Gaming Returnal (PS5)

Siorac

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I've played 10 hours of bloodborne and was enjoying it. I'm maybe naively waiting for a proper PS5 update though for 60FPS whereas correct me if I'm wrong but the other dark soul's games have had enhancements.
The entire Souls trilogy runs on 60 FPS on PS5 but they haven't had next-gen enhancements.
 

Siorac

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How good is the Dark Souls Remaster? Has it brought it in line with the newer Dark Souls titles?

Apologies for derailing this thread slightly here!
It's... a mixed bag. Don't get me wrong: if you never played the game before, it's an outstanding version for you. Runs smoothly at 60 fps, most bugs and glitches have been fixed, and you can focus on enjoying one of the best games of all time without the framerate chugging to a halt in Blighttown.

But... for PC gamers at least, it offered very little. The original Prepare to Die Edition with the DSFix mod basically offers everything the remaster does, except one extra bonfire and a couple of pretty graphical effects. The remaster costs €40 and whenever a Souls streamer plays the first Dark Souls on PC, the chat ALWAYS asks the question 'is this remastered or PTDE?' - and frankly, it should be obvious but it isn't, you have to look for minor details to tell them apart.
 

CassiusClaymore

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Also the gun play is so satisfying in this and I think the clever use of the left trigger for primary and secondary fire modes could be a game changer.
 

TrustInJanuzaj

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It's... a mixed bag. Don't get me wrong: if you never played the game before, it's an outstanding version for you. Runs smoothly at 60 fps, most bugs and glitches have been fixed, and you can focus on enjoying one of the best games of all time without the framerate chugging to a halt in Blighttown.

But... for PC gamers at least, it offered very little. The original Prepare to Die Edition with the DSFix mod basically offers everything the remaster does, except one extra bonfire and a couple of pretty graphical effects. The remaster costs €40 and whenever a Souls streamer plays the first Dark Souls on PC, the chat ALWAYS asks the question 'is this remastered or PTDE?' - and frankly, it should be obvious but it isn't, you have to look for minor details to tell them apart.
Okay noted thanks for that. I'll keep my eye on the remaster, might wait to see if it goes on sale again.
 

TrustInJanuzaj

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Also the gun play is so satisfying in this and I think the clever use of the left trigger for primary and secondary fire modes could be a game changer.
Agreed, once you get used to it it works very well. If nothing else it opens up two additional buttons which is always useful on a controller compared to a keyboard. Would be great on a game like Skyrim where you could have block on half-press and then a spell on full press or something like that.
 

BusbyMalone

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While I think the game is great, I'm toying with leaving it for a bit until they implement some sort of save function. There's been such an outcry for one that I assume they will do something. I just don't have the time (or inclination, quite frankly) to sit for 4 hours straight to have a long run because I can't save and quit. Other games of this ilk have a function like this so surely they could put one into this game.

Also, as someone who likes trophies I've heard that a lot of the trophies are glitched. Reading stories of people defeating bosses and the trophies not popping so they have to beat them again and again until they unlock. And also story-related trophies not popping which means you have to play through the story again. Not great.
 

CassiusClaymore

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I just don't have the time (or inclination, quite frankly) to sit for 4 hours straight to have a long run because I can't save and quit. Other games of this ilk have a function like this so surely they could put one into this game.
If you're as bad as me this is not an issue. :lol:

What are the best weapons in people's opinions? The assault rifle seems the best, wasn't so keen on the shotgun. Not sure how it happened but on my one and only succesful run to the boss I seemed to have an assault rifle with a red shield in front of it that was bordering on OP.
 

b82REZ

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If you're as bad as me this is not an issue. :lol:

What are the best weapons in people's opinions? The assault rifle seems the best, wasn't so keen on the shotgun. Not sure how it happened but on my one and only succesful run to the boss I seemed to have an assault rifle with a red shield in front of it that was bordering on OP.
The name escapes me, but it fires bolts which attach red pylons to enemies and scenery which do continuous damage.
 

TrustInJanuzaj

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While I think the game is great, I'm toying with leaving it for a bit until they implement some sort of save function. There's been such an outcry for one that I assume they will do something. I just don't have the time (or inclination, quite frankly) to sit for 4 hours straight to have a long run because I can't save and quit. Other games of this ilk have a function like this so surely they could put one into this game.

Also, as someone who likes trophies I've heard that a lot of the trophies are glitched. Reading stories of people defeating bosses and the trophies not popping so they have to beat them again and again until they unlock. And also story-related trophies not popping which means you have to play through the story again. Not great.
Put it in rest mode? I understand the complaint but you can just stick the PlayStation in rest mode and come back to it.
 

