Dark Souls (2011)

8/10

Mislim da sam se nakon Sekira navukao na From Software igre, pa mi je bilo logično krenuti od početka, barem što se PC-a tiče, i zaigrati prvijenac. Sjećam se da sam ga jednom bio počeo igrati prije recimo 2 godine, ali sam nakon završenog tutoriala brzo odustao jer sam umirao na prvim mobovima nakon "tutoriala". Sada sam isto muku mučio s njima, ubijao sam prvih nekoliko kostura valjda 2-3 sata, ali eto, nisam odustao. Tek sam kasnije skužio da to uopće nije bila strana na koju sam trebao ići prvo, nego da su to bili mobovi namijenjeni za, karikiram, level 10, a ja sam tamo došao na levelu 1.

To se dogodilo jer je svijet Dark Soulsa u velikoj mjeri nelinearan i na možda i najbolji način koji sam ikada vidio u igrama povezan u jednu cjelinu. Kreneš na jednu stranu, odradiš neko područje, otvoriš vrata s druge strane koja su prije bila zaključana i vratiš se na početak. Pa odeš u drugo područje i prođeš kroz neke katakombe i tunel i opet se nekako vratiš na početak. I tako stalno u krug, svi dvorci, kanalizacije i pustopoljine su toliko dobro integrirani u taj jedan veliki/mali svijet da tako nešto stvarno nigdje nisam vidio.

A opet, igraču se jako malo toga pojašnjava, priča je kriptična, malo po malo neke stvari otkrivaš od random likova koje sretneš, ali nikada tako da kažeš - aha, sada mi je sve jasno. Nekome može biti iritantno, nekome zabavno, da se mene pita ja bi odabrao da je veći naglasak stavljen na lore i razjašnjavanje istog, ali ne mogu reći da se i ovo tu dobro ne uklapa u cijelu atmosferu i dizajn. Isto kao što ti nitko neće reći gdje trebaš ići iduće, pa se može desiti da provedeš i sat vremena lutajući kako bi isprobao gdje staviti novi ključ koji si dobio (nije prečesto, ali dogodi se) tako ti nitko neće niti pojasniti zašto je baš taj NPC sada tu i što se događa u priči. Barem ne do kraja.

Ali ove gornje dvije stvari ionako nisu stvari zbog kojih se igra Dark Souls, a valjda i općenito igre od From Softwarea. To je, naravno, borba, težina, to su suze, plakanje, jadikovanje, razbijanje monitora, tastatura i ostalog. I mogu reći kako je ovo igra koju definitivno ne bi uspio prijeći u ovih 80 sati, koliko sam potrošio na nju (doduše riješavao sam sve bosseve, skupljao sve čega sam se mogao dokopati, istraživao sve gdje sam mogao doći itd) da tu i tamo nisam pogledao neki guide na internetu. A mislim da jedno 2-3 bossa uopće ne bi uspio ubiti ili bi mi doslovno za svakog od njih valjda trebali dani. S jedne strane nemam ništa protiv "gotovo nemogućih" borbi kada su one dobro napravljene, kada ti glavni neprijatelji nisu primjerice kut kamere, zastajkivanje za nevidljive prepreke i slično. Takvih nekakvih momenata je tu bilo, ali možda tek u nekoliko slučajeva, tako da to ne mogu uzeti previše za zlo.

Ipak, ono što me najviše naživciralo ovdje su run backovi do bosseva nakon umiranja. Toga je bilo i u Sekiru, ali trčanje bi trajalo u najgorem slučaju oko pola minute, a ovdje bi prosjek bio minuta do minuta i pol. I to na 95% bosseva. I to često izbjegavajući pritom neprijatelje, što je ponekada bilo i nemoguće, pa bi morao ubiti 2-3 "moba" i tako gubiti vrijeme. Smatram da je dosta težine ove igre upravo u (pre)dugom trčanju koje jednostavno nakon što umreš 3-4-5 puta postane iritantno dosadno. U redu, daj mi da je boss 50% teži, dodaj mu da je malo brži, više healtha, 2 nova poteza ili ne znam šta, neka težina bude u tom, pa ako će mi trebati i 5 sati da ga ubijem, a od tih 5 sati sam 4:45 proveo boreći se s njim, to je u redu. Ali ako mi treba primjerice 3 sata da ga ubijem, a od toga sam 2 sata proveo trčeći natrag i nije neka fora. Dakle, ovo mi je daleko najveći minus te bi bez njega sigurno igri dao cijelu ocjenu više.

