5 reviews liked by Llamacide


imagine being the guy that plays this game for 30 hours, experiences the plight of these tragic pseudo-humans, and says "hum, i think i will masturbate to this"

To me, Dark Souls II is like if someone saw Dark Souls and said, "Hey! Let's make that into a video game!"

That doesn't mean that I think DS2 is bad, or that I think it's design is poor, I just think that its design philosophy is a lot more "gamey" feeling. This is my second time playing it through, (the first was in 2016) and I think I've really warmed up to it in the time since. I think DS2 tends to get a bit of a hard rap for not being as polished or as fresh-feeling as Demon's Souls or DS1, and I think it's actually a pretty solid sequel, all things considered. One thing I genuinely came to appreciate in this playthrough, is the sense of "hope" that runs at the plot's core. I really enjoy that several travelers you meet along the way, come back to live with you in Majula. It gives you a sense that you're not actually alone in your struggle, a beacon of light in a game series famous for its dreary isolation. While it's not my favorite Souls game by far, I'd rather play Dark Souls II than most games! That's how well I'd say this one's stuck with me.

i want to see the ending of this game but i cannot stand playing this shitty knockoff of shadow of the colossus/god of war

I really love this game!
Art and designs are some of my favorites from lately, music is incredible, the characters are likeable and interesting. I really, really enjoyed my time in the world of NSR.

Sadly, this game REALLY falls off in the gameplay department. It has neat ideas and it has all the pieces to make a good action game, but doesn't manage to make anything work. Combat feels pretty stiff, parrying can sometimes feel unresponsive (or sometimes telegraph but just not execute), the normal enemies are awful.
Having the rhythm play a part in the combat is a neat idea, but doesn't really work since all the chaos just feels like sensory overload. Stickers don't really feel like they have an impact. A lot of mods feel useless and don't really do anything interesting.

Bosses, one of the highlights of the game, also have a ton of problems. While they are mostly good at the start, the execution starts to nosedive after the third boss. The ideas are definitely there, but it fails to make a functional boss fight. I just wish the Approach sections (which are very obtuse and uninteresting) were scrapped to enhance the bosses.

Another big problem I have is that there is a very clear lack of testing. Co-op has a ton of bugs and the camera is AWFUL!!! Tons of things in the game were very clearly no though out for the co-op mode.

No Straight Roads is a really entertaining game with a lot of heart behind it. Every little thing about it shows how much the dev team loved the project. I just wish I could give it a 4.5, but the unpolished gameplay is something that I can't just turn a blind eye to.

Still, for a first game, this is REALLY good. I'm really looking forward to more games from this team. This was a really enjoyable experience, one of the most charming games I've played!