Souls-Sloppa

[W1llus]

Alright bros big news day is here. For starters Mortal Shell 2 demo out now.



Lords of the Fallen 2 got a SGF trailer and a proper new gameplay show case which I'll post below. Katanas confirmed btw.

Lords of the Fallen II - Platform Announcement Trailer - Wishlist on Steam, PS5, Xbox X|S and Epic


Both look sick. Shout out to lotf 2 for finally adding weight to the combat and the better sfx

[W1llus]

Mortal Shell 2 demo is good so far. Performance issues withstanding the removal of stamina and the addition of ranged weapons like the shotgun have been big improvements. Very violent, visceral, and weird. Some of these dev injokes are funny but absolutely not subtle.

[stormvermin]

Mortal Shell 2 demo is good so far. Performance issues withstanding the removal of stamina and the addition of ranged weapons like the shotgun have been big improvements. Very violent, visceral, and weird. Some of these dev injokes are funny but absolutely not subtle.

Based off of your experience with the demo, did you get a feeling for what the scope of the final game is going to be or is it impossible to tell from the demo alone? The gameplay reveal from a couple of months ago made it look like the world was going to be quite sizable though I could just as easily chalk that to me misreading what was being shown. I'm talking about the screen that I'd guess showed warp points in the overworld.

Screenshot 2026-06-07 172551.png

[wndrbr]

Mortal Shell 2 demo is good so far. Performance issues withstanding the removal of stamina and the addition of ranged weapons like the shotgun have been big improvements. Very violent, visceral, and weird. Some of these dev injokes are funny but absolutely not subtle.

is it like the first one, where you don't have inventory/attributes, and just control dead bodies with pre-set stats?

[W1llus]

Mortal Shell 2 demo is good so far. Performance issues withstanding the removal of stamina and the addition of ranged weapons like the shotgun have been big improvements. Very violent, visceral, and weird. Some of these dev injokes are funny but absolutely not subtle.

Based off of your experience with the demo, did you get a feeling for what the scope of the final game is going to be or is it impossible to tell from the demo alone? The gameplay reveal from a couple of months ago made it look like the world was going to be quite sizable though I could just as easily chalk that to me misreading what was being shown. I'm talking about the screen that I'd guess showed warp points in the overworld.

The demo is about 3-6 hours worth of content depending on a combination of how much time you put into exploring and how much you struggle with the difficulty. I'm guessing the final game will be anywhere from 20-30 hours give or take. The 60 dungeons line they mentioned sounds like a lot but so far they've all been very short and usually serve as a tutorial for stuff like needing to shoot switches with the gun or breakable walls or sliding between walls. Can also give you a preview for upcoming enemies on the map. I don't think it's a true open world and it's more like first half of ds1 where you have a lot of paths that will take you to different spots

[W1llus]

Mortal Shell 2 demo is good so far. Performance issues withstanding the removal of stamina and the addition of ranged weapons like the shotgun have been big improvements. Very violent, visceral, and weird. Some of these dev injokes are funny but absolutely not subtle.

is it like the first one, where you don't have inventory/attributes, and just control dead bodies with pre-set stats?

You still pilot dead bodies but it's much more playstyle heavy now. Stamina is gone and the game gives you 4 different ways to build stagger 3 of which are different types of parrying. You now just level your uh alien looking guy and as you unlock shell memories you get glimpes to unlock their abilites. The only shell you get outside the tutorial is Tiel again. He gets the super dodge. Perfect dodging builds the riposte meter. His active ability lets you go invisible to get a special attack in.

[W1llus]

CI games CEO Marek confirmed a demo/open beta is in the works.

[DecadeRiptide]

I hate souls sloppy but lord 2 looks interesting

[Valter]

I hate souls sloppy but lord 2 looks interesting

you saw the boobs

[DecadeRiptide]

I hate souls sloppy but lord 2 looks interesting

you saw the boobs

Definitely gonna be a souls sloppa

[DecadeRiptide]

Nevermind just watched it again and realised it has hit stops. Looks ****. Will play if a mod to disable it comes out

[The_Mask]

[W1llus]

Some news from the Nintendo direct. To my surprise Lotf 2 is being ported to Switch 2. Dishonorable mention to the obviously reused animations from Pieta and Tancred from the first game.

