Topic: Pure Xbox Game Club - Halo 2 (Nov)

I finally overcame the wall I hit after giving it a few days rest. Got my third spell, and I've had a couple of tries against the 2nd large soul, still trying to figure him out. I'm back to really enjoying it
The music is so great, and I love how it intensifies in certain sections, like the Inner Furnace and the last part of The Flooded Fortress. And yes @themightyant it definitely has that one more go factor!

@lookupmore let us know if you want some pointers for the boss. There is an achievement you can get in the boss fight as well.

And I'm thinking of doing the umbrella run after finishing it the first time as well

@Krzzystuff thanks but I actually beat him after another 2 or 3 tries. I looked at the achievements before fighting him so I got that too.

@lookupmore awesome.

I'm not much further than you now as I'm just about to get the last spell.

Finished the game last night. I’ve still got a few achievements and secret ending to wrap up, and I’ll leave a full review till then but for now just wanted to say how much I loved this game ❤️

@themightyant if you liked the game until credits you should like the rest too:D

@themightyant I'm glad you were into it, I'm surprised how much it got its hooks into me! I think the combination of rewarding exploration, tight combat but without being punished for failing encounters.

Death's Door review
I'm not sure Death's Door does anything particularly new but it's a perfect example of a game that takes inspiration from lots of different places and merges them skilfully, and with a charm of it's own, to create a brilliant final game that is greater than the sum of its parts.

At it's heart is the careful balance between enjoyable and challenging gameplay. Combat always felt tight and each encounter felt perfectly poised, a little tough and thrilling but without ever getting frustrating. That is a very delicate balance that, for my level of skill anyway, they absolutely nail. Most mini or main bosses I beat in 2-4 tries and each time I died I learned and did better next time. The few encounters that took longer were almost always down to impatience and getting greedy, trying for a few extra hits when you should roll away. The combat and it's careful balance is the game's greatest strength.

But even outside the core gameplay loop there is so much to recommend.

• There is a wonderful charm to the game, the art design is stunning and the attention to detail on everything from the character design, typography and animation seeps through every pixel.
• The soundtrack jumps from hauntingly melancholic to beautifully whimsical in normal gameplay but as soon as you enter an encounter it intensifies and gets your heart pumping.
• The level design is fantastic unlocking shortcuts as you go, a la Dark Souls, and with lots of hidden secrets and surprises hidden... even into the endgame.
• The story, while brief, resonated with me much more strongly than I thought it would. I was so invested in all the individual characters, each felt like they had a personality and I loved to come back to see what each would say after every main event.
• Minimalist but meaningful design. Missing a few shrines? there's a way to get a hint on this in game without it being spelled out. Same for planters and seeds. When you finish the game there's a glow on each door you haven't 100%ed. I loved how the game wanted us to use our brain and sense of adventure by not have everything with a map marker, follow the arrow or quest log. Very liberating.
• The length felt perfect. Not too short, not to long. Nothing outstayed it's welcome - a real problem I have with so many games nowadays. It was a joy to the last, enough that I wanted to keep playing... so I did, and played a second speedrun playthrough for the umbrella only achievement to get 1000 gamerscore.
• It became even clearer how well balanced this game is on second playthrough and how much depth there is to the combat. As the umbrella hit like a wet noodle I had to change strategy and effectively became a mage, only using the umbrella to dive in for a few hits to recharge the magic bar. Honestly that second playthrough felt even better than the first. There has been a real arc from beginner to proficient in my first playthrough and adept in much of my second. But by the end I was changing up strategy again and using the upgraded hookshot, which pulls you towards an enemy and unleashes a devastating attack at the same time. This was very powerful, especially as it doesn't cost any magic. Soon I was zooming across the screen eviscerating mobs while taking little or no damage more akin to how I fought at the end of CyberShadow than how I played first time round. Little glimpses of mastery of the mechanics, and the arc from beginner to master felt almost complete. What a great feeling. Tempted by a third run to be honest!

[Aside: I'm also tempted to give the developer Acid Nerve's first game Titan Souls another go. I briefly played it but was frustrated after a few bosses and a few too many deaths!]

