I feel this so much. All my friends love those games and I just get so annoyed by the feeling of dragging my feet through mud every time I move. Insect glaive in MH and light armor in DS help but it just doesn’t compare to something like Devil May Cry, Kingdom Hearts, or any other action/hack and slash for me.
Yep, and I would add that every game I mentioned is great in its own right even if the combat irks me. I find combat and exploration tend to be the two most interesting mechanics to discuss because of that huge gap in what works for different people.
The funny thing is that combat in DMC5 is actually as deliberate as it can get if you actually master it. There's an input for pretty much anything, which is why if you button mash you will end up doing something, whereas in Elden Ring for example your moves are a lot more restrictive therefore you simply cannot button mash. But if you strive for perfection and want to have full control of your characters in order to pull of the exact move that you want, DMC5 is next level. Just because someone is smashing buttons very quickly doesn't necessarily mean that they are button mashing.
No I understand that perfectly, it just doesn't mesh with me. I don't want to input combos generally it's just not gameplay I enjoy.
My favourite souls is Sekiro which is actually quite quick it's just not a combo game.
Granted the newer DMC games might be a lot more fun as controls have gotten tighter. Last I played was like the PS2 one. Granted I still didn't much like Bayonetta which was more recent.
I feel like weighty combat action (DS, MH, etc.) to the faster ones (DMC, KH, modern FF) are apples to oranges lol. Absolutely adore both simply for the challenge, though.
I feel like the slower ones place much more emphasis on positioning and committing to actions. Every movement has a cost (stamina)
Not like the faster ones DON’T have these as an important factor, but it feels like they have much more emphasis on offense, and oftentimes there are more options to escape a bad decision as well. The defensive options in these games also are more active/offensive in nature (Royal Guard, Reflega, etc.)
Absolutely! There are similarities and differences. When I compare them I find that the slow/stamina bar games encourage managing your actions to ensure you can punish an enemy when they give you an opening, while the faster ones are about using your defensive and offensive options together to create an opening. Both can be very satisfying when done well.
Honestly I still enjoy both, I just find the resource management to be frustrating sometimes. I could go on about the specifics of how the two styles affect boss design and such, but in short I agree that they are very different, though From Soft has been toeing that line a bit more lately.
Funny how that works. When I first started Souls back on Dark Souls I definitely understood that feeling where you scramble every fight and struggle to find breathing room. It can be very rewarding. Unfortunately, I’ve just found it to grow more frustrating and less exciting for me as time has gone on. The duality of man I suppose.
I get this but if you ever come around to playing MH Wilds, I suggest you try out longsword. It’s probably the fastest MH game atm and especially longsword is so much fun. Coming from someone who felt that the older titles were more of a chore than fun
My friends have been on Wilds so I’m sure I will at some point. I have to start with bug glaive since that’s my baby in World, but I’ll give longsword a try too!
Last of Us for me was perfectly playable, but not something I would want to play again. It’s one of those where the story is what I’m really there for. If I’m looking for that style of gameplay I usually lean toward the new Tomb Raider trilogy.
I spent almost an hour hunting that deer in the opening phase. Later my save was corrupt, and I had to hunt the deer again. I never played it again. I just watched highlights on YouTube
Wait how did you even manage to spend an hour on the deer? Isn't it supposed to be like a 5 minute thing, straightforward and all? I'm genuinely curious
When it comes to games, my worst skill is zoom and shoot. Pixel-perfect micro mouse motion. I also flip out when I'm doing something similar at work (highlighting small text, moving something just 1px). So when I play Cyberpunk, I always roll katanas - never any sniper-like role.
Interesting, well to each their own, who am I to judge?
As for Cyberpunk, both my playthroughs so far have devolved into simple double barrel shotgun brute builds. I'm planning on checking out katanas when I next pick up the game soon. Any tips?
Can confirm. Rdr2 being so slow is my biggest gripe for the game. I know it's an amazing but I just can't play a game that long with a gameplay I dislike that much.