Lords of the Fallen II \u2013 Announcement Trailer \u2013 Nintendo Switch 2

Lies of P is also getting ported to the Switch 2 with it's DLC

Lies of P: Complete Edition \u2013 Announcement Trailer \u2013 Nintendo Switch 2

[stormvermin]

Played about an hour of the Mortal Shell 2 demo and I agree with what @W1llus had to say about it. Made it to what I presume the hub area is, marrowbone keep or whatever it's called.
Some observations:

• Combat feels good and the parry frames with the seal that you get from the start are right where I like them. Mortal Shell 1 gets rightfully **** on for a myriad of reasons but having replayed it in the last year or so I can say that the actual moment to moment gameplay is awful so feeling the improvements 2 has made is a great sign going forward.

• I didn't realize the tar golem was going to force me out of the tutorial without the opportunity to return regardless of whether or not I beat it and there was a passage through a portal I didn't explore so I'm probably going to quick restart so I can see what's down there. I went in and back out thinking it was the "wrong way" but was clearly mistaken. Exploring is a joy and I'm a goblin when it comes to sweeping areas.

• Dunno how I feel about the harden mechanic being replaced by shell specific abilities. If I had to guess the devs realized that people didn't really know how to use it and scrapped it in favor of what we have not. It's not gone completely, just associated with a seal instead of an intrinsic ability tied to the foundling. It's probably good that shells have their own abilities as even fully upgraded shells in the first game didn't have a lot of identity. For me it was "the one with the huge stamina bar" and "the one that gets damage from killing" and whatnot. Tradeoff is probably worth it.

• Audio is all over the place. Some lines and effects are much louder or quieter than others. Also some lines of dialogue are low quality or outright missing. It's a demo so I'd hope this gets fixed but I was noticeable.

• It's unclear to me if the foundling is supposed to be the same character as the harbinger. The cutscene at the start implies a great deal of time has passed since the events of the first game. One of the npcs in the hub outright states that the harbinger (and by extension the foundling plus the female foundling from the first game) are what hatches from those egg things.
  Disregarding what the scene where the harbinger seemingly inhabits the memories of a girl at a midsummer type festival shows, the shell of Haaros reanimating independent of the harbinger's presence within and a throwaway line from the merchant in the hub seems to imply that what these things are doing is actually reanimating corpses, not just puppeteering them from within. If I had to guess, that's either going to be an underpinning of the main plot or possibly the main story thread.

• Gonna assume the animation where the harbinger is flayed into minute particles while warping is hiding a loading screen. There's no reason for it to last 30 seconds.

All things considered, it exceeded my expectations.

[rusty_shackleford]

any opinion on this?

[fork]

Awful jank.
Too ambitious for the devs. First impression is nice, good art style and setting, but it falls apart extremely fast.

[W1llus]

Played about an hour of the Mortal Shell 2 demo and I agree with what @W1llus had to say about it. Made it to what I presume the hub area is, marrowbone keep or whatever it's called.
Some observations:

• Combat feels good and the parry frames with the seal that you get from the start are right where I like them. Mortal Shell 1 gets rightfully **** on for a myriad of reasons but having replayed it in the last year or so I can say that the actual moment to moment gameplay is awful so feeling the improvements 2 has made is a great sign going forward.

• I didn't realize the tar golem was going to force me out of the tutorial without the opportunity to return regardless of whether or not I beat it and there was a passage through a portal I didn't explore so I'm probably going to quick restart so I can see what's down there. I went in and back out thinking it was the "wrong way" but was clearly mistaken. Exploring is a joy and I'm a goblin when it comes to sweeping areas.

• Dunno how I feel about the harden mechanic being replaced by shell specific abilities. If I had to guess the devs realized that people didn't really know how to use it and scrapped it in favor of what we have not. It's not gone completely, just associated with a seal instead of an intrinsic ability tied to the foundling. It's probably good that shells have their own abilities as even fully upgraded shells in the first game didn't have a lot of identity. For me it was "the one with the huge stamina bar" and "the one that gets damage from killing" and whatnot. Tradeoff is probably worth it.

