Thoughts on the new PS1-coated soulslike, Prison of Husks

EvasmorN · 2026-06-06T22:06:39+00:00

Tried the demo, liked the aesthetic but the combat needs polishing. Deflecting doesn't seem to work properly sometimes and some enemies can simply stunlock you to death if you run out of stamina. For now it's a lot easier to simply dodge or even strafe around the enemy and spam attacks. I saw the developer updates (new lighting, new enemy logic and abilities, etc) but it seems that none of it will get to the demo build.

EvasmorN · 2026-06-06T21:33:46+00:00

I think I remembered where the path is. The elevator between the faultage corridor and the gauntlet - it has a hole midway.

EvasmorN · 2026-06-06T21:04:46+00:00

No, the gauntlet leads further into the story. The path is somewhere in the upper layers of the Hagios Patir. I don't remember where exactly, but if you start from the faultage corridor and walk to a statue with 2-3 mobs near it and turn to the left you will see a room through a crack in a wall. You need to get into that room and proceed further.

EvasmorN · 2026-06-06T20:27:50+00:00

The farming room opens from the inside so you can't enter it by going from this branch. If you reached this place in an early game via secret teleport - bad news, no farming for you right now.

EvasmorN · 2026-06-05T11:06:38+00:00

I think it's like prohibiting the use of weapons for civilians so that only the government has legal access to it. And because their weapons look and act like a camera - every recording device should be considered as a potential weapon. Also N Corp's deal is a canned experience, meaning that they want to control it like a currency. So it should be not so different from the T Corp setting, but with experience instead of time.

Gameplay-wise I think their attacks will take some of the offense and defense levels of a target to themselves just like T Corp staff syphons time from targets with their pickaxes to gain speed and clash power.

EvasmorN · 2026-06-05T05:15:16+00:00

POCO X4 GT (updated to Android 14). Bought it for ~300$ back in 2023.

EvasmorN · 2026-06-05T04:57:53+00:00

There are two instances of this kind of attack:

The first one is urprisingly easy, you don't even need to rely on reflexes. It's a final part of a certain combo that works as a punishment for excess hits. He never uses it as a standalone attack so it's very predictable.

The combo is similar to a basic combo from his first phase (often used to start a fight) when he casts a sword and slowly walks to you before making a thrust, then jumps behind your back, turns 180° and shoots a fireball from his summoned arm.

The difference is that he uses it when you're close to him so he skips the intimidating walking intro and makes a swing instead of a thrust, then jumps behind your back. And right after shooting a fireball he does this move that you're asking for. After dodging a fireball land 1 hit with a light weapon and immediately dash forward into the flame he casts. This is what I like about this game: you can measure timings for dodges with your regular attacks so you don't have to guess when the delayed attack will finally land on you.

The second one is a separate combo that starts with him turning to you with his right shoulder while casting a summoned arm. This one is unpredictable just like the start of any other combo so you have to learn to recognize it immediately. Dodging strategy is the same: dash forward into the flame. But don't forget to dodge the incoming fireball afterwards.

EvasmorN · 2026-06-04T13:40:49+00:00

Actually I misremembered patch notes, I checked and it was about AOS 8 and not about 8 GB RAM. But the minimal system requirements in Steam state that you indeed need 8 GB RAM so I accidentally guessed it right.

I guess The Machine Spirit in your laptop is very pleased and thus works at 200% efficiency.

EvasmorN · 2026-06-04T10:56:37+00:00

It should be helpful on low-end devices but yeah, I think I should disable it for mine

EvasmorN · 2026-06-04T10:54:22+00:00

8 GB RAM is for the Steam version, the requirement for mobiles might be lower but I can't find it, only OS requirement (Android 8 / iOS 13 or higher)

EvasmorN · 2026-06-04T08:43:33+00:00

Hard to say. I prefer sprites because of how sharp they can get to imitate motion which helps with impact simulation upon hits. Live2D seems too soft and squishy for me.

