Not every attack is 'meant' to be avoided

[Ratsplat]

Some attacks I believe exist purely as punishment, and if you know what you're doing, you can prevent them all together. A very good example are the floating enemies with mines in the sea area. If you don't take care of them quickly/turn 1 (should be obvious how), they start to use a lightning attack which has almost no cue on when to actually parry (or perhaps you should just dodge it instead). Now, attacks coming from standard enemies are much more obvious with their cues. There's a ton of enemies and attacks, but in general if one attack seems especially impossible to deal with, there may be another solution for it.

[Managedant]

Dog for real.

People like “oh my god the parry window is impossible for some of these enemies and I suck at it but refuse to turn the difficulty down so this game is BAD”

There’s some enemies you probably aren’t meant to consistently parry. There is still DODGING. There is also still KILLING the enemy.

[Ratsplat]

Originally posted by Managedant:

Dog for real.

People like “oh my god the parry window is impossible for some of these enemies and I suck at it but refuse to turn the difficulty down so this game is BAD”

The truly hard part of the game is simply facing an enemy for the first time. I've had tons of deaths and restarts, but those epic moment of soloing a boss with one last character with perfect parrying can't be replicated by other games. I think at least 30% of my play time is learning lol.

[BloodyFox]

After a few tries, dodging the lightning strike becomes pretty easy.

I haven't managed to parry them yet, but it should be possible, right?

[METAL]

Originally posted by BloodyFox:

After a few tries, dodging the lightning strike becomes pretty easy.

I haven't managed to parry them yet, but it should be possible, right?

I managed to parry them. Not all but several of them. So yes, it's possible.

[Caelestus]

Can you parry when the big boys fall on you? I haven't dared to try yet...

[RakataEpsilon]

Originally posted by Caelestus:

Can you parry when the big boys fall on you? I haven't dared to try yet...

You mean when they die? If so its an explosion, they are meant to be dodged. When they slam, you can do either

[FoxyKiwi]

Originally posted by Caelestus:

Can you parry when the big boys fall on you? I haven't dared to try yet...

Yes, it can be parried (shouldn't though because no benefit, and dodging has a more generous window). I just finished the game and literally used dodge like 4 times. I'm not aware of any abilities that can't be parried (except for ones that require a different type of parry that's unlocked later on and one or two status effect applications).

[Lionheartwolf]

First, and foremost I dont have a problem with the system. I am just fine with lowering the difficulty until I get the timing down better, BUT I think the complaints are fair. I think the biggest issue is the game doesnt really explain which is better for what situation, when exactly you should attempt to do either, or even if it's always possible.

To better explain the frustration is just to look at how other popular games approach the same concepts. Batman, Assassins Creed, Seikro, rhythm games like Guitar Hero, Patapon, Crypt of the Necromancer, etc... all encourage and teach the player how to predict and anticipate the narrow window they are given. All of these games require skill, in some cases more skill than this game, so I think it's fair to say these are not examples of handholding, it's about teaching the player the rules well enough so they can play before punishing them for not learning.

I do think it's fair to say other games do a better job organically informing a player of when to react in unfamiliar situations. You don't need to fight every single enemy in the games I mentioned, or play every single song in a rhythm game to immediately understand what is being asked from you. This game chooses to go with a very, "you are on your own" approach. You absolutely will need to learn with trial end error for every single enemy you fight in this game. Rarely will you just know the exact time the first time, or the exact choice for that matter. Compare that to Batman where you will always know when to parry or dodge, and when because it was consistent, identifiable, and gives you ample opportunity to practice before introducing a new rule or tool that would make you reconsider your strategy.

There is a reason why it's described as "easy to learn, difficult to master."

This game is difficult to learn, and difficult to master...

Dont get me wrong, I'm not saying that is bad. Dark Souls built an empire on that exact concept, but I still think that it's a fair criticism. I think they are more justified for being frustrated with the system, than you are for being frustrated with their opinions.

[Rafro]

Originally posted by Lionheartwolf:

First, and foremost I dont have a problem with the system. I am just fine with lowering the difficulty until I get the timing down better, BUT I think the complaints are fair. I think the biggest issue is the game doesnt really explain which is better for what situation, when exactly you should attempt to do either, or even if it's always possible.

To better explain the frustration is just to look at how other popular games approach the same concepts. Batman, Assassins Creed, Seikro, rhythm games like Guitar Hero, Patapon, Crypt of the Necromancer, etc... all encourage and teach the player how to predict and anticipate the narrow window they are given. All of these games require skill, in some cases more skill than this game, so I think it's fair to say these are not examples of handholding, it's about teaching the player the rules well enough so they can play before punishing them for not learning.

I do think it's fair to say other games do a better job organically informing a player of when to react in unfamiliar situations. You don't need to fight every single enemy in the games I mentioned, or play every single song in a rhythm game to immediately understand what is being asked from you. This game chooses to go with a very, "you are on your own" approach. You absolutely will need to learn with trial end error for every single enemy you fight in this game. Rarely will you just know the exact time the first time, or the exact choice for that matter. Compare that to Batman where you will always know when to parry or dodge, and when because it was consistent, identifiable, and gives you ample opportunity to practice before introducing a new rule or tool that would make you reconsider your strategy.

There is a reason why it's described as "easy to learn, difficult to master."

This game is difficult to learn, and difficult to master...

Dont get me wrong, I'm not saying that is bad. Dark Souls built an empire on that exact concept, but I still think that it's a fair criticism. I think they are more justified for being frustrated with the system, than you are for being frustrated with their opinions.

I'd argue there is a lot of nuances and differences between the games youve slammed together. Batman and Assassin's Creed have parry windows so large its probably bigger than 33's dodge window and its all in the name of the "Flow Combat" system (Batman going above and beyond with visual UI cues and IIRC slow motion). And then adding Sekiro to the same list is a bit silly as ennemies in Sekiro usually annihilates you on the first parry attempt as most of them have irregular wind up to attack animation.

I think that most of the encounters in 33 have been pretty good in terms of enemy animation when it comes to dodge and parry with a few exceptions that are obviously there to keep you on your toes and remind you that when its easily telegraphed its more of a privilege than a must.