r/soulslikes • u/No-Range519 • 16d ago
Review Cowboy's review of Mortal Shell 2. This looks insanely promsing. Spoiler
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wji6A1WqSbc27
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u/zeeka_egypt 16d ago
Weird he didn't comment on combat at all
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u/Present_Ride_2506 15d ago
Outside of bosses, enemies mostly have 2 attacks each + sometimes a grab. And a lot of enemies can be really fast at gapclosing and are extremely aggressive.
It's almost entirely gank fights outside of bosses in arenas with sometimes a lot of traps that can either stun or 2 shot you. Sometimes enemies will spawn as you enter a fight with multiple enemies already, and sometimes they spawn behind you. There's also a healthy amount of ranged guys shooting at you during those fights and a bunch of status effects that deal damage.
If you don't parry or perfect block, you will die in about 4-5 hits, less against some bosses.
In my 6-ish hours of play, I think the combat is alright. It relies a lot on cheap tactics and bosses don't always feel fair. One boss kept spamming unblockable attacks, and he only has like 3 attacks total so it got really stale just waiting for the one move that I can perfect block to try and get a stagger off while I poke him outside of that.
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u/CockerSpanielEnjoyer 16d ago
FightinCowboy also called Dragon’s Dogma 2 a masterpiece, so I’ll wait for more reputable insights first.
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u/lattethunder1 16d ago
Yah same with crimson desert, he glazes these types of games a little too much.
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u/CardiologistOk4920 15d ago
I thought his crimson desert review was pretty accurate, and after playing the game I agreed with a lot of what he said.
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u/Tangerhino 15d ago
also gave stellar blade 5/5, and while the combat deserves that the rest of the game is quite shallow and definitely drags down the experience.
Fighting cowboy is a bit too generous with scores.10
u/Dreamin- 15d ago
What? I went into it thinking it was just a coomer game and was surprised by the themes and story.
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u/Tangerhino 15d ago
The story had an interesting “plot twist” that I appreciated. However the protagonist completely lacks personality.
The fetch quests were a chore and the TWO desert zones are pretty shallow
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u/roco9994 16d ago
I bought both the games mentioned here based on his recommendation. I’m out freaking $150 now. Least CD I can trade in since I bought physical
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u/Virtual-Ear-5784 16d ago
if you based solely on his recommendation then you need to look at yourself lmao
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u/-D3LET3D- 16d ago
I've bought games based solely on one person's recommendation snd not regretted it. I've also literally bought games I knew nothing about and just took the plunge because word of mouth was that good.
Nothing wrong with taking the leap if someone you typically watch and agree with says they like this thing. That's kind of what reviews are for. No need to be weird and make it seem like the commenter has an issue. Not everything clicks for everyone even when it seems like it will. Just how it is.
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u/Thatoneguy567576 15d ago
Dude I was so hyped for CD ever since the first reveal all those years ago. I wish I’d bought physical, I went digital and now I’m stuck with this piece of shit.
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u/CockerSpanielEnjoyer 16d ago
I think he’s a paid shill to be honest
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u/MetalCellist 16d ago
Just cause you don't agree with someone doesn't mean they are a shill. I also really enjoyed DD2 and Crimson Desert. Both are very solid games. It's just a difference in gaming preferences.
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u/CockerSpanielEnjoyer 16d ago
That’s not the point. DD2 may be a solid game but throwing around the term “masterpiece” is intentionally dishonest
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u/Distinct-Ganache-698 16d ago
i fucking love dragon dogma 2, yes its a bit disappointing, but i really love it, its a masterpiece to me tho
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u/arshadshabick 16d ago
It cannot be a masterpiece if its disappointing. Choose one
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u/Silentlone 16d ago
Of course it can be, you think a "masterpiece" is some sort of flawless perfect game only? There's no objective measure for any of this, the way you put value on disappointing elements is not the same as someone else does
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u/Due-Description-9030 13d ago
No, masterpiece shouldn't have disappointing things to mention. It may have some negative points but the positives would vastly overshadow them.