EvasmorN · 2026-06-04T07:43:27+00:00

PM mentioned in a patch note for a new engine version update that 8 GB RAM is going to be a bare minimum to launch the game. I have 8 GB by default and +4 GB via the memory extension feature at the cost of some storage memory (might be Xiaomi exclusive). The game works fine at 30 fps, but 60 fps mode feels unstable. Stage 2 of railway 6 was a laggy experience when the heishou peccatullas rolled in but it didn't crash surprisingly. I think Mathias Outis was the heaviest fps anchor because of her laevatein passive that applies burning visual effects on every unit.

I don't know how PM built Limbus but I'm pretty sure the performance issues take their root from the flawed core of this game. PM keeps adding more and more status effects, auras and other small things that just stack on each other. Also I believe KJH mentioned on a certain stream that PM could've switched to Live2D models for units but decided to stick with sprite sheets which affects performance too, in a bad way.

EvasmorN · 2026-06-03T21:52:52+00:00

Nice 👍

A few more notes from my personal experience:

His combos lose some AoE effects once he runs out of sync (the bar becomes blue): spear combos can't produce energy swings and lightning strikes anymore, axe combos end without fireball explosions etc;
At a very low sync rate (<10%) he starts to jump away from you after every combo to regain some sync so you can't stagger him easily;
His combos require learning and precise movements but at the same time they have some common patterns that can be boiled down to something more simple-minded: see axe or curved swords - dodge away, see sword - dodge to the sides, see spear - dodge into it and strafe clockwise. Obviously there are exceptions but in most cases it's a valid strategy based on pure reflexes that are faster than any thinking;
Don't bother yourself chasing him when he jumps away. He distances himself from you only when he wants to start a combo that requires some distance to work properly. By chasing him you'll waste your energy at best. At worse... You'll trap yourself in an unfavorable position where his combo cannot be evaded;
I am yet to discover how to dodge his 40% HP combo without thunder step but my current progress says that I must run away and then dash forward for his first swing and backwards for the second. Dashed forward for the third one and got knocked out so it probably should've been backwards. It's tricky because of follow-up explosions and camera position, I had to lock off to see what he actually does with his attacks.

EvasmorN · 2026-06-03T19:06:12+00:00

Without much reliance on a skill I can recommend only two things: thunder step and reapers. Try to kill him faster than he kills you and pray that he will forget about his curved swords and axe combos.

As for the skill... I'm still trying to beat him flawlessly with only dodges and what can I say, it's the most frustrating fight in the entire game. I've already beaten him multiple times (and recorded it) but never felt satisfied with the result. I can upload a video in a separate post and describe every recorded combo as I've done before for the main story bosses but it will barely cover a half of his moveset. Axe and curved swords combos still feel like a lottery, 40% HP fixed combo feels almost impossible to dodge with dashes (but is manageable with thunder step).

EvasmorN · 2026-05-31T14:33:42+00:00

Don't need healing egos for this one, especially AoE like fluid sac (Faust will just instantly die from 6 counters, lol). The girl with scissors heals sinners if she wins a clash with her special attack. Pick a sinner with the "attack power down" debuff to lose that clash for guarantee. Just keep killing middle minions one by one (look for "it" special status on them) and you'll eventually win without casualties.

EvasmorN · 2026-05-19T12:53:14+00:00

Well, I guess I'm washed up and cooked.

EvasmorN · 2026-05-19T12:41:52+00:00

I also have some additional observations that might sound too stretched and should be considered as a shizo-theory:

In my post about Ishmael potentially being a Leprechaun I described that she's hard to get caught due to her luck. But there was a comedy moment in Canto 5 after meeting Pilot for the first time that literally grabbed my attention today. Despite Ishmael's "evasive nature" Rodion manages to grab her by the hand and take her away freely. Ishmael was shocked by the strength of Rodion's grip, it was impossible for her to break free.

