The Captivation Of Dark Souls
Recently It was recommended to me by 2 fellow N4G users to try out Dark Souls. As an Xbox man myself I hadn't heard much of Demon Souls and what I knew of Dark Souls was that it was frustrating and difficult to complete, a real marmite game, so as you can understand I was sceptical about the idea
Looking at the price of only £20 for a GOTY edition I thought to myself why not and took the leap of faith. And boy am I glad I did! The intro alone showing badass bossess like Nito and Seath the Scaleless had me very intrigued, However when the game actually begun and I was in control of my Warrior class swordsman I found the movement very slow and tired, I was starting to wonder if I'd made a mistake in buying this game without any real knowledge of what I was getting myself in for, But I had heard how difficult the bossess are and how rewarding the feeling can be when you defeat them so I made a deal that if I could get to the first boss and I still didn't like it I would turn it off, but no sooner.
Little did I know that around the next 2 corners the Asylum Demon was waiting for me in ambush and as he came crashing down toward me I quickly bolted through and door over to my left just narrowly avoiding certain death from his giant wooden club. By now I was starting to understand what people meant by the difficulty of the game I was 5 minutes in and already encountering a boss that was too big a match for me.
I persevered and eventually found myself in a position of great advantage, I was on a ledge standing above the same Asylum Demon and could use a droping attack that had extra power to really hurt him and make the battle easier than taking him head on.
And that is when the beauty of the game revealed itself to me, sure it's a challenging and difficult game but it's ultimately only as hard as you make it for yourself. A seemingly impossible battle such as taking on the Asylum Demon for example can be suicide to some players but by finding another approach can give you a massive advantage. It's all about tactics for nearly every enemy wether it be a normal pawn or the biggest baddest boss in the game, every situation unfolds based on how you approach it and that being said if you die it's fair to say it's your fault for not using the correct tactic, and that for me was definitely a brilliant part of the game, the entire playthrough was about good challenging trial and error and not the frustrating nightmare I'd been led to believe.
The world which you traverse is also a pure delight with tons of variety in terms of scenery ranging from a dark dank sewer to a hidden forrest, or a fortress with defensive traps to a magical world inside a painting. The more you play the more skilled your player will become and the slow, tired feeling soon dissapears once you master the combat, it's fantastic, so simple and engaging I can't believe it's not been done before. The amount of lore the game has is incredible and the amount you can actually miss is even more so. Unless you explore every nook and cranny you will miss a lot the game has to offer like valuable information or hidden weapons and items that offer a huge advantage when needed.
It's a game that's hard to put down and hard to stop thinking about once you do, if you're looking for a truly unique experience that challenges you to think about how you will approach combat rather than diving head first then this is a must buy. I'm even now waiting for a ps3 I recently purchased to arrive with Demon Souls so I can feed my addiction to more of this incredible game style.
Anyone that has shared the same experience feel free to comment and to anyone that's thinking of buying it please do, it will captivate you for a long, long time if you give it a chance.
I agree, DaS is incredible! If anybody has this on PS3 head over to the PS Store and the DLC is currently included in the "January Sale".
http://www.youtube.com/watc...
Speaking of challenges, Youtube has so many Dark Souls Challenge videos and invasion videos. This game has a huge community of endless players worth checking out.
I'd have to say my most memorable moments were A) Beating the Asylum Demon with nothing but the Sword Hilt weapon and B) Being a part of the Forest Covenant, invading a high level player while I was level 25, having another invader fight the guy taking most of the damage off, and then I beat him with the last hit (I died too) and net over 900K souls for my level 25 character. My jaw dropped. Lol.
This game never ceases to amaze and surprise.
I also like how you understood the difficult reputation it has which you perfectly summed up with "it's ultimately only as hard as you make it for yourself".
I played Demon Souls 1st and although i feel Dark Souls is the better game, nothing really comes close to the experience i had when i first played Demon Souls, the way it pulled you in, the constant sense of eeriness and dread, whether you got it while exploring a terrifying prison or from a simple creepy laugh the characters did now and then. The even better sense of satisfaction from finishing a difficult level/boss, because for me it was a lot more difficult than Dark Souls.
It was complete immersion and i loved every bit of it.
Two of the greatest games this generation if you ask me. Im eager to play Dark Souls 3 but also slightly worried with the approach they appear to be taking and also because the guy behind the 1st two isn't working on them. But heres hoping.
Nice read, thanks for sharing.
I'm taking a break from Dark Souls and have gone back to Demon's Souls for a bit, haven't played in a while. It's still as awesome as I remember, just a shame they're aren't too many people online.
Probably gonna pre-order Dark souls 2 at some point. Bit worried about a few of the quotes from the develepors but I reckon it'll be good
When i played Demons Souls, i never joined or met anyone, it was a pure solo experience and i still loved it. I think if i played Dark Souls 1st, then i would miss that aspect.
Which reminds me, the Souls games really dont get enough praise for the innovative way they changed co-op/multiplayer, it was such an unique and clever system.
Also, like to add, Anor Londo, one of the most beautiful and most memorable levels ive ever played. Probably the best co-op area in the game too.
demons souls has the better story, better atmosphere, and better characters IMO
dark souls has open world, more enemies, harder bosses, and is tough just because you dont have the nexus IMO
cant wait for dark souls 2
To put things into perspective, I didnt stop playing Demon S until i platinumed it, i cannot bother to sink that many hours into dark souls tho, its just not as charmin. When they killed the online part of the game was my saddest day ever :(
But now after playing Dark Souls I have to admit I struggle to enjoy the mechanics of Skyrim now and the combat seems shoddy in comparison. Amazing how unappreciated Dark Souls is because of poor reviewers.