I lucked out and got the base game for 80 bucks and loved it! I do appreciate how each expansion does change and enhance bits of the base game so you can select which ones matter most to you. I got both the bundled character/summons/explorers and dark root basin expansions for about 150 and I’d say they collectively bring this game to 8/10 or 9/10 territory. It’s pricey but for solo runs or friends and a few custom house rules it’s a blast and worth the investment.
Happy that I have the old player boards that uses cubes. 😅 About skipping encounters after using a spark, that was the only house rule I used with the old rules, sounds like I will use it again. I use tokens to indicate if I beat the encounter easily or not, and then I skip the easy ones and only collect the rewards. I call it the "soul farming" house rule. Bosses look like they work the same in general, which is great as those where the best part of the old game as well, including all the expansion bosses. Preordered these boxes at my FLGS so haven't got them yet. But looking forward to some new enemies and the new encounter system. Normal enemies with leap is a nice addition as well.
My big issue with the core game is that it requires like minimum three expansions to feel complete. Explorers, characters, and either darkroot or iron keep are must haves for this game to feel like it owns the identity it wants. Explorers fixes a majority of the loot issues and also adds decent combat variety. Characters just adds more replayability and better co-op opportunity. The two bigger expacs once again fix the loot issues but also add much needed combat variety. These new two seem like they're trying to fix the busted af campaign structure from the core set. I use the minis for stuff other than just this game so I'll probably get them, but it seems like they still have the issue where if you don't have a few of the core expansions the game doesn't feel complete
Hmm.. I think I’ll stick with Dark Souls the Card Game. It’s pretty decent. And cheap. None of the games based off of FromSoftware video games have yet to grab me. I’m skipping Elden Ring, too. And yes, the sound effects were fantastic
dark souls is not a grind thou :thinking: you can grind in it for sure, but it is up to you. game is perfectly beatable without grind. the grind usually happens not to beat the game, but when you want some extremely specific thing that is not obtainable naturally (like finding it in a chest somewhere), but as a random drop from a monster.
I'm not seeing anything here that will really improve that core experience. The shortcuts are nice, but it's still the same weak underlying mechanisms. Uneven equipment scaling and a lot of repetition with the combat. The combat also still appears to be heavily bogged down with randomness which does not pair well with the grind and low health. The video game may be punishing and grindy, but the video game is skill-based not luck-based. The boss battles aren't enough to redeem the game, because there are better boss battlers out there. And, the genre keeps getting bigger with better games and more interesting ideas. The other real nail in anything Dark Souls is that CMON simply did the genre better with Bloodborne. It's not that the CMON game doesn't have flaws. There's a clunky timer with a room refresh mechanism that can affect the combat you're in the middle of. And, the combat is so deterministic that it feels prescriptive. But, the CMON game has soul; and this game (even with updated rules) still looks soulless.
I lucked out and got the base game for 80 bucks and loved it! I do appreciate how each expansion does change and enhance bits of the base game so you can select which ones matter most to you.
I got both the bundled character/summons/explorers and dark root basin expansions for about 150 and I’d say they collectively bring this game to 8/10 or 9/10 territory. It’s pricey but for solo runs or friends and a few custom house rules it’s a blast and worth the investment.
Happy that I have the old player boards that uses cubes. 😅
About skipping encounters after using a spark, that was the only house rule I used with the old rules, sounds like I will use it again. I use tokens to indicate if I beat the encounter easily or not, and then I skip the easy ones and only collect the rewards. I call it the "soul farming" house rule.
Bosses look like they work the same in general, which is great as those where the best part of the old game as well, including all the expansion bosses.
Preordered these boxes at my FLGS so haven't got them yet. But looking forward to some new enemies and the new encounter system. Normal enemies with leap is a nice addition as well.
I'm definitely interested in the 2.0 rules, and this certainly makes me hesitate on new content, especially as a lot of my old content is unplayed.
Great rules breakdown and review. Exactly what I was looking for.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great review, love the enthusiasm!
My big issue with the core game is that it requires like minimum three expansions to feel complete.
Explorers, characters, and either darkroot or iron keep are must haves for this game to feel like it owns the identity it wants.
Explorers fixes a majority of the loot issues and also adds decent combat variety. Characters just adds more replayability and better co-op opportunity. The two bigger expacs once again fix the loot issues but also add much needed combat variety.
These new two seem like they're trying to fix the busted af campaign structure from the core set. I use the minis for stuff other than just this game so I'll probably get them, but it seems like they still have the issue where if you don't have a few of the core expansions the game doesn't feel complete
Thanks for the overview! I'm still on the fence with the new stuff after owning a lot of the old stuff.
Hmm.. I think I’ll stick with Dark Souls the Card Game. It’s pretty decent. And cheap. None of the games based off of FromSoftware video games have yet to grab me. I’m skipping Elden Ring, too.
And yes, the sound effects were fantastic
Thanks for watching. I think this game has a soft spot in certain gamers hearts and painful memories for other. I'm right in between.
they just said they are doing more "core" sets
THAT IS INTERESTING
dark souls is not a grind thou :thinking: you can grind in it for sure, but it is up to you. game is perfectly beatable without grind. the grind usually happens not to beat the game, but when you want some extremely specific thing that is not obtainable naturally (like finding it in a chest somewhere), but as a random drop from a monster.
I'm not seeing anything here that will really improve that core experience. The shortcuts are nice, but it's still the same weak underlying mechanisms. Uneven equipment scaling and a lot of repetition with the combat. The combat also still appears to be heavily bogged down with randomness which does not pair well with the grind and low health. The video game may be punishing and grindy, but the video game is skill-based not luck-based.
The boss battles aren't enough to redeem the game, because there are better boss battlers out there. And, the genre keeps getting bigger with better games and more interesting ideas.
The other real nail in anything Dark Souls is that CMON simply did the genre better with Bloodborne. It's not that the CMON game doesn't have flaws. There's a clunky timer with a room refresh mechanism that can affect the combat you're in the middle of. And, the combat is so deterministic that it feels prescriptive. But, the CMON game has soul; and this game (even with updated rules) still looks soulless.
Thx, this was perfect amount of overview and detail as i’ve been curious what the new rules do to the turn by turn gameplay. Happy Thanksgiving!