Skald: Against the Black Priory
Finished! I really enjoyed this one. It's somewhat short and small for a classic-style RPG, as it took me just under 24 hours to explore every map and do everything I could find, but it was enjoyable from start to end, and each location and quest felt interesting and substantial--no being tasked with collecting five squirrel nuts in the woods, in this game.

Although it appears to be a fantasy RPG with some horror elements, it's really more of a horror RPG that happens to take place in a fantasy setting. It gets surprisingly (and increasingly) mean and gory as the game goes on; I should have played through this back in October instead of on Christmas day! The story and writing were both quite good, though the focus of the game is definitely on combat and exploration.

It's quite a linear experience overall, though there are two optional quests that are actually quite meaty, and the middle portion of the game consists of a large chain of quests you can complete through either combat or diplomacy. Your choice here will largely be determined by the type of character you've built, so it's probably worth replaying the game with a different type of character to see what the other solution is like.

The combat is not especially complicated or hard, but you do have plenty of skills and abilities to use and it's a lot of fun! I enjoyed developing my party of characters over the course of the game, and unleashing all of the abilities of a fully developed party toward the end of the game can be a thing of beauty. All area encounters are fixed and do not regenerate, while you have the option of enabling or disabling random world encounters; I ended up turning these off because you get plenty of experience points just from the fixed encounters.

I really don't care for how the game looks, and actually prefer how it looked early in development when it more closely resembled a C64 game. However, it makes excellent use of sound effects in battle to really give combat a sense of weight and impact, and the music is outstanding.

Overall, I had a blast with Skald. Highly recommended!

More progress in Demon's Souls. I tried going to the Shrine of Storms, but that area might be too difficult for my current stats and equipment. However, I noticed that those rolling skeletons near the start give a decent amount of souls when killed. They are fast and strong, but like in DS1, vulnerable to blunt weapons. So I bought a plain old club, and farmed them for some extra levels. This allowed me to raise Vitality and Endurance to 20 each, which improved my survival chances considerably.

I then paid a visit to Stonefang Tunnel, which had some irksome platforming segments. Those top hat wearing enemies were pretty nasty too, due to their homing fireballs. And the fight against the big spider just wasn't that enjoyable for me. I heard that some boss battles in this game can be gimmicky or tedious, and now I see why. I died a few times here due to the lack of space for dodging, but eventually, I was successful. Still, forcing the player to fight that humongous thing in such a cramped location was an odd design choice.

Next up, I went back to Boletaria, to try my luck with its second level. Had no problems with the dragons torching those bridges, since I keep my equip load under 50%, and can sprint pretty fast when necessary. After some time, I found the area boss, that being the Tower Knight. This guy reminded me of the Iron Golem from DS1, so I knew what to do. Poked his knees until he fell over, then just piled on the damage. And sure enough, I got him on the first try. I wonder if this went so smoothly because I always play without lock on. In any case, I liked this boss fight much more than the last one. Looks like the next area is sealed off for now, so I went back to the Nexus to fix my gear and level up.

P.S.

I heard that Demon's Souls can run at 60 FPS via emulation and decided to try that. So I used the Apollo tool for copying the saves from my PS3 to a USB stick, and then transferred them over to RPCS3 on my PC. Worked fine, and the game does indeed run at a locked 60 FPS, thanks to a fan made patch. I also increased the resolution to 1080p and bumped up Anisotropic Filtering to 16x. Looks great and runs like a dream now. Think I'll continue my playthrough here, since everything feels much more responsive. Also, I prefer the Xbox controller to the DualShock3. The latter is a bit too small for my hands, so they get strained after prolonged play sessions.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on Today, 08:13:

I heard that Demon's Souls can run at 60 FPS via emulation and decided to try that. So I used the Apollo tool for copying the saves from my PS3 to a USB stick, and then transferred them over to RPCS3 on my PC. Worked fine, and the game does indeed run at a locked 60 FPS, thanks to a fan made patch. I also increased the resolution to 1080p and bumped up Anisotropic Filtering to 16x. Looks great and runs like a dream now. Think I'll continue my playthrough here, since everything feels much more responsive.

Good to hear, I've got RPCS3 installed but I haven't yet had the time to even launch it, but apparently PS3 emulation is mostly in good shape. I intend to give Demons/Dark Souls a go with it at some point but quite honestly I expect going monkey bananas and launching the controller out the window sooner or later. I don't think they are for me but better make sure since they clearly are good games.

Also, I prefer the Xbox controller to the DualShock3. The latter is a bit too small for my hands, so they get strained after prolonged play sessions.