Osim toga, s obzirom da je riječ o RPG-u, na početku birate klasu koja želite bit, a pri svakom level upu stavljate bodove tamo gdje mislite da je najbolje. Problem je jer za praktički ništa nije objašnjeno šta ti statovi rade. Ja sam uzeo pyromancera i bilo bi mi logično da u njega treba stavljati intelect kako bi radio više dmga, ali ispalo je da je to klasa koja se uopće ne scalea s intelectom, a da je puno bitniji dexterity. Priznajem kako sam na početku pogledao guide za klasu, ne u smislu koje spellove je najbolje koristiti, kako se boriti i slično, nego sam tražio gdje stavljati pointe koji se klasično dobivaju sa svakim levelom, tako da se na kraju ne bi zajebao i nabubao 20 bodova u nešto od čega će moj lik imati praktički nikakve koristi. Da postoji nekakav respec, pa makar ga se i skupo plačalo, gotovo pa sigurno to ne bi učinio. No dobro, ovo nije ni plus niti minus, to je jednostavno tako kako je.

Na kraju, mogu reći kako me igra osvojila čak i svojom atmosferom i svijetom iako bi, da sam pročitao upravo ovu recenziju koju sada pišem prije nego sam ju odigrao, rekao da nema šanse da će mi se ti dijelovi Tamnih duša dopasti. Borba je dobra, ubijanje mobova je zabavno kao i planiranje gdje upotrijebiti spellove, a gdje oružje i štitove, bossevi su raznoliki i malo ih se ponavlja, world design je odličan. Jedini veliki minus su, napomenut ću još jednom, nepotrebno dugi respawn pointi prije bosseva.

What can I even say about Dark Souls that hasn't been said a million times? Likely nothing.

This game is a masterpiece in so many ways. Art design, world/lore building, world/level design, combat pacing, etc etc etc. The majority of things that seem like "flaws" of this game are really things that are still good in my opinion, they were just improved upon in future iterations.

In my opinion there were two issues with this game and one was fixed with the Remaster. First is performance, I played on the xbox 360 and let me tell you, people are not exaggerating about the frame drops in places like Blighttown but that's fixed now. The other is a slightly under baked feeling in some final areas due to limited development time. I personally disagree with the "second half of this game sucks" people, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that the first half of this game isn't much better than the back half, and there are small moments (mostly in Lost Izalith) where that lack of needed development time shows itself strongly.

Despite the actual flaws this game has though, and the parts that haven't aged perfectly, this game remains one of the best of all time.

5 / 5 Stars

Another game I played through during lockdown. Perfect time to get your teeth into a game as deep and nuanced as this one. It's a wonderful game in many ways. The world design and building is so intriguing and unique. It's a game with so much below the surface once you start digging.

I played this game having already beaten Bloodborne and Sekiro. I went into this one thinking it would be enjoyable but a sort of rougher version of a game style that From Software would later improve on. Boy was I wrong. This game is every bit as good as the games that have come since, just in different ways. If you're on the fence about this game because 'it's old and slow and looks a bit boring', give it a chance. I was surprised how fun, intriguing and variable it ended up being.

The design is simultaneously infuriating and intriguing. The interconnecting world and visual design, along with the lack of UI conveniences and affordances (e.g. no fast travel, quest log or markers etc.) make the experience incredibly immersive and memorable. The combat is also more fun than I was expecting, a very deliberate experience but a rewarding one once you adjust to its rhythms.

The lore and narrative are also fascinating once you scratch beneath the surface (i.e. watch youtube vids). I picked up a reasonable amount myself through looking through items and speaking to NPCs, but somehow never picked up on the idea that linking the fire was anything other than the right move. It blew my mind post game to realise how many of the elements I had been interacting with were either dishonest or flat out illusions.

The fact that this game leaves so much of its gameplay, world and story open to interpretation and discovery is truly incredibly. It makes everything feel far more true to life than the more comforting and easier to compartmentalise stories of most games and movies. It's also a fascinating way to tell a story that feels far more like history and archaeology than anything else. It's truly something special.

