Holy Shit! It is an honor to be on your channel and it means a lot for what you said about our game Metamorphos! Our team worked really hard to push out a semi-quality game while doing classes and Covid! We were all joking that we would end up here but can't actually believe we did! Thank you! :)
@@badgermcbadger1968 haha thank you, but our school has released some crazy games, checkout Distance! It was a school project that turned into a shipped title!
That first game, metamorphos, actually looks legit. I liked the aesthetics of turning into sand and relying water to heal. While the main threat is fire, turning your sand-body into glass. That's really cool. I would love to see that expanded upon. Imagine throwing sand into your enemies eyes as parry mechanic!
I like how every one of these videos calls itself "Steam Dumpster Diving" as if that's the title but it's never the title. And so everyone complains that they can't keep up with the titles. And so Iron Pineapple laughs and makes another one.
Death's Door ended up being one of my favorite 'play it once to 100% and then uninstall' games ever. It is SO memorable visually - the colors, the theme, the characters, the levels - but just....not as enjoyable to actually play. The weapons and move set all feel samey all the time, but I will literally never forget the game. A great deal for the price point IMO.
The funniest part about all of these is how many different ways you can say “you died” without copying the same one from another game. It’s hysterical.
@@danieldelagarzaarreguin4833 not a souls like but Risk of Rain and Risk of Rain 2 do that, they have normal messages but also "rekt", "sucks to suck", "get styled upon" and "ur dead LOL get rekt"
Hey, I'm the developer of Two Months! I love this series and I had always hoped to make it into one of these videos :) I'm glad you gave my game a shot and I really hope you go back and try to finish it as you're so close to the end. Look for the slightly darker, recessed floors. That's where the trapdoors are. The first trapdoor in the hallway before that big room is supposed to teach you about them without killing you. A good souls-like to me has stamina management, commitment to weapon swings with very limited animation cancelling, interconnected level design with shortcuts and verticality, some kind of character progression, raving mad NPCs, hard bosses with well telegraphed attacks and feet. To answer your question: I don't think Souls games are about trial and error at all. My goal was to give players similar feelings of paranoia about their environment, and to encourage them to carefully look around corners, check floors, consider the risks and benefits before going for chests etc. Like Dark Souls, it's possible but very unlikely to get through the game without walking into a trap or ambush during your very first playthrough. Of course, none of my opinions matter if you're not actually enjoying yourself, so I'd love to talk to you and find out what your expectations are for a souls-like.
Heh I had never played souls like games before I started playing this. Still managed to beat it a few times. It did teach me to look for obvious traps and not only to look around corner left and right but also above or bellow. The chests were annoying at first but once you realize they are easilly stunned, they become fairly easy to dispatch once you dash into them and quickly slash them. Need a good amount of attack and/or stamina though. Long story short it was a fun game and since then I have been enjoying a few other souls-like. It was a nice introduction to the genre for me personally.
Seeing Two Months made me think "this developer gets it". It's an unironically well-designed game and a real treat for the FromSoft fans, with a lot of humour and character to top it off.
I broke Vigil: the Longest Night with the birb spell as well. But doesn't having that one spell that trivialises the whole game only make it more Souls-Like?
@@luna7157 nah not the firecrackers, the fucking umbrellas dude. Every enemy that is "hard" can be cheesed by the umbrellas except for the story related bosses (d. dragon, isshin, emma etc.)
@@festivite Sekiro doesn't really have any tool that can make you trivialize the whole game. It's how about how well you use each tools. You could definitely go through the whoel game while only using a single tool. But Firecraker is def one of the best sicn eit can stun so many boss and can even trivialize one of the most annoying boss fight
@@Tsukinotaku Not really? no. If you mean the ape well honestly that's just kinda the bias you get from how long you fought it. You wouldn't say the Ogre is the hardest boss in the game even if you have 50+ deaths against him. Go on, install sekiro and get in the swing of things a bit again and I guarantee you will beat the guardian ape in about 5 attempts. It really isn't that hard. The reason why I think the umbrellas are way more op is because if you fight against the ape you have to find a proper timing in which you can throw the firecrackers get some damage and then yeah, you can chain it. Now on the other hand in all fights you can fight, misread an attack, realise and A) change to counter it but if that is no longer an option (you jumped in the air, you ran away but it's a lunge attack etc.) then B) you hold RT and you get a get out of jail free card for ONE FUCKING SPIRIT EMBLEM. I really think that is way more important. Of course I am not talking about the game if you are trying to speedrun it glitchless, then you don't bother with either cause you can just stunlock the first phase of the ape and the second where an umbrella is """"necessary"""" you can just jump, mortal draw and break the ape's poise before it can scream. I don't really see your point, especially since the firecrackers only work against some enemies and the one boss fight where I would say they are actually basically mandatory, the double ape fight IS OPTIONAL. So no. I really don't think firecrackers are that good.
