Support NeoGAF

[butman]

Just knew that this game existed.
Visually look gorgeous. But it is really bad?

 

[Sykotik]

Just knew that this game existed.
Visually look gorgeous. But it is really bad?

The developer took the criticism to heart and just recently re-launched the game. It seems to be pretty good, now.

 

[5taquitos]

Just knew that this game existed.
Visually look gorgeous. But it is really bad?

It had a bad launch, if you look back through the last couple pages you'll see that the 2.0 patch appears to have fixed a lot of issues people had with it originally.

 

[ekgrey]

Yeah, unfortunately for the dev, those reviews aren't indicative of the game now. It is much, much better but they will be stuck with those scores. I'm really glad that they're moving ahead with a sequel regardless. Hopefully they get that launch right. And hopefully they either don't have to KS it or they wait until they have an awesome demo, because with the original game being all most people know, they aren't going to be meet any goals.

 

[Vazra]

Just knew that this game existed.
Visually look gorgeous. But it is really bad?

The game has been improved with patches and its pretty good now. The launch version was pretty rough from what Ive heard but the team seems to have worked hard on improving this.

 

[Deleted member 325805]

It's a real shame they released it early and unfinished, because it's actually decent now from what I've played and I'm sure it would have gotten much better scores if it had released like this, I can only imagine how much money they lost because of this balls up. Did they ever say why they released it in such a state instead of just waiting? Early access is there for a reason.

 

[Mr_D_]

TB touches on Slain's redemption at 16:59 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmcJQ5Oahdg#!

 

[Deleted member 325805]

Either I'm doing something very wrong or this game is just frustrating for the sake of it. I've finished Bloodborne, Dark Souls and Salt & Sanctuary and none of them felt this frustrating, especially sub 2 hours in. Honestly I'm wondering if it's worth enduring this much stress, because I'm dying so much it's not fun. I had no idea it was meant to be this hard, it's not what I was expecting at all.

Edit: Cleared the Highlands finally, dinner time...

 

[Ucchedavāda]

Either I'm doing something very wrong or this game is just frustrating for the sake of it. I've finished Bloodborne, Dark Souls and Salt & Sanctuary and none of them felt this frustrating, especially sub 2 hours in. Honestly I'm wondering if it's worth enduring this much stress, because I'm dying so much it's not fun. I had no idea it was meant to be this hard, it's not what I was expecting at all.

Edit: Cleared the Highlands finally, dinner time...

The game is pretty damn hard all the way through, and includes a couple of difficulty spikes along the way. However, there were only a couple of places that felt unbalanced or poorly designed, one of which was due to a (now fixed) broken check-point.

There are a number of things to keep in mind, which can help you get through tough areas:

• Make sure to figure out which weapon to use against each enemy. Using the wrong weapon can more than double the number of attacks required to kill them.
• Harder enemies tend to be rarer and can therefore often be taken down / weakened using magic attacks, since there are typically small enemies near them that you can kill using the charged attack / counter-attack to get mana back. There were a few enemies that I never bothered to engage in melee when I could avoid it.
• Master the parry / counter-attack. It is Super Effective, and basically is required to get through a number of boss-battles, since it greatly increases the amount of damage you can deal. You are also invincible while you are countering, and you can actually hit multiple enemies with the counter attack.
• The back-dash is particularly useful for a few types of enemies, since it places you perfectly to do a charged attack. In one particular case (one of my few complaints) it somehow also prevented the enemy from immediately attacking you after a charged attack, which made them no longer a complete PITA. In case you are wondering, those were
  Spoiler

  big fire skeletons with magic shields, whose attacks one-shots you. Fuck those guys
  .
• You don't actually need to kill all enemies. Sometimes it is quicker / easier to simply run past a bunch of enemies, so that you don't risk taking damage / spending mana. Most enemies cant follow you.
• Look out to take advantage of height-difference. If your opponent is on a slight incline, then you can typically hit their legs without them being able to hit you back.