• Audio is all over the place. Some lines and effects are much louder or quieter than others. Also some lines of dialogue are low quality or outright missing. It's a demo so I'd hope this gets fixed but I was noticeable.

• It's unclear to me if the foundling is supposed to be the same character as the harbinger. The cutscene at the start implies a great deal of time has passed since the events of the first game. One of the npcs in the hub outright states that the harbinger (and by extension the foundling plus the female foundling from the first game) are what hatches from those egg things.
  Disregarding what the scene where the harbinger seemingly inhabits the memories of a girl at a midsummer type festival shows, the shell of Haaros reanimating independent of the harbinger's presence within and a throwaway line from the merchant in the hub seems to imply that what these things are doing is actually reanimating corpses, not just puppeteering them from within. If I had to guess, that's either going to be an underpinning of the main plot or possibly the main story thread.

• Gonna assume the animation where the harbinger is flayed into minute particles while warping is hiding a loading screen. There's no reason for it to last 30 seconds.

All things considered, it exceeded my expectations.

The foundling and the harbinger are the same species or...whatever they are but are 2 separate characters. If memory serves most of the shells for the foundling at least and now the harbinger became that way willingly. Yeah the fast travel cutscene is just a very fancy loading screen.

[W1llus]

New lifting the veil is out. As usual I'll give some of the highlights.
Lords of the Fallen II: \u2018Lifting the Veil\u2019 Ep. 10 Dev Update | Katanas, Co-op \u0026 Steam

• They clarify their relationship with Epic is still strong despite buying out of their exclusivity agreement. A lot of the back end stuff is from Epic such as the online for co-op and pvp.

• Seamless co-op day one.

• They continue to express their desire to innovate within the genre using player feedback. They value the souls community for being brutally honest with their feedback.

• One of the big points of feedback from the last episode on Umbral was that it was too static so they've been directly addressing that. They showed off some footage where Umbral is now a bit more animated. Personally I think they struck a good balance with how some things in the background move but they aren't so distracting that it becomes a problem.

• The world is interconnected; it is not like Demon's Souls where you warp to different regions of the continent from a main hub.

• Some of the environmental stuff in the backgrounds of these regions are not just for show and will have an effect on the gameplay (they use the raining fire balls in the fire zone as an example).

• They talk about the npcs and how they are more involved in the actual story. Npcs were a sore spot in the first game so improving them was a major focus. They are also a lot more direct this time around.

• To the surprise of no one the angel boss (scion) was a massive pain to animate.

• They talked a bit about the new Japanese inspired biome. All the enemies seem to be mutating these dragon like features and the main boss is this lightning dragon.

• Re-playability was a big focus and the new Umbral mechanics play into that.

• They again express they don't want a repeat of 2023's launch and so there's a big push on the polish right now.

Some fresh gameplay which genuinely looks good. My minor nitpick is the hit stun effect on enemies is a tad too aggressive.
Lords of the Fallen II: SGF Gameplay Teaser | Wishlist Now on Steam, PS5, Xbox X|S, Epic \u0026 Switch 2

[rusty_shackleford]

demon's souls was supposed to have a heroine by demands of Sony and they just lied to sony about it

Sony’s main creative request was that Demon’s Souls include a heroine for business/marketing reasons. Miyazaki responded by creating the Maiden in Black, the eye-covered level-up character, which was not what Kajii had expected; Kajii says he only saw the completed idea around alpha, when changes were already difficult.

WOKE japs

https://www.4gamer.net/games/080/G00800 ... dex_3.html

[Valter]

demon's souls was supposed to have a heroine by demands of Sony and they just lied to sony about it

Sony’s main creative request was that Demon’s Souls include a heroine for business/marketing reasons. Miyazaki responded by creating the Maiden in Black, the eye-covered level-up character, which was not what Kajii had expected; Kajii says he only saw the completed idea around alpha, when changes were already difficult.

