In my family there is an ancient saying: "Thou who Act art Chosen. In thine editing, maketh video of the game of Ancient Lords. When thou posteth the video of Dark Souls, the fate of the channel thou shalt know." Also, TIME STAMPS! Intro - 0:00 A Morbid Curiosity - 2:16 The Depths of Dark Souls - 5:52 Purpose & Theme - 10:11 Jolly Cooperation & Gameplay - 17:08 Boss Battles - 26:24 Level Design - 29:49 Characters & Tone - 38:07 Conclusion - 44:14
The Act Man please do a Star Wars Jedi academy video since you talked about it in a few videos like your video on why halo 3 is so awesome and why EA battlefront 2 is so bad so please consider making a video on Jedi academy or at least Halo wars 1 since it’s the only proper halo game apart from spartan assault and strike you haven’t reviewed
The fact that almost anywhere on the map, you have vague idea of where you are. Without there being a map. It's not just "levels" with a start and finish. It's one massive world that feels natural and immersive.
Yeah that’s the one thing Jedi fallen order failed at. Great game but they should have made the maps naturally lead back to the mantis rather than constantly back tracking. I mean a lot of the time there shortcuts so you don’t have to do quite as much journeying but you still have to back track whereas with dark souls eventually you’ll always just end up back at Firelink somehow
@@Gurrla the inter connectivity of dark souls 1 was amazing, I’ll never forget going from the undead parish to firelink through the elevator for the first time, discovering ash lake below the world and through the tomb of the giants and my favorite distant view: The Demon Ruins from the Tomb of the Giant
Still one of the coolest meta concepts in all of gaming is the idea that those who quit playing because it was too hard are those who became the hollows in the world.
Τόλις Γραμματόπουλος You become hollow at some point of your deaths. I feel like once you’ve accepted your death is that when it happens so this theory wouldn’t be so bad either.
Hollowing is the best meta concepts (for me personally) as it given the meaning of giving up. And it's make me easy to differentiate passions among people. *stare disappointly at "passionate" game urnalists and feminazis*
One thing in Dark Souls that I don't think people talk about enough is the Firelink Shrine music. At first, It feels homely and comforting. But near the end of the game, when almost all of the characters are dead, the music is depressing, and makes you feel lonely.
on the beginning, it felt extremely lonely but kinda warm, the fact that you're safe and this is probably the last safe place on a destroyed world. kinda like The Nexus from Demon's Souls. But the warmth gets colder and colder, after Anastacia dies and even the "dangerous places" are now only a minor trouble to your now overpowered character. So it's not the only safe haven and at the same time, the comfort disappears after everyone kinda dies.
I knew about Dark Souls for a few years before getting around to playing, but if I had to credit one thing for sparking my decision to finally buy the game, it would be this video.
Ive played FromSoft games since Kings Field. Even imported the Shadow Tower that wasnt released in the US. Demon Souls was the most amazing game id ever played until Dark Souls.
Mine would be Elden ring which got me to try blood borne which made me wanna try the other FromSoftware games. Elden ring is one of my fav games ever which is weird because I wasn’t into the DS games whatsoever so when I purchased it and started I was like agh man wtf why did I buy this game…as I gave it a go and continued…8hrs later I was like damn this game is f***in amazing. 😁
@@SCHIERKE_252 i tired playing it on my cousin console, I could not get past the second skeleton. but when I played dark soul 3 I felt such satisfaction when I beat that first boss
Same here. I can't stop reading and listening critiques, analysis, reviews... There's something cool about people experiencing and describing their Souls experience...
The most memorable moments I had in Dark Souls 1 was the Undead Parish to Firelink Shrine elevator, and the first time stepping off the stairs and reached the Kiln. oh dear...it was so long ago already
i will never forget how i finished this game. it is such a beatiful game and i would give really much to forget the game, so i could play it again as a first experience.
Well it also isn't often a game is awarded as the best of the generation twice. Seriously the souls series is amazing with the first dark souls my favorite. It's a loveable game and it taught me more about persistance and overcoming obsticals more then anything else. I rewatch this video often, sometimes while I play dark souls 1 or 2
@@zyvan3179 It fits into the games lore considering other player characters are referenced and we know time and worlds are wonky for this to work. I find that concept fucking cool, the best example is the people who become cursed and they become stone creatures you can see in your world. I always loved knowing it was some person who got caught in the curse mist
@@Frostyman452 honestly I dont understand why people dont finish it. its not that hard. unless life gets in the way. but if people quit because its too hard I dont understand cause its not really hard at all
"Sif wants to protect you from the abyss and you killed him for it". I was already sad about this fight but the way you worded it makes it way more sad 😔
Same goes for German and our character in Bloodborne. He’s fighting to save us from the nightmare except when we defeat him he is released from his nightmare.
@@darkstar3116 how about telling me that somehow so at least i know why i am killing him. Or how about moving to the side so i can take that ring. Or how aboout taking the ring and running away with it. And yeah the problem is unsolveable if it dosnt make sense. Also how do you figure out that you need to give 30 humanity to the spider thing to be able to kill that bug to save Solair. Also why do the flying demons which serve Gwyn carry me from Sens fortress to Anor londo then attack me when i see them if Gwyn wants to continue the age of fire. And i have a ton more questions and the more i think about it the less it makes sense. Also why are the developer so obsessed with tails that every boss has one i can get a weapon out of it?