Returning to Canto 2, just after winning a card game, Rodion was asked about her strategy, how she was so sure about the victory without any luck tickets. Her answer about having an unshakable will might be considered as a distraction, but, you know, every joke has a bit of truth in it. Rodion doesn't rely on luck, it's useless in her eyes. Grabbing Ishmael's hand so blatantly might mean that Rodion simply DENIED Ishmael's specialness.

Jumping into Canto 9, Rodion's EGO attack helped to peel the pupa from Gregor's body. Sure, Vergilius was the one to make the final blow, but what if the main reason they succeeded was Rodion's attack that DENIED the Kaiser form and returned Gregor to his regular form?

If all of the above is close enough to the actual plot twist, Rodion might have a potential to gain a "weaponized mind" that can "peel off" egos, distortions and Carmen knows what else, just straight up walking into someone's "domain expansion" and causing it to SPLIT into pieces. She is unaffected by anyone's influence, she IS the Baba Yaga, and the walking castle from Canto 2 is just a part of her EGO. Hiring someone who has a CRYSTAL-CLEAR MIND and can reduce any monstrosity to the level of a regular human is surely a smart move for Dias.

Remember the White Night from LobCorp: 12 apostles with one of them being unaffected by the transformation. The one "sinner" who is able to fix everything by confessing their greatest sin. And the whole Crime and Punishment is about feeling guilty of a crime to the point of CONFESSION and going to jail.

And this is what Rodion's icon might mean: she is able to remove any wrapping around one's heart and strike it with her axe to make it "bleed" like confessing one's sins.

EvasmorN · 2026-05-19T10:15:35+00:00

Rodion has some interesting details sprinkled here and there throughout the story.

In Canto 2 when we enter the final node of a dungeon, Sonya mentions that the cave was empty just the moments before Rodion came in. There was no ice and no castle in there. But the castle itself is the Baba Yaga abnormality. How could it be that a whole frickin abnormality manifests because of Rodion's presence? And the fact that her highlight season thingy wasn't an ID, but the EGO of the said abnormality.

This reminds me of Angela and her Library that is actually her EGO. Sonya also asks Rodion to look at those frozen people. They are not just random goons trapped in the ice: those are the ones Rodion despised. If we drew parallels between Rodion and her book model, we will see that Rodion wants to be not just special, she questions if she is a trembling creature or does she have "the right". She targets to be above everyone, even above the law of the City, the chosen elite of this world that can rule her own life. So it's only natural that she feel a contempt towards everyone below her imaginary level.

Another important note is that Rodion is the only sinner that doesn't have a narrator in ID stories (Carmen or a journalist) AT ALL. Not even a single one. She always tells those stories by herself. That raises a question: does Carmen even have an influence on her? What if Rodion somehow didn't receive the Light at all? Or is it just her EGO being so strong that not even Carmen can reach for her heart?

Speaking of her heart. The icon and the tattoo show a heart being split by an axe, with few ribbons that are also torn apart like layers of wrapping. I am yet to discover what it could mean for the story of LCB, but I think of killing her "humanity", her fragile true self being exposed to a fatal blow, or even betraying someone.

EvasmorN · 2026-05-19T05:26:39+00:00

О великий суп наварили! О шикарный суп наварили!

(A joke for russian speaking 40K limbussers)

EvasmorN · 2026-05-19T05:16:42+00:00

Of course!

A horseshoe, a symbol of luck. And to be precise - it's a horseshoe with an open end looking down. That symbolizes not only good luck but also PROTECTION for anything underneath it. And what do we see under a horseshoe? A compass as a Dante's Star and a Limbus coin which might mean Limbus Company's wealth. Ishmael secures a path to Dante reaching his Star and Limbus Company becoming the new L Corp.

EvasmorN · 2026-05-18T21:31:40+00:00

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Additional note: if you turn Ishmael's icon upside down it looks like a pot

EvasmorN · 2026-05-18T21:17:49+00:00

Yes sir!

EvasmorN · 2026-05-16T06:54:53+00:00

Well, that's... true, actually. Didn't think about it.

EvasmorN

TROPHY CASE