"This game can be a little too easy if you use all the tools available to you." *The sound of all the bosses you can cheese with firebombs in dark souls 1 crying out in agony*
@@BLK_MN Basically all early bosses are super easy and quick with only firebombs, especially gargoyles are a free kill, they just stand still taking the hits and can't reach you. Iron golem can be tricked to fall off the bridge easily. Ornstein and smough are the first skill check but with a high damage weapon they just don't have enough hp to be difficult imo. The next bosses are all just super lazy in design and easy until the dlc which is completely optional. Gwyn is parriable lol. Ds1 is just not a hard game if you know what you're doing.
@TheFallenRuler well the dogs are the problem but if you can get past them and run up the stairs to kill them you can either spam plunges on capra or just sit on top of the stairs spamming fire bombs and dropping down when he reaches you.
@TheFallenRuler well the original comment was referring to using all the tools available and I think realizing/googling for help to find out to run up the stairs is included in that. I think a lot of people on their first run did look for help at some points instead of just bashing their head at a wall until it goes through.
I'd say Dark Souls 2 as well. The "falling down narrow platforms" part Pineapple pointed out looks a lot like that section of Dark Souls 2's Iron Keep, and there's of course the "Bearer, Seek Seek Lest" reference. Plus out of all the Souls games (DeS thru DS3), Dark Souls 2 is the one often given the most flak for the "cheap deaths, trial and error" style that Pineapple complained about in Two Months
@@Necrophite78 lost izalith is actually pretty visually distinctive when you stop and look at it, the problems mostly stem from boring layout, borig enemies, and the awful constant lava noise
Megaman Battle Network was one of the first to do the whole Tetris style upgrade mechanics. Always loved that design, it puts limits in place but you still have the creativity to mix and match your build.
"Two Months" should have labeled itself as a Kaizo-Souls-Like. Then it maybe could have attracted people who enjoy things like "Getting Over it" or "Jump King".
I was gonna say this, it looks a lot like I Wanna Be The Guy but in souls form. I don't know if that was the intention or that guy really felt like Dark Souls had a lot of cheap moments because he didn't pay attention to the environment at all. Best part about the Souls games is they'll tell you a ledge isn't safe if it's cracked and worn down, you can see mimics breathing, and you can turn corners with your shield up or listen for mobs, etc.
@@Mekose I mean there are *some* cheap deaths in dark souls but not nearly enough for it to be a big part of the game, any more than alot of other standard rpg's, certainly not as much as two months.
that first game having your character be some kind of magical sand person that turns into glass when killed with fire is one of the coolest things ive ever seen
thats in mortal kombat XI as well incidentally. I haven't even seen the video yet your comment just immediately made me think of it, thats how the last boss gets killed. (being a magic sand person who is turned into glass, then shattered)
Honestly, would love to see a full version of that game with a few more years of dev time. A bit more polish and more content and that'd probably be worth a $30+ price easy. It looks a lot like a desert Dark Souls, and would be a good starting place for a series.
just got my Borne Demake poster! Bloodborne was my first experience with a Soulsborne and therefore holds a special place in my heart. I'm so happy that i can express that love a little now :)
I know you checked out Death's Gambit a while back and didn't really like it but its getting a free update that completely overhauls most mechanics and levels, as well as adding much more content. It may be worth checking out again after the update.
Huh, didn't hear about the update. I got the game right when it came out and really disliked it. I'll give it a try, hopefully I'll like it with the changes. Thanks for the comment :)
I actually haven't thought about that game for awhile now. The way I beat it the first time was just picking the noble and rocking that halberd all the way to the end of the game
The tetris piece level up mechanic was probably inspired by the megaman battle network NAVI Customizer Program. As the series uses a very similar system to give megaman upgrades and abilities
Can you watch my kids next monday jerry? I have to take Maria out for a late valentines dinner, ive been so swamped at work since your brother in law took over the firm.