WOKE japs

https://www.4gamer.net/games/080/G00800 ... dex_3.html

Well Kaiji should have been clearer about what he wanted, seeing as a Heroine doesn't have to be a Main Character or Protagonist. Miyazaki did as he was asked

[rusty_shackleford]

Had AI transcribe, translate, and re-generate(incl. reflow/re-layout the article to fit the text) this pre-release article about Demon's Souls.
https://archive.org/details/des-famitsu-weekly



AI is getting pretty gud, but it still has issues, so here's the transcribed+translated text:

**A collaboration between Sony Computer Entertainment Japan and FromSoftware!!**

**Demon’s Souls**
*Playable at TGS*

**Scoop #2!!**
For people who want to play a game that really feels like a game! A completely new action RPG from a powerful tag team finally lifts the veil!

**PS3 / PlayStation 3**
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment Japan
Release: Planned for 2009
Price: TBA
Genre: Fantasy / Action RPG
Players: 1
Rating: Pending
Developer: FromSoftware

---

### Main article

**Demon’s Souls** combines the taste of “dark fantasy” with the genre of “action RPG.” Development is underway to push this classic subject matter to its limits. The theme of the game is “returning to the roots,” removing things that damage player freedom, such as excessive in-game guidance and one-sided movie scenes. It aims to let players directly feel the original pleasures of games: achievement, discovery, and so on. Development is being handled by FromSoftware, known for hard-edged action RPGs. With this title, fantasy action RPGs will rise to a new dimension!

*The world, with a so-called medieval fantasy feel, is rendered in great detail. Most monsters are original to this game. Among them are ultra-huge monsters that may be dozens of times taller than the player.*

---

### Prologue

In the land of warriors, the king of Boletaria discovered a gigantic Temple of the Wedge deep in the Icefinger Mountains, at the edge of lands where humans had set foot.

In the Temple of the Wedge, the king learned of the existence of Souls, and people gained the arts of the Soul.

A Soul seemed to be a new power hidden within humans.

But Boletaria’s prosperity did not last long…

Seeking still greater power, the king entered the depths of the Temple of the Wedge and awakened the ancient beast that slept there.

From the awakened ancient beast came a colorless deep fog and demons.

The colorless fog covered Boletaria and cut off its connection to the world.

The demons flooded Boletaria, stole Souls from people, and devoured them.

And then…

More than twenty years after Boletaria vanished, people despaired at the premonition of a quiet ruin.

Soon, the deep fog would cover the entire world…

Amid this, the final hope enters Boletaria through a rift in the fog.

Yes, the final hope…

---

### Fantasy

**Action RPGs have evolved this far!**

---

### Right page feature

**A game system that lets players feel as though they themselves are adventuring**

The protagonist of this game is the player. There is a goal: to reach the deepest part of the lost kingdom of Boletaria. However, the path to get there is left in the player’s hands.

The game begins with character creation. In addition to name and gender, you decide the character’s face, hairstyle, origin, and more. Once exploration begins, enemies quickly attack, but there are no easy foes that can be defeated just by casually pressing the attack button. You must read their attack patterns, defend properly, and strike at their elemental weaknesses.

There are also many types of weapons. Long-reaching weapons cannot be swung around in narrow spaces, so you must choose and use equipment according to the situation. This high level of tension is what lets you savor the true thrill of adventure.

*Boletaria is divided into several areas, and players move between them through statues. The order of exploration is free, but each area contains a boss.*

---

### Equipment

*Even with the same weapon, attack motions change depending on whether it is held in one hand or two. Wearing heavy armor makes movement heavier, and many other fine details are built in. Being able to think up your own equipment combinations is a major appeal.*

**Customize your equipment and create your own battle style!**

---

### Boss battles

*These game screens are not concept images. With this level of quality and impact, battles against the bosses of each area will unfold. Use the freely movable camera to read the boss’s attack patterns!*

**A lone warrior facing a mighty boss**

**The producer and director discuss Demon’s Souls**

©Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
*Screens are from a work in progress.*

## Sony Computer Entertainment Japan × FromSoftware

# The two key men talk about where *Demon’s Souls* is headed

This time, the existence of *Demon’s Souls* has been revealed for the first time. However, from just the few screenshots shown here, there is still a lot we do not know. So we conducted a direct interview with Kajii of Sony Computer Entertainment Japan, the producer of the game, and Miyazaki of FromSoftware, the director.

