Comparing Turok: Rage Wars to Dark Souls
I’m not sure if I’m having a stroke, but I’m pretty certain that the first Shadow Fall boss, Balteus, is meant to be a bit of a pain. We’ve already heard about the comparisons between this shooter and Dark Souls, and it certainly feels like developer Guerrilla has taken that idea and run wild with it.
Strategies for defeating Balteus
We’ve seen some strategies shared for defeating Balteus, the heavily armored core of the first Shadow Fall boss. Some players are using the disruptor gun, while others have gone for a “heavy artillery” build. Others still have suggested being aggressive and staying close to Balteus, while keeping an eye out for swipe attacks and keeping your AP above zero.
Personally, I died a lot while trying to shoot Balteus’s hands off, only to get swiped by his other hand and die from the fall damage that followed. I eventually realised the effectiveness of explosive attacks, but I still haven’t beaten the boss. This is where I’m reminded of Dark Souls, in that it feels like there’s no option to overpower yourself through grinding. You have to learn the patterns and fight smart.
However, I’m not sure I’m feeling the same level of stress as with Dark Souls, which may be because I’m still getting used to the game. We’ve already seen players discuss struggling with the Sea Spider boss, but they said that they found it easier once they realised the effectiveness of explosive attacks.
We’ve also seen a player express their difficulty in beating the tutorial boss, the helicopter. They asked for advice from other players, and I have to say that some of the replies are pretty amusing. “Did you realise you have a flamethrower?” is one of my favourites, but others have pointed out that the user is probably getting frustrated and not thinking clearly. They’re also reminded that they can always restart the mission if they really want to.
Another user, however, has gone ahead and refunded the game. They mention struggling with the tutorial boss, the helicopter, and say that they’ve experienced some headaches from the spinning camera. They also say that they feel the game is too similar to Dark Souls, and that they don’t have “cringe immunity” for anime games.
Many people disagree with this last point, and encourage the user to try different strategies and not give up so easily. I don’t think I’d go so far as to call Shadow Fall an anime game, but I do see the comparison to Gundam Wing. Personally, I don’t have any cringe associations with Wing, but I do recognise that others do and I don’t want to start any wars.
Controller vs Keyboard and Mouse
The choice between using a controller or keyboard and mouse is also brought up, with some players arguing that the game feels more fluid with a controller. Others point out that keyboard and mouse feels more accurate and offers more customisation, though they admit that it’s not as smooth to play with.
Humorous comments
Finally, we have a bunch of comments injecting some good-natured humour. I’ll let them speak for themselves:
All in all, this Shadow Fall boss discussion has been pretty fun to follow, and it’s helped me feel a little less intimidated by Balteus. I’m not sure the game is quite on the level of Titanfall quite yet, but I feel like it’ll get there. Both games excel at what they were meant to do, and they both have a pretty unique style.
If you want to read more about the game, you can check out some of our Shadow Fall pre-release coverage or our Shadow Fall review.
