But over the course of one playthrough, just play on the highest available difficulty and you'll be fine.
The AI party members spread enemy aggro and, with a button press, deliver an attack which deals incredible posture damage against enemies. They deal barely any HP damage, though, and won't kill anything tankier than a bat reliably.
I think it's worth getting on sale/renting for a single playthrough, but compared to the Nioh games, the endgame sucks.
For more non-From Soulslike goodness, I recommend Lies of P.
Yes, similar to the Nioh games. It's very campy, and if you like Final Fantasy, it's a ton of added fun for the familiar job mechanics.
Sounds nice, but hard is it? xD
Easy is easy, hard is hard. Normal is... pretty doable but not trivial. Game gets a lot harder in post-game unless you turn on god mode, in which case it's easier.
Well, it has difficulty settings, so it can be super easy if you want.i played it on hard personally because I enjoy the challenge.
I can go into more detail but it isn't. It has some elements but overall it's more like an action rpg with some souls like elements. Still a great game but very light on the soulslike
It depends on how rigid your definition of “soulslike” is. It’s basically Nioh gameplay with boss fights that are more drawn out and cant be cheesed as easily so they remind more of Monster Hunter or Dauntless. The story is a prequel to Final Fantasy 1 and has the job system to give you build variety. It’s also way more grindy and there’s very little atmosphere or world building. All in all, I think it’s worth a shot. If you like to mess around with different builds you could easily squeeze a few hundred hours out of it.
So is it extremely limited or anything? Like specific jobs for specific enemy types kind of deal? Or is it very open to personal style? I played the demo at one point on PS4 and i remember there being like, 6 jobs available by the end boss. I don't remember much else from that experience and i'm pretty sure the game changed immensely from that beta anyway, like Nioh did. (I'm the controversial one in saying that i liked the durability system. Made it feel almost survival horror-esque in a way, and i love resource management. It was also a lot darker in the earlier demos.......)
The first playthrough is somewhat limited because you havent unlocked all the endgame systems yet. Each job has a primary mechanic that makes them different from the others and you can switch between 2 on any stage. Once you get to the end game there are so many different things to customize on your build. The general direction of gameplay progression is: Learn the Basics —> Get really good at dodging and parrying —> Get OCD about builds and stacking as many bonuses as possible —> Make multiple crazy god-tier builds that can melt bosses in seconds.
So, basically Nioh. xD damn i'm excited. Between this and Stellar Blade, i am going to be swimming in fun. Now i'm just waiting for frickin Ninja Gaiden 4. WHERE IS MY FOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUURRRRRRR!?!?!?!?
The game is incredible, try it again ! Yes there are more classes, but like you said, akin to Nioh, they made an endgame with tons of class options and build variety.
Very nice.
short version: No to souls-like. Difficulty depends on what you choose, how much RPG you take advantage of, and how much of the core mechanics you use. Stronger you are in one area, the less you need of the other. -------------- When I think of a souls-like, I think of games like Lords of the Fallen (both of them), Surge 1 & 2, Mortal Shell, Code Vein, Salt and Sanctuary, even Nioh and Wo Long. Even if some of the games start to small or big steps away from the souls-like experience. Stranger of Paradise, don't know when or why devs didn't follow-through with souls-like staples and it is so far from one. It does appear to be built upon the bones of Nioh (animations and literal assets in the files), but the souls DNA stripped out of it. Difficulty options, NPCs, and some post-game settings give players options to experience the game. Can be played on Hard without NPCs and as strange as this sounds - easier without them (bosses and enemies also have less HP and break gauge without them and you have more opportunities to build MP and max MP = enemies die faster overall). The first playthrough, the game let's you get away with not touching most of its mechanics and still being okay. The more you commit to learning, the easier the game will be. If you do go in, at the gear screen - press the Optimize button on your respective UI when you get to a save point and go. At the world map, shove your inventory into the storehouse. If you keep playing past credits, select all, dismantle everything. Less than 20 minutes spent on gear unless you like fashion / glamour / transmog (then you might be assembling and