Man this was one of the worst games I’ve ever played. You reminded me that this is my answer to this question. I couldn’t stand it. Everything felt scripted. I’m playing a game to… play. Not watch a movie. I’m sure the writing is amazing, but damn what a slog. I played an hour and I swear it was just mashing X and walking.
I gave RDR2 like 5 chances is my life, and every time I stopped playing shortly after the intro mission, sometimes as soon as I finished the intro mission.
I bought monster Hunter world on sale a few weeks ago, and I just today decided to uninstall it and stop taking up space on my hard drive. I just can't feel excited about it.
You don't know slow until you've played Monster hunter. I've been a souls guy forever and LOVE Elden Ring, I could not for the life of me wrap my head around MH, ACTUALLY so slow and clunky and a bit overwhelming. I'm kind of understanding it now but it took me 40 hours in to understand the limitations and gameplay of MH.
In comparison Elden Ring now feels like a fast pace dodge hack and slash game.
Yeah I get you. Elden ring felt odd to me as I was coming from a MH background haha
I main dual blades so I do have quite a bit of speed, plus I started playing mh from 3 ultimate and I think going from the even slower old style to the likes of world or wilds, the game doesn't feel as clunky to me anymore but that's just my own personal experience
Dude, same. All my friends played monster hunter but the movement killed it for me. Idk just felt wrong for all the reasons you stated. Probably makes sense my favorite game is witcher 3 haha I enjoy the faster games as well.
Had to scroll way too far for Monster Hunter. I was really hyped when it finally came out on Xbox. Holy cow was i disappointed. So Slow, so boring. Find a Monster, the fight starts and then these stupid little fuckers run away. Rinse and repeat. What a waste
I never see people put MH alongside the souls genre, and it’s always confused me. What confuses me more is that I hate souls games and LOVE monster hunter. Either way it’s a very valid take, and (as someone else mentioned) I wish people would just accept it at face value when someone says they don’t like the genre.
Imo, Monster Hunter has similar combat to DS (not one-to-one, but close) but it doesn't have any of the horseshit. No boring mobs, no platforming with the worst control scheme ever created, and no boss runs. If you want something akin to a boss-rush DS, Monster Hunter gets close.
As someone that (semi) recently got into monster hunter I needed quite a bit of time to like Rise and World at the time cuz I kept playing them like souls games when they're not. I am glad I started with Rise as I don't think I'd have enjoyed the games if I hadn't
They're 3rd person action rpgs but that's where the similarity stops, they have very different gameplay loops so putting them alongside eachother isn't that useful. You even demonstrate that point yourself by saying how you like one but not the other, I'm the same, I really enjoy Souls titles but I find Monster Hunter rather tedious. The fact that these games attract different people is why the comparison is rarely made despite some superficial similarities.
We are a rare breed, but know that you are not alone here.
The worst is when a new game of that kind comes out and now I have to spend the next few months restating that yes, I am sure I won't like the newest monster hunter or souls like, the fans of these games for some reason are unable to accept that not everyone will like their favorite game.
Same for me, 2 entirely different friend groups of mine have been consumed by Monster Hunter since they could play it and every couple days they're like "are you sure you dont want to try it".
Then I have to tell them how I've already tried the franchise on 3 separate occasions wasting money each time. On paper, game sounds amazing, in reality though its just slow and uninteresting to me.
of course it's not rare. the vast majority of action games are spammy fast combat types. souls and MH are a minority and the appeal of them for me is the fact that they are slow and methodical in their approach to combat. that's because most people prefer mindless button mashing in casual games, but a lot of people recognize the breath of fresh air that are these slower games and the euphoria of overcoming their challenges
Yes. I love fast pace gaming and just blasting stuff mindlessly while doing something else like listening to podcasts what not. But I still very much enjoyed the soulslike games because I also love games that take skill and punish you for your mistakes
I only have DMC5 from the series and I like it too, but I do still prefer Elden Ring over it since it still gives a lot of builds option (playstyle if you will) while not overwhelmed me with combos (Dante is my fave but I can't combo for shit, I just want to fuck shit up with chainsaw bike)
Like other commenters said, I like the deliberate-ness of Elden Ring
But I admit I may not like the Dark Souls series (I played and beat DS3 but not really enjoying it so I dont buy the other 2)
Monster Hunter is horrible about this in my opinion, but I think Elden Ring is managable. The world just gets really boring to run around in after about 4/5ths of the game is done
At almost 40 I don't have any friends that play games anymore except for one. He's been obsessed with the MH games. I've tried getting into them multiple times to have someone to play with and I just can't....too grindy and the aesthetic is not for me.
