I’ve never played a soulslike games because they are a bit intimidating to me. Amy recommendations for soulslikes games to start on or for beginners to the genre?
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Elden Ring is the best one for beginners, because if you get stuck at a boss you can just leave that area and go somewhere else. You are very rarely ever “stuck”. That is not the case with any of the other Soulsborne games.
In addition, it has spirit summons which make the game significantly easier.
And since it’s the newest one AND has a DLC coming out soon, it’s also the most played one right now. So finding other players for co-op is easy.
I also consider the bosses, on the whole, to be the easiest of all of the FROM Software games.
Also the biggest positive is the capability of fast traveling from your map from anywhere as long as you aren’t in combat.
It removes the hesitation to explore areas from which you can’t return easily.
That’s the biggest thing that made Elden Ring significantly less stressful for me.
Plus you don’t have to worry about weapon durability.
I second this, one of my good friends only started gaming over covid. We were all hardcore souls players and helped her get through bloodborne and ds3 but she was basically just letting us handle most of the fighting. But when ER came out she got really into it and has played through solo several times. From Software took a lot of the pain points out of the format while keeping it challenging and fresh. Elden ring also has great online, I wasn’t a huge fan of the game (I prefer Bloodborne, Sekiro and AC 6) just I spent hundreds of hours just running around the Lands Between with my friends during covid.
You could try “Another Crab’s treasure”. It even has accessibility options to make it easier if it’s too intimidating.
Ah yes.
The game that just straight up gives you a giant handgun if you simply ask.
lol that’s hilarious
Of the ones I’ve played, Elden Ring. The biggest aid for new players being that if something’s too tough, you just go somewhere easier and come back later. The opening area has a boss roaming a field designed to teach you exactly that lesson.
I’ve also heard the magic in Elden ring makes it easier than the others. Any thoughts on that?
I liked the magic in Elden Ring. First Souls game I played magic in and I feel it was very strong. If you’re going with sorceries, just be aware that the first magic teacher is easily missed. Look up where they are if you get too far into the game without finding more magic.
I hate other souls like games but managed my way through Elden Ring because of this and what /u/ampersandrew said about going away and coming back after exploring and leveling a bit more.
Doesn’t linking users work differently here? I thought @ampersandrew@lemmy.world would be the canonical way to mention users, given that it includes their instance. I’m still fairly new to Lemmy, so maybe that’s app/instance-specific
Oh yeah, my bad. Did that completely on autopilot!
It is the most wizarding friendly game FromSoftware has made.
Through their other games the pattern was for wizards: the level getting to the boss was tough managing your spell uses, but then the boss was easy if you reserved enough.
In Elden Ring there are less ‘levels’ and almost none of the classic ‘runback’ to a boss if you die. So you almost always can full power a boss.
Which feels easier in comparison. Though the Elden Ring bosses were designed around that more.
Imminent DLC will shake things up too.
Honestly, I disliked Souls-like games until I played Hollow Knight (at that point, I tried Dark Souls but didn’t get very far). It isn’t a Souls-like game (2D Metroidvania), but as it shares some of their themes and elements, after finishing it I was motivated to try Dark Souls again (and ended up doing a full playthrough).
Elden Ring for sure. Lots of tools to help with difficulty, and you can leave and go somewhere else.
I do not enjoy Soulslikes, but I really liked Tunic. Some things it has going for it:
- It is extremely nonverbal, but what it does give you is invested in helping you figure out a path to success. By intention, that’s not always obvious. You may need to work out for yourself when to dodge or to block.
- The atmosphere is bright and cheery, though it has its spooky and atmospheric bits.
- The camera is top down, so you don’t need to manage the camera while playing.
- Dying is not very punishing. You lose a bit of currency, which you can retain at the same spot; and that currency isn’t often critical to progress
Dark Souls 1. It’s not impossible and it has some of the best level design in the genre.
You could try Animus: Stand Alone, the android version isn’t available anymore but the PC, Xbox, Switch and iOS versions seem to still be available. It had a sequel called Animus: Harbinger but it seems like only the Switch and iOS versions are the only ones still available. There was also a third Animus game but Revenant is quite different from the first two.
Another game I can recommend is Castlevania: Curse of Darkness. It was only ever available for the PS2 and Xbox but it’s gameplay, especially during bosses, is similar to dark souls.
Personally, I’d say Sekiro. You need to be good with timing but the experience is much more streamlined. There’s no equipment system so you don’t have to worry about finding what’s good for you, let alone slogging it through the first however many hours to get whatever items get recommended in Top X lists. Also, I find the movement system is much more to my liking. It feels immediate instead of trying to sprint through a field of porridge. However, if porridge is what you’re looking for, Sekiro is a poor pick for you.
Lies of P is also a good pick for having tighter movement and QoL upgrades over Souls games though I dare say a lot of fans will want to drag me across the coals for saying that.
I very much enjoyed Sekiro and it led me to Elden Ring that I then, in turn, did not enjoy at all. haha Sekiro feels much more approachable but it doesn’t have the replayability of other Souls games.
Demon’s Souls isn’t available on PC, but it is the original Soulslike game. Your best bet is to start with Dark Souls 1. They’re not necessarily easy, but it is the origin to an entire genre, so I feel like those may be a better intro to Soulslike. Also, Elden Ring is too demanding - unless you have a good rig, in that case, you can pick that first. For a gothic vibe, you can go with Bloodbourne.
I’de just jump on elden ring. Get some experience before shadow of the eartree comes out.
elden ring probably. like you i found souls-style games scary. i think i installed dark souls 3 and quit before getting anywhere but i managed to beat elden ring even though I did initially refund it :D
Darksouls 1 makes the most sense, it’s where most fans started.
No way lol, dark souls 1 is likely the most difficult in the series because it doesn’t hold your hand at all, and it’s very easy to get lost. There’s a reason it people kept comparing any super hard game to dark souls despite the fact that DS2 and DS3 were fairly accessible.
The combat is very slow im ds1 compared to other games which makes it far easier. People say dark souls meaning the whole series not specifically ds1.
I haven’t played ds2 or 3 yet, but found ds1 to be easier than fallen order / sekiro with how you can level up your way through tough enemies even if you dont take the intended route
Blasphemous is not too hard and has a great story. Just don’t go to the mountains first.
Fallen order. You can adjust the difficulty!
Oggdo Boggdo flashbacks.
“Oggdo Boggdo, I’ve come to bargain!”
“For the love of all things holy, it’s just a pink poncho, please leave me alone.”
