I really don't think she gave herself enough credit! Dark Souls is a pretty transformative experiment, I'm curious how she'd do if she ever went back to it. Thanks for watching the video, hope you dug it!
@@Wilson-108 Honestly the hardest part of Dark Souls imo is learning how to play the game & learning patterns/timings. I believe if she had been given some basic knowledge while playing like how lock-on helps, levelling up & blocking/rolling I think she would have beaten Taurus Demon in those 5 hours. As you stated Dark Souls is one of those games where if you forget or miss hints & help you are going to be in trouble.
I totally agree! The actual battles aren't nearly as challenging as really learning how the game functions. I'm interested to see how she performs in the next game...
Stuff like this makes you look differently at how people’s exposure to games can code your brain to specific habits. A lot of less experienced gamers might go hours without even thinking to hit the pause button(s) to see what menus, inventories, or control options are available to them. To a veteran gamer, that’s one of the first things you do in a new game.
This is so true. I played NES back in the day, but then didn't have any more gaming experiences till my 30s. It's wild. You have to basically learn the language of modern games.
Right? It's so interesting. One of my core gamer instincts is to pause a game when I start to see what all the menus look like, but Ellie didn't even open it until she had to. Another example pertains to reloading. When I play a shooter, I'm *constantly* reloading, but Ellie doesn't have that conditioning, so when she plays, she'll often fire an empty round at an enemy because she forgot to reload. It's so fascinating!
@Wilson-108 or even funny little 'givens,' like always going the opposite way the game is clearly pushing you toward. Or looking for the yellow in later era ps games :D
@Wilson-108 a guy i worked with and had a lot of respect for was constantly gushing about the souls games. He managed to sell me on it. I never consciously got out of being a gamer, life just sort of took over, but that was the push I needed to try them out again. He ended up lending me a console to try it out, which was wild.
I would love to see a sequel to this where she was simply allowed to ask questions. You wouldn’t be forcing her to do anything, but something like that could make it a lot easier on her end
The one thing this could have used was Ellie's reactions to the dead ends and death blizzard. Hearing someone's wails of anguish adds a certain piquancy.
I think you're right! It's interesting to think about the communal element being taken into account when developing a game, but given our interconnected world, it's fair to assume that players will band together...
@@hansolo631 I like to see this point made. But it's not like any RPG vet can pick it up and breeze through. It is esoteric and that is part of the charm.
@@hansolo631true but think about all the hidden paths ,needed rings , notable keys and freaking ringing the bells and where, these are all not communicated
I have *so many* thoughts on DS1. I need to make my own video essay. First off, Ellie did *incredibly* well for a first-timer with no tips / hints / help! I hope she tries it again! Second, I think the ‘infamous difficulty’ of Dark Souls actually works *against* the incredibly clever and thoughtful game design - there’s so many ways that players can easily get caught doing things that the game is actively communicating that they probably shouldn’t do, but, first timers assume that it’s just *supposed* to be that hard instead of realizing they don’t need to bash their head against the skeleton graveyard. Then there’s lock-on. It’s such an interesting little skill bell curve imo. Most people just starting out will not lock on and have a really tough time with the combat. Then after a while if they persist they usually become pretty reliant on lock-on. If you play even more than that you usually reach a point with your familiarity with weapons and enemies where you don’t need to lock on and it actually becomes easier in a lot of ways if you don’t, but only if you already have that foundational knowledge. The comment about spamming attacks at already dead enemies is fun too. Everything up to O&S is so seared into the creases of my brain and I'm so intimately familiar with weapons that I can basically script enemies into attacking exactly how I want and I know exactly how many hits with what weapon will kill them. Demon's Souls (Ps3) came with a very detailed and useful game manual. I do think DS1 would have greatly benefited from a manual like that. It’s an entirely different topic but game manuals have become criminally undervalued, I see a lot of people playing Morrowind for example 'blind' without any guides and having a *very* difficult time and blaming it on the game without understanding that the game would have come with an instruction booklet which explained the things that most modern game tutorials do but older games couldn’t do in-game for various reasons ranging from space limitations to achieving a specific atmosphere. I could keep rambling on but I’ll wrap this up. Cool vid!
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts, Nickolie! I couldn't agree more regarding the difficult perception of the game, you articulated that very well. People go into this game expecting to beat their head against the wall, that it almost feels wrong if they're not. I'm really curious to see how she would have done if she'd used the lock on. I don't expect it would have completely transformed the proceedings, but I think it would have made things easier for her overall. 100%, I miss gaming manuals so much. There's nothing like digging into one of those. Nintendo always used to make fantastic, full color manuals. A relic of a bygone era, sadly. Thanks again for the comment and checking out the video, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
it made me really sad to see her stuck like that... i dont know her at all obviously but i feel a really strong sense of empathy towards being clueless in a game like that. to me learning how to play a new game is always a community effort, like the knowledge gets passed down to the "next generation" of players from the veteran players (or at least ppl somewhat familiar with the game who get their friends to try it) so while its definitely a worthwhile experiment to see how someone interacts with the game with no help, and obviously avoiding giving TOO MUCH feedback or spoiling the game is also important... i think helping each other learn how to play a new game or helping ppl figure out a part they are stuck on is a very important part of gaming as a whole, and to me this video shows how heartbreaking and confusing of an experience gaming can be without anyone to help you figure out wtf is going on
Very well said, appreciate you sharing your perspective! I completely agree. Especially with the advent of the internet, communal cooperation is more prolific than ever and I think that's a great thing. I'm going to play with how much information I give Ellie in future videos. Do you think I should provide her with more?
Ellie's run shows an impressive amount of skill! In only 5 hours, with no previous knowledge of the game, she managed to make it to Taurus Demon, without leveling up or locking on, with a solid chunk of time being just learning how the game works in the first place, and only having 75 deaths? She's been essentially challenge running as her first playthrough, and has been doing above average for a first souls experience, it's awe inspiring!
Thank you for leaving such a kind comment! I totally agree, I don't think she gives herself enough credit for how well she did. I think you'll see some serious progress that's made in the next video...
This was honestly a really cool idea. I now understand the tutorials of certain games so much better. The "What's her name again" got me. It got me good. Great work on this one!
I first played dark souls when I was 12, I finished it after I turned 14 lmao. Dark souls felt so challenging back then, specially since I never ever searched up guides or information about the game, I just played and played, I gave up many times, I gave up for months before picking it up again. I’m not gonna lie, this game changed me as a person and turned me into the man I’m now.
Wow, very impressive that you were able to complete it at such a young age! I had a similar experience with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time when I was a kid. It took me like 5 years, haha. For sure, many different games have helped shaped me as well!
I played it at 9 when it first released. It sure did make me a much better gamer! Took me a few months to beat it. I remember being stuck in Blight Town for a long time.
The thing you mentioned about new players feeling the need to fight and kill everything is so interesting. I started watching this UA-camr BassPlays playthrough ds1 and ds2 and after a bit noticed he took on every single enemy he came across. I feel like I tend to see how many enemies I can get past without combat in order to preserve estus because i never know how far away i am from a bonfire. Also the ending where you talk about Ellies change in mood is actually so upsetting
Yeah it's something that I've noticed quite a bit when watching other people play games! It's really interesting, I tend to adopt the same strategy as you do. I know, it was sad, but she feels much better now :)
When I heard that Ellie died 75 times, I decided that I need to replay the first DS to see if I could do better. I beat it once without any trouble on KEYBOARD and MOUSE 12 years ago, but now I'm struggling with some fights in Arkham Knight on normal difficulty
I'd love to hear how you do! I'm very impressed that you could complete the game on keyboard and mouse, I imagine I would play absolutely terribly using those, lol.
@@Wilson-108 17 deaths to beat Taurus Demon. DS was my first and last 3D souls/-like and after playing it again I'm thinking about removing DS2 and DS3 from my backlog, because of how stressful they are. I was literally shaking for 10 minutes after beating Taurus (with full HP after 8 attempts =) ). I blame my anxiety disorder; playing video games as a teen was much easier. Curiously, 2D souls-likes are fine (LOVE Grime)
Totally understand! Some games are just too stressful to be worth the slog. I'm quite the anxious fellow myself, so I can only handle so much. I'm not familiar with Grime, but I'll have to check it out! Salt & Sanctuary was a 2D souls-like that I really enjoyed, if you haven't tried that one!
Great video! It was a very interesting perspective to see. Dark Souls 1 changed how I view and play video games, and even how I view life. It's a tough and sometimes depressing game, but it seems Ellie made quite some progress in the first 5 hours. Pretty sure this amount of progress took me much longer.
Thanks so much, Zander! I really appreciate the kind words. I think it's been a transformative game for a lot of people. She did a really solid job and watching this video in the context of the *next* video (which should be done in a couple of days), is even more interesting... Would love to hear your thoughts if you get around to watching the next one!
I love "experiments" like these. Game design etiquette is something we take as natural law, and it is always interesting to see how people outside of our bubble interact with a game's mechanics.
I really like this video and format, but think it would really benefit from a conclusion where you explain the mechanics and other elements that she missed, describe her reaction to learning them, and have her try another hour or so to get her thoughts on the game with this newfound knowledge. It would be very interesting to compare the before and after and possibly leave Ellie with a more positive impression of this and other games she's stuggled with.
Thank you for the feedback and kind words! All that she learned in this video will apply very well in the next one, so I hope you'll come back and check that one out. Would love to hear your thoughts!
Oh wow, that is so encouraging to hear, thank you for leaving this comment!! I hope you dig the other ones, let me know if you have any particular thoughts. And let me know if there are videos you'd be interested in seeing :)
@@Wilson-108 no recommendations at all, your natural inclination to make a video about something is already on point and beyond. All i make is lightsaber/star wars content but these are the kind of shorter form video essays that make me feel like i could do it too. Cheers mate 🍻
Good attempt, Ellie! I have introduced a lot of people to the souls series, and this video is why I have always made a point to try and be there when people start. There are a lot of tips and tricks that are freely available from community members that help with the frustration and overcoming the challenges. Hope you go back and try again, or even try out one of the newer games with quality of life improvements. Don't you go Hollow on us!
Thank you for leaving such a nice comment! I know she appreciates them. I think we may revisit this game for another video. In the meantime, we're gonna take a visit to another title from From Software... Let me know if there are any games you'd like to see her play! Thanks for watching :)
The part of the Souls games that I personally struggle with is the 'teeter-totter' of dying, losing souls, not being able to level, dying, losing souls... etc. People who are on the other side of it to where they're strong so they keep more souls and increase their levels constantly think the game is a breeze! But I find being on the down-side of it to be REALLY frustrating. And those other people almost can't see it, from both directions.
Absolutely, that's very well said. For a lot of people, overcoming anything in Dark Souls feels more like relief than reward, I think. Sometimes, the frustrating whiplash of the gameplay just doesn't click, which I totally understand.
