Tag: dark souls | A Banana Peeled

Talking more about soulslikes

Posted on July 24, 2025 by Minna Hong • 0 Comments

Let’s talk a bit more about soulslikes. I brought up WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers (LEENZEE) yesterday beacuse it’s coming out soon, and the RKG Discord is going mad over it. Supposedly, a games journalist said that it’s to Dark Souls what Lies of P did for Bloodborne, and several people in the Discord were so hyped about it.

Once again, I felt as if I were a weirdo in a weird world. I have heard enough good things about it that I’m mildly curious, but I also know what’s going to happen. If I have any hope in my heart, it’ll be ruthlessly stomped on as I play the game.

Side note: The game is on Game Pass. Aaaargh. That makes it way too easy to try it out. In fact, that’s how I played Lies of P (Round8 Studio/NEOWIZ)–yes, the whole game. And Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sanfall Interactive).

This game has been universally praised as one of the best (if not the best) soulslikes to date. That is quite high praise, indeed. The Backlogs, a channel I watch sporadically, did a video on whether he could beat the game with magic. Since I heard from another YouTuber that the magic gets less useful as you go along, I am keen to hear what The Backlogs has to say. But, the video is over an hour long, and he was asked by the developer to break the game. And he could show everything but the ending.

I’ve included the video below. I’m about fifteen minutes in, but I don’t know how much I’ll watch. If I am going to play the game, I don’t want to spoil myself too much. In fact, if I do play it, I have watched more than I normally would before playing a game.

I’m installing it. Yes, even someone as jaded as I am can still have hope, apparently. Even though I have been disappointed countless times before, I still want to believe that the next game will be different.

I will say that I’m glad there’s transmogrification beacuse I just cannot with the ridiculous armor. It makes me angry that this is still a thing in 20 fucking 25.

I think, though, that my time with soulslikes is coming to an end. I have not enjoyed a single one since Salt and Sanctuary (Ska Studio), and I only finished Lies of P because of my stubborn pride. I cheesed my way through it, and I did not feel a sense of accomplishment at the end. I have no desire to try the DLC, and a large part of that is because i would have to play the game again in order to get there. Roughly two-thirds of the game, at any rate. And, yes, they put in different modes, but still. Also, I would have to pay for it because it’s not on Game Pass any longer.

Sequel to the third, yes one more post

Posted on April 20, 2025 by Minna Hong • 0 Comments

I want to talk about sequels some more because I can. This is the fourth post about sequels, and I want to talk specifically about the Cozy Grove sequel. I wrote about my impressions of it (Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit (Spry Fox)), but I got stuck on the idea of sequels.

I went deep into the rabbit hole of the different Dark Souls II launch trailers, which I have not seen before, as I was thinking about sequels. FromSoft trailers always go hard, and one reason I skip them is because they give so much away. Yes, it’s hard to tell what is what without context, but still. They show late-game bosses, which is just wild. In fact, for Dark Souls III, the final boss was the box art.

I have not played more of Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit, and there are several reasons for it. But first, I’d like to reiterate that this is a mobile game. The only reason I played it at all was because I was somehow included in the Netflix beta, which I did not know until I went to Netflix for the first time in quite some time. It’s funny because I went there to cancel my membership (another post for another day), and to my surprise, I was able to play Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit on my PC. I was stoked because there was no way I was going to play the game on mobile.

By the way, in searching for the reveal trailer, I stumbled on a Reddit thread from Cozy Grove fans who were heartbroken than the game was going to be a Netflix exclusive AND a mobile game. A few people were scolding the people who said they were mad/upset/disappointed because games cost money! Yes, they do. And as I stated in my quick look at the sequel, I am not upset at Spry Fox for grabbing that Netflix money. They need to get paid and they need to eat.

However. I am also with the stalwart fans who are upset because in order to play the game, you have to keep your Netflix membership in perpetuity AND you have to play the game on your cell phone. With a teeny tiny screen. Someone pointed out that the cheapest subscription is $7.99 a month, which is $95.88 a year. It might have been a bit cheaper when the game came out because they raised their prices fairly recently, but it wouldn’t have been that much cheaper.

