Kami kaz Yea thats a good way to put it! I LOVE how you can't fully dominate the game like i'm not a veteran but I'm pretty good, but I LOVE how even vets will get owned if they're not careful!
True. Also Dark Souls scores many bonus points for having a good Combat System that requires you to think when to block, roll, attack or use healing items, etc. Meanwhile in Skyrim, you simplay spam your Attack button, and when you are out of HP, you pause the entire world around you, heal yourself to your Max. HP and continue like nothing happened.
FromSoft games and Zelda games do this. Playing DS3 and BOTW ruined all other AAA games for me. It's almost a problem! I had to force myself to finish Red Dead 2 because I was so bored! haha
I feel much the same. I'm on my first playthrough of DS1 right now, my first Souls-like game. I've been at it for a few weeks now, just made my way out of Blighttown. I don't feel like playing other games. I have hundreds of hours in Football Manager and Civilization, but I can't be bothered any more. I have over 100 PS4 games, including Skyrim, Fallout, the Arkham Series, GT Sport, all the Farcry games, RDR2 and GTA5... but I keep coming back session after session, to Dark Souls. And I know, when I eventually beat the game, DS2 is next, then DS3, then Bloodborne, then Mortal Shell and Ashen, and Elden Ring when I finally get a PS5. There just something about this style of game, I don't understand. It just makes other games feel... arbitrary. It's an odd feeling.
@@harleygator It is a truly great series of games. Glad to see newcomers are still getting into it so many years later. You can do it man, don't give up! Also, I have a PS5 and Elden Ring still looks like a PS4 game. You shouldn't wait for a PS5 to play ER, there's literally no difference.
My favorite part of Dark Souls is how you can see huge chunks of the world from far away. The first time I rang the bell on the top of the church, I saw Sen's fortress and couldn't wait to explore there! It looked so close, but it was so far away
+One of Egoraptor's chins The fact that there is almost no cutscenes or loading screens between areas REALLY makes it more immersive, and drags the player into a living-ish, breathing-ish world.
Jack NO! True. Really gives the player a feeling of exploration. Also adds to the way in which the levels interconnect, creating one big world in which you can choose which direction to go
This game killed me for weeks, i restarted my character atleast 10 times before i even got to undeadberg, simply because i was exploring the graveyard and catacombs like an idiot, getting slaughtered while wondering, what did i upgrade wrong? Eventually over these weeks, i eventually learned to correctly roll, dodge, parry a bit. Building myself my own tactics, no armour, and a zweihander, slowly i mastered the path to the taurus demon, i could get there without a single hit, after another week or so i managed to piece together a strategy for killing the demon, gold pine resin along with a plunge attack from the tower. THE SATISFACTION FROM KILLING THAT WAS UNBELIEVABLE, i genuinely haven't felt anything like it, that is, until the gargoyles.... Aaand Quelag, and Iron Golem, all the way to Gwyn, every boss gave me a rush, which considering i tend to be an emotionless and calm person playing games, was incredible, i was shitting myself through every boss. O and S were just traumatising
Eventually i learned to separate them, using Ornstein's speed against him, combined with the pillars. I separated them, dodging my way through his attacks with my new Gargoyle Halberd, i eventually killed them and holy shit was that the best feeling i've ever had. This game had a spark in it, in the boss fights in the music, in the environment of which i ran around aimlessly for hours. This game never made me feel cheated, it made me feel like a twat, why did i roll there, why did i attack then, why did i run into the butterflies laserbeam of death, i felt like it was always my fault i died. Which rarely an game gives me that feeling, dark souls 3 just seems to have weird glitchy hit boxes. Dark souls 2 had the weird enemy lock ons where the enemy can change his attack direction at last minute to hit you. But Dark Souls, that game made me feel weak, and then, made me feel like a beast
+iWeeGouldyi You mentioned something i experienced the first time with dark souls too. This is the first game i ever played (and i played loads of them in my 30 years) that ALWAYS gave me the feeling that i did something which led to my death. In other games, its MOSTLY the same, but not to that extent. Each and every single of my hundreds of deaths in DS was my fault, and i knew it. This was a very new experience for me which i love from the bottom of my heart now. Its just a shame im too much of a graphics whore to play the old games now that i know how good the franchise is (i only started with DS3).
Haha, i've started playing Dark Souls 3 and i must say it is beautiful, i'm finding it very difficult when it comes to the second boss, i can do every up until then fine, but Vordt is like my kryptonite. I wish i had a PS3 so i could play Demon Souls aswell
iWeeGouldyi I have to agree. It is gorgeous. Maybe not the best textures out there, maybe not the best lighting either, but the combination of all the detail and love that has been poured into that world makes it simply beautiful. Like a girl that isnt just decent looking, but smart, eloquent and with a unique style. Hah...i could praise this game all day mate. I need to calm down :D Yeah....Vordt gave me some trouble too when i first encountered him. Now, with my second character, he was a breeze. You will overcome him too, and it will feel awesome :D Good luck for your next try, chosen one :)
Haha thank you, and i think what you said sums it up perfectly. I like that they made the bosses difficult again, DS2 was a bit too easy (for a Dark Souls game) for me to be honest, These bosses seem a lot more aggressive and hard hitting, brings back memories of DS1
One of my favorite gameplay-mechanics is how nearly every piece of weaponry or armor is a viable choice for your character. In most RPG's the gear provides a very linear experience, where the next item you aquire is objectively better than the last. But as your enemies become stronger as well, that experience doesn't really change that much. But in Dark Souls a strong armor makes you slower, and a big weapon drains your stamina. Some of the gear found early in the game, turns out to be exactly what you need nearing the end. It makes it so that choosing your gear comes down to your own preference, a very personal experience. I love it.
I LOVE this detail in Dark Souls!! Having almost literally every weapon be perfectly viable to run through the entire game with makes for so much creativity, so much replay value, and so many unique experiences! I've had so many runs on this game and I've not even come close to every possible weapon or even every possible build type yet!
Hell, even if some of the weapons are straight up better or worse to use, it's still FUN to try to use whatever you want. Wanna punch everything to death? An NG caestus run is more difficult than the average playthrough, but not impossibly so. After all, beating the game at level 1 is completely doable for a dedicated player.
I love the feeling when you return to Firelink Shrine. I played this game really slowly. Starting a new area was a really big undertaking, and it was always loaded with so much anticipation and dread. I remember feeling so bogged down in Blighttown-- the frame rate, the narrow walk ways, the constant danger of succumbing to poison, the sheer gloominess of the environment-- that I thought I'd never get past it. But I finally did, and I finally made my way back to the surface, and seeing the familiar green bonfire area and hearing that music as I came back to Firelink just filled me with this really enormous sense of homecoming. In a game where every environment is so oppressive and hostile, I loved how Firelink had this real sense of security to it.
Unless youre like me and killed the Cleric guy right off the start of the game because he had a bad haircut and talked to me like i was lesser then him, so when I got back to firelink after getting through blight town reah and her 2 other clerics gank u. Lmao true story of my first playthrough.
Quasindro actually I can, and you're a shit person for thinking there is a right way to play dark souls which goes against the core concept of that game being a true art masterpiece. You see because of the 1st cleric whom talked to me as though I was a lesser being then him he met a swift death. I proceeded to eventually have other Way of the White members (reah and her posse) attempt revenge by attacking me in a supposedly safe place. This led to me (the player) absolutely dispizing the way of the white and all it's members. This led to my character becoming a vengeful undead who started to seek guidance from characters who are less than holy. I eventually found my home deep under blightown serving the chaos. Invading players and hoping they had white phantoms with them to appease my bloodlust while providing comfort to the fair lady. I chose to serve the fair lady because she turned herself into the foulest of foul beings not once, but twice for the sake of others. I liked that because it was quite the opposite of how the 1st cleric treats you. And that is the lore of my very 1st character on dark souls. Fuck you, you snobby hipster fuckwad.
duke9891 Well, even though I should get mad and curse you and your story (as we are on the internet) - it was pretty interesting to read. But why did you start with "because he had a bad haircut" and all that...?
Quasindro because he does. More or less I killed him for his "I'm better than you" personality, but during the fight (in my head) I was saying, "fuck you, and fuck your haircut"
The single most memorable experience I have from darksouls 1 was entering Gwyn's boss room. You are expecting this great fight with a god, an ultimate challenge which will leave you broken time after time, but eventually let you prevail and feel like you won everything. Instead you find a husk of a father and ruler, who was hellbent on protecting his children and subjects, once mighty enough to resist the inevitable, but now no longer. As you hear the music and learn to parry him, you start to see a man who lost everything, and is now powerless even against you, a mere pygmy. The sense of loss of something noble and great you get from that experience is one that is unrepeatable, as no game has ever managed to deliver that feeling again.
first of all, they are god race(called god by humans) also you are a human(you have some of that dark soul, the reason humans can become so powerful, even to challenge god race), pygmies are humans without the dark soul(there are no more pygmies, they existed only in the age of the dragons)
my favorite thing about dark souls is in it's weapons. There is only one Claymore, there is only one Estoc, there is only one Greataxe. There's no bronze, steel, great demon metal of awesomeness tier weapons that make you drop your old one like a piece if trash in place of another one with damage bonuses, speed, or any other meaningless number. Nor is there any classifiable "best weapon" The weapon you start with will carry you wherever you go. By the end of the game you will know every nick and inch of your sword, you will know the speed, damage, and overall effectiveness of your blade. your weapon will have been your only ally in countless fights and you will care for it immensely. When you find the weapon that's perfect for your play style you will never leave it and it will never let you down, and that's how true weapon design is done.
9:48 "I think this is a game that will come to define a generation" 6 years and a console generation later.. and it has defined and influenced an entire gaming decade.
When I first started dark souls, I quit because I stopped right at the beginning because my game glitched, (that door to the asylum demon next to the bonfire was locked and nothing worked) but then I pick up the game several months later because I heard of one character my friend wouldn't stop talking about... Knight Artorias The reason this character got me back into dark souls was because of how the design was for him. He embodies what a knight should be, selfless, courageous, honorable, and most of all, a protector. His visual and lore design is what brought me back into the game, I am now standing at the beam heading up to the massive building with the archers and painting guardians in Anor Londo. I have officially gotten past my 24 hour mark, (with the help of some friends, because we all help each other from time to time) and still, I can't stop playing. I am a very imaginative person, to me, everything can be something else. Seeing the black knights standing in these random places I think, "why are they there?" Or wondering how the Gaping Dragon could have gone to such lengths to feed. This game is something else. It is an experience that people should try, and those of the dark souls community know that. We all know that this game makes you feel, makes you feel alone when walking through a place like Darkroot, it makes your heart beat fast when you go to fight a boss, makes you feel angry when you die, over and over and over again. I hope this game never loses this feeling. Dark souls is what a game should strive to be, like he said. Be careful out there, we don't you to see you go hollow.
I'll never forget the utter confusion and rage that filled me when I was in that bridge area after the catacombs and a bridge I was crossing tilted to make me fall off of it. I'll also never forget the satisfaction I got from realizing it was that motherfucker Patches who pulled the lever. I'll ALSO never forget how satisfying it still is to senselessly slaughter Patches without him knowing its coming each play through in the Tomb of Giants or in that area I mentioned. "Haha you think you're sneaky, motherfucker?" *wambo combo with Magic Zweihander +10* "Curs-" "Sit the fuck down, Patches, you ain't shit"
Ah, but I will live on, just like you do. Doomed to die and live with but one purpose, to move forward. And you were in my way. I'll stick you in my prayers. I fine Dark Soul, to you.
I love the deep tragic stories that fill most of the characters. It makes the world feel that much more real, rather than just being filled with "Happily ever afters"
My favorite feature of Dark Souls is the knockback and hitbox detail. When I first got grabbed by Gwyn, I didn't just get launched into a stalagmite, I bounced off of it and landed face-down at his feet. The sanctuary guardian didn't just knock me back, it forced me off my feet. The game didn't just kill me, it threw me around like a ragdoll. Everything has a physical presence, and I love it for that.
Favorite moment: Sif. Even without having done the DLC beforehand, that limp will haunt me forever. First boss fight I actually had to force myself to win.
**LONG POST** Vaati, that art direction bit you quoted from Miyazaki just RESONATED with me when I read it, too. The pointlessly disgusting does nothing for me either. When you're confronted with the grotesque here, it's done with the intent to convey atmosphere, to viscerally fascinate rather than repulse, and of course, to tell a story... ...like the surreal horror of Blighttown where it shows that there's even nuance to going hollow -- there's a line that even the catatonic zombies and seething fallen warriors you've already faced will not cross, a squalid madness that lies both literally and figuratively on the boundary of a fallen kingdom and the hellish underworld simmering beneath. ...like the fate of New Londo, when the water is drained and the truth is revealed in all its sickening tragedy. The still forms of undead who seemingly defeated their curse by forming a thriving community, piled around the gates, desperate to escape slaughter when higher powers that cared nothing of their culture detected that just a few among them had been touched by the Dark. ...like the doom of Oolacile, a descent into ruin you witness only after vanquishing the champion of the Lords who tried and utterly failed to stop it. Here it is shown that Humanity is not just something the player doesn't quite understand, but the world itself does not either, and just like Fire, when the hubristic attempt to grasp more of this power than they are capable, destruction ensues. And on that note a much more specific favorite story moment of mine: Artorias, Sif, and the Chosen Undead. When you meet Artorias, your character sees not a champion but a berserk madman who's seemingly embraced the evil he so thoroughly failed to stop. And Artorias, he sees not a brave hero but a stray undead whose power -- and Humanity! -- emanates unchecked, far beyond any undead he's encountered before. Both of you know with dire certainty that the other must be put down before any further destruction is wrought ( and I'm aware, of course, that he had cut dialogue that lent a different angle to the story behind the encounter, but the exclusion of the dialogue was a calculated choice, I believe, to make different interpretations possible -- interpretations such as this one). If you saved your fight with Sif until afterwards, it's a melancholy inversion of the duel with Artorias, with both combatants painfully aware that the other is righteous, yet both have oaths and causes they must uphold. And note this: *you cannot be a Darkwraith and have Sif recognize you* -- there's no traversing the Abyss to meet Kaathe unless you've killed Sif already, and you cannot go to Oolacile and save Sif in the past prior to placing the Lordvessel! You've either done it for Frampt, or on your own. Sif does not fight you to slay a servant of the Dark, but to uphold an oath, even though you once may have been comrades-in-arms in the fight against Manus...and perhaps even to save you from a fate far worse than death, for if you seek the Covenant of Artorias, where but the Abyss must you intend to go? That, there, is a beautiful example of the emergent storytelling of Dark Souls that you describe in this video. I dearly hope that Dark Souls 2 brings moments such as those as well.
