Support NeoGAF

[Giallo Corsa]

If you have Automatic VRR off, you should turn it on. This might not have native VRR support like the Spider Man games, but it works, for sure.

I'm playing it with Balanced visuals on my VRR display and it's definitely working here.

For reference, Rise of Ronin 100% does *not* have working VRR, even with the unsupported-VRR toggle set to On.

Adam, like I said, VRR is set to "automatic" on the PS5, it's the "enable for unsupported games" option that I have turned to off ('cause I have noticed that it has an ugly side-effect of creating even more judder on an OLED set).

Anyway, the game mode HUD shows that VRR is definitely OFF so I don't know what's up with that - I still don't understand how this shit works, does a game have to SPECIFICALLY have a "VRR mode" man ? shouldn't the display take.care of it automatically when framerate drops below the 48fps mark ?

Cheers

PS : you can actually be a nice chap when you want to

 

[solidus12]

Combat feels so slow. I thought I would be playing a Nier Automata or DMC5 like.

 

[Con-Z-epT]

 

[semiconscious]

if i managed to enjoy (& beat) bloodborne without parrying, can i enjoy stellar blade?...

 

[adamsapple]

Adam, like I said, VRR is set to "automatic" on the PS5, it's the "enable for unsupported games" option that I have turned to off ('cause I have noticed that it has an ugly side-effect of creating even more judder on an OLED set).

Don't have an OLED TV so can't comment on that part but if you have that 'for unsupported' option Off, your VRR will not work on most of the games, cause barely a few of the have any kind of bespoke VRR built into the game.

Anyway, the game mode HUD shows that VRR is definitely OFF so I don't know what's up with that - I still don't understand how this shit works, does a game have to SPECIFICALLY have a "VRR mode" man ? shouldn't the display take.care of it automatically when framerate drops below the 48fps mark ?

Sony's classification on this is weird, unless you have that 'enable for unsupported games' on, VRR will only work on a few games that have support for it built in like the Spider Man games, and are specifically classified as "VRR optimized" PS5 games. I think they just classify games that have 120hz support as that. It's simpler on Xbox, it's just VRR enabled for games or not in the settings.

I just leave it enabled for blanket-support on all content.

Cheers

PS : you can actually be a nice chap when you want to

Phil Spencer is my lord and savior.

 

[Kikorin]

This is a lot more polished that I would have thought. Graphics is really good, but seeing these kind of good looking characters make me remember the good old days. I'm impressed.

 

[skit_data]

Omw home atm, will check it out as soon as I get home!

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Finished the demo and the boss challenge mode and enjoyed them both.

Played it on balanced mode, and it ran and looked great on my oled tv (didn't try any other modes).

Took me a couple of retries to beat the challenge boss after nearly defeating it the first try, but greed got a hold of me and death quickly followed.

Overall a good but short demo and will be picking up the physical day 1.

Oh and I love that you have a training room where you can try all the moves you learn and experiment with combos.

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

I wonder if this demo will be another NieR Automata situation where the demo for that really put the game on a lot of radars and sold it to people who otherwise had little interest or knowledge about the game.

 

[Slothbeing1209]

In the gif looks like she still missing her arm.

I love her design in this gif. She would be more interesting MC than Eve. Hope they'll do a DLC that can play as her.

 

[adamsapple]

-


Eve's idle animation is so weird, she looks like she's holding piss and craning her neck like a giraffe

 

[Aenima]

if i managed to enjoy (& beat) bloodborne without parrying, can i enjoy stellar blade?...

Yes, you can use dodge instead, but Parry gives bigger advantage in combat as it stuns the boss and leaves him opem for combos. Also parry is much easier than in bloodborne as you can upgrade your parry skill in the skill tree to increase the parry window, you can also upgrade your dodges.
I never use parry playing Bloodborne, and in the STellar Blade demo i used Parry much more than dodges.

 

[Aenima]

I can only recommend it. It makes the gameplay feel much more dynamic overall. But there was one thing I didn't understand. How do you unlock all the outfits in the demo? I didn't unlock a single outfit apart from the standard outfit during the entire "story demo". There were a few more in the boss fight that is unlocked at the end of the "story demo". But not all the ones that should have been in the demo.

I think you only get to see some extra outfits in the extra boss fight. The demo is the beginning of the game, so probably thers still no extra outfits to earn there.

 

[Danjin44]

Finished demo including boss challenge and…..

