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The Cult of FromSoftware/Soulsborne

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Deleted member 135

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As an outsider to the Soulsborne genre (it's not my cup of tea) I can see why people like them and why they dislike them. I can see what they do right (old school challenging trial and error to learn patterns) and I can see where they falter (horrible IQ, performance, jankiness, and accessibility).

What I don't see however is why FromSoftware and the Soulsborne genre is treated with such mythic reverence here and elsewhere online. The games can be rightly called good, some excellent even, but they aren't revolutionary. They are an evolution of an existing genre and From isn't even the sole proprietor of said genre.

Every good developer gets praised here for the most part, that's not an issue. What I see however, is an intense hyperbolic worship of FromSoftware and the Soulsborne genre. It even gets to the point where it gets nasty, see the accessibility "debate" over Sekiro.

I want to understand why.
 
vestan

vestan

#REFANTAZIO SWEEP
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Dec 28, 2017
24,635
Yeah, the hyperbolic worship as you mention gets to really ridiculous heights sometimes. I think From games are great, but yeesh, some people on here are convinced that their games do no wrong and that there aren't better games out there. Some people here the other day tried to unironically argue that Dark Souls was more influential on the gaming landscape than Skyrim which made me laugh.

It's weird though, I remember back when Demon's came out, the community was super-welcoming to newcomers. This elitist 'git-gud' attitude only really started when Dark Souls gained traction post-launch and was further elevated when the PC version came out.

Another developer that's treated the same way here on Era is CDPR.
 

Deleted member 249

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There's no why. It's a sense of self perpetuating elitism. The games are amazing, as in they're actually fantastic games, but the fan base is obnoxious and shrill, and has its head way too up its own ass.
 

Deleted member 4482

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Oct 25, 2017
1,713
no, there is no cult. there are a couple of dumbasses who way overdo it, and as for everyone else, the games are just really good.
 
Lant_War

Lant_War

Classic Anus Game
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Jul 14, 2018
23,580
I mean, most of it are jokes. Nobody's unironically saying that they're GodSoftware, they just make amazing games so people like them.
 
TheInfinityGauntlet

TheInfinityGauntlet

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Nov 3, 2017
4,393
You want to understand why but you come in looking down on people who find more in their games than you do, no answer will appease you
 
Alastor3

Alastor3

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Oct 28, 2017
8,297
Because there will always be games, genre and series like that. Sometimes, it happen and you don't know why. Im getting tired of the ''FromSoft should only do souls born games'' like fans are entitled to decide what a studio should do
 

Deleted member 32374

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Nov 10, 2017
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I'm not even interested in understanding why anymore. I haven't played one of their games beyond a few hours of blood borne (which is a fine game but I got it for free so I didn't exactly seek it out) but the rabid fanbase surrounding the games is extremely off putting. A fanbase that claims to be the best and most welcoming and kind and amazing around but is more snarky, excluding and defensive than advertised.

The accessibility thread was the nastiest one I've been a part of in Era, I was in that thread for 55 pages. I'm still on the fence about Era as a whole because of it. Heck of a fanbase.
 
Raza

Raza

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Nov 7, 2017
1,567
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They're currently releasing games that are all high quality. I mean, Deracine isn't for everyone but it was a fun adventure/puzzle game. I agree people can be hyperbolic about them at points and get too ingrained in the "git gud" mentality, but they are one of the most exciting developers at the moment.
 

Deleted member 50374

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Dec 4, 2018
2,482
Because the extreme difficulty is some sort of reserved club that will be protected by those who accessed it - that's what turns it into a "cult", for the rest they're just good to great games

And I say this as while I was away from this forum I reached the third last part of Bloodborne on my own and found it strangely way easier than my expectations, yet Dark Souls III's a pain
 
Neosp

Neosp

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15
User Banned (3 Days): Antagonistic modwhining
Must be the THIRD fromsoftware/Soulsborne thread TODAY...jesus fuckin christ, MODS...why do you allow that??? Can you please make possible to ignore threads with the "ignore Thread" button outside the threads??? PLEASE!
 

Deleted member 4482

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,713
SG-17 said:
I played about 2 hours of Bloodborne, that's how I learned they aren't for me.

And don't say I needed to play it longer. If a game can't catch me within 2 hours it's not worth my time.
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"I don't like it so it must be a cult." This is just as bad at the shitlords like the guy behind the cheated yourself meme. Can't yall just... chill the fuck out
 
KiLAM

KiLAM

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Jan 25, 2018
1,610
I mean..they have consistently made great games for last 10 years. Their lowest rated game has a meta score of 89(apart from vr side project). So obviously people want to praise their work. Difficulty is not the only reason why their games consistently get high praise and high scores too. Plenty of games are difficult. Their level design, lore, environments,combat are some of the best in the industry imo.
Do people overdo it sometimes? Sure. But it's not hard to understand why people love Fromsoft.
 