The first three PS controllers are pretty small. Caught me by surprise when I bought a factory sealed PS1 partly because I wanted an unused controller, well I got one but the thing is tiny. Didn't have that problem back when I was a teenager.

Sombrero wrote on Today, 10:09:

Good to hear, I've got RPCS3 installed but I haven't yet had the time to even launch it, but apparently PS3 emulation is mostly in good shape.

Yeah, I found RPCS3 really easy to set up. It also helps that Demon's Souls has such a huge fan base, so there are a ton of guides out there for getting it to run as smoothly as possible. My advice is to first check its wiki page, since you need to turn on a few settings that are disabled by default.

Sombrero wrote on Today, 10:09:

I intend to give Demons/Dark Souls a go with it at some point but quite honestly I expect going monkey bananas and launching the controller out the window sooner or later. I don't think they are for me but better make sure since they clearly are good games.

As someone who plays most games on Normal or Easy, I was honestly surprised how much I ended up enjoying the Souls games. Like others have said here, they are hard but fair. And it feels extremely satisfying to finally beat a boss who seemed invincible on your first attempt. I recommend starting with the Steam version of Dark Souls Remastered. It's more polished than Demon's Souls, and its gameplay mechanics are my favorite so far. Don't be afraid to look up a guide which explains the bare necessities, like how equip load affects dodging and such.

Sombrero wrote on Today, 10:09:

The first three PS controllers are pretty small. Caught me by surprise when I bought a factory sealed PS1 partly because I wanted an unused controller, well I got one but the thing is tiny. Didn't have that problem back when I was a teenager.

Same here. I had no issues with these controllers when I was younger. But now in my 40s, I sure feel the strain if my ergonomic demands aren't met. Old man problems and all that. 😁

Sombrero wrote on Today, 10:09:

Good to hear, I've got RPCS3 installed but I haven't yet had the time to even launch it, but apparently PS3 emulation is mostly in good shape. I intend to give Demons/Dark Souls a go with it at some point but quite honestly I expect going monkey bananas and launching the controller out the window sooner or later. I don't think they are for me but better make sure since they clearly are good games.

I agree with Joseph_Joestar that the first Dark Souls is the best place to start with the series, and I agree that you definitely want to look up some basic information on how the game works with regard to rolling, stats, etc. A great class to play for your first time is the Pyromancer, which some consider the unofficial "easy" mode of the game. Many enemies are quite weak to fire magic, and it helps to be able to attack from range while learning how the game works. Even as Pyromancer, you will have to go toe-to-toe with some enemies, so it's also a great way to ease into melee combat.

Honestly speaking, it's not so much that the Dark Souls games are particularly difficult (the gaming press, like usual, really exaggerates this), but that completing them requires you to actually learn to play them properly. They are actually quite kind in many ways; the game constantly saves your progress, so everything you accomplish (items gathered, shortcuts unlocked, etc.) is retained even if you die, and of course you always have the option of grinding a level or two if you want a little bit of an edge.

newtmonkey wrote on Today, 11:22:

I agree with Joseph_Joestar that the first Dark Souls is the best place to start with the series, and I agree that you definitely want to look up some basic information on how the game works with regard to rolling, stats, etc. A great class to play for your first time is the Pyromancer, which some consider the unofficial "easy" mode of the game. Many enemies are quite weak to fire magic, and it helps to be able to attack from range while learning how the game works. Even as Pyromancer, you will have to go toe-to-toe with some enemies, so it's also a great way to ease into melee combat.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I have a faint memory of magic classes looking very unfun to me. I'm personally very much in the heavy hitting melee class corner. That's the main reason I've held on the possibility of liking the series, I enjoy slowish but brutal melee a lot. So many third person melee games go far into fast and flashy spectacle fighter side of things and I personally don't like those at all. Reminds me I really should replay Severance: Blade of Darkness at some point.

Honestly speaking, it's not so much that the Dark Souls games are particularly difficult (the gaming press, like usual, really exaggerates this), but that completing them requires you to actually learn to play them properly. They are actually quite kind in many ways; the game constantly saves your progress, so everything you accomplish (items gathered, shortcuts unlocked, etc.) is retained even if you die, and of course you always have the option of grinding a level or two if you want a little bit of an edge.

Alright, good to hear. I don't shy away from challenge in general as long I find the challenge fun, which is the main reason why I haven't tried Souls games. I have a rather strong feeling I would find learning boss attack moves the hard way anything but fun. There seems to be a bit too much what I would call annoying bs.