 

[Eiknarf]

In the gif looks like she still missing her arm.

Ohhh she is missing an arm.
Probably better to show side-boob.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

I'm 55 and I've been gaming since 1972. Don't condescend to me. Just tell me you honestly don't think SB's combat was heavily influenced by the contemporary soulslike subgenre, and keep a straight face while doing so. Tell me the enemies respawning when you rest at a save point is just a coincidence.

Dude enemies respawned in old Megaman games after hitting a checkpoint, Soulsborne didn't invent enemy respawns at checkpoints/save points.

Anyway, the impressions ITT so far sound really great. Glad vast majority are enjoying the demo.

Also just an aside observation: been watching some female Twitch streamers play the demo and they all love it. They also have zero issue with the supposed "objectification" certain outlets want to continuously boogeyman into being an actual issue.

The demographic that'd supposedly be offended or intimidated by a sexy collection of pixels, at least from my POV, seems among the most enthusiastic about the game as they actually play it. Whodathunkit?

 

[Eiknarf]

Didn’t finish the demo because I don’t have much time and kind of didn’t care to.

The game suffers from the same issues most console games do for me.

Graphics mode is unplayable.
Balanced is decent.
Performance looks horrible.

Character is too close to the camera and FOV is too narrow. Neither can be adjusted. Maybe I’m just used to ultrawide but a camera distance or FOV setting would really help.

Gameplay seems decent.

Soundtrack is really good so far.

I’ll buy it if it comes to PC.

Someone up above just posted that the camera was purposely too far back so we can see the protagonist’s ass.

Other third person games have the legs cut off the bottom of the screen

So which is it? Is she too close or too far?

 

[Eiknarf]

I know the game is Korean. I don't speak Korean and I didn't care for the English VO I saw on Youtube prior, so I played in Japanese.

There’s a Japanese audio dub option?
I don’t see it
Ohhhh (edit) the Japanese dub is not available world wide. I see.

So where are you located

 

[Yoshichan]

No equipment, no armor, no accessories, no potions — optional boss

 

[Muffdraul]

Dude enemies respawned in old Megaman games after hitting a checkpoint, Soulsborne didn't invent enemy respawns at checkpoints/save points.

OK, OK, you win, I'll join that 10% group I mentioned earlier, the ones who are in denial that this game was obviously very influenced by the last several years worth of various soulslikes. I'm sure the people who designed this game never thought, "Y'know, those soulslike games have become pretty popular these days. Maybe we should put some soulslike type elements in our action game we're making?" NAAAAAHHHHHHH THATS CRAZY DUDE THEY PROB NEVER EVEN HEARD OF A SOULSLIKE LOL YOU PROBLY THINK SEKIRO IS A SOULSLIKE LOL YOUR DUMB BRO

 

[Madflavor]

Finished demo including boss challenge and…..

Comrade! We eating good this year!

 

[Danjin44]

I might replay the demo couple more times to get really get hang of the combat.

 

[Mr Hyde]

Finished the demo and the extra boss mode. Very much enjoyed it so I'm definitely buying this. Great creature design, very original and creepy, with cool and flashy combat that focus on parries, evasions and finishers. The world building looks solid with good graphics and art direction. Performance was smooth (played balanced mode with VRR). Eve seems like a cool and sexy heroine and I think she will have no problems carrying the game on her shoulders with those kick ass moves of her. Could potentially be a new addition to Playstations iconic characters. I think this game will be a success.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

Dude enemies respawned in old Megaman games after hitting a checkpoint, Soulsborne didn't invent enemy respawns at checkpoints/save points.

Anyway, the impressions ITT so far sound really great. Glad vast majority are enjoying the demo.

Also just an aside observation: been watching some female Twitch streamers play the demo and they all love it. They also have zero issue with the supposed "objectification" certain outlets want to continuously boogeyman into being an actual issue.

The demographic that'd supposedly be offended or intimidated by a sexy collection of pixels, at least from my POV, seems among the most enthusiastic about the game as they actually play it. Whodathunkit?

They respawned because of technical limitations as did other 2D games like the Ninja Gaidens for example.

 

[Danjin44]

This is a good demo should do, both this game and Unicorn Overlord had amazing demo.

 

[Gexxy1]

I enjoyed the combat a lot but man did I suck ass, the parry and dodge windows seem so small to me. Think I'll play on story difficulty.