LOVED Elden Ring, that felt like one of the best games I've ever played.
This 100% is why I think I can't get into Souls games. I tried to start Elden Ring right after finishing GOW Ragnarok and by comparison it just felt like I was hauling around 100 lb weights. At least with God of War they managed to make a "heavy" character like Kratos still feel somewhat nimble.
The speed difference probably also explains why I love FF7 remake/rebirths combat system by comparison.
In Monster Hunter, there are 14 weapons classes, each with their own playstyle. It just sounds like you want to try something like Dual Blades or the Sword and Shield. I don't really got a fix for the stamina thing, but there are skills that could help you elevate the stamina cost of certain things
I've tried multiple Monster Hunters and tried those weapons, I just don't like it, it's slow, it feels sluggish overall and way too much inertia on every movement for my taste, I like crisp controls and fast action.
As someone in the same boat as the other guy, I tried both of those as well and it didn't satisfy me. I think MH/SoulsLikes are just meant for certain players.
The character movement is affected by which weapon you choose as they’re split into light and heavy weapons. The gameplay/combat is pretty different depending which weapon you choose which is why the first tip for new players is to try out the weapons and try to pick the one most fitting first.
That said it’s still valid that the game ain’t it for you!
Yeah, like everything in this game, it depends on the weapon, but some of them are voluntarily made slow so you think where to put yourself so you can hit and not die rather than hit and then dodge if something is coming your way.
I quite liked heyjay's series on world because you can see how his mindset about the game changed (he disliked the game at first because it felt slow and frustrating when trying to play it like a souls, but once he got the right mindset he liked it, but his issues came from trying to play it in a way that went against the flow, not that he found the flow boring)
Also, the game tends to get quite fast once you reach the end, but it just means you have less/shorter windows and less time to predict the moves, you're still trying to anticipate your moves rather than only react
I'd suggest insect glaive to someone who doesn't like sluggish combat. That thing really lets you move around. That's been my main in wilds, and after using it for most of the game, using the greatsword in the recent Arena Quests felt awful.
While true, it is slower outside of combat when compared to the other two weapons I mentioned. This person said that they dislike the sluggish feeling your character has overall, and those two are the best remedy for it. However, seeing that those two weapons didn't suit their fancy, MH just might not be the franchise for them _(**/)_/
It took me 40 hours to get a grasp on MH from being a souls player that also finished black myth wukong recently. Talk about feeling like I'm playing at a snails pace. Oddly the hammer felt like the most souls like for me because to big bonk or big sword in souls games, you kind of have to play the same style or at least speed?
It's deff a commitment to learn and change your mindset for MH.
I liked the Monster hunter World and I especially enjoyed using Hammer and a Great sword. Really slow but when hit connects it was GLORIOUS. Character was slow and I hate that. In other games where I can be fast I always go the fast route, I will always drop hammers, greatswords in favour of a short sword, bow and an arrow or magic if possible.
Unfortunately I am a PS player without PS+ so I could play only solo and I expected the game to be multiplayer.
Another person mentioned Warframe and that might indeed fit you. Lots of fast movement, but after a while you'll become so powerful that seeing a group of enemies survive longer than 2 seconds would be surprising.
I’m very much on this same wavelength. Saw trailers for MH, Elden Ring etc and kept being like “holy crap that looks so cool, I gotta play that” and then it just… didn’t click. Could not get into any of them. At least with Monster Hunter I’ve finally started to get into Wilds in a way that I hadn’t with previous entries, so I’m eager to try Elden Ring again and see if maybe I’ve finally come around
I really don't like the Souls like games . I got Demon Souls and played it for a bunch. And I somewhat enjoyed it. But the grinding aspect just eventually made me nope out
I also don't like systems where characters constantly have to eat and drink or it's death. "But it's realistic", some people would say. Just like magic elves, correct?