@@draaavennoxus668 .. the cat warns you about it. A daughter of chaos would have a "hidden" way in and out for her followers would she not? You are also hinted at this within her chambers as there is a sealed door there. Don't be racist, just because certain gargoyles are tasked with bringing the chosen one back and forth doesn't mean they're all similar.
@@draaavennoxus668 I mean, everyone is losing their minds in that world including you. Fact is, unless you install a mod to skip it all you're going to do what it takes to see the end of the game. As a player you want to get to the end of the storyline of the "Chosen Undead" everyone is telling you about because it's just sounds like a main character thing to be, "Chosen". So regardless of what anyone else in the game says or does, you're going to go through what you need to in order to get the ending you seek. We always have the option to just play around simply using the co-play options and there's the option to be that person that tries to stop anyone from continuing on the path of the "chosen" both by joining certain Covenants and simply just of your own volition for the fun of challenging yourself against something beyond an NPC. Of course, even the people that mainly want to co-op of pk will need to progress through the game in order to complete the builds they prefer. Playing a video game is just an inherently selfish action and the npc's suffer lol
Unironically my first week playing dark souls was exploring the marvels of such an intricately crafted first level. It then took me about 3 morw months to get the lordsouls because it was just too filled with content to wonder and explore
I've played all the soulsborne games, watched hours of Vaatividya and Ashen hollow, read pages of lore.and I'm just finding out estus is bottled fire. I love this game
Yup, that's why it looks all weird and swirly in the base dark souls 1. It's not just a flame, it's THE flame, the first flame specifically. Also why you get more flasks when you "kindle" because it makes more flame lol
@@wesleyscott1633 I can't remember which item description it is but one of them talks about how the bonfires are "direct links to the first flame". Also the actual fire coming off the bonfire in ds1 (not the remaster) is all weird and swirly, theoretically because it's not just a flame but the first flame specifically. Bonfires are also created by making piles of human bones (see the homeward bone description) and the Humanity within humans longs for the fire of the first flame so it's implied that the desire of the residual Humanity is what creates the bonfire/link to the first flame. It's also worth noting that in the description of the homeward miracle it says that the miracle is supposed to bring you to your Homeland, but when used by an undead brings you to the bonfire. This seems to imply that the bonfire is their home and it makes much more sense that it's their home because it's the closest connection to the First Flame that their Humanity longs for rather than just a random fire. It's not an explicit lore fact, but I'd argue it's implied pretty heavily
Fun fact: Estus is based off of the ancient greek mythos of the 5 River Styxes, one of which was the Phlegethon which was a river of literal fire that could be drunk by gods and demigods to heal themselves.
16:20, this part hits hard, had a friend who clinically died due to a suicide attempt but was resuscitated, she later played bloodborne and claimed it saved her live because taking on a horrible challenge head on and beating it made her feel amazing, shes doing better now.
I know exactly what she means. Tell her, Dan says "hello, there". Haha, And i really very much hope she stays amazing. Bloodborne is my favorite game of all time
@@oformakelvin3568 Boss is actually pretty damn easy if you use the arches and the stairs to your advantage. It can also be killed by toxin or firebombs without actually fighting it. Made a system to kill him very efficiently by throwing dung pies till he gets toxin and start blasting him with firebombs till he dies for every character i run for pvp builds.
The Capra Demon was actually really easy once I killed the stupid rabid dogs. All you have to do is lure it to the archway, then drop down on it from the ledge and do a two-handed aerial stab. Repeat a few times and it's dead.
Same. But i watched because i love hearing other people that love it for the reasons i do and i love to hear what other people love about it that i haven't realized. Makes me go back and look at the game again in a new light. This game doesn't stop giving, ever.
I remember first time beating the game and after the fight with Gwyn I realised that this bonfire is the end. I thought maybe I can fire it up later and I walked outside the arena (which starts the dark ending) without knowing what would happen. I think it was brilliant idea - if player hesitates to link the last fire then the dark ending is his path. Hesitating to sacrifice your soul leads to desire to usurp the power - everything makes sense.
For me, I lit the flame (I was expecting an end cutscene when I killed Gwyn) and thought there was more. To be fair, I had little to no idea what was going on story wise in the game.
@@dalgusmaximus4557 health, stamina, and strength or dex (strength for big slow weapon dex for fast medium weapon). Or health, attunement, int, and faith for magic builds.
@@goggins1275 if Ninja Gaiden 2 would be a good game I surely would have played it longer. Unfortunately it is one of the hugest disappointments I have ever had as a gamer.
@@goggins1275 You mean Dark Souls 2 is harder than 1? I remember most of the bosses were pretty easy but there were also really hard bosses especially if you don't make use of a shield. Although I didn't play the DLC yet which I really should do.
Act man I am sad because my parents don’t allow darks souls anymore, they think it’s demonic, and they got rid of all my discs for it. But I bought dark souls two online and I secretly play it at night when my parents go to bed. That’s how much I love these games because I am willing to get in trouble just to play it. My parents are like certain npc”s who try to tell you that your journey is pointless and that you’ll never make it, but I will not go hollow I will keep playing it rather what anyone thinks about it. I love your videos act man and recently I have been a little uninterested about gaming but you inspire me to play again and again. I hope by some way that you are immortal and that you will never leave us this world needs you. Your smart, funny af, and you dissect games from the core to help us all understand the concept of gaming and maybe what we missed in the game. Love u so much merry Christmas.