I know this video is old, but the Dark Souls 3 hype train is in full locomotion right now so screw it, I'll comment anyway. I don't really expect anyone to read this much text anyway. Personally, It really disappoints me that so many people think Dark Souls' defining feature is its difficulty. Like yeah, sure, it's not an easy game but you're missing its point by a mile if that's the only thing you can say about it. To describe the difficulty more accurately I think I'd simply say that the game doesn't treat you like an idiot. For one thing, I'm not really a fan of the idea that 'difficulty' in games is something that can be increased and decreased with a linear slider in the options menu. Sure, the health points and damage ratings of enemies can be beefed up, but it says a lot about a developer when they they opt to do something like that rather than take the time to design the level in such a way that the difficulty comes from the skill (or lack thereof) of the player. Case in point: the area around the first bonfire in the Undead Burg. The hollows here are easy to kill. They attack slowly and telegraph like hell (except for that god-awful jumping attack). Hell, you can one shot them with anything other than a completely un-upgraded weapon. However, many players will die a few times here due to sheer impatience or lack of ability to observe their environment. First off, they'll probably just run out of the bonfire room, forgetting that their rest respawned all the enemies, and get shot by the crossbow guy or jump-attacked by the broken sword guy. Or both. Then, frustrated from that, they'll meander across the bridge to come across a room with three hollows, only to strafe backwards and get pelted by firebombs. The thing I love about this area is that there is no way to die that isn't because of your own negligence (unless you get a glitch or get invaded or something). You can buy a bow from the Undead Merchant to make things easier. You can farm the lower guys to level up once or twice. You can explore to get a crossbow and throwing knives; but even then, all those things are unnecessary to conquer the area. It ALL comes down to your own skill. Dark Souls knows you're capable of incredible feats. It knows you're an intelligent being. And it knows you have the capacity to form a story out of the bits and pieces it gives you, which brings me to my next point. To me, the true value of Dark Souls, beyond the level design, on top of the respect it has for you, the player, is the stories it tells. And not just the overarching narrative of linking the fire. Dark Souls tells stories with its environment. Every time I pick up a Soul of a Lost Undead I sit there and look at its corpse for a second. Here this person lies, alone and rotting. No gravestone. No ceremony. No weeping relatives. No dignified burial. Who could this person have been? Maybe he was a humble farmer, forced out of his homeland when he became undead. Abandoned by his family and comrades, lonely and afraid. Having few other options, he traveled to Lordran with little more than the clothes on his back. Unarmed and without any companions, he was easily slaughtered by hollows or some other denizen. Being an undead, he awoke at a bonfire, utterly lost and cursing his fate. He dies again, and again, and again, until despair finally takes him. Finally free of his sanity, he wanders off to be cut down one more time. This time however, he does not return to a bonfire. Mortally wounded and empty inside, he drags himself to some secluded corner, where he sits up against a wall and dies, for the final time. A white flame appears above his lifeless corpse, and some time later, you come by, collect his soul, and continue on your journey. I always make up similar stories with every item I pick up. Especially the soul items. I imagine the Proud Knight, who in his vanity challenged a dragon, which easily struck him down. I imagine the Nameless Soldier, who marched to his doom like thousands of others before him. I imagine the Brave Warrior, who stood up to the darkness and never broke face, even as it closed in around him. And I imagine the Great hero, revered by many, who made it to the land of the Gods, only to find it abandoned, and lost all hope. Even a good portion of the NPC's stories are told through the environmental clues. Tarkus defeated the Iron Golem, broke into the chapel in Anor Londo, and fell to his death off the rafters. Beatrice challenged the Four Kings, but was defeated and crawled off to the lonely cliffs of the Valley of Drakes to die. Leeroy conquered the Tomb of the Giants, but was killed by Nito, and was tossed to a corner in the Lord's cave. Vince and Nico were vain and stupid, and hollowed when fooled by Patches. Lautrec managed to beat Ornstein and Smough, but was injured too gravely, and died just before making it to Gwynevere's chamber. The list goes on and on. And yeah, I understand that these are mostly speculation, but I think that's exactly what Dark Souls intends to make you do. It's not expecting you to make the entire story yourself, but it gives you enough clues to make an educated guess. The best story, however, (in my opinion) is that of the Chosen Undead. Not the player character though. That's up for you and your role-playing to decide. What I mean by the Chosen Undead is the one who never gives up, and that it could be anyone. It COULD have been Tarkus. It COULD have been Solaire. It could have been any undead in the whole wide world. And the best part about that story is that it means it could be you. You have the potential to overcome the most powerful beings in the world. Just like Vaati was describing in the video, the only way you lose is by giving up, which would mean you're not the chosen undead. So personally, I think that the word "chosen" in Chosen Undead doesn't refer to any prophecy. It doesn't refer to Frampt or Oscar, or even anyone in game. It refers to you. You chose this undead character. You chose to play Dark Souls. Now you can struggle and be victorious, or you can give up, and be just another soul that someone else picks up along the way.
Got it this year after originally playing dark souls 2 ( I know vey casual ) and I love it to bits and I truly believe it's a master piece do you play on PS3 i do
I always appreciated the idea that the "chosen undead" is a titled earned, not given. That the undead who have to struggle for that title are all the players in the community. That for the people who give up on the game, they are not the chosen undead. It is only the ones who can persevere through the struggle who will earn such a feat. And what amazes me the most is how even the NPCs are like the player. They had to struggle through the world, and not all of them could make it. Most broke down, went hallow. Some started backstabbing their friends. Some just kept going, but would just never get anywhere. Game play is one thing, but it is the world and the life that it breathes that really shines.
It's strange. When I first started playing this game, I felt that the game was unfair and found myself cursing at it. I said to myself that I would "never play this bullshit again." But as I grew bored of my other games that lacked challenge, I found myself drawn to this game. Eventually I found a way through each obstacle and realized that I was much more satisfied with overcoming a challenge in Dark Souls than I was with every other game. In other games, they pretty much just give you the reward. In Dark Souls, you have to earn it.
Sanguinius Yeah, i was exactly the same. I would curse and scream like a tourette's victim; throwing controllers etc.. lol. I would always tell myself, "i hate this shit, i will never play this ****** sucking game again!!" or something similar. Yet i would keep playing it. I remember one time i lost track of time so much that i found that i had literally been up for 36 hours playing the game without a single hour of sleep; had to force myself to abandon my campaign to get past sen's fortress in favor of passing out on the couch :P This game is just soooo much more than most games could even hope to be. Once i had beaten the game and played enough to be an "expert" i would always say that i would do anything to be able to hypnotize myself or something so i could completely forget this game and start over from scratch as a noob, knowing nothing about the game. Wouldn't that be great? I would really love that, i find myself being so envious of people who say to me they're on their first playthrough. I always tell them how lucky they are and they stop their sentence of "fuck deez god damn spear chuckin muthafucka's knockin me off the ledges in anor lo...." to proceed with "are you $(@)*&(%@ CRAZY!!!!?!?!?" lmao.
my first encounter with that dragon was like: "oh shit a dragon, i want those things... lets do it, is it sleeping?good, why does look like this? ok, one more to go (dragon wakes up) oh shit!!!, run!! run where??!!!OMG im gonna fight...OH GOD im poisoned im gonna die noooooooo, well this is dark souls ='(
I was worried whether it was something that would attack me on my first encounter so I shot it with an wooden arrow. It started spewing chunks that were nowhere near close to to touching me so I just kept shooting till I put it out of it's misery.
when I first saw it I was like; "hmm... a dragon, is it a piece of the scenery? lets hit it!" Only then when I was slapped off the cliff for poking a carcass I realized this game was different, in the good way.
I got Dark Souls about two weeks ago and can honestly say I've never been so indulged in a game before, and the lore behind it is fantastic. I ended up getting lost in the Tomb of Giants severely under leveled after killing pinwheel on my first play through for around 3 hours and when I found my way out I felt so good, it was a very shitty time but I loved every moment. Seriously a 10/10 game.
+Xander Mcdougall I spent so long when i first started trying to get down into the crypt due to my thinking that was the way to go, it actually took me a month of on and off playing to figure out the right way and kill the gargoyles. Probably doesnt take many ppl that long but man it felt good when i did.
+Xander Mcdougall Wanna laugh ? Just when I killed Nito, I figured out that the Lantern that you loot from th pyromancers will light the path for you in the Tomb of the giants...
Vaati is such a wordsmith. He has an uncanny ability to think he's right, just by the power of his voice. He is more than right. Dark Souls is such a beautiful game. Thank you for being, in my opinion, Dark Soul's speaker to humanity.
One of the greatest experiences I had with Dark Souls - and especially in Demon's Souls - was walking around in the corridor of a recently felled boss as if I were on my own personal, historic battlefield. Actually walking around in the Abyss is a surreal experience after countless failed attempts against the Kings, the sense that 'this is a safe zone now, there are no enemies here, you succeeded.' I have yet to find any experience in any other game as euphoric as seeing a bonfire upon which to rest where a once powerful and menacing foe used to rule. Such was the case where I looked out upon the Boletarian Palace after defeating the False King Allant. I didn't need an NPC to congratulate me or hand me a trophy. That I survived it, conquered it, rid it of many monsters, and moved on quietly with the memory of it all was enough.
Probably my favorite thing about Dark Souls is that it is, in the truest sense of the word. A ROLE playing game. It's a game where you make a character, and you play that character. Not someone elses character, but yours. You make your own motivation for why your character is going through this terrible journey and you feel when they fail and when they succeed you attach yourself to this character because your the only one who knows why they are doing this. Maybe I'm the only person who does this but to me that feeling of making a character and using the experiences in the game to tell a story is priceless, and it also makes for some fun builds :P. For example I made a bandit who was only going through the game to get loot, so I got all the items i could and he wore a mismatched set of showy yet awesome looking armor because he (and I) thought it looked badass, was it the most optimized gear set, nope. but i liked it, and I made it so it made sense with that character and I have yet to play a game where I've done that before and I don't know if another series will ever do that again.
My favorite piece of Dark Souls was the world. Same thing with Demons' Souls. The areas were built spectacularly, utilizing winding roads, and locked doors to make you travel for hours only to discover that you've only just now managed to get past that locked door. In hours, you moved ten feet, and you felt amazing for it. Besides that, I love the feeling of going into this world, halberd in hand, and asking myself "How the abyss am I supposed to get past this?" The answer never came simply, but those who came before me guided my way by lighting the torches so that I could see their ladders. Breaking a window so I could climb into a building. Staining the wall and floor with their blood so that I may know that something sinister is about to come. Through the combined efforts of the damned, a goal was achieved whether it be lulling The Old One back into slumber, or linking the fire to give the gods more time to find a solution to the curse plaguing the world. Going through the world gathering fragments, and what little information you could so that you could figure out what happened, why it happened, and how you can progress. I love the Souls series for so many reasons, I cannot choose just one. =)
Coming back to this video 7 years later brings a smile to my face when we look what happened. How well has this aged? Like a fine italian wine long forgotten under the finest restaurant and only recently rediscovered. 7 years later and Dark Souls became more than a 1 hit wonder. Sure the Sequel Dark Souls 2 is a touchy subject nowadays where some hate it and some love it. But even then the devotion for Ds2 with all its flaws , wonders and special moments has shown that people love unique ideas. A Sequel would arrive with Dark Souls 3 about 2 years later which would hit the mainstream like a truck and by now pretty much everyone has heard of Dark Souls. It became an iconic experience that has shaped the industry in the same vein how Battle Royale games have done or how other Titans in gaming changed in the past. World of Warcraft, Halo, Final Fantasy. Its up there! Dark Souls is synonymous with a gameplay experience and a narrative storytelling that inspired many games. Hard but fair. Hollow Knight comes to mind, Hyper Light Drifter as well Darkest Dungeon, Blasphemous and Salt and Sancturary as several other indie games have taken either strong inspirations from the Souls series or took advantage of the general newfound appreciation for difficult games. Bigger studios didn't shy away either to take some inspiration as well. While games like Lords of the Fallen didn't quiet get what was up with the souls games, they've made an attempt. The Surge 1+2 both came out with general positive receptions that showed a sci fi setting can work. Games of a whole other genre took some inspiration as well. Destiny has used a similar storytelling approach as the Souls Series did. While not quiet as well executed and more reliant on text over the " show, don't tell" that Dark Souls does, its a beautiful and deep universe nonetheless. How well did FromSoft do though since Souls? Well...since this comment they've released 2 more AAA games. Bloodborne heavily inspired by Lovecraftian stories and Sekiro with a mainly japanese culture inspired story basically sold like sliced bread. Sony released a Remake of Demon Souls as a system seller after seeing not only the success of the souls series but also the success of Bloodborn. That game was basically a PS4 seller. From is at the moment working on a little game called Elden Ring, co-written by none other that the George R.R Martin. Yes that Game of Thrones guy. His Dark Fantasy tales matches the depth and emotional connections people will find in FromSofts works though ofcourse still being different. His works did for TV as Dark Souls did for Video Games. FromSoft and their works are constant reference points in countless dicussions about difficulty in games and easy modes. It suffice to say FromSoft did succeed by simply being different and doing their thing. It shows that it can pay off following a vision.
Darksouls has become my favorite game of all time. I didn't expect it when I picked up a $14 game on a steam sale... I had even picked up the console version on release and sold it soon after due to the difficulty. I never saw it coming.
I just hope Dark Souls doesn't become casual, I want the Soul Series to continue with its unique way because that's why this game is so special and that's why we all love it.
this made so sad because it made me realise I'll never experience Dark Souls how I did it for the first time again... Yes, Dark Souls 3 is totally fucking amazing but.. it still doesn't feel like the first time again it's sad. first playthrough of Dark Souls was one of the most significant gaming experiences in my life.
I can feel you bro :'( Dark Souls is truely the best game ever. Your first bonfire... Your first death... Your first chest... Your first boss... so many good memories that we will never forget. May the flames guide thee 🔥
Not only your first but also your 500 th playthrough of dark souls one has a special flavour, you just have to change something and a new game opens to you
+Husl Wusl You did forget your first mimic. But yes, when I first started up Dark Souls and finally came to the Asylum Demon I immediately felt like this game was going to be worth it.
Lobster with Mustard and Rice I wish I could erase my memory of the game to keep getting that thrill and amazement of first playthrough of a souls game:*(
Hey Vaati, what do you think of the Dark souls speed running community? It kinda feels like the opposite approach of the game, but its kinda fun to watch a game so hard be broken so easily.
My first time getting to know Dark Souls,was a few years ago,when i randomly bought it in a game store.The game just got released. I was verry young at the time, and enjoyed games about fighting with knigts,and open worlds. The front image of the game looked verry good,also the backside screenshots looked good(thats how i judged games,when i was young) But after playing it, i found it so ridiculously hard, i didnt even know how to lock-on. I couldnt progress,i was stuck in the castle with the prison.,and eventually gave up. It was so hard for me,that i didn't enjoy it at all. But after a year, i saw some cool dark souls videos on youtube (randomly), and kept reading stuff about it. Also saw some youtube videos that teach you how to play Dark Souls if you are a newbie. After really getting to know the game, i decided to play it again. And it is now,one of my most favorite games of all time ! Really amazing experience, i can't believe it took me so long to get into it , this video really reminded me,of how i got to know Dark Souls, by pure struggle.
When he started talking about the undead dragon and the sorrow it conveys I started to remember the undead dragon in the painted world which literally rips it's body in half to destroy you and to be honest I feel like it didn't do that out of anger but more out of pride as in,"this is my final moment and I shall do it fighting" and after killing it I felt very sad yet honored to kill it also Sif was probably the saddest fight to me because all he was doing was protecting his one true friend's grave from intruders
mikey ferrier damn fog gates but still it's an inevitable because if we were to steal the ring and leave without fitting Sif I believe it would've been heartbreaking to him because as far as I can tell that's his only objective in life "Protect my fallen friend's grave" so seeing that he failed and couldn't even die in battle valiantly he'll go through a sort of hollowing for animals(that last part was just speculation) so I agree killing him is a shit thing to do but who we are and what Sif is are two conflicting ideals and one must prevail over the other or else nothing will be accomplished or attained
mikey ferrier this is probably not even a question that even needs answering but is it great wolf Sif that you fight at the grave of Artorias or just mini wolf Sif that you find huddled behind his shield because I haven't done the DLC
Dark Souls has ruined other games for me. Almost every other game now looks silly and moronically easy, like I can play it with one arm and just smash the attack button to win. I actually did that in another game and it worked. Edit: my favorite mechanic is the game not telling you where to go next, nor pin-pointing 500 different objectives on your map.
Yeah, Dark Souls changed the way I look at games. I don't think any game would ever match how I feel about Dark Souls. I literally got a PS4 just so I could play souls games on it. Bloodborne, is in my top ten. Dark Souls ll, top ten. Dark Souls, top ten. Dark Souls lll, top ten, and eventually when Demon's Souls remastered comes out, it will more than likely be in my top ten.
LoganSoulsBorne4 Some games are definetely too easy, with devs who are too afraid to push the players' abilities and persistance. Not to mention those that treat you like a complete idiot in their tutorials.