 

[Bojji]

Game looks ok graphically, good HDR support.

Performance mode looks to be made made for 60hz displays

Balanced mode is the star here, it stays in VRR windows and looks decently better than performance mode, best choice for VRR capable tvs

Gameplay is ok, ass is amazing

Worst aspects are: chromatic aberration and radial blur, horrible image destroying effects. I don't know why devs loves them so much, there should be option to disable this shit.

 

[10v12]

Can't wait to try it. But so many people are complaining about input delay.

Can anyone confirm? Is attacking based on button-release instead of button-press?

 

[Yamisan]

Can't wait to try it. But so many people are complaining about input delay.

Can anyone confirm? Is attacking based on button-release instead of button-press?

I don't see those "so many people complaining about input delay." posts o.o

 

[Skifi28]

Either I suck, or it's hard as balls. This is more Sekiro than anything else, which is great, but the parry/dodge timing is less generous while I've having trouble reading the attack pattern of some enemies. The Boss you unlock later just destroys me.

The worse thing is how you just lose health by blocking so you can't just feel the enemy out and choose what to parry, it's do or die.


Edit: Finally beat the fucker. Chaining together a dozen parries and destorying something you had trouble with feels amazing. This really is Sekiro, but with a booty.

 

[Giallo Corsa]

Don't have an OLED TV so can't comment on that part but if you have that 'for unsupported' option Off, your VRR will not work on most of the games, cause barely a few of the have any kind of bespoke VRR built into the game.




Sony's classification on this is weird, unless you have that 'enable for unsupported games' on, VRR will only work on a few games that have support for it built in like the Spider Man games, and are specifically classified as "VRR optimized" PS5 games. I think they just classify games that have 120hz support as that. It's simpler on Xbox, it's just VRR enabled for games or not in the settings.

I just leave it enabled for blanket-support on all content.



Phil Spencer is my lord and savior.

Fuck it, have a heart emoji

PS : regarding the "apply VRR to unsupported games" system wide option on the PS5, while I do understand what you're saying (since it makes sense), I'll have to repeat myself here in case any OLED owners are reading this : it creates even more judder (and stutter) on OLEDs - tried 60fps games which have dips (Robocop, Alan Wake 2 etc) and things become even worse compared to when you have the option turned off, just a PSA

OK, OK, you win, I'll join that 10% group I mentioned earlier, the ones who are in denial that this game was obviously very influenced by the last several years worth of various soulslikes. I'm sure the people who designed this game never thought, "Y'know, those soulslike games have become pretty popular these days. Maybe we should put some soulslike type elements in our action game we're making?" NAAAAAHHHHHHH THATS CRAZY DUDE THEY PROB NEVER EVEN HEARD OF A SOULSLIKE LOL YOU PROBLY THINK SEKIRO IS A SOULSLIKE LOL YOUR DUMB BRO

Ultimately, we're e-fighting® over bullshit,thing is, being stubborn and trying to be cute with the digs ("the 10%") does not a good conversation nor debate make.

Wanna insist that it's a souls-like ? Feel free to do so brother, no one's gonna stop you from enjoying the game.

Cheers

 

[RNG]

Game needs an option to toggle off film grain, it would look much better without it.

 

[skit_data]

Really liking it so far, especially the music which has almost a GT7 menu music quality to it xD

But I gotta say, I can't seem to find the right settings for HDR which is kind of wierd. It ends up looking way too washed out or way too dark in some areas. Reminds me of a similar issue I had with RE2 Remakes and Cyberpunk 2077s HDR settings. Does anyone know if it's possible to fix this? HDR usually works fine in games, it's only now and then specific games look like crap when switching to HDR On.

 

[Bartski]

Happy to report combat feels as tight as her buttcrack. Make sure to check out the "boss challenge" after beating the demo part, and while I managed to take down the parking lot monster first try, the "bonus boss" whooped my stellar ass multiple times and it's a great showcase of what to expect later into game, and what I expect is a day off April 26th, please take my money.

I still don't understand how a lot of things work but it seems to be building this cool layer on top of its own parry - posture (shield?) break thing... where you parry to stun to a critical hit/finisher like move, but on tougher enemies you can chain that with your specials... but the coolest part is there seems to be many different ways to handle unblockable attacks offensively. Like that blink skill... kinda tough to time (very early into the attack wind-up) but I guess that's the point?

