#Especially when it comes to the Soulsborne Games where everything is vague.

[krakenguard]

"I really wish more people would internalize this about Mohg--"

Maybe don't impose how you see the character on other people?

[papabirdurskeks]

I ask this both for Baron Dark, Ariandel and SkekSo !

Give me a character and I will answer: @ben-the-hyena

Oh boy a triple feature! :D Here we go, folks!

Under a read more cause its going to get long but each listed character will be split apart evenly!

First up is Baron Dark!

Why I like them: He is just bombastic in personality! He lives loud in his actions and words, participating in most of the action himself while also showing he is a threat and menacing altogether! I also like that he is one of the few villains that shows he cares for his crew as a “family” (at least for most part of the series before being overtaken with obsession to have power more on his own). Given the dynamic we are given from the show, its obvious he cares and treats them all on a level of respect as well, something so rare to see nowadays! And I also enjoyed that his reasons to take over and do the shit he did in the series, “Because I can!” is just as refreshing and fun to see in a villain too!  And again, his design is a top tier design I love overall! Its menacing, powerful, and outright amazing! Definitely adds to the character and how well he works in effect to keeping my attention! Like just look at that design! And his VA did a wonderful job of adding to that charm that is just delightful to see in his personality! Overall, he is totally a villain I would love to see more of in the future!

Why I don’t: I say my dislikes often fall on the usual tropes of a kid’s show of the 90s. He talks too much when he could be doing things himself and falls victim to the typical “I am too powerful” but doesn’t think of the obvious steps ahead that will be his downfall. But honestly, its so small I don’t find it jarring or that bad to be in the way! It was the 90s and aimed at kids at the time, so we can’t expect TOO much out of that xD

Favorite episode (scene if movie): Oh man, that’s a tough one cause every scene/episode Baron is in he totally slays it! Its either a tie from the first episode to the very last one cause the stakes of start and finish are so well done, I love it all! 

Favorite season/movie: Obviously, the TV series is the best version of him! The comics sucked and turned him too OOC from what was initially given! Like how does one go from point A to be Z so freaking fast? xD

Favorite line: “Because I can.” Yeah, not gonna lie this was indeed my favorite line of his xD

Favorite outfit: Honestly, the outfit he gains near the end of the series is by far my favorite! Its like a mix of the Bejeweled Catacomb Saints and Mictlantechutli put in one and its befitting of the Baron given his gain in power! 

OTP: Baron and Cyborn are my OTP and are married, fight me. 

Brotp: Definitely Brotps with the rest of his henchmen though I see them more being like his adoptive children! 

Head Canon: Baron is of indigenous background! I also like to headcanon that the white tuft/strands in his hair are truly his and have been there since birth!  (I have so many more HCs for him but I will keep it short cause it can go all day x’) )

Unpopular opinion: Don’t think I have one, at the moment at least. 

A wish: To have gotten more information/lore on him and the entire cast, honestly! I would have loved to see more of his character explored and what more he could have had to offer as a series main villain! Hell, the whole damn series had so much to offer! And just the relationships he has with the others and what more he could have done post season and before! So much potential there to be explored! I honestly would not be objecting to a reboot/revival or continuation of the series! 

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: Though with that said, if a reboot does come around, don’t turn it into the mess of current cartoons we have. Not that they are all bad but most of them have been very disappointing in keeping my attention and liking. Keep the same type of messages it had before! It worked beautifully as it did then and still does work now! I’d love to see the same formulas used while also updating it to be more gritty and mature like they did for Castlevania! Just... Don’t turn it into a cringe worthy mess that will ruin Baron and all the characters in the series! Don’t do what the comics did! 

5 words to best describe them: Charmingly evil, badass, fun, conniving bastard, and menacing. 

My nickname for them: Mega dork (affectionately speaking)

Next is Ariandel!

