Comic Style Souls-like Combat | Clash: Artifacts of Chaos

[@robert7100]

4:35 when you sleep at your friends house and they don't give you a blanket😂

[@syaif7292]

Never heard of this game, looks fun!

[@LoafsAdventures]

I feel like the combat could be a little more polished but visually it's immaculate!

[@jurtheorc8117]

It's a good one! Also a prequel to the Zeno Clash series. First person brawlers in a weird world with inspirations from stuff like lesser-known prehistoric animals, the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch and Drolatic Dreams of Pantagruel, and i believe some environments of Chile. There's nothing else like it and it's a wonderful solid game.

[@jurtheorc8117]

(seems like my comment got deleted, posting it again, apologies if you're getting this comment twice) One of my favourite games in recent years. I hold it quite dear. Out of most people i've seen that play the game, you're the one that the most quickly gets the hang of the mechanics. Almost like a fish taking to water. You got the on-hit animation canceling figured out, the Block, Lock-On and drinking healing flasks, the One Law/The Ritual, and the way the Guard Meter works too but you seem to prefer an aggressive approach. Judging by what you said about Slash seeming like it will be the highest damage, and basing your choice on that, i reckon you may prefer a Tank or Glass Cannon build. Don't disagree with Clash resembling a brawler with Soulslike elements, and that will get stronger too as you find the purpose to the Figurines and different armor sets. But it may still have a bit more in common with God Hand than what the first half an hour shows. Mainly through all the different Stances. All stances have a - Combo of three or four hits - charge attack - attack from a run (i went my entire first playthrough without realizing there is a run) - attack from a jump - and the directional dodge attacks. Forwards, Left/Right and Backward. You got to be really fast with pushing "attack" right after the dodge. So far you seem to have an issue that some other people have too: holding the attack button a bit too long puts Pseudo in the Charge Attack animation. Don't know what causes this, someone else had it worse, others had a much better time with not accidentally activating it. In any case: all of the Stances have wholly unique animation movesets. Their properties go deeper than most people may think at first glance. Like with God Hand, there are attacks that will put you in a low position that dodge overhead/higher-hitting blows. Sometimes, like you see with the Jump Kick (the first Special Attack), it even makes Pseudo jump to avoid lower-hitting attacks. Although lower-hitting attacks in general are a lot rarer. There is more to the combat properties though. I'll give examples through the first three Stances, since those are revealed at the beginning and won't really spoil much. - Boxer is simply the allrounder. Solid speed, reach and can hit right in front as well as around you with certain attacks. (for example, the sideways dodge attack is a spinning high kick that keeps you moving sideways) - Slash Stance puts Pseudo in a lower profile with wide-hitting and/or zig-zaggy moves. I've seen it be referred to as a crowd control stance once or twice, since the wider swipes means you'll have more chance of hitting an enemy - Spear Stance, on average, has the furthest reach of any Stance in the game. Its damage is high too, but the attacks come out a bit slower than the other two Stances and it does not cover your flanks. It really is focused damage, straight ahead, at a safer distance. And amidst this all and the other stances, there's - Attacks that hit multiple times - attacks/dodge attacks that either keep you going in that direction or return you to your original position (like how Slash Stance's sideways dodge is a somewhat slow, returning slash, while Spear Stance's is a short, sideways hop with a chopping air slash) - The amount of ground that some individual attacks cover - Earlier-mentioned attacks that can double as an evasive manouver, even if they're not a dodge attack - Different rhythm/timing to when the hits come out (especially important if one wants to master the On-Hit Animation Cancel) And mixes of all these aspects. There's a lot that someone can sink their teeth into if they'd like to. One can definitely try to play the game in "the most efficient way possible", but i found it more fun to make different builds in how i go about it. Almost like it's a fighting game where you choose your character. And almost like how in God Hand there's so many moves to assemble your own toolkit with. I'm glad you're jiving with the atmosphere and art of Zenozoik (the name of the land). The atmosphere, music, story and characters are all a big part too of why i like the game so much. Tone is less jokey than God Hand, more... wonderful. Creatures are inspired by prehistoric animals and medieval monster paintings, among others. I've seen someone refer to it as somewhere between a martial arts movie and a (spaghetti) western, comparing Pseudo's scowl and attitude to that of a Clint Eastwood character. It's a world that i personally am much more eager to take seriously. Means a lot to me. It's not as intense as God Hand either. Opponents tend to be individuals, rather than masses of enemy types. All sapient enemies, like Blahgg (grandpa's killer), are unique creatures from one another. You'll never see two Blahggs in the same place at the same time. During daytime, at least. i recommend to have a look at the tent to see what that can mean for you in regards to time. So far the scenes with the Boy and Grandpa's death seem like they're not gripping you, but i hope that as time goes on, you'll enjoy what Clash's narrative has to offer on its own merits. Same with the entirety of the game. 'ave a good one and take care!

[@LoafsAdventures]

Wow, thank you so much for this comment! I assumed there would have been a lot more ahead, both in terms of gameplay and story, since you compared the game to God Hand and I'm glad to see it's way deeper than it may seem at a first glance. I'm actually going to record the next couple of episodes right now 😁

[@jurtheorc8117]

@LoafsAdventures i hope it was interesting to read! And wish you a lot of fun on the rest of Clash and the recording!

[@LoafsAdventures]

Yeah you've given me a lot of insight that I'm sure will be most helpful, thanks again ;)

[@jurtheorc8117]

@LoafsAdventures You're most welcome. Wish you a good rest of the week and take care!