Of The Former World

Getting Started With Of The Former World

Of The Former World is a soulslike action RPG built by an indie team, and honestly, it's a rough but ambitious cut. If you're trying to wrap your head around the controls, the build system, or where to actually find useful info since the community is still pretty small, here's what I've figured out after about forty hours of play. It's a third-person action game with real-time combat, stamina management, and checkpoint mechanics that will frustrate you early on. The story is told through environmental details, item descriptions, and vague NPC dialogue. You die a lot. That's intentional. The game doesn't hold your hand through any of it, which means the tutorials are nearly non-existent and you learn mostly through trial and error. I ran into a specific issue on my second playthrough that nobody seemed to address online. The parry window for heavier enemies like the Fell Knights isn't the same as lighter foes. If you press your parry button at the same timing you'd use against a standard bandit, you'll miss every time and take massive damage. The trick is to wait an extra half-second, almost like you're hesitating. It feels wrong at first because your muscle memory is fighting you, but once you slow down your anticipation, the parry becomes reliable. I wasted about three hours on the first Fell Knight before I realized the timing was different.

Combat Mechanics And Controls

The combat revolves around three core actions: light attacks, heavy attacks, and parries. Each weapon type has a distinct move set, but they all share the same stamina pool. This means you can't just mash buttons and expect to win. Every swing costs stamina, and if you empty your bar, you're open to counterattacks. The stamina system is the single most important mechanic in the game, more important than any upgrade you'll find. Blocking is available but inefficient. Shields reduce damage but consume stamina faster than dodging or parrying. Most players I've talked to abandon shields entirely after the first few hours. The dodge roll has i-frames, but they're shorter than games like Dark Souls. You need to time your rolls more precisely. Rolling into an attack instead of away from it tends to work better because you can see the enemy's recovery animation and react accordingly. There's also a focus mechanic that builds up as you land hits. When your focus bar is full, you can unleash a charged attack that deals significantly more damage and briefly stuns tougher enemies. This is your primary tool for breaking enemy guards or finishing off phased bosses. Use it strategically rather than spamming it when your bar fills up, because running out of focus at the wrong moment leaves you vulnerable.

Build Systems And Progression

Stats in Of The Former World are straightforward but not obvious. There are six main attributes: Strength, Dexterity, Vitality, Endurance, Intelligence, and Faith. Each one unlocks different equipment and spell options. Early on, you'll want to invest heavily in Endurance and Vitality. Without enough Endurance, your stamina will cap too low and you won't be able to attack, dodge, or block meaningfully. Without enough Vitality, one or two hit combinations from a mid-tier enemy will kill you. Leveling in this game uses a currency called Soul Shards, which you earn by defeating enemies and bosses. The curve is steep. The first twenty levels will feel manageable, but after that, you'll need thousands of shards per level. Don't obsess over min-maxing early on. Just pick a direction and commit. A Strength build that focuses on heavy weapons and blocking is perfectly viable alongside a Dexterity build that relies on speed and parries. Both approaches work. Trying to build both simultaneously at the start just slows your progress and makes early enemies harder than they should be. Equipment upgrades use a separate material called Iron Chips, and you can only upgrade weapons and armor to a certain level before you need specific rare materials dropped by bosses. These materials don't respawn, so plan your upgrade priorities before you clear a boss area. I learned this the hard way after upgrading four weapons to their maximum tier before killing the second major boss, then realizing I couldn't upgrade my best sword further because I needed the drop first.

Exploration And Checkpoints

The game world is interconnected but not as seamlessly as something like a Metroidvania. You'll find checkpoints called Relics that restore your health and respawn enemies when you rest. However, resting at a Relic also resets all the regular enemies in that area, which means you can farm them for Soul Shards if you're stuck on a boss. This is probably the most useful mechanic for players who feel underleveled. Here's something the game never tells you explicitly: there are hidden paths behind certain breakable walls and beneath specific floor tiles. These paths contain collectibles, lore entries, and occasionally powerful weapons. I discovered one by accident after jumping repeatedly at a seemingly normal stone wall in the Ashen Ruins. The wall broke, revealing a narrow passage that led to a weapons cache with a unique greatsword. There's no minimap marker for these secrets. You have to pay attention to the environment. Fast travel is unlocked halfway through the game after you complete the first major story objective. Until then, you'll be walking a lot between areas. The travel is not dangerous in itself, but the areas are packed with enemies that can gang up on you if you're careless. Use the focus charged attack to thin out groups before engaging individually.

Common Pitfalls For New Players

One thing beginners consistently mess up is overcommitting to attack combos. The game rewards spacing and patience. If you're hitting an enemy three or four times in a row without backing off, you're playing wrong. Land one or two hits, back away, let your stamina regenerate, and reassess. Enemies in this game have telegraphed attacks that wind up dramatically. You have time to react. The problem is most players are too aggressive and run out of stamina before the attack even comes. Another pitfall is ignoring your status effect resistance. Certain enemies inflict poison, bleed, or curse buildup, and if you don't equip gear or use items that boost resistance to those effects, you'll die gradually without realizing why. There's a status screen in the pause menu that shows your current resistances. Check it before entering a new area. If you're below twenty percent resistance to any status effect, grab some remedies or swap your armor. The boss fights are the hardest part of the game, and they require memorization more than skill. Most bosses have three or four distinct attack patterns, and learning those patterns is the only way to win. There's no shortcut. Fight the boss repeatedly until you can predict every move. When you're down to a boss phase, pay attention to the soundtrack changes and visual cues. The game signals phase transitions through music and environmental lighting shifts, usually giving you a brief opening to heal or reposition.

Performance And Technical Notes

The game runs okay on modern hardware but struggles on older systems. If you're playing on a budget PC or a lower-end console, expect frame rate drops during combat-heavy sequences with multiple enemies on screen. Lowering shadow quality and ambient occlusion helps significantly without making the game unplayable. I dropped my settings from high to medium on PC and gained roughly twelve frames per second during boss fights, which made a noticeable difference in my ability to track enemy movements. There are some bugs in the current version. Collision detection can be inconsistent in narrow passages, causing you to fall through the map or get stuck on geometry. Saving the game before entering a new area is always a good idea, though the auto-save can occasionally fail. I've lost progress twice due to corrupted saves after a crash. Playing on a platform with cloud saves mitigates this risk somewhat, but it's not guaranteed. If you're looking for a more polished experience with similar mechanics, consider something like Lies of P or Mortal Shell as alternatives. Of The Former World has its own identity and a lot of potential, but it's clearly an early-stage indie project with rough edges. It's worth your time if you enjoy the genre and don't mind some friction, but go in with realistic expectations. The community is growing slowly, and patches are coming, but right now you're playing something that's still finding its footing.

For the latest updates and community discussions, the official Discord server and the Steam community hub are the best places to find build guides, boss strategies, and patch notes. The wikis are incomplete but improving. I check them weekly for new information that fills in the gaps the game itself leaves open.