As some of you may know, people who bought Soul Sacrifice Delta (Japanese version), received a code to try the Freedom Wars demo (beta) a week before it's released for everyone.
This is a thread for sharing your thoughts about the game.
I've just cleared the demo. Took me about an hour, but I've skipped some of the dialogues and explanations, mostly because of the lack of any data transfer to the full version.
Since I'm going to watch all of this again, I've decided to get to the gameplay asap.
First thing that struck me was the audiovisual side of the game. While floor textures still doesn't look as good as some would want, the rest of the game is really crisp and I believe that it runs in the native resolution (don't quote me on that).
I'd post screenshots to back up that claim, but the demo doesn't allow taking them.
Music is pretty good and it fits the theme of the game really well.
As for the gameplay itself, first thing I've noticed was how slow the character moves when not dashing. Controls in general will take a lot of getting used to, especially coming straight from other hunting games, like Soul Sacrifice Delta, Monster Hunter 4 and even God Eater 2.
Torn in particular might be quite hard to master, since you must learn how to aim it at a specific part of an Abductor to be really effective during fights. Simply staying near the monster and slashing with your sword/lance will get you killed really quickly - those huge monsters have REALLY strong attacks and can knock you out in 3 hits, at least at the beginning.
Once you get used to it, it's a whole another story. Jumping, slashing, pulling yourself to walls to run away from attacks, mashing circle to make the Abductor fall down, which isn't easy, especially if the enemy is in berserk mode. Last mission of the demo was undoubtedly the best part, especially since I've started trying some new stuff, like laying Thorn Mines.
What surprised me the most about the missions themselves (mostly because I didn't pay much attention to the trailers), was that the main target wasn't killing the giant Abductor, but getting Civilians trapped inside it and saving them by carrying them to the teleporters. Your character moves really slow while carrying them and since enemies like to spawn after the boss is dead - escorting requires as much teamwork as killing the Abductor. I don't think that civilians can die, so it's not as annoying as escort missions in other games.
The cool part is that you don't actually need to kill the Abductor - breaking the cage is enough to free the person inside. Downside? When you pick up a Civilian when Abductor is still alive, the monster will go into berserk mode, gaining speed and aggressively attacking the person carrying the Civilian.
As for the Accessory (partner) system, there wasn't really a chance to dig deep into it in the demo, but your partner character is pretty useful during missions, especially since he/she can revive you when you're knocked out.
One last thing - I love how the world is presented. There's a lot attention to detail, even in the menus. Everything constantly reminds you that you're basically a prisoner and you have to buy basic rights, like... lying down to sleep.
One thing that I DIDN'T like, was how the game drops tons of explanations of all the features at once. It was really hard to remember what every weird option does, especially since the game tries so hard to show it's theme everywhere it can.
Edit:
From the PSN thread:
Edit 2:
Oh, I completely forgot - this game has a chance of being god tier with online multiplayer. I'd test the local mp, but sadly this version doesn't have it.
And yeah, still day 1 for me.
Edit 3:
Full demo playthrough by twentytwo.
Edit 4:
Videos from the nico nico stream: 1, 2.
Awesome dragon boss, green Thorn and general 4 player action.
Edit 5:
12 min long trailer.
This is a thread for sharing your thoughts about the game.
I've just cleared the demo. Took me about an hour, but I've skipped some of the dialogues and explanations, mostly because of the lack of any data transfer to the full version.
Since I'm going to watch all of this again, I've decided to get to the gameplay asap.
First thing that struck me was the audiovisual side of the game. While floor textures still doesn't look as good as some would want, the rest of the game is really crisp and I believe that it runs in the native resolution (don't quote me on that).
I'd post screenshots to back up that claim, but the demo doesn't allow taking them.
Music is pretty good and it fits the theme of the game really well.
As for the gameplay itself, first thing I've noticed was how slow the character moves when not dashing. Controls in general will take a lot of getting used to, especially coming straight from other hunting games, like Soul Sacrifice Delta, Monster Hunter 4 and even God Eater 2.
Torn in particular might be quite hard to master, since you must learn how to aim it at a specific part of an Abductor to be really effective during fights. Simply staying near the monster and slashing with your sword/lance will get you killed really quickly - those huge monsters have REALLY strong attacks and can knock you out in 3 hits, at least at the beginning.
Once you get used to it, it's a whole another story. Jumping, slashing, pulling yourself to walls to run away from attacks, mashing circle to make the Abductor fall down, which isn't easy, especially if the enemy is in berserk mode. Last mission of the demo was undoubtedly the best part, especially since I've started trying some new stuff, like laying Thorn Mines.
What surprised me the most about the missions themselves (mostly because I didn't pay much attention to the trailers), was that the main target wasn't killing the giant Abductor, but getting Civilians trapped inside it and saving them by carrying them to the teleporters. Your character moves really slow while carrying them and since enemies like to spawn after the boss is dead - escorting requires as much teamwork as killing the Abductor. I don't think that civilians can die, so it's not as annoying as escort missions in other games.
The cool part is that you don't actually need to kill the Abductor - breaking the cage is enough to free the person inside. Downside? When you pick up a Civilian when Abductor is still alive, the monster will go into berserk mode, gaining speed and aggressively attacking the person carrying the Civilian.
As for the Accessory (partner) system, there wasn't really a chance to dig deep into it in the demo, but your partner character is pretty useful during missions, especially since he/she can revive you when you're knocked out.
One last thing - I love how the world is presented. There's a lot attention to detail, even in the menus. Everything constantly reminds you that you're basically a prisoner and you have to buy basic rights, like... lying down to sleep.
One thing that I DIDN'T like, was how the game drops tons of explanations of all the features at once. It was really hard to remember what every weird option does, especially since the game tries so hard to show it's theme everywhere it can.
Edit:
From the PSN thread:
First 30-ish minutes of the Freedom Wars demo is on Nico-nico. Account needed to watch though.
Part 2
Edit 2:
Oh, I completely forgot - this game has a chance of being god tier with online multiplayer. I'd test the local mp, but sadly this version doesn't have it.
And yeah, still day 1 for me.
Edit 3:
Full demo playthrough by twentytwo.
Edit 4:
Videos from the nico nico stream: 1, 2.
Awesome dragon boss, green Thorn and general 4 player action.
Edit 5:
12 min long trailer.