I think that's one of the biggest reason people don't enjoy or at least find the games hard is dying doesn't just respawn enemies like most games but also makes you lose all your currency. DS2 made it worse by removing your max hp for dying punishing you even more. Now while true there is a ring that lowers the total lost & most enemies stop spawning normally after kills no where is this mentioned or explained.
I am not a novice gamer, but, watching this, I got to appreciate that i was first introdused to DS by watching a commented walkthrough that went up until Taurus demon. This prevented a lot of frustration and showed how I actually should approach the game.
I think a resource like that is extremely helpful in a game like this. I imagine Ellie would have had a much easier time had she watched something like that first!
Every time I see a new player struggling with dark souls, I'm all the more baffled and puzzled as to how _my_ first playthrough was so smooth. I just knew what to do despite actively avoiding anything about the game online prior to beating it. Maybe it all depends on how much you "trust" the game on a deep psychological level to deliver you a good time. I'm a latecomer so I was never exposed to the whole "dark souls hardest game hard game super duper difficult hurr durr" nonsense, but instead I was drawn to the philosophical and introspective elements that the experience presumably had. It's such a different perspective to go into a game with, I imagine.
I can relate to this! In fairness, I was streaming the game during my first play through so I had some assistance, but I did feel an inherent understanding of a lot of the game's components. I feel as though I'm in a minority, but I actually don't think these games are as hard as people perceive them to be. Maybe it's just in my wheelhouse, but I tend to proceed through these with less pushback than others seem to have. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, it's interesting to hear other perspectives!
@@Wilson-108I feel the same, and agree with you that their infamous reputation leads many new players to make things more difficult for themselves-- assuming the games are really that hard, rather than assuming there's something they missed in the mechanics or lessons they can learn from and adapt to. Soulsborne games especially trip up experienced gamers since they look like standard action RPGs on the surface. Many gamers will play them as such and hit wall after wall. But, once they become familiar with the mechanics, approach, pacing, stamina, navigation, etc., they realize why souls games are their own genre and "learn the language," so to speak. That's the "click" many souls gamers refer to. There's a reason why the community agrees that the hardest souls is your first.
Great video! Id really like a follow up video with you gently nudging her in the right direction for things like weapons, bonfires and game mechanics. Would be really interesting to see how her experience changes. I was really frustrated with Dark Souls when it initially came out, but with some guidance, the souls games have became my all time favorite.
Thanks so much, Cosmo! I really appreciate it :) Yeah, that's a great suggestion, I've been thinking about how much information to provide and how much to hold back. We're recording her gameplay for the next video and I'm still figuring out the best way to handle that. Yup, I was a skeptic at first as well, but I became a true believer with enough play time!
First time I played I spent a fair amount of time down in the cemetery and in new londo ruins before figuring out the correct path. It was thoroughly frustrating :D
My cousin had the same experience with DS1. Didn't notice the path up the cliff & thought that the cemetery & ruins were the only way forward so gave up after he couldn't push through even as a experienced gamer. After I explained to him about the path up & how the other two were both a trap for new players but also for veterans to gain item early he really enjoyed the game & got all the way to Seeth before stopping (Simply got distracted with other games)
It's so interesting to see. I had a similar gaming background, playing mostly racing games and very linear, story focused action games and few at that. I felt the same about dark souls as well and stopped roughly after ringing the first bell. Came back 1,5years later and the souls games are now my favorite thing ever. Just finished the grind for pale tongues in DS3 for the 100%. Second time since I did that on the PS4 when it came out I must say, she did well, from what was shown in the video. What would also be interesting, is to see how not knowing how long the testing timespan span is would affect decision making.
I've heard quite a few people that bounced off the Souls-like genre, only to come back and love it a long time after that. Glad you developed the taste for them! I agree, I think she did a great job. That's a really interesting thought, I hadn't thought of that. Maybe I'll incorporate that into a future video... Thanks for watching!
Never played a souls like, despite all the good things I've heard. Precisely because of what Ellie went through. Games like Tsushima or GOW Ragnarök are more up my ally personally. P.S. Great video btw, keep em coming Wilson.
Thank you so much, Georgi! Glad you dug it :) I totally get it, these games are very much an acquired taste and I don't blame anyone for not being into them. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is a good entry point if you're ever interested in dabbling!
@Wilson-108 Finished it when it came out, was about at the maximum amount of frustration I was willing to take, especially from that bullfrog on the first levels. However I was quite younger then, and I do have a lot more patience now. Am thinking elden ring or Bloodborne what would you suggest?
I actually haven't played Elden Ring yet (see my "backlog" video for more on that, haha), but Bloodborne is fantastic! Definitely worth a shot if you're up for it.
Ellie got further than me when I attempted to play the game for the first time a decade ago, so good for her. I remember playing it, become increasingly frustrated with it, losing my patience with it (mainly due to bonfires not being outside boss rooms meaning every death is a long runback) and then eventually quitting out. I'm glad she didn't go to the graveyard first, that's what I did for several hours before noticing it wasn't the right way to go, and also glad she didn't get invaded which ALSO happened to me in my playthrough and was the point I gave up on the game. The first one I completed was ER a few years back mainly due to the hype around it (also my 4th souls game attempt, I tried BB and DeS before it, failing to finish either) and tried my hardest to not look things up and the amount of stuff I never learnt for tens of hours was incredible, like how to summon or what runes do (neither of which I used in my playthrough anyhow) but even I powered through (mainly due to bonfires being outside boss rooms) and finished it. I went back to DS1 this year and finished it with ease since it all just clicks once you know what to do. What shocked me the most about this was that Ellie didn't blame the game (as far as I could tell) she blamed herself which is honestly really interesting to think about. She felt bad about her progress but didn't think "WOW THIS GAME IS FUCKING TERRIBLE WHAT THE FUCK" she thought "Man, I'm not doing too well. Am I missing something? This is really hard." I also felt bad for her when she said that she was stupid :(. Souls games are notorious for not telling the player anything (God forbid imagine if "Disasters are gone after the defeat of the Gravelord Servant." popped up on her screen as she was playing.) so a lot of it comes down to just trail and error and experimenting hoping for the best. She also has a HELL of a lot more patience than I do, I guess being cheered on by you helped (even in spirit) but I legit would've given up hours ago if I was in her position. I honestly think you should let her play some more to see how far she goes and maybe give her a tip before each hour session just to assist her slightly. I'm sure you searched things up when you were playing so it'd be nice to let her know a few things here and there, I'm sure once she learns humanity allows for summon signs to appear she'll love that.
Thank you for sharing all of this, Retro! Oh yeah, having to run all the way back to bosses is killer. That was driving her crazy. I actually haven't played ER yet, but I'm so excited to do so. From games are so fascinating to me, so I can't wait to see how that one sits with me relative to Souls and Bloodborne. Isn't it amazing how much easier these become once you have the experience? It's night and day. That's a really interesting observation! She rarely cursed the game and instead placed criticism on herself. I think part of that was due to her wanting to give me good material for the video. I think that actually made her more patient, too! I think that's a great idea, and one that some others seem to be mentioning. I'll definitely have to make a "sequel" of some kind in the new year. Thanks again for such a thoughtful comment. It's so fun to hear from people with insights like this!
Great video, great narration and editing, well done. So many emotions. It was reaaaally painful to watch at times, but in a good way lol As much as I love the souls series, yeah, they absolutely suck at explaining their mechanics. Elden Ring went the other way around at dumped 500 pages of tutorials from the very start, which is also hard to register for a beginner's brain. Looking back at DS1 one can only scratch their head and wonder however this game became so popular. What would be really cool is to watch you and Ellie talk about this experience. See her reaction to the proper use of all the systems she ignored, like targeting.
Thank you so much for the kind words, Yuki!! I appreciate it so much :) You're totally right! These games can feel so impenetrable at first that I don't blame anyone for bailing on them. You've got to get over that "hump" and it also surprises me how many people have managed to do that. I haven't play Elden Ring quite yet (very excited to do so!), but when I do, maybe Ellie can give that one a spin. That's a great idea! I want to find a good way to incorporate more of Ellie's unfiltered thoughts as she actually plays. Look for that in future and let me know if there are any games in particular you'd like to see her play!
my very first ds run was soooo similar as hers. Exept my souls fan friend was next to me reminding me the basic mechanics, taught me how to navigate the menu, reminded me to lock my cam, even had to tell me there was a secret way out of the asylum demon to find your weapons, or to not go straight to the dragon and go under the bridge to the undead parish instead, etc. The game was still frustrating because at the time i was a total noob who wasnt even used to the xbox controls (as i was a nintendo only player from my childhood untill the age of 21 - when i played DS for the first time at my friends place). My partner was a bit sad because they would ve liked me to experience the game like them, when the game came out and there wasnt any help on the internet. But i know i would ve missed this masterpiece that way and just quit by frustration if someone hadnt been there reminding meall these tips and handed me the right path when stuck for an hour on the wame way. Sometimes, for someone unfamiliar with challenging videogames in general like this one, you need someone to backseat you a little. I'm not saying they should do all the work for you, but old players often forget that what they find 'basic' is hugely challenging for someone who has never played any game like this before. And this gaming experience is as valid as going blindfolded and just discovering all by yourself. Remember that the purpose of a game is to HAVE FUN. Now DS remastered is one of my favourite games of all times with like 100+ hours total and like 75 total hours on elden ring and i wanna play more games like these because i just fell completely in love with the whole formula. And that afternoon at my friend's house became a really sweet memory. Anyways, an interesting video, thanks for the lil experiment !
Thanks for sharing your experiences!! It's really fun to hear from people with their own DS stories. Yeah, I think this is a perfect example of a game that warrants some back seating to make sure the player is staying on track. I was also a Nintendo only gamer until I was 21, that's so funny! I'd love to fast forward and see how Ellie would be doing with 100 hours of practice... Thank you for watching and for the kind words! Let me know if there are any other games you'd like to see her play in the future :)
I'd love to hear Ellie's live reactions. I bet she screamed in joy when she killed Asylum Demon ! If you ever do another likewise video, and of course if Ellie is okay with it, please record live reactions !
Thank you for that feedback, it seems a lot of people are interested in that! We'll definitely be making more of these videos and I'll look into getting her live reactions :) Let me know if there are any particular games you'd like to see her play!
Ellie's experience in Undead Asylum and Undead Burg closely mirrors my experience in the Cemetery of Ash and High Wall of Lothric in Dark Souls 3 - My first Souls game. I struggled with the equipment menu just as much as she did. I couldn't get through the whole game, let alone the first boss without a walkthrough. I eventually redeemed myself beating Dark Souls Remastered and Elden Ring with zero outside help, though. I'd love to see a part 2 to this where you give Ellie a couple helpful hints. She HAS to meet Solaire!
My first From title was Dark Souls 2 and I had my fair share of struggles too, haha! I feel like your first Souls-like is the toughest and acts as a sort of trial by fire. I even had help playing through it, as I was streaming it to a (very) helpful audience. Props on the DS and ER completions! You know I actually think that's a great idea, a return to the game once Ellie's had time to digest her time with the game (and maybe played some other adjacent games...) Thanks for watching and taking the time to share your thoughts, I really appreciate it! :)
Part of Dark Souls' inscrutability owes to its status as a community driven game. Secrets, jargon, and even the intricacies of rudimentary mechanics are shared through the experience of the community at large and passed down to newer players through wikis and comment sections. This video does provide some excellent insight into what happens when that community is taken away and an absolute novice is left to their own devices.