Did that when playing Witcher 3 on Deathmarch. Worked. Pretty disappointing.Or when playing Shadow of Mordor ... I looked for difficulty settings for 10 minutes and realized there aren't any. Fuuuck. But the thing is ... Dark Souls is not only about difficulty, it's about a feeling, atmosphere, story, pulling through, and the message, that you only lose once you give up. Dark Souls gave me this special feeling no other game before or ever since managed to give me.
I'm gonna admit that I gave up with the original Dark Souls right after getting to the first area after Firelink Shrine. I hated how difficult it was and hated how it wasn't holding my hand to tell me where to go. But then a few weeks ago, Dark Souls II came out, and I bought the first one with it. I got the guide for the second game (had it for the first but sold it), but didn't use it all that much apart from finding items. In my own pace, I learnt the areas myself, defeated the bosses without knowing what they looked like, what their moves were, died, tried again and felt that amazing sense of accomplishment when you finally get there. It was with Dark Souls II, when those credits rolled, that I understood what an amazing game it was. Skyrim was always my favourite game of all time but seriously, I'm on my third playthrough of Dark Souls II now and I've started the original, and I think DaS2 beats Skyrim in all sorts of ways. I find it has more depth and more to offer, and definitely a lot more replayability. And you sir, if I saw this video those years ago when I gave up with Dark Souls, I would've carried on with it and realised the amazing creation FromSoftware has created here.
This is actually a highly emotional video for me. I feel like I've arrived, yet also arrived too late, to something very beautiful. A very Dark Souls feeling, as it turns out... I started with a simple comment, but can't express how you've made me feel without an essay of sorts. Not sure if anyone will read this, but I just wanted to register my gratitude... I've played RPGs since Baldur's Gate came out. That innocent sense of discovery, duality, morality, greatness, change, and grandeur has been with me since I was ten years old. Yet something was always missing from Western-made titles: the silence of the lonely hero undertaking a duty in a dying world. So much fantasy media is saturated in music, noise, colour, and busyness. Even my favourite, Diablo II, lacked something in this regard - close as it comes to what Dark Souls eventually delivered. In this life, we are often saturated with moments of futility, because of disparity we encounter: between friends, family, lovers, colleagues, peers, co-workers, cities, nations, peoples... and almost no media addresses this without falling into either nihilism or triumphalism. The darkness of humanity is either dismissed in atheistic cynicism, or manipulated in religious fervour. In other words, there is great disparity in our attempt to understand our own disparity. I have struggled heavily with this almost all my adult life. I didn't know anything about Dark Souls until a few months ago, when I saw 8-bit Music Theory's channel analysis of Gwyn's Theme. I hadn't the first clue about about plin plin plon or git gud or the First Flame or the Abyss. All I knew, as a musician and a fairly sensitive soul, was that this choice for the final theme of a game was very bold. Almost too bold. Too real. Too human. I had to learn more. A friend told me about the basic lore of Dark Souls in September. I was saddened by its apparent sadness and futility, yet the ideas he was excitedly throwing out at me seemed irresistible. Death. Life. Meaning. People. Ambiguity. Unsureness. The hollowing. The linking. The duty. Black and White, Grey and Dark, Moon and Sun... it overawed me. I had to try it. First Dark Souls Remastered. That character creation theme! I was so struck by it that I didn't even start making my character for five minutes. I just sat and listened. I felt nearly in tears because someone finally took me back to the age of innocence and wonder, somehow, with a few basic chords. It was my old childhood, alive again. But deeper. More mature. The Undead Burg, The Duke's Archives, the empty halls of Anor Londo... they brought me again and again to places of agitated peacefulness, barren beauty, and bleak grandeur which I hadn't experienced in a video game for many years, yet elevated my memories and nostalgia into something that the grown person that I am now can appreciate. My first Dark Souls video was ThePruld's "When you go dark souls with your best mates". I was confused. Now, after countless hours playing all 3 games in the last 4 months, I finished the first game, linked the first flame, and came back to the same ThePruld's video. For some reason, I started to weep. As memey and comic as the video is ... I saw the streaming sunlight, and thought, "this is what happens when the Flame is linked and the world renews -- the sun dawns for the first time in centuries, and all we can do is dance and sing". Imagine having a quasi-religious experience of deep existential hope from playing a goddamn game and watching a meme about it? Yes. I was recommended your videos, Vaati, and I can say I've never been more grateful to a UA-camr for teasing out and focusing on the human relationships, the tragedies and victories, of a story. You have exposed the hidden corners of these cryptic worlds, and shown how much they express the soul of humanity, both in-game and in real life. This game, and your channel, come from a place of real sympathy and understanding of our condition as humans. It's ambiguous, hard, and often we do just want to hollow out. Yet here we are, faced with either a brilliant flame of joyful glory, or a sweetly rotting bed to lie upon... how can we say no?
I think that the best moment for me in Dark Souls was either when i saw Ceaseless Discharge standing over the body on the pedestal, which was sort of my "Undead Dragon" moment that Vaati described, or when I heard Gwyn's boss music and fully realized that there is no turning back, this is the end of my journey.
*finishes video* "Wow this video was incredibly inspiring! Makes me wanna play some more Dark Souls!" *Boots up DS2* *Gets invaded by hex using havel* *Gets killed* *Gets called scrub for using warped sword by hex using havel* "Annnnddd that's enough for tonight*
My favourite part of Dark Souls has to be Izalith and how you uncover its story and that of its denizens... You invade Queelag's nest because you must ring Blighttown's bell. You're attacked on sight by this spider-lady-demon-sorceress who uses pyromancy and spews lava from her demonic half...Not much comes of it. But then you start delving deeper in this and the sheer tragedy of the story and how YOU make it even more tragic is just sublimely presented. You discover Eingy, one of the most powerful pyromancers of all time, reduced to a crawling egg-bearer, mustering all of his strength to protect Queelag's sister, who lays dying a slow and miserable death hidden away in that little chamber. You learn that Queelag was likely camping the bell farming humanity from trespassers to help her sisters, who just happens to be possibly the most genuinely good and kind person in the game(as you find out IF you have the ring), now helpless because of your interference. Quelana tells you bits and pieces about the fall of Izalith, you find Ceaseless Discharge mourning the corpse of one of their sisters. As you progress further into Izalith and you defeat the Demon Centipede, you understand that Ceaseless was their brother. Into Izalith, now ruins full of lava and demons, you witness what must've been a grand civilization... exploring Izalith in its prime would probably be grand and beautiful, much like walking through sunny Anor Londo. You find one last witch, protecting the Bed of Chaos, probably the only living human still in Izalith ever since the sisters left. That is, apart from Kirk, who makes his final attempt at stealing your humanity. Later, you will find out that he too pledged his efforts to the Fair Lady, cheating Kaathe and stealing humanity to help her. This will be his last invasion, the end of a legend, in a way, as he was "the infamous Kirk". His corpse will crawl back to the fair lady and die helpless. Finally you defeat the Bed of Chaos, the witch of Izalith,mother of the fire sorcery, and as you uncover the story you learn of how her own demise was a desperate attempt at, you know, saving the world... When you piece these last pieces together you can sit back, and appreciate the true extent of the ruin of Izalith, of the sorrow and sadness of its demise and that of its denizens, either killed or mutated into demons whom... you don't even know if have a mind or not. This, to me, is an experience of sadness, masterfully crafted and administered... little by little you uncover it and the more you do, the sadder you get
I've been playing games since I was 10 I'm 22 now and the Souls series, Demon, Dark 1 & 2 and Bloodbourne are hands down the best games I've ever played. Epic Masterpiece
I think my favorite thing about Dark Souls is each character you talk to has their own personality, unlike most RPG type games that make nearly every character this bland info or item spewing robot, each character you meet has their own way of showing who they are. Solaire is just a guy wanting his own sun and enjoys jolly cooperation. Each merchant has their own creepy laugh and way of talking to you in coaxing you to buy something from them. The guy you save in the bell tower has such a betrayal type of attitude...if that makes any sense. Hell I knew that guy in the crypt area with all the skeletons was going to betray me just by how he talked.
Yeah, i ran up and SNIFED that bitch for what he did...As if the place wasn't scary enough kicking me in a dark hole......i just homeward bone'd and killed dat bitch
My favorite aspect is the way the gameplay compels me to think of my character not as a chosen one, but as a simple nobody. A normal person in over their head, because I believe that's the truth of the Dark Souls world, even the gods, such as they are, are just beings who were once mundane and mortal, but found power and learned to wield it. For all the smoke they blow up your ass about prophecies and being the Chosen Undead, I think the truth is they're just desperately trying to inspire one of these poor lost souls to do what they once did, become something greater. And of course they all do this just so that you can be a tool for preserving their empire, for better or worse. The gameplay reflects this, you start off frail, weak, easily killed by the simplest of enemies. But as time goes on you acquire artifacts, powers from primeval ages, and hone your skills and weapons with magical artisans until they become the stuff of legends. By the end of the game are you really any different from Gwyn? You're both immortal, you're both possessing of mighty weapons and armor, you can both cast spells that can slay mighty demons and abominations at will. The only difference now is he's lost his mind and gone hollow, while you've managed to maintain the will to make it this far. And whether you take his place to burn or become the lord of a new age, you'll be following in his footsteps one way or the other.
Playing Fallout 4 atm... yet im forcing myself not to go back to a dark souls game to try a new build, or mess about in pvp, or try a new weapon combo.
I think what I loved most about Dark Souls was that there was never really a clearly defined, white knight, "good" option whenever you had to make a choice. You could help Siegmeyer and take away his reason to carry on, or you could let him die, ending his life valiantly. You could kill the illusion of Gwynevere, taking the light from Anor Londo, but in the process, revealing Gwyndolin's deception. You could link the fire and perpetuate an unsustainable age or you could begin a new age of unknown danger. It's this choice and the fact that whatever you did, there was always an undercurrent of bad about it, and it was up to you to decide which outcome was better in your mind. Few games give you that degree of choice and require that much self belief.
What kinda sucks for me is i JUST got into this game, i was a bit put off by people calling death and occasional murder simulator, when i met a friend in tech school who said i had to play it, issue is im saving every cent for something important so he let me borrow his, and i IMMEDIATELY got hooked, i love this game to death, there were frustrating moments like the capra demon, the anor londo archers and now Orenstien and smough, but as a while, i LOVE this game, the lore with it, the art, all of it, and the worst part is my girlfriend thinks its dumb, my brother cares about nothing but minecraft minigames and POTC, most of everyone i know dont like it or havent played it, but i have three friends who go to tech school with me thank god who love the shit out of it at well (a-also for anyone who wants to, some tips for soloing Orenstien and smough please? Im out of humanity and dont wanna farm yet,, XD SL 50, using Qaalogs Furysword and baldur shield, hard leather armor except for the thief hood, i have Havel's ring and the Cloranthy ring if that helps too)
Honestly you just have to keep at them, don't give up. I hated them my first run and I still do. My first run I did Four Kings and Nito my first try but with these guys it always takes me 10+ goes before I do it. I love my Uchigatana but for some reason the crystal halberd really tanked Ornstein for me especially since it does hard hitting base damage and is just right for the hit and dodge way of play the boss requires. Don't know if you beat them since you commented but in any way GOOD LUCK! Both the DS games are two of my all time favorites and it's always nice seeing the passion you show. Also keep them separated through the pillers, keep smough charging at the pillers so you can get hits on O. If you are going for S first then I consider it easier since S is really slow and it's easy to get 2 or 3 hits on him. Although Super Ornstein is much more annoying. Happy souling :)
thanks a ton man! lol and, im glad you like that passion, not many people feel the same, but again thanks for the advice, i havent beat them yet but ill try that when i get home :D
Felix Iris A piece of advice, Quelaag's Fury Sword's damage scales to how much humanity you currently have, so if you are out of humanity, something else may be a better choice of weapon. Also, I'm glad someone else wan't just running around in heavy armor swinging a greatsword.
Felix Iris Do u have decent endurance? If so, then the highest stability shield your strength will allow, and a spear is your best bet. If you are more intelligence focused, use a magic spear (or even better an enchanted one - the ember is in DG) and homing soulmass. If not, try going into the catacombs early get your spear to fire +5.
As a PC gamer who pre-ordered a very expensive edition of Dark Souls 2, I am not looking forward to the coming 1.5 month of you and all my other favourite youtubers posting tons of dark souls 2 videos while I can just wait >.
***** I know the feel but only after just one hour after dark soul 2 has been out on consoles I decided to buy on on PS3 as well as PC because it's impossible to avoid all the spoilers for so long :l
What I like most is looking at the very beginning of the game, and how well it all builds to the end of the game. As you start out, you're at your absolute weakest. You know little of the game mechanics, you're poorly equipped, you know nothing of what's ahead and how to deal with it. You meet up with your basic axe wielding hollow warriors, who rush you and swing at you like madmen. You don't know yet how to parry their attacks, how to backstab, shield stability... Getting ganged up on by these early challenges is fierce. The bridge with the firebomb throwers that leads to facing 3 melee guys in a cramped room is a huge challenge early on. Then you find your first Black Knight. This huge dude towering above you is just waiting down there, not running to attack you until you come up to him and let him know you want some. He takes little damage from your attacks. He hits hard, he knocks you around like you're nothing. He doesn't grunt or moan like the hollows, he's quietly swinging his graceful combos at you like he's some fierce demon. This dude feels like some embodiment of evil straight from the pits of hell that you are in no position to mess with. Fast forward to the end of the game. Sans the one in Tomb of Giants, the Black Knights had become largely absent from the game after you passed the newbie areas like Darkroot Garden and Burg and Catacombs. Now you run into bunch of them at the Kiln. You're now better equipped, you can damage these guys and probably down them in three hits if not one backstab. You've learned how to efficiently deal with these guys back in Anor Londo when you faced the Silver Knights, you can parry them now or just chain backstab them or maybe stagger them with some heavy weapon. And at this point you ought to pick up their armor and weapons and thus learn much of the lore behind these guys, what they really are. They don't come off as pure evil towering demon knights clad in black, but moreso another aspect of the tragedies that went down in the past of Lordran. You became so much stronger, and they became so much weaker all the while. And then there's the final boss! No cutscene when you enter the battle. No dialogue. Gwyn simply spots you, charges you, and madly starts throwing attacks at you. Unlike most everything else you've faced up to this point, the huge towering behemoths that you had to roll away from when they swung at you, who felt like you were chipping at a wall trying to hurt them, this guy is nothing like them. You can stagger him. You can parry him. You can block almost all his attacks. As you played the game, the NPCs and the lore built this guy up as such a big deal, and in the end, Gwyn feels no different from the hollow warriors in the beginning of the game. Both him and the Black Knights start out as something almighty and distant, and now that you reach them they're reduced into something that the Chosen Undead can only look down on. The game basically goes full circle, and I loves it!
“…I think the market will come around to Dark Souls and will define a generation.” Vaati, and all you og fans out there, you should be super proud. Fromsoft is now up for its 2nd game of the year hoping to follow up Sekiro, Miyazaki has been recognized for his lifetime accomplishments, and this game has been recognized as an ultimate game of all time: you guys made this happen. As someone who finally gave Fromsoft a chance when Sekiro was released and fell in love with all their games after that, thank you for never giving up on telling me to play Dark Souls.
Single best moment: I was stuck on Ornstein and Smough. Big Surprise. Everybody knows they are one of, if not the, hardest boss in the game. I had tried so many times. I got to a point where I was very confidant, and thought I could finally do it. So, if became human, and managed to summon Solaire and another player to help me fight. I was so pumped. And then I died within 30 seconds. So, I just kept working at it. I sought help online, refused to use Estus to make my dodging better, and finally, after about 2-3 days of trying, I beat them single handed using only 2 Estus Flasks.
I have a similar story that makes ONS my favourite boss too. Except I didn't know you could summon solaire there until NG+. So that was definitely the hardest and most satisfying boss for my first playthrough.
Hunter Smoot good luck and conquer the game don't give up level up as high as you can grind grind grind level up level up level up grind again to retrieve rinse repeat until you are a beast.