Stop treating VaatiVidya like a fucking preacher. What Vaati says on his videos is "HIS" interpretation of the fragments of story Fromsoft put on the game. You can come up with your own conclusions, Vaati didn't discover the hidden story of dark souls, there's no story to discover, there's nothing there, is what you want it to be.
Playing Elden Ring made me want to try out other souls games. I had to go where it all began and I'm so glad I did. The level design in Dark Souls 1 is out of this world. So many areas are connected to each other, and only through exploration provide shortcuts. Then they also throw in one of the coolest moments I've seen in a videogame - they let you return to the starting area after you might have assumed there is no way back there. I thought that area was just a tutorial (it was, but it's so much more!). To explain, you have to climb up the firelink shrine and literally sit in the crow's nest for 15 seconds and this will trigger a cut scene where the crow picks your character up and flies you back to the beginning of the game except now there are harder enemies and an extra boss. NOT only that but there is an item you can pick up (the peculiar doll) that will allow you to enter an ENTIRE new zone (Painted World of Ariamis) via Anor Londo. All of this is optional, but SO cool and rewarding to do. I can only imagine how exciting it must have been to be the first person to discover this. I'm sad and happy at the same time now because for so long I put off playing souls like games for whatever reason. But now that I finally caved when Elden Ring came out, an entire new world of games are open to me - Dark Souls 1-3, Bloodborne, Sekiro, and more.
Lots of people don't like Sekiro friend. It's a great game but approach it with an open mind, the combat is alot different to darksouls and if you try to play it the same way you'll have an awful time. I don't have many friends who have stuck with it because they've gotten frustrated trying to play it like ds1
My favourite Dark Souls 1 character arc has to be Big Hat Logan's. After having no more knowledge to spread and learn he goes out to Anor Londo and the Duke's Archives, where he starts looking for forbidden and forgotten sorceries. He never goes hollow. He went insane. An undead goes hollow if they lose their drive and purpose to move on, but Logan never lost his, he had so much choice in literature he tried to possess the knowledge of Seath the Scaleless, which drove him mad.
I want to agree with this, but if you look at there before and after models they're different. He's normal at Firelink but when you're in the Duke's Archives his skin is blue and hollowed. His face is hard to see but if I remember right I'm pretty sure his face is hollowed too
@@asneakylawngnome5792 The wiki claims that he didn't go hollow and in-game he just looks blue due to the lighting of the room. His skin is also the same as a non-hollowed undead's, like when the player reverses their hollowing
@@asneakylawngnome5792 In game he still very clearly has a Human Model It seems like the same knowledge that drove seath batshit insane, Also drove Logan to batshit insamity
@@maxburrill6192 I beat it third try on my first playthrough and I didn’t understand the whole freak out over the boc until I watched UA-cam videos and found that I was just lucky
@@maxburrill6192 everything before it was horrible. i died so many times getting to BoC. but when i got to it i was so disappointed. luckily i got vaatividya to explain why BoC was important.
Nah because I was ready to quit this game half way through, then I watched this video. Hearing that people who quit become hollow and aren't the chosen undead, made me go back and beat the game. I've now beaten the game multiple times, one of the best games ever.
In dark souls 3 I was the first person to put that message there and I still can't pvp with that character because the message gets rated so often I get healed every ten seconds
Just wanted to say that this video made me try dark souls. Yesterday after month and a half later i finished the trilogy plus dlc's. What an epic journey, thank you.
I could be remembering wrong, but I'm pretty sure I beat Capra Demon first try because I started with a key that got me into Blightown and I didn't discover his boss room until I was way leveled up and I had the Black Knight Greataxe. Just what I seem to remember, not for sure though, it's been many moons since my first run-through of DS1. I just know that I was super confused when people said he was a hard boss. I was like, "But I beat him first try." Had no idea how "out of order" I went through the game.
@@theBROWNbanditP The zweihander is pretty handy cuz if you 2 hand the weapon it will be able to stun all enemies in the game it doesnt care if its a boss or a normal fat guy it will stun any enemy with 2 handed heavy attacks if you have a armor set that has high ammount of poise and a shield with good stability you can hit effectively with this ultimate greatsword that only weights 10 pounds and knock back you renemies so you can get a bit of a headstart
definitely have to credit this video for making me play dark souls. Almost a year since beating ds1 and now Ive beat ds3, sekiro, elden ring, and bloodborne now starting ds2. This video does so much justice for this game, it really shows how amazing the game really is and im glad its putting people on to this masterpiece like it did for me. If I ever want to convince a friend to play dark souls, I will send them this video
FUN FACT: Hidetaka Miyazaki-san was actually a huge fan of Gothic architecture, Fantasy, and especially Berserk. which definitely explains why Frampt looks like a Hagfish with a human face and skin mustache. And why a lot of the monsters are something of a nightmare in of themselves. Miyazaki apparently has great taste in Manga, since Sekiro was based off of Lone Wolf and Cub. Dude's got good taste. I do recommend checking out both Berserk and LW&C; they are Masterpieces.
WOW, YOU MEANN DARK SOULS WAS INSPIRED BY BERSERK? You mean the obvious fun fact that every dark souls fan knows? You really know something no one else does.