It's really interesting, isn't it? Few modern games are so predicated on their communities. Dark Souls, and other From titles, are truly fascinating beasts. I appreciate the kind words, let me know if there are any other games you'd be interested in seeing Ellie play!
Like some other guy said, if she is willingly, make a part 2 where she can ask within reason, to feel more the experience of "someone who plays a game first/second time, now with someone who knows the game", i guess we can conclude interesting things from the interaction, perceptions, etc
Yup, that's a really solid idea and definitely something we may do in the future! Let me know if there are any other games you're interested in seeing her play :)
Great video, and effective analysis! I'm really curious to see a direct comparison to a game that does give more direction to the player, such as forced tutorials and the infamous yellow paint. The newer Tomb Raiders and God Of War are the titles that come to mind. Btw I just finished GOW Ragnarok and I super-duper highly recommend giving GOW and GOWR a try! Incredible gameplay and story, I have never been closer to tears from a video game, and one with a name like "God Of War" no less
Thanks so much, Kyoto!! I'd like to make more videos in this series, so we'll definitely do a more straight forward game in the future. I saw your video, I can't wait to listen to it! I haven't played Ragnarok yet so I don't want to see anything haha. But I *loved* God of War 2018, such a fantastic game!
Soulsborne games, especially dark souls 1 are the games that reward player a lot when they have attention to details. It is how the game teach players how to play and also told more about the lore as well. Every single items description, every single npc dialogues holds so many useful informations for players to advance forward. It does not spoon feed you everything, but if you looking for it, the game is more than happy to provide. Thats why i felt Ds1 is so unique and immersive, because if you don’t immerse yourself to the game, you could not enjoy it to the fullest.
I also have a friend whose favorite game is Elden Ring, but he could not finish any other souls-like. The biggest reason is because he often skip everything the game gives you: npc dialogues, tuitorials, ect… He could get away with this in elden ring since he watched a lot of guides on youtube but seems not doing so in any others. Which often lead to him dropping every games mid way.
For sure, it definitely rewards attention to detail! I think you have to get over a "hump" of sorts in From Software games. It's tough to do, but if you can surmount that I think you begin to have a lot more fun. It seems like different From games click for different people.
I'll never forget my first ds1 playthrough. It was about 11 years ago. Prepare to die edition on steam had non variable mouse movement for your camera controls, but k+m was all I knew so I trudged on. I was playing on a laptop that could barely run the game, and I ended up getting stuck at quelaag. Not because I lacked the determination to beat her, but because my game would crash every time she breathed lava. I had to take a break at that point and came back about a year later when I got a better pc. I was amazed to discover that my dodge rolls had been slow, not because the game had been running badly, but because I had too much armor equipped and was fatrolling 😅. I beat the game after that, and the rest is history. From demon's souls to elden ring, every major fromsoft release has a permanent place in my soul
Wow, I can't imagine playing the game on an underpowered laptop, that is extremely impressive! Hats off to you. I'm glad you were able to take it down when you came back around to it. I'm a big From fan as well, can't wait to see what they're cooking up next!
She drank estus on full hp I can relate. It should be coded in to not heal when hp is full (optional) since sometimes people want to waste estus for example in pvp people show they used all healing down. It is really interesting to see people not used to gaming play games.
Haha, I've been there too! That's a terrible feeling when you accidentally do that. That would be a huge QOL improvement. It really is! Let me know if there are any particular games you'd like to her try in the future :)
You have insane patience. I get it's an experiment, but this is frustrating just to watch. No dodging, no lock-on, no level up? Well that is a challenge run, I'll give her that.
"What's her name again?" 😆 Interesting little experiment, Wilson! I've looked into a couple of UA-camr's "I forced my GF to play DS" playlists, but they run out of steam pretty quickly - this format seems a far better fit for that. What surprised me was learning at the end that Ellie *did* have some gaming experience, because her struggles with DS - which revels in being cryptic AF - seemed very relatable to me for someone who just doesn't have this... gamer mind, so to speak. I've watched my own GF try her hand at DS years and years ago, and she fared similarly to Ellie because, I don't know... her synapses aren't connected the way gamers' synapses usually are? 😉 (But she wasn't a gamer at all, except for mobile games.) Well, FromSoft's games are in a league of their own as far as their willingness to explain more than absolutely necessary is concerned. I've been on board since Demon's Souls, and I still don't think I could concisely explain all intricacies of the menu and the synergies of the stats. Anyhow, let me ask us all to observe one moment of silence for poor Ellie's trials and tribulations. Hope this experiment didn't cost you your relationship! 😁
Thanks so much, Zorro!! I wasn't sure if this idea had been done to death already, hopefully I put my own little spin on it. I think a game opting to be cryptic really limits its appeal to a more casual audience, even more so than a game being hard, but simple. I think you really do start to develop a certain "gaming literacy" after playing so many games, but it takes a long time to hone. I couldn't either! I was having to Google stuff myself even as she was playing. I'll let her know you said that, I know she'll appreciate it haha. She dug the final video so I think I'm in the clear (hopefully)!
Wow, this is extremely interesting. When you have lots of knowledge about a game it makes you forget that some people won’t even check something like the inventory for an hour. Or they’ll just toss aside the roll, pretty much the most important thing to learn in the game. If you end up continuing this I think for preparation you should make a new character, reach the Taurus Demon and let her watch as you fight it. Allow her to analyze how someone with experience plays and how it differs from her gameplay. Of course tell her nothing and give no info of how or why you do certain things. It’ll be a sort of reminder of what you as the player can do and maybe clue her in a bit about the importance of rolling.
Isn't it fascinating? It's so interesting to see how a newcomer plays relative to you or me, people with dozens of hours of experience. You know, that's a really cool idea and hasn't been suggested by anyone else. I very well may try to incorporate that into this series in the future! Let me know if there are any particular games you'd like to see her play :)
It took me six hours to beat the Taurus demons. I played it totally blind even tho I've been playing games since I was like 10 y/o. It's okay Ellie, you did great. PS: what about explaining the mechanics she missed and letting her play some more for a second video, I'm she would kill it
Please tell Ellie that she did so good and it's not her fault if the game doesn't repeat informations or is criptic. A lot of us had help from internet, friends, just talking to people helps so much understanding more about how to play it ! It's very normal to not know when to roll or even what is exactly the purpose of it when you tried to hit one enemy and two others are coming your way bc you attracted them by mistake. We underestimate how much these exchanges helps us navigate this kind of games, and souls-like are difficult to understand, and DS1 even more. When you haven't played it before, and with no information whatsoever, it's normal to be overwhelmed. At first the enemies seems to be fast and this is hard to react properly but the more you play it the easier it will be (like all things in life). Ellie you are not bad at this game, you just lack experience it's ok !!!!!!! Dark Souls is a game of patience and strategy, playing 5 hours with a boyfriend that just watch while saying nothing as you die repetetly DOES undermine your spirit ! YOU CAN DO IT !!!!!
First, this is a good video misery loves company and I've had my fair share Second Yeah I died way too many times cause I didn't understand any mechanics and no I didn't want to switch weapons but after some experiments, it finally clicked this game is to be explored and everything in it should be explored the numbers mean something everything makes sense (Except for how you level up your weapon to +10) but yeah it finally started to make sense but I had wasted 10 hours I felt stupid and Dark Souls will make you feel stupid cause the answer was right there BUT remember you're smarter now so the enemies will pay for what they did to the stupid you hope you document more of this cause it was fun maybe with a little coaching
Thanks for watching! Yeah, I think once the game "clicks", it becomes a lot more enjoyable. It just takes longer to click for some than others. I'm definitely considering a follow up video in the future!
This was really well narrated. I hope you get Elli, err, Ellie to play other souls games. I'm currently on my first playthrough of DS3 so that would be my selfish pick but elden ring would be cool too.
Thank you so much, I really appreciate it! I'll keep the game a secret for now, but I think you'll be very interested in the next video... hope to see you again for that!
@@Wilson-108 I will indeed be around for that one. I subbed already lol. I'll turn on notifications so I don't miss that one. Looking forward to it! And good luck to you and Ellie on the next gaming science adventure lol. Cheers!
Awesome, welcome aboard my friend!! We just wrapped up all the playing/footage capture tonight. I'm moving over the next few days so there will probably be a bit of a delay, but will definitely have the next video out next week. I think people who enjoyed this video are really gonna like the next one!
In my first playthrough i spent 120 hours to finish the game(it was my first souls game) then i finished the other souls games one after one everytime i got better and realized that understanding the mechanics of this games is the hardest part and everything will be easy after that
That's why I go to the internet whenever I am stuck at a soulslike game in this manner. Not knowing how to equip an item should make you go to the internet for the answers. No point bashing your head against a wall.
Contrary to Ellie, I'm very cautious, I never rush (which can be bad sometimes), and always fix my equipment at the first opportunity, if the game allows it I don't know how many tries took me to beat the asylum demon, and when I did (with just a tiny slight of hp), I felt amazing I'm a new player, which had never played any souls-like game before, and the first things that gave me trouble was the camera, and the auto-locking on enemies. I also have a big fear of heights so many parts of the games are terrifying because attacking usually moves you fordwards, sometimes into your doom if you're not careful
I'm the same way! I play veeerry slowly when I begin a new game. There's nothing like the rush of beating a boss in one these games :) Very true, heights are one of your biggest adversaries in Dark Souls!
I still to this day always try to equip items from the inventory instead of the equipment screen sometimes for a few minutes before I remember, it's definitely weird dark souls doesn't let you do that
@Wilson-108 I feel like half of the things that confused Ellie also confused me, Dark Souls does a pretty bad job teaching people what to do, even player notes are too limited to help you learn half of this stuff
Hardest enemy in all Dakr Souls is the camera angle and the fact ur guy will swing at the wrong direction unless specificly target locked. Credit to Ellie since i rage quited DS3 at the first boss for those reasons and im a Chivalry 2 Veteran player so my frustration of my guy atacking in the wrong direction was too much for Friday night fun gaming.
Oh yeah, nothing feels worse than whiffing after a big swing. I'm impressed by her patience, I wouldn't blame anyone for bailing on one of these games!
I should probably stop using the rem "experiment" since it wasn't *technically* an experiment, haha, but yes! I would definitely like to repeat it with Elden Ring in the future. We've got a different From Software game coming up in the next video. I hope you'll join for that!