What I love about dark souls is that you can get anyone's armour and that leads me to believe that any character in DS can as well. This leaves you with the question of identity, like, is Solaire the same person every time, is there another chosen undead who replaces you every so often and looted your corpse for the stuff it had. This is something no other work of art has ever achieved before in such capacity.
Dark Souls: The story of how a guy made a difficult game, then he realized no one knew his game, and made a harder one that everyone raved over. ...Then he handed the game over to another director who made a weird disconnection with the fans because he designed the game differently, and thus, less difficult. Then, one day, Sony was like, "YO MAKE DKS3 EXCLUSIVE FOR US!!1!" Miyazaki was like, "No, but you can have THIS" And thus, Bloodborne was... well... Born of the blood of Miyazaki's legacy. Over the course of these games, me, and many alike, die. Many times over. Praise the Sun, and by the Old Blood, let's hope that DKS3 kills us many more times. Umbasa.
That's the true genius of Dark Souls. It makes you figure out what's happening and what you have to do on your own instead of directly telling you "this is your main goal, this is the next area you need to go to, defeat this boss to move on, etc."
i would have never found out about this game if it wasnt for a kid on my bus reading the guide there were no seats so i sat with him and asked him what it was about and now a year and a half later hes my best friend and i have over 30 days into the 3 games combined praise the sun everybody
4:00 Make that ten years after. I'm just finishing my first playthrough of DS1, and it's been such an experience, that I can frankly say it's the best game I've ever played.
I borrowed Dark Souls 1 from my friend and I immediately bought both 1 and 2 after playing through Dark souls 1 I don't think I can go back to other rpgs at this point
To be honest, I'm kind of glad Dark Souls has its reputation for difficulty, otherwise I wouldn't have ever found out about it. I remember when I first found out about it, I was looking through lists of hardest games, and I saw Dark Souls on nearly every one, and I thought it looked interesting, and also, I wanted a challenge. This was sometime around early 2015, so I bought Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, and Dark Souls 2 (didn't have a PS4 yet so couldn't get Bloodborne), and initially, I hated it. I had no idea what I was doing, I died constantly, and I had no clue what was going on. But I soldiered through until I really began to love it and see things like: "Oh, there's blood on this elevator" or: " Oh, there's an enemy hiding behind this door", little details like that that made me realise what a well designed game this is, and really, it was all thanks to the wonderful people on UA-cam making videos that show these things, so thank you. Thank you, Vaati, for giving me the drive to finish the game, and thanks to everyone in the community that made me look past the supposed difficulty and see this game for what it truly is.
Gamer Ray I was introduced to Demon's Souls in 2010 I remember being stuck at the beginning of the game boletaria Palace does dying over and over and over again then my friend moved out and didn't get another chance to try Demon Souls again until I bought my own copy with my PS3 then I played Demon's Souls 4 weeks trying to figure out it's mechanics by the time I finished Demon Souls I had clocked in at 242 hours. but I was unsatisfied now my record is now 14 hours for beating Demon Souls. level 66 I like starting with the class royalty. I love the game so much I got my mom to try it she's going to try again soon after she got her fill from Dark Souls. Dark Souls I put 70 hours into that game and beat it I love from software and I love blood-borne for my PS4
it would be difficult to capture the true essence and meaning behind dark souls without making a 24 hour video, but you summed it up pretty amazingly! i will love this game and hopefully still go back to play it 50 years from now, just for old time's sakes. i hope to see some of you there! but in the meantime, see you all in dark souls 2, and PRAISE THE SUN!!!!
Why do I think this game is different? Because the storytelling was subtle, and that's rare in the games. The games usually push the story in your face, like: "LOOK, THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS NOW! ABSORB IT!". You will have to notice the storyline, but it won't make you look in any deeper. It was pleasant, mystical and subtle at the same time. Music from Enya or Enigma (look up the bands if you don't know them) come to mind. Very theatrical, yet understated and fleeting.
I think the defining moment in my first playthrough of Dark Souls would be the concluding moments of Sif's fight. After about five deaths and exhausting roughly the same number of controllers, I finally managed to start beating him with a combination of sword and bow. I was going to make it! I could feel it coming; that same feeling of anticipation and tension I felt when I first defeated the Taurus Demon. Every hit I made inched me closer to victory! But when Sif began limping, swinging his sword ineffectually and barely holding himself up, everything I thought I knew about the game changed. I hesitated for several minutes, before consigning myself to the fact that I had no choice, and fired the last arrow. When I walked out of that stone gate, I didn't feel that same euphoria I had experienced when defeating previous bosses. Instead, I felt sad and even rather lonely, like I had just killed one of the few honourable beings left in this decaying world. I can't think of any game that has given me such an intoxicating mix of emotions in such a short time with little more than a few modified walking animations. I'm an aspiring game designer, but I hadn't played Dark Souls until about a month ago. I can say with exaggeration that this game has showed me exactly what this medium is capable of. I used to say to people that games are a growing medium that can potentially be something greater than any book or film. Now, I can just point to Dark Souls and say "pretty much that".
If I had to pick out one notable design choice, it'd be my first encounter with the capra demon. Most of the bosses I'd see it, and immediately run away until I could catch a glimpse of each of its moves (quelaag). I think that's a natural response: see a scary thing, run away and try to understand it. --With the capra demon, you're put within 5 feet of it from the get-go. I died maybe 20 times before I felt I had a grasp of its moveset. Even after that, I hadn't really explored its 'arena', and didn't know how to approach it. After I managed to kill it by complete luck, I realized that was the entire point. The capra demon fight went against everything I thought I should do in a boss encounter: Tiny space, no time to react. The fact that the capra demon usually killed me in 1-3 hits was icing on top. --That fight tested me more than any other fight. Smaug and Ornstein was really hard, but I understood everything they did. The fight's pace was slow, and I had a lot of room to maneuver...I was just never skilled enough to react to all of it, and fight them solo.
Honestly, no other game out there has a multiplayer system this in depth. I love how all the covenants have stories to them and allow for different interactions with other players. And the invasions keep me on my toes, especially areas that have automatic covenant invasions.
the thing i like most about dark souls is how its design breaks the game world and enters into the real world. now i get that in some ways having to look up guides and wikis to find out what to do is bad in some ways, but has benefited dark souls a huge amount by bringing the community together, more than any other game ive seen people have stories to tell and secrets to share and that is the greatest strength dark souls has by being ambiguous it forces people to get together and talk about it and share their experience and in a way this reflects the gameworld of dark souls where many chosen undead can exist at the same time all working towards the same goal you can meet other chosen undead and share advice or help each other, and create what is essentially history books and encyclopedias for the game! Hell this is the reason i wanted to do my guide videos; to compile all the knowledge ive gained into a single space and share it! After hearing about an official strategy guide for DS2 its made me wonder how much of what i mentioned will happen as all the information will be available so talking about things will be more matter of fact, which in a way puts me off dark souls 2!
you're guide has helped me out so much in the beginning of dark souls and all the tips and tricks made the game fun, even with the guide it was still challenging but so much fun
oh wow! i cant believe somebody recognizes us, thank you soo much! small internet eh? Unless you can somehow see when i post things? in which case thanks for subbing ;)
GheyForGames I think more people watched your guides then are subscribed to your channel. Anyway hardcore DS fans are probably following those community channels like yours, Vati, Epicnamebro etc.
Subscribed! I finally beat Dark Souls yesterday. I missed so much of the game... never fought Artorias. Didn't even realize that Gwenevere was an illusion. This was actually all realized when i typed up Dark Souls Lore... just to see what I missed and I regret not having played through to experience all this good stuff myself. Luckily not all is spoiled so I have created a brand new character "pyromancer." The game design is really something... I noticed that when you are in character creation screen looking at the classes... they are in number order but randomized... the first two on top are the knight and warrior class but they start off at a higher level as opposed to the pyromancer who starts off at the lowest level possible. I think this was purposefully put in because it's that type of minor detail that the game is trying to show you that you must pay attention to EVERYTHING. Anyhow great videos and I'll come back and watch everything else once I figure out the rest of what's to discover.
I love the explanation of Miyazaki not being able to read some of the English so he made up parts of the story himself and thats why the games dont tell you everything.
I remember the first time I saw solaire taken over by the sunlight maggot. I said "Oh man...... that's horrible." :( One of the few games that gets me emotional.
9:48 After having put over 300 hours in Elden Ring, and it being my first fromsoftware game. I couldn't agree more, you could see this 8 years ago. I need to play all their games now
So this is just my speculation but with the whole "progress, fail, try again, proceed" process what if when you finally give up and say screw it after you cant beat a certain boss. What if thats when you go hollow. You gave up, you feel that sudden moment of i cant do it anymore theres no way to continue going forward... then that means your character and by extension you go hollow and lose your mind
IcarusAblaze Returning the game to the store and then go into a homicidal craze, since that's what hollows in the series tend to do. Otherwise you're just crestfallen.
The Bed of Chaos Fight, out of all the bosses I've fought it deemed to be the most strange to me. Fighting it gave me much hesitation and fear. When I learned more about the boss through lore, I saw it in a different light and pushed myself even harder to end the tormented life of what was once the mother to all Daughters of Chaos.
Just started playing this because I watched a friend play this for 3hrs and was hooked. The beginning hours were a struggle and now it is coming along.sooo much fun.
I didn't play dark souls till 2020 in the middle of quarantine and it forever changed my life and the way I play video games I no longer just play the newest FPS or battle Royal now I actually play games that draw me in
same lmao. i decided to try ds1 during quarantine, and i sucked at the start so i gave up for a while. a few weeks later i came back and something just clicked, and now its one of my favourite games of all time. ive played it 3 times, played the other two games, beat sekiro, beat elden ring 3 times
"this (Dark Souls) is a game that will define a generation" You are absolutely right, and happily we will be the veterans of this new generation of games.
"we read item descriptions, we listen to dialogue and from the bones and fragments of a story we slowly and carefully craft this vision of a world. we call this vision lore." absolute poetry.
Honestly, one of my all time favorite moments in gaming was facing off with Artorias in the dlc. I mean, throughout the vanilla game, Artorias is made out to be the biggest hero - even overcoming the abyss, and then you actually get to test yourself against him? It's an honor, even if it's after he's lost his sanity. And then adding Cuiran after you've killed him adds to the mixed sense of triumph and empathy for the loss of Artorias.
I went through four characters before Dark Souls finally clicked for me. For the longest while I didn't seem to really be going anywhere and had no idea what I was doing with the game, so I kind of left it by the wayside. After looking up your videos and reading the lore I decided to go back in, and now I'm at Gwyn on my first complete NG run, and I just feel better for having come this far. Yes it's hard, yes you'll get really mad at it sometimes, but it's that feeling of elation when you kill a boss, find a new area or short cut, or even just get back to a bonfire after going through hell and high water and barely scraping through that makes it all worthwhile.
"Not hard, but hard to get into". That's the BEST phrase to describe this game.
SgtZaqq Yea, the game forces you to play it correctly and if you don't then you pay for that
FBragger69 More like the game punish you for your mistakes,you can't just press any button and expect the game protecting you like many do today.
Kami kaz Yea thats a good way to put it! I LOVE how you can't fully dominate the game like i'm not a veteran but I'm pretty good, but I LOVE how even vets will get owned if they're not careful!
True. Also Dark Souls scores many bonus points for having a good Combat System that requires you to think when to block, roll, attack or use healing items, etc. Meanwhile in Skyrim, you simplay spam your Attack button, and when you are out of HP, you pause the entire world around you, heal yourself to your Max. HP and continue like nothing happened.
Nemas Aliakhbar lol how about God of War that literally starts you at the beginning of each encounter/puzzle if you die?
The biggest problem with Dark souls is that it raises your standards for other games which very few are able to live up to.
I say that’s moreso the greatest strength in Dark Souls. You’re more inclined to filter out crap.
Yeah, no game has ever felt the same after playing these games...
FromSoft games and Zelda games do this. Playing DS3 and BOTW ruined all other AAA games for me. It's almost a problem! I had to force myself to finish Red Dead 2 because I was so bored! haha
I feel much the same. I'm on my first playthrough of DS1 right now, my first Souls-like game. I've been at it for a few weeks now, just made my way out of Blighttown. I don't feel like playing other games. I have hundreds of hours in Football Manager and Civilization, but I can't be bothered any more. I have over 100 PS4 games, including Skyrim, Fallout, the Arkham Series, GT Sport, all the Farcry games, RDR2 and GTA5... but I keep coming back session after session, to Dark Souls. And I know, when I eventually beat the game, DS2 is next, then DS3, then Bloodborne, then Mortal Shell and Ashen, and Elden Ring when I finally get a PS5. There just something about this style of game, I don't understand. It just makes other games feel... arbitrary. It's an odd feeling.
@@harleygator
It is a truly great series of games. Glad to see newcomers are still getting into it so many years later. You can do it man, don't give up!
Also, I have a PS5 and Elden Ring still looks like a PS4 game. You shouldn't wait for a PS5 to play ER, there's literally no difference.
When a dragon breathes fire on you..
Skyrim = *You are on fire*
Dark Souls = *You Died*
Skyrim: fire pffff
Dark Souls : HOLY FUCKING SHIT RUN!
Hollow warriors are probably harder then Alduin or Harkon or Miraak.
+Olcay Alp Bayram put gwin and gherman in skyrim XD. i would pay thousand to see that happen lol.
Dragon's Dogma = Climb that shit, get your Heart eaten
+Jef Drouin lol there are mods for that you know
My favorite part of Dark Souls is how you can see huge chunks of the world from far away. The first time I rang the bell on the top of the church, I saw Sen's fortress and couldn't wait to explore there! It looked so close, but it was so far away
+Taylor Foulkrod I agree. I also love how the 'levels' link and interconnect, some with very clever shortcuts.
man it's just such a good game
+One of Egoraptor's chins The fact that there is almost no cutscenes or loading screens between areas REALLY makes it more immersive, and drags the player into a living-ish, breathing-ish world.
Jack NO! True. Really gives the player a feeling of exploration. Also adds to the way in which the levels interconnect, creating one big world in which you can choose which direction to go
One of Egoraptor's chins
Yeah, that, along with a few things is why I prefer Dark Souls 1 to Demon's Souls.
+Jack NO! Sen fortress so who is Sen
This game killed me for weeks, i restarted my character atleast 10 times before i even got to undeadberg, simply because i was exploring the graveyard and catacombs like an idiot, getting slaughtered while wondering, what did i upgrade wrong? Eventually over these weeks, i eventually learned to correctly roll, dodge, parry a bit. Building myself my own tactics, no armour, and a zweihander, slowly i mastered the path to the taurus demon, i could get there without a single hit, after another week or so i managed to piece together a strategy for killing the demon, gold pine resin along with a plunge attack from the tower. THE SATISFACTION FROM KILLING THAT WAS UNBELIEVABLE, i genuinely haven't felt anything like it, that is, until the gargoyles.... Aaand Quelag, and Iron Golem, all the way to Gwyn, every boss gave me a rush, which considering i tend to be an emotionless and calm person playing games, was incredible, i was shitting myself through every boss. O and S were just traumatising
Eventually i learned to separate them, using Ornstein's speed against him, combined with the pillars. I separated them, dodging my way through his attacks with my new Gargoyle Halberd, i eventually killed them and holy shit was that the best feeling i've ever had. This game had a spark in it, in the boss fights in the music, in the environment of which i ran around aimlessly for hours. This game never made me feel cheated, it made me feel like a twat, why did i roll there, why did i attack then, why did i run into the butterflies laserbeam of death, i felt like it was always my fault i died. Which rarely an game gives me that feeling, dark souls 3 just seems to have weird glitchy hit boxes. Dark souls 2 had the weird enemy lock ons where the enemy can change his attack direction at last minute to hit you. But Dark Souls, that game made me feel weak, and then, made me feel like a beast
+iWeeGouldyi You mentioned something i experienced the first time with dark souls too. This is the first game i ever played (and i played loads of them in my 30 years) that ALWAYS gave me the feeling that i did something which led to my death. In other games, its MOSTLY the same, but not to that extent. Each and every single of my hundreds of deaths in DS was my fault, and i knew it. This was a very new experience for me which i love from the bottom of my heart now. Its just a shame im too much of a graphics whore to play the old games now that i know how good the franchise is (i only started with DS3).