CassiusClaymore

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The name escapes me, but it fires bolts which attach red pylons to enemies and scenery which do continuous damage.
I don't think I've come across that yet. Had one that fired homing bullets as well. Think that was on a pistol though.

I've also remapped dash to L1 and put item use on O instead. Seems more intuitive and allows me to keep my thumb on the right stick at all times.
 

b82REZ

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I don't think I've come across that yet. Had one that fired homing bullets as well. Think that was on a pistol though.

I've also remapped dash to L1 and put item use on O instead. Seems more intuitive and allows me to keep my thumb on the right stick at all times.
I remapped alt fire to L1. Hated the original scheme.

Normally I bind jump to R3 so I can move camera whole jumping, but I feel its much less important in this game as it promotes dodge first, shoot second.
 

BusbyMalone

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Put it in rest mode? I understand the complaint but you can just stick the PlayStation in rest mode and come back to it.
Yeah, I know this, but this isn't really a great option. It seems like a really half-arsed solution from the developers. And to highlight how poor and half-arsed this is, people lost 7-8 hour runs on Sunday because they left the game in rest mode like the developers told them to, but because those same developers released an update for the game, it kicked those people out of the game to download and install that update, hence they lost the run.

Also, you can't play any other game while that game is suspended. And, what if you're not the only one who uses the consosle? Or just don't like leaving your console on. It's a really poor solution, IMO.
 

TrustInJanuzaj

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Yeah, I know this, but this isn't really a great option. It seems like a really half-arsed solution from the developers. And to highlight how poor and half-arsed this is, people lost 7-8 hour runs on Sunday because they left the game in rest mode like the developers told them to, but because those same developers released an update for the game, it kicked those people out of the game to download and install that update, hence they lost the run.

Also, you can't play any other game while that game is suspended. And, what if you're not the only one who uses the consosle? Or just don't like leaving your console on. It's a really poor solution, IMO.
Oh I agree it’s less than ideal. I think you are right that they will end up bowing to pressure and putting in some form is save system. The only reason it wasn’t an issue for me was the bank holiday and having plenty of time to do some long runs. That isn’t the case normally.
 

BusbyMalone

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If you're as bad as me this is not an issue. :lol:

What are the best weapons in people's opinions? The assault rifle seems the best, wasn't so keen on the shotgun. Not sure how it happened but on my one and only succesful run to the boss I seemed to have an assault rifle with a red shield in front of it that was bordering on OP.
I'm not particularly that great at it either!

In terms of weapons, I tend to look at traits more than anything. If you can get the Tachyomatic Carbine with High Caliber and Rising Pitch, you got a decent gun in the early game IMO
 
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CassiusClaymore

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I remapped alt fire to L1. Hated the original scheme.

Normally I bind jump to R3 so I can move camera whole jumping, but I feel its much less important in this game as it promotes dodge first, shoot second.
Really? Mate. Adapt or die. I think it's really clever. Took 30 mins or so to get the hang of it but the triggers are solid enough for me to never over press and go into alt fire unless i mean to.

I'm not particularly that great at it either!

In terms of weapons, I tend to look at traits more than anything. If you can get the Tachyomatic Carbine with High Caliber and Rising Pitch, you got a decent gun in the early game IMO
Tachyomatic Carbine. That's the one! Was just looking at the weapon perks and I must have had 'hardened' at some point, hench the shield.
 

Siorac

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Put it in rest mode? I understand the complaint but you can just stick the PlayStation in rest mode and come back to it.
And turn off auto-updates because oops, a game update or a system update might just close the game. Also, forget about playing other games or letting someone else use the same console. Oh, and be fortunate enough that rest mode never bugs out on your PS5.

Even as a workaround, putting it into rest mode is terrible. I'm still sort of amazed that during development and playtesting, no one thought to ask the question: 'hey, what if someone can't commit 4 hours a day to this?' I really want to get this game but there's no way I'm buying it until they add some save & quit option. I don't care if it allows other to savescum via cloud saves or external drives. That's their problem, not mine.
 

b82REZ

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Really? Mate. Adapt or die. I think it's really clever. Took 30 mins or so to get the hang of it but the triggers are solid enough for me to never over press and go into alt fire unless i mean to.



Tachyomatic Carbine. That's the one! Was just looking at the weapon perks and I must have had 'hardened' at some point, hench the shield.
Just isn't for me. I'm very heavy handed so in any hectic sections I'm regularly pressing down too hard.

I did try and preserve early on but for me having L2 as standard and L1 as alt works much better. Do miss the feedback though.
 

ovoxo

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Ended up picking it up today. Really fun game so far!
The first Biome wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be, and I didn’t die other than that one point…

I ended up defeating the first boss on the first try which I was happy about! Got through to the second Biome but wanted a break, and I know I’ll be playing cod with some mates later so pressed through until I died. I think the run was around 2 hours, which isn’t too bad. I do think a save and quit function would be useful.

