I used to idle for literally hours in Majula just listening to the theme and the sounds of distant waves crashing. Once it fills up a bit, you can hear small signs of life, like the blacksmith muttering something to himself, another NPC humming something very softly, it’s lovely! And if I’m selling it, means I’m doing right by the game, I really do believe it’s an underappreciated classic. And even without the remake, it still holds up very well! It quickened the pace of combat and made a lot more tactics viable, the results of those experiments can be felt throughout the later installments. Completely worth the playthrough, and it took me about 60 hours (not 100%) my first time around, when skill issues were a legitimate problem:)) They still are, but I’d wager a “close enough” completionist run would take about 60-70-ish hours considering you’re fresh off of ER. And it’s well worth taking your time with that one.
Oh, I think you may be a bit further along than I am, I’m at Malenia, but in the middle of taking another break from the game:)) I played it exclusively for 180 hours, then I stopped a couple of years ago. Got burnt out as well, and the bosses started turning into spammers and sponges, so I needed to stop. I do come back to it every now and again, though, it just feels really nice to explore the world and idle in Moonwaifu’s tower:)) Gathering my courage to finally finish it, though.
If I may, you’ve mentioned you prefer tighter experiences, in which case I strongly suggest you consider trying out Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, too. It’s a sortie-based game, takes around 20-30 hours, but it’s so FromSoft, it’s ridiculous! The “true” ending can only be achieved after at least three playthroughs, each of which change the narrative in very significant ways, and exist somehow parallel, yet intertwined with each other. It’s great, it’s philosophical, it’s surprisingly and endearingly heartfelt, and the combat is Bloodborne on crack, with big guns, flying robots, ridiculous amounts of missiles, and really cool environments! I consider it to be well within the Soulsborne area, even though it doesn’t cover all of the standard elements.
![[DS] Pinwheel Lore](https://lemmy.zip/pictrs/image/8feddcfb-6ad9-4983-a95a-e0e5871c53e9.webp){kind=link}
I used to idle for literally hours in Majula just listening to the theme and the sounds of distant waves crashing. Once it fills up a bit, you can hear small signs of life, like the blacksmith muttering something to himself, another NPC humming something very softly, it’s lovely! And if I’m selling it, means I’m doing right by the game, I really do believe it’s an underappreciated classic. And even without the remake, it still holds up very well! It quickened the pace of combat and made a lot more tactics viable, the results of those experiments can be felt throughout the later installments. Completely worth the playthrough, and it took me about 60 hours (not 100%) my first time around, when skill issues were a legitimate problem:)) They still are, but I’d wager a “close enough” completionist run would take about 60-70-ish hours considering you’re fresh off of ER. And it’s well worth taking your time with that one.
Oh, I think you may be a bit further along than I am, I’m at Malenia, but in the middle of taking another break from the game:)) I played it exclusively for 180 hours, then I stopped a couple of years ago. Got burnt out as well, and the bosses started turning into spammers and sponges, so I needed to stop. I do come back to it every now and again, though, it just feels really nice to explore the world and idle in Moonwaifu’s tower:)) Gathering my courage to finally finish it, though.
If I may, you’ve mentioned you prefer tighter experiences, in which case I strongly suggest you consider trying out Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, too. It’s a sortie-based game, takes around 20-30 hours, but it’s so FromSoft, it’s ridiculous! The “true” ending can only be achieved after at least three playthroughs, each of which change the narrative in very significant ways, and exist somehow parallel, yet intertwined with each other. It’s great, it’s philosophical, it’s surprisingly and endearingly heartfelt, and the combat is Bloodborne on crack, with big guns, flying robots, ridiculous amounts of missiles, and really cool environments! I consider it to be well within the Soulsborne area, even though it doesn’t cover all of the standard elements.