dodging is taking a lot of getting used to. the roll doesn't seem that great. the counter windows are a little weird as well but L2 is basically functionally identical to parrying in dark souls. i'm finding that i react too quickly to the giant brick holding dudes and the sidearm only does damage instead of stunning them. i like being able to parry and riposte bosses but the windows for parrying seem tiny and hard to pick out from the myriad animations. these are mostly learning curve woes. i'll pick it up soon. the whole pace of the gameplay is much faster than i'm used to in games by this team (teams?) but i think i like it. the dodge seems very strong and parrying seems to be the way to victory.

still experimenting with top shoulder button strings. that's another thing that feels a little foreign to me. i spent about 45 seconds trying to 2-hand at the beginning of the game out of instinct. threaded cane "sword" form R1 R1 R1 L1 is nasty. the sheer variety of moves on one weapon is kind of amazing. i need to retrain my mind to consider that R1 with the occasional tactical R2 is not the only course of action

the cleric beast fight really is awful. it's very unfortunate because it's such a cool-looking boss. i'm only lvl 13 with a threaded cane +1 but i feel like i'm dying because i can't see the attack windups, not because i'm mis-timing dodges and attacks. that's not fun. i'm fairly certain i could nickel and dime this boss to death but the camera is preventing me from doing it. i'll come back to it later

i'm still in the first area but the art design and presentation of this game lends a very unsettling air to everything. most of the enemies are grotesque, deformed, and otherwise slightly unnatural and that contrasts perfectly with the rigid lines and curves of the victorian architecture. the sound design is great too. i love the random crying, manical laughter, and possible debauchery taking place behind closed doors. the yarnham denizens are really bummed out about the insanity taking place in the streets and are dealing with it in the worst ways. everything is so fucked in this world. it's wonderful