Why I like them: Oh boy, there is a lot to say in terms of why I like him but I will try to keep it short and simple for time purposes!  His design is top tier for me! Like a rotting skull like face? Check! A monstrous body much like a bird’s? Check! And to add he is a giant Corvian, which are one of my favorite enemies in Dark Souls III!  His personality also differs from the usual loud, bombastic, and proud characters I tend to gravitate for. Instead, he’s withdrawn and rather sad to look at and hear. You know he’s going through a lot but don’t know exactly what it is. In game, one can sort of get hints as to what has gone on behind the scenes but at the same time, its still vague and hard to really pinpoint what really did happen. So he has that air of mystery to him that I honestly adore in many characters as it leaves room to explore deeper into their lore! But I also find his personality relatable as well as sympathetic.  But that’s just me, I can gush about him all day but I will cut it short here x’)

Why I don’t: To be honest I don't have any reason not to like Ariandel other then the small fact that he followed Friede and let the Painted World rot in such a terrible state. But that is so minor of an issue to me to really make a difference, lol. I adore this giant bird man!

Favorite episode (scene if movie): I have to say the scene where he ultimately snaps and breaks out of binds after seeing Friede's lifeless body before him is my favorite scene of his. The amount of pain and anguish heard in his scream and the way he moves prior and after; I can very much relate to that feeling. Sometimes, actions truly convey the emotions better in the most powerful means necessary. And this scene alone truly nailed it.

Favorite season/movie: He's only ever seen in the Dark Souls III DLC, so obvious answer points to the DLC!

Favorite line: "When the Ashes are two, a flame alighteth. Thou'rt Ash, and fire befits thee, of course..."

Favorite outfit: Uhh, he doesn't really wear any clothes save for his cape? So I guess the cape does him well as he is, though I always draw him without it xD

OTP: To be honest, I don't ship him with any canon characters within Dark Souls. Friede does not deserve him..

Brotp: Ariandel being best friends with the Ashen One is my ultimate Brotp! Just think of how much of a valuable ally he could have been!

Head Canon: I know his origins are debatable, as either theory I have for him can be plausible but I often lean more towards the idea of him being half Giant and half Corvian! IDK why but I just like it a lot more x’)

Unpopular opinion: While Ariandel is partly responsible for what happened to the Painted World, I still feel he was manipulated overall and probably at one point did have a change of heart before being forced into complete isolation. He plays more the role of the willing/unwilling accomplice then the actual perpetrator of the crime.  

A wish: He could have had a happier ending without having to die for Friede. I know, its Dark Souls. Such a thing is expected to happen in the Soulsborne series but its a wish, right? 

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: That anything beyond the infatuation he had for Friede took place. Just.. No. He loved her but never could ever have her in that sense and never did. Just no, she is horrible to him. 

5 words to best describe them: Sad, lonely, birdman, withdrawn, and tragic

My nickname for them: Papa bird

And lastly for skekSo!

Why I like them: I think its as obvious as the case for Baron Dark. I like evil, smug bastards that shine through their wickedness and don't usually hold back. In the case of skekSo, I actually didn't care for him at first but then after my second viewing of the show, I started to like him more and enjoy his villainy! He's selfish, arrogant, vain, and conniving and I love it! Added that his design is really appealing to the eye and how he carries himself out, I gotta say he's one of the few villain characters from a show that makes the turn around for me to like them instead of hate them more. Also, his voice. Can NOT go wrong with that voice cause DAMN, its good and shows just how powerful a villain can be with a voice like his. And those eyes. Oh man, those eyes!

Why I don’t: Despite his villainy being the main point that caught my attention, its also a part of his downfall too. His constant greed and arrogance pushed him too far into doing what he did and ultimately cost him everything in the end; including loyal allies that end up dying for him in the long run. I hate how easily and quickly he changes his mind when actual logic is put into perspective of his plans and how quick he is to dismiss someone else when they don't please him anymore or things don't go his way for the smallest things. And yes, that is part of his character, I know that. That is what makes him as scummy as he is and why I love how trashy he is. But I also can't ignore just how easily he pushed skekVar away and believed skekSil despite knowing just what a lying bastard he is. IDK, it just feels too obvious but at the same time, it is what it is and I am not upset about it in the least x)

Favorite episode (scene if movie): Honestly, I enjoyed all the scenes with him in the show but mostly in particular with his interactions with skekVar, especially towards the end of the series. It showed a peak part of his vulnerability in his character that honestly I doubt he ever shows to anyone else. He spends most of his time pushing others around and making them fear him but with skekVar there is a sort of mutual respect going that really speaks out in a different way. Maybe I am just reading too much into it, but I always did enjoy how they interacted with one another!