Yes. Berserk is great. Just got book 41. Sad that we will never know the end. 41 was the last. It was short. And ended on a cliff hanger. Very depressing. But hey. Glad to see another fan
@@JTJ-wm4cm Dude, Berserk's still going. Koji Mouri, Miura's best friend and very close colleague, is pretty much just writing down what Miura told him before his untimely passing.
Do you know what a Masterpiece is? This video. This 40 minute long video was such a joy to see and feel. Few games can express and resonate so many thoughts to their players. Games like Dark Souls, Bloodborne and Shadow of the Colossus are few examples that make me forget what I've played, just to experience it again. And you, my Jolly friend, have the skills to make fellow undeads like me, don't want to go hollow. May you find your own sun. And thanks for sharing your thoughts with us. "Drops VERY GOOD carving"
God I love this video. My best friend passed away recently and me and him have played threw the entire game countless times. Its something ill hold with me for the rest of my life. Playing it iant just a game to me now. Its a way to feel close to him.
It's a testament to both your homie and dark souls that such a cruel thing did not take the game away from you. In the way a bad break up can steal your favorite song. You should write the devs a letter. Seriously. I bet they'd really like to hear your story. I'm just a musician, which a different type of creation, but I love hearing how something I made helped someone though something hard. Artistic success can feel trivial on a bad day in a dark world, but hearing people's stories really helps me see the earth under my feet. I'm sure they'd feel the same way.
@@Brian2k2 The simple fact that he considered that the life of sif was more important than stopping the Abyss makes him the most useless Knight of Gwyn. I bet even Smough could have done better.
@@broly7784 Don't even think Artorias is weak, have you fought him the game? That's while he's crazy and using his off hand with his other arm broken. If he was using his main arm and his shield, we wouldn't have won(lore wise). I personally believe Artorias is the best fighter out of all of them, but was more distant from Gwen and his goals, which is why he wasn't the captain. Manus is a enemy we can only beat through being undead and able to revive. Artorias wasn't undead and thus, fell to the abyss. Of course Sif would want to stop us from not only defiling her masters grave but also to stop us from engaging the abyss. Artoias is like the 3rd best character in the game.
First time a played Dark Souls, when i found the entrance to the abyss, I was like WTF, why there is this sort of Well that the only purpose is to kill my self? Then a few hours later i encounter The Good Boy Sif and it droped the Ring, i read its discription and though to my self "WAIT A MINUTE, that hole of blackness that I fell in a few hours ago, could this be some kind of item that I need to dont die?" and them I plunge to certain Dead and fucking survive, that was the moment I knew this game was a Masterpiece.
Dude I tought you were going to say "that was the moment I knew this game is bullshit" after everything that you said about "dying in abbys multiple times because of a ring". Anyway I think Dark Souls 1 was the most bullshit, brilliant and epic game at the same time. It's a masterpiece.
Lol I actually jumped the first time and died. Then I went to other places eventually getting the ring and upon reading, it says it helps with walking on the abyss... so I figured I had died in the abyss. But I was still afraid to jump again 😂
Literally shed tears watching this, because DS made me feel emotions no other game out there will ever deliver. The soulsborne games truly have to be felt and not just played. Thank you for describing this experience so well. Definitly gained a sub
The worst feelings in the game -Protecting Onion bro, only to make him go hollow as a result -Sif, limping. -Not saving Solaire -Realizing Anor Londo is a masquerade, is actually in darkness -Realizing the queen was trying to save her sister Best bittersweet feelings in the game -Seeing how Artorias protected Sif -Hearing Onion Bros last charge, ultimately killing him, but sparing him going hollow/his daughter not having to kill him -Seeing solaire become the sun The whole game is a "Biggest top 10 anime feels" I swear to God.
I accidentally killed Oscar after thinking "The game won't let me kill a friendly, let's get a little practice for the controls." And now I have to carry that burden throughout my whole playthrough.
@@Uvirythit makes sense. When you have fucked your wife, yes you are prepared for a baby but will that baby suffer from a birth defect, a medical condition or die? What of your wife? She could die from child birth. Okay something less tragic, you studied for a examination. You are prepared but there's a possibility that you may fail
I’m on my first play through of Dark Souls Remastered and I’m just realizing that I will never know the true pain of Blighttown because I have no FPS drops
I loved the PS3 version, but the Switch version is my go to now because of the tolerable framerate in Blight Town and being able to play it anywhere. One day I want to just go camping just to play Dark Souls next to a bonfire.
40h to finish it ? Lol after 40h on my first playthrough I was still trying to figure out how to beat Ornstein and smough and thats the fucking half of the game
@Magnumx98 90h to beat dark souls 1 as a first souls experience. 50h for ds3 and 50h for bloodborne.. Kind of similar stats here. Which one did you prefer ? And which one was the hardest for you ? Dark souls used to be my favorite but bloodborne is such a more solid experience than it. I cant choose between the 2 tbh.
It takes WAAAAY longer for people who haven’t touched the series before. I just finished my first play though at around 41 hours, but I’ve already got 300+ into dark souls 3 so the combat wasn’t all that new
people say dark souls is difficult lol it's more bullshit than hard in many parts. 40h isn't that special I got it within 36 on my first run, ornstein and smaugh was easy but four kings man and the last boss though.