## Why develop a fantasy work again after so long?

**Interviewer:** How did FromSoftware and Sony Computer Entertainment Japan come to work together?

**Ken Kajii:** First of all, I myself am a fan of FromSoftware’s games, especially the *King’s Field* series. By chance, I had an opportunity to visit the company, and while we were chatting, I asked, “Aren’t you going to make a sequel?” The conversation got strangely lively, and then it became, “Well, let’s make something together.” That is how things started moving.

**Hidetaka Miyazaki:** Around the time we received that proposal, I had mainly been working on the *Armored Core* series, and both the company and I personally had been away from RPGs and fantasy works for a while. So I had a strong desire to make a fantasy work again after so long. The timing was good. Also, by teaming up with Sony Computer Entertainment, I thought that a good kind of chemical reaction might happen and that we might create something with new possibilities. In fact, we received many ideas and pieces of advice that FromSoftware alone probably would not have come up with.

**Kajii:** I was a fan of FromSoftware, but precisely because of that, there were parts I was dissatisfied with. If this had been a new *King’s Field*, there would have been series conventions that could not be changed. But because this was a new title we were tackling together, we could challenge ourselves and make something new. There were even times when things were rebuilt significantly because of opinions that were close to my own selfish wishes.

**Miyazaki:** On our side, too, we were allowed to try various extreme things in areas such as presentation.

**Kajii:** Since we are also a hardware manufacturer, we do have to be mindful of age ratings, but this game contains quite a lot of intense expression.

**Miyazaki:** For example, we thought it would be strange for treasure chests to be sitting around on a realistic battlefield, so instead of treasure chests, we made the corpses of adventurers who had fallen before fulfilling their goals glow. Since the game still needed treasure-hunting elements, they accepted that. In a sense, this may have been freer than a FromSoftware game. When my superior saw the game screen during development, he said, “Is this really okay from a Sony standpoint?”

## A game system that lets you feel the freedom of adventure

**Interviewer:** Looking at the story and protagonist, it seems like the game has a high degree of freedom.

**Miyazaki:** The protagonist is the player themselves. At the beginning, you can freely set not only your name and gender, but also things like your face and hairstyle. Having an unnamed protagonist who represents the player is, in a sense, very FromSoftware-like. You are given only the bare minimum of objectives, and the game does not force you to do things. There are people who tell you to “save the world,” but you can refuse and still progress through the game.

**Kajii:** The freedom is quite high. Differences between weapons are not simply differences in stats; they are differences in action, so your tactics themselves change. Even with the same weapon, the actions change depending on whether you hold it with one hand or two. The game does not kindly take you by the hand and say, “Do this next,” so the way the story progresses and each player’s play style will probably differ greatly from person to person. There are many episodes scattered throughout the game, but how you make use of them is also up to the player.

## Making a “game-like game” on PlayStation 3

**Interviewer:** As a title released by a hardware maker, what is this game aiming for?

**Kajii:** On PlayStation 3, we are carefully making a straightforward action RPG, while also aiming for a work with a new feel. We want to evolve the gameplay itself, not just the movies or graphics.

**Miyazaki:** We are thinking about how to express the fun and appeal that classic RPGs had using cutting-edge technology. For example, long weapons hit walls, and a torch in your hand illuminates darkness in real time. These are parts that were ignored on previous hardware, but we are expressing them realistically while elevating them into a game. Things that *Wizardry* once did through command inputs are now represented through actual action, which increases the sense of presence, speed, and immersion. We call it “strategic action,” and the system is designed with the strategic elements of old RPGs in mind.

**Kajii:** This is not the kind of so-called action game that you clear through reflexes or finger dexterity. Rather than button mashing, it emphasizes tactical judgment, such as what weapon you use and how you attack. It is a thinking person’s action game.

