@drachmalius: Definitely agree about the loot-grindy fun of building up characters. I have fond memories of turning Xiao Qiao into a complete monster in DW3.
Have you played Spirit of Sanada? If not, I'd say it's another side game that's definitely worth looking into when you feel like branching out from the core DW (or SW) series again. Surprisingly good narrative and a lot of characters who are really fun to use in battle.
I guess I can only really speak for myself, but I think the appeal of a musou game is more about battle management and less about combat for combat’s sake.
Like, a good musou game makes me prioritize my attention in the heat of battle—having to complete my own objective while also handling enemy reinforcements in one corner of the map, an ambush in the opposite corner, and some ally about to eat dirt in a base somewhere in between. All the while I’m thinking about which square/triangle combo has the best reach, where I can pick off enemy officers for loot/experience, and probably daydreaming about which other character I’ll try using next.
Here’s a weird analogy that only stands out because I’m playing both games right now: doing well in DW is kind of like doing well in Stardew Valley. Minute-to-minute activities are shallow and repetitive, but the game is still compelling because there’s a lot of room to think ahead, perform those activities more efficiently, and prioritize time and energy. And what’s really compelling is eventually becoming comfortable enough to just zone out while doing all those things.
It’s hard to visually communicate any of those hooks, though, when the majority of a game is still hack-n-slash/farming sim.
It was kind of a bummer to see Vinny give Dan a hard time about the boss thing around the 47 minute mark. Vinny literally read "The Boss of Tricky --," Dan repeated it, and the title was on the screen for a while, but he was still like "we don't know what this is! Wait, Dan's been here before!!"
In honor of Dan's request to check the tape:
Dan: Oh, no, I got the secret one too. Remember, I got the secret shine-- Abby: Yeah, the bird. Vinny: "The Boss of Tricky --" what? Oh, thiiis one.
-- almost exactly 1 minute later; betting starts --
Vinny: Abby, we don't know what this is yet. Dan: I swear to god, I do not know what this boss is or looks like. Abby: What was it called? Dan: "The Boss of Tricky Ruins."
-- 30 seconds later --
Dan: We're just doing the boss fight, right? Vinny and Alex: We don't know if it's a boss fight! Vinny: Wait, is this the one you did where you shot the bird? Dan: Yeah, I went the wrong way or something. Vinny: So you DO know what this is! Dan: I literally said--go back and check the tape! Vinny: We don't even know this is a boss! How do we know if--
is it built so if you hit every beat you'll never get hit?
This was kinda my question too. It looked like even if you hit an alien on every note you'd still end up getting hit.
I've played this for a couple hours on PC and, having gone through a fair amount of songs on Hard, I didn't encounter any where it felt like you'd get hit no matter what. Also, I don't know how Alex feels about the controller support, but my DS3 was real spotty. Maybe my reaction time was just bad but I had a way more success using the mouse.
Vorpal's comments