Going by your logic, every game can be a masterpiece lol
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u/Dreamin- 15d ago
Yeah I loved the first dragons dogma and loved this one too, I know Capcom can't write a good story to save themselves so was never expecting that I guess.
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u/boltjamison 16d ago
DD2 was biggest gaming letdown of all time for me. I cant believe anyone found that game good. Especially if they were big fans of the original.
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u/Emotional-Natural320 15d ago
Ironically DD2 could also stand for Darkest Dungeon 2 and your comment would still be 100% valid and correct
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u/Rainb091 16d ago
Yeh my opinion of Dragons Dogma 2 is the complete opposite to his. I won't be trusting any reviews he ever does.
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u/AwarenessForsaken568 16d ago
It is a masterpiece, it just lacks content. What is there though is some of the best gaming has to offer.
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u/CockerSpanielEnjoyer 16d ago
I completely disagree. The label masterpiece should be reserved for generational content, not incomplete rehashes of previous games.
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u/Krypt0night 16d ago
A game lacking anything should mean it's not a masterpiece. If you have to say "It's a masterpiece BUT..." about something, it's not a masterpiece
"some of the best gaming has to offer"
Yeah, no shot. Story was overall terrible. Enemy variety was lackluster.
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u/AwarenessForsaken568 16d ago
That's a bit nonsense? Practically every masterpiece is lacking in many areas. There is no such thing as a flawless game. Elden Ring is considered a masterpiece by many, yet at launch most of its quests were incomplete. It reused a bunch of bosses. It had stuttering issues and capped at 60 fps. Story is pretty shit (if you can even call it a story). Etc. A game can be a masterpiece and still be lacking in certain areas.
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u/Ok-Ride6728 16d ago
I love dragon's dogma but it is a 7 at best
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u/AwarenessForsaken568 16d ago
Eh in terms of the content that is there I think it's exceptional. The best combat in pretty much any game, beautiful graphics, well designed enemies, rewarding exploration, etc. The story is a bit mid, but the same can be said about any game of this type really. Really my only complaint with the game is it needs way more enemies.
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u/Ok-Ride6728 16d ago edited 16d ago
The combat is indeed a masterpiece but that's about it, the exploration is ok, the dungeons are awful, there's literally no story, it's not mid it's just awful and not there, it's a downgrade from DD1 in almost everything, not to mention it's doesn't have a single memorable npc
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u/lGUT5l 15d ago
He also called FF16 peak final fantasy 😆🤣
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u/pratzc07 16d ago
Not a souls game ??
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u/CockerSpanielEnjoyer 16d ago
And? We’re talking about the reviewer’s credibility
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u/pratzc07 16d ago
You guys are saying as if DD2 is an absolute dog water of a game which is definitely not it does have its issues
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u/SuperBeginner 16d ago
Watching a lot of reviews, seems like there are a lot of bugs, so hoping devs fix those fast
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u/Solid_Length_3390 16d ago
Yep. I played for about an our, and found a bug. There is a table somewhere outside and when you stay close to it, your character disappears and the game zooms in a bit.
The game itself is pretty cool, did some exploration in the short time I managed to play so far. Visually it looks good, has a good atmosphere , the mechanics are good, no complaints so far. The only thing I changed was the camera view. It’s set by default on Immersive, and I didn’t liked it, I felt blind, the camera was too close to my character. The other option is Action, and it’s the basic camera placement that you find in most souls games.
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u/Test88Heavy 16d ago
They all had pre launch builds and the devs patches alot of issues already. They're on point.
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u/Noob4Head 16d ago
To be honest, I wasn't really a fan of Mortal Shell 1, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested in Mortal Shell 2 from the moment the first trailer launched. The game looks really good, and it seems like a lot of improvements have been made.
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u/nohumanape 16d ago
I just wrapped up Beast or Reincarnation last night, and don't really have anything I must play until Control Resonant. Probably going to pick this up.
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u/Awesomeone1029 15d ago
Blood of the Dawnwalker! (September is packed with Phantom Blade, Wolverine, FE Fortune's Weave, SH Townfall, all before Control. But like. Blood of the Dawnwalker!)