Dodging feels iffy tho (or maybe I'm doing sth wrong?) but I parried my way through boss combos with relative ease.

It's not souls'y at all, more like Nier Automata mixed with some Sekiro.

There is some jank to be seen in the traversal and I've had weird moments that looked like the game is still missing some animations? But overall it's even better than I expected.

In.

 

[Luipadre]

Really liking it so far, especially the music which has almost a GT7 menu music quality to it xD

But I gotta say, I can't seem to find the right settings for HDR which is kind of wierd. It ends up looking way too washed out or way too dark in some areas. Reminds me of a similar issue I had with RE2 Remakes and Cyberpunk 2077s HDR settings. Does anyone know if it's possible to fix this? HDR usually works fine in games, it's only now and then specific games look like crap when switching to HDR On.

Default HDR options looks great on my OLED. Im using HGIG

After you master this combat, its fucking great man. I really wanted this game to play as good as it looks and im not disappointed and this is a beefy 25+ hour game aswell at this quality? Sign me the fuck in

 

[BouncyFrag]

Lovin the space whale vibes.

 

[Bojji]

Fuck it, have a heart emoji

PS : regarding the "apply VRR to unsupported games" system wide option on the PS5, while I do understand what you're saying (since it makes sense), I'll have to repeat myself here in case any OLED owners are reading this : it creates even more judder (and stutter) on OLEDs - tried 60fps games which have dips (Robocop, Alan Wake 2 etc) and things become even worse compared to when you have the option turned off, just a PSA


Ultimately, we're e-fighting® over bullshit,thing is, being stubborn and trying to be cute with the digs ("the 10%") does not a good conversation nor debate make.

Wanna insist that it's a souls-like ? Feel free to do so brother, no one's gonna stop you from enjoying the game.

Cheers

I don't see it, VRR makes every game with drops better and smoother. PS5 version of Elden Ring is actually playable with it.

Game needs an option to toggle off film grain, it would much better without it.

Yep, plus radial blur and CA, options to disable this should be mandatory for every game.

 

[AtomicStarving]

Looks like you are gonna be able to play with other characters. There's a menu for upgrade that shows "EVE", and you can press R1/R2 to change but can't in the demo. Game is fire.

 

[cash_longfellow]

It’s actually really good, but they need to fix the timing window for perfect dodge, that shit is wayyyyy too tiny.

 

[cash_longfellow]

Sigh, another let's scavenge the good looking game mechanics from other games, put it together, slap some borderline idiotic story on top and feed it to the peplz. Look at the cleavage, look at the ass. MMmmmmm, we made this shit for you hormone monkeys. Using your brain is exhausting, just think with your dickah. Fukken big explosions, everything falling, they envied some Michael Bay movies too, so they upped the ante with even more nonsense falling and exploding things.

Story is the usual, look ma big explosions, we coming, dey defendin. Pwaaaah, we landed, some of us died, now we avenge and find out shit why these monstarrz look like a horribly mutated back orifice.

Protagonist have big tittaz, big arse, narrow shoulders, expressionless angel face, dialogues from someone with a mental handicap.
You can't highlight points of interest with moving the camera, NOPE! You have to stand right in front of it. Thoroughly tested.
English voiceover is just plain terrible.
You can't break action animations, so dodge is a bit erratic.
They stole GOW's sidekick idea, but this time it's a fucking robot. It's just there, you don't have to do shit to acquire it. And you can't fucking destroy it. At least it's not speaking all the time.
They stole Uncharted's dead boring wall climbing... really? Also, there are ladders!
They also stole the pole jump. But why?
Sprinkled with idiocy: No auto loot by trampling on shit, you have to scan to see things, then collect the shit. Ehhh, in 2024.
Enemies have zero thought in them. Like they asked some soon to be AI to vomit out monsters one after another.
Totally unnecessary here is the door, you can't open it from this side stupidity. Lies of P maxed out this useless mechanic, of course they borrowed it.
+1: They also stole the fucked up camera positioning from someone. Why on earth is it not at a higher point and why is it so far? I know the last one: because you wouldn't see the ASS all the time!

I hope there won't be any obstacles that you can only destroy later.

The end boss was not bad.

Seems like you are on a mission to hate everything about the game regardless. Also, auto-loot is an option in the menu. Thanks for playing

 

[cash_longfellow]

Now that the demo is finally available to all, it seems like 90% of players are saying it's definitely in the soulslike camp, and 10% are just straight up in denial.

