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Tails of Iron–A Quick Look, part two

Posted on May 2, 2024 by Minna Hong • 0 Comments

In yesterday’s post, I talked about the game, Tails of Iron (Odd Bug Studios), also known as Rat Souls. I played a few hours of it and really gave it the old college try. I mentioned what I liked about it (mainlyf the art design), and I have more to say about it. Really, it’s about soulslikes in general because I am already weary (not wary, but, I guess that, too) of the genre.

Let me take you back in time to when the first soulslike came out. That was the original Lords of the Fallen, developed by Deck13 Interactive and published by CI Games. The publisher is important in this case for reasons I’ll get to later.

Lords of the Fallen was so clunky. So clunky. It’s as if Deck13 saw only one thing as they played Dark Souls–combat is deliberate. Lords of the Fallen was nicknamed Clunky Souls, in fact. The magic was atrocious, and the melee was so unsatisfying. I played a few hours, twice, many years apart, and it did not get better with time.

There was supposed to be a sequel to the game, but that didn’t happen. It kept getting pushed back, and then Deck13 Interactive announced they were working on a different game altogether. It was called The Surge, and it became affectionately known as Junkyard Souls. Why? Because of the unique premise of cutting off your enemies’ limbs in order to strengthen yourself and get cool weapons. Your enemies are robots, by the way. I think they used to be human? I don’t quite remember.

Oh, I have to say, I’ve played it. I’ve finished it. Hey! This is the other one I finished, but did not remember before. And, controversially, it’s my favorite soulslike. I threw an RKG chat into a tizzy beacuse people were talking about the best soulslike. Most people agreed that Nioh was the best. I piped in and said that The Surge was my favorite, and, boy, did that upset people. How dare I say that The Surge was a better game than Nioh???

Except I never said that. I was very careful to say I liked it bettert than Nioh, even though I knew objectively it was not as good a game. That upset people even more! Which I thought was hilarious. I really did not do it on purpose, but, boy was it funny to watch people lose their shit. I just kept saying I had more fun with The Surge, and while they could not debate that, they still got indignant about it.

Tails of Iron–A Quick Look

Posted on May 1, 2024 by Minna Hong • 0 Comments

I quit playing Sekrilo (Another Crab’s Treasure) because I just was not having fun with it. I may go back to it at some point, but I may not. I have decided that the game will forever more be known as Sekrilo (the protag is Kril), and I shall not be moved from it. Ian suggested I try Tails of Iron (Odd Bug Studio), also known as Rats Souls. I jokingly called it Witcher Souls because Doug Cockle, the voice of Geralt, is the narrator.

In case the name doesn’t make it clear, it’s a soulslike. It came out in…(Googles, blinks in astonishment) 2021?!? I thought it was pre-pandemic. Dang! Time means nothing these days. Ian also told me that a sequel was coming out ‘soon’. I checked out the trailer on Steam, and Doug Cockle is the narrator again. I will include the official lunch trailer for the first game below.

I had the first game in my pile of shame (backlog), so I installed it. It’s tiny and doesn’t take up much space. The first choice was which mode to play it in. Casual (for the story), Normal (how it’s meant to be played, which is nails hard), and then Hard which is for the hardcore players, I assume. The game warned me that the mode could not be changed. I chose normal and booted it up.

First the pros: the game has a great graphics style. It’s 2D, and is a grittier Salt and Sanctuary (Ska Studios). Oh, and you’re a rat. A small rat at that . It’s mentioned several time that you’re tiny, and your brothers are bigger than you. Especially your (literal) big brother, Denis. He’s the chosen one, except for whatever reason, you’re the one whho has to do all the fighting. Your name is Redgi, by the way. No idea why.

I like the parry in this game, but I think it’s because it’s very generous. You hold LT (shield) and then RT as your enemy does a yellow attack, and you automatically parry it. As long as you are facing in the right direction. Otherwise, you’re SOL. Oh, and you have to use the right stick to change directions while holdinng the shield. So the praise is for the parry itself, and not all the nonsense that goes with it.

In fact, the controls are….not great. The heal was on LB and the interaction was on X. INTERACTION ON X. That’s not a thing. That should NEVER be a thing! Not in a soulslike. Look. I know all these games want to put their own stamp on the genre, but there are a few things you don’t fuck with. The roll/dodge is one (and they got that right. It’s on B), and the heal is on X! When FromSoft themselves fucked with that (it’s up on the directional pad in Bloodborne), that was bad enough. But games that do it just for the hell of it? No.