Steelrising

Steelrising is an RPG with Soulslike elements — it’s not a Hack and Slash. It’s not the first to mix these elements, of course, but it’s a good game. The historical context, the blend of fiction and fantasy with well-known figures from French history and the French Revolution, is fun and immersive, and the storyline is very solid. On the downside, movement and camera control can be problematic at times. Even though Aegis is an automaton doll, the lack of fluidity — combined with the camera often obstructing the view — seriously hurts the combat experience. I just can’t understand why Soulslike games, and others inspired by them, insist on including platforming sections — like jumping from one ledge to another. Many of these games are already clunky by nature, and then they expect you to jump around on platforms? It honestly feels like it’s just there to test the player’s patience. Oh well. On the positive side, the game is immersive. Aegis’s voice acting suits her perfectly — it’s charming, with a sweet tone. At the same time, it sounds mechanical, fitting for an automaton, while also conveying a deep sense of sadness and, at times, emptiness (kudos to Cassie Layton). All in all, it’s a game that blends its elements well. It’s challenging, though not as hard as a typical Soulslike. It has a strong narrative, collectible documents that are genuinely enjoyable to read and that help flesh out the characters. There are great boss fights and a wonderful soundtrack. If you enjoy all of that, go for it — fun is guaranteed.

It's actually surprisingly good. I put it off because I thought it'd be janky as hell, but now that I've been playing it, I've been pleasantly surprised. The mixing of french in the dialogs is neat and weirdly smooth which I've not seen before. All other similar cases have been "I'm French-desu" style, but not this, this is doing it Well. The story is interesting and doesn't feel like it witholds crucial info too long. All the enemies being robots (automats as they're called in-game) is kinda meh, but there's nice variety to them. There's some non-critical bugs with dialogs (camera not following speaker), some side-quests seem to not progress fully (hollow cannonball one for me just ended abruptly before conclusion). But no issues with the main quest. The citizen stories side-side quests are pretty much impossible to complete without a guide tho (thus I haven't bothered). Countering is hard, I don't know if the timing is just super tight, or if it's bugged. I'm not good with that kind of gameplay in most games, so I'm poor judge of it. Overall, I have liked it so far and I believe I am nearing finishing with the game. (gog really wanted me to write this with the constant pestering for it)

Why do people put themselves through this genre? I can't see how a game can be fun when all you are doing is dodging big bosses over and over a million times, dieing repeatedly, while trying to get pot shots in, all the while having to repeat the same enemies a hundred times over when you inevitably die to some bs hit you quite clearly dodged. The setting seems like a great idea, shame its ruined by this "souls-like" gameplay. I can't even remember what im supposed to do with all the death interruptions. It's not fun at all, it's a sadism simulator.

*heavily* inspired by enemies and maps found in dark souls 3, but in a different and engaging layout! combat feels clunky and slow due to the lack of any ability to attack cancel, but if you're a fan of DS1 combat style without the severe difficulty, this is it. one complaint, as with all games set in france: why do they speak english with a british accent?

One of the best games I've ever play...