Despite being pretty used to games it took me a few tries to get through Dark Souls, and I think this run kind of backs up a lot of my issues, albeit to a greater extent as I am a #gamer. Some things just aren't well explained, and the repetition of the runback gets ANNOYING, not hard, just annoying to the point you don't want to do it any more. I know fans hate hearing this but I'll say it, an optional tutorial, where like you have like 10 minutes of doing menu and navigation challenges, 5 minutes of an endgame Strength build against some mobs, then 5 minutes of an endgame dex build against a boss, it'd help a ton. So much of the issues are from not know what to do, even if you level and explore knowing HOW to level and how to spot environmental clues, even if Ellie could have gotten past the Taurus demon I can't see her having much fun later if she builds a bad character not knowing how to do it. Still she's a great sport to go through this so much without help.
It really can't be overstated how annoying it is to run back to wherever you were when you died, haha. I'm with you, that would help a ton. It's interesting to see how From has become a little bit more generous with teaching players in more recent games. You're right, even if she could get through the Taurus Demon, she'll just be faced with another frustrating road block. You really need some guidance to thrive in a game like this. She certainly is, I'm very appreciate of her!
I think some more context about what Ellie's played would have helped. At the start it almost sounds like she's only played Minesweeper, but then at the end you say that she's mainly played linear action games and show footage from Uncharted. To me that sounds like a #realgamer, but maybe the standards have been raised since my day.
That's a good point, I hadn't thought of that! The script for the next video has already been recorded, but maybe I can provide some more context in a future video. Thanks for the suggestion :)
No offense against Ellie intended, but this video very clearly illustrates why games become a dumbed down, handholding mess when devs try to reach the widest possible audience (and thus to not frustrate clueless newbies). I'm not saying that no games should be like this. Im just stating that the pursuit of simultaneously pleasing both "hardcore" old timers and people entirely unfamiliar with "proper" games is in vain.
It seems like many agree with you regarding games being dumbed down. But I think we'll always have access to games that provide less guidance for players, at least I hope!
I bought my gf dark souls remastered so she could help me get out of the tomb of the giants (I was also doing a blind first playthrough) and I think she ended up liking the game more than I do lol. She already has 90+ hours on it while I'm at 20ish.
Thanks for watching, everyone!! Hope you dug the video :) Are you interested in more videos like this? If so, what games would you like to see played? As always, if you enjoyed, a "like" helps the video spread to more people!
1 my favorite series is Disgaea. Disgaea 2 PC Onword Game lets you brake it in half many ways like LV 99 Trick(Google that in post game if you want to experience blind playthrough and do not want to break game yet.). My favorites are Disgaea 2 and 5.
Welcome Ana, nice to meet you! You know, I've actually been thinking that Hollow Knight would a perfect fit for another video. Stay tuned for that one!
Please tell me you told her about the mechanics she missed and what would have helped made it easier after she was done. I am curious how much further she would get knowing atleast about locking on and leveling up more. The most frustrating experience I had with DS1 that made me quit three times was 1. getting cursed in the Great Hollow/Ash Lake and not knowing how to cure it and having to go all the back up blight town while cursed. And then 2. having the fire keeper die and not knowing hot to revive her and losing motivation to keep going. and 3. Not having a weapon good/upgraded enough for Orenstein and Smough and not wanting to go back through Anor Londo and Sens fortress just to get something better. I think I finally got through the whole game on my third or fourth try of playing it. I definitely prefer the newer Fromsoft games and feel they are much more intuitive than DS1 but I do like/respect DS1
We actually only discussed it after I showed her the video! I'm actually really curious to see how she would now that she's learned so much about the game. Those sound like super frustrating scenarios. I wonder how Ellie would fair with Blighttown, haha. Yeah, you can tell From has learned a lot as they've continued to hone their style. I think I'll have Ellie attempt another From game for the next video, if you have any suggestions... Really appreciate you watching!
I know you had your own vision for how this experiment should be performed, but i think you should have helped her a LITTLE bit. Dont tell her where to go, obviously. But just explaining that she has an equipment menu, or reminding her she can level up since she hasn't played many RPGs, could have saved her tremendous, unnecessary frustration, and made her feel much better about playing the game. We all probably had someone explain little things like this to us in games when we were younger, and Dark Souls is not a game intended for someone with minimal video game experience to play blindly.
I appreciate the feedback! I'm trying to tweak and balance how much assistance I provide to her in future videos. Let me know if you have any other thoughts on how I could improve this series!
I was really impressed with her, overall! Most people with no experience would have struggled to ever reach Lordran. She's got a lot of potential, for sure.
@@Wilson-108 I think your video shows that perfectly. Sometimes we forget how many things we figure out because we played 100s of games before some janky one with weird menus and whatnot.
@Wilson-108 very much so, I love these typa videos where I get to see new players' perspectives on stuff that I'm pretty familiar with. I think you could continue in the way this video was formatted but honestly, with how the rest of the game is, I think it would be kinda repetitive and maybe even boring if it's just her getting lost/hitting a roadblock, making the tiniest bit of progress, rinse and repeat. I think if you continued but gave her the tiniest of hints, it would help alot. Also if you'd want her to do the DLC, lord knows getting there is convoluted and unintuitive
Duly noted, thanks for sharing your thoughts! I'm with you, I find stuff like this super interesting. I agree, I think it would get boring if she wasn't able to make meaningful progress. I want to try different games with her to mitigate the likelihood of this issue, but I'm open to making a Dark Souls part 2 video in the future, as well (assuming she's up for it, haha). Let me know if there are any other games you're interested in seeing her try!
I think its safe to say that dark souls is designed for people with high gaming literacy with very minimal tutorial and functionally no hand-holding. I personally despise tutorials due to how it ruins the pacing and immersion, sometimes I even lose my patience over how long some beginning tutorials are and quit very quickly. I love fromsoft's game design where they just kick the player into the world after 10-15 minutes of trying to hold your bearings and just say "get out and go" - most mechanics in a game you can easily pick up through intuition alone but that obviously comes with having picked up a ps1 controller since I was 3 hahaha Seeing poor Ellie play is so extremely painful to watch though!
I think you're spot on about that. From's approach weeds out a lot of people, but those that stick around are rewarded handsomely. I do think people who have been gaming since a young age are at a huge advantage. Trust me, she was in pain too lol. Thanks for watching!!
You should do a second 5 hours on the same savefile but this time you give her occasional gameplay tips (camera lock-on, using souls for leveling, stamina, etc). I'd be curious to see how much it changes her enjoyment of the game In my mind Dark Souls was never a "play it blind/alone" kind of game anyway. The community aspect of its design is literally baked _in_ the game via the message system after all. So I would not consider giving advice to her "cheating"
Feel like this was my first experience with Dark Souls lol. I just straight up didn't like how combat felt tho so it was more offputting then just frustrating otherwise i would have tried to power thru more of it
Totally understandable! The combat takes a long time to get used to. Even just capturing this footage felt super unnatural to me, after having not played the game in so long.
This Ellie girl seems super relatable
Hmm yes seems like the girl next door...
Thou shalt git gud
Who?
@@davealayaAmen ! 😔🙏
You have my condolences, ma’am. May your estus flask remain full.
Thumbs up for Ellie for putting herself through this kind of experiment.
Oh yeah, big props to Ellie!! Hope you enjoyed :)
Don't feel too bad Ellie - it took me about 10 hours to beat the Taurus demon the first time. Those 10 hours changed how I play video games.
I really don't think she gave herself enough credit! Dark Souls is a pretty transformative experiment, I'm curious how she'd do if she ever went back to it.
Thanks for watching the video, hope you dug it!
@@Wilson-108 Honestly the hardest part of Dark Souls imo is learning how to play the game & learning patterns/timings.
I believe if she had been given some basic knowledge while playing like how lock-on helps, levelling up & blocking/rolling I think she would have beaten Taurus Demon in those 5 hours.
As you stated Dark Souls is one of those games where if you forget or miss hints & help you are going to be in trouble.
I totally agree! The actual battles aren't nearly as challenging as really learning how the game functions. I'm interested to see how she performs in the next game...
Took me four hours to beat Gundyr, first tried him everytime since.
The taurus demon was the reason I quit the game THREE times and it took a year to beat him lmao
Stuff like this makes you look differently at how people’s exposure to games can code your brain to specific habits. A lot of less experienced gamers might go hours without even thinking to hit the pause button(s) to see what menus, inventories, or control options are available to them. To a veteran gamer, that’s one of the first things you do in a new game.
This is so true. I played NES back in the day, but then didn't have any more gaming experiences till my 30s. It's wild. You have to basically learn the language of modern games.
Right? It's so interesting. One of my core gamer instincts is to pause a game when I start to see what all the menus look like, but Ellie didn't even open it until she had to. Another example pertains to reloading. When I play a shooter, I'm *constantly* reloading, but Ellie doesn't have that conditioning, so when she plays, she'll often fire an empty round at an enemy because she forgot to reload. It's so fascinating!
That's so interesting! What made you jump back into games after such a long break?
@Wilson-108 or even funny little 'givens,' like always going the opposite way the game is clearly pushing you toward. Or looking for the yellow in later era ps games :D
@Wilson-108 a guy i worked with and had a lot of respect for was constantly gushing about the souls games. He managed to sell me on it. I never consciously got out of being a gamer, life just sort of took over, but that was the push I needed to try them out again. He ended up lending me a console to try it out, which was wild.
I would love to see a sequel to this where she was simply allowed to ask questions. You wouldn’t be forcing her to do anything, but something like that could make it a lot easier on her end
I think that's a very interesting idea. We may do something like that in the future, stay tuned!
@ I absolutely will!
The one thing this could have used was Ellie's reactions to the dead ends and death blizzard. Hearing someone's wails of anguish adds a certain piquancy.
I'm hoping to incorporate that into this series in the future! Also, you have a great vocabulary, I'm gonna start using piquancy :)
This game was clearly designed taking community cooperation into account
I think you're right! It's interesting to think about the communal element being taken into account when developing a game, but given our interconnected world, it's fair to assume that players will band together...
I think it's just designed for experienced RPG'ers and that's fine.
Yeah, being an RPG player definitely lends an advantage!
@@hansolo631 I like to see this point made. But it's not like any RPG vet can pick it up and breeze through. It is esoteric and that is part of the charm.
@@hansolo631true but think about all the hidden paths ,needed rings , notable keys and freaking ringing the bells and where, these are all not communicated
I have *so many* thoughts on DS1. I need to make my own video essay. First off, Ellie did *incredibly* well for a first-timer with no tips / hints / help! I hope she tries it again! Second, I think the ‘infamous difficulty’ of Dark Souls actually works *against* the incredibly clever and thoughtful game design - there’s so many ways that players can easily get caught doing things that the game is actively communicating that they probably shouldn’t do, but, first timers assume that it’s just *supposed* to be that hard instead of realizing they don’t need to bash their head against the skeleton graveyard. Then there’s lock-on. It’s such an interesting little skill bell curve imo. Most people just starting out will not lock on and have a really tough time with the combat. Then after a while if they persist they usually become pretty reliant on lock-on. If you play even more than that you usually reach a point with your familiarity with weapons and enemies where you don’t need to lock on and it actually becomes easier in a lot of ways if you don’t, but only if you already have that foundational knowledge. The comment about spamming attacks at already dead enemies is fun too. Everything up to O&S is so seared into the creases of my brain and I'm so intimately familiar with weapons that I can basically script enemies into attacking exactly how I want and I know exactly how many hits with what weapon will kill them. Demon's Souls (Ps3) came with a very detailed and useful game manual. I do think DS1 would have greatly benefited from a manual like that. It’s an entirely different topic but game manuals have become criminally undervalued, I see a lot of people playing Morrowind for example 'blind' without any guides and having a *very* difficult time and blaming it on the game without understanding that the game would have come with an instruction booklet which explained the things that most modern game tutorials do but older games couldn’t do in-game for various reasons ranging from space limitations to achieving a specific atmosphere. I could keep rambling on but I’ll wrap this up. Cool vid!