I only have a couple of very minor complaints:

• I got lost a couple of times, even on my second playthrough. While the level design takes a lot from Dark Souls I never quite felt I had full understanding of where everything linked together in the same way that I could guide you from memory through the Undead Burg or Anor Londo back to Firelink Shrine. I understand why they didn't include a map or pointer, the design is beautifully minimalist, but at a few times I could have done with a helping hand to point me in the right way. This was my only small source of frustration. I played it in only a few longer sittings, I imagine if you played in smaller doses it would be easier to get lost and this could be a bigger issue.
• While the difficulty was perfectly balanced for me it might not be for everyone. There are no difficulty or accessibility settings other than the hard mode.

These minor gripes points can't drag down what is currently my GOTY, and had I played it last year it would have been my GOTY for 2021 too.

My score: 9.5/10

I'd love to hear what you all thought. Anything you agree or disagree with?

@Balta666 I did! Loved the post game. And second playthrough was possibly even more enjoyable than the first. The game has hidden depth.

@R1spam Completely agree. They borrow a lot from Dark Souls but the fact they don't punish you when you die is different. In fact you automatically keep all your 'souls' so you can actually get physically stronger by failing as well as learning the mechanics.

@lookupmore Love it when the music intensifies in battle and as you crescendo through a dungeon up to the boss. It's brilliant... and stuck in my head

@themightyant really good Review! Nicely done

@themightyant you main some great points in your review.
I'm on the final part on the way to the 3rd big boss. Getting that 4th spell is a game changer.

Looks like The Forgotten City will be our game for March. I'll give it a few days so people have a chance to finish up Deaths Door then I will update the thread accordingly. Happy gaming everyone! ✌️

@themightyant fantastic review! I completely agree with the story, surprised at how it actually played on some dark themes yet the game itself doesn't take itself too seriously. It's not frightened about throwing the odd bit of humour in and it mostly lands. I never played the post game or had a second run through but I could see it being something I do down the line. Even if I don't, I think the experience will stay with me for a long time.

I'm working my way to the second big boss and I'm really getting in to it. I would definitly echo the lack of sign posting as a negative as I frequently get lost when trying to get back to where I was when I died or to try and get back to a secret I've seen that I can unlock with a new ability.

@R1spam That's a great point. The story has humour and is generally light hearted but also throws in some real interesting thoughts and concepts around the meaning of life... and death. Like the combat this is multi-layered and can be surprisingly deep even if it's just brushed upon.

@ralphdibny Excited for the The Forgotten City, only heard good things. Thanks as ever for the administration, very much appreciated.

So I jumped on last night for a quick session on xcloud in bed and I was fighting to get the hookshot, wife went to bed so i went downstairs to finish the fight and turn the game off.....3 hours later I did lol.

I have the hook shot and decided to explore around a bit. I now have the upgraded fire and explosion skills after giving up on trying to get the bow one. I also accidentally discovered how you get access to the underground tunnels!!! I'll be maxing out my attack when I log on next and i just need one more health and magic shrine to upgrade each of those. Really trying to not look at guides and go old school blind exploring still, definitely is more rewarding even though it gets frustrating.

This game is definitely amazing. Will be trying the stupid umbrella run I'm thinking.

@themightyant no problemo!! Cheers 😃

So I beat Betty last night, I died so many times. Definitely the hardest boss I thought until I accidently happened upon the arrow upgrade mini boss today. My god that was hard but finally beat them after dying 10+ times. Then I stumbled upon the bomb upgrade dude, killed him first try!
Did the thing with the crow guy after and I think I'm on the final run now, not long left I feel.
Definitely what I learnt about fighting bosses/mini bosses is to have patience and do not be greedy, don't try to get that extra hit as you will be punished.

Unrelated but how do I add spoiler text on here?

@lookupmore insert text here

Quote my post and you'll see the code you have to use, and obviously you put what you want to hide where I have insert text here.

I did a bunch of exploring again and i now have a few more shiny things, beat the bow upgrade guy and have upgraded my health and magic once. I think I'm just going to listen to the soup squid for a while abd try and mop up all the secrets i can pre ice monster before i proceed. Hopefully avoid having to go back again this way. Also need 5 more skill upgrades and I've maxed everything out.