 

[Deleted member 325805]

The game is pretty damn hard all the way through, and includes a couple of difficulty spikes along the way. However, there were only a couple of places that felt unbalanced or poorly designed, one of which was due to a (now fixed) broken check-point.

There are a number of things to keep in mind, which can help you get through tough areas:

• Make sure to figure out which weapon to use against each enemy. Using the wrong weapon can more than double the number of attacks required to kill them.
• Harder enemies tend to be rarer and can therefore often be taken down / weakened using magic attacks, since there are typically small enemies near them that you can kill using the charged attack / counter-attack to get mana back. There were a few enemies that I never bothered to engage in melee when I could avoid it.
• Master the parry / counter-attack. It is Super Effective, and basically is required to get through a number of boss-battles, since it greatly increases the amount of damage you can deal. You are also invincible while you are countering, and you can actually hit multiple enemies with the counter attack.
• The back-dash is particularly useful for a few types of enemies, since it places you perfectly to do a charged attack. In one particular case (one of my few complaints) it somehow also prevented the enemy from immediately attacking you after a charged attack, which made them no longer a complete PITA. In case you are wondering, those were
  Spoiler

  big fire skeletons with magic shields, whose attacks one-shots you. Fuck those guys
  .
• You don't actually need to kill all enemies. Sometimes it is quicker / easier to simply run past a bunch of enemies, so that you don't risk taking damage / spending mana. Most enemies cant follow you.
• Look out to take advantage of height-difference. If your opponent is on a slight incline, then you can typically hit their legs without them being able to hit you back.

You can swap weapon? :/

 

[Ucchedavāda]

You can swap weapon? :/

You might not have gotten the other weapons yet, but once you have them then you can swap them.

 

[nvvman]

It's a real shame they released it early and unfinished, because it's actually decent now from what I've played and I'm sure it would have gotten much better scores if it had released like this, I can only imagine how much money they lost because of this balls up. Did they ever say why they released it in such a state instead of just waiting? Early access is there for a reason.

I am the original programmer on the game. I was told by the designer/artist that we were releasing early because we were running out of money for development, but then I found out this wasn't true after we released the game. I honestly couldn't tell you why the choice was actually made to release the game early in the state that it was in.

I think in hindsight we would've definitely gone the Early Access route if we sat down and thought gave it some consideration, but we never really even talked about it except during the Kickstarter.

 

[drotahorror]

Still waiting on XB1 Wired USB W10 Anniversary Update controller fix. Really don't want to play this game with a keyboard.

 

[Deleted member 325805]

Is the charge attack bugged? It seems to cancel for no reason sometimes even though I'm holding the button, it's extremely annoying.

I'm doing the

Spoiler

3 guardians for the wolf and I have no idea how it's possible, I've killed the first one twice barely and then I have to kill 2 more with no checkpoint in between? Seems a bit ridiculous.

 

[Corpekata]

It only cancels if you hold it too long or short, you have to time it right and release it.

Still waiting on XB1 Wired USB W10 Anniversary Update controller fix. Really don't want to play this game with a keyboard.

Start it after the game starts, that got it working for me. Happens to a handful of Unity games after the update.

 

[Deleted member 325805]

It only cancels if you hold it too long or short, you have to time it right and release it.





Start it after the game starts, that got it working for me. Happens to a handful of Unity games after the update.

I know how the mechanic works, that's why I asked it it was bugged because it's not working correctly for me all the time, I've died so many times because he just stops channelling early when I'm still holding the button.

Edit: The Wolfwoods clear, the boss was much easier than the stuff before it.

 

[Abstrusity]

The original version was really bad, but the relaunch isn't at all. At least, it's much, MUCH better.

 

[drotahorror]

Start it after the game starts, that got it working for me. Happens to a handful of Unity games after the update.

Thanks yo, that worked!