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts, Nickolie!
I couldn't agree more regarding the difficult perception of the game, you articulated that very well. People go into this game expecting to beat their head against the wall, that it almost feels wrong if they're not.
I'm really curious to see how she would have done if she'd used the lock on. I don't expect it would have completely transformed the proceedings, but I think it would have made things easier for her overall.
100%, I miss gaming manuals so much. There's nothing like digging into one of those. Nintendo always used to make fantastic, full color manuals. A relic of a bygone era, sadly.
Thanks again for the comment and checking out the video, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
100% correct about no lock on. Lock on is for throwables or circling with a shield :p and maybe parry
it's always interesting to see someone play ds1 for the first time, great video.
Truly fascinating! Thanks for watching, I'm really you enjoyed it :) Let me know if there are any other games you'd like to see her try!
it made me really sad to see her stuck like that... i dont know her at all obviously but i feel a really strong sense of empathy towards being clueless in a game like that. to me learning how to play a new game is always a community effort, like the knowledge gets passed down to the "next generation" of players from the veteran players (or at least ppl somewhat familiar with the game who get their friends to try it) so while its definitely a worthwhile experiment to see how someone interacts with the game with no help, and obviously avoiding giving TOO MUCH feedback or spoiling the game is also important... i think helping each other learn how to play a new game or helping ppl figure out a part they are stuck on is a very important part of gaming as a whole, and to me this video shows how heartbreaking and confusing of an experience gaming can be without anyone to help you figure out wtf is going on
Very well said, appreciate you sharing your perspective!
I completely agree. Especially with the advent of the internet, communal cooperation is more prolific than ever and I think that's a great thing. I'm going to play with how much information I give Ellie in future videos. Do you think I should provide her with more?
Ellie's run shows an impressive amount of skill! In only 5 hours, with no previous knowledge of the game, she managed to make it to Taurus Demon, without leveling up or locking on, with a solid chunk of time being just learning how the game works in the first place, and only having 75 deaths? She's been essentially challenge running as her first playthrough, and has been doing above average for a first souls experience, it's awe inspiring!
Thank you for leaving such a kind comment! I totally agree, I don't think she gives herself enough credit for how well she did. I think you'll see some serious progress that's made in the next video...
This was honestly a really cool idea. I now understand the tutorials of certain games so much better.
The "What's her name again" got me. It got me good.
Great work on this one!
Haha, thank you so much, Zander! Really appreciate it, as always.
I think I've finally got get name down, now. Hopefully...
I first played dark souls when I was 12, I finished it after I turned 14 lmao. Dark souls felt so challenging back then, specially since I never ever searched up guides or information about the game, I just played and played, I gave up many times, I gave up for months before picking it up again.
I’m not gonna lie, this game changed me as a person and turned me into the man I’m now.
Wow, very impressive that you were able to complete it at such a young age! I had a similar experience with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time when I was a kid. It took me like 5 years, haha.
For sure, many different games have helped shaped me as well!
I played it at 9 when it first released. It sure did make me a much better gamer! Took me a few months to beat it. I remember being stuck in Blight Town for a long time.
Wow, that's incredible! You've got skills, my friend.
Disappointed, thought this was a lore analysis between dark souls and your girlfriend
Well now, you've just provided me with an amazing video idea...
The thing you mentioned about new players feeling the need to fight and kill everything is so interesting. I started watching this UA-camr BassPlays playthrough ds1 and ds2 and after a bit noticed he took on every single enemy he came across. I feel like I tend to see how many enemies I can get past without combat in order to preserve estus because i never know how far away i am from a bonfire.
Also the ending where you talk about Ellies change in mood is actually so upsetting
Yeah it's something that I've noticed quite a bit when watching other people play games! It's really interesting, I tend to adopt the same strategy as you do.
I know, it was sad, but she feels much better now :)
she'll never forget about the tutorial area
Oh yeah, I think that's seared into her memory forever, haha
When I heard that Ellie died 75 times, I decided that I need to replay the first DS to see if I could do better. I beat it once without any trouble on KEYBOARD and MOUSE 12 years ago, but now I'm struggling with some fights in Arkham Knight on normal difficulty
I'd love to hear how you do! I'm very impressed that you could complete the game on keyboard and mouse, I imagine I would play absolutely terribly using those, lol.
@@Wilson-108 17 deaths to beat Taurus Demon. DS was my first and last 3D souls/-like and after playing it again I'm thinking about removing DS2 and DS3 from my backlog, because of how stressful they are. I was literally shaking for 10 minutes after beating Taurus (with full HP after 8 attempts =) ). I blame my anxiety disorder; playing video games as a teen was much easier.
Curiously, 2D souls-likes are fine (LOVE Grime)
Totally understand! Some games are just too stressful to be worth the slog. I'm quite the anxious fellow myself, so I can only handle so much. I'm not familiar with Grime, but I'll have to check it out! Salt & Sanctuary was a 2D souls-like that I really enjoyed, if you haven't tried that one!
I beat it first on keyboard and mouse, but after DS2 i took to only using keyboard, with ijkl moving the camera around and h and u to attack
Wow, that sounds incredibly impressive, I couldn't imagine doing that...
"played methodically"
until you get frustrated at a boss later on and learn the secret art of running past everything
Haha, the true pro strategy!
Great video man! Such an interesting experiment! Even making it to the Taurus Demon is an achievement to be fair :)
Thanks dude!! Totally, I agree. Many never make it past the tutorial!
This is brilliantly done, a great perspective and one we all forget about as we gain more experience as gamers.
Thank you so much, I really appreciate that! Working on another video in this series as we speak!
Great video! It was a very interesting perspective to see.
Dark Souls 1 changed how I view and play video games, and even how I view life. It's a tough and sometimes depressing game, but it seems Ellie made quite some progress in the first 5 hours. Pretty sure this amount of progress took me much longer.
Thanks so much, Zander! I really appreciate the kind words.
I think it's been a transformative game for a lot of people. She did a really solid job and watching this video in the context of the *next* video (which should be done in a couple of days), is even more interesting... Would love to hear your thoughts if you get around to watching the next one!
I love "experiments" like these. Game design etiquette is something we take as natural law, and it is always interesting to see how people outside of our bubble interact with a game's mechanics.
I couldn't agree more! I find this type of thing absolutely fascinating. Let me know if there are any other games you'd like to see my cover!
I really like this video and format, but think it would really benefit from a conclusion where you explain the mechanics and other elements that she missed, describe her reaction to learning them, and have her try another hour or so to get her thoughts on the game with this newfound knowledge. It would be very interesting to compare the before and after and possibly leave Ellie with a more positive impression of this and other games she's stuggled with.
Thank you for the feedback and kind words! All that she learned in this video will apply very well in the next one, so I hope you'll come back and check that one out. Would love to hear your thoughts!
Interesting channel, this vid just popped up and looking around your other videos i wanna watch em all.
Keep the content coming mate
*update* i did watch most of em, they were EXCELLENT
Keep creating
Oh wow, that is so encouraging to hear, thank you for leaving this comment!!
I hope you dig the other ones, let me know if you have any particular thoughts. And let me know if there are videos you'd be interested in seeing :)
@@Wilson-108 no recommendations at all, your natural inclination to make a video about something is already on point and beyond.
All i make is lightsaber/star wars content but these are the kind of shorter form video essays that make me feel like i could do it too. Cheers mate 🍻
@@xaikken Thank you so much!! Next one coming ASAP, I hope you'll let me know what you think :)
@@xaikken So glad to have you onboard, welcome :)
You owe her a ludicrously expensive dinner for putting her through this experiment with no help.
And why you criticizing your gf more than the pedagogy of the game?
I agree! I'll let her pick the spot :)
3:47 I knew what to do with illusory walls when I first played dark souls
Very astute!
Good attempt, Ellie! I have introduced a lot of people to the souls series, and this video is why I have always made a point to try and be there when people start. There are a lot of tips and tricks that are freely available from community members that help with the frustration and overcoming the challenges.
Hope you go back and try again, or even try out one of the newer games with quality of life improvements. Don't you go Hollow on us!
Thank you for leaving such a nice comment! I know she appreciates them.
I think we may revisit this game for another video. In the meantime, we're gonna take a visit to another title from From Software...
Let me know if there are any games you'd like to see her play! Thanks for watching :)
Poor Ellie!! 😭 It sounded really frustrating for her.
I would *love* to see a follow up video on her improvements after you give her advice!
It sounds like a lot of people are interested in such a video, I'll have to make it! Thanks for watching and stay tuned... :)
The part of the Souls games that I personally struggle with is the 'teeter-totter' of dying, losing souls, not being able to level, dying, losing souls... etc. People who are on the other side of it to where they're strong so they keep more souls and increase their levels constantly think the game is a breeze! But I find being on the down-side of it to be REALLY frustrating. And those other people almost can't see it, from both directions.
Absolutely, that's very well said. For a lot of people, overcoming anything in Dark Souls feels more like relief than reward, I think. Sometimes, the frustrating whiplash of the gameplay just doesn't click, which I totally understand.
I think that's one of the biggest reason people don't enjoy or at least find the games hard is dying doesn't just respawn enemies like most games but also makes you lose all your currency.
DS2 made it worse by removing your max hp for dying punishing you even more.
Now while true there is a ring that lowers the total lost & most enemies stop spawning normally after kills no where is this mentioned or explained.
I am not a novice gamer, but, watching this, I got to appreciate that i was first introdused to DS by watching a commented walkthrough that went up until Taurus demon. This prevented a lot of frustration and showed how I actually should approach the game.
I think a resource like that is extremely helpful in a game like this. I imagine Ellie would have had a much easier time had she watched something like that first!
Getting to Taurus Demon without using lock on is impressive on its own imo.
That's a great point! Good way to look at it :)
Every time I see a new player struggling with dark souls, I'm all the more baffled and puzzled as to how _my_ first playthrough was so smooth. I just knew what to do despite actively avoiding anything about the game online prior to beating it. Maybe it all depends on how much you "trust" the game on a deep psychological level to deliver you a good time.
I'm a latecomer so I was never exposed to the whole "dark souls hardest game hard game super duper difficult hurr durr" nonsense, but instead I was drawn to the philosophical and introspective elements that the experience presumably had. It's such a different perspective to go into a game with, I imagine.