The only reason I can't give this game five stars is the inconsistency in enjoyable levels and enemies/bosses. While many are well designed, fun and tough-but-fair, others range from dull to a flat out miserable experience. Tomb of the Giants in particular is so unenjoyable I flat out questioned if I wanted to continue through it. The highs in this game are truly special, but the lows are too frequent and too painful to gloss over. They're absolutely worth getting through, and YMMV, but they're poor enough to mar the overall experience.

I have mixed feelings about this game.

I played Celeste and Hollow Knight before. Wanted them serve as a preliminary preparation.

But "Dark Souls" feels like game itself doesn't want you to play it. I know this game supposed to be hard but, sometimes developers designed some stuff just to annoy you.

Dying for no reason simultaneously. Traps. No map. Almost no information about any items. These are okay. You can learn those via searching the net. And searching is also funny.

But why extremely narrow passages. Terrible hitbox. Fiddly controls. Random invades. Minutes long runs to every boss. Bla bla.

I will edit this review when i end the game. So far 30 hours and half of the bosses killed including optionals.

PS.

• Also i saw some Dark Souls die hard fans insulting regular gamers like me on YouTube walkthrough videos. People have lives you know. People cannot spend 2000+ hours into a game. There are tons of other games we play, also jobs, families, pets we wanna spend time with. Mastering one game doesn't make you God, but Asylum Demon at best.

EDIT:

Finally completed. This game is a masterpiece.

Was it all a lie? Have I done this all, for nothing?

Currently trying to unlock all achievements for Dark Souls Remaster. It's a nightmare. Requires three consecutive playthroughs up to NG+2. Have to collect all spells, all miracles and all rare weapons including boss weapons. And gathering all the materials required to upgrade all your stuff to full in every upgrade branch. It's really dumb. Unlocking all achievements on Dark Souls might sound like an impressive task, but in reality it's rather a feat of patience as you spend your time farming slugs in Blighttown for countless hours, trying to get green titanite drops.

I'm completely lost in this game. Frankly, I guess I find this "getting lost" not fun because I've gotten very used to the new games. The only exception I have about this is Hollow Knight. But in Dark Souls it's a bit different because there are several mechanics that converge to intensify your sense of being lost. The main one, in my opinion, is the very difficulty of the game. After you ring both bells and that firelink character tells you where to go, this is when this feeling of "being lost" really begins. You have a LOT of places to try and go, most of you will die like an asshole early on and will try the others. And in all of them you will die like an asshole and you will be pissed. That's what I didn't like about the game. It literally gives you many paths and if you go to all of them, none will give you any clue that this is where you need or can go. And in (almost) all paths you can move forward and see what's in there. In other words, there is no right way in Dark Souls. In Hollow Knight, for example, even with you getting constantly lost, the game has a map where you can place markers on places you have visited and cannot yet access or places you want to do something. This greatly increases the backtracking of the game and every time you get a new power you need to go back to all those markers and see if you can do anything there. Backtracking just isn't so boring because Hollow Knight world is very alive and you unlock fast travel early in the game and all backtracking is compensatory.

Going back to the beginning of this text, I think my familiarity with games holding (but not so much) my hand eventually made me find the game a little loose on this final straight line of nonlinearity. I ended up not getting used to "wasting" time going around and trying to see if that was the goal.

This text is not a critique of the game, it is more of a monologue that I was pissed that I didn't know where to go and even more pissed that I was pissed about it. Anyway, you can give me some tips for this part of the game if you want or just agree with my self-criticism.

Finished it today. Gwyn was a bit disappointing; I was expecting the usual fast paced duel battle like in DS3, but he was slow and and very easy to parry. There was ample room for mistakes too I couldn't believe I didn't even die once, since it usually takes me several tries to beat a final boss and learn their movesets (I still shiver at the thought of facing Soul of Cinder again in NG+)

The level design is great, but some areas are just flawed and feel unpolished. The floor collision in the crystal cave was abysmal, and the tomb of Giants was a bore to go through while being mindful of the darkness. These areas make going through blighttown feel like a walk in the park! Lol.

All the NPCs are lovely. I thought everyone loving Solaire was just a meme, but he really is just that great. Praise the Sun! 🌞

My favorite boss were Ornstein and Smough. Very tough, took me an entire evening retrying the battle just to beat them and get Ornstein's super cool armor. Very fast paced and you really need to pay attention to your surroundings to avoid being pummeled by both of them. Even when you beat Smough it doesn't get any easier - Ornstein can pummel you in two hits if you're not careful! They have great cinematics too.