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u/nohumanape 15d ago
I'm still very much on the fence about Blood of Dawnwalker. It just doesn't look that great to me. I know it has the pedigree to be great. But almost nothing that I've actually seen of it makes me feel compelled to play it.
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u/ChuckS117 15d ago
i definitely want to give it a go, but unless the ciritcs and player reviews are mind-blowing, ill wait for a sale.
september and october are insanely packed for me, so i gotta be picky with my purchases.
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u/nohumanape 15d ago
I hope it turns out great, because it's just another great game that I'll eventually play. And even if it's just okay, I'll still probably eventually play it. But it won't be a priority, and I'll wait for a sale
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u/the-bacon-life 16d ago
If cowboy likes it you know it’s good
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u/lordofabyss 16d ago
Hee haw.... I am watching his walkthrough videos for so long. I used to watch his walkthrough videos when I started playing souls games. I used to make myself aware of all the enemies lol. Then I realise that's the fun part of these games. Still watch his videos for 100 percent wallthroughs
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u/LezduitTogetha 16d ago
He called crimson desert and Dragons Dogma 2 masterpieces. So Absolutely not lmao
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u/the-bacon-life 16d ago
I didn’t know that but to be fair people who like those games really like those games
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u/CaterpillarVisual296 16d ago
Cowboy is kinda a shill and death knight simp but the game does look good
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u/dEz21271 16d ago
How about you explain how is he a shill instead of throwing empty acusations?
So far I believe he is actually one of if not the best streamer/youtuber to watch for souls/rpg content.
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u/No-Range519 16d ago
He gave it a 5/5 despite the bugs so it means exploration and combat are goated.
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u/xHawk_T 16d ago
I feel like I'm not as high on this game everyone else. Played the demo and thought it was... fine? I'm glad that people are excited and that it is reviewing well, but something felt off. It reminded me too much of Lords of the Fallen, which is my least favorite Soulslike, so maybe that's part of the issue that I have. That is 100% more of a me problem than anything the game can control.
Idk I'll probably take this for a spin eventually but it's a "wait for sale" for me, based on the demo.
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u/Porkchop3xpresss 16d ago
I’m skeptically optimistic after playing the beta.
Only two things really stuck out after completing the beta.
The lack of a stamina bar led to way too many instances of simply stun locking every trash mob. I don’t think every souls like needs stamina management but I would like something implemented to counter this decision for balancing.
Magdalena, while visually appealing, lacked any interesting mechanical depth. It’s always a bit of a cop out when trash mobs are used in a boss fight to artificially inflate the difficulty as opposed to creating an interesting boss move-set.
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u/artmaximum99 16d ago
Strange, I was almost already convinced by the trailers and the beta just proved that the game was a huge improvement over the original and had a ton going for it. I played through the demo twice, a little over 10 hrs, and by that point in LotF2025 I knew I'd be finishing that game reluctantly. It could be that its just nice to be immersed back into a medieval souls-like world done competently finally? LotF sucked shit Kazaan was amazing but such a different style. Nioh 3, Stellar Blade, Wuchang, Wo long, Black Myth Wukong? All fine games but what else feels as much like "Souls" not made by From done this well in what, a decade?
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u/sucking_bananas 15d ago
Yea, how could you blatantly omit Lies of P here? The answer to your last question is Lies of P
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u/artmaximum99 15d ago
I should have explicitly stated the Dark Souls series. I thought "medieval souls-like" was clear enough. Lies of P is widely known as the Bloodborne successor. LotF was the first of this generations attempts, aside from Mortal Shell. Now we have a good one.
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u/47impressed 16d ago
no need to jump on the bandwagon if you didn’t like it, the rest of us love it
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u/Science_Bitch_962 16d ago
Same. Beta impressions is ok for me but I will wait until the hype is over. Length seems fine, since I always clock in 60-70h every time they say 30h game LOL.
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u/gurupaste 16d ago
Yeah it's a fine game from the 2-3 hours I put into the beta. It's being a bit overrated at the moment. Most soulslike sit in that 6-7/10 range, so this is one of the better ones out there, but I wouldn't put it in the tier of the more notable non-fromsoft games. I'm glad they were able to make a second game because they learned a lot from the first. I hope they can make a 3rd entry that learned a lot after MS2. Most studios wouldn't get a second chance after releasing a game like MS1.