Near the end of my first playthrough of Dark Souls right now. I've just got three bosses left-Black Dragon Kalameet, Manus, Father of the Abyss, and Gwyn, Lord of Cinder. They're going down.
@@ianlopez2058 It took me hours to learn the fight. Finally beat him with my STR character and then when I got to him on my DEX character, only took me a couple tries to do it again. So far, Manus is my favorite bossfight in the series. I'm halfway through Dark Souls 2 now.
Re-watching this after the passing of *Kentaro Miura* really gives a different feeling... Struggle is difficult, but no matter the goals, every struggle has its value, its meaning- if not for anyone else, it's for you, *the struggler* to understand, to appreciate and to take pride in. Never go hollow, my friends.
Guts legitimately helped me get through some stuff, his sheer willpower to go against gods and even fate itself is inspiring, he always owned up to his problems and never gave up, and does all of that not out of hate, spite, or vengeance but for love of the most important person in his life.
seeing as the act mans channel might be terminated i will be downloading this vid i truly loved it and got me into one of the greatest video game franchises of all time. thank you @the act man
@@metheuscane719 its not going to be terminated, it was some youtube drama, then youtube fucking actman over at the end, his channel is momentarily demonitized, but he's not going to get terminated, the drama for the most part has blown over
@@metheuscane719 yeah it’s all good now. But for a hot sec things could of gone very bad. And it still did for the act man and his channel but at least most of the videos are still here
I think the thing that blew me away the most about Dark Souls, was the discovery of Kaathe. This is a character that most people will never find on their own because of the criteria needed for him to spawn, but he has an absolutely monumental effect on how you percieve the story. If you never discovered him, you might never question why you are striving to prolong the age of fire. It seems like the obvious choice, but Kaathe turns it on it's head, and now you realize that your character is being manipulated, that Frampt is not being honest with you, and the implications of this are massive. You now realize that the Dark ending is NOT actually the "Bad" ending, rather it's grey. The whole game is grey. Nothing and no one in Lordran is entirely good or evil, and there are layers to this story that people have only discovered after dozens of playthroughs. To me Dark Souls is the pinnacle of video game storytelling. It could never work as a movie or a novel, because story is baked into the gameworld itself for the player to discover. There is absolutely nothing Arbitrary in this game. Every single item, every single corpse, every single enemy is meticulously placed in order to say something about the world. While item descriptions contain exposition, it's up to the player to observe the world and contextualize the information you have within the world, and interpret it based on your own experience, and I cannot overstate how much I love that. Granted as you said, all of this would fall apart if the game world itself wasn't as captivating as it is, but Dark Souls just had me aching to know what I will find beyond the next door.
I'd say that the Age of Dark is "good". If you've played through 3/don't mind spoilers, I'd highly recommend watching The Ashen Hollow's video "The Complete Canonical Story of Dark Souls (FULL) ." It's a fantastic video, an hour long look at every single non speculatory bit of information we receive from the series, and puts it all into a _mostly_ chronological order. It's really fuckin good.
@@NoahDaArk It depends entirely on you. DS3 has superior combat, but DS1 has a more complete world in every sense. It really is lightning in a bottle. Play both, don't worry about which one you start on.
@@NoahDaArk well I personally would play DS1 first because it'll explain a lot of things for DS3 and also have you appreciate the deeper moments of DS3
When you feel yourself the most powerful creature in the game, this reminds you that you are not. Ruined a lot of no death run attempts. When I was 80 lvl and 2 bosses left, taurus demon threw me off a cliff at demon ruins.
Gravity is the one true boss of the souls serious You can't kill it, but it can kill you. There is no where safe from gravity either. That an elevators.
My very first time fighting the Gaping Dragon in the Depths, I came within a couple of hits of beating him. Then the acid vomit forced me off the edge, and I fell to my death 🤦🏻♂️😂
I remember beating sens fortress and the iron golem. I thought the game was over and I beat it. Then I get transported to a massive godly city. At that moment, I knew this game was something special. I’ve beaten this game at least 20 times by now and it’s my favorite game of all time.
I think the best thing about the “dark lord” trope here is that it’s kinda reversed in a way. While the dark lord ending still is the “self serving” ending, it’s not just serving yourself, you’re serving your species. Humanity is essentially trapped as slaves to gods with the age of fire, so in a way the “dark lord” ending is actually the good ending.
but then they go back to nothing. They were only really thriving during the age of fire. But at some level, it is akin to ripping off a bandaid. The age of fire would come to an end no matter what, and prolonging it could do more harm then good. But on the other hand, perseverance is what gives life meaning. The need to continue and fight onto another day is displayed throughout the game, and if you choose the lord of darkness ending, then you have gone back on everything so far.
Except you don't break the cycle... You are simply letting it flow... Light, dark, light, dark.... The dark ending is following the cycle, not breaking it
I actually pretty sure that the dark ending IS the never-ending nothingness. Basically the fire brought disparity and with it LIFE. Whereas before there was only death and boringness. The cycle isn’t to be honored. I don’t like in ds3 that they basically retconned the power of the first flame. Before I could see the continual relinking in dark souls as a quasi- eternal life administering process. Maybe not the way it’s supposed to be but the way it CAN be and SHOULD be. It’s true that the natural state of matter is dead. Life is an anomaly. It’s precious and rare. Now that we have it we shouldn’t want to let it go. There is much to be enjoyed still!
