Anyone else regretting their purchase of Sundered already?

[KoudelkaMorgan]

I picked it up today off PSN. It has crashed almost every time I've died, which is pretty frequently due to how often the game spawns about 60 enemies out of nowhere about every 50 seconds.

It also stutters/drops frames constantly, presumably when it has to spawn dozens of mobs. The randomization/roguelike elements are pretty okay, and the skill tree looks huge, but the constant spawning of laser cannons that catch you in a five way crossfire through walls etc. feels pretty cheap.

I get that it is supposed to be hard, I am playing on normal, and I can't imagine how hard and insane will fare.

I decided to take a break from my Bloodborne challenge runs to check this out, and it so far seems to desperately need a stability patch, and if at all possible to be better optimized.

It takes the game about 10 seconds to load the loading screen itself, then another minute or 2 to actually load the game when you leave the sanctuary the first time/after each death.

Its a good thing I'm pretty decent at the game so far or I might legit spend most of my time watching it load than actually playing it.

Most annoyingly I need to remap the controls every time I have to reboot it.

 

[Zhukov]

Well, that's a bummer. I was planning on checking this out at some stage.

Guess I'll at least wait on a patch. Wasn't going to buy it immediately anyway.

Any word on the PC version's stability/performance?

 

[Strelok]

Looks really good, from the Steam discussions page does not look like there are many if any issues.

 

[stroopwafel]

I was tempted but the ACG review kinda put me off. The idea of a roguelike metroidvania sounds really good(even if it's a bit of an oxymoron) but the repetitive nature and mostly boring enemies would spoil my enjoyment quite a bit. Can't say I really dig the artstyle either. But oh well it's a neat idea though hopefully some day something better will come along.

Anyways for now you're probably better off returning to Bloodborne.

 

[KoudelkaMorgan]

I've kept at it I have a double jump and a cannon now, and quite a few more perks to choose from. The actual map progression is fine, I like the art quite a bit also. The platforming is good, the skill tree is good, the music I don't really notice so far, and the story so far is enough to keep going. It seems to feature a lot of Lovecraft mythos names and themes etc. The weird effect near the lore crystals is neat.

The only real gripe unfortunately comes from the central mechanic of the game, aside from its stability issues. You are always either going through empty rooms with nothing to fight for a while, or you are suddenly engulfed in a literal horde of mobs from everywhere that are never ending and you die. The inbetween encounters where you just get a dozen of them and you kill them and then move on is good. The random spawning of enemies can be decent at times, and unforgiving at others.

There are times where the game just says "time to die" and you have almost zero chance to survive. This being intentional is something you simply need to accept. It might seem the same way in Rogue Legacy for example but at no time in that game are you literally chased room to room by 50+ enemies including elite bosses and so on on a regular basis. You are demanded to die here in order to spend your shards to level up at regular intervals to stand any chance on surviving longer.

Some roguelikes are like this, others rely more on skill with very minor persistent incremental improvements with each loop. Here you are expected to die, but unlike say Salt and Sanctuary it is not because of poor play or an unfamiliarity with a new area. It would be akin to going along in S&S and in any room, or even repeatedly in the same room you were just swarmed by those hanged men until you died. While I like the art, it is hard to appreciate it when you are always getting swarmed and chased across rooms.

This may put you off or it may sound like a selling point. I am not too bothered by it as you unlock shortcuts often, but the very shallow combat is a bit of a let down so far.

As I said previously nothing kills this game more than the stutters which screw up your wall jumps and dodges, the game crashing about 40% of the time it loads, and the load times itself taking minutes. I have a regular PS4, but I see on Reddit that Pro owners have same issues.

Their is a patch coming by Monday supposedly (also from Reddit).

Here is a link though that does give me a bit of hope for the remainder of the game https://blog.us.playstation.com/2017/07/28/sundered-launches-today-tips-and-tricks-for-elite-players/

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I've just entered the western area and I like it waaaaaay more than the beginning one both aesthetically and the enemies are much less of a pain so far. The beginning area loved to spawn groups of laser cannons that can fire through all terrain which mostly spawned back the way you just came from and had a range of several room lengths. Sometimes they would spawn behind gates etc you couldn't access so you were constantly barraged with laser fire from multiple angles and you couldn't even go kill the things. Ironically I found an entire area of laser cannons that endlessly spawned that was a challenge area and I loved it. Constantly dodging lasers and moving through a maze of laser walls was great.

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I've gotten further. The first major boss was really intense, really cool, and really big. Probably a bit too big as the camera zooms out so that I am basically trying to track my tiny tiny character through tough platforming and dodging giant things in what became crazier and crazier. I'm not really complaining as it was awesome. It took a few attempts, but ultimately it only really got annoying when the tiny character tracking was combined with the whole area shaking which really messed up the platforming.

I've picked up several more upgrades which has made the platforming honestly one of the best I've played in the genre. I feel like Strider or Ryu Hayabusa now. Unlike Axiom Verge that kinda got increasingly more annoying with every upgrade you got towards the end, this is only getting smoother.