I can relate to this! In fairness, I was streaming the game during my first play through so I had some assistance, but I did feel an inherent understanding of a lot of the game's components.
I feel as though I'm in a minority, but I actually don't think these games are as hard as people perceive them to be. Maybe it's just in my wheelhouse, but I tend to proceed through these with less pushback than others seem to have.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, it's interesting to hear other perspectives!
Likely because you've played other games. A lot of that experience carries over
For sure, I think you're very right about that!
@@Wilson-108I feel the same, and agree with you that their infamous reputation leads many new players to make things more difficult for themselves-- assuming the games are really that hard, rather than assuming there's something they missed in the mechanics or lessons they can learn from and adapt to.
Soulsborne games especially trip up experienced gamers since they look like standard action RPGs on the surface. Many gamers will play them as such and hit wall after wall. But, once they become familiar with the mechanics, approach, pacing, stamina, navigation, etc., they realize why souls games are their own genre and "learn the language," so to speak. That's the "click" many souls gamers refer to.
There's a reason why the community agrees that the hardest souls is your first.
Very well said, I totally agree! Absolutely, I've heard that as well and would agree: your first souls is the hardest.
She’s just like me fr
I think many can relate!
Great video! Id really like a follow up video with you gently nudging her in the right direction for things like weapons, bonfires and game mechanics. Would be really interesting to see how her experience changes.
I was really frustrated with Dark Souls when it initially came out, but with some guidance, the souls games have became my all time favorite.
Thanks so much, Cosmo! I really appreciate it :)
Yeah, that's a great suggestion, I've been thinking about how much information to provide and how much to hold back. We're recording her gameplay for the next video and I'm still figuring out the best way to handle that.
Yup, I was a skeptic at first as well, but I became a true believer with enough play time!
First time I played I spent a fair amount of time down in the cemetery and in new londo ruins before figuring out the correct path. It was thoroughly frustrating :D
Haha, I can relate! A very similar trajectory for me. Did you end up playing through the whole game?
My cousin had the same experience with DS1.
Didn't notice the path up the cliff & thought that the cemetery & ruins were the only way forward so gave up after he couldn't push through even as a experienced gamer.
After I explained to him about the path up & how the other two were both a trap for new players but also for veterans to gain item early he really enjoyed the game & got all the way to Seeth before stopping (Simply got distracted with other games)
It's so interesting to see. I had a similar gaming background, playing mostly racing games and very linear, story focused action games and few at that.
I felt the same about dark souls as well and stopped roughly after ringing the first bell.
Came back 1,5years later and the souls games are now my favorite thing ever.
Just finished the grind for pale tongues in DS3 for the 100%. Second time since I did that on the PS4 when it came out
I must say, she did well, from what was shown in the video.
What would also be interesting, is to see how not knowing how long the testing timespan span is would affect decision making.
I've heard quite a few people that bounced off the Souls-like genre, only to come back and love it a long time after that. Glad you developed the taste for them!
I agree, I think she did a great job. That's a really interesting thought, I hadn't thought of that. Maybe I'll incorporate that into a future video...
Thanks for watching!
Never played a souls like, despite all the good things I've heard. Precisely because of what Ellie went through. Games like Tsushima or GOW Ragnarök are more up my ally personally.
P.S. Great video btw, keep em coming Wilson.
Thank you so much, Georgi! Glad you dug it :)
I totally get it, these games are very much an acquired taste and I don't blame anyone for not being into them. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is a good entry point if you're ever interested in dabbling!
@Wilson-108 Finished it when it came out, was about at the maximum amount of frustration I was willing to take, especially from that bullfrog on the first levels. However I was quite younger then, and I do have a lot more patience now. Am thinking elden ring or Bloodborne what would you suggest?
I actually haven't played Elden Ring yet (see my "backlog" video for more on that, haha), but Bloodborne is fantastic! Definitely worth a shot if you're up for it.
Ellie got further than me when I attempted to play the game for the first time a decade ago, so good for her. I remember playing it, become increasingly frustrated with it, losing my patience with it (mainly due to bonfires not being outside boss rooms meaning every death is a long runback) and then eventually quitting out. I'm glad she didn't go to the graveyard first, that's what I did for several hours before noticing it wasn't the right way to go, and also glad she didn't get invaded which ALSO happened to me in my playthrough and was the point I gave up on the game.
The first one I completed was ER a few years back mainly due to the hype around it (also my 4th souls game attempt, I tried BB and DeS before it, failing to finish either) and tried my hardest to not look things up and the amount of stuff I never learnt for tens of hours was incredible, like how to summon or what runes do (neither of which I used in my playthrough anyhow) but even I powered through (mainly due to bonfires being outside boss rooms) and finished it. I went back to DS1 this year and finished it with ease since it all just clicks once you know what to do.
What shocked me the most about this was that Ellie didn't blame the game (as far as I could tell) she blamed herself which is honestly really interesting to think about. She felt bad about her progress but didn't think "WOW THIS GAME IS FUCKING TERRIBLE WHAT THE FUCK" she thought "Man, I'm not doing too well. Am I missing something? This is really hard." I also felt bad for her when she said that she was stupid :(. Souls games are notorious for not telling the player anything (God forbid imagine if "Disasters are gone after the defeat of the Gravelord Servant." popped up on her screen as she was playing.) so a lot of it comes down to just trail and error and experimenting hoping for the best. She also has a HELL of a lot more patience than I do, I guess being cheered on by you helped (even in spirit) but I legit would've given up hours ago if I was in her position.
I honestly think you should let her play some more to see how far she goes and maybe give her a tip before each hour session just to assist her slightly. I'm sure you searched things up when you were playing so it'd be nice to let her know a few things here and there, I'm sure once she learns humanity allows for summon signs to appear she'll love that.
Thank you for sharing all of this, Retro!
Oh yeah, having to run all the way back to bosses is killer. That was driving her crazy.
I actually haven't played ER yet, but I'm so excited to do so. From games are so fascinating to me, so I can't wait to see how that one sits with me relative to Souls and Bloodborne. Isn't it amazing how much easier these become once you have the experience? It's night and day.
That's a really interesting observation! She rarely cursed the game and instead placed criticism on herself. I think part of that was due to her wanting to give me good material for the video. I think that actually made her more patient, too!
I think that's a great idea, and one that some others seem to be mentioning. I'll definitely have to make a "sequel" of some kind in the new year.
Thanks again for such a thoughtful comment. It's so fun to hear from people with insights like this!
I think we just got a look into the mind of those that went hollow in Lordran.
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Great video, great narration and editing, well done. So many emotions.
It was reaaaally painful to watch at times, but in a good way lol
As much as I love the souls series, yeah, they absolutely suck at explaining their mechanics. Elden Ring went the other way around at dumped 500 pages of tutorials from the very start, which is also hard to register for a beginner's brain. Looking back at DS1 one can only scratch their head and wonder however this game became so popular.
What would be really cool is to watch you and Ellie talk about this experience. See her reaction to the proper use of all the systems she ignored, like targeting.
Thank you so much for the kind words, Yuki!! I appreciate it so much :)
You're totally right! These games can feel so impenetrable at first that I don't blame anyone for bailing on them. You've got to get over that "hump" and it also surprises me how many people have managed to do that. I haven't play Elden Ring quite yet (very excited to do so!), but when I do, maybe Ellie can give that one a spin.
That's a great idea! I want to find a good way to incorporate more of Ellie's unfiltered thoughts as she actually plays. Look for that in future and let me know if there are any games in particular you'd like to see her play!
I'd love to have some audio feed at the end of each hour. Maybe a summary of how she felt afterwards. Nonetheless, love this content
Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoyed it! I'm looking into incorporating some direct audio from her in the future :)
my very first ds run was soooo similar as hers. Exept my souls fan friend was next to me reminding me the basic mechanics, taught me how to navigate the menu, reminded me to lock my cam, even had to tell me there was a secret way out of the asylum demon to find your weapons, or to not go straight to the dragon and go under the bridge to the undead parish instead, etc. The game was still frustrating because at the time i was a total noob who wasnt even used to the xbox controls (as i was a nintendo only player from my childhood untill the age of 21 - when i played DS for the first time at my friends place).
My partner was a bit sad because they would ve liked me to experience the game like them, when the game came out and there wasnt any help on the internet. But i know i would ve missed this masterpiece that way and just quit by frustration if someone hadnt been there reminding meall these tips and handed me the right path when stuck for an hour on the wame way. Sometimes, for someone unfamiliar with challenging videogames in general like this one, you need someone to backseat you a little. I'm not saying they should do all the work for you, but old players often forget that what they find 'basic' is hugely challenging for someone who has never played any game like this before.
And this gaming experience is as valid as going blindfolded and just discovering all by yourself. Remember that the purpose of a game is to HAVE FUN. Now DS remastered is one of my favourite games of all times with like 100+ hours total and like 75 total hours on elden ring and i wanna play more games like these because i just fell completely in love with the whole formula. And that afternoon at my friend's house became a really sweet memory.
Anyways, an interesting video, thanks for the lil experiment !
Thanks for sharing your experiences!! It's really fun to hear from people with their own DS stories.
Yeah, I think this is a perfect example of a game that warrants some back seating to make sure the player is staying on track. I was also a Nintendo only gamer until I was 21, that's so funny!
I'd love to fast forward and see how Ellie would be doing with 100 hours of practice...
Thank you for watching and for the kind words! Let me know if there are any other games you'd like to see her play in the future :)
I'd love to hear Ellie's live reactions. I bet she screamed in joy when she killed Asylum Demon ! If you ever do another likewise video, and of course if Ellie is okay with it, please record live reactions !
Thank you for that feedback, it seems a lot of people are interested in that! We'll definitely be making more of these videos and I'll look into getting her live reactions :)
Let me know if there are any particular games you'd like to see her play!
Ellie's experience in Undead Asylum and Undead Burg closely mirrors my experience in the Cemetery of Ash and High Wall of Lothric in Dark Souls 3 - My first Souls game.
I struggled with the equipment menu just as much as she did. I couldn't get through the whole game, let alone the first boss without a walkthrough. I eventually redeemed myself beating Dark Souls Remastered and Elden Ring with zero outside help, though.
I'd love to see a part 2 to this where you give Ellie a couple helpful hints. She HAS to meet Solaire!
My first From title was Dark Souls 2 and I had my fair share of struggles too, haha! I feel like your first Souls-like is the toughest and acts as a sort of trial by fire. I even had help playing through it, as I was streaming it to a (very) helpful audience. Props on the DS and ER completions!
You know I actually think that's a great idea, a return to the game once Ellie's had time to digest her time with the game (and maybe played some other adjacent games...)
Thanks for watching and taking the time to share your thoughts, I really appreciate it! :)
WE NEED MORE(I didn't even finish the video yet)
Don't worry, more is on the way! Hope you dig the video!