I wonder how many people have played the game versus the first game, but I don’t think it would be easy to find that data. I don’t think Netflix would be freely letting that out into the wild. Also, please stay in your fucking lane, Netflix. I mentioned this earlier as well, but I don’t think they are doing the right thing as they try to get into the games biz.

Sequel to the sequel about sequels

Posted on April 19, 2025 by Minna Hong • 0 Comments

I want to talk about sequels in video games one more time. In the last post, I pointed out some positive things about Scholar of the First Sin, the sequel to the first Dark Souls game. I ended it by talking about a popular FromSoft content creator who was pissed as hell that Elden Ring was designed around spirit summons. I’m not naming the guy, but he’s someone I watched casually in the past. A few months after Elden Ring was released, this guy put out a video that said in time, Elden Ring would be considered the worst FromSoft game. Ever.

I laughed in bemusement because one, it was only a few months after the game had come out. Two, who the hell was this guy to be the final arbiter on what was the worst FromSoft game of all time? Three. He was just wrong–and it was sour grapes. Four. It very much reminded me of fans of a hipster band who got angry when that band got big. “I was a fan before they were popular!”

Did FromSoft take a different tack with this game than with their past games? Yes. Did they balance the boss fights around spirit summons/human summons? Yes. More the former than the latter, but they made it pretty clear that the game was very summon-friendly. They also made it harder to get invaded in that you had to be using the multi-player aspect in order to be invaded. In past games, you could get invaded simply by being human–and in the case of Dark Souls II, when you weren’t human, too. I haaaaaaated that about the sequel because I suck at PvP and was mad that there was no respite from being invaded in that game. In fact, I think the more curse you had, the easier it was to get invaded. So, the opposite of the other games.

It’s funny to me how people claim they want something different, but then insist on playing the games in the exact same way. I watched a video arguing that fighting the bosses solo in Elden Ring was playing on hard mode, and it was a choice players made for themselves. Before this game, I was someone who did fight all the bosses solo (with some exceptions, but I’m not going to get into that).

It’s funny how death changes you, though. Or at least it did me. When I came back form the dead, I was grateful to have another Miyazaki world to explore; I did not care about soloing. At all. I mean, I have done all the main bosses with just the spirit summon, which is this game’s soloing the bosses.

Anyway. Here’s my point. We rail at developers for putting out the same game over and over. And then we rail at them when they change things up. This has always been my observation about Dark Souls II. If it had been called something completely different, I don’t think it would have gotten half the shit it did. But as I said in the last post, it was caught between a rock and a hard place.

FromSoft games–it’s been a journey

Posted on March 31, 2024 by Minna Hong • 0 Comments

I’m currently playing the OG Dark Souls (Remastered) for the first time since, ah, since I seriously tried to do a one-bro run. Months ago? Or a year? Probably months. Time has been really weird lately. So has my sleep. In part because of a personal crisis and in part because of Daylight Saving Time. I have no idea why this one has been so hard, but it really has been. For the first time since my medical crisis, my sleep has reverted to being all over the place. I still get seven to eight hours a night (mostly), but it’s interrupted and it takes me a while to actually fall asleep. Also, I snooze on and off for an hour before I finally fall asleep. I’m counting that in the seven to eight hours, by the way.

Back when I was in college, I slept four hours a night. I was so exhausted, I didn’t know which way was up. When I went home over the school breaks, I would sleep for fifteen hours the first night. And be sick, too. I was so sleep-deprived at the time. I could not sleep before midnight for anything, and I had a 7:45 class. I went to bed at three-thirty and got up at seven-thirty. I would race to class and barely made it. I drank 6 Diet Pepsis a day, starting with one as soon as I woke up.

Side note: I don’t understand why people disdain drinking a pop the first thing in the morning, but are fine with coffee. It’s the same thing you’re looking for–caffeine–juust in different forms.