In the house the books and the blurbs? Almost like it’s foreshadowing.

I’m interested to see where the story goes.
 

BusbyMalone

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Not sure if anyone is doing these, but I'd recommend you do the daily challenges. They give you 5 ether on completion and they're not too bad. I just did one and it took me about 35-40 minutes. Seems a good way to get ether as it's relatively scarce.
 

siw2007

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How bloody long is the 2nd biome?? I think I’m doing really well to get to the 3rd part of the 2nd biome but it’s taking forever. I just came across two of the teleportation enemies and got swatted aside really easily so hope I don’t get that room again.
 

esmufc07

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How bloody long is the 2nd biome?? I think I’m doing really well to get to the 3rd part of the 2nd biome but it’s taking forever. I just came across two of the teleportation enemies and got swatted aside really easily so hope I don’t get that room again.
Wait until the third biome :lol:
 

CassiusClaymore

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I think I get this now. You basically have to milk everything on the level (biome) to power up your character before visiting the boss (with the possible exception of the containment chamber) to give yourself the best chance. Obviously you'll need a bit of luck along the way in terms of what you get but it doesn't feel like a chore as the areas are mostly all regenerated and feel new and at the same time you're building up knowledge of the enemies and their attack patterns. It's defintely got that one more go vibe going on.

A few things I've discovered so far...(some pretty obvious I admit)

  • It's smart to warp back to the ship to rest when you lose health rather than approach the green shit during a run to top up. If you approach them with full health they become resin which will increase your max health
  • The melee is useful on more than just the robot turrets especially on those tree twats and certainly on staggered enemies
  • If you enter a locked room with a big green tower, take that out first as it's supplying health to everything in the room
  • Shoot those big eye statues in the eye and you get a brief window to sneak by and grab whatever is there
  • Statues with glowing eyes contain money or enemies. You can shoot them all down
  • Take out the bats/flying manta rays first
  • Might as well set yourself to 'run' at all times in the game settings because you'll be doing a lot of it
 
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TrustInJanuzaj

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I think I get this now. You basically have to milk everything on the level (bio-ome) to power up your character before visiting the boss (with the possible exception of the containment chamber) to give yourself the best chance. Obviously you'll need a bit of luck along the way in terms of what you get but it doesn't feel like a chore as the areas are mostly all regenerated and feel new and at the same time you're building up knowledge of the enemies and their attack patterns. It's defintely got that one more go vibe going on.

A few things I've discovered so far...(some pretty obvious I admit)

  • It's smart to warp back to the ship to rest when you lose health rather than approach the green shit during a run to top up. If you approach them with full health they become resin which will increase your max health
  • The melee is useful on more than just the robot turrets especially on those tree twats and certainly on staggered enemies
  • If you enter a locked room with a big green tower, take that out first as it's supplying health to everything in the room
  • Shoot those big eye statues in the eye and you get a brief window to sneak by and grab whatever is there
  • Statues with glowing eyes contain money or enemies. You can shoot them all down
  • Take out the bats/flying manta rays first
  • Might as well set yourself to 'run' at all times in the game settings because you'll be doing a lot of it
Also I’ll add it’s worth shooting the plants for anyone that isn’t. On the first biome if you shout that little purple plants they will often hide money, resins and parasites.

On the second biome look out for the small rocks with yellow bits as they contain money if you break them.
 

esmufc07

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Patch Notes:

  • Fixed an issue where certain Trophies might not unlock under specific gameplay conditions. Note: missing Trophies will need to be replayed to unlock.
  • Multiple stability fixes addressing rare crashes/hangs.
  • Fixed issue with pre-order suits occasionally blocking item collection and door opening.
  • Fixed incorrect healing behaviour when resting in Helios.
  • Configuration changes to increase the number of scout corpses available in all biomes.
  • Fixed issues with certain custom controller mappings.
  • Numerous minor fixes and improvements.
 

Riz

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Patch Notes:

  • Fixed an issue where certain Trophies might not unlock under specific gameplay conditions. Note: missing Trophies will need to be replayed to unlock.
  • Multiple stability fixes addressing rare crashes/hangs.
  • Fixed issue with pre-order suits occasionally blocking item collection and door opening.
  • Fixed incorrect healing behaviour when resting in Helios.
  • Configuration changes to increase the number of scout corpses available in all biomes.
  • Fixed issues with certain custom controller mappings.
  • Numerous minor fixes and improvements.
Damn still no saves then. It is a shame as there's little point jumping on for half an hour as I don't want to be putting my PS5 into rest mode all the time.
 