I also finally heard the gong, which is something they really should have had your sword buddy explicitly tell you is what signals the horde. I still don't know what triggers the horde to stop. Seemingly it is time based as killing them all doesn't seem to be connected, and running far away doesn't seem to stop it in the short term either.

All in all I think the game will be quite good once the patch hits hopefully. I hope that one of the things the patch fixes is having to remap all the controls every single time I start it up, crash or no crash. It will at least help tide you over until Hollow Knight gets to PS4.

 

[sageoftruth]

I was planning on getting it, but Super Bunnyhop changed my mind, or at least convinced me to sit back and wait on this one. Looks like it has some pretty serious issues with its core gamplay.

Here's his video if you're interested.

 

[KoudelkaMorgan]

I just finished it with the resist ending. The final fight is okay. It would be a lot better if the grappling hook actually worked, at all, in any way that seemed like human oversight was involved in the process at any point in its design and implementation.

The thing just doesn't work, on the actual grapple points, never mind the fact that it also grapples on to enemies. In a game that featured actual designed levels and enemy placements this would only make for interesting combat or puzzle platforming. Here it means that since YOU CANNOT AIM THE GRAPPLE, you just hit the button to find out if/where you will be flung as the hordes of randomly spawning enemies fly around the grapple points. The grapple points are the final thing in the game to concern yourself with though so its not so bad, except in the final boss where they are intended to be used as a primary means of reaching the weak points.

This is an impossibility, you will constantly fling laterally between points or shot DOWNWARD instead of above. The grapple should never have been allowed to fire any lower than 45 degrees upward, there is literally no situation where you would not want to grapple upward or forward. Straight down at the very least should be right out of question. If it worked like the magnet glyph in Order of Ecclesia then it would be better still as that offered 360 degrees of control.

This glaring problem is the one mark against an otherwise unparalleled movement system. The game puts Prince of Persia to shame by the end of it, which kinda sucks since there are almost zero cool platforming sections to let you show off.

The perk system is very well balanced at least, even if some of the bosses are more bullet hell than Ikaruga. I don't even think I am exaggerating.

I got to the credits, which apparently repeat on loop, and hitting the button causes it to crash. Both times I tried it. I don't know if there is a post credits scene, but I doubt it. I still have to grind up some shards to finish upgrading stuff, and then do the other ending. I would try the harder difficulties but that just seems like it would be a pain in the ass more than anything. I think it would simply mean more deaths until I grind up the upgrades to steam roll everything like I was at endgame anyways.

I would have beaten the final boss a lot easier if I had bothered to ever invest in the cannon at all. You kind of need to, which from a story point makes sense. I found it to be nothing but a pointless liability in actual combat though until I literally had no choice but to use it.

Still waiting for that patch which fixes the controls reverting to default, constant crashing, frame drops, minutes long load times, and maybe just maybe the damn grappling hook.

Other than that I actually love the game. I would prefer if it had more actual music, and more actual designed rooms. the areas labeled with endless hoards are for the most part fine but the Pit is verging on total BS, as is the one in the south east of the cathedral. At least the Pit has the most useful ability in the game as a reward, even if getting it is way easier than actually going through to the end and unlocking the pointless shortcut.

I never played Jotun, and still do not intend to, but I am interested in what they might do after this game.

 

[StatusNil]

Am disappoint to read this, I was considering this one despite the "procedurally generated" red flag. But it doesn't sound that appealing in practice, and the Super Bunnyhop video clinched it as a "Pass". Oh well, thanks for the warnings.

Might as well play Jotun instead, since the devs were kind enough to give it away for free. Which by the way I understand got some criticism for the world being too empty, of enemies as well as other stuff. I wonder if this is one of those "Goldilocks burgling the three bears" situations, and the third game will turn out just right.

 

[KoudelkaMorgan]

They have a patch up now. It now saves your control changes, I haven't crashed yet despite playing on hard and dying a lot, and the load times are easily 1/3 the length they were. I have only seen one frame drop in the few hours I've played after patching.

Other changes supposedly include a visual indication that you are about to be caged by the mages, and an iframe or 2 after taking damage so you can't get moshed from a dozen damages sources simultaneously anymore.

All good news.
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It just crashed on me when I chose to go back to sanctuary. It still hasn't crashed on death so far.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

I was planning on getting it, but Super Bunnyhop changed my mind, or at least convinced me to sit back and wait on this one. Looks like it has some pretty serious issues with its core gamplay.

Hmmm, that's unfortunate. I was rather interested in this, but Super Bunnyhop's description of the core gameplay doesn't sound like my bag. His tastes and mine align pretty well, and if he didn't enjoy it, chances are high I won't either.

Guess Sundered is another for the 'maybe during a big sale' pile.

 

[Cold Shiny]

I was planning on getting it on PS4, so I wonder if these issues are pc only. I certainly hope not.

 

[KoudelkaMorgan]

The recent patch added new temp buff items to find randomly. It also now freezes up when loading about 80% of the time. As load times are still minutes long you may not notice, but it still happens and you are forced to quit application each time.

I don't know if anyone else even still plays it, as I haven't seen this posted elsewhere yet. Hopefully at least one more patch is still coming.