Part of Dark Souls' inscrutability owes to its status as a community driven game. Secrets, jargon, and even the intricacies of rudimentary mechanics are shared through the experience of the community at large and passed down to newer players through wikis and comment sections. This video does provide some excellent insight into what happens when that community is taken away and an absolute novice is left to their own devices.
It's really interesting, isn't it? Few modern games are so predicated on their communities. Dark Souls, and other From titles, are truly fascinating beasts.
I appreciate the kind words, let me know if there are any other games you'd be interested in seeing Ellie play!
great video! it would be awesome to record ellie's commentary if she were ever to return!
Thank you so much, Cat! I was thinking about that, could be a very cool addition for a future video...
Like some other guy said, if she is willingly, make a part 2 where she can ask within reason, to feel more the experience of "someone who plays a game first/second time, now with someone who knows the game", i guess we can conclude interesting things from the interaction, perceptions, etc
Yup, that's a really solid idea and definitely something we may do in the future!
Let me know if there are any other games you're interested in seeing her play :)
Great video, and effective analysis! I'm really curious to see a direct comparison to a game that does give more direction to the player, such as forced tutorials and the infamous yellow paint. The newer Tomb Raiders and God Of War are the titles that come to mind.
Btw I just finished GOW Ragnarok and I super-duper highly recommend giving GOW and GOWR a try! Incredible gameplay and story, I have never been closer to tears from a video game, and one with a name like "God Of War" no less
Thanks so much, Kyoto!! I'd like to make more videos in this series, so we'll definitely do a more straight forward game in the future.
I saw your video, I can't wait to listen to it! I haven't played Ragnarok yet so I don't want to see anything haha. But I *loved* God of War 2018, such a fantastic game!
Soulsborne games, especially dark souls 1 are the games that reward player a lot when they have attention to details. It is how the game teach players how to play and also told more about the lore as well. Every single items description, every single npc dialogues holds so many useful informations for players to advance forward. It does not spoon feed you everything, but if you looking for it, the game is more than happy to provide. Thats why i felt Ds1 is so unique and immersive, because if you don’t immerse yourself to the game, you could not enjoy it to the fullest.
I also have a friend whose favorite game is Elden Ring, but he could not finish any other souls-like. The biggest reason is because he often skip everything the game gives you: npc dialogues, tuitorials, ect… He could get away with this in elden ring since he watched a lot of guides on youtube but seems not doing so in any others. Which often lead to him dropping every games mid way.
For sure, it definitely rewards attention to detail! I think you have to get over a "hump" of sorts in From Software games. It's tough to do, but if you can surmount that I think you begin to have a lot more fun. It seems like different From games click for different people.
At which hour thee loveth someone v'ry dearly, thee maketh those folk playeth dark souls! loveth truly hurts!
Nothin' like a Dark Souls love!
Ellie went hollow and you just watched.
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Absolutely loved this video
Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoyed it! More to come :)
This is a very interesting video, and well made too.
Thank you so much for the kind words, Alex! I'm glad you enjoyed and hope you'll join for some more videos in the future :)
That was a beautiful experience.
It was quite a ride!
@@Wilson-108 I bet it was. I felt the thrill by seeing her improving and learning how to use the mechanics.
I'll never forget my first ds1 playthrough. It was about 11 years ago. Prepare to die edition on steam had non variable mouse movement for your camera controls, but k+m was all I knew so I trudged on. I was playing on a laptop that could barely run the game, and I ended up getting stuck at quelaag. Not because I lacked the determination to beat her, but because my game would crash every time she breathed lava. I had to take a break at that point and came back about a year later when I got a better pc. I was amazed to discover that my dodge rolls had been slow, not because the game had been running badly, but because I had too much armor equipped and was fatrolling 😅. I beat the game after that, and the rest is history. From demon's souls to elden ring, every major fromsoft release has a permanent place in my soul
Wow, I can't imagine playing the game on an underpowered laptop, that is extremely impressive! Hats off to you. I'm glad you were able to take it down when you came back around to it. I'm a big From fan as well, can't wait to see what they're cooking up next!
She drank estus on full hp I can relate. It should be coded in to not heal when hp is full (optional) since sometimes people want to waste estus for example in pvp people show they used all healing down.
It is really interesting to see people not used to gaming play games.
Haha, I've been there too! That's a terrible feeling when you accidentally do that. That would be a huge QOL improvement.
It really is! Let me know if there are any particular games you'd like to her try in the future :)
You have insane patience. I get it's an experiment, but this is frustrating just to watch. No dodging, no lock-on, no level up? Well that is a challenge run, I'll give her that.
Haha, you gotta start somewhere! She definitely learned a lot through her playing.
We love Ellie. She's only doing what we all started out doing in these games 😤
Gotta give it up for Ellie *applause*
"What's her name again?" 😆
Interesting little experiment, Wilson! I've looked into a couple of UA-camr's "I forced my GF to play DS" playlists, but they run out of steam pretty quickly - this format seems a far better fit for that. What surprised me was learning at the end that Ellie *did* have some gaming experience, because her struggles with DS - which revels in being cryptic AF - seemed very relatable to me for someone who just doesn't have this... gamer mind, so to speak. I've watched my own GF try her hand at DS years and years ago, and she fared similarly to Ellie because, I don't know... her synapses aren't connected the way gamers' synapses usually are? 😉 (But she wasn't a gamer at all, except for mobile games.)
Well, FromSoft's games are in a league of their own as far as their willingness to explain more than absolutely necessary is concerned. I've been on board since Demon's Souls, and I still don't think I could concisely explain all intricacies of the menu and the synergies of the stats.
Anyhow, let me ask us all to observe one moment of silence for poor Ellie's trials and tribulations. Hope this experiment didn't cost you your relationship! 😁
Thanks so much, Zorro!!
I wasn't sure if this idea had been done to death already, hopefully I put my own little spin on it. I think a game opting to be cryptic really limits its appeal to a more casual audience, even more so than a game being hard, but simple. I think you really do start to develop a certain "gaming literacy" after playing so many games, but it takes a long time to hone.
I couldn't either! I was having to Google stuff myself even as she was playing.
I'll let her know you said that, I know she'll appreciate it haha. She dug the final video so I think I'm in the clear (hopefully)!
Wow, this is extremely interesting. When you have lots of knowledge about a game it makes you forget that some people won’t even check something like the inventory for an hour. Or they’ll just toss aside the roll, pretty much the most important thing to learn in the game.
If you end up continuing this I think for preparation you should make a new character, reach the Taurus Demon and let her watch as you fight it. Allow her to analyze how someone with experience plays and how it differs from her gameplay. Of course tell her nothing and give no info of how or why you do certain things. It’ll be a sort of reminder of what you as the player can do and maybe clue her in a bit about the importance of rolling.
Isn't it fascinating? It's so interesting to see how a newcomer plays relative to you or me, people with dozens of hours of experience.
You know, that's a really cool idea and hasn't been suggested by anyone else. I very well may try to incorporate that into this series in the future! Let me know if there are any particular games you'd like to see her play :)
@@Wilson-108 Dark Souls II is my favourite game of all time, so I’d have to suggest that. Maybe get through the first one though…
Duly noted! I'd like to get more Dark Souls games in the future if Ellie's up for it...
It took me six hours to beat the Taurus demons. I played it totally blind even tho I've been playing games since I was like 10 y/o. It's okay Ellie, you did great.
PS: what about explaining the mechanics she missed and letting her play some more for a second video, I'm she would kill it
I'm sure she appreciates this comment, thanks for sharing, Gabe!
That's a great idea, will definitely do a second "sequel" video in the future!
Please tell Ellie that she did so good and it's not her fault if the game doesn't repeat informations or is criptic. A lot of us had help from internet, friends, just talking to people helps so much understanding more about how to play it ! It's very normal to not know when to roll or even what is exactly the purpose of it when you tried to hit one enemy and two others are coming your way bc you attracted them by mistake. We underestimate how much these exchanges helps us navigate this kind of games, and souls-like are difficult to understand, and DS1 even more. When you haven't played it before, and with no information whatsoever, it's normal to be overwhelmed. At first the enemies seems to be fast and this is hard to react properly but the more you play it the easier it will be (like all things in life). Ellie you are not bad at this game, you just lack experience it's ok !!!!!!! Dark Souls is a game of patience and strategy, playing 5 hours with a boyfriend that just watch while saying nothing as you die repetetly DOES undermine your spirit ! YOU CAN DO IT !!!!!
I just read this comment to Ellie and she really appreciated it!
A hot mic on Ellie while playing would have amplified this video significantly
I appreciate the feedback, I'm hoping to add her reactions to this series in the future!
If she picked bombs and bombed the Asylum he drops a Demon hammer.
Yeah but you can’t use it effectively anyway
Oh wow, I had no idea!
First, this is a good video misery loves company and I've had my fair share
Second Yeah I died way too many times cause I didn't understand any mechanics and no I didn't want to switch weapons but after some experiments, it finally clicked this game is to be explored and everything in it should be explored the numbers mean something everything makes sense (Except for how you level up your weapon to +10) but yeah it finally started to make sense but I had wasted 10 hours
I felt stupid and Dark Souls will make you feel stupid cause the answer was right there BUT remember you're smarter now so the enemies will pay for what they did to the stupid you hope you document more of this cause it was fun maybe with a little coaching
Thanks for watching!
Yeah, I think once the game "clicks", it becomes a lot more enjoyable. It just takes longer to click for some than others.
I'm definitely considering a follow up video in the future!
@@Wilson-108 Can't wait The commentary was fun I'll subscribe for more
Welcome aboard, so glad to have you!
@@Wilson-108 😁😁 Happy to be here 👏👏
Follow up video where she has to play another 5 hours with you helping her.
Definitely something we may do! A lot of people have requested that...
I've never beaten the game (did beat Elden Ring) and watching her play without lock-on is like watching a toddler take their first steps.
Haha, that's an apt comparison! I have a feeling that Elden Ring may be featured in a future video...
This was really well narrated. I hope you get Elli, err, Ellie to play other souls games. I'm currently on my first playthrough of DS3 so that would be my selfish pick but elden ring would be cool too.
Thank you so much, I really appreciate it! I'll keep the game a secret for now, but I think you'll be very interested in the next video... hope to see you again for that!
@@Wilson-108 I will indeed be around for that one. I subbed already lol. I'll turn on notifications so I don't miss that one. Looking forward to it! And good luck to you and Ellie on the next gaming science adventure lol. Cheers!
Awesome, welcome aboard my friend!! We just wrapped up all the playing/footage capture tonight. I'm moving over the next few days so there will probably be a bit of a delay, but will definitely have the next video out next week. I think people who enjoyed this video are really gonna like the next one!
@@Wilson-108 I believe it! Looking forward to seeing it and good luck with the move!
I wanna see Ellie finish the game because I don't want her to go hollow and now you can help her beat the game
I think I'll make another video with her playing more in the future (if she's up for it, haha)!