Basically the cycle is not progress. Going back to the natural state is exactly that. Going backwards. Life and Order must keep moving forward. Afterall it’s breaking the cycle that leads to Nirvana right? Heaven is when the perpetual trap of life and death, good and evil, the ouroboros, is killed and all beings are allowed to have JUST life. JUST good. No more death. No more tears. Achieve completion. Peace 😌
@@briancooley8777 But it can be interpreted . The Age of Ancients "before the Flame" wasn't dark, precisely because there was no Flame to create disparity between light and dark. There was no death, because archdragons and archtrees were immortal, but at the same time not exactly alive. Also, we don't exactly know what Age of Dark would look like -- Untended Graves in DS3 is hypothesized to be a vision (?) of a world without Flame, but there is not enough information to be sure. There is a hypothesis, if you believe Kaathe, that tha Darksign and the Curse of the Undeath is not a sign of the Flame fading, but a curse bestowed by the Gods, maybe accidentally when Gwyn linked the Flame, or by design. Basically, in this interpretation the Prophecy, actions of Frampt and Gwyndolin, the illusion of Gwynevere etc. are a ruse intended to manipulate humans into linking the Flame, prolonging the Age of Fire and allowing Gods to keep the little power they still had. In the end, it's the question whether you believe that linking the Flame would save humans from going hollow, or is it just being a God's loyal dog.
@@briancooley8777 I think Ds3-- more specifically, the Ringed City-- did it well. The doesn't just fade, the world passes away into nothing. Which is, probably, what's going to happen to all of us. The Earth will be consumed by the Sun, the Sun will die out, and after billions, or even trillions of years, the universe will reach a total state of order and sameness. The new painted world gave an out to this inevitability, creating something entirely new instead of remaking the old. Dark Souls is over and done with. Now we wait for the next in line
No you fuckin didn’t you don’t have to lie we all know this isn’t the first time you played dark souls and you didn’t beat Capra first try god dammit I want to fucking kiss you right now.
@@nadnel2740 … 5 hours of trying by katana. Trying killing him by rotten pie via non coming into boss room with pixel hunting. Finally I killed him fair. My first souls game and I happy that I started from truly first ds game , with base story line. Like are 3-5 years ago.
Never played dark souls and watching this made me go and get a copy, once I got to firelink shrine literally got stuck constantly dying to the skeletons by the grave, got to point where I said “man this isn’t for me” didn’t play for a week. Rewatched this video cause I really like the lore and just trying to see if I missed anything and what you said about hollowing finally clicked in my head. If I stop playing my guy literally goes hollow and I pretty much failed. Went back on and after lot of deaths I cleared the skeletons and got a bad ass 2hand sword. Then I realized I could go up to undead berg and was breezing by with my new 2hand and everything clicked. I was getting destroyed cause I was under equipped and not knowing how the game played, got a huge upgrade by essentially “retaking” a fallen hollows weapon and now was making progress where I should of gone. Literally got me hooked so much And it’s crazy cause it was either make it or break it, but that moment were I cleared the grave I felt so good and unknowingly was rewarded for it too
Yo, you beat it yet? I'm glad you came back to it. You only get 1 first play through, don't spoil anything else. There's layers and layers and layers of complexity.
@@cjpolett2055 I let myself be spoiled for this game and honestly, i still felt the same as if i had experienced it blindly because there is a massive difference between someone telling you the story as to actually playing through the game
Dude this is the game! I faced this the first time back in 2012 when I first fought the Bell Gargoyles. I thought that this game is such utter bullshit and quit multiple times. But I kept going back and trying once or twice ...and then I beat them and the feeling of exhilaration I got was unmatchable
I was always excited whenever Act Man put Souls references in his other videos (like that comparison of disappointing advertising regarding Dark Souls 2's graphics, before/after), and him making a full-fledged video on my favorite game in the series makes me all the happier.
Cheers to “the ultimate game of all time” Legit started playing the souls series just 6months ago and just fell in love, The atmosphere, the combat, the lore, the design, the depressing yet hopeful world….. Now with over 1000hours on all soulsborne games, I’ll say it, I love dark souls, these games became much more than just a difficult game to me. Thank you to fromsoftware for making the best videogames I’ve ever played. And to you for making this amazing video. (Rewatched multiples times already)
This is the best game review ever made. I’ve watched it 5 or so times over the years. The opening is so nostalgic because when I finished dark souls for the first time I was 13 and I felt the exact same. The immense feeling of accomplishment followed by the confusion of what I’d just done. Amazing through and through just like your review 👍
He profited that A+ but who really cares? it goes to show that the story of this game is so consuming that it merits an A+ in school....thats how much these characters are unforgettable...their search for knowledge and answers are awe inspiring....even to a scholastic audience...well man
Words can't describe how much I love Dark Souls, but this video basically summed it up. Playing Dark Souls for the first time was like being in a strange dream that you never wanted to end. I never valued video games as art but after playing Dark Souls I did. I still remember playing Dark Souls for the first time. 1st hour: This game isn't that great, I don't understand why it is getting a ton of praise. After 1st bell of awakening: Hey you know what this game isn't that bad! I'll continue playing. After 2nd bell of awakening: Damn this game can be a real pain! But it's very rewarding and fun. After beating it: Dark Souls is the best game I ever played and is definitely one of the best games ever made.
i hated ds 2 just because everyone else did too, but after playing the sotfs edition i changed my mind completly. the game is really good, and deserves to be called dark souls 2.