Anor Londo, the Duke's Archives and the Painted World were all very lovely to explore and go through, probably the best parts of the game for me. Especially the Painted World, it was probably the most fun I had.

The catacombs' sense of pressure was good too thanks to the reviving skeletons. Much better than the area with the bell maidens in Bloodborne imo.

It's a shame the gameplay feels so clunky compared to Bloodborne/DS3, which makes it feel jarring for someone who played the later games first, since I feel this game has merits in the world design specifically and how connected it all is that makes it worth to play through compared to those, but in the end I think my experience with Bloodborne/DS3 felt more challenging and just plain more fun, and had me itching to throw myself into NG+ as soon as I finished them, in comparison to how just done I feel after finishing DS1.

Starting this again on the remastered edition without ever completing it. There's something drawing me to this game although I'm not very good at it. Maybe this time will be better...

That will be my at least fifth attempt and I'm playing the remestar cause it's got xbox one pad support from the get go.

I love it and hate it at the same time but I can't deny there's something that wants me to beat it.

The first half of the game was one of the best experiences I've had across all mediums. I've seldom had the same sense of awe and wonder that I did when exploring up until obtaining the Lord Vessel, all the sights and sounds to that point are truly breathtaking, better than any of its fantasy world contemporaries in both games and TV/Film.

I had heard of the 2nd half's lackluster reputation, but going in I thought it may have been overblown, sometimes group-think takes hold early on and everyone who played the game past the initial release has their opinion colored, at least somewhat, by the negativity.

I was wrong.

After Anor Londo, the quality took a significant dip and levels became much more linear and less intricate, with many boiling down to walking up or down a pathway to the next set of enemies surrounded by big empty spaces, or gimmicks that weren't fun to play through. Enemies were recycled and my goals went from exploring and immersing myself in this beautiful, strange, cryptic world to making it past a level so I don't have to see it anymore. Bosses ended in deadend bonfire warps instead of being connected with the rest of the world. The contrast in quality made it feel all the more glaring.

I am at the final boss and still have the DLC to plow through, so this review is for the base game only. The bosses were also a letdown almost throughout, with O&S being the only standout and the only one I think I'll remember as time passes. I know that Miyazaki was quoted as saying he made a game for people who are bad at action games, and I like the different approaches and builds one could take to add more difficulty or make it easier, but most of the bosses lacked any finesse or reliance on timing and reflexes - Your margin of error was either too great (20 estus is about 10 too much) or weapons too strong (Assuming you're leveling and reinforcing) for a lot of the encounters as the game wore on and souls became more abundant.

The runs from bonfire to boss have always been a point of contention, but it really is tedious to go through the same motions over and over when you've proven you can get to the boss door repeatedly. I didn't mind any of the other backtracking and I loved how there was no direction given beyond hints by NPC's. (I did have to guide wearing the ring to go to the Abyss, the tilted painting that didn't move, and a couple other "Is there a hidden bonfire near such and such", and some more details on what items do)

I know that budget/time constraints were largely at fault for the game feeling unfinished, but in that case maybe chopping off a couple areas entirely would have made for a tighter experience with less monotonous zones to trudge through.

There are many works of art that have been tarnished by studio influence - Orson Welles movies after Citizen Kane come to mind, or Paul Thomas Anderson's debut Sydney (Hard Eight). This game feels like an artist and team at the peak of their creative powers, bristling with ideas, but hampered by things we all need more of - Time and money.

Edit: Adding an additional star after the DLC/Ending.

Played the series in reverse order through happenstance, finally getting around to the first so I'm staring into the sun without nostalgia goggles. Very early impressions (At the blacksmith bonfire in Undead Parish) of the first one is that the level design so far is deserved of its reputation as best in series, but the combat is bringing up the rear. I think this is due to the 4-directional dodge roll, and the worse A.I. making it much easier to walk circles around a lot of the early enemies and back stab them. This could change later in the game with more difficult enemies with less exploitable attack patterns. I've had some trouble getting my footing early on, I need to find or buy a thrusting weapon for all the narrow corridors that often have you clanking your weapon against the wall as your enemy eats your health bar, and I've avoided a couple of those imposing black knights with the giant swords out of pure fear. I've been focusing on health/endurance just to survive longer, but the enemies are becoming more intimidating with every turn so I think I'll have to settle on a weapon soon and put some points into whatever it scales with. The trade off between armor and speed seems to be more of an emphasis in this game than its successors, maintaining a fast roll has come at the expense of playing naked, and I think I'm still a while away from getting my equip load high enough to play with both armor and a fast roll. (I really love this element and trying to balance the trade offs or switch between slower/protected or naked/fast for different sections)

The one thing I've missed the most from Bloodborne and then taken to new heights in DS3 are the changing phases for bosses, DS3 in particular had the most memorable/well designed boss fights in the series even if getting from one to the next was more streamlined.