Favorite season/movie: Well, skekSo didn't get much screen time in the movie other then him dying and turning to dust so.... Definitely enjoyed him more in the show then the film xD

Favorite line: "NOOOOO!" (Yes, this scene is still very infamous to me for personal reasons but the way he carried out his "no's" cracked me up each time xD)

Favorite outfit: Honestly, the main outfit he wore throughout the show. It's just so regal and goth, I love it! And as a goth and fashion enthusiast myself, I am all up for the style he has! The battle armor he wore near the end made it a tad more laughable to be honest.

OTP: I started shipping him with skekVar but ended up with an OT3 of skekVar and skekZok. So now all three of them live in a happy relationship with each other in my noodle~

Brotp: I see him being on neutral terms with skekMal! 

Head Canon: I feel that even in the show it wasn’t seen or given, but he did feel a lot of remorse and regret after the loss of skekVar. He seemed very close with him and spoke with skekVar with more trust then he did the others. Perhaps in secret he did mourn the General’s loss. 

Unpopular opinion: Does this count as an unpopular opinion? I know most people see him with just a few strands of hair but I tend to see him with a head full of long flowing white locks he keeps hidden beneath his clothes. It adds to the extra layer of vanity for a proud Emperor such as he! He looses it over time the darkening consumes him and withers down his health. 

A wish: To see what he was like as an urSkek prior to being split up into a Skeksis and urRu. Yeah, I know people don't care or like the urSkeks all that much but honestly, I would LOVE to see more urSkek lore and see what it was that made SoSu so special among his peers. It was said, after all, he had a voice that could move the stars but was conflicted and consumed with darkness. Honestly, I want to know why and who he was prior to all of this mess! SkekSo even says in the show he still has nightmares of the life before so I wonder, what they were and how it was! So much potential here, man!

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: I don’t think I have any of these to be honest? At least with skekSo. Not that I can think of on top of my head now. 

5 words to best describe them: Proud, absolute piece of shit, pretty, conniving, and menacing. 

My nickname for them: Stupid idiot

[lorebird]

Can I PLEASE hear your ideas for the wof rpg

OH I’m so sorry I missed this!! YES absolutely!! For anyone who doesn’t know, that’s in reference to this artwork :0 I’ve actually got 2 large ideas that would make for. Totally different types of games....

The first is what I had in mind with that screenshot redraw + the others I’ve planned, where you can play as the dragonets of destiny and follow the main story. The other would employ the same game mechanics as the first, but you’d be able to make your own characters and explore the world from that perspective! I had botw in mind for both ideas, but the first is closer to the more linear Zelda games, while the latter is even More open (being more like Minecraft, or maybe elder scrolls games, but I’m. Barely familiar with the latter. So idk if that’s a good comparison)

As far as specific mechanics, I had a couple ideas for combat! I thought it’d make for interesting gameplay to be able to switch out which dragonet you could play as. Everything would be easier when you’ve got all the dod working together, and it’d especially ramp up the difficulty during the brightest night section of the game, since Sunny’s on her own w fewer abilities. Also like....... you get to choose to play as your fav more often if you want........ pog

Speaking of abilities! Everyone’s got basic bite and scratch moves (bite does more damage but you have to be in closer, scratch does less damage but isn’t as risky to use) as well as special abilities like their fire/poison/what-have-you. Except for animus magic, if any animus characters would end up playable, bc uhhhhhhh animus magic my detested! But I think it’d also be fun to pick up weapons throughout the game! Like,,,, running around as Tsunami with the NightWing guards’ funky spears, or Sunny with RainWing blow darts, just stuff to make combat more interesting yknow? Plus you could get your own nifty weapons for your player characters in the more open world version! Handheld weapons could do more damage, but cost stamina to use since you’ve gotta have a limb or two free. I’d also wanna create my own kinds of weaponry, like metal to reinforce claws — small worldbuilding things I feel the books are lacking :0