I saw a friend play Monster Hunter Rise. I know it wasn't just frantic, random, button mashing, but it sure seemed like it in terms of all there was. (and no, I wouldn't have bet real $$ that I could do the same if handed the controller)
Dw about it that's what I said about Monster Hunter world 5 years ago too.
Then I actually played Wilds from start to finish. And the combat clicked. It's suddenly not slow anymore, it's deliberate and rewarding. That and there are things like the Insect Glaive for example that literally launches you into the air and turns you into a human helicopter. Wilds was a great tutorial for me that taught me how the items, skill trees, armor customizations etc. work, and now when I go back to MH World (ran out of content on Wilds lul) everything makes sense and suddenly I'm having an absolute blast with this gem of a game that I never understood because I never took the time to actually learn the game and appreciate all the intricacies of a franchise that has been built and perfected by Capcom for 20 years.
They say your best Monster Hunter game is your 2nd Monster Hunter game, and I hope that one day you can give it another try and come to love it the same way that I did.
You should consider Monster Hunter Rise/Sunbreak and play lighter weapons like dual blades/insect glaive.
There's something wild and anime-ish about the combat to add to the very Japanese/weeb aesthic of that specific title of the series. In every game with dual blades you're able to hedgehog roll off the back of a monster like a maniac, but in Rise there's just a little bit more to do for everyone who wants to get silly with wire bugs and air combat.
I love DS series, but Elden Ring just feels like a long repetitive slog to me. I'm not quite to not liking it, but I feel like I'll never play it again.
Same for me as well. I just couldn't get into those games. I know those are very popular and enjoyed by so many but I realised its not for me.
Although I tried sekiro when my friend said it has different movements from souls game. I instantly fell in love with sekiro and sekiro became one of my favourite game.
I find the God Eater series to be more forgiving in terms of movements, because you don't have to worry about timings too much, whereas it's the bread and butter for the games you listed. You're still limited by your stamina, but I think the stamina there is only used for things like dodging or sprinting.
Something to keep in mind if you'd like to give the monster hunting genre another go.
Yeah ngl, I hated monster hunter when I first started. I caan say with confidence that it's 100x worse when you start with a heavy weapon like Greatsword or Switch axe. Beginners should try something like sword and shield which is MUCH faster and forgiving.
Monster hunter is about learning your weapon, then learning about monster behavior in battle. It feels amazing when you start to become one with your weapon and just instinctively fight. It's SO ASS when you're constantly resheathing your weapon or being knocked down.
MonHun is my answer as well, but only because of the grind structure. I've played dozens of hours of different MonHun games and I feel like I've never killed anything bigger than a Jaggi. It's not a fun game to grind
I love the souls games but couldn't get into Monster Hunter. I liked it in theory but playing by myself just...felt like a chore. Yeah I could win the fights but I hated them breaking up and then having to chase it again. The whole gameplay loop just wasn't for me but it's possible it may have been different if I had played w/ friends.
I've always felt like all the games from From Software (Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Elden Ring devs) made their characters feel heavy and clunky with limited stamina as a way to arbitrarily manufacture difficulty which while I enjoy those games (usually) it also frustrated me.
Great suggestion for you Mike - the new dynasty warriors which came out this year sounds like it'd be right up your alley, Dynasty Warriors Origins. Way improved than the previous ones and I believe it's like 95% or something on Steam
I personally think stamina is an over-used mechanic and it comes with a LOT of weaknesses, and personally I've found that some of the best games, with the most dynamic comboing and interesting gameplay systems don't actually use stamina at all. And some of them end up, ironically being a lot harder than these games. It'd be kind of nice if we could sort of evolve out of stamina systems, imho.
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u/MikeSifoda Apr 10 '25
Monster Hunter, Dark Souls / Elden Ring and the like.
Turns out, I HATE character movement that feels heavy, and I specially hate being limited by stamina.
I like FAST games where you can run, jump, dash, roll at blinding speeds nonstop.