Challenge Accepted

Titan Souls is a game that I had never even heard about until I got notified that it was free for me through Twitch Prime. I thought to myself “I like this art style, this could be fun”, plus who passes up a free game? So I downloaded it, and it sat in my library for about a month. The other day I didn’t have anything to stream, so I decided to fire it up and try it out.

This game is a challenge, especially for someone like me who normally plays RPGs. The premise of the game is, well I’m still not sure. You awaken and all you have are the clothes on your back, a bow, and a single arrow. That is the only weapon you get for the whole game. After a tutorial for the controls, you end up at your first boss room. Nothing seems to damage it, except for hitting a sweet spot with your arrow. One hit, done. Time stops, and as you retrieve your arrow, you are bathed in light and the way out opens to you. The path diverges, you have 4 doors now. Beat the boss in each one, and the real game begins: multiple areas, multiple bosses, all one hit kills. The catch? You need to think in order to beat each one, think of how to hit that sweet spot. You will die, a lot.

After three hours of streaming, I had beaten the tutorial and two other bosses. One boss took me a solid half hour of the same motions, trying to get the timing right to hit it. The other was blind luck if we’re being honest, I beat it and said “How did I do that?!” I was  running around, being boxed in by fire, then I turned around and shot my arrow right into the boss’s eye, killing it instantly.

Another game like Titan Souls is a game called Furi. In this game you have to make your way down a tower, but each floor has a boss that you have to defeat in order to progress. The first boss is your tutorial fight, and like Titan Souls, you have everything you need from the start in order to beat the game: a gun, a sword, and the reflexes and strength of a samurai. Furi has alternating ranged and melee phases with some using a mix of both, keeping you on your toes for the fight. Like Titan Souls, you will probably die a lot at first.

I love games like these because even though they’re grindy and take a while to learn the strategies to at first, the accomplishment you feel after finally beating that boss you’re so tilted with is awesome. They also make great speedrunning games if you’re good enough. In my opinion, this is something that is missing from a lot of the games that the major studios are putting out- a reason to play the game besides loot.

Most games that are released from the major studios lately are multiplayer focused: get a squad, follow these motions, grind out loot, rinse and repeat. Sure they are fun for a time, but there isn’t a challenge to them unless you get a team that’s on your level- you either cream the opposition, or get creamed by a team that has more practice than you. You have to grind the same way, but that sense of accomplishment when you beat them isn’t there for me in multiplayer centric games because it’s not the same enemy you’re fighting each time, it’s always different. You get nothing to show for it except a Victory Royale or a Chicken Dinner if you’re lucky. It’s the sense of accomplishment, and a great storyline, that keep games like Titan Souls and Furi, and the single player genre in general alive in a market saturated with multiplayer games. So if you ever want a break, try these games out. If you’re up for a challenge, they’re worth a playthrough. Even if you don’t want a challenge, grab a story-based game, you won’t be disappointed.

As for me, I’ll play Fortnite occasionally with friends, but single player games are still my go-to. For me, it’s a challenge accepted and a great story too.

-V