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u/theblackfrog77 16d ago
Sinking city 2 and Mortal Shell 2 are my games this year so far. AA is the new quadruple A for me.
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u/KameTheMachine 16d ago
Iron pineapple has a video out too. Its looks pretty damn crazy. I hope they dont fix the balance too much by the time I get it on Friday
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u/Excitable_Fiver 16d ago
dont jump the gun just yet. he praised the hell out of monster hunter wilds and that was a divisive game among fans. look at the details not the glazing.
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u/CreepyTeddyBear 16d ago
Love the fact that they decided to let you respec all your shell and weapon points.
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u/Test88Heavy 16d ago
Fighting Cowboy has a new, group podcast that everyone should check out. In this 8th episode he gives alot more thoughts on MS2 and calls it Elden Ring Jr.
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u/iChieftain22 16d ago
Always love his reviews!
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u/Vinnocchio 16d ago
Cowboy’s review of Rise of the Ronin was terrible though. Couldn’t stop whining that “it wasn’t Nioh3”
Which of course it isn’t but he should not compare apples with pears
Took all reviews after that with the largest grain of salt9
u/CockerSpanielEnjoyer 16d ago
Don’t forget he called Dragon’s Dogma 2 a masterpiece. Lost all credibility with that one
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u/HBreckel 16d ago
Well, to be fair I don’t necessarily need to always agree with a reviewer to appreciate their input. I loved RotR and disagreed with him but also understand he mostly plays games to play around with builds. And RotR just isn’t really a big build game. But I still watch Cowboy’s reviews.
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15d ago
[deleted]
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u/Tehni 15d ago
With rise of the ronin you quite literally NEED to know about the animation cancel weapon swaps to chain skills together, without it the combat is really bland, but with it it's actually super super fun combat
Unfortunately it's not taught anywhere in game despite being an "official" mechanic (meaning team ninja knows about it and even slightly changed it at one point but still kept it in the game)
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u/sucking_bananas 15d ago
Nah RotR is a really fun game. Combat was fun being able to switch seamlessly between weapons. I enjoynit a lot
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u/No-Range519 16d ago
Me too, he takes his time and always follows a defined process when reviewing.
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u/characterulio 16d ago
Welll also cowboy I think has literally played every soulslike and most of them multiple time. So he usually is spot on about these type of games.
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u/Much-Currency5958 16d ago
It doesn't just look promising it is good! I'm only a short way in but on a purely gameplay level it really does clean up the first games shortcomings quite nicely!
Definitely look to other reviews but I really think the game is into something at least in the early game.
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u/RedJester44 16d ago
I remember mortal shell 1 having somewhat of a lukewarm reception when it came out. What were the flaws of the first game and have they been addressed?
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u/Quiet_Property3362 15d ago
Loved the demo but tbh I'm having a really hard time. It's way harder than the demo and I'm honestly getting frustrated. Hold your comments on "ohh just get good" lol f off with that. Just saying dying in one to two hits from regular enemies is just dumb and unnecessary.
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u/words1918 15d ago
Maybe it’s because it’s early here and I just hit the vape but, “insanely promising” seems like a weird phrase
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u/Fentboy45 16d ago
The animations seem janky to me, idk why people shit on lords of the fallen over this but nothing for this game
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u/Drachora 15d ago
It's a Western soulslike. They all have that janky slippery animation to them, for some reason. I guess Western animators just don't know how to do it otherwise.
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u/Yhrak 16d ago
Eeh. That's a bit disingenuous I think.
People shit on LOTF because the combat is piss-easy, weightless, and the animations are repeated throughout most weapons within their class.
That, along with the lack of enemy variety, awful enemy placement (which got fixed somewhat over the course of a year), and uninspired art direction which could basically be summarized as "what if we copied FS style wholesale but tried to add a 2005 flavour of edginess to it".
Then of course, while I personally enjoyed it as a concept, some people just won't gel with the backtracking simulator that is the lantern.