@@remo-con Are you for real? Or you just trying to start some sh*t? lol I haven't played Ender Lilies yet, but I've been meaning to. Is it really that good?? If so, how? Hollow Knight is genuinely one of the best games I've ever played, let's just get that straight.
@@kvjackal7980 I love Ender Lilies, but Hollow Knight is at an entirely different level. They're almost non-comparable. Hollow Knight offers way more content than Ender Lilies and I'd say has better combat than it.
@@combine1175 I figured. HK is a hard one to outdo. That individual must have not played very much of it. I will say EL looks prettier, but that's arguably the least important aspect of a video game.
Imagine if the boss music synched up with boss moves, that'd be a real rhythm soulslike, it wouldn't work as well outside of bossfights however, I think we'll see it happen one day though, even if it's just as an Indie proof of concept.
It has rhythm elements but it's not a rhythm game. Generally, I would say that rhythm games require backing music that you sync up with. Timing is really important in a lot of combat-forward games. I feel like the Arkham series is just as reliant on timing as Sekiro is, Sekiro is just a lot harder
Its incredible how far game engines and middleware have come. I'm really glad that so many people are passionate about souls games and are making their own
I really liked how you incorpated VaatiVidya's cameo at the beginning. Animating a model of Vaati to match his voice is a very nice touch. Cutting him off mid explanation was very funny too
Crawl is a multiplayer dungeon crawler where players alternate between playing as the monsters and the hero trying to escape the dungeon. It also has a dodge roll.
I've always thought that Soulslike referred to games that used gameplay elements from the series, like the bonfire-esque checkpoints that refill your health, open the leveling menus, and re-spawn all of the enemies you've killed in Jedi: Fallen Order. And why do people obsess over dodge rolling? Kingdom Hearts and God of War had dodge rolls years before Dark Souls came out.
The Souls games are really good RPGs though. Every time I get into one after not having played them for a while I remember just how much your build affects your play style, and I appreciate that when a single attack can make such a difference is a fight, your stats really matter a lot. Getting an extra 50 HP or going from light to mid equip load can make or break your strats, so you end up really thinking about each level increase because the difference is so quickly noticeable.
@@matthewbreytenbach4483 I swear to god, the thing that's always stuck out to me as being "souls like" is a mechanic of losing your unspent xp where you died, and having levels be shortcut-based. I don't know why rolling of all things stuck as the "souls" thing when that's always been in like, everything.
If a roll is enough to make a souls-like, I argue the "You Died" style prompt is just as important. They want to punctuate your death with an extra blow to the ego.
Exactly, people like to idolize Dark Souls and view it as a perfectly balanced and fair experience. It wasn't, really. It was fun, sure, but don't call it fair.
@@Frogthejam1 Honestly, I agree. Sekiro has bosses, bonfires, death related mechanics and a fixed, replenishable method of healing, but...is that all you need for a souls game? For me it's a no, honestly. Sekiro functions on completely different systems. There is no Stamina, no rpg customization element (prosthetics are more of an extra imo) and last but not least, the whole Posture system and the focus on timed parries. I also feel like people are doing a bit of a disservice to From when they call it a Souls. Sekiro was obviously them trying to do something different after making Souls game for a decade, and they achieved something great and unique, so seeing people just calling it "another Souls game" makes me a bit bitter.
i know right. When he said "i have a feeling a lot of you looking at this and thinking wow" my brain auto complete that sentence with, wow this is a Muramasa clone. Which isn't a bad thing per se
Seathe has entered the chat That one skeleton before Nito hiding behind a corner that kicks you off the cliff has entered the chat Royal Rat Authority has entered the chat Frigid Outskirts has entered the chat
See, that was just rushed development fucking with the finished product (though it's actually fairly easy to beat if you know about the slap attack that prevents the sweep). Now, gaping dragon's grab frame (front right hand when it charges), the silver knight archers, and the royal stone guardians' tracking hammer (where they look like they're attacking where you were because they can't pivot during the animation, but then turn around in 1 frame to attack you). Those are all very cheap. And let's not get started on a certain boss being able to attack cancel...
@@Corthmic I can't agree with the second and third. I never got kicked off by a skeleton. On Royal Rat Authority I just took out my crossbow as soon as I saw rats and cleared it first try. Turns out it's ridiculously easy if you snipe them, and pretty damn hard if you don't. Come to think of it, it would probably also be pretty easy if you manage to get an AoE spell off.