 

[Ucchedavāda]

I am the original programmer on the game. I was told by the designer/artist that we were releasing early because we were running out of money for development, but then I found out this wasn't true after we released the game. I honestly couldn't tell you why the choice was actually made to release the game early in the state that it was in.

I think in hindsight we would've definitely gone the Early Access route if we sat down and thought gave it some consideration, but we never really even talked about it except during the Kickstarter.

That was certainly a puzzling decision.

I know how the mechanic works, that's why I asked it it was bugged because it's not working correctly for me all the time, I've died so many times because he just stops channelling early when I'm still holding the button.

That sounds pretty weird. It stops channeling even before the sound-cue?
What controller are you using and does the same thing happen if you use keyboard controls?

 

[ArjanN]

Is the charge attack bugged? It seems to cancel for no reason sometimes even though I'm holding the button, it's extremely annoying.

I'm doing the

Spoiler

3 guardians for the wolf and I have no idea how it's possible, I've killed the first one twice barely and then I have to kill 2 more with no checkpoint in between? Seems a bit ridiculous.

lol, I'm guessing what you're talking about aren't even the actual guardians yet, just the adds.

Use the ice axe on the wolf guard enemies, it does thwice as much damage as the fire sword to them. Just run up close to where they spawn so they don't use ranged attacks and then use the counter move. They die in 2 counter hits. That way they''ll be dead before the next one spawns. Save your magic to kill the skeletons or any wolves they manage to summon.

The guardians themselves if found easiest to just hit once or twice, back off, repeat. You can counter them but it's harder as they have 2 moves with different timing.

 

[Deleted member 325805]

lol, I'm guessing what you're talking about aren't even the actual guardians yet, just the adds.

Use the ice axe on the wolf guard enemies, it does thwice as much damage as the fire sword to them. Just run up close to where they spawn so they don't use ranged attacks and then use the counter move. They die in 2 counter hits. That way they''ll be dead before the next one spawns. Save your magic to kill the skeletons or any wolves they manage to summon.

The guardians themselves if found easiest to just hit once or twice, back off, repeat. You can counter them but it's harder as they have 2 moves with different timing.

I did them last night, with fire, I swear to God the wolf said they didn't like fire, maybe he said the opposite though, it was like 4am. I basically just used the charge attack on all the big mobs, just released as their animation started and avoided their attacks with immunity frames.

That sounds pretty weird. It stops channeling even before the sound-cue?
What controller are you using and does the same thing happen if you use keyboard controls?

Yeah, before the sound-cue. I'm using a DS4. And I haven't tried using KB+M yet.

 

[V1ctIm]

I'm really hoping by the time the Vita version releases it'll be smooth and bug free. It looks like a perfect fit for the Vita.

 

[EricB]

Slain code offer has been slain.

 

[Deleted member 325805]

I'm currently on

Spoiler

Malikesh or whatever, the imp robot thing

, how close am I to the end? The game is overly hard and intense at times and I'm kinda ready to move onto something more traditionally fun but I want to finish it first.

 

[nvvman]

That was certainly a puzzling decision.

Yep. I'm still puzzled, too.

 

[nvvman]

I have a whole bunch of keys leftover to give away if anyone wants them. Just PM me. I'll try to update this post when they're gone.

 

[Ucchedavāda]

I'm currently on

Spoiler

Malikesh or whatever, the imp robot thing

, how close am I to the end? The game is overly hard and intense at times and I'm kinda ready to move onto something more traditionally fun but I want to finish it first.

If I remember correctly, then

Spoiler

you are getting close to the end and have just two bosses left to defeat

.

 

[Deleted member 325805]

My Steam review:

Slain is a rare success story in the sense that it released in horrific condition and instead of washing their hands of it and cashing what little money they made from it the devs actually fixed it, and so we have Slain: Back from Hell which is basically version 2.0 and it fixes most of the issues that plagued initial release build, which is reflected in the recent (very positive) and overall (mixed) scores in the Steam user reviews section.