CassiusClaymore

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Still can't beat Phrike. Keeps getting me in 3rd form. :(

I feel like I need to go in there with a bonus life (one of those astronaut dolls) or I'm wasting my time.

The runs are very luck dependent. I had one last night where there would be no way for me to get back to the ship so I knew that was a non starter from the off.
 

Woodzy

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Still can't beat Phrike. Keeps getting me in 3rd form. :(

I feel like I need to go in there with a bonus life (one of those astronaut dolls) or I'm wasting my time.

The runs are very luck dependent. I had one last night where there would be no way for me to get back to the ship so I knew that was a non starter from the off.
Can't you pretty much always warp to the ship?

For 3rd phase, just watch out for the melee attacks and you should be good. In particular watch out for that one where he shouts rings out from the floor.
 

CassiusClaymore

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Can't you pretty much always warp to the ship?

For 3rd phase, just watch out for the melee attacks and you should be good. In particular watch out for that one where he shouts rings out from the floor.
There's no warp in the actual ship room is there? So no, in this instance I got the room with the big drop down to the floor straight after with no way back up. Only time it has happened mind.

Yeah I think I've got the pattern for that attack now. Dash away from melee first and then jump over the ring.
 

ovoxo

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Can't you pretty much always warp to the ship?

For 3rd phase, just watch out for the melee attacks and you should be good. In particular watch out for that one where he shouts rings out from the floor.
Yep, this is the issue with the third phase. I jumped and then dashed right when I knew he was going to melee. Then that gives you time to get through the two rings.

Apparently the melee gives you invincibility frames, so if you’ve used dash already and are waiting for it to load, then you can try melee but don’t quote me on that.
 

esmufc07

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Frozen Wastelands is hard. Had a 2 hour run to it yesterday, was well levelled and well stocked with items but when I got to one of the mini bosses it just wiped the floor with me.

We go again!
 

b82REZ

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Hoping to get really stuck into this this weekend. I played a fair bit last weekend, but because I was housesitting I was playing on a shitty 1080p screen. I'm blaming that for my mediocre runs so far.

It is a shame I pretty much can only play this game at weekend. I can't risk getting into a good run and not be able to use my PlayStation all week.
 

CassiusClaymore

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FML. Only realised yesterday that you can open the portcullis doors by shooting the yellow light that's nearby. I was expecting them to open up later on in metroid stylee after unlocking a gadget.
 

ArmandTamzarian

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Beat Ixiom (2nd boss) on my 2nd attempt just now with low health for probably about half of the final phase, good lord my heart was going like the clappers, managed to snag an astronaut figurine in my run to help towards it but what an exhilarating few minutes that was.
 

bosnian_red

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Beat the first area and boss without dying. Getting absolutely destroyed in the 2nd one though. Great game though. Need to be more patient and not try to sprint through to where I was.
 

BusbyMalone

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Second boss down on my second try. Getting my arse kicked a bit though in the third biome. These daily challenges are helping a lot as they give you 5 ether each time on completion, which enables you to buy an item at the start of a run. Would definitely recommend people do this.
 

b82REZ

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Been really busy this week so barely played this. Jumped on a few runs yesterday and got my arse kicked everytime.

Interesting decision to get rid of healing at the ship, makes a hard game even harder. I still really hope they patch in saves or checkpoint support. I understand their design decision but from a player POV it feels awful to not play a new game because you don't want to have your console out of action all week.
 

TrustInJanuzaj

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Hows everyone getting on with this? Anyone else had the credits roll on Act 2?

My issue is I'm just struggling to motivate myself to go back into the runs now that I've beaten the main bosses and I'm simply grinding to get the right collectable drops. It's a very hard (repetitive) platinum from the guides I've seen so I doubt I'll ever manage that but I also don't really have the motivation to go in and finish Act 3 although I'd like to try.
 

BusbyMalone

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Hows everyone getting on with this? Anyone else had the credits roll on Act 2?

My issue is I'm just struggling to motivate myself to go back into the runs now that I've beaten the main bosses and I'm simply grinding to get the right collectable drops. It's a very hard (repetitive) platinum from the guides I've seen so I doubt I'll ever manage that but I also don't really have the motivation to go in and finish Act 3 although I'd like to try.
Haven't played a massive amount of it because i was going to wait for some sort of save feature, but i did play on the weekend and yesterday a bit. Beat the second boss, got to the thrid boss last night and got him down to his third phase and the fecker killed me. I think he's very beatable though. May have a go later after the football.

I do like the third biome, though. I really love the look of it, although some of the enemies are a pain in the arse.

I wasn't much of a fan of the second biome.