@TheBrandedSwordsman I don’t know… maybe it’s gone from lukewarm now to toasty. 😅
I liked the traversal. I haven’t played Elden Ring or Horizon Forbidden West yet, which are games that I think have inspired that dynamic and seamless glider / grappling / horseback transitioning. It looks fun though. Spider-Man 2 also has that mechanic too, so it’s really become popular to fly and swing from place to place.
The combat was the other highlight, because yes, it does look tighter than the comparative open world games like the Assassin’s Creed games that inspired this genre. I haven’t played Sekiro or Nioh, so also can’t comment on how the combat compares, but RotR looks to rely a lot on parry / blocking. I did notice there’s a lot of bar and icons on the HUD and so I hope it isn’t too complicated.
The part that didn’t excite me was the setting. I don’t mind the samurai and classic Japanese backdrop, but it has been done a lot lately. This one taking place in the late 1800’s (if I recall correctly) is a nice diversion from the medieval setting these games usually take. In fact, I’m curious why it’s called “Rise of the Ronin” if it takes place in the 1800’s when the ronin essentially disappear with the disbanding of the samurai class. Perhaps that’s the narrative hook — a last ditch “rise” of a wandering ronin protagonist fighting off some enemy as a last hurrah. It has potential. For me, that will be key — a strong narrative. There’s lots of open world fun action games with strong combat, but this could really set itself apart if it couples a compelling story.
What did you think?
As far as other games from the SoP, I liked Desth Stranding 2. Crazy Kojima nonsense, like the first game. 😂 But despite the weirdness of the trailers, I ended up loving the first game and it did some really, really unique things. So I expect DS2 not to disappoint.
The other game I was watching closely was Stellar Blade. It felt a little too much like NieR Automata. And NieR Automata was a game I also adored from last gen, but I wasn’t expecting Stellar Blade to be a knockoff of that. Again, NA’s strength for me was in the crazy, non-traditional and experimental storyline. If SB is just a copy of the setting, character tropes, and combat, then it will be a disappointment for me. Hopefully it sets itself apart with some unique elements, either narratively or gameplay-wise.
I liked the Dragon’s Dogma 2 footage. I know what to expect there. And Silent Hill 2 looked so disturbing that I think I’ll leave that game alone for now. 😅 I really liked what I saw from Judas. I expect it to blow my mind like BioShock and BioShock Infinite did.
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@Jimmer-jammer Tagging Jimmer with these thoughts, and anyone else who wants to chime in about what they liked or didn’t like yesterday 😄
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@TheBrandedSwordsman Yeah, it’s looking really interesting. As @Th3solution was saying, the time period it’s set in has a lot of potential. Bakumatsu lends itself extremely well to Team Ninja’s narrative ambitions with this game, what with allowing the player to align themselves with various conflicting ideologies through the relationships they build. Here’s hoping these aspects shape up nicely. As for combat, well, I have no worries there and traversal already looks interesting. What I’d like to see more of is how exactly the open world is fleshed out. Guess we’ll find out soon!
Family is doing well, thanks! I’m currently scoring/doing foley for a six episode web series we shot over the fall/winter so that’s keeping me busy. Starting to plan out some new projects for the spring.
How are you doing? How has the volunteer work been going?
“Reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning.” C.S. Lewis
I can't believe I didn't know about the Sonic Generations remake. I think I wrote something in a thread here years ago about how much Sonic Generations means to me. Very excited for this. Probably my most anticipated behind Project 007. But Stellar Blade and whatever the new Kojima thing will be are pretty high on my list.
I think I had the opposite reaction to the Silent Hill 2 trailer, brought back lost memories (not quite traumatic but definitely disturbing) of running away from those weird leg things and scary nurses and really looking forward to getting back to it.
Same with Stellar Blade, my first impression was that they'd combined Nier Automata with Final Fantasy in a way that could be interesting. Really looking forward to seeing how that Judas thing works out as the BioShock games were brilliant in their time. Actually tempted me to go back to the remastered ones I've got - I only did the first one but still have them installed on my PS4.
To be honest though the reveal that pleased me most (I even did a little cheer) was seeing that Dave the Diver was getting a playstation port. That's the kind of little indie adventure that really gels with me.
@sorteddan I have no context for Dave the Diver but I know a lot of people are excited about it. I do think it’s great to bring indies and smaller games to the PlayStation and give them some love in these press releases.
I’m just a middling fan of horror, so we’ll see how Silent Hill 2 ends up as to whether it will tempt me. I think I played the first game years ago and I thought I played SH2 also but nothing in the trailer seemed familiar. I’ve probably blocked out the disturbing memories in order to minimize the nightmares! 😅 Every now and then a horror / thriller game is something I really crave, but I have to be in the right mood.
I’m realizing more and more that my lasting impressions from games often end up being the story. Both NieR Automata and BioShock delivered in spades there. So these “inspired by” new IP’s will need to do more than mimic the setting, tone, or gameplay in order to affect me. I have little doubt in Judas in that front since it’s Levine. It’s Stellar Blade that is the biggest question mark. I like the post-apocalyptic setup that we know so far.