Enjoying it so far and can't wait to progress, slowly adjusting to the slower pace coming off the later entries, and can't wait to further get lost in the labyrinth. The feeling that only a Dark Souls game can bring is still there, one of dread, wonder, fear, hope, nerves, perseverance, relief, frustration, failure, and triumph.

Daughters of Ash Mod - https://www.nexusmods.com/darksouls/mods/1524

A couple months ago I played through the Daughters of Ash mod for Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition. This thing is absolutely bonkers, apparently it took the dude 5+ years to make it. I have no idea how he did it, considering the game is supposed to be notoriously difficult to fiddle with, requiring mostly assembly language stuff.

The mod includes a bunch of new stuff, new bosses, new enemies, new quests and stories. The whole thing has been jumbled up so you experience the areas in a different order. Items are moved around, new items/consumables. Enemy placement totally restructured. Early game areas are harder and completed later; while some traditional late-game areas are completed first. New strange events, most bosses have been totally reworked. The whole thing was a really delightful experience for myself, and you can tell a lot of work went into it. I took some screenshots. Definitely recommend checking it out.

Firelink Shrine by night:

Siegmeyer new quest/location:

Velka's quest line, hanging out with the bird:

Tomb of the Giants looking completely different and spooky:

This was my first play-through of any Dark Souls game and it was enjoyable overall.

The combat is really fluid and rewards skill which is great for any game. The enemy designs were all visually cool/scary giving me plenty of wtf moments. The variations in armor and weapons is amazing and supports all play styles.

The only thing keeping my review at 3 stars was how frustrating the game became after Ornstein and Smough. The difficulty seemed to spike substantially and the areas did not seem finished. I had to grind my way though the last five areas with bosses that were kind of let downs at the end of each one. The final boss was cool, but the area surrounding him was kind of lame.

Excited to play the rest of the souls-borne games in the near future.

Played on PC

Dark Souls (Prepare to Die), for PC

Rating: 8.3/10; Great

Highly recommended for both action and RPG fans.

Dark Souls is a third person action RPG which emphasises action over RPG by allowing even the weakest enemies to inflict significant amounts of damage on a player who is not taking active damage mitigation/avoidance measures. The most important aspect of the game is these active measures, and the player skill involved in using them. Blocking is the most RPG-like measure which depends largely on the player’s stamina stat and shield stats, though it is up to the player to face the correct direction and know when to drop your guard to rest or attack. Dodging and parrying (which is deflecting a blow with a shield or offhand weapon leaving the enemy vulnerable to a high damage riposte) both require precise timing and usually punish the player for failure.

Going hand in hand with those defensive measures are offensive attacks that all combine to make a very robust, satisfying and fun combat system. While there are only a small number of different attacks (light attack, heavy attack and a number of combination moves which combine those with other actions), each weapon has different attack animations, speed, reach, damage type etc. Attack animations are by far the most important because whether or not an attack hits depends on whether or not the target occupies the same 3D space at the same time as the weapon. Almost all weapons are viable and a tremendous amount of fun can be had trying out each and learning how to use them.

Just like the large variety of weapons, each enemy (including bosses) is unique with its own style and abilities, and success in combat comes from learning their attacks and tells. Pretty much every special attack has a tell that you can use to counter or avoid the attack, as long as you are not wildly attacking, though there may also be times where the best tactic is to wildly attack. Dying is certain to happen and is a core mechanic of the game. Death is not game over and has a surprising lack of penalty; you only drop your current souls (which are both xp and money) and humanity (another currency) with the option to get it back if you can return to the spot of your death without dying again. Both souls and humanity are easy come easy go, so the game encourages you to not worry about dying.