I'd like to start off by saying Slain is hard, almost frustratingly so at times so you're going to die, a lot. Going into the game I didn't quite understand how challenging it was meant to be so it was quite the shock. Just for reference I have finished Bloodborne, the Dark Souls series and Salt & Sanctuary so I'm no stranger to hard games but Slain had a way of making me feel like it was being unnecessarily hard or even cheap just for the sake of it at times, however for the most part the game was a solid, enjoyable challenge, it's just a shame the overall experience was tarnished a little due to a few rare outliers that left me saying to myself "Really?.....", for example certain mobs have brutally tight timings on their counter attack, and when you have to hit multiple of them in a row without taking a single hit it can be frustrating, and it was. I also found myself begging to the Metal Gods themselves for a checkpoint at times after a tough section or mob but was left wanting which again caused frustration when I died and had to do it all again. I'd like to make it clear though, for the most part this isn't an issue, but these blips really did hurt my enjoyment of the game and I think Slain would benefit greatly from a final tuning phase.

Difficulty aside the game is tight for the most part, but I did run into a couple of issues where my attacks would pass through enemies, most notably on the final boss, I also had an issue where the charge up attack would sometimes cancel before the *ching* even though I was holding down the button still, it didn't happen a lot but enough to become very frustrating, especially as it often meant death when it occurred. Other than those issues the gameplay is good, the controls feel responsive and the combat is enjoyable, I would highly recommend using the D-Pad over the thumb sticks, though, as it was far more accurate IMO.

Technically I had no issues, I played the game on a GTX 970 / 3570k @ 4.3GHz and it ran at a solid 60fps throughout on maximum settings which is what you'd expect, but it's not always the case sadly so I thought I'd mention it. Visually the game is great and I say that as someone who isn't a big fan of pixel/retro style graphics but in Slain's case they worked and were executed well. To go with the smart visuals we also have a solid metal soundtrack which is a core part of the game and theme, so it was crucial that it was good and it is.

Overall I do recommend the game but only if you enjoy challenging games, if you go into Slain expecting to He-man your way through everything you'll be sorely disappointed, you never feel particularly powerful and you're always one wrong button press away from death so it's quite stressful, but if this sort of adrenaline rush is what you enjoy then I'm sure you'll have a blast with Slain: Back from Hell.

6/10

Shoutout to Horseticuffs for gifting me the game.

 

[More_Badass]

Game's $8.70 (33% off) this week on Steam

Also impressive to see the reception shift to "Very positive" on Steam after the poor launch

 

[Mr_D_]

Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqWAenGQwn4

 

[Brerlappin]

Best of luck with the console versions. I really wanted to love this game as the art is just jaw dropping, but after a couple of hours with it, honestly i fucking hate it. Im a seasoned soulsborne player but even i had to throw my hands up at Slain. Some level with a bunch of witches and no fucking checkpoints made me uninstall it.

 

[Mr_D_]

Best of luck with the console versions. I really wanted to love this game as the art is just jaw dropping, but after a couple of hours with it, honestly i fucking hate it. Im a seasoned soulsborne player but even i had to throw my hands up at Slain. Some level with a bunch of witches and no fucking checkpoints made me uninstall it.

Have you tried it since August 1st?

 

[Horseticuffs]

Best of luck with the console versions. I really wanted to love this game as the art is just jaw dropping, but after a couple of hours with it, honestly i fucking hate it. Im a seasoned soulsborne player but even i had to throw my hands up at Slain. Some level with a bunch of witches and no fucking checkpoints made me uninstall it.

I will say this: I beat it before the revamp and other than a few tight spots (

Spoiler

Wolf race particularly

) don't recall it being too out there, and it seems SIGNIFICANTLY harder now. I'm stuck on like the Highlands or some crap and it is pretty frustrating.