I had a portable alarm clock and one morning, I woke up and could not find it. It was nowhere in sight, and I was so confused. I took about fifteen minutes trying to find it, but it wasn’t anywhere. I had a mini-fridge in my dorm room, and I kept my Diet Popsis in it. I finally gave up trying to find my alarm clock and opened theh fridge to grab a Diet Pepsi. There was my alarm clock, and I had no recollection of putting it in there.

Anyway! Back to Dark Souls Remastered. There is a game that just came out–Dragon’s Dogma II. It’s a reimaging of the first game, which came out 12 years ago. I played about ten hours of the first game and could not get into it. It has very sparse fast-travel, and the combat felt mean. Someone in the RKG Discord put it that way, and he was right. The combat was mean. FromSoft combat, for the most part, is difficult, but it’s not mean.

In fact, the main reasons I quit playing the first game was beacuse of the very sparse fast-travel points (and I cannot emphasize enough just how sparse they were. You can make your own, but those resources were even sparser) and the fact that you could not save upon quitting. Meaning, there were only save points and whenever the game deigned to save. Plus, just the sheer amount of enemies in a dense area made it a miserable experience for me. I don’t think the map was very useful, either.

When to say it’s done

Posted on May 18, 2023 by Minna Hong • 0 Comments

For the past two posts, I have been talking about the game, Cook, Serve, Forever by David Galindo. There are three games in this series. Cook, Serve, Delicious!; Cook, Serve, Delicious! 2!!; and, Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?!. The first game was released in 2012, and the series has only gained in popularity since. My personal favorite is the second by a hair over the first, and the third is my least favorite. It’s not a bad game by far, but I just like the second game the best.

I will say that the third game got me through the beginning of the pandemic when it was released in Early Access. I spent many, many hours happily pounding away at my keyboard in order to make my orders. The fact that the last act of the game completely fell apart is a shame, but it doens’t erase the fact that it’s a highly-addictive game for the first two-thirds of it.

But the second game was my favorite because you could design restaurants. It was pretty basic, but it was fun. I was not able to 100% that game, but that’s ok. Begrudgingly. I played that game months after getting out of the hospital because I wanted the plat. I was physically unable to get it, but I got really close.

Here’s the thing. Series can go on for way too long. I noticed when I used to read mystery series that they got worse as they went on (in general). The problem is that you can’t stray too far from the formula because that’s why people are reading the books. But then that gets stale in a hurry. I used to read Sue Grafton’s alphabet series. She set them in real time, starting in the 1980s, so even when we got to book V is for Vengeance, which was released in 2011, the technology was still from the ’80s.

When I first started reading the series, there was nothing else like it. It was fresh and exciting to me, especially since it starred a female private detective. Kinsey Millhone was a tough, no-nonsense, take no prisoners kind of gal who had terrible taste in men. And she cut her own hair. She made sure to say that in every book, which signified part of the problem.

It was fresh and exciting for roughly ten books. M is for Malice was the best of the series, but then it went downhill from there. By the time I got to W is for Wasted, I could barely read the books any longer. I felt like I had to because I had gotten that far, but I wasn’t enjoying it. She died before she could write the final one, so the series ended with Y is for Yesterday. I feel like I need to read X (no is for) and Y is for Yesterday, but I haven’t thus far.

The problem with series

Posted on May 17, 2023 by Minna Hong • 0 Comments

Yesterday, I brought up the new game, Cook, Serve, Forever (David Galindo). It’s in Early Access, and I had been stoked to play it because I love the series. But, alas, it’s not to be. I’ll get more into it in a second, but I do want to give major props to a few aspects ofthe game. One, the music. The music has always been slamming in the games, and it continues to be so in this one. It’s fantastic, and it really bolsters my spirits as I play.

Also, the graphics just make me smile. Somewhat cartoon-y and lots of vibrant colors. The characters are varied in size, color, genders, and age. I just love the whole design vibe of the games. I like that you are a talking character in this game. You haven’t been in the past. You have loved cooking since you were a young girl and you grew up to be a cook in a food truck. You live with your (Asian!) girlfriend, and you have aspirations to be a great chef.