Did you know dodging and parrying existed in games before “soulslikes”?

 

[Feel Like I'm On 42]

I don't see it, VRR makes every game with drops better and smoother. PS5 version of Elden Ring is actually playable with it.



Yep, plus radial blur and CA, options to disable this should be mandatory for every game.

This, it is SUCH bullshit that developers still don't give us these options for every single game that comes out. It really boggles my mind and shows that there's still a certain mindset they have that "console gamers don't want options and that options are relegated to the PC".

So dumb especially in 2024 on consoles that basically ARE PC's. Like, how many times do gamers have to complain only for the devs to (sometimes) patch in these toggles weeks later? Sadly sometimes the devs never patch it.

On this same topic it's dumb not to have many of the same graphics options as a PC beyond the typical CA, motion blur, film grain. Why shouldn't we have ways to adjust resolution, shadows, AA, shadows etc? This way we could adjust the performance ourselves and there would be a lot less complaining . .if we're willing to put up with a higher or lower resolution to affect framerate we should be able to.

The only way this changes is if Microsoft and Sony started mandating devs to include it but they have a history of being hands off with devs so it won't happen any time soon.

 

[Danjin44]

They stole GOW's sidekick idea, but this time it's a fucking robot.

And before that....

 

[Feel Like I'm On 42]

So ..is this the graphics king for character action games or does DMCV still hold that crown?

 

[thatJohann]

Ok just finished the demo. Day 1. Fun and love the visuals and style.

 

[Giallo Corsa]

I don't see it, VRR makes every game with drops better and smoother. PS5 version of Elden Ring is actually playable with it.



Yep, plus radial blur and CA, options to disable this should be mandatory for every game.

Boj, I know it sounds weird but I can assure you that that's the case.
I spent about 1 hour like an idiot last week while finishing up AW2 switching VRR on and off in the same exact spots where the game drops frames and trust me, the game dropped even more frames/there was increased stutter (not judder) in the - again - same exact spots while the " VRR for unsupported games" option was turned on...

I know that it sounds weird and maybe doesn't even make sense but it is what is - things get even worse with 30fps games since they appear more juddery with it on (on top of the inherent OLED judder for anything below 60fps).

There's definitely some fuckery at play here and I don't know if it's just the PS5 that's at fault here, the TV (LG C2*) or a combination of both...

*not all panels are the same between TVs nor the SOCs or the software they use.

I've been wanting to create an OT regarding this very specific problem for some time now (since there's also many topics about it online) but I've always decided against it in the end due to the usual reasons and shitstorm that it'll create

PS : always regarding the VRR option for unsupported games in the PS5 's display menu, there's a disclaimer which says that it may or it.may not actually improve things and that it should be turned off in case any unforseen problems arise and I'd personally categorize the extra/added stutter/judder as such.

Cheers

 

[Duchess]

Combat feels so slow. I thought I would be playing a Nier Automata or DMC5 like.

Yep, it's far too sluggish.

 

[DelireMan7]

Finish the demo. Tested quickly the boss mode.

Really convinced by the combat. Looks and feels really good with all the combo and skills to unlock.

The dodge puzzles me a bit because it doesn't look like she dodges (she don't move a lot) but it works in combat so...

I have the feeling I don't really know about what I am looting but I'll probably get use to it.

However the music is atrocious for me...

Will take it, maybe day 1 or a bit later.

 

[thatJohann]

I’m puzzled as to why auto loot was turned off by default…. who would want to hit R2 to pick up every single item? Am I missing something?

 

[xrnzaaas]

Too soulsy for my taste, still unsure about the purchase. And if you switch to the lower difficulty setting it becomes too easy, there should be a third difficulty option somewhere in the middle. I seem to be struggling with the timing of the parries, maybe it's the rather slow animation of raising the blade what makes it harder to judge the right moment. I will admit I didn't try the skill for extending the window or the training hub (which is a great idea in a game like this). I didn't have a similar problem in Ronin recently, parrying felt much more managable in that game and I instantly knew it was my fault when I failed them.

The climbing/traversal sections are very janky, I like the scanning and exploring though to find extra loot. Graphics are very good in the balanced mode and I really like both the main characters and enemy designs.

Edit: Tried the boss challenge and having the skills for extended windows for parries&blocks seems to really help. Guess they'll be high on the list or prioritites.