In my first playthrough i spent 120 hours to finish the game(it was my first souls game) then i finished the other souls games one after one everytime i got better and realized that understanding the mechanics of this games is the hardest part and everything will be easy after that
The first one is always the hardest! I bet Ellie would do really well if she went back to the game now :)
That's why I go to the internet whenever I am stuck at a soulslike game in this manner. Not knowing how to equip an item should make you go to the internet for the answers. No point bashing your head against a wall.
Yup, not being able to access the internet for answers makes a game like this exponentially more difficult!
Contrary to Ellie, I'm very cautious, I never rush (which can be bad sometimes), and always fix my equipment at the first opportunity, if the game allows it
I don't know how many tries took me to beat the asylum demon, and when I did (with just a tiny slight of hp), I felt amazing
I'm a new player, which had never played any souls-like game before, and the first things that gave me trouble was the camera, and the auto-locking on enemies.
I also have a big fear of heights so many parts of the games are terrifying because attacking usually moves you fordwards, sometimes into your doom if you're not careful
I'm the same way! I play veeerry slowly when I begin a new game.
There's nothing like the rush of beating a boss in one these games :)
Very true, heights are one of your biggest adversaries in Dark Souls!
I still to this day always try to equip items from the inventory instead of the equipment screen sometimes for a few minutes before I remember, it's definitely weird dark souls doesn't let you do that
I agree! A strange menu setup, for sure. I can see why Ellie was confused.
@Wilson-108 I feel like half of the things that confused Ellie also confused me, Dark Souls does a pretty bad job teaching people what to do, even player notes are too limited to help you learn half of this stuff
It really does, seems like From's newer games do a better job of explaining things
Hardest enemy in all Dakr Souls is the camera angle and the fact ur guy will swing at the wrong direction unless specificly target locked.
Credit to Ellie since i rage quited DS3 at the first boss for those reasons and im a Chivalry 2 Veteran player so my frustration of my guy atacking in the wrong direction was too much for Friday night fun gaming.
Oh yeah, nothing feels worse than whiffing after a big swing. I'm impressed by her patience, I wouldn't blame anyone for bailing on one of these games!
What was your hypothesis for this experiment? Have you thought about repeating it with Elden Ring?
I should probably stop using the rem "experiment" since it wasn't *technically* an experiment, haha, but yes! I would definitely like to repeat it with Elden Ring in the future. We've got a different From Software game coming up in the next video. I hope you'll join for that!
@wilson-108 I’m looking forward to it
Despite being pretty used to games it took me a few tries to get through Dark Souls, and I think this run kind of backs up a lot of my issues, albeit to a greater extent as I am a #gamer.
Some things just aren't well explained, and the repetition of the runback gets ANNOYING, not hard, just annoying to the point you don't want to do it any more. I know fans hate hearing this but I'll say it, an optional tutorial, where like you have like 10 minutes of doing menu and navigation challenges, 5 minutes of an endgame Strength build against some mobs, then 5 minutes of an endgame dex build against a boss, it'd help a ton. So much of the issues are from not know what to do, even if you level and explore knowing HOW to level and how to spot environmental clues, even if Ellie could have gotten past the Taurus demon I can't see her having much fun later if she builds a bad character not knowing how to do it.
Still she's a great sport to go through this so much without help.
It really can't be overstated how annoying it is to run back to wherever you were when you died, haha. I'm with you, that would help a ton. It's interesting to see how From has become a little bit more generous with teaching players in more recent games. You're right, even if she could get through the Taurus Demon, she'll just be faced with another frustrating road block. You really need some guidance to thrive in a game like this.
She certainly is, I'm very appreciate of her!
I remember my first beer.
Nothin like the first!
if she somehow defeated Tartarus demon then would have loved ds1 (thats when i loved ds1 for the first time)
Maybe she'll revisit the game down the line :)
I think some more context about what Ellie's played would have helped. At the start it almost sounds like she's only played Minesweeper, but then at the end you say that she's mainly played linear action games and show footage from Uncharted. To me that sounds like a #realgamer, but maybe the standards have been raised since my day.
That's a good point, I hadn't thought of that! The script for the next video has already been recorded, but maybe I can provide some more context in a future video. Thanks for the suggestion :)
No offense against Ellie intended, but this video very clearly illustrates why games become a dumbed down, handholding mess when devs try to reach the widest possible audience (and thus to not frustrate clueless newbies). I'm not saying that no games should be like this. Im just stating that the pursuit of simultaneously pleasing both "hardcore" old timers and people entirely unfamiliar with "proper" games is in vain.
It seems like many agree with you regarding games being dumbed down. But I think we'll always have access to games that provide less guidance for players, at least I hope!
I bought my gf dark souls remastered so she could help me get out of the tomb of the giants (I was also doing a blind first playthrough) and I think she ended up liking the game more than I do lol. She already has 90+ hours on it while I'm at 20ish.
Wow, that's awesome, sounds like she's super into it! I'm not sure if mine plans on going back for more anytime soon, haha.
Thanks for watching, everyone!! Hope you dug the video :)
Are you interested in more videos like this? If so, what games would you like to see played?
As always, if you enjoyed, a "like" helps the video spread to more people!
1 my favorite series is Disgaea. Disgaea 2 PC Onword Game lets you brake it in half many ways like LV 99 Trick(Google that in post game if you want to experience blind playthrough and do not want to break game yet.). My favorites are Disgaea 2 and 5.
Just got recomended your channel. Have you and ellie tried hollow knight? Would be nice to that
Welcome Ana, nice to meet you! You know, I've actually been thinking that Hollow Knight would a perfect fit for another video. Stay tuned for that one!
Please tell me you told her about the mechanics she missed and what would have helped made it easier after she was done. I am curious how much further she would get knowing atleast about locking on and leveling up more.
The most frustrating experience I had with DS1 that made me quit three times was 1. getting cursed in the Great Hollow/Ash Lake and not knowing how to cure it and having to go all the back up blight town while cursed. And then 2. having the fire keeper die and not knowing hot to revive her and losing motivation to keep going. and 3. Not having a weapon good/upgraded enough for Orenstein and Smough and not wanting to go back through Anor Londo and Sens fortress just to get something better. I think I finally got through the whole game on my third or fourth try of playing it. I definitely prefer the newer Fromsoft games and feel they are much more intuitive than DS1 but I do like/respect DS1
We actually only discussed it after I showed her the video! I'm actually really curious to see how she would now that she's learned so much about the game.
Those sound like super frustrating scenarios. I wonder how Ellie would fair with Blighttown, haha. Yeah, you can tell From has learned a lot as they've continued to hone their style. I think I'll have Ellie attempt another From game for the next video, if you have any suggestions...
Really appreciate you watching!
How to make your girlfriend depressed: speedrun. :D
This appears to be a very effective way, lol
Dude just made his own girlfriend go hollow irl lmao
LOL
I know you had your own vision for how this experiment should be performed, but i think you should have helped her a LITTLE bit. Dont tell her where to go, obviously. But just explaining that she has an equipment menu, or reminding her she can level up since she hasn't played many RPGs, could have saved her tremendous, unnecessary frustration, and made her feel much better about playing the game. We all probably had someone explain little things like this to us in games when we were younger, and Dark Souls is not a game intended for someone with minimal video game experience to play blindly.
I appreciate the feedback! I'm trying to tweak and balance how much assistance I provide to her in future videos. Let me know if you have any other thoughts on how I could improve this series!
At first I was not using targeting too but later on I learned to use it
75 deaths in 5 hours. For somebody completely new to a souls game. That's pretty damn good.
I was really impressed with her, overall! Most people with no experience would have struggled to ever reach Lordran. She's got a lot of potential, for sure.
She really reminds me of those AI training videos.
Haha, maybe she is AI... :0
@@Wilson-108 Part 2 when ? Please let her play the whole game.
Getting a lot of requests for a part 2! Stay tuned...
Will she continue? If she’s willing to I’d love to see.
We may do a follow up video in the future! Any other games you'd like to see her try?
Thanks for watching!
What’s the game that was being played in the beginning?
It says on the bottom right of the screen
Thanks again ;)
It's called Returnal. it's a lot of fun!
i was worried you were comparing your girlfriend and dark souls 😂😂😂
Haha, not a bad idea for a video right there!
So did she played again? (At the moment the video is a week old)
Not at this point, but I may have her try it again at some point in a future video!
Good story telling...
Thank you very much, Dominic, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Dark Souls isn't made for "players." It's made for gamers.
A valid perspective, I think many would agree with that!
@@Wilson-108 I think your video shows that perfectly. Sometimes we forget how many things we figure out because we played 100s of games before some janky one with weird menus and whatnot.
Very true, it's easy to forget just how much you pick up after playing so many games...
You gonna do another 5 hours where you give her small hints?
I'm thinking about something like that! Is that a video you'd be interested in seeing?
@Wilson-108 very much so, I love these typa videos where I get to see new players' perspectives on stuff that I'm pretty familiar with. I think you could continue in the way this video was formatted but honestly, with how the rest of the game is, I think it would be kinda repetitive and maybe even boring if it's just her getting lost/hitting a roadblock, making the tiniest bit of progress, rinse and repeat. I think if you continued but gave her the tiniest of hints, it would help alot. Also if you'd want her to do the DLC, lord knows getting there is convoluted and unintuitive
Duly noted, thanks for sharing your thoughts! I'm with you, I find stuff like this super interesting. I agree, I think it would get boring if she wasn't able to make meaningful progress. I want to try different games with her to mitigate the likelihood of this issue, but I'm open to making a Dark Souls part 2 video in the future, as well (assuming she's up for it, haha). Let me know if there are any other games you're interested in seeing her try!
I think its safe to say that dark souls is designed for people with high gaming literacy with very minimal tutorial and functionally no hand-holding. I personally despise tutorials due to how it ruins the pacing and immersion, sometimes I even lose my patience over how long some beginning tutorials are and quit very quickly. I love fromsoft's game design where they just kick the player into the world after 10-15 minutes of trying to hold your bearings and just say "get out and go" - most mechanics in a game you can easily pick up through intuition alone but that obviously comes with having picked up a ps1 controller since I was 3 hahaha
Seeing poor Ellie play is so extremely painful to watch though!
I think you're spot on about that. From's approach weeds out a lot of people, but those that stick around are rewarded handsomely. I do think people who have been gaming since a young age are at a huge advantage.
Trust me, she was in pain too lol. Thanks for watching!!
You should do a second 5 hours on the same savefile but this time you give her occasional gameplay tips (camera lock-on, using souls for leveling, stamina, etc). I'd be curious to see how much it changes her enjoyment of the game
In my mind Dark Souls was never a "play it blind/alone" kind of game anyway. The community aspect of its design is literally baked _in_ the game via the message system after all. So I would not consider giving advice to her "cheating"
I think that's a great idea, I appreciate you sharing that! A lot of people seem interested in a follow up video of some sort, so stay tuned... :)
Feel like this was my first experience with Dark Souls lol. I just straight up didn't like how combat felt tho so it was more offputting then just frustrating otherwise i would have tried to power thru more of it
Totally understandable! The combat takes a long time to get used to. Even just capturing this footage felt super unnatural to me, after having not played the game in so long.