Haha, i've started playing Dark Souls 3 and i must say it is beautiful, i'm finding it very difficult when it comes to the second boss, i can do every up until then fine, but Vordt is like my kryptonite. I wish i had a PS3 so i could play Demon Souls aswell
iWeeGouldyi I have to agree. It is gorgeous. Maybe not the best textures out there, maybe not the best lighting either, but the combination of all the detail and love that has been poured into that world makes it simply beautiful. Like a girl that isnt just decent looking, but smart, eloquent and with a unique style. Hah...i could praise this game all day mate. I need to calm down :D Yeah....Vordt gave me some trouble too when i first encountered him. Now, with my second character, he was a breeze. You will overcome him too, and it will feel awesome :D Good luck for your next try, chosen one :)
Haha thank you, and i think what you said sums it up perfectly. I like that they made the bosses difficult again, DS2 was a bit too easy (for a Dark Souls game) for me to be honest, These bosses seem a lot more aggressive and hard hitting, brings back memories of DS1
One of my favorite gameplay-mechanics is how nearly every piece of weaponry or armor is a viable choice for your character. In most RPG's the gear provides a very linear experience, where the next item you aquire is objectively better than the last. But as your enemies become stronger as well, that experience doesn't really change that much.
But in Dark Souls a strong armor makes you slower, and a big weapon drains your stamina. Some of the gear found early in the game, turns out to be exactly what you need nearing the end. It makes it so that choosing your gear comes down to your own preference, a very personal experience. I love it.
I LOVE this detail in Dark Souls!! Having almost literally every weapon be perfectly viable to run through the entire game with makes for so much creativity, so much replay value, and so many unique experiences! I've had so many runs on this game and I've not even come close to every possible weapon or even every possible build type yet!
Hell, even if some of the weapons are straight up better or worse to use, it's still FUN to try to use whatever you want. Wanna punch everything to death? An NG caestus run is more difficult than the average playthrough, but not impossibly so.
After all, beating the game at level 1 is completely doable for a dedicated player.
I love the feeling when you return to Firelink Shrine. I played this game really slowly. Starting a new area was a really big undertaking, and it was always loaded with so much anticipation and dread. I remember feeling so bogged down in Blighttown-- the frame rate, the narrow walk ways, the constant danger of succumbing to poison, the sheer gloominess of the environment-- that I thought I'd never get past it. But I finally did, and I finally made my way back to the surface, and seeing the familiar green bonfire area and hearing that music as I came back to Firelink just filled me with this really enormous sense of homecoming. In a game where every environment is so oppressive and hostile, I loved how Firelink had this real sense of security to it.
Unless youre like me and killed the Cleric guy right off the start of the game because he had a bad haircut and talked to me like i was lesser then him, so when I got back to firelink after getting through blight town reah and her 2 other clerics gank u. Lmao true story of my first playthrough.
duke9891 That's because you are an utterly shitty person who wouldn't get into metaphorical, artsy side of Dark Souls.
Quasindro actually I can, and you're a shit person for thinking there is a right way to play dark souls which goes against the core concept of that game being a true art masterpiece. You see because of the 1st cleric whom talked to me as though I was a lesser being then him he met a swift death. I proceeded to eventually have other Way of the White members (reah and her posse) attempt revenge by attacking me in a supposedly safe place. This led to me (the player) absolutely dispizing the way of the white and all it's members. This led to my character becoming a vengeful undead who started to seek guidance from characters who are less than holy. I eventually found my home deep under blightown serving the chaos. Invading players and hoping they had white phantoms with them to appease my bloodlust while providing comfort to the fair lady.
I chose to serve the fair lady because she turned herself into the foulest of foul beings not once, but twice for the sake of others. I liked that because it was quite the opposite of how the 1st cleric treats you.
And that is the lore of my very 1st character on dark souls.
Fuck you, you snobby hipster fuckwad.
duke9891 Well, even though I should get mad and curse you and your story (as we are on the internet) - it was pretty interesting to read. But why did you start with "because he had a bad haircut" and all that...?
Quasindro because he does. More or less I killed him for his "I'm better than you" personality, but during the fight (in my head) I was saying, "fuck you, and fuck your haircut"
This game won't get old, because it is an art, just like other classic creations.
its a game that ages well (maybe its an immortal?)
***** its undead
gaxper789 how much humanity do you think it has?
***** 3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375105820974944592307816406286 ...
theexterminatorguy yeah so basically pie?
"Why the fuck am I on fire?" most accurate thing ever
The single most memorable experience I have from darksouls 1 was entering Gwyn's boss room. You are expecting this great fight with a god, an ultimate challenge which will leave you broken time after time, but eventually let you prevail and feel like you won everything. Instead you find a husk of a father and ruler, who was hellbent on protecting his children and subjects, once mighty enough to resist the inevitable, but now no longer. As you hear the music and learn to parry him, you start to see a man who lost everything, and is now powerless even against you, a mere pygmy. The sense of loss of something noble and great you get from that experience is one that is unrepeatable, as no game has ever managed to deliver that feeling again.
not me
Alucard8319 well yeah, me. I guess i wrote in the you form to make it HASHTAGrealatable?
first of all, they are god race(called god by humans) also you are a human(you have some of that dark soul, the reason humans can become so powerful, even to challenge god race), pygmies are humans without the dark soul(there are no more pygmies, they existed only in the age of the dragons)
Andrei are you sure about that? I think the dudes with the high darksoul concentration in the end of the last dlc for 3 were called pygmies?
@@matusjansta 4 years late but you're right my dude
my favorite thing about dark souls is in it's weapons. There is only one Claymore, there is only one Estoc, there is only one Greataxe. There's no bronze, steel, great demon metal of awesomeness tier weapons that make you drop your old one like a piece if trash in place of another one with damage bonuses, speed, or any other meaningless number. Nor is there any classifiable "best weapon" The weapon you start with will carry you wherever you go. By the end of the game you will know every nick and inch of your sword, you will know the speed, damage, and overall effectiveness of your blade. your weapon will have been your only ally in countless fights and you will care for it immensely. When you find the weapon that's perfect for your play style you will never leave it and it will never let you down, and that's how true weapon design is done.
I just gotta love the first achievement, awarded upon first death:
*This is Dark Souls*
9:48 "I think this is a game that will come to define a generation"
6 years and a console generation later.. and it has defined and influenced an entire gaming decade.
@@makexroomvideogames7788 Yup, exactly
When I first started dark souls, I quit because I stopped right at the beginning because my game glitched, (that door to the asylum demon next to the bonfire was locked and nothing worked) but then I pick up the game several months later because I heard of one character my friend wouldn't stop talking about...
Knight Artorias
The reason this character got me back into dark souls was because of how the design was for him. He embodies what a knight should be, selfless, courageous, honorable, and most of all, a protector. His visual and lore design is what brought me back into the game, I am now standing at the beam heading up to the massive building with the archers and painting guardians in Anor Londo. I have officially gotten past my 24 hour mark, (with the help of some friends, because we all help each other from time to time) and still, I can't stop playing. I am a very imaginative person, to me, everything can be something else. Seeing the black knights standing in these random places I think, "why are they there?" Or wondering how the Gaping Dragon could have gone to such lengths to feed. This game is something else. It is an experience that people should try, and those of the dark souls community know that. We all know that this game makes you feel, makes you feel alone when walking through a place like Darkroot, it makes your heart beat fast when you go to fight a boss, makes you feel angry when you die, over and over and over again. I hope this game never loses this feeling. Dark souls is what a game should strive to be, like he said.
Be careful out there, we don't you to see you go hollow.
Pheonyx Jay I got my mom into playing Dark Souls she loves it looks like anyone can play it if they just take the time to experience it
I'll never forget the utter confusion and rage that filled me when I was in that bridge area after the catacombs and a bridge I was crossing tilted to make me fall off of it.
I'll also never forget the satisfaction I got from realizing it was that motherfucker Patches who pulled the lever.
I'll ALSO never forget how satisfying it still is to senselessly slaughter Patches without him knowing its coming each play through in the Tomb of Giants or in that area I mentioned.
"Haha you think you're sneaky, motherfucker?"
*wambo combo with Magic Zweihander +10*
"Curs-"
"Sit the fuck down, Patches, you ain't shit"
Are you a cleric?
Filthy clerics.
I only just learned that by reading this comment!
Ah, but I will live on, just like you do. Doomed to die and live with but one purpose, to move forward. And you were in my way. I'll stick you in my prayers. I fine Dark Soul, to you.
Dark Souls is a savior of the gaming industry.
And vaait is the morgan freeman of the dark souls community
aidan sparkes You sir, deserve a cookie.
Descendant of Kraff *Demon's Souls
Nope its not. The ENTIRE SOULS SERIES is the savoir of the gaming industry. And this includes Bloodborne.
daAmazin FatB0y yes thank god for a game thats not made just for profit
It's 2021 and i finally got to play Dark Souls. I can see how marvelous and timeless the game is.
Truly a Masterpiece.
"I think this is a game that will come to define a generation."
I'm so proud of this community
I love the deep tragic stories that fill most of the characters. It makes the world feel that much more real, rather than just being filled with "Happily ever afters"
almost all the stories in dark souls end in tragedy
"Everything is pointless" and "Everybody dies and has a tragic sorry :''''''''(" somehow makes the story more realistic? Lol ok.
Wait, so in Miyazaki's imagination, every character in his fantasy stories also had a signature creepy laugh?
hahahaha.....
My favorite feature of Dark Souls is the knockback and hitbox detail. When I first got grabbed by Gwyn, I didn't just get launched into a stalagmite, I bounced off of it and landed face-down at his feet. The sanctuary guardian didn't just knock me back, it forced me off my feet. The game didn't just kill me, it threw me around like a ragdoll. Everything has a physical presence, and I love it for that.
Favorite moment: Sif. Even without having done the DLC beforehand, that limp will haunt me forever. First boss fight I actually had to force myself to win.
**LONG POST**
Vaati, that art direction bit you quoted from Miyazaki just RESONATED with me when I read it, too. The pointlessly disgusting does nothing for me either. When you're confronted with the grotesque here, it's done with the intent to convey atmosphere, to viscerally fascinate rather than repulse, and of course, to tell a story...
...like the surreal horror of Blighttown where it shows that there's even nuance to going hollow -- there's a line that even the catatonic zombies and seething fallen warriors you've already faced will not cross, a squalid madness that lies both literally and figuratively on the boundary of a fallen kingdom and the hellish underworld simmering beneath.
...like the fate of New Londo, when the water is drained and the truth is revealed in all its sickening tragedy. The still forms of undead who seemingly defeated their curse by forming a thriving community, piled around the gates, desperate to escape slaughter when higher powers that cared nothing of their culture detected that just a few among them had been touched by the Dark.
...like the doom of Oolacile, a descent into ruin you witness only after vanquishing the champion of the Lords who tried and utterly failed to stop it. Here it is shown that Humanity is not just something the player doesn't quite understand, but the world itself does not either, and just like Fire, when the hubristic attempt to grasp more of this power than they are capable, destruction ensues.
And on that note a much more specific favorite story moment of mine:
Artorias, Sif, and the Chosen Undead.
When you meet Artorias, your character sees not a champion but a berserk madman who's seemingly embraced the evil he so thoroughly failed to stop. And Artorias, he sees not a brave hero but a stray undead whose power -- and Humanity! -- emanates unchecked, far beyond any undead he's encountered before. Both of you know with dire certainty that the other must be put down before any further destruction is wrought ( and I'm aware, of course, that he had cut dialogue that lent a different angle to the story behind the encounter, but the exclusion of the dialogue was a calculated choice, I believe, to make different interpretations possible -- interpretations such as this one).
If you saved your fight with Sif until afterwards, it's a melancholy inversion of the duel with Artorias, with both combatants painfully aware that the other is righteous, yet both have oaths and causes they must uphold. And note this: *you cannot be a Darkwraith and have Sif recognize you* -- there's no traversing the Abyss to meet Kaathe unless you've killed Sif already, and you cannot go to Oolacile and save Sif in the past prior to placing the Lordvessel! You've either done it for Frampt, or on your own. Sif does not fight you to slay a servant of the Dark, but to uphold an oath, even though you once may have been comrades-in-arms in the fight against Manus...and perhaps even to save you from a fate far worse than death, for if you seek the Covenant of Artorias, where but the Abyss must you intend to go?
That, there, is a beautiful example of the emergent storytelling of Dark Souls that you describe in this video. I dearly hope that Dark Souls 2 brings moments such as those as well.
I know this video is old, but the Dark Souls 3 hype train is in full locomotion right now so screw it, I'll comment anyway. I don't really expect anyone to read this much text anyway.
Personally, It really disappoints me that so many people think Dark Souls' defining feature is its difficulty. Like yeah, sure, it's not an easy game but you're missing its point by a mile if that's the only thing you can say about it. To describe the difficulty more accurately I think I'd simply say that the game doesn't treat you like an idiot. For one thing, I'm not really a fan of the idea that 'difficulty' in games is something that can be increased and decreased with a linear slider in the options menu. Sure, the health points and damage ratings of enemies can be beefed up, but it says a lot about a developer when they they opt to do something like that rather than take the time to design the level in such a way that the difficulty comes from the skill (or lack thereof) of the player.
Case in point: the area around the first bonfire in the Undead Burg. The hollows here are easy to kill. They attack slowly and telegraph like hell (except for that god-awful jumping attack). Hell, you can one shot them with anything other than a completely un-upgraded weapon. However, many players will die a few times here due to sheer impatience or lack of ability to observe their environment. First off, they'll probably just run out of the bonfire room, forgetting that their rest respawned all the enemies, and get shot by the crossbow guy or jump-attacked by the broken sword guy. Or both. Then, frustrated from that, they'll meander across the bridge to come across a room with three hollows, only to strafe backwards and get pelted by firebombs. The thing I love about this area is that there is no way to die that isn't because of your own negligence (unless you get a glitch or get invaded or something). You can buy a bow from the Undead Merchant to make things easier. You can farm the lower guys to level up once or twice. You can explore to get a crossbow and throwing knives; but even then, all those things are unnecessary to conquer the area. It ALL comes down to your own skill.
Dark Souls knows you're capable of incredible feats. It knows you're an intelligent being. And it knows you have the capacity to form a story out of the bits and pieces it gives you, which brings me to my next point.
To me, the true value of Dark Souls, beyond the level design, on top of the respect it has for you, the player, is the stories it tells. And not just the overarching narrative of linking the fire. Dark Souls tells stories with its environment. Every time I pick up a Soul of a Lost Undead I sit there and look at its corpse for a second. Here this person lies, alone and rotting. No gravestone. No ceremony. No weeping relatives. No dignified burial. Who could this person have been? Maybe he was a humble farmer, forced out of his homeland when he became undead. Abandoned by his family and comrades, lonely and afraid. Having few other options, he traveled to Lordran with little more than the clothes on his back. Unarmed and without any companions, he was easily slaughtered by hollows or some other denizen. Being an undead, he awoke at a bonfire, utterly lost and cursing his fate. He dies again, and again, and again, until despair finally takes him. Finally free of his sanity, he wanders off to be cut down one more time. This time however, he does not return to a bonfire. Mortally wounded and empty inside, he drags himself to some secluded corner, where he sits up against a wall and dies, for the final time. A white flame appears above his lifeless corpse, and some time later, you come by, collect his soul, and continue on your journey.
I always make up similar stories with every item I pick up. Especially the soul items. I imagine the Proud Knight, who in his vanity challenged a dragon, which easily struck him down. I imagine the Nameless Soldier, who marched to his doom like thousands of others before him. I imagine the Brave Warrior, who stood up to the darkness and never broke face, even as it closed in around him. And I imagine the Great hero, revered by many, who made it to the land of the Gods, only to find it abandoned, and lost all hope.