There are 2 methods of RPG progression in the game. Souls can be spent to improve your stats, all of which are important for combat. You choose which to increase, and it is a flexible system which shows you exactly how your secondary stats will change before confirming your point allocation and allows you to level up nearly indefinitely (so you can eventually correct mistakes and be a master of everything). I especially like how all weapons and spells have specific stat requirements to be able to use, and have varying levels of damage scaling with stats (for example straight swords scale with both strength and dexterity, while curved swords get more benefit from dex). All of this is clearly displayed in game. The other method is upgrading weapons using special materials. There are a variety of different paths for upgrading and the best thing is that you can also downgrade weapons to go a different upgrade path.

The game world is quite beautiful, with very interesting background scenery. Unfortunately, you cannot go to most of the scenery and the playable area is often limited to narrow corridors; far too often with death a simple fall away. It does not help that things like invisible paths, darkness, traps, and enemies specifically set up to snipe or ambush you have to be dealt with at the same time as trying not to fall to your death, or that there is an option that seems specifically designed to make you fall to your death (camera wall correction). While the game is not a platformer, there are some places that require jumping or falling to reach optional areas. Enemies respawn upon your death, so it can be annoying to have to deal with the same enemies, traps and such every time, especially considering every time you lose to a boss you must fight your way back to it.

Multiplayer is an important part of the game with its own meta game. There is both cooperative and competitive play, though while coop is entirely optional, pvp can happen without your consent. The game does not explain that you can be invaded by other players while you are human, while being human is important for upgrading bonfires and summoning npc allies to help fight bosses. Thus the most likely time you will be attacked is when you are on the way to kill a boss. If you just recently died to the boss and your soul pile is there, it adds insult to injury to then get killed by an invading player. Though you can play entirely offline to avoid other players, it is a serious design flaw to force people to either suffer non-consentual pvp or deprive themselves of some of the game.

Another big flaw in the game is the lack of PC support. While the game runs well on PC, the controls are designed for a controller. Some things in the game are more difficult to perform than necessary, such as navigating menus and performing moves that require simultaneously pressing 2 buttons (something which should not even be a thing given the dozens of available buttons on a mouse + keyboard). They could not even be bothered to change the messages in game from xbox buttons to PC buttons. A third party application to change keybindings is necessary.

Dark Souls is incredibly fun, influential and almost deserving of being a masterpiece but it has too many design flaws and user unfriendliness that bring it down. Taking out the PC specific flaws, I would give the console version 8.5.

Pro

• Good character customization system with meaningful tradeoffs between how to specialize
• Assigning stat points shows exactly how your stats will improve before confirming the spending
• Equipment clearly shows stats, such as damage and defense
• All weapons are good in their own way, and each weapon handles differently
• Large and heavy weapons have believably awkward swings and recovery, especially when used 1-handed
• Wide variety of weapons, armor and equipment
• Many items have useful functions or stats, making it desirable to collect a wide variety of equipment
• Excellent inventory system: Inventory is unlimited and only what you have equipped contributes to a weight limit, which only affects movement and dodge speed
• Good balance between weapons, magic, armor, items and temporary buffs
• Good combat system, both in terms of how weapons handle and how enemies interact with the player
• All weapons/shields can be wielded 2 handed, 1 handed or dual wielded (the only exception being bows which can be held in 1 hand, but need 2 to shoot). 2 handing reduces str requirements while many weapons and shields have special offhand functionality
• Button to swap between 1 handing and 2 handing the current right hand weapon, which is fun and tactically sound
• New game+ which keeps level and inventory while upping difficulty
• World is relatively open with ability to go to most places starting off
• Upgraded weapons can be downgraded to try a different upgrade path
• Good story and setting
• Persistent saving. Quitting or sudden crashes allow you to pick up where you left off with the same location and enemies defeated (rather than having you restart at the last bonfire with enemies respawned)