Anyways, on the topic of stamina! I got the idea from the soulsborne games I grew up watching my brother play, which I am admittedly only familiar with on the surface level. But I thought that with the variety of dragons you have to play as, it’d be interesting to include stamina as a stat to change around along with speed and strength! I think Sand and IceWings would have the best stamina, being dragons that have to traverse large distances between settlements, along with maybe SkyWings? RainWings are on the lower end I feel, being specialized for agile flying rather than long-distance. It affects not only fighting, but also flight — wingbeats take stamina, though gliding does not, and dragons like MudWings have to actively fly more than, say, SkyWings. But idk how prevalent I’d want this to be bc flying in games is fuckin FUN a and I wouldn’t want that mechanic to get in the way. I feel like maybe it’d only become a big concern on large flights (incentivizing landing to rest and exploring a bit) as well as aerial battle

SO anyways..... as far as the story-oriented game. I kinda think it’d be rad as hell to have multiple endings. NOW HEAR ME OUT,,,,, I fuckin love stories that change as you play them and also uhhhh funny little exploration of storylines that don’t get to happen in the books! And...... it can tie into the open-world version

My vague idea for how the story-driven and open-world versions could coexist is that you gradually unlock free play elements as you progress the story. When you reach the SkyWing kingdom, for example, you unlock the ability to play as a SkyWing! But your range is limited to a small area and there’s only a few side quests to play, up until Scarlet is out of the way. Then, in the 2nd book portion, you unlock SeaWing free play! So on and so forth until eventually, you can explore the entire continent with any tribe you like. And here’s where it ties into multiple endings. Your free play characters can live in non-canon versions of the game, like say you put Blaze as queen during the story for for kicks and giggles — you get postgame content with that to experience in free play!! I imagine it like having a file for each world, and you get to choose which character to load in as when you start playing, whether story or original. Then you can switch at any time if you feel like doing smth different!

You can also start from any previously-reached point in the story on a new world, kinda like loading in Spore on the civilization stage rather than starting at cell? If you wanna make a world where like. Peril comes with the DoD. You can start a new world that automatically loads in the canon timeline right up before Peril parts ways in book 1! BAM new pal in need of therapy

Oh god this is so many words.......... ty for coming to my funny little dragon game ted talk

[amratsu]

alright these girls have haunted me for about a whole month now time to break it all down for anyone vaguely interested in them

hololive/vtuber 101 below the read more

THE FUCK IS HOLOLIVE?: An idol agency except all of its roughly 20 or so girls are youtube streamers who have their identity protected by a live2d avatar. They recently had a very fun live concert and all of them have or will have 3d models, but the majority of content is just them streaming whatever's their fancy at the time. (As of 2/17/2020 a lot of them play a lot of ARK, thank Coco for that) Therefore, they're part of the new form of niche culture called Vtuber.

THE FUCK IS A VTUBER?: Virtual youtubers. Like a normal streamer but, again, live2d portrait instead of their actual face. That's basically it. Content is about as varied as any other youtuber.

ALRIGHT, WHO WE GOT?: Hololive's split into OG Tokino Sora, the girls alongside her who are also primarily 3d, and then 'generations'. Just plug in their names and you'll find their channel easy. Again, variety differs between all the girls, but expect a lot of Nintendo games, chat streams, karaoke, and Minecraft across the board.

-Tokino Sora OG mom slash idol, debuted all the way back in 2017. Probably the only proper idol in all of Hololive. Warm, friendly, relaxing. She mostly does 3d variety streams and song debuts so she's hard to follow without advanced japanese.

-Roboco(-san) Pose happy killer robo with a notably smokey voice and calming demeanor. Plays a large amount of minecraft and first-person games in general; recent streams include ARK, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon remaster, Apex, and Fortnite.

-Sakura Miko ELIIIITE MLG miko idol with a tendency to swear a bit. High energy, fully embraced 'press f', gives herself sunglasses during streams, great friends with Pekora. Also notably into eroge. Did a full playthrough of Papers Please lately and is one of the most addicted to ARK (21 streams at around 4-5 hours each.)

1st Generation -Yozora Mel Sleepy vampire with the occasional killer instinct. Soothing, gentle, kind of lewd. Very much into nintendo games with Smash, Ring Fit, SwoSh, and Mario Kart being her latest content, but she's a little slower with the output. Part of the lewd blonde club with Aki, Haato, and Choco, who were demonetized until recently.