In Two Months, The Tetris-looking level up system is straight up the NaviCust system from Mega Man Battle Network 3-6 (some of the greatest games of all time, by the way). The Pyra Screen you picked up may indicate that the ultimate handheld you were building is a Dragonbox Pyra, a niche handheld gaming computer.
My great and holy Iron Pineapple I’ve been lurking watching several of your souls-like vids and making sure to like them. Your videos are great! You actually make it interesting to learn about the games and watching you play is enjoyable because you make it funny man. This video has been my favorite solely due to that boss in Wind Song that wouldn’t chill. I laughed out loud! Keep it up awesome content!
>Platforming in Ender Lilies doesn't do anything interesting *PTSD from a moment where you need to do backward attacks, dash, slide, dive and double jump all in a row*
I think Death's Door did good for the fact that Acid Nerve, which is a pretty small studio, has made it but yes I agree with the points you made about it
for "two months" the system has been done similarly before. Megaman battle network had a similar system where you stored buffs and such, i think they were called battle chips(?), and you could slot in whatever fit and even better if it had synergies, you could even remove core chips at a penalty to fit more chips in. I like systems like this cause theyre usually rare.
I was going to say that Kingdom Hearts Days did this as well. fitting in tetris pieces, and leveling up gave you a bigger board for more tetris pieces.
Ok, this has gotta be my favorite video when it mentions Death's Door, Ender Lillies, Vigil: The Longest Night, AND Eastern Exorcist! Literally all games I've been looking into the past couple weeks! They all got good ratings too!
Two days ago i saw this video, watched until you showed "Deaths Door" and instantly bought it. Now here i am, two days later, having binged the game and striving for the secret ending. Thank you for an awesome reccomendation. Personally never felt bored, as i was more interested in the story and finding the secrets than the combat.
For your next video you should check out this really obscure upcoming Souls-Like that not a lot of people are aware of. It's called "Sheldon's Ring" or something like that. It apparently is pretty decent in its souls-like execution, but it hasn't gotten a lot of media attention. I forget the exact name, but the company developing it is a small indie studio called "Frog Softwares" and the head director's name is Hidden-Taco Moist-Zucchini.
I'm so sad that Vigil: The Longest Night got delisted before I could play it, and even sadder to find out the reasons behind it. I really hope Glass Heart Studio can get their game (and revenue) back.
It’s still bizarre to me that I saw Death’s Door in this video for the first time, bought it on impulse and then, months later, it became my favorite game.
I will just say, every Souls game I have ever played has a couple of Cheap deaths, even if you think otherwise. A lot of undetectable ambushes in souls games, and jut because you can hypothetically reaciton speed it doesn't make it less cheap to have an unsee enemy leap from an invisible point, or a trap or hazard go off that's impossible to predict without having seen it once. Rare, for sure, but the series has cheap deaths.
@@Snakeskin94 Nah man the number of "haha you died bitch" in dark souls 1 are much less than 2. Dark Souls 2 has blatant traps meant to just fuck with you, whereas Dark Souls 1 just has right and wrong ways of doing things. In Dark Souls 1 it's your fault when you get screwed, because the game didn't tell you to do that, you chose to go your own path and the game shrugged it's shoulders and let you do it.
16:29 “You ever play a game where it feels like the person who made it just _hates_ you […] and like, wants you to know that?” Yeah, it’s called Dark Souls.
Eastern Exorcist is giving me very strong Muramasa: The Demon Blade vibes, and I'd say that's a good thing. There really aren't enough games like it out there.
You've done so many episodes at this point so I'm curious. What are your favorite "hidden gem" kinda games you discovered from doing this series? What still stands out as really surprisingly enjoyable for you?
lol, Two Months seems to be a rather interesting depiction of the struggle of Michael Mrozek (of the german OpenPandora GmbH, not to be confused with the UK OpenPandora Ltd) to develop the DragonBox Pyra open-source open-hardware handheld computer
Hey Pine, some recent finds that I'd consider for this show are: Outward, an openworld action RPG with like soulslike dodging and gameplay; Shattered: Tale of the Forgotten King, a soulsike with some interesting cyberpunk vibes; and Ultra Age, an action game with intense combat that is sorta soulslike and sorta roguelike but really more DMC inspired.
