How hard is The Old Blood compared to The New Order?

[Gordon Ramaswamy]

I recently finished The New Order (my first game in the franchise) and I liked it very much. The story, the enemies and the gameplay felt balanced.

Now, I'm planning to get The Old Blood as well but I'm worried about the difficulty level. I've seen the gameplay of the first mission in The Old Blood and it seems too hard. Powering down super soldiers without much weaponry seems hard.

TNO wasn't that hard for me. I only found those parts difficult where you have to deal with mechs.



Is The Old Blood harder than The New Order or will I be able to handle it well like in TNO?

[MadBone12]

I found the difficulty about the same. Old Blood has more opportunities for stealth, with that first scene a good example. You can get through it without taking any damage at all if you are patient and careful. Even if you are spotted, there are some health supplies around.

Overall, I didn't find Old Blood more difficult, although I did play it stealthily whenever I could, so I wasn't being shot at as much as in TNO, which might be why it seemed about the same.

[5H_Jackanapes]

Originally posted by MadBone12:

I found the difficulty about the same. Old Blood has more opportunities for stealth, with that first scene a good example. You can get through it without taking any damage at all if you are patient and careful. Even if you are spotted, there are some health supplies around.

Overall, I didn't find Old Blood more difficult, although I did play it stealthily whenever I could, so I wasn't being shot at as much as in TNO, which might be why it seemed about the same.

That's interesting, because I actually found it easier to stealth through most parts in TNO. Must have fundamentally different play styles, maybe?

Overall, while I think TOB is objectively more difficult, it more or less continues the curve established in TNO, so if you've played that first I don't think you'll have much trouble. It's not even that the enemies or encounters are harder, per se, but it clearly expects you to be familiar with all of the gameplay elements than TNO, which introduces them more gradually and gives you time to master them before introducing the next one.

[MadBone12]

Originally posted by 5H_Jackanapes:

That's interesting, because I actually found it easier to stealth through most parts in TNO. Must have fundamentally different play styles, maybe?

Possibly. I have far more experience with stealth games than FPS, so TOB felt more comfortable and familiar. The stealth in TNO - while there - felt a little more clunky and less viable. Probably has to do with the type of stealth games I have played, and just my own style of playing.

I would agree that TOB does assume familiarity with TNO which is why I always recommend to play it in the order the games were released, and not play TOB first just because it takes place before TNO chronologically.

[torgomada]

I'd say that Old Blood's big battles are harder and last longer than TNO, but if you're expecting a challenge, you may be disappointed—still not very difficult, since the difficulty was designed for console players.

[Freedom Gamer]

Originally posted by torgomada:

I'd say that Old Blood's big battles are harder and last longer than TNO, but if you're expecting a challenge, you may be disappointed—still not very difficult, since the difficulty was designed for console players.

I don't think that difficulty being designed for console players would prevent a challange. I don't think that gamepads are an obstacle for challenging gameplay. A game can be designed for gamepads AND be challenging.

Side note: That being said I can't compare the old blood with the new order yet. Because I am currently near the end of chapter 02 and I haven't seen a big battle. So I currently have no idea which is harder. Once I get to the part where the game actually has a big battle, I will be able to finally compare these two games.

[spaceknight]

Originally posted by torgomada:

I'd say that Old Blood's big battles are harder and last longer than TNO, but if you're expecting a challenge, you may be disappointed—still not very difficult, since the difficulty was designed for console players.

I agree with you about the big battles. I am not gonna give a spoiler but Old Blood's last chapter's boss fight was harder than TNO's boss fight. Maybe not more challenging but lasted longer. (Note: I was really disappointed when I saw the last boss fight. Anyway, that is another debate :D )

[5H_Jackanapes]

Originally posted by spaceknight:

Originally posted by torgomada:

I'd say that Old Blood's big battles are harder and last longer than TNO, but if you're expecting a challenge, you may be disappointed—still not very difficult, since the difficulty was designed for console players.

I agree with you about the big battles. I am not gonna give a spoiler but Old Blood's last chapter's boss fight was harder than TNO's boss fight. Maybe not more challenging but lasted longer. (Note: I was really disappointed when I saw the last boss fight. Anyway, that is another debate :D )

That's interesting. I actually found it much easier and more enjoyable. It was definitely the polar opposite of TNO, and most of both games up until that point as well, as it forced you to use very different tactics. One of the better boss fights I've played in recent memory, just because it was so unusual. The satisfaction of figuring it out was a highlight of the game for me.

[spaceknight]

Originally posted by 5H_Jackanapes:

Originally posted by spaceknight:

I agree with you about the big battles. I am not gonna give a spoiler but Old Blood's last chapter's boss fight was harder than TNO's boss fight. Maybe not more challenging but lasted longer. (Note: I was really disappointed when I saw the last boss fight. Anyway, that is another debate :D )

That's interesting. I actually found it much easier and more enjoyable. It was definitely the polar opposite of TNO, and most of both games up until that point as well, as it forced you to use very different tactics. One of the better boss fights I've played in recent memory, just because it was so unusual. The satisfaction of figuring it out was a highlight of the game for me.