The conceit of the game is that there is a competition in which you want to get three stars like the famous chef, Rhubarb. She is the only one to have ever done it, and you want to be like her. I love that there’s a story and the characters are voiced. The two robots were voiced in the last game, but that’s it.

I love the voice actors in this game. They are great! I’m not crazy about how stereotypical the men are (they are the shopkeeps for Nori, the main character)–racial/nationality-wise. The main shopkeep is Baz from Australia, and it makes me wince that all his comments are very g’day mate-like.

But aside from that, I really enjoy the characters in general because they are fun and quirky. Ok, one other exception. The pastor in the church, but that’s because I have a bad history with churches. I don’t want to listen to a sermon while I’m playing a game.

But I do love the style of the game in general. Each game has iterated and done better than the one before. This is the best lookswise, and I’m impressed with how much effort Chubigans (the name he uses for Twitter) has putinto updating the look and feel of the game. This is eleven years after the first one was released, and I can really see the growth in the design of the games.

Ravenswatch and onebro–back at it again

Posted on April 14, 2023 by Minna Hong • 0 Comments

One more (last?) post about Ravenswatch by Passtech Games (for now). I’ll just keep writing about it until I run out of steam. I think they are tweaking as they go because I played as Beowulf and it was easier. In a sense. I still did not get my ult, but I beat the boss after several runs. Well, half-runs. Honestly, at this point, if I die before I reach the boss, I just started over. This is not an aspersion on the game, per se (though, it kinda is), but the boss is tedious enough to need all rezzes in order just to survive.

Let’s talk about the boss for a second. It’s tedious as fuck. It’s not interesting in any way. It’s a plant-like thing in the middle with several tentacles. It seems four that are attached and five in a circle around it. The deal is to kill each separate tentacle before going for the main boss. All the while the main boss is shooting out bullets at you constantly and slamming its tentacles at you. Plus, there are times when the area around the tentacle turns red. That means run. Run immediately and as far as you can. Because the big boss is gonna one-shot you. The problem is, depending on where you are and what else is shooting at you (there are little circles that show up, meaning you’re going to be hit in those little circles), you may not be able to run anywhere safe.

I know they’re trying to make you feel like you’re trapped but actually have ways to escape, except, my reflexes are so shitty. And I have terrible spatial realization. It’s funny. I have learned how to find the holes in a crowd in real life. But in a game, I can’t find those spaces.

So, yeah. I’m not going to finish a run if I die early–especially if I die twice. I only deal with that shit in real life. (Continuing the same ‘run’ if I die twice). Now I want a shirt that says something to that effect.

“Shadows die twice and so do I!”

Anyway, the boss is just a hot mess. It’s very bullet hell-y, and I’m so not good at that. My way of dealing with it is to have enough health to just outlast the boss. In this case, you have to be able to react instantaneously to the boss, which is not my strong suit.

Back to the gameplay. I feel like they’ve cut down a bit on the hordes, but it’s still too much. I eschew any of the timed events because it’s just not possible with one person. I haven’t come close to doing the three little pigs’ requests. It’s getting 20 of whatever they need (rock, straw, or…brick? Whatever the third one is) in five minutes. I haven’t even gotten close. It’s not as simple as finding the material and bringing it to them. You have to kill enemies before you can pick up the materials. I have gotten half of the resources and up to 13 in the time allotted. There are also other timed events with mini bosses and such. I’ve failed all of them as well.

Ravenswatch and my onebro run again!

Posted on April 13, 2023 by Minna Hong • 0 Comments

Day…uh…three? Three, I think, of Ravenswatch (Passtech) and my onebro run. No, those are not the same things, obviously. Well, at least obviously for anyone who is a From fan. A onebro run is starting as a Pyro in Dark Souls (yay!) and then never leveling your character. That is the basic gist of it, and the details are vigorously debated as are everything else in these games. For me, it’s just a way to have a fresh take on the game because I’ve played it so many times. I’m going to go as far as I can without getting too frustrtaed and then quit. I have a hurch that will be Sen’s Fortress, but we’ll see.