Con

• Keybinding options are unnecessarily limited; third party software is needed to change mouse and some keyboard bindings
• Controls are meant for controller, so navigating menus is awkward, with too many button presses needed to do things and too many pages
• Mouse cursor is not used in the interface (controller controls again)
• Some actions are bound to the same button as others, or require simultaneously pressing 2 buttons rather than making use of the dozens of buttons on a keyboard; kick and jumping/jump attack are particularly awkward
• Button prompts show controller buttons, not PC keys
• Changing the target when in lock mode is far too easy (especially with a mouse)
• Third person camera while shooting bows can cause your armor to obstruct the crosshair
• Shooting projectiles travel in 3D space from the bow to the target, rather than directly to where your crosshair is aiming. This will cause you to hit walls, railings and other obstructions despite the target being clearly visible in your crosshair. Hitboxes for these obstructions are also larger than they appear, so arrows can hit invisible obstructions
• Target lock at close range against huge enemies can make it very difficult to see
• Target lock allows strafing and backpeddling, though not being locked on does not allow these as trying to turn or backpeddle causes the character to first turn to that direction. Too often I got hit in the back while trying to position myself shield forward to attack an enemy which was partially blocked and could not be locked on yet, and pressing target lock without a valid target in range tends to mess up the camera
• Non-consentual pvp (though there are ways around it)
• No objective journal. There is no record of what you need to do or what you have already done
• No map
• Fast travel is unlocked at one point (fast travel is a good thing), but it is too limited. Not all bonfires can be warped to, and worse, fast travel is disabled in new game+ until you reach the correct part of the story again
• Cannot sell to merchants (though there is a way to “sell” things later in the game)
• Changing the order of items in your inventory does not make that order absolute as newly acquired items can be put between items rather than added at the end of the list
• No option to flag important items as unsellable, and no option to buy back accidentally sold items
• Playable area has too many linear corridors and too many narrow places with falls to death
• Enemies are not smart enough not to fall to their deaths, often performing evasive manoeuvres in narrow conditions that result in falling to their death. Even enemies with wings can fall to death
• Annoying traps, other environmental hazards and cheap ambushes/snipers that can easily result in death and must be bypassed each time you die further on
• Bonfires are not close to bosses, so dying to a boss requires significant progress past hazards and enemies again

I beat this game years ago entirely using mouse and keyboard. Had to download a program to change the key and mouse bindings to how I wanted. I started as a knight, whose starting high encumbrance meant rolling was a bad idea. I never practiced rolling or parry, and my strategy relied entirely on blocking and heavy armor. Upon reaching the firelink shrine, I did not realize there were multiple ways to go, so I ended up going to he graveyard and thinking that was the only way to go. After quite a few deaths to the skeletons there, I eventually learned how to beat them and grinded them so much that I broke my starting weapon. I eventually could clear the entire graveyard. Then I went into the Catacombs and there was just no way.

So then I went back and found the way you were supposed to go. Wow what a difference. I used the winged spear and zwiehander early on, pumping str just enough to use the zwie 2 handed. I later replaced the spear with the halberd, and my 2nd weapon as a great scythe. Most of my stat points went into endurance and vit to maximize my survival. I found the lack of stat scaling on those polearms and the great variety in attack animations to be very valuable. I also invested in a shortbow, which seen alot of use. By Anor Londo, I found a demon spear and fell in love with it. It was at this time that I learned you could block and attack at the same time using a spear, which is the best playstyle ever; that and shooting things from far away. I still had the option of going all out offense with my great scythe though. I did not find this game particularly difficult or frustrating though I did have my fair share of deaths.

By the start of NG+ I had a full set of giant's armor +5, demon spear +5, great scythe +15, composite bow +15, greatshield of artorias, havels ring and a ring of favor and protection (which allowed me to be just under 50% encumbrance with medium mobility). Sometimes I used magic; healing or a buff such as great magic weapon. My stats were something like: 40 vit, 40 end, 26 str, 20 dex, 24 faith, 16 int, none spent in attunement or resist, and around level 120. I have no interest in pvp, and I played the latter part of the game offline to avoid it. I was only invaded 3 times. The first 2 were in Anor Londo before I found the demon spear, and my halberd + great scythe combination worked amazingly well against fast rolling curved sword gankers (sarcasm). The final time I had all my gear maxed out and the guy did not know how to deal with me. I blocked his attacks and poked him with my spear while he was attacking me. He kept trying different weapons and that fight went on for over half an hour. He must have used over 30 humanities to heal himself before finally giving up and trying to run.

I recently decided to play again. I started a new character to experience the game from the start now knowing how to play. So I started a knight again and used the estoc to just before the gargoyles, then cleared the graveyard for the winged spear. It was much easier than my first time, though the estoc does not have enough reach to fight large enemies. I only went as far as the end of the depths without any optional content or grinding before stopping. I then finished NG+ on my main. Only thing new is I maxed out my heavy crossbow +15, black bow of pharis +15, dragonslayer bow +5, and found the mask of the child (since I killed the bastard that sells them on my first playthrough and did not know they could be farmed). Loving that mask. Vit was upped to 50, dex to 40, str is going to 40 next.

I will play through NG++ at some point in the future when I forget how to play again. Might also be interesting to try a different type of character.