-Aki Rosenthal Cyber elf with detachable twin tails. Pretty similar to Mel in disposition, though less sleepy and more...I want to say 'fantastical'. Recently gained popularity due to her buck naked superhuman beefcake character in ARK, with Kerbal, Go Home, and some ASMR rounding out the rest of her content.

-Natsuiro Matsuri Eternal 17 year old cheerleader from the class next door, Matsuri is a high energy raging lesbian who's also a complete sweetie. Her infamous bandaid clip is what got a lot of western fans into Hololive. Plays a wide variety of games but also twitcasts at random times of the day like when she's in bed or in the bath, just to chat with her viewers about what's on her mind. Well loved.

-Akai Haato The ESL transfer student, girl next door, Haato is, well, exactly that. Commonly traveling for studies, Haato is a bubbly girl with a fine sense for aesthetics; you'll catch her making elaborate builds in Minecraft or playing visual novels during streams, along with a smattering of other games. Notable in that she's the only girl that'll do purely English streams, likely to help with her own education. Also kind of a baka.

2nd Generation -Minato Aqua Disaster masochist maid who's actually stupidly good at video games sometimes. She's both mischievous and hard working, massively popular in China, and, again, stupidly good at games. Soulsborne speedruns, PUBG, ARK (also one of the most addicted), Minecraft (seeing a pattern?), League if you catch her bilibili streams...but she's also the one who will spend a stream calling the other girls and asking them to bully her. Wild card gremlin.

-Murasaki Shion Genius mage who doesn't do a lot with her magic. Pretty well known for her 'neeeeeee', with a distinctly smug avatar/voice. Pretty good at games too, with a variety of Pokemon, retro games, Minecraft, Smash, horror, Mario Kart, etc. Excellent singing voice too, would recommend her covers.

-Yuzuki Choco The totally-not-a-succubus demon nurse at your highschool, Choco embodies :sweating:. Obviously she's lewd, but there's also a silly and petulant side to her that's fun to watch too. ASMR is her specialty. She's also, surprisingly, really into Dead By Daylight, so if that combination sounds fun to you hit her up.

-Oozora Subaru If Haato is the girl next door, Subaru's the bro next door. A very down to earth but energetic and sporty tomgirl, she recently spent three streams and sixteen hours on trying to take down Sans. Other recent things include Live A Live, The Witch's House, and GTA. Refreshingly easy to relate to compared to the other girls sometimes.

-Nakiri Ayame Hello, honored humans~ Hololive's millenium old oni. Has a peculiar way of speaking, especially in her pronouns, which lends a certain charm if you can got on board with it; happy go lucky, easy to like, and really cute on top of all that. Recently recovered from sickness (as of 2/26) so was the last to get on the Ark craze, she's actually very fond of multiplayer games as a way of 'getting to know mortals'. Apex Legends, Mario Kart, Splatoon, etc.

GAMERS: A sort of generation on its own, and also a kind of weird designation when all the girls game so frequently. Oh well!

-Shirakami Fubuki Fox. Not a cat. Super cheerful, makes a lot of weird noises that people turn into youtube poops (that she encourages), and also a helluva gamer. Plays plenty of battle royales, ARK, and of course Nintendo/Minecraft stuff. Infamous for her absolute feral hunter instincts in Project Winter, where she commonly massacres the entire map on her lonesome when she's the traitor.

-Ookami Mio Mom wolf who has to play tsukkomi (straightman) to basically all of Hololive sometimes. Which makes it all the more hilarious during her semi-common charisma breaks, like during Haato's recent English Exam stream. Has been into EDF, Pokemon, Ghost Trick, and Splatoon lately.

-Nekomata Okayu The sleepy smug cat with the most chill personality. Notably very, VERY close with Korone, and in general kind of a playboy in general. Never denies it or any of her myriad transgressions though. Her Mother 2 run has been fun recently, but really you could just tune into her frequent chat streams and relax that way.

-Inugami Korone Dog. An oddball who kind of just goes at her own pace, playing all sorts of weird games like Nyanpo (the pokemon prototype) and weird PS1 retro games. Shows a disturbingly violent side sometimes; her ongoing Blasphemous run and recent RE4 runs have shown how much she's into that kind of stuff. But also she's still a dog, so really don't worry.