Maybe, it is because I was expecting a mechanic boss or super-soldier, not a ... (don't wanna give spoiler for the people who haven't finished the game yet) :D.

I should admit that the weakest point of the boss in Old Blood is so much visible. I have spent more minutes in TNO to pass all the stages in the boss fight :P

[MadBone12]

That is interesting - I too found the boss in TNO much harder than Old Blood. Well, it killed me a lot at first as I didn't know what I was supposed to do. Once I did, it was much easier. You can also use the boss to your advantage and let it take out the others trying to kill you. I actually enjoyed TOB boss. I struggled more with TNO.

Originally posted by 5H_Jackanapes:

That's interesting. I actually found it much easier and more enjoyable. It was definitely the polar opposite of TNO, and most of both games up until that point as well, as it forced you to use very different tactics. One of the better boss fights I've played in recent memory, just because it was so unusual. The satisfaction of figuring it out was a highlight of the game for me.

[5H_Jackanapes]

Originally posted by MadBone12:

That is interesting - I too found the boss in TNO much harder than Old Blood. Well, it killed me a lot at first as I didn't know what I was supposed to do. Once I did, it was much easier. You can also use the boss to your advantage and let it take out the others trying to kill you. I actually enjoyed TOB boss. I struggled more with TNO.

Originally posted by 5H_Jackanapes:

That's interesting. I actually found it much easier and more enjoyable. It was definitely the polar opposite of TNO, and most of both games up until that point as well, as it forced you to use very different tactics. One of the better boss fights I've played in recent memory, just because it was so unusual. The satisfaction of figuring it out was a highlight of the game for me.

Yeah, I was the same. What made TNO boss hard for me (at least in the final section) was a combination of poor visibility and the fact that it would chew through your health in seconds if you got caught in the open. As such, it was hard to tell whether I was doing any damage or needed to change strategies. TOB is a much slower-paced affair, and takes some juggling of the various threats, which made it more strategic and less twitch-based for me. After only one failed attempt I figured out the right approach and just needed to hold my nerve to take it down the second time.

[spaceknight]

Originally posted by MadBone12:

That is interesting - I too found the boss in TNO much harder than Old Blood. Well, it killed me a lot at first as I didn't know what I was supposed to do. Once I did, it was much easier. You can also use the boss to your advantage and let it take out the others trying to kill you. I actually enjoyed TOB boss. I struggled more with TNO.

Originally posted by 5H_Jackanapes:

That's interesting. I actually found it much easier and more enjoyable. It was definitely the polar opposite of TNO, and most of both games up until that point as well, as it forced you to use very different tactics. One of the better boss fights I've played in recent memory, just because it was so unusual. The satisfaction of figuring it out was a highlight of the game for me.

How can you hide some sentences in your comment?

[MadBone12]

Originally posted by spaceknight:

How can you hide some sentences in your comment?

Like this:

{spoiler}BLAH BLAH BLAH HIDDEN TEXT{/spoiler}

But instead of using { and }, you need to use [ and ]

[Freedom Gamer]

Originally posted by spaceknight:

Originally posted by MadBone12:

That is interesting - I too found the boss in TNO much harder than Old Blood. Well, it killed me a lot at first as I didn't know what I was supposed to do. Once I did, it was much easier. You can also use the boss to your advantage and let it take out the others trying to kill you. I actually enjoyed TOB boss. I struggled more with TNO.

How can you hide some sentences in your comment?

First write spoiler between [] this will start a spoiler section. Then wrote spoiler between [/] to end spoiler section. Notice how there is a new / there. You can practice by answering this... but as a security measure don't write actual spoiler contents while learning. But after you learn, do whatever you want with it : D
Edit: changed \ to /.

[Freedom Gamer]

Originally posted by MadBone12:

Originally posted by spaceknight:

How can you hide some sentences in your comment?

Like this:

{spoiler}BLAH BLAH BLAH HIDDEN TEXT{/spoiler}

But instead of using { and }, you need to use [ and ]

Ah you were faster than me by couple seconds. I was reading what I wrote when you send your comment : D. Well, two answer are better than one I guess.

[Freedom Gamer]

Originally posted by spaceknight:

Originally posted by MadBone12:

That is interesting - I too found the boss in TNO much harder than Old Blood. Well, it killed me a lot at first as I didn't know what I was supposed to do. Once I did, it was much easier. You can also use the boss to your advantage and let it take out the others trying to kill you. I actually enjoyed TOB boss. I struggled more with TNO.

How can you hide some sentences in your comment?

While you wrote your comments, there is a button to the left of emoji. I suggest you to check there to learn more than just spoilers. That section tells you about many things such how to write bold, italic etc. : )