9/10 - Masterpiece - You don't play this game, you experience it

Pros:

Extremely rewarding combat system that is easy to learn but hard to master. Dark Souls is hard but fair, masterfully easing you in while still keeping on your toes. The game also has a wealth of hidden story & lore that rewards inquisitive players for looking for.

The boss fights - Almost every boss is unique and extremely memorable, with their own moveset you need to learn to beat them. This is helped significantly with one of the best soundtracks in gaming

Cons:

Hard to play without DSfix, From Soft pretty much got the community to fix their game for them

Graphics and lighting are quite poor, with the game's outdated visuals almost looking fuzzy in some areas

So, don't laugh, but 1 year after starting DS1, I've finally finished my first play through having clocked around 135 hours!!! Dark Souls is probably one of the finest games I've ever played (although I think Bloodborne, as my first ever souls game remains my favourite).

I must say though, I am completely lost regarding the lore and underlying story. I went into the game "blind" avoiding wikis and spoilers, and even though I read every piece of information on every item and talked with every NPC, i never really managed to get any real idea of what on earth was going on! (having just started to watch some lore stuff on youtube now, it's clear now that I really had no idea!).

Favourite boss = Knight Artorius. One of the toughest, but one of the most rewarding when he finally goes down. Kalameet was really tough (but not quite as fun).

Think I need a break now, and try playing something else before I return to DS2, DS3 or DS1 remastered (although I do feel that everything else now feels somewhat "light" and shallow in comparison).

I realise I'm totally late to the party on this one, but just in case anyone missed the fanfare, Dark Souls Remastered is coming in a couple months! I pray that they fix up Lost Izalith and Demon Ruins but I'm guessing it'll really just be some bug fixes, texture adjustments, resolution up-scaling, basically all the stuff we already have on PC with Durante's DSFix mod. However never underestimate Miyasaki, perhaps they might go beyond the call of duty and really make it new and special, bring it over to a new engine, up the poly count on models, improve animations, remove Bed of Chaos (just kidding, sorta), who knows. Regardless I'm excited and I'll be buying it on release at full price even if it's trash.

Anyone have any thoughts on it, or can direct me to an earlier thread where I can gush like a rabid Dark Souls fanboy?

Also, somewhat-related, I updated my "best games over all time ever" list on Grouvee. Dark Souls still gets the #1 spot but I've definitely juggled stuff around, added some, removed other titles. The list is here: https://www.grouvee.com/user/Torgo/shelves/44739-favourites/

“If you obtain the Dark Soul, you can get anything in life.”

There will always be a place in my own soul that Dark Souls holds with a fierce grip. Not unlike my dog holding onto my arm above a bath. This is the best description of my feelings toward the series; it digs into my arms, but I can’t help loving it. Dark Souls: Prepare to Die is a special 1-cup brutally punishing, 2-cups consistently rewarding mixture that has grabbed innumerable fans since it’s initial release in 2011. I could go on for far too long about this game, metaphors of masochism included. It is often said that “If you obtain the Dark Soul, you can get anything in life.”

Digression aside, let us get into the meat of this game. From the first moments in the game, you will not doubt experience the same uneasy feeling that you would when you hear a creak in the floorboards at the end of a dark hallway. If you happen to completely ignore the game’s early clues to be cautious, it will teach you, not show you, that you should be very afraid. Dark Souls has no care for your sanity or disposition, for mere moments into the game your adrenaline filled struggle for survival begins…

There is no tutorial in Dark Souls, save for a few somewhat easy to miss texts blocks marked on the ground. The game owes a large portion of its eerie feel to its at times frustrating and limited third person view. This camera positioning causes otherwise open spaces to feel all the more cramped as you back yourself into a corner whilst in the shadow of a towering, yet common, foe.

The basis of the gameplay is relatively simple. Your character’s progression and increasing lethality is boosted through the use of Souls, the game’s aptly chosen system of currency. Small to moderate amounts of Souls are acquired for every enemy you defeat and through the use of Souls are items found on the sparkling loot markers hidden throughout the game. The largest amounts of Souls are received when defeating the game’s horribly grotesque and terrifyingly cool bosses. These bosses can be used by the uninformed to grant large sums of bonus souls, or be used (by the patient) to gain boss weapons later in the game.

Check out the full review at https://thewellredmage.wordpress.com/2016/09/18/da...