Inonaka Music: -AZKi AZKi is closely associated with Hololive but is really more of her own thing, being even more idol than Sora is. Doesn't stream much if at all, has her own album out, does music collabs more than anything else, etc. Helluva singer though.

-Hoshimachi Suisei The vtuber idol who's totally not a psychopath, and totally a goddess at tetris. Like Fubuki, made a name for herself with her psychotic rampages in Project Winter, and also very much unfazed by horror games. Really fucking good at tetris too, doing 98v1 streams lately in Tetris 99, and a godly songstress too. Her karaoke streams are to die for.

3rd Generation: Also known as Hololive Fantasy. These girls are particularly close to each other. If you can find translated clips, I definitely recommend their host club streams where they compete in seducing other Vtubers. (Yes. That's serious)

-Usada Pekora AH^HA^HA^. You'd think she was a cute rabbit, but no! It's a Tewi level shitposter combined with some legit video game skills. She likes playing the heel deliberately just for shits and giggles, like when she nearly walked off with Miko's Nether Star. She's in fact very close to Miko, their relationship being both great friends and great rivals. Definitely one of the most addicted to ARK too; she's been making headway in conquering the ocean.

-Shiranui Flare Handsome half-elf archer, Flare's the designated tsukkomi of the third generation. She's definitely the most down to earth of them, charismatic to boot, and does as she pleases with a relaxed personality and husky, smokey voice. Very very VERY close to Noel. You'll find some really fun playthroughs of various action games like Dark Souls, Bayonetta, and Sekiro on her channel, and thanks to her picking up game mechanics fast they're fun to watch for anyone.

-Shirogane Noel Knight Captain of the Shirogane Knights, Noel's...kind of an airhead, actually. But she's definitely a pleasant, softspoken sort of person who's incredibly relaxing to listen to. Also a big eater, you'll hear her talk about beef bowls and muscles a lot. Just try not to stare too much at her 'pectorals.' As mentioned, VERY close to Flare (they just had a two day long date to a ryokan). Plays whatever with no focus in particular.

-Uruha Rushia The cute, soft, innocent apprentice necromancer, Rushia occasionally comes out of the gates roaring with rage filled screams before chilling out. An absolute cutie though, who loves her fans very much (though really every Hololive member does), her attempts to be cool and reliable lend to some great comedy. She's got a great singing voice if you can find one of her bilibili streams, and otherwise plays a wide variety of things.

-Houshou Marine A~hoy~. The completely safe for work, modern, not-cosplay eternal 17 pirate...and everything I just said was a lie. Most of it anyways. Marine's a riot of a lady with an incredibly dirty mind and dirtier motor mouth, great voice acting ability, and knack for art that she'll happily show off (among other things). Definitely one of my favorites, you'll find plenty of chat and art content on her channel, along with some of the most Ark addiction and a full array of Touhou game playthroughs.

4th Generation: Hololive's newest five girls, it's been a month and change since they debuted. They're notable for working together on some of the most wild content Hololive's put out so far, all helmed by a certain dragon. But we'll get to that.

-Tokoyami Towa The little devil that does whatever she wants, Towa's known for a couple of other things at this point: refreshingly honest personality, Pokemon playthroughs with an eclectic choice in team comp, and her charmingly atypical tomboy voice (though her mic's not amazing). Great singer, super funny if you can find the rare translated clip of her, and was an absolute menace at the recent Hololive werewolf/mafia game. How she managed to fake being a Seer from day one and nearly win, I'll never know.

-Tsunomaki Watame Hololive's bouncy sheep. Ram? Something like that. A very girly, friendly, lightly ara-ara personality, she's an honest and open with her feelings sort of girl. Earnest laughter at chat and games, real emotional tears while watching the live concert with her generation mates, Watame's a total sweetheart who streams a bit of music everyday as the pre-show to Coco's Morning Shitposts (official name). She's also gotten very close to her senpais in some regards...but above all she likes singing, chilling out in Minecraft, and recently playing through a couple Kirby games.