 

[Brerlappin]

Have you tried it since August 1st?

pre patch the wolf race made me quit. Post patch is the level with the Witches i find really cheap, mostly down to lack of checkpoints.

The art is amazing tho so i do hope the game does well and maybe well get a sequel that is a little...ehhh..easier lol

 

[HStallion]

I may pick this up now that its coming to consoles and the fact it seems they really did a good job listening to criticism and revamping the game.

 

[Deleted member 325805]

pre patch the wolf race made me quit. Post patch is the level with the Witches i find really cheap, mostly down to lack of checkpoints.

The art is amazing tho so i do hope the game does well and maybe well get a sequel that is a little...ehhh..easier lol

My biggest complaint was also a few very cheap and unessessarly hard sections which hurt my overall enjoyment of the game which otherwise was a good challenge without becoming frustrating.

 

[socksfelloff]

I am the original programmer on the game. I was told by the designer/artist that we were releasing early because we were running out of money for development, but then I found out this wasn't true after we released the game. I honestly couldn't tell you why the choice was actually made to release the game early in the state that it was in.

I think in hindsight we would've definitely gone the Early Access route if we sat down and thought gave it some consideration, but we never really even talked about it except during the Kickstarter.

I'd recommend against airing your dirty laundry on a public forum.

 

[Mr_D_]

pre patch the wolf race made me quit. Post patch is the level with the Witches i find really cheap, mostly down to lack of checkpoints.

The art is amazing tho so i do hope the game does well and maybe well get a sequel that is a little...ehhh..easier lol

ha! Feedback noted. Thanks !

 

[Crab Milk Mickey]

The Witch level didn't strike me as particularly more difficult than the areas I played before it, so *shrug*

 

[DarkConfidant]

Did this game ever come out for Vita?

 

[Deleted member 325805]

The Witch level didn't strike me as particularly more difficult than the areas I played before it, so *shrug*

It was definitely one of the areas that felt overly frustrating to me, due to the spacing of the checkpoints.

 

[Mr_D_]

Slain: Back from Hell is now live on GOG.com

All existing GOG customers will receive a free gifting code too. Go to Slain: Back From Hell in your library and click on the box for a message that contains your gift code.

https://www.gog.com/game/slain

 

[Adryuu]

I have a whole bunch of keys leftover to give away if anyone wants them. Just PM me. I'll try to update this post when they're gone.

So, are those gone yet? Can I have one if not?

 

[Serviam]

Great that it is finally coming to consoles. Been looking forward to it for a while. I hope it runs smoot and that all bugs/kinks are gone.

 

[WhiteWolf]

Just picked this bad boy after putting together my PC. Downloaded and ready to go!

Edit: just beat the first boss and I am really digging it so far. Game looks amazing and I love the aesthetic. The colors and the violence are awesome. I do wish you could dodge forward as well though, it would be cool to dodge through enemies.

 

[Mr_D_]

 

[Morrigan Stark]

How the hell am I supposed to beat that Plague lord skeleton thing? If I try to get close enough to parry him, his dog spews poisons at me and I die.

Very annoying to have to rekill the trash mobs every single time just to die instantly, I don't even get to practice against the mid-boss. I really dislike this encounter. Like the game otherwise, so far.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

Well, I beat them through magic shenanigans somehow.

Got further, but now I'm beating my head against another wave-of-enemies kind of encounter. NOT a fan of those sections, let me tell ya.

I enjoy the game overall though. The art direction is spectacular. And I even sorta enjoy the goofy, cheesy metal-lyrics-styled dialogue xD

 

[More_Badass]

Another glimpse at Slain 2

 

[Shredderi]

Started this today. A few levels through and I'm really liking it so far. I guess it's markedly better now than at launch since this is really solid stuff so far. I love the soundtrack.

^Are the sprites done by hand or are they 3D models that were rendered at low resolutions to give them that pixel art look?