Even a good portion of the NPC's stories are told through the environmental clues. Tarkus defeated the Iron Golem, broke into the chapel in Anor Londo, and fell to his death off the rafters. Beatrice challenged the Four Kings, but was defeated and crawled off to the lonely cliffs of the Valley of Drakes to die. Leeroy conquered the Tomb of the Giants, but was killed by Nito, and was tossed to a corner in the Lord's cave. Vince and Nico were vain and stupid, and hollowed when fooled by Patches. Lautrec managed to beat Ornstein and Smough, but was injured too gravely, and died just before making it to Gwynevere's chamber. The list goes on and on. And yeah, I understand that these are mostly speculation, but I think that's exactly what Dark Souls intends to make you do. It's not expecting you to make the entire story yourself, but it gives you enough clues to make an educated guess.
The best story, however, (in my opinion) is that of the Chosen Undead. Not the player character though. That's up for you and your role-playing to decide. What I mean by the Chosen Undead is the one who never gives up, and that it could be anyone. It COULD have been Tarkus. It COULD have been Solaire. It could have been any undead in the whole wide world. And the best part about that story is that it means it could be you. You have the potential to overcome the most powerful beings in the world. Just like Vaati was describing in the video, the only way you lose is by giving up, which would mean you're not the chosen undead. So personally, I think that the word "chosen" in Chosen Undead doesn't refer to any prophecy. It doesn't refer to Frampt or Oscar, or even anyone in game. It refers to you. You chose this undead character. You chose to play Dark Souls. Now you can struggle and be victorious, or you can give up, and be just another soul that someone else picks up along the way.
+bob bobq Rip in pizzeria ;_;7
+SmugShinji Wow. Usually I don't read comments as long as this, I just think they're rants. But this one...
I tip my hat to you, Sir.
Micheal Morris Haha, thanks!
you pretty much restated what the guy in the video was saying..... you're not really creative.
+Julian Bruce Wow, it's almost like the comment I wrote was influenced by the video I watched just moments earlier! Imagine that!
2015. 4 years since release. I'm still playing, I'll probably still be playing in 4 more years.
crestfallenllama I will play it until i die. you can't replace such a masterpiece as this game.
+crestfallenllama But you're playing the pvp...which is totally different.
yup amazing game
Got it this year after originally playing dark souls 2 ( I know vey casual ) and I love it to bits and I truly believe it's a master piece do you play on PS3 i do
Most certainly will be playing it.
Praise the sun
I always appreciated the idea that the "chosen undead" is a titled earned, not given. That the undead who have to struggle for that title are all the players in the community. That for the people who give up on the game, they are not the chosen undead. It is only the ones who can persevere through the struggle who will earn such a feat.
And what amazes me the most is how even the NPCs are like the player. They had to struggle through the world, and not all of them could make it. Most broke down, went hallow. Some started backstabbing their friends. Some just kept going, but would just never get anywhere.
Game play is one thing, but it is the world and the life that it breathes that really shines.
That, is beautifully stated.
*****
That, is not the proper way to use commas.
Most players just end thinking... "Why the fuck am I on fire?" Lol not at all wrong.
Synchedify i chose the dark lord ending first and my reaction was "wait, theres more than one primordial serpent?" XD
It's strange. When I first started playing this game, I felt that the game was unfair and found myself cursing at it. I said to myself that I would "never play this bullshit again." But as I grew bored of my other games that lacked challenge, I found myself drawn to this game. Eventually I found a way through each obstacle and realized that I was much more satisfied with overcoming a challenge in Dark Souls than I was with every other game. In other games, they pretty much just give you the reward. In Dark Souls, you have to earn it.
Sanguinius Yeah, i was exactly the same. I would curse and scream like a tourette's victim; throwing controllers etc.. lol. I would always tell myself, "i hate this shit, i will never play this ****** sucking game again!!" or something similar. Yet i would keep playing it. I remember one time i lost track of time so much that i found that i had literally been up for 36 hours playing the game without a single hour of sleep; had to force myself to abandon my campaign to get past sen's fortress in favor of passing out on the couch :P This game is just soooo much more than most games could even hope to be. Once i had beaten the game and played enough to be an "expert" i would always say that i would do anything to be able to hypnotize myself or something so i could completely forget this game and start over from scratch as a noob, knowing nothing about the game. Wouldn't that be great? I would really love that, i find myself being so envious of people who say to me they're on their first playthrough. I always tell them how lucky they are and they stop their sentence of "fuck deez god damn spear chuckin muthafucka's knockin me off the ledges in anor lo...." to proceed with "are you $(@)*&(%@ CRAZY!!!!?!?!?" lmao.
“What is happiness? The feeling that power increases - that resistance is being overcome” - Friedrich Nietzsche
hollow=ragequit
My first encounter with the Undead Dragon: "They really put in some effort into this carcass. Anyway, let's loot."
First encounter: ´´Well, guess I'm not going that way.``
Second encounter: ´´Please don't wake up...``
my first encounter with that dragon was like: "oh shit a dragon, i want those things... lets do it, is it sleeping?good, why does look like this? ok, one more to go (dragon wakes up) oh shit!!!, run!! run where??!!!OMG im gonna fight...OH GOD im poisoned im gonna die noooooooo, well this is dark souls ='(
I was worried whether it was something that would attack me on my first encounter so I shot it with an wooden arrow. It started spewing chunks that were nowhere near close to to touching me so I just kept shooting till I put it out of it's misery.
when I first saw it I was like; "hmm... a dragon, is it a piece of the scenery? lets hit it!" Only then when I was slapped off the cliff for poking a carcass I realized this game was different, in the good way.
This channel is a museum - and you are a fine curator.
Well put
I got Dark Souls about two weeks ago and can honestly say I've never been so indulged in a game before, and the lore behind it is fantastic.
I ended up getting lost in the Tomb of Giants severely under leveled after killing pinwheel on my first play through for around 3 hours and when I found my way out I felt so good, it was a very shitty time but I loved every moment. Seriously a 10/10 game.
+Xander Mcdougall I spent so long when i first started trying to get down into the crypt due to my thinking that was the way to go, it actually took me a month of on and off playing to figure out the right way and kill the gargoyles. Probably doesnt take many ppl that long but man it felt good when i did.
+Xander Mcdougall Wanna laugh ? Just when I killed Nito, I figured out that the Lantern that you loot from th pyromancers will light the path for you in the Tomb of the giants...
Ｎａｊｉｍｕ なじむ I realised the lantern was helpful a few days later, totally a bang face into desk moment.
Xander Mcdougall same rofl
Vaati is such a wordsmith. He has an uncanny ability to think he's right, just by the power of his voice.
He is more than right. Dark Souls is such a beautiful game. Thank you for being, in my opinion, Dark Soul's speaker to humanity.
Oops, EDIT: Make me think he's right,...
I think the best thing about Dark Souls is someone had the balls to make it.
One of the greatest experiences I had with Dark Souls - and especially in Demon's Souls - was walking around in the corridor of a recently felled boss as if I were on my own personal, historic battlefield.
Actually walking around in the Abyss is a surreal experience after countless failed attempts against the Kings, the sense that 'this is a safe zone now, there are no enemies here, you succeeded.' I have yet to find any experience in any other game as euphoric as seeing a bonfire upon which to rest where a once powerful and menacing foe used to rule.
Such was the case where I looked out upon the Boletarian Palace after defeating the False King Allant. I didn't need an NPC to congratulate me or hand me a trophy. That I survived it, conquered it, rid it of many monsters, and moved on quietly with the memory of it all was enough.
Probably my favorite thing about Dark Souls is that it is, in the truest sense of the word. A ROLE playing game. It's a game where you make a character, and you play that character. Not someone elses character, but yours. You make your own motivation for why your character is going through this terrible journey and you feel when they fail and when they succeed you attach yourself to this character because your the only one who knows why they are doing this. Maybe I'm the only person who does this but to me that feeling of making a character and using the experiences in the game to tell a story is priceless, and it also makes for some fun builds :P.
For example I made a bandit who was only going through the game to get loot, so I got all the items i could and he wore a mismatched set of showy yet awesome looking armor because he (and I) thought it looked badass, was it the most optimized gear set, nope. but i liked it, and I made it so it made sense with that character and I have yet to play a game where I've done that before and I don't know if another series will ever do that again.
My favorite piece of Dark Souls was the world. Same thing with Demons' Souls. The areas were built spectacularly, utilizing winding roads, and locked doors to make you travel for hours only to discover that you've only just now managed to get past that locked door. In hours, you moved ten feet, and you felt amazing for it.
Besides that, I love the feeling of going into this world, halberd in hand, and asking myself "How the abyss am I supposed to get past this?" The answer never came simply, but those who came before me guided my way by lighting the torches so that I could see their ladders. Breaking a window so I could climb into a building. Staining the wall and floor with their blood so that I may know that something sinister is about to come. Through the combined efforts of the damned, a goal was achieved whether it be lulling The Old One back into slumber, or linking the fire to give the gods more time to find a solution to the curse plaguing the world. Going through the world gathering fragments, and what little information you could so that you could figure out what happened, why it happened, and how you can progress.
I love the Souls series for so many reasons, I cannot choose just one. =)
Coming back to this video 7 years later brings a smile to my face when we look what happened. How well has this aged? Like a fine italian wine long forgotten under the finest restaurant and only recently rediscovered.
7 years later and Dark Souls became more than a 1 hit wonder. Sure the Sequel Dark Souls 2 is a touchy subject nowadays where some hate it and some love it. But even then the devotion for Ds2 with all its flaws , wonders and special moments has shown that people love unique ideas. A Sequel would arrive with Dark Souls 3 about 2 years later which would hit the mainstream like a truck and by now pretty much everyone has heard of Dark Souls. It became an iconic experience that has shaped the industry in the same vein how Battle Royale games have done or how other Titans in gaming changed in the past. World of Warcraft, Halo, Final Fantasy. Its up there! Dark Souls is synonymous with a gameplay experience and a narrative storytelling that inspired many games. Hard but fair.
Hollow Knight comes to mind, Hyper Light Drifter as well Darkest Dungeon, Blasphemous and Salt and Sancturary as several other indie games have taken either strong inspirations from the Souls series or took advantage of the general newfound appreciation for difficult games. Bigger studios didn't shy away either to take some inspiration as well. While games like Lords of the Fallen didn't quiet get what was up with the souls games, they've made an attempt. The Surge 1+2 both came out with general positive receptions that showed a sci fi setting can work. Games of a whole other genre took some inspiration as well. Destiny has used a similar storytelling approach as the Souls Series did. While not quiet as well executed and more reliant on text over the " show, don't tell" that Dark Souls does, its a beautiful and deep universe nonetheless.
How well did FromSoft do though since Souls? Well...since this comment they've released 2 more AAA games. Bloodborne heavily inspired by Lovecraftian stories and Sekiro with a mainly japanese culture inspired story basically sold like sliced bread. Sony released a Remake of Demon Souls as a system seller after seeing not only the success of the souls series but also the success of Bloodborn. That game was basically a PS4 seller.
From is at the moment working on a little game called Elden Ring, co-written by none other that the George R.R Martin. Yes that Game of Thrones guy. His Dark Fantasy tales matches the depth and emotional connections people will find in FromSofts works though ofcourse still being different. His works did for TV as Dark Souls did for Video Games.
FromSoft and their works are constant reference points in countless dicussions about difficulty in games and easy modes. It suffice to say FromSoft did succeed by simply being different and doing their thing. It shows that it can pay off following a vision.
And now Elden ring has joined the fray.
Darksouls has become my favorite game of all time. I didn't expect it when I picked up a $14 game on a steam sale... I had even picked up the console version on release and sold it soon after due to the difficulty. I never saw it coming.
I have done exactly this. Coming back to it with patience on PC gave me a better perspective.
I just hope Dark Souls doesn't become casual, I want the Soul Series to continue with its unique way because that's why this game is so special and that's why we all love it.
Careful what you wish for! Dark Souls 2 is even harder. Enjoy!
AGEMO Really? That's so fucking awesome.
AGEMO We want it to be harder
oops dark souls 3 is for children
@@aidanrettich6552 I actually thought Dark Souls 3 was the hardest game in the series. 2 in my opinion was actually the easiest game.
this made so sad because it made me realise I'll never experience Dark Souls how I did it for the first time again...
Yes, Dark Souls 3 is totally fucking amazing but.. it still doesn't feel like the first time again
it's sad. first playthrough of Dark Souls was one of the most significant gaming experiences in my life.
I can feel you bro :'(
Dark Souls is truely the best game ever. Your first bonfire... Your first death... Your first chest... Your first boss... so many good memories that we will never forget.
May the flames guide thee 🔥
Not only your first but also your 500 th playthrough of dark souls one has a special flavour, you just have to change something and a new game opens to you
+Husl Wusl You did forget your first mimic.
But yes, when I first started up Dark Souls and finally came to the Asylum Demon I immediately felt like this game was going to be worth it.
Lobster with Mustard and Rice I wish I could erase my memory of the game to keep getting that thrill and amazement of first playthrough of a souls game:*(
I'll never forget Queelag, that fucking bitch.
Never thought about that with the Undead Dragon.
Hey Vaati, what do you think of the Dark souls speed running community? It kinda feels like the opposite approach of the game, but its kinda fun to watch a game so hard be broken so easily.
My first time getting to know Dark Souls,was a few years ago,when i randomly bought it in a game store.The game just got released. I was verry young at the time, and enjoyed games about fighting with knigts,and open worlds. The front image of the game looked verry good,also the backside screenshots looked good(thats how i judged games,when i was young) But after playing it, i found it so ridiculously hard, i didnt even know how to lock-on. I couldnt progress,i was stuck in the castle with the prison.,and eventually gave up. It was so hard for me,that i didn't enjoy it at all.
But after a year, i saw some cool dark souls videos on youtube (randomly), and kept reading stuff about it. Also saw some youtube videos that teach you how to play Dark Souls if you are a newbie.
After really getting to know the game, i decided to play it again. And it is now,one of my most favorite games of all time ! Really amazing experience, i can't believe it took me so long to get into it , this video really reminded me,of how i got to know Dark Souls, by pure struggle.
+uchiha clannie Excellent job! :)
nice! another thing about Dark Souls, it makes you grow as a person :)
Only Dark Souls can let me fight a demon by wielding a dagger in two hands. Not a dagger in each hands, but going full Zweihander with a damn bodkin.
When he started talking about the undead dragon and the sorrow it conveys I started to remember the undead dragon in the painted world which literally rips it's body in half to destroy you and to be honest I feel like it didn't do that out of anger but more out of pride as in,"this is my final moment and I shall do it fighting" and after killing it I felt very sad yet honored to kill it also Sif was probably the saddest fight to me because all he was doing was protecting his one true friend's grave from intruders
Jackksaw i agree killing sif is sad. couldn't the chosen undead quickly steal the ring then run away
mikey ferrier damn fog gates but still it's an inevitable because if we were to steal the ring and leave without fitting Sif I believe it would've been heartbreaking to him because as far as I can tell that's his only objective in life "Protect my fallen friend's grave" so seeing that he failed and couldn't even die in battle valiantly he'll go through a sort of hollowing for animals(that last part was just speculation) so I agree killing him is a shit thing to do but who we are and what Sif is are two conflicting ideals and one must prevail over the other or else nothing will be accomplished or attained
Actually, if you fight Sif long enough and he's limping, you can walk away and I think he can help as a phantom but I'm not sure.
SiLenTCheZ846 on the DLC he helps you against the final boss if you save him even though if you kill him
mikey ferrier this is probably not even a question that even needs answering but is it great wolf Sif that you fight at the grave of Artorias or just mini wolf Sif that you find huddled behind his shield because I haven't done the DLC
Dark Souls has ruined other games for me. Almost every other game now looks silly and moronically easy, like I can play it with one arm and just smash the attack button to win. I actually did that in another game and it worked.