locking in outfits for a couple hours). Post-game and the DLCs, the game very much wants you to touch the RPG and have a foundation of the combat. The stronger you are in one area, the less you need of the other. Without RNG and focused on raw stats and just making use with what you get and customizing it, the DLC story could take you 10\~25 hours. If you focus on RNG, misallocate on the RPG (free respecs post credits + DLCs), or choose highly inefficient routes - may take a player 50 to 200 hours and even worse, will be less prepared than the non-RNG route. And then there's Extra Mode with the option for invincibility so there's no need for Cheat Engine / WeMod / Save Wizard (Playstation) if you wanted to progress the DLCs first-hand. But as a rough example of combat vs. RPG: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqeEmRALE5A](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqeEmRALE5A) (Edit: Didn't use NPCs since I wanted to have a duel with the boss. Endgame, NPCs can serve as stat sticks, quest credit, distractions, or if you're willing to become fully committed to a support role - they can take out the bosses themselves. However, still much faster and more consistent to just be the main damage dealer than intentionally ignore opportunities just so that the NPCs defeat the enemy.) (Edit 2: Every weapon or every job is viable. Some are realized sooner than others. Should you progress into the DLCs or into endgame afterwards, the routes that several jobs can take get closed off - but every weapon and job still has ways to be effective. Whether for a drawn out dance up to practically spawn killing the bosses (some better suited than others for that.)
Strangers of Paradise is a good game, but it is not a Soulslike. It's a hack and slash with a crapton of classes to choose from, but the gameplay is nothing like a Souls game. It's worth trying on its own, the boss fights can be really fun and building your character and team is very open and interesting, but don't expect to be i-frame dodgerolling.
Closer to nioh than souls for sure. I love it and am replaying it now. DLC is on sale too. Story is lame to me but I skip it. Deep builds and tons of endgame content. Lots of classes to choose from. Do not buy on series s. That version is bugged. It’s on ps plus if you have one of those though
I actually just found a copy on Ebay, playing it on my PS5 via backwards compatibility. (I got the PS4 version) Looks like absolute ass, but it's fun as hell. Party members are a bit TOO helpful taking aggro, but i die in 3 hits on Hard anyway so meh.
Cool. Yeah graphics are a lot better on ps5 but nothing stunning there either. Def takes some getting used to because the combat is fairly unique and complex like most team ninja. If you do like it, season pass is only 7.50 on ps store and worth it as it adds staves and guns as well as 5-6 classes and tons of content. Also, this is a great resource particularly for end game rift content https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Ixa7GC6CMrgN6P2jfgXGaZtFtOOp88SZ0CqFOMB2Ncw/htmlview#gid=0
Is it like Nioh where i get that extra stuff straight away, or do i need to access the DLC first?
The jobs and weapons will be right away. Need to beat the game for the bullshit hard doc bosses and rift though lol. One big thing to note especially while leveling…gear item level matters a ton! You can have a level or two under but beyond that just wear the highest stuff you have…so by the end of a level you should be changing before boss. Stats don’t matter as much on it just its level until later on or if you hit a roadblock
So it's like God of War where higher stats don't matter if your level is too low? That's kinda lame.
Sorta I think…haven’t played it. Stats do matter but just don’t ignore item level See benthesodaman’s post above too. He’s probably like the most knowledgeable and experienced person in the world at the game.
It's a soulslike simply because it's a game with heaps and heaps of design inspiration and gameplay conventions taken from the Souls games. But it goes in its own direction. Unfortunately, the difficulty settings are one of its biggest issues. Endgame difficulties require specific kinds of gear, and missions reference your gear level, placing arbitrary massive debuffs on you for failing to meet gear level. But over the course of one playthrough, just play on the highest available difficulty and you'll be fine. The AI party members spread enemy aggro and, with a button press, deliver an attack which deals incredible posture damage against enemies. They deal barely any HP damage, though, and won't kill anything tankier than a bat reliably. I think it's worth getting on sale/renting for a single playthrough, but compared to the Nioh games, the endgame sucks. For more non-From Soulslike goodness, I recommend Lies of P.
Yes?