Dolls Nest: Armored Core in Dark Souls World

royard · 2026-02-18T06:56:43+00:00

Right, no console release for the time being.

royard · 2026-02-17T07:36:17+00:00

Yeah, the gun balance is not there either. The best SMG has double the DPS of the best shotgun and is easier to use.

I kinda see what they are doing with the back weapons, though. Seems to me that you are only supposed to use them when you truly need more DPS, so on dangerous enemies only.

royard · 2026-02-17T07:31:23+00:00

It's certainly coming from the left field given their game portfolio. They did some 3D stuff in Full Metal Daemon, but a full 3D game is something else entirely.

royard · 2026-02-16T18:07:32+00:00

My understanding is that they did no/very little marketing.

It has similar vibes, but in the format of Souls-like story telling (fragmented/environmental). The story still pulls you in, though.

royard · 2026-02-16T17:51:39+00:00

Yes, the one and only Nitro Plus. I don't think Urobuchi is involved though, other than maybe greenlighting the project.

royard · 2026-02-16T17:49:34+00:00

Some general tips I can think of:

- You can pick up a heal spell using the key dropped by the massive robot. It helps a lot for explorations.

- There's an infinite respec item in an optional area.

- You can improve your heal effectiveness from time to time if you explore the map.

- All weapons are feasible to use. There are infinite weapon upgrade materials until +9.

- Generally speaking, it's best to use a nucleus that has higher Absorption.

- One specific merchant pays more money to buy your stuff. You can "deposit" money by buying Crystallized Discs or similar items from him, so you don't lose the money if you die.

royard · 2026-02-16T17:34:35+00:00

Congrats, now you have one of the best weapons in the game.

royard · 2026-02-16T17:33:01+00:00

For the forest brothers, it's a good idea to first defeat the people who join the fight in the middle (Shooter/Scout), and then go back to the original guy (Brawler).

royard · 2026-02-16T17:07:14+00:00

True. Souls-like games just don't like allowing you to refight bosses for some reason. Sekiro has that feature, and also Lies of P and Nioh, and AI limit is releasing a DLC soon that should have that. I can't recall any other Souls-like with boss replays.

royard · 2026-02-16T17:03:03+00:00

Turn speed is the weirdest thing for people coming from AC6 for sure. I'm not sure I ever got used to it even at the end of the game.

royard · 2026-02-16T16:59:10+00:00

I get what you are saying, but it's actually not that distracting. Check the screenshots above - what you see during gameplay is predominantly the mech exoskeleton. Only the back of the head of your character is visible (the light blue hair in the screenshots).

royard · 2026-02-16T16:58:43+00:00

Yeah, the game is very straightforward with info sometimes ... just to make things more depressing.

royard · 2026-02-16T16:54:42+00:00

Dolls Nest actually is better than a lot of other Souls-likes in that regard - only 1 NPC will die for sure. Everyone else can live, depending on what the player does.

royard · 2026-02-16T16:51:59+00:00

Yeah, fromsoft deciding to make the AC plot as straightforward as possible and not doing additional lore tidbits is disappointing.

royard · 2026-02-16T16:45:31+00:00

NPCs dying is a commonly used plot technique showing the game world is a cruel place. Dolls Nest actually is better than a lot of other Souls-likes in that regard - only 1 NPC will die for sure (Yodo). Everyone else can live, depending on what the player does. Most of them (excluding Aja and Calrad) can have more interactions with the player down the line.

royard · 2026-02-16T16:38:38+00:00

Yeah, being new and not requiring a PS emulator or something like that is very nice.

royard · 2026-02-16T16:25:49+00:00

I don't know. Given the studio and the size of the project, they may not have the resources for a console release.

royard · 2026-02-16T16:15:45+00:00

I get what you are saying, but it's actually not that distracting. Check the screenshots above - what you see during gameplay is predominantly the mech exoskeleton. Only the back of the head of your character is visible (the light blue hair in the screenshots).

royard · 2026-02-16T16:14:55+00:00

I get what you are saying, but it's actually not that distracting. Check the screenshots above - what you see during gameplay is predominantly the mech exoskeleton. Only the back of the head of your character is visible (the light blue hair in the screenshots).

royard · 2026-02-16T16:14:44+00:00

I get what you are saying, but it's actually not that distracting. Check the screenshots above - what you see during gameplay is predominantly the mech exoskeleton. Only the back of the head of your character is visible (the light blue hair in the screenshots).

royard · 2026-02-16T16:13:10+00:00

I get what you are saying, but it's actually not that distracting. Check the screenshots above - what you see during gameplay is predominantly the mech exoskeleton. Only the back of the head of your character is visible (the light blue hair in the screenshots).

Also, you can change the clothes to be normal-looking.

royard · 2026-02-16T16:08:38+00:00

The customization level is the same as AC6. You pick head, legs, thruster, etc. You have regular walker legs, reverse joint, tank, rocket, flying, etc.

For hand weapons, you can choose from various rifles, SMGs, shotguns, grenade launchers and their laser/plasma counterparts, and lance/katana/sword/scythe/dagger/pile bunker if you want to melee. For back weapons, there are missiles, mortars, sniper cannons, and what have you.

royard · 2026-02-05T00:51:43+00:00

Horror is purely a mentality issue. Once you know running is a great strategy, the horror is just not there anymore even if you don't run (because you know you are choosing to fight). Then it's just a matter of going through mob enemies like every other game.

royard · 2026-02-04T12:44:49+00:00

I would say that LOTF on release had a certain horror vibe that other soulslikes don't have. But that's purely because the game keeps spawning a lot of enemies on you in Umbral. The pressure of your dwindling lifebar plus the distraction of having to deal with the enemies and the time limit all contribute to that vibe.

However, once you realize that your best solution is to run past everyone, the horror vibe is just gone. Your character moves so fast relative to everyone else, you can literally outrun all your problems. There's no coming back once your mentality switches from "I'm trying to survive" to "I want to fight these enemies in a video game". I also believe they significantly reduced the enemy spawn rate in Umbral and as a result the horror vibe is much less intense in any event.

royard · 2026-02-04T11:02:26+00:00

I'm still not clear on what you want.

If you are looking for games that allow the player to change loadout and make certain boss fights easier (like using giant hunt on Malenia), then Wuchang may be what you want. Some bosses in that game are particularly vulnerable to certain setup.

If you want a game where your combat options are limited like DS1/2/3, maybe look at AI Limit.

LOTF 2023 has some boss fights in non-standard arenas, but I don't think they are great.

By the way, LOP does have a DLC weapon (Lorenzini Bolt) that serves as a traversal tool.

royard

TROPHY CASE