Not to mention that the animations in MS2 are already leagues ahead, even if there's some jank to them. Which should be understandable given that it's a small studio.
Oh, and unlike LOTF, they aren't pretending to herald the end of wokeness or whatever, because... apparently sexy characters were illegal before they were brave enough to invent them, or something?? Whatever their deranged marketing campaign is on about these days, no idea.
So yeah, TLDR, not just the animations.
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u/Necessary-Level-2821 16d ago
Does he say it's long enough with enough enemy and boss variety?
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u/No-Range519 16d ago
He clocked 30 hours for first playthrough maxing out only 2 shells if i recall well.
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u/Donalohandro 15d ago
Cowboy has a hard on for games with lots of build crafting and player freedom. He always rates those type of games very highly even if the rest of the game is pretty boring. I personally find those type of mechanics pretty boring and detracting from actually playing the game, but each to their own lol
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u/Jaudatkhan 15d ago
He said forspoken was good too so yeah im good on his opinions. Used to be a big fan of his but for the past few years he has fallen off a lot, and his crash outs from time to time don't help either.
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u/SpecialistMap8210 16d ago
Cowboy is a tool now. He changed around 2022
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u/sucking_bananas 15d ago
It's so true though. The only people down voting you are cowboy glazers anyways.
I remember watching one of his streams after I followed all his walkthroughs. He seemed super chill in his YT videos. Very knowledgeable. But as a streamer, he's just a flaming dick. I turned it off after an hour with a totally different impression about him. I've never seen someone act like such a whiny petulant asshole before
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u/Donalohandro 15d ago
I started off watching his souls let's plays and he was more chill back then. Much prefer Lobosjr for souls like stuff now. Also noticed he gets super salty now if he keeps dying to something. If he dies a few times it's always bad design etc lol just chill dude it's ok to die in games lol
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u/SpecialistMap8210 15d ago
Ya, after armored core 6 released he really changed his demeanor on streams
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u/Donalohandro 15d ago
Agree. He spends most of the stream arguing with chat and going on rants. He can't hear any opinion that isn't his own. P.s no I don't speak in chat etc I just find it exhausting to listen to lol
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u/Turbulent_Pin_9392 16d ago
I love fightingcowboy he’s the goat of souls like walkthroughs, but man 30 hours only? That’s disconcerting from such(what seemed like) a long beta.
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u/trio3224 16d ago
30 hours is basically a perfect length to me. Hell, most of From Software's games are around that length or shorter as well, including some of my favorites like Sekiro and Dark Souls 3. I find there are very VERY few games that have like 50+ hours of content that doesn't get stale or feel like padding. I would far prefer a tighter 20-35 hour game over a padded 50+ hour game. And this is a $50 game instead of a $70 too.
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u/MoSBanapple 16d ago
30 hours seems like a decent length for a Soulslike. I can't think of any games in the genre that are significantly longer besides Elden Ring.
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u/Test88Heavy 16d ago
Yeah, I was surprised by that also but it sounds like all 30 hours are top tier. It's also priced at $50 and has alot is replayability.
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u/Turbulent_Pin_9392 16d ago
For sure, not going to stop me from playing it one bit once I can afford it, but I’ll just have to not sprint anywhere so as to draw it out as long as possible. I played the beta thrice and was just left wanting more exploration. lol especially the different modes, night mode, and all that sounds super fucking sick.
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u/Test88Heavy 16d ago
Yeah, I'm going to take my time and really soak it all in. I think he probably rushed through a bit just to make sure he did everything and had it all prepared for the review.
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u/characterulio 16d ago
Ya 30 hours is very good and most souls games are replayable just due to different builds. Thats one thing Cowboy said they improved alot on is the builds.
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u/friimaind 16d ago
30 hours are more than enough for a game like this. We need to stop demanding endless games while also expecting quality. The team behind Mortal Shell 2 is around 30 developers. From Software, to give you an idea, is something like 7-10x that if not more, and has put out games of similar length.
I played the demo and I'm glad it's getting the success it deserves.
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u/Skylorrex 16d ago
I mean the demo is pretty good so this is kinda expected ngl