As far as the BioShock games, I stalled out on BS2 when I tried to play it through the remastered collection (I had skipped it on PS3 and only played the first and Infinite) I need to go back and try to finish it. I also tried to replay Infinite once and didn’t maintain it. I think it’s partly because I’ve already experienced the story and its big reveals, and the first person shooting gameplay and graphics weren’t anything spectacular for me personally.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@Th3solution@sorteddan I too cheered when Dave the diver was announced, I like underwater games and have seen quite a bit of positivity around this title. I thought it would hit PS at some point after launching on Switch but you can never tell these days.
I wasn't overly impressed with Stellar Blade trailer, it looks good and all but that trailer was bogged down with minor aspects of the game that weren't interesting, for me at least.
Both of the VR titles interest me and both were new which is a good sign for these shows, still yet to buy a headset as I want to see a commitment from Sony internal studios plus the lack of backward compatibility and ports really annoyed me.
As for Bioshock, I didn't think much of 2 and Infinite when I played them on PS3 but I recently complete the collection which was on PS Plus and really enjoyed them this time around. I struggled with both games on PS3 but not so on PS4.
As a footnote, there was talk before the show about Sony first party (internal studios) and I didn't expect anything from them except perhaps a "coming to PC" announcement or possibly dlc. The big stuff will be at a Showcase which I expect to happen sooner rather than later although I thought the same last year.
@CaptD Yes, clearly the focus for this SoP was second and third party. People were bummed that Concord didn’t show up, but you’re right, i think they’ll save it for the eventual first party blow out at a Showcase. Maybe.
I won’t hold my breath. With all the second and third party activity at the first half of the year, I don’t think Sony has immediate plans to tip their hand on the first party projects. In fact, since Concord seems to be the only one that seems to be targeting 2024, it might just get its own little SoP when it gets close to release. Meanwhile Bend, BluePoint, Naughty Dog, Sucker Punch, Santa Monica, Asobi, and Media Molecule labor away in the shadows…
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
I can't believe I didn't know about the Sonic Generations remake. I think I wrote something in a thread here years ago about how much Sonic Generations means to me. Very excited for this. Probably my most anticipated behind Project 007. But Stellar Blade and whatever the new Kojima thing will be are pretty high on my list.
I remember that post you're referring to. I think you wrote it over in the review topic.
It's unfortunate that it leaked ahead of the show, as the trailer's reveal of Shadow would've made for a perfect blindside, but that's such a first-world problem. I only saw it after-the-fact, under headlines which ruined the surprise, but I was still blown away.
I love how reliable Sonic is becoming, and how projects are starting to embrace his entire history.
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
As someone who unironically loves the Shadow The Hedgehog game @RogerRoger I was utterly gobsmacked seeing Black Doom make an appearance! Holy Moly I never thought in a million years I'd see him ever again!
Previously known as Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy
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"You don't have to save the world to find meaning in life. Sometimes all you need is something simple, like someone to take care of"
@RogerRoger Oh it's fantastic. I haven't been keeping up with the gaming sphere as of late. At first, I thought it was just one of those cinematic trailers for a collection of old sonic games, but then I saw mini Sonic and thought, that little Sonic looks very similar to the model they used in Generations... then they showed Generations' take on that San Fransico level of Adventure and I just knew. What a great surprise.
This may seem so weird, but I do hope they keep the menu - you know the hub where you run from side to side to enter levels? I loved that. I don't quite know why. I don't love it for any practical or mechanical reason, it just brings back good memories.
@HallowMoonshadow I know, right...?! Although I'm slightly less surprised following Frontiers, which made a concerted effort to acknowledge all of Sonic's history. Besides, the only way you can give Shadow his own Generations-style retrospective campaign is to embrace his backstory, not run from it. SEGA have learned this lesson the hard way, but I'm just pleased they've learned it in my lifetime!
@TheIdleCritic I'm really glad it ended up surprising you! That's awesome!
And I'm absolutely sure they will retain White Space. I mean, it's a gorgeous menu, but it's also integral to the plot, so I'd argue that there's no Generations without it. I guess the question then becomes how they'll add Shadow's new story. I reckon it might take the place of the playable MegaDrive / Genesis, as with Origins out there I doubt they'll include Sonic 1 all over again.
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
@Th3solution Sorry for the delayed response, I was distracted by the Cricket and some other stuff.
I'm glad your excitement temperature for RotR is heating up! haha.
I thought that it looked good from the gameplay overview we saw in the SoP showcase. Like I said before, I think that it has borrowed liberally from both Sekiro and Elden Ring, with the glider being the only glimmer of innovation demonstrated thus far. But, hey, other games may have had gliders before RotR, idk. What I didn't say before though, and what I will say just to reiterate my point, is that both FromSoft and Team Ninja had done linear RPGs with difficult gameplay up to this point, and then expanded their oeuvre with these open-world games. Team Ninja devs even said in an interview that developing an open world game was a fresh challenge for them, which practically mirrored what the FromSoft devs, i.e Miyazaki and others were saying about Elden Ring. Is this biting? idk.
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