**Miyazaki:** By expressing the “game-like games” we used to enjoy in a cutting-edge form, I think we can discover new possibilities. However, even small changes can greatly affect the game balance, so we have been taking a lot of time to adjust the balance.

**Interviewer:** It sounds like there may be some back-and-forth between the two companies over game balance.

**Kajii:** As a Sony Computer Entertainment title, the ideal would be for a wide range of players to enjoy it. But because I am a fan, the balance may end up leaning a little more toward FromSoftware. Recently, games that are easy to clear are often considered good. But I think a truly “game-like game,” in the old sense, is one where getting killed by an enemy makes you frustrated and makes you try again and again. I want to make it so that players can enjoy putting in effort, and I want to give a wake-up call to people who have grown used to lukewarm games.

**Miyazaki:** That said, we do not intend to make it too difficult. For example, if you die, there will always be a reason, such as “you did not defeat the archers” or “you rushed out carelessly and got surrounded by enemies.” If you think about those things, even people who are not good at action games can advance. Conversely, if you do not think, even people who are good at action games will find it difficult.

**Interviewer:** Are you thinking about introducing features that use the network?

**Kajii:** I knew that question would come up.

**Miyazaki:** Rather than simple multiplayer, I wonder if we can use the network in a different way, something that makes single-player more interesting.

**Interviewer:** Finally, please give a message to the readers.

**Kajii:** We have carefully created a “game-like game,” something rare these days, in the world of orthodox fantasy. Normally, I should say that I want everyone, young and old, male and female, to play it. But since we have thrown such a straight pitch with this game, I really want people who truly love games to receive it.

**Miyazaki:** If you are attracted to any part of it, whether the dark fantasy world, the strategic action, or the customization elements, I definitely want you to play it. It is a title you can play deeply and for a long time.

**Kajii:** I think there will be players who say, “Finally, a legitimate evolution of the full-fledged action RPG has arrived.”

**Miyazaki:** I would be happy if a game with such straightforward content sells, and I think it could become a trigger for the revival of truly “game-like games.” You can play it at Tokyo Game Show, so if you are going, please try it!

## Profiles

**Hidetaka Miyazaki**
FromSoftware, Production Department 1, Department Manager / Director
Representative works include *Armored Core 4* and *Armored Core: For Answer*. He served as director on both titles.

**Ken Kajii**
Sony Computer Entertainment, Japan Studio, External Production Department, Associate Producer
Producer of this game. At Sony Computer Entertainment, he has worked on titles across various genres.

## Play *Demon’s Souls* at Tokyo Game Show 2008!

This game has appeared before readers for the first time in this article. It has already been decided that it will be playable at the Sony Computer Entertainment booth at Tokyo Game Show 2008. Experience its power at the venue!

The graphics, taking advantage of the PlayStation 3’s capabilities, are simply beautiful, while remaining committed to a dark fantasy world and presentation that exists purely to enhance the gameplay.

[methoxetamine]

Had AI transcribe, translate, and re-generate(incl. reflow/re-layout the article to fit the text) this pre-release article about Demon's Souls.
https://archive.org/details/des-famitsu-weekly



AI is getting pretty gud

****, that AI remake of those magazine pages is actually really nice

[rusty_shackleford]

****, that AI remake of those magazine pages is actually really nice

Still has some issues so I included the raw translation, but it's definitely getting there.

[The_Mask]

Bonus points to anyone that remembers what Gwynevere's husband's name was.

[Acrux]

Arthur

[Finarfin]

Bonus points to anyone that remembers what Gwynevere's husband's name was.

Flann or Oceiros?

[The_Mask]

Flann or Oceiros?

Flann

[Oyster Sauce]

Bonus points to anyone that remembers what Gwynevere's husband's name was.

Oyster Sauce

[Manny V]

Bonus points to anyone that remembers what Gwynevere's husband's name was.

is she a 30 foot tall illusion though?

[The_Mask]

BEHOLD! IRON TARKUS!