Edit: my favorite mechanic is the game not telling you where to go next, nor pin-pointing 500 different objectives on your map.
Yeah, Dark Souls changed the way I look at games. I don't think any game would ever match how I feel about Dark Souls. I literally got a PS4 just so I could play souls games on it. Bloodborne, is in my top ten. Dark Souls ll, top ten. Dark Souls, top ten. Dark Souls lll, top ten, and eventually when Demon's Souls remastered comes out, it will more than likely be in my top ten.
LoganSoulsBorne4 Some games are definetely too easy, with devs who are too afraid to push the players' abilities and persistance. Not to mention those that treat you like a complete idiot in their tutorials.
CidGuerreiro1234 You're gonna like La Mulana. Plus it has actually hard combat when it comes to bosses.
Did that when playing Witcher 3 on Deathmarch. Worked. Pretty disappointing.Or when playing Shadow of Mordor ... I looked for difficulty settings for 10 minutes and realized there aren't any. Fuuuck.
But the thing is ... Dark Souls is not only about difficulty, it's about a feeling, atmosphere, story, pulling through, and the message, that you only lose once you give up. Dark Souls gave me this special feeling no other game before or ever since managed to give me.
Galahandhi whats your problem
I'm gonna admit that I gave up with the original Dark Souls right after getting to the first area after Firelink Shrine. I hated how difficult it was and hated how it wasn't holding my hand to tell me where to go. But then a few weeks ago, Dark Souls II came out, and I bought the first one with it. I got the guide for the second game (had it for the first but sold it), but didn't use it all that much apart from finding items. In my own pace, I learnt the areas myself, defeated the bosses without knowing what they looked like, what their moves were, died, tried again and felt that amazing sense of accomplishment when you finally get there. It was with Dark Souls II, when those credits rolled, that I understood what an amazing game it was. Skyrim was always my favourite game of all time but seriously, I'm on my third playthrough of Dark Souls II now and I've started the original, and I think DaS2 beats Skyrim in all sorts of ways. I find it has more depth and more to offer, and definitely a lot more replayability. And you sir, if I saw this video those years ago when I gave up with Dark Souls, I would've carried on with it and realised the amazing creation FromSoftware has created here.
I love the random online aspects of this game. Being able to hear someone ring a bell, the ghosts of other players, the messages, bloodstains, etc.
This is actually a highly emotional video for me. I feel like I've arrived, yet also arrived too late, to something very beautiful. A very Dark Souls feeling, as it turns out...
I started with a simple comment, but can't express how you've made me feel without an essay of sorts. Not sure if anyone will read this, but I just wanted to register my gratitude...
I've played RPGs since Baldur's Gate came out. That innocent sense of discovery, duality, morality, greatness, change, and grandeur has been with me since I was ten years old. Yet something was always missing from Western-made titles: the silence of the lonely hero undertaking a duty in a dying world. So much fantasy media is saturated in music, noise, colour, and busyness. Even my favourite, Diablo II, lacked something in this regard - close as it comes to what Dark Souls eventually delivered.
In this life, we are often saturated with moments of futility, because of disparity we encounter: between friends, family, lovers, colleagues, peers, co-workers, cities, nations, peoples... and almost no media addresses this without falling into either nihilism or triumphalism. The darkness of humanity is either dismissed in atheistic cynicism, or manipulated in religious fervour. In other words, there is great disparity in our attempt to understand our own disparity. I have struggled heavily with this almost all my adult life.
I didn't know anything about Dark Souls until a few months ago, when I saw 8-bit Music Theory's channel analysis of Gwyn's Theme. I hadn't the first clue about about plin plin plon or git gud or the First Flame or the Abyss. All I knew, as a musician and a fairly sensitive soul, was that this choice for the final theme of a game was very bold. Almost too bold. Too real. Too human. I had to learn more.
A friend told me about the basic lore of Dark Souls in September. I was saddened by its apparent sadness and futility, yet the ideas he was excitedly throwing out at me seemed irresistible. Death. Life. Meaning. People. Ambiguity. Unsureness. The hollowing. The linking. The duty. Black and White, Grey and Dark, Moon and Sun... it overawed me. I had to try it.
First Dark Souls Remastered. That character creation theme! I was so struck by it that I didn't even start making my character for five minutes. I just sat and listened. I felt nearly in tears because someone finally took me back to the age of innocence and wonder, somehow, with a few basic chords. It was my old childhood, alive again. But deeper. More mature. The Undead Burg, The Duke's Archives, the empty halls of Anor Londo... they brought me again and again to places of agitated peacefulness, barren beauty, and bleak grandeur which I hadn't experienced in a video game for many years, yet elevated my memories and nostalgia into something that the grown person that I am now can appreciate.
My first Dark Souls video was ThePruld's "When you go dark souls with your best mates". I was confused. Now, after countless hours playing all 3 games in the last 4 months, I finished the first game, linked the first flame, and came back to the same ThePruld's video. For some reason, I started to weep. As memey and comic as the video is ... I saw the streaming sunlight, and thought, "this is what happens when the Flame is linked and the world renews -- the sun dawns for the first time in centuries, and all we can do is dance and sing". Imagine having a quasi-religious experience of deep existential hope from playing a goddamn game and watching a meme about it? Yes.
I was recommended your videos, Vaati, and I can say I've never been more grateful to a UA-camr for teasing out and focusing on the human relationships, the tragedies and victories, of a story. You have exposed the hidden corners of these cryptic worlds, and shown how much they express the soul of humanity, both in-game and in real life. This game, and your channel, come from a place of real sympathy and understanding of our condition as humans. It's ambiguous, hard, and often we do just want to hollow out. Yet here we are, faced with either a brilliant flame of joyful glory, or a sweetly rotting bed to lie upon... how can we say no?
I loved so much the ending quote, it's amazing to understand the reason behind a design.
I think that the best moment for me in Dark Souls was either when i saw Ceaseless
Discharge standing over the body on the pedestal, which was sort of my "Undead Dragon" moment that Vaati described, or when I heard Gwyn's boss music and fully realized that there is no turning back, this is the end of my journey.
*finishes video* "Wow this video was incredibly inspiring! Makes me wanna play some more Dark Souls!"
*Boots up DS2*
*Gets invaded by hex using havel*
*Gets killed*
*Gets called scrub for using warped sword by hex using havel*
"Annnnddd that's enough for tonight*
+Brian McDaniel There's your mistake, you should play DS1! :D
+Brian McDaniel Haters gonna hate,
My favourite part of Dark Souls has to be Izalith and how you uncover its story and that of its denizens...
You invade Queelag's nest because you must ring Blighttown's bell. You're attacked on sight by this spider-lady-demon-sorceress who uses pyromancy and spews lava from her demonic half...Not much comes of it. But then you start delving deeper in this and the sheer tragedy of the story and how YOU make it even more tragic is just sublimely presented. You discover Eingy, one of the most powerful pyromancers of all time, reduced to a crawling egg-bearer, mustering all of his strength to protect Queelag's sister, who lays dying a slow and miserable death hidden away in that little chamber. You learn that Queelag was likely camping the bell farming humanity from trespassers to help her sisters, who just happens to be possibly the most genuinely good and kind person in the game(as you find out IF you have the ring), now helpless because of your interference.
Quelana tells you bits and pieces about the fall of Izalith, you find Ceaseless Discharge mourning the corpse of one of their sisters. As you progress further into Izalith and you defeat the Demon Centipede, you understand that Ceaseless was their brother.
Into Izalith, now ruins full of lava and demons, you witness what must've been a grand civilization... exploring Izalith in its prime would probably be grand and beautiful, much like walking through sunny Anor Londo. You find one last witch, protecting the Bed of Chaos, probably the only living human still in Izalith ever since the sisters left. That is, apart from Kirk, who makes his final attempt at stealing your humanity. Later, you will find out that he too pledged his efforts to the Fair Lady, cheating Kaathe and stealing humanity to help her. This will be his last invasion, the end of a legend, in a way, as he was "the infamous Kirk". His corpse will crawl back to the fair lady and die helpless.
Finally you defeat the Bed of Chaos, the witch of Izalith,mother of the fire sorcery, and as you uncover the story you learn of how her own demise was a desperate attempt at, you know, saving the world... When you piece these last pieces together you can sit back, and appreciate the true extent of the ruin of Izalith, of the sorrow and sadness of its demise and that of its denizens, either killed or mutated into demons whom... you don't even know if have a mind or not.
This, to me, is an experience of sadness, masterfully crafted and administered... little by little you uncover it and the more you do, the sadder you get
Gather round the bonfire everybody let's tell stories on how you've nearly gone hollow.
Will someone reply?
Kevin Chaves no
Kevin Chaves Kappa
lets see, do you want to hear the one about the gargoyles? or Ornstein and Smough....
Jameson Escobar
There too many Ornstein and Smough ones lets hear about the Gargoyles
I've been playing games since I was 10 I'm 22 now and the Souls series, Demon, Dark 1 & 2 and Bloodbourne are hands down the best games I've ever played. Epic Masterpiece
I think my favorite thing about Dark Souls is each character you talk to has their own personality, unlike most RPG type games that make nearly every character this bland info or item spewing robot, each character you meet has their own way of showing who they are. Solaire is just a guy wanting his own sun and enjoys jolly cooperation. Each merchant has their own creepy laugh and way of talking to you in coaxing you to buy something from them. The guy you save in the bell tower has such a betrayal type of attitude...if that makes any sense. Hell I knew that guy in the crypt area with all the skeletons was going to betray me just by how he talked.
BOOKER!!!! In all seriousness though this is an amazing experience for a game, even though you can only answer yes or no
Yeah, i ran up and SNIFED that bitch for what he did...As if the place wasn't scary enough kicking me in a dark hole......i just homeward bone'd and killed dat bitch
My favorite aspect is the way the gameplay compels me to think of my character not as a chosen one, but as a simple nobody. A normal person in over their head, because I believe that's the truth of the Dark Souls world, even the gods, such as they are, are just beings who were once mundane and mortal, but found power and learned to wield it. For all the smoke they blow up your ass about prophecies and being the Chosen Undead, I think the truth is they're just desperately trying to inspire one of these poor lost souls to do what they once did, become something greater. And of course they all do this just so that you can be a tool for preserving their empire, for better or worse.
The gameplay reflects this, you start off frail, weak, easily killed by the simplest of enemies. But as time goes on you acquire artifacts, powers from primeval ages, and hone your skills and weapons with magical artisans until they become the stuff of legends. By the end of the game are you really any different from Gwyn? You're both immortal, you're both possessing of mighty weapons and armor, you can both cast spells that can slay mighty demons and abominations at will. The only difference now is he's lost his mind and gone hollow, while you've managed to maintain the will to make it this far. And whether you take his place to burn or become the lord of a new age, you'll be following in his footsteps one way or the other.
i like your point of view its a interesting take on the story that very well could be spot on.
Playing Fallout 4 atm... yet im forcing myself not to go back to a dark souls game to try a new build, or mess about in pvp, or try a new weapon combo.
+Chef Excellence DOOO ITTTT I DID :D
+Chef Excellence Fallout 4 any good?
I eventually fell to the call of Dark Souls and completely abandoned Fallout 4, it's just too damn good ._.
I think what I loved most about Dark Souls was that there was never really a clearly defined, white knight, "good" option whenever you had to make a choice. You could help Siegmeyer and take away his reason to carry on, or you could let him die, ending his life valiantly. You could kill the illusion of Gwynevere, taking the light from Anor Londo, but in the process, revealing Gwyndolin's deception. You could link the fire and perpetuate an unsustainable age or you could begin a new age of unknown danger. It's this choice and the fact that whatever you did, there was always an undercurrent of bad about it, and it was up to you to decide which outcome was better in your mind. Few games give you that degree of choice and require that much self belief.
What kinda sucks for me is i JUST got into this game, i was a bit put off by people calling death and occasional murder simulator, when i met a friend in tech school who said i had to play it, issue is im saving every cent for something important so he let me borrow his, and i IMMEDIATELY got hooked, i love this game to death, there were frustrating moments like the capra demon, the anor londo archers and now Orenstien and smough, but as a while, i LOVE this game, the lore with it, the art, all of it, and the worst part is my girlfriend thinks its dumb, my brother cares about nothing but minecraft minigames and POTC, most of everyone i know dont like it or havent played it, but i have three friends who go to tech school with me thank god who love the shit out of it at well
(a-also for anyone who wants to, some tips for soloing Orenstien and smough please? Im out of humanity and dont wanna farm yet,, XD SL 50, using Qaalogs Furysword and baldur shield, hard leather armor except for the thief hood, i have Havel's ring and the Cloranthy ring if that helps too)
Honestly you just have to keep at them, don't give up. I hated them my first run and I still do. My first run I did Four Kings and Nito my first try but with these guys it always takes me 10+ goes before I do it. I love my Uchigatana but for some reason the crystal halberd really tanked Ornstein for me especially since it does hard hitting base damage and is just right for the hit and dodge way of play the boss requires. Don't know if you beat them since you commented but in any way GOOD LUCK! Both the DS games are two of my all time favorites and it's always nice seeing the passion you show. Also keep them separated through the pillers, keep smough charging at the pillers so you can get hits on O. If you are going for S first then I consider it easier since S is really slow and it's easy to get 2 or 3 hits on him. Although Super Ornstein is much more annoying. Happy souling :)
thanks a ton man! lol and, im glad you like that passion, not many people feel the same, but again thanks for the advice, i havent beat them yet but ill try that when i get home :D
Felix Iris A piece of advice, Quelaag's Fury Sword's damage scales to how much humanity you currently have, so if you are out of humanity, something else may be a better choice of weapon. Also, I'm glad someone else wan't just running around in heavy armor swinging a greatsword.
Verdictus13 Lmao yeah, i have since beat the game and im starting fresh with a new build because i wasnt happy with that character
Felix Iris Do u have decent endurance? If so, then the highest stability shield your strength will allow, and a spear is your best bet. If you are more intelligence focused, use a magic spear (or even better an enchanted one - the ember is in DG) and homing soulmass. If not, try going into the catacombs early get your spear to fire +5.
exploring dark souls' world and finding a shortcut is one of my favorite experiences ive ever had in playing a game. what a game.
As a PC gamer who pre-ordered a very expensive edition of Dark Souls 2, I am not looking forward to the coming 1.5 month of you and all my other favourite youtubers posting tons of dark souls 2 videos while I can just wait >.
I caved in and bought the PS3 version, and will get the PC version when it releases. I admire your patience!
AlmightyBlight I honestly want to, but I don't have any money!
I welcome you brother, to the dark cave of the pc master race ! 6 weeks :| in this craphole to avoid spoilers !
***** I know the feel but only after just one hour after dark soul 2 has been out on consoles I decided to buy on on PS3 as well as PC because it's impossible to avoid all the spoilers for so long :l
lumind123 I will endure :'( , I hope .....
I love that the dark soul is humanity.
This game's implied name could be: Humanity.
Holy.. crap.
Mind=blown
Dark souls, the best game ever created... Let's see if dark souls 3 is up to par
+Commander Block uhh... the ps4 doesn't have backwards compatibility...
+Commander Block pretty sure you're lying dude, PS4 doesn't have backwards compatibility
Do you ever feel like a group of archeologists trying to interpret unearthed relics from the last dig?
What I like most is looking at the very beginning of the game, and how well it all builds to the end of the game.
As you start out, you're at your absolute weakest. You know little of the game mechanics, you're poorly equipped, you know nothing of what's ahead and how to deal with it. You meet up with your basic axe wielding hollow warriors, who rush you and swing at you like madmen. You don't know yet how to parry their attacks, how to backstab, shield stability... Getting ganged up on by these early challenges is fierce. The bridge with the firebomb throwers that leads to facing 3 melee guys in a cramped room is a huge challenge early on.
