It's funny, because Ys has probably been around way longer than any of the games it's imitating, I think the first one was '87 or '88. Thanks for bringing it up, might be time for me to finally give them a try!

It's amazing how a lick of paint and a bit of a polish can make something old seem new again.

Demon's Souls remake is a frame-by-frame remake like Gus Van Sant's Psycho. It is not a remake in the same vein as FFVIIR. If you look at any side-by-side comparison video of the remake and the original they are mechanically the same. The enemies react just the same, their circle of awareness is matched, and how they react when alerted is equal. The weapon animations may look slightly different, with the new one showing more variance and style, but they follow the same arcs and hit boxes and are timed in synchronicity.

Yet somehow the remake feels quite different. For a start it feels easier both in difficulty and execution. The graphically stunning re-skin has made the map handier to navigate with different areas looking distinct from one another. The enemies are clear and pop against the background and at a steady 60 FPS the flow of battle is just so much smoother. Performing a parry and riposte now is like wax on/wax off. The PS5 has the most amazing haptic controller (you really have to try one) and the weight of the different weapons are felt in the resistance of the trigger buttons, and in concert with the ambient sound you can hear and feel enemy presence if you're paying attention.

The UI and menus have had the biggest overhaul making the game more accessible, transparent, and intuitive. NPCs now show body language and moving lips, and you can now create a character that doesn't look like Alice the Goon. This last one seems to have bothered purists the most, and I guess the Souls series has an ugliness that makes it instantly recognisable, but those wretches would've stood out in the Boletaria of Bluepoint's game as freaks.

On top of all this I now get to enjoy the game with a community. By the time I played the original some time after Dark Souls it was a dead game. And with the super fast loading times joining other people's worlds really is hop in and hop out.

Astro's Playroom is pre-loaded onto every PS5. It serves as a showcase of the DualSense controller though it's a neat little game in it's own right.

When you begin a bunch of these Astro Bots jump into your controller and you can feel them rattling around inside. I can't find any info on how this all works 'cause so far this sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. When you walk you feel the little feet tap along the underside of the controller and this tap will change depending on the surface you are crossing, whether glass, metal, or turf. When you move through sand you feel it drag and when in mud it sloshes. At one point you get pelted by hail stones and it's like lots of random tiny hammers against your palms. As the wind gusts across the screen the controller ripples that direction and when a piece of debris clocks your bot on the side of the head it feels like the controller has been hit from the side.

tl:dr The controller is probably the most impressive and forward feature of the PS5 and Astro's Playroom showcases it brilliantly.

That controller does sound amazing.

Said comparison video for DS.

“Soulsborne”. Interesting term.

Created the character I'm going to do my full playthrough of Demon's Souls with. A mage/dex warrior sorceress by the name of Saoirse Ronin.

Geddit?

I've restarted Demon's Souls for the fourth time trying to find the best character for me. My current one is a strength build named Sir Fuxalot and I just picked up the Hands of God (I've named them Maradona and Henry) which have a faith stat and already I'm thinking about making a warrior priest named Father John Fisty.

What’s the Henry reference?

Jim Sterling on PS5 acquisition.



Sterling on Demon’s Souls.

I returned to World of Warcraft for a new expansion. It promises to be interesting and rich, although I have not yet familiarized myself with all the content, I just don't have enough time, and I won't be able to sit for days in the game, otherwise, they will kick me out of the house I bought a new monitor for my computer and now I just enjoy the gameplay. I bought an LG UltraGear and this review helped me to choose it https://homemakerguide.com/best-gaming- ... under-200/. I was lucky that I came across this site, because I think I could spend more money on the purchase without making a significant difference in quality.

The 24”, 144Hz? Hadn’t noticed - that price is good. I recently zeroed in on the Asus equivalent (VG24VQ - curved screen) for the nephew, which is the same price, plus a $20 rebate (sold out a day later at my local store).

Staying the hell away from WoW. That time sink is in the past.

Flashback 2018:

Cyberpunk only has a rating of 2 on Metacritic from PS4 users.
https://www.metacritic.com/game/playsta ... er-reviews

I think CDPR have lost their darling status.

Yikes. Well, among the older-gen players anyway. The rest might be split for now, until the patching catches up. Also, iirc, CDPR promised everyone who bought it on 'current' gen a free digital copy on next gen..?