Great, I got this game when it came out and played it for like 1 hour, gave up and forgot about it for a few months. I started playing again because I didn't have anything else to play and after a while I really started enjoying it. After that I played demon souls which I thought would be easy but boy was I wrong. It was even harder and unforgiving than dark souls but still a great experience. I never thought these games would get so much attention.
I did not realize until now just how surreal it is to have Patches and Lautrec talk shit about each other, considering they both have the same voice actor.
The problem, imo, isn't players looking up what to do or whatever after they've been stuck for a while. The problem is it's so hard to find anything for the Souls games that doesn't ALSO spoil the absolute shit out of everything at the same time
I've played through Ds1, Ds3 and sekiro, and although they all have their moments of shining, I have yet to see a game as consistent as hollow knight in terms of level design, music, and sound design. Fromsoftware's games have some killer OSTs like Gwyn, Artorias, OnS, Soul of Cinder and Divine Dragon, but every single soundtrack in hollow knight is masterfully made and leaves an impact on the player. Also asides from DS1 none of fromsoftware's games have interconnected world design, and even in DS1 it was only for the first half of the game. The point im trying to make is that Hollow knight is probably the only game in the market, alongside Hades and Nioh that can fill the crater that's left after playing souls games.
@@Arkunter I'm only half trolling. While Dark Souls is a good game, I will always choose to play a good Ratchet and Clank game instead. It's just a lot more arcadey bright and fast paced fun, unlike Dark Souls.
@Joseph Waters when i was playing ds1 i was trying to save humanity for later all game (you know the gamer psychology "keeping items for dire situations") therefor i didnt know i can summon solaire for the smough and ornstein boss battle it took me 5-6 try to kill them both with my crosbow that i didnt upgrade i just fired couple hundred arrows to them while dodging it was a very long battle
i remember this invader i had once who came up to me. i attacked him first but when i saw he didn't attack i stopped. i shit you not, he dropped 99 humanities and used his black crystal. it was the best most satisfying moment in the game i had ever experienced.
@@drezzylol wtf yes you can. i once dropped 99 humanities to one of my friends as well. i know there are certain reasons why you wouldn't be able to do so sometimes, but i don't remember those reasons. but yes you absolutely can drop humanity.
DS1 is basically the second coming of Ocarina of Time. The one thing that sucks is that you don't get to play Dark Souls the way it was in the 2010s, because a part of the game's design included the cultural environment is was released into. You just can't simulate watching VaatiVidya's earliest Prepare to Cry videos as it was in the 2010s when the community was still trying to piece together the lore without any of the context of Dark Souls 3. And the game was so unique back then too, because most RPGs were still using Assassins Creed and Diablo as their main reference point at that time. It's still a good game, but I regret that getting into it now you're kinda missing some of the best things about being a fan during that period.
Man I’m gonna go play dark souls again I love this game. When I was in high school I was very depressed one of my cousins told me that giving yourself purpose is key so I gave myself a goal of completing dark souls I mean every achievement beat it and I did and by the end I had friends people I could count on I wasn’t depressed anymore I dare say dark souls is possibly the only reason I’m still here. It’s the biggest reason I haven’t gone hollow.
Dark Souls is like a game of life. You got kicked out from your home and about to face the world for the first time. No direction on where to go, no money and a very few friends. It's a damn cruel world but you bravely fight through it, only to fail and start from the beginning over and over again. You become unhappy and frustrated. Then you asked yourself, is it worth my suffering? With a little strength you have left, you get yourself up. What's more to lose anyway? So you continue but you are now wiser than before. Everyday is like a battlefield and there's no easy road. Countless of failures but you keep your spirit high. Until one day you have completed your journey. Only to realized that all the hardship you have experienced made you into a warrior. And that the true happiness is not by completing the game itself but by overcoming all the adversities you have encountered in your journey.
I'm playing through Dark Souls right now for the first time ever. I tried playing it before years ago but I literally wasn't mature enough to handle the indifference the game has for the player and stopped after like the first area. It's like the game doesn't even want you there and is constantly trying to get you to stop playing, but you keep playing. Now I understand that's exactly how life is.
Soon you will even toying with enemies don´t worry!That is what Dark Souls is trully about,the very 1st experience.After that,basically is pvp what you´re looking for to remain here!Or challenging runs like sl1 or whatever.
@@io-rd2ct beware, people say that 2 is a good game. I disagree strongly. Never has anything cause me to want to take a hammer to my computer more than my time with that game. It's not even that difficult, it's just bullshit.
Yeah I tried to roll in a attack but it hit me then I tried to roll away form a attack and still hit me, well people do say the hit boxes are trash. Well this is what happens without Miyazaki’s golden touch
Never had a game made me feel something so beautiful and genuine deep within my soul never had a video game lifted me so far out depression and insecurity never had a video game been more impactful and life changing than dark souls
@@lewanbroski504 Agreed, DS1 and Bloodborne are truly pinnacle From games. That's not to say I didn't enjoy Elden Ring because I definitely did (I mean I have close to 400 hours played hah). But the world of DS1 and the atmosphere of Bloodborne are unmatched by any other game I have ever played, and believe me that is a lot of games across many consoles.