-Himemori Luna If you want to see a completely innocent cinnamon roll looking character say things like 'ass' and 'don't f*cking take crystal m*th', Luna's your gal. Her high pitched, almost childlike voice takes a bit of getting used to but she's a sweetheart that just has fun no matter what she's doing. But she'll also say a bunch of really funny shit while doing it just from sheer juxtaposition of her voice/appearance and the vocabulary. Surprisingly good at video games too.

-Amane Kanata PP Tenshi. Perfect Pitch, Powerpoint...Kanata's a bit of a sheltered honor student sort of girl who has an incredible vocal range, so much you'd be forgiven for thinking she was a professional voice actor or singer. She loves playing along with jokes even if she doesn't get them some times, and is really close with Coco. If not for said dragon she'd be the biggest memelord in the 4th generation, but alas; her channel has lots of collabs with fellow members and a series of cute 'research' videos on the various generations of Hololive. Unfortunately untranslated though.

-Kiryuu Coco The one, the only, the President of Nishinari herself, Coco has been a force of nature since she debuted. Her vulgar sense of humor, rapid fire jokester nature, fluent English speaking, and complete conversion of Hololive to the wonders of dinosaur taming in Ark has made her one of the most subscribed girls in a matter of weeks. Every day at 6am JST or 1pm PST, she does a quick 20 minute gig called Coco News (officially translated as Coco's Morning Shitpost) where she reports on the various ongoings in Hololive. This ingeniously brings attention to the silly crap everyone's been up to, really fostering a sense of community between the girls you don't see elsewhere, while also being a riot to watch as she roasts everyone for their silliness (with full permission). Other notable memes include her stalwart boycotting of Nintendo Switches, her desire to fund a Hololive house, and her recent Hitman 2 run.

[terryblount]

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice – Review (In-Progress)

Sekiro was first announced on August 2018 alongside with their trailer which explodes the Dark Souls community soon after knowing Code Vein was announced in June 2018. However, we all know our 3D waifu game getting delayed to an unspecified date in 2019 but our sorrow being lifted as Sekiro officially released on 22nd March 2019. Thus, this is our review on Sekiro: Casuls Shadows Die Twice.

Presentation

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is From Software’s latest action-adventure game since their departure from the Dark Souls series. The game is set during mid-1500s feudal Japan and introduces a harsh retelling of history from the land of the rising sun. (I guess this is where praise the sun came from)

Locations in Sekiro are spread out into multiple sections. Some of them include residential rooftops, swampy marshes, and burning villages which all serves a purpose to establish the setting of the game.The land is bleak and dreary. Signs of a fallen empire and a war long past are clearly visible throughout the many wide-open maps the game has to offer. Forgotten warriors and distraught merchants are still present in the world, barely living on their own. Sekiro really manages to create a despairing tone for its setting while at the same time succeeds in building up that curiosity to the players. And it’s this constant hunger to find out the truth that carries the player throughout the entire game.

Gameplay

Gameplay in this game feels similar to that of the Soulsborne series. It’s not an exact copy of the previous games, but the combat and exploration do feel familiar to an extent— and that’s a good thing! I feel like the developers succeeded in presenting us something familiar from the Soulsborne series, while also introducing us to a bunch of new fresh takes on how players approach multiple enemies along their path.

In Sekiro, the game introduces a mechanic called ‘posture’. Every enemy, (including animals for some reason), has posture. And you can either deal some damage by attacking them until their health drops to zero, or you could attack their posture directly, even without injuring them. It’s a weird, yet very effective mechanic that makes Sekiro a unique game on its own.

That being said, a lot of enemies in this game, and yes— even regular ones CAN one-shot you. Which, isn’t really a surprise coming from the same people that made the Dark Souls franchise. The way I see it, it’s sort of a radical way for the developers to introduce the difficulty curve for Sekiro. Players will have to pay attention and take the game seriously, especially early on when healing items and offensive abilities can be really weak.

Aside from that, a thing I’ve noticed in Sekiro is that there are always multiple routes to take as you progress through the game. If you feel like you’re stuck on a particular boss fight, or a certain path filled with tough enemies, you can always try moving onto a second, sometimes even a third path that’s available to you. And I really like that. There’s always other opportunities to find more upgrades, more stealth sections, and more ‘easier’ opponents to encounter throughout the map.

