GRcade

rinks wrote:
My only complaint is that there doesn’t seem to be any way to scroll or zoom the map, so you only get to see your immediate surroundings. Seems kind of pointless and mean.

Can you access the map outside the death screen?

I agree the levels are a little linear but I enjoy the feeling of being able to scour everything. I reckon I'm about halfway through all the areas judging by the list (and my skill tree) and it has gotten slightly more open, but each area is it's own self contained level that seems to funnel you to the next place you need to go to, rather than you having free reign anywhere. There is an area where you seem to have a choice where you can go but it's very tough going anywhere other than the route it wants you to take ("scent markers" for a non spoilery reference to the area).

And yep, my enjoyment of the game increased a lot once I unlocked the parry and riposte (I like that the game warns you you are not invincible and can be knocked out of the riposte animation lol) the combat felt much more fluid and like it's own thing. A shame they don't give it to you early, or indeed allow you to go without it for the whole game.

Looking forward to playing more!

Also I'm not sure why the options button on controller needs to be a dedicated "make the bottles see through/opaque" button rather than a dedicated status screen or whatnot. It's clunky finding the right pause screen occasionally.

Oh yeah, linear isn't necessarily a criticism. I was just expecting it to be a bit more free-roam. Probably for the best. The underwater environment is all a bit samey, so it's not so easy to orient yourself as in something like Dark Souls.

A small section of the map is viewable in the pause menu, in the Location tab. I just wish you could zoom out for a view of the whole area. (I accept that might go against the exploration design, but seeing as the map is there in some form, it's a bit of a tease.)

aayl1 wrote:Also I'm not sure why the options button on controller needs to be a dedicated "make the bottles see through/opaque" button rather than a dedicated status screen or whatnot. It's clunky finding the right pause screen occasionally.

I didn't notice it did that! I see you can re-bind the controller in the options, so maybe set it to something more useful there (though I guess it won't allow specific pause tabs).

Finally defeated the boss who was defending the vending machine cans, so it feels like I’m progressing now. Wondering if I missed something I should have done first, because it seemed unnecessarily difficult.

Had a good session on this last night. It appears that there are optional bosses that unlock cool new abilities when you beat them. After I got the first main quest item (treasure map piece) I pushed on through the Forest Grove rather than return to the hub as suggested to find a (seemingly) optional boss at the end of it. This took me like 25 tries but I was enjoying every attempt. It would have been awful without the parry and riposte abilities (and Chum keeping his balance bar from restoring) but said abilities make the combat so fun.

You have to learn which attacks you can't riposte after a parry as a parry doesn't always interrupt. So you get these really satisfying chains of parry-parry-parry on bosses that whip their balance meter up, reminiscent of Sekiro.

Then before heading to the second are I decided I wanted to explore the sands between peacefully so dealt with the issue stopping that being possible and got an early map piece with some funny dialogue pointing that out when I cashed it in.

Said area has a lot of great loot and is satisfying to clear out. Came home with 50,000 souls (and another 50k in junk) and a load of great items.

Feel like I may be a bit OP for the next main quest area now, but it's a fun reward for my exploration.

Played some of this today. Currently stuck at the dutchess

aayl1 wrote:Had a good session on this last night. It appears that there are optional bosses that unlock cool new abilities when you beat them. After I got the first main quest item (treasure map piece) I pushed on through the Forest Grove rather than return to the hub as suggested to find a (seemingly) optional boss at the end of it. This took me like 25 tries but I was enjoying every attempt. It would have been awful without the parry and riposte abilities (and Chum keeping his balance bar from restoring) but said abilities make the combat so fun.

You have to learn which attacks you can't riposte after a parry as a parry doesn't always interrupt. So you get these really satisfying chains of parry-parry-parry on bosses that whip their balance meter up, reminiscent of Sekiro.

Then before heading to the second are I decided I wanted to explore the sands between peacefully so dealt with the issue stopping that being possible and got an early map piece with some funny dialogue pointing that out when I cashed it in.

Said area has a lot of great loot and is satisfying to clear out. Came home with 50,000 souls (and another 50k in junk) and a load of great items.