Sombrero wrote on Today, 12:18:

I'm personally very much in the heavy hitting melee class corner. That's the main reason I've held on the possibility of liking the series, I enjoy slowish but brutal melee a lot.

That's how I played both DS1 and DS2. As a strong guy wielding a big weapon, swinging slowly, but dealing a ton of damage. Didn't touch magic at all during my runs, and I had a lot of fun. That said, there will be areas and enemies where this build isn't optimal, and you'll have to adapt. Same goes for any other build I imagine, though spellcasters do seem to have an easier time overall, at least from what I've seen on YouTube.

Sombrero wrote on Today, 12:18:

I have a rather strong feeling I would find learning boss attack moves the hard way anything but fun. There seems to be a bit too much what I would call annoying bs.

While this does help, it's not like you have to memorize the attack patterns perfectly. It's enough to recognize what's coming your way, so that you can react appropriately. But yeah, dying to bosses several times in a row is just part of the Souls experience. You learn something new with each attempt, and get better until you eventually beat them. With time and experience, you can do this in fewer attempts, and even defeat some of the easier bosses on the first try.

DeS is an excellent title - but remember it is an older game so it has it's qwirks
once you get a hang of it you can basically be a god in it and destroy everything 😁
Knight is also the class I chose for my very 1st playthrough - finished the game with a +10 long sword
and levels are not meant to be finished in sequence, it is true that after you finish the 2nd Boletaria stage you are supposed to go to Stonefang tunnel and finish that completely thus gaining an archdemon soul to allow progression to later stages on Boletaria
World Tendency will be annoying since there is no online anymore AFAIK but maybe on emulator you can change it? There are events and small sections on stages that are only accessible with either a Pure Black or Pure White tendency.... also some gear changes stats depending on your character tendency
It sounds convoluted but it was a good idea at the time where online mp was a thing... but also it is for the best such tendencies did not made an appearance in the following titles

I envy you J_J you get to experience DeS for the 1st time - and with 60fps too!

Joseph_Joestar wrote on Today, 08:13:

I heard that Demon's Souls can run at 60 FPS via emulation and decided to try that. So I used the Apollo tool for copying the saves from my PS3 to a USB stick, and then transferred them over to RPCS3 on my PC. Worked fine, and the game does indeed run at a locked 60 FPS, thanks to a fan made patch. I also increased the resolution to 1080p and bumped up Anisotropic Filtering to 16x. Looks great and runs like a dream now. Think I'll continue my playthrough here, since everything feels much more responsive. Also, I prefer the Xbox controller to the DualShock3. The latter is a bit too small for my hands, so they get strained after prolonged play sessions.

Thanks for mentioning this btw! I had been wanting to give this game a replay and was considering getting a PS3 just for it... but today I downloaded RPCS3 and found to my surprise that it runs great even on my aging gaming laptop! Amazing.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
I'm currently playing the Shivering Isles expansion, and it's really good so far! It takes place in a somewhat bizarre realm that feels a lot more like the unique world of Morrowind rather than the generic fantasy world of Oblivion.

Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon
This is basically a cross between Skyrim (open world, perspective) and Dark Souls (builds, dark fantasy vibe, comparatively challenging combat). I played it for an hour and a half, and it's really good so far. I just got out of the tutorial dungeon and stepped into the open world, and I'm intrigued.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection
It turns out that the data collection stuff I whined about in a previous post is really not as onerous as it first seemed (it's worded very ominously on the consent screen), so I repurchased this and linked it with a burner MS account. I played Halo briefly on the original Xbox back in the day, so it's been interesting to revisit it. There are still things I absolutely hate about it, but I do like how the game is built around set pieces without being completely "cinematic" and on rails like a lot of the other games that were coming out around that time.

This collection allows you to switch between the original graphics and remastered graphics on the fly by pressing TAB, and it's surprisingly fun to compare the two from area to area. The remastered graphics change way too much and don't look as striking, though they are of course technically more impressive, so I've been playing in the classic mode.

newtmonkey wrote on Today, 15:20:

Thanks for mentioning this btw! I had been wanting to give this game a replay and was considering getting a PS3 just for it... but today I downloaded RPCS3 and found to my surprise that it runs great even on my aging gaming laptop! Amazing.

Glad to hear it.

And yeah, RPCS3 is surprisingly light on my system too. I checked its performance via MSI Afterburner, and both CPU and GPU utilization hover between 20-25% while playing Demon's Souls on my Ryzen 7 5700X + RTX 3060 12GB rig. Kudos to the developers for optimizing the emulator so well.