Some areas in the game have multiple enemies and very little opportunities to take them all at once. Because of this, you’ll need to plan your attacks and strategize who to pick off one by one. In a lot of these stealth segments, patience is key. Which is a good thing that they’ve included bunch stuff in the game such as throwable items to catch an enemy’s attention, as well as consumables to make your presence well-hidden. And these are just a few items in Sekiro that can benefit your own personal playstyle throughout the game.

Which brings me to my next point, the skill trees. The upgrades you can get for your skills in this game are very extensive. A lot of them benefit certain parts of your character such as the amount your health potion restores, new attacks and counters for combat, as well as skills that allow you to stay hidden and silent longer if you choose to pursue a stealthier playstyle, should you choose that instead.

Content

  The story in Sekiro is complex, for lack of a better word. And it’s not unlike FromSoftware to do this. They tend to make the story for their games as vague, yet intricate as possible. And just like their previous works, you mostly get to understand the story and the lore from reading the many item & weapon descriptions available in the game. Most of what’s actually happening is being told in the background in context.

However, from my point of understanding, the story goes like — I would say that Ashina, the area/country that you play in, was once this great district that lived long and prospers until one day, an Ashina general proposed an idea to mix dragon blood with that of his own soldiers in order to become an even greater force throughout Japan. And as time went by, the general and his soldiers that were affected by this blood became insane and started attacking the local population. This caused Ashina’s downfall and left some of the soldiers to become immortal because of it.

To a certain extent, that’s one of the many charms of the Soulsborne franchise. It doesn’t feed you information like a regular linear storyline would. But instead, talks to you through these little bits of detail found through observing the world, analyzing the character models, as well as really looking closely at the dialogue presented to you. That being said, I am still in the early parts of the game, so there’s a big chance that I still haven’t arrived at the more story-heavy parts of the game.

Personal Enjoyment

One of the many things I like about Sekiro is how they manage bosses in the game. Besides the regular bosses, you fight to progress towards the next area, you’ll also encounter mini-bosses throughout the map. And there’s tons of it. The ones that I’ve run into so far all have their own unique attack animations and fighting styles. No two bosses will play out the same way. And this is great because it forces the player to recognize their attacks as well as knowing how to counter them, before attacking them head-on.

I can also appreciate how items and small upgrades are scattered throughout the map. It encourages player exploration and rewards them for moving past the main routes. Players will encounter opportunities to swim in a nearby lake, or to jump off from tall cliffs to find areas you can grapple to, which then reveals even bigger areas. Giving you better rewards, as well as even more alternate paths you can take that can give you a sense of character progression even when you’re not fighting bosses or moving towards the main path.

Verdict

I truly believe that FromSoft succeeded in creating this new IP from their departure from the Souls series. It was a bold move to invent something from scratch when they could have just continued the series with how big the Soulsborne community is. But I digress.

In the beginning, people were very skeptical when they introduced Bloodborne. And they were extremely satisfied with how the game turned out in the end. The same goes for Sekiro in my opinion. There’s a ton of fun to be had here. The extensive skill trees not only allow players to figure out their own unique playstyles throughout the game, but it also promotes multiple playthroughs for players to try out different skills/abilities for different bosses and stealth segments.

The music is very memorable as well. I’ve yet to listen to all the tracks played in-game, but just the battle music in itself manages to set the overall tone for the game. Without a doubt, the music composer for Sekiro really did an amazing job when creating this unique atmosphere for the game.

On a separate note, Sekiro is one of the best AAA game design that I’ve seen in a while. With no extra armor sets, or even a multiplayer aspect to the game. Everything only takes 17GB of space to install— which is definitely a good thing! Everything is located in few, yet gigantic maps. Without a doubt, this also benefits loading times as well as hardware optimization when rendering multiple objects and background assets at a given time.

All in all, even though Bloodborne was my favorite game from FromSoft, I can feel that Sekiro could easily steal that spot in return. But for now, definitely need to finish the game, ha!

This is a joint review with a great friend who suffers with me through thick and thin – Daniel Rosli

Review based on PS4 version played on a base PS4. Review copy provided by Playstation Asia

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice – Review (In-Progress) published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/