Feel like I may be a bit OP for the next main quest area now, but it's a fun reward for my exploration.

i think i just beat that guy

btw has anyone else had items disappear from the shop? trying to figure out if it's a glitch or they were only available up to a certain point

shy guy 64 wrote:
i think i just beat that guy

btw has anyone else had items disappear from the shop? trying to figure out if it's a glitch or they were only available up to a certain point

Nice! I was talking about the Mantis Shrimp, Grovekeeper and he unlocks the Mantis punch to break the purple blocks, and he upgrades your Right Trigger attacks.

What items were you referring to btw? Not noticed it myself (other than them going out of stock).

Edit: realise I referred to two bosses, the other one I was talking about is the big hungry crab.

aayl1 wrote:

shy guy 64 wrote:
i think i just beat that guy

btw has anyone else had items disappear from the shop? trying to figure out if it's a glitch or they were only available up to a certain point

Nice! I was talking about the Mantis Shrimp, Grovekeeper and he unlocks the Mantis punch to break the purple blocks, and he upgrades your Right Trigger attacks.

What items were you referring to btw? Not noticed it myself (other than them going out of stock).

That’s the one

it’s the blood tentacles in the pawn shop

shy guy 64 wrote:

aayl1 wrote:

shy guy 64 wrote:
i think i just beat that guy

btw has anyone else had items disappear from the shop? trying to figure out if it's a glitch or they were only available up to a certain point

Nice! I was talking about the Mantis Shrimp, Grovekeeper and he unlocks the Mantis punch to break the purple blocks, and he upgrades your Right Trigger attacks.

What items were you referring to btw? Not noticed it myself (other than them going out of stock).

That’s the one

it’s the blood tentacles in the pawn shop

Oh gooseberry fool, yeah I can't remember if I bought them or not... They've definitely disappeared for me though and I don't thiiiink I bought them!

aayl1 wrote:

shy guy 64 wrote:

aayl1 wrote:

shy guy 64 wrote:
i think i just beat that guy

btw has anyone else had items disappear from the shop? trying to figure out if it's a glitch or they were only available up to a certain point

Nice! I was talking about the Mantis Shrimp, Grovekeeper and he unlocks the Mantis punch to break the purple blocks, and he upgrades your Right Trigger attacks.

What items were you referring to btw? Not noticed it myself (other than them going out of stock).

That’s the one

it’s the blood tentacles in the pawn shop

Oh gooseberry fool, yeah I can't remember if I bought them or not... They've definitely disappeared for me though and I don't thiiiink I bought them!

Darn I could have grinned the cash

Victor Mildew wrote:Played some of this today. Currently stuck at the dutchess

This is where I got to last night. Nearly won on first attempt, but didn’t have my hearts topped up. Then every try after that was a dismal failure. That gunk is a real pain to deal with in a boss fight.

I got past that bit earlier. Finding the next area really frustrating as the camera keeps going behind walls, plus I find the dodge doesn't really work. I've had a better time avoiding attacks by just jumping around.

Anyone else stumble across the consortium?

How are we meant to know if its ok to read that spoiler?!

rinks wrote:How are we meant to know if its ok to read that spoiler?!

I don’t know I’m still figuring it out

shy guy 64 wrote:Anyone else stumble across the consortium?

Down a short cut between the first two areas attached to the sands between

shy guy 64 wrote:

shy guy 64 wrote:Anyone else stumble across the consortium?

Down a short cut between the first two areas attached to the sands between

I have not!

I did find (Easter egg of an internet meme) the crab rave and (Easter egg of an aquatic IP) Spongebob's House!

aayl1 wrote:

shy guy 64 wrote:

shy guy 64 wrote:Anyone else stumble across the consortium?

Down a short cut between the first two areas attached to the sands between

I have not!

I did find (Easter egg of an internet meme) the crab rave and (Easter egg of an aquatic IP) Spongebob's House!

Oh the mr krabs costume? or is there a pineapple house I need to watch out for

I also have seen shells that reference Pokemon and among us