My bona fides. I’ve played this game at least a dozen times. I have the hundo chievo, and I’ve seen everything there is to see in the game. I always start as a Pyro and then take it in whatever drection I want. Which is usually a strengthcaster. Zweihander +15, Pyro Flame ascended, and a few other bits and bobs. That’s how I like to play. That’s what my regular character is doing. I’m in the second half of the gam ewith her.

With my onebro character, I’ve grinded to get my Battle Axe +10. I saved my boy, Laurentius, who is the first pyro trainer, from the Depths. I got my Pyro flame up to +9, and now I’m ready to take on the Gaping Dragon for lulz and the Souls. You get 25 large for beating it, which is mad cash at this stage. I’ll probably upgrade my Pyro flame even more and…uh…not sure. Oh! Buy the Crest of Artorias for twenty thou. It’s funny because in grinding for the Large Titanite I needed to upgrade my Battle Axe +10, I got enough to level up my Pyro flame several times. Killing 6 slimes in roughly thirty seconds netted me 1200 Souls each time.

In the community, there is a lot of discussion as to what a true onebro run must include (or not include). I have an RKG buddy who has no qualms about summoning. Others in the community think that defeats the purpose. I’m somewhat torn. I understand that whatever you can do, you do in a onebro run. I mean, it’s to have fun–that’s the bottom line. But, it’s also about the challenge. I have to say that you’re severely limiting yourself in summoning if your’e onebroing it, but still. Having any human helping you is a big help, obviously. Yes, the boss gets a bump in health, but still.

Anyway, I’m up to the Gaping Dragon and I think I’m ready to take it on. Solo. For me, I’m about the solo life. If I’m going to onebro it, I’m going to solo it. Until I can’t any longer. Then I’ll either summon or I’ll just quit. I would like to summon Solaaire for this, but I also want to do it on my own. But I have three soft humanities so I feel like I don’t want to lose them.

A Quick Look–Ravenswatch by Passtech Games

Posted on April 11, 2023 by Minna Hong • 0 Comments

I have been playing a game called Ravenswatch (Passtech) that is in Early Access on Steam. I was hyped about it because it’s based on fairy tale characters and…well, that’s pretty much what I knew about it. The look is that of Diablo (which I always call Derbler for some reason) with the same basic layout. Grimy fields that you traverse through and kill hordes of enemies. The four starting characters are Scarlet, Beowulf, The Snow Queen, and The Pied Piper. Scarlet has an interesting characteristic in that she turns into a werewolf at night, who has a completely different skill set.

Ian got the code before it came out, and he really enjoyed it. I was so into it. I liked the looks of it and the concept behind it. Then I started playing it and….I didn’t love it. The enemies were plentiful and so damage sponge-y. The easiest of the enemies took three hits to kill, which was tedious. It has a MOBA feel to it like LOL or something like that. Beowulf is the tank, Scarlet is the rogue, The Snow Queen is the mage, and The Pied Piper is, ah, another rogue? There is no healer, by the way, at least not that I’ve unlocked. Remember, it’s in Early Access, which means it’s still in development. There is one chapter with one boss. You start with four characters unlocked, and I know you can unlock two more.

Passtech’s previous game was called Curse of the Dead Gods, and it was hard as hell. Light was a big part of it, and I could not see anything. I gave up after an hour because while I like difficult games, it has to be a certain kind of hard. Ian and I were talkinga bout which roguelikes we liked. For me, it’s Hades (Supergiant), Binding of Isaac: Rebirth (Edmund McMillen), but NOT anything after that (including Afterbirth and Repentance), and Dead Cells (Motion Twin) up to the final boss. For Ian, it’s Spelunky (Derek Yu), and he liked Hades, but did not love it. He acutally played BOI before I did, but stopped at Rebirth.

He mentioned for Ravenswatch that he did not like it for the first few hours. Not until he was able to get to level five and unlock his ultimate did it really click. Once I started playing, I understood what he meant. Everything felt so plodding to me. As I mentioned, the enemies were damage sponge-y, and I would sigh in frustration in seeing yet another horde of the screaming women who got their health back by screaming before they rushed through me. By the way, they are very reminiscent of FromSoft characters, which is not a surprise.

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