@Suncrusher01 I wish ds1 continued its awesomeness after Ornstein and Smough, the games not bad after but its not as great as it was before, if it continued that caliber of gaming it would've easily been my favourite game ever not just my favourite souls game. Because it doesn't bloodbornes my favourite souls games, if I was any good at Sekiro that would also be close to the top of my list of souls games, I am getting better but not by much.
the beauty of dark souls is that you never feel like your wasting your time except bed of chaos, the game is challenging yet fair except for bed of chaos. it may take you 5 or maybe 50 tries to beat a boss, but it will be wor- except dying 100 times to bed of chaos great level design cant even jump to the fucking branch because you keep one shotting me with an impossible to dodge swipe and forcing me to run through lava for 2 hours just to do it all again how the f-
“The Crestfallen Warrior becomes obsolete. There aren’t any newbies for him to give tips to. His purpose is lost, and he becomes hallow.” Him sitting there by himself, slowly fading away. That got to me...
@@DarthAssViolater Haha! We're just the dying race of picky solid solo gaming lovers. Now, all the games are shallow open world look alikes (uncharted, watchdogs, fucking zombie games and the much hated COD....). Thanks Rockstar games!
@@averagechapstick On my second play through it took me like 20 tries, must've been luck or something. but I remember spending like 5 hours trying to get through the catacombs and got the gravelord sword before I went to sen's fortress, I guess it was made possible by the sword I had
@@geodad2642 I can't physically prove it. Elden Ring was my first souls game, so I was used to gank duos by then, just used the lock off strategy to prioritise movement. Also beat the man-eater duo on demon souls first try as well recently, I guess I've got a knack for gank bosses???
I just started this game. I figured I should in prep for elden ring. I have been gaming for a long time and I have not this feeling about a game in YEARS. You explained precisely what I have not been able to put my finger on with games over the years. When I play this I get the same feeling I used to get when I Played something like Alice or Link to the past. It has all the markers of classic games along with mentaly satisfying challenges. It is not like skyrim where you can run through easily then mess about. You have to fight for every amount of ground gained. It is incredibly frustraiting and satisfying all at the same time.
Dark Souls has completely changed the way that I thought about and approached video games. This game is intentionally designed to psychologically mess with you in every possible way, and make you question everything you thought you knew before. When the official tagline says "Prepare To Die," it's being completely serious.
I tryed Dark souls remastered and got stuck at the Taurus demon quit for a couple weeks picked it back up got to the moonlight butterfly Elden ring came out put DS down and beat Elden ring then started DS3 O am about to beat and then will pick up DS again
I never thought I’d beat a Souls game. True story but my father was very sick I was playing DS 2 and then stopped playing it while he was in the hospital ,,,,sadly he passed away and then in my grief and despair I went back to DS2 and I beat it and I had a weird kind of revelation and epiphany and then through my bravado and stupidity I went back and beat demon souls dark souls one and then eventually dark souls three and just recently I’ve beaten Bloodborne finally and I kind of owe it all to my grief that I had and I worked through that with the Souls games I kind of feel like I achieved some hidden meanings of life through my playthroughs. Great video my friend. I had insomnia and this was just what I needed.
I hope you are doing well Steven. I lost my father too from an illness. It gets easier to cope with as time goes by. Stay strong and smile. Don't you dare go Hollow!
My dad died in December and prior to that I had quit bloodborne. I came back afterwards and named my character after him (bradborne). I kind of just stopped playing again but not out of quitting, it was just genuinely hard for anything to hold my attention and I have barely been investing time in video games, but a month ago I started playing again and beat the game in under like two weeks, and just tonight I got the Queen of Yharnam trophy, so I feel the exact same way. I cant do the dlc rn so I want to try and beat the defiled chalice dungeons as well as the one shot cum chalice dungeon that is a well known blood echo farm you’re not really supposed to actually play through. On Layer 3
Honestly man I feel you. In a weird way this game is extremely comforting. You’d think a game like this would just make you more angry and upset and yet that feeling of achievement and happiness you get from beating bosses really does help you feel better about yourself and get you through tough shit. Hope you’re doing well Steven!
In my first play through, this game was so scary. It’s not just the dark mood and scenery but also because it was so difficult…I felt very small and scared in a scary world.
That’s one of the reasons why I love this game. It feels like In comparison to you, the world is hostile and makes you feel small and weak before you overcome it.
It is 2024 and I'm determined to beat this game for the first time. I've watched this video at least 15 times over the past 5 years and it's always stuck with me that this is a game I just have to experience. I got it on sale on Steam in 2019 right after watching this video for the first time. I got to Nito and just couldn't beat him and gave up, tried other things, but it always stuck with me. Now, 4 years later, I'm playing through with a renewed sense of purpose. I feel more equipped, better prepared, and ready to take this on. It's an amazing experience, and I've kept this video as the ONLY Dark Souls video to watch. I've refused to watch gameplay, tips, etc. and it's such an amazing experience. I really feel an immense sorrow over not experiencing this game or being on the FromSoft train at all until recently. I was right at the perfect time to play it too in 2011 at 15 years old, but must not have been in the "right" friend group or something because I didn't really even hear about it until around when the 3rd game came out. I wish I would have played it then and experienced all these great memories and been a part of the community. Alas, at least Dark Souls is forever, and I'm experiencing it now. I still feel like Act Man when he says "I