Then you find your first Black Knight. This huge dude towering above you is just waiting down there, not running to attack you until you come up to him and let him know you want some. He takes little damage from your attacks. He hits hard, he knocks you around like you're nothing. He doesn't grunt or moan like the hollows, he's quietly swinging his graceful combos at you like he's some fierce demon. This dude feels like some embodiment of evil straight from the pits of hell that you are in no position to mess with.
Fast forward to the end of the game. Sans the one in Tomb of Giants, the Black Knights had become largely absent from the game after you passed the newbie areas like Darkroot Garden and Burg and Catacombs. Now you run into bunch of them at the Kiln. You're now better equipped, you can damage these guys and probably down them in three hits if not one backstab. You've learned how to efficiently deal with these guys back in Anor Londo when you faced the Silver Knights, you can parry them now or just chain backstab them or maybe stagger them with some heavy weapon. And at this point you ought to pick up their armor and weapons and thus learn much of the lore behind these guys, what they really are. They don't come off as pure evil towering demon knights clad in black, but moreso another aspect of the tragedies that went down in the past of Lordran. You became so much stronger, and they became so much weaker all the while.
And then there's the final boss! No cutscene when you enter the battle. No dialogue. Gwyn simply spots you, charges you, and madly starts throwing attacks at you. Unlike most everything else you've faced up to this point, the huge towering behemoths that you had to roll away from when they swung at you, who felt like you were chipping at a wall trying to hurt them, this guy is nothing like them. You can stagger him. You can parry him. You can block almost all his attacks. As you played the game, the NPCs and the lore built this guy up as such a big deal, and in the end, Gwyn feels no different from the hollow warriors in the beginning of the game. Both him and the Black Knights start out as something almighty and distant, and now that you reach them they're reduced into something that the Chosen Undead can only look down on.
The game basically goes full circle, and I loves it!
“…I think the market will come around to Dark Souls and will define a generation.” Vaati, and all you og fans out there, you should be super proud. Fromsoft is now up for its 2nd game of the year hoping to follow up Sekiro, Miyazaki has been recognized for his lifetime accomplishments, and this game has been recognized as an ultimate game of all time: you guys made this happen. As someone who finally gave Fromsoft a chance when Sekiro was released and fell in love with all their games after that, thank you for never giving up on telling me to play Dark Souls.
Single best moment: I was stuck on Ornstein and Smough. Big Surprise. Everybody knows they are one of, if not the, hardest boss in the game. I had tried so many times. I got to a point where I was very confidant, and thought I could finally do it. So, if became human, and managed to summon Solaire and another player to help me fight. I was so pumped. And then I died within 30 seconds.
So, I just kept working at it. I sought help online, refused to use Estus to make my dodging better, and finally, after about 2-3 days of trying, I beat them single handed using only 2 Estus Flasks.
I have a similar story that makes ONS my favourite boss too. Except I didn't know you could summon solaire there until NG+. So that was definitely the hardest and most satisfying boss for my first playthrough.
I just killed the Asylum Demon!
Hunter Smoot good job, keep going brave undead!
Thank you. May we find the Sun together!
Hunter Smoot farewell chosen Undead I remain here and await thee.
+Zackary Smith Greetings, I am at the Undead Parish now.
Hunter Smoot good luck and conquer the game don't give up level up as high as you can grind grind grind level up level up level up grind again to retrieve rinse repeat until you are a beast.
What I love about dark souls is that you can get anyone's armour and that leads me to believe that any character in DS can as well. This leaves you with the question of identity, like, is Solaire the same person every time, is there another chosen undead who replaces you every so often and looted your corpse for the stuff it had. This is something no other work of art has ever achieved before in such capacity.
Dark Souls:
The story of how a guy made a difficult game, then he realized no one knew his game, and made a harder one that everyone raved over.
...Then he handed the game over to another director who made a weird disconnection with the fans because he designed the game differently, and thus, less difficult.
Then, one day, Sony was like, "YO MAKE DKS3 EXCLUSIVE FOR US!!1!"
Miyazaki was like, "No, but you can have THIS"
And thus, Bloodborne was... well... Born of the blood of Miyazaki's legacy.
Over the course of these games, me, and many alike, die. Many times over.
Praise the Sun, and by the Old Blood, let's hope that DKS3 kills us many more times.
Umbasa.
i love the vagueness of the storyline. it gives you hints of the true beauty of the game, but forces you to discover it on your own
That's the true genius of Dark Souls. It makes you figure out what's happening and what you have to do on your own instead of directly telling you "this is your main goal, this is the next area you need to go to, defeat this boss to move on, etc."
i spent at least 2 hours just trying to figure out how to open the door to the abyss watchers. they did their job well
People say its lazyness of the developers, i laugh at them so hard i show them this video.
Uncreative people will never get Dark Souls lore.
vaati your name is synonymous with Dark Souls now. a game that defined a generation, and a youtuber that helped us experience it
i would have never found out about this game if it wasnt for a kid on my bus reading the guide there were no seats so i sat with him and asked him what it was about and now a year and a half later hes my best friend and i have over 30 days into the 3 games combined praise the sun everybody
Good story bro :)
That's awesome
4:00 Make that ten years after. I'm just finishing my first playthrough of DS1, and it's been such an experience, that I can frankly say it's the best game I've ever played.
I borrowed Dark Souls 1 from my friend and I immediately bought both 1 and 2 after playing through Dark souls 1 I don't think I can go back to other rpgs at this point
Don't forget about Demon's Souls.
Unfortunately I don't really have anybody to talk to about Dark Souls because all my friends are too close minded to even try the game.
same
I convince ALL mine to try it, got one friend who got into as much as I did, and that was some of the most fun I've ever had playing a vidya game
Same, they all buy the new cod though 😑 thank god I have my uncle and he was into Monster hunter which was similar enough to DS to get him into it.
I got my friends to buy it but they just "oh i have to take a break" after 5 minutes and they go to play Battlefield 4 or CoD: BO3
To be honest, I'm kind of glad Dark Souls has its reputation for difficulty, otherwise I wouldn't have ever found out about it. I remember when I first found out about it, I was looking through lists of hardest games, and I saw Dark Souls on nearly every one, and I thought it looked interesting, and also, I wanted a challenge. This was sometime around early 2015, so I bought Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, and Dark Souls 2 (didn't have a PS4 yet so couldn't get Bloodborne), and initially, I hated it. I had no idea what I was doing, I died constantly, and I had no clue what was going on. But I soldiered through until I really began to love it and see things like: "Oh, there's blood on this elevator" or: " Oh, there's an enemy hiding behind this door", little details like that that made me realise what a well designed game this is, and really, it was all thanks to the wonderful people on UA-cam making videos that show these things, so thank you. Thank you, Vaati, for giving me the drive to finish the game, and thanks to everyone in the community that made me look past the supposed difficulty and see this game for what it truly is.
Gamer Ray I was introduced to Demon's Souls in 2010 I remember being stuck at the beginning of the game boletaria Palace does dying over and over and over again then my friend moved out and didn't get another chance to try Demon Souls again until I bought my own copy with my PS3 then I played Demon's Souls 4 weeks trying to figure out it's mechanics by the time I finished Demon Souls I had clocked in at 242 hours. but I was unsatisfied now my record is now 14 hours for beating Demon Souls. level 66 I like starting with the class royalty. I love the game so much I got my mom to try it she's going to try again soon after she got her fill from Dark Souls. Dark Souls I put 70 hours into that game and beat it I love from software and I love blood-borne for my PS4
it would be difficult to capture the true essence and meaning behind dark souls without making a 24 hour video, but you summed it up pretty amazingly! i will love this game and hopefully still go back to play it 50 years from now, just for old time's sakes. i hope to see some of you there! but in the meantime, see you all in dark souls 2, and PRAISE THE SUN!!!!
Just STARTED ds2 LETS GOOO
Tyler W IT'S AMAZING
Why do I think this game is different?
Because the storytelling was subtle, and that's rare in the games. The games usually push the story in your face, like: "LOOK, THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS NOW! ABSORB IT!". You will have to notice the storyline, but it won't make you look in any deeper.
It was pleasant, mystical and subtle at the same time. Music from Enya or Enigma (look up the bands if you don't know them) come to mind. Very theatrical, yet understated and fleeting.
I think the defining moment in my first playthrough of Dark Souls would be the concluding moments of Sif's fight.
After about five deaths and exhausting roughly the same number of controllers, I finally managed to start beating him with a combination of sword and bow. I was going to make it! I could feel it coming; that same feeling of anticipation and tension I felt when I first defeated the Taurus Demon. Every hit I made inched me closer to victory!
But when Sif began limping, swinging his sword ineffectually and barely holding himself up, everything I thought I knew about the game changed. I hesitated for several minutes, before consigning myself to the fact that I had no choice, and fired the last arrow.
When I walked out of that stone gate, I didn't feel that same euphoria I had experienced when defeating previous bosses. Instead, I felt sad and even rather lonely, like I had just killed one of the few honourable beings left in this decaying world. I can't think of any game that has given me such an intoxicating mix of emotions in such a short time with little more than a few modified walking animations.
I'm an aspiring game designer, but I hadn't played Dark Souls until about a month ago. I can say with exaggeration that this game has showed me exactly what this medium is capable of. I used to say to people that games are a growing medium that can potentially be something greater than any book or film. Now, I can just point to Dark Souls and say "pretty much that".
If I had to pick out one notable design choice, it'd be my first encounter with the capra demon. Most of the bosses I'd see it, and immediately run away until I could catch a glimpse of each of its moves (quelaag). I think that's a natural response: see a scary thing, run away and try to understand it.
--With the capra demon, you're put within 5 feet of it from the get-go. I died maybe 20 times before I felt I had a grasp of its moveset. Even after that, I hadn't really explored its 'arena', and didn't know how to approach it. After I managed to kill it by complete luck, I realized that was the entire point. The capra demon fight went against everything I thought I should do in a boss encounter: Tiny space, no time to react. The fact that the capra demon usually killed me in 1-3 hits was icing on top.
--That fight tested me more than any other fight. Smaug and Ornstein was really hard, but I understood everything they did. The fight's pace was slow, and I had a lot of room to maneuver...I was just never skilled enough to react to all of it, and fight them solo.
Honestly, no other game out there has a multiplayer system this in depth. I love how all the covenants have stories to them and allow for different interactions with other players. And the invasions keep me on my toes, especially areas that have automatic covenant invasions.
I loved the feeling i got when i won my first invasion. Just knowing that i was better then another player made me so f'ing happy
And now I feel sorry for that damned dragon!
I do to
i would always kill it but after this vid i don't anymore because i feel to bad
I feel so guilty now. Damnit!
It's butt will shake on!!!
Well you feel better about killing one when the one in the painted world one-hit kills you
the thing i like most about dark souls is how its design breaks the game world and enters into the real world. now i get that in some ways having to look up guides and wikis to find out what to do is bad in some ways, but has benefited dark souls a huge amount by bringing the community together, more than any other game ive seen people have stories to tell and secrets to share and that is the greatest strength dark souls has by being ambiguous it forces people to get together and talk about it and share their experience and in a way this reflects the gameworld of dark souls where many chosen undead can exist at the same time all working towards the same goal you can meet other chosen undead and share advice or help each other, and create what is essentially history books and encyclopedias for the game! Hell this is the reason i wanted to do my guide videos; to compile all the knowledge ive gained into a single space and share it!
After hearing about an official strategy guide for DS2 its made me wonder how much of what i mentioned will happen as all the information will be available so talking about things will be more matter of fact, which in a way puts me off dark souls 2!
you're guide has helped me out so much in the beginning of dark souls and all the tips and tricks made the game fun, even with the guide it was still challenging but so much fun
oh wow! i cant believe somebody recognizes us, thank you soo much! small internet eh?
Unless you can somehow see when i post things? in which case thanks for subbing ;)
GheyForGames I think more people watched your guides then are subscribed to your channel. Anyway hardcore DS fans are probably following those community channels like yours, Vati, Epicnamebro etc.
Subscribed! I finally beat Dark Souls yesterday. I missed so much of the game... never fought Artorias. Didn't even realize that Gwenevere was an illusion. This was actually all realized when i typed up Dark Souls Lore... just to see what I missed and I regret not having played through to experience all this good stuff myself. Luckily not all is spoiled so I have created a brand new character "pyromancer." The game design is really something... I noticed that when you are in character creation screen looking at the classes... they are in number order but randomized... the first two on top are the knight and warrior class but they start off at a higher level as opposed to the pyromancer who starts off at the lowest level possible. I think this was purposefully put in because it's that type of minor detail that the game is trying to show you that you must pay attention to EVERYTHING. Anyhow great videos and I'll come back and watch everything else once I figure out the rest of what's to discover.
I love the explanation of Miyazaki not being able to read some of the English so he made up parts of the story himself and thats why the games dont tell you everything.
I remember the first time I saw solaire taken over by the sunlight maggot. I said "Oh man...... that's horrible." :(
One of the few games that gets me emotional.
i was like Nooo.. while i slowly struck my sword in his heart
9:48 After having put over 300 hours in Elden Ring, and it being my first fromsoftware game. I couldn't agree more, you could see this 8 years ago. I need to play all their games now
Go for it bro you will not be disappointed, ds3 and bloodborne are masterpieces
So this is just my speculation but with the whole "progress, fail, try again, proceed" process what if when you finally give up and say screw it after you cant beat a certain boss. What if thats when you go hollow. You gave up, you feel that sudden moment of i cant do it anymore theres no way to continue going forward... then that means your character and by extension you go hollow and lose your mind
Sean Bean that's exactly what i thought :D
Sean Bean that's....literally what Vaati said.
+Sean Bean Even as I still play the game I've already gone Hollow from navigating the Crystal Cave and fighting The Bed of Chaos.
+Sean Bean The moment you truly go hollow is when you return the game to the store
IcarusAblaze Returning the game to the store and then go into a homicidal craze, since that's what hollows in the series tend to do. Otherwise you're just crestfallen.
The Bed of Chaos Fight, out of all the bosses I've fought it deemed to be the most strange to me. Fighting it gave me much hesitation and fear.
When I learned more about the boss through lore, I saw it in a different light and pushed myself even harder to end the tormented life of what was once the mother to all Daughters of Chaos.
Just started playing this because I watched a friend play this for 3hrs and was hooked. The beginning hours were a struggle and now it is coming along.sooo much fun.
I didn't play dark souls till 2020 in the middle of quarantine and it forever changed my life and the way I play video games I no longer just play the newest FPS or battle Royal now I actually play games that draw me in
same lmao. i decided to try ds1 during quarantine, and i sucked at the start so i gave up for a while. a few weeks later i came back and something just clicked, and now its one of my favourite games of all time. ive played it 3 times, played the other two games, beat sekiro, beat elden ring 3 times
"this (Dark Souls) is a game that will define a generation" You are absolutely right, and happily we will be the veterans of this new generation of games.
"we read item descriptions, we listen to dialogue and from the bones and fragments of a story we slowly and carefully craft this vision of a world. we call this vision lore." absolute poetry.
Honestly, one of my all time favorite moments in gaming was facing off with Artorias in the dlc. I mean, throughout the vanilla game, Artorias is made out to be the biggest hero - even overcoming the abyss, and then you actually get to test yourself against him? It's an honor, even if it's after he's lost his sanity. And then adding Cuiran after you've killed him adds to the mixed sense of triumph and empathy for the loss of Artorias.
That's my favourite boss fight too man, I can't agree more with what your'e saying about it
My fav boss in DkS. Really want to face him again and again.
I went through four characters before Dark Souls finally clicked for me. For the longest while I didn't seem to really be going anywhere and had no idea what I was doing with the game, so I kind of left it by the wayside. After looking up your videos and reading the lore I decided to go back in, and now I'm at Gwyn on my first complete NG run, and I just feel better for having come this far. Yes it's hard, yes you'll get really mad at it sometimes, but it's that feeling of elation when you kill a boss, find a new area or short cut, or even just get back to a bonfire after going through hell and high water and barely scraping through that makes it all worthwhile.