OSHAN

OSHAN

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,932
I'm 38 and have been gaming since NES, and FromSoftware's focus on gameplay and level design check the right boxes for me.

I think, in general, all videogame stories are garbage. I like the fact FS puts the story aspects in the periphery.
 
Tibarn

Tibarn

Member
Oct 31, 2017
13,370
Barcelona
Phantom Thief said:
but the fan base is obnoxious and shrill, and has its head way too up its own ass.
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Which can be said about any fanbase.

I agree with OP though, especially considering that 5 of their 6 recent big games are using the exact same formula with some tweeks here and there. It's like the people saying that Capcom is on another golden age, when all they did recently was release sequels to some known franchises with new shiny visuals and some gameplay improvements.
 
RPGamer92

RPGamer92

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Oct 25, 2017
4,538
I could make the same argument about Nintendo. Things that devs/publishers use to do abd get criticized for now becomes alright because Nintendo does it now.
 
ViewtifulJC

ViewtifulJC

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Oct 25, 2017
21,020
EBaYRLU.png
 
LiK

LiK

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Oct 25, 2017
32,099
Memorable characters.

Fun combat.

Fantastic level design.

Great world-building and lore.

Gorgeous art direction.

Those are my reasons.
 
sibarraz

sibarraz

Prophet of Regret - One Winged Slayer
Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
18,108
Phantom Thief said:
I wouldn't say CDPR worship comes anywhere close to this. The only developer I think used to "enjoy" similar status was Naughty Dog but I don't think even that was ever so bad.
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CDPR is the same, recently there hasn't been that much circlejerk since the witcher was released some time ago, but as soon as cyberpunk 2077 is released, you will see it at full force
 
MegaSackman

MegaSackman

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Oct 27, 2017
17,753
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As someone who started with Bloodborne because didn't find the previous games visually interesting, I can say this:

It's really hard for me to find another developer these days (at least on AAA games) that have even remotely close the craftmanship in level design that these games have, it's mindblowing at times. It disappoints me that many developers don't put much effort into this when it can elevate a game so much.

They also have incredible atmosphere and really clever lore told through the enviroments, nobody out there does games like this. This doesn't mean that there can't be better games or anything just that they truly are unique and that makes From Soft a top dev for me.

Take into account that many game these days takes inspiration in their games.
 
MillionIII

MillionIII

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Sep 11, 2018
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SG-17 said:
I played about 2 hours of Bloodborne, that's how I learned they aren't for me.

And don't say I needed to play it longer. If a game can't catch me within 2 hours it's not worth my time.
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I started with BB too and I found that without a guide it can be pretty confusing to new players.
 

Deleted member 2793

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Phantom Thief said:
I wouldn't say CDPR worship comes anywhere close to this. The only developer I think used to "enjoy" similar status was Naughty Dog but I don't think even that was ever so bad.
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Well, maybe not in this site exactly, sure, but you can see similar treatment in other places. From is the leading "Elite" dev here for sure.
 
Aztechnology

Aztechnology

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Oct 25, 2017
14,139
It's a shared experience by challenge. Everyone experiences an equivalent experience in regards to what is presented. How much they explore, understand and how well they do obviously various. But that in itself is something special to me. Outside that few other games hand hold you so little, and offer so much excitement in exploration and discovery. It truly feels rewarding to walk off the beaten path and try to explore in ways you never know will work or not.
There are so many things that are easily missable, and different outcomes that feel uniquely rewarding for how you approach them. Basically it feels like you get out of them what you put in often in a way that so many others games just don't for me.
 
OP
OP

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KiLAM said:
I mean..they have consistently made great games for last 10 years. Their lowest rated game has a meta score of 89(apart from vr side project). So obviously people want to praise their work. Difficulty is not the only reason why their games consistently get high praise and high scores too. Plenty of games are difficult. Their level design, lore, environments,combat are some of the best in the industry imo.
Do people overdo it sometimes? Sure. But it's not hard to understand why people love Fromsoft.
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Loving a developer isn't an issue. It's when that love becomes obsession and devolves into gatekeeping and intense hyperbole that it becomes a problem.
 

Deleted member 16609

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Gunslinger said:
Go play one. I recommend sekiro or BB or DS3. You will find out why.
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Never recommend Sekiro to anyone who is not aware of the genre. Unless you want them to go to Youtube every little second like a lot of folks these days. You don't need that for the other games. You can get by due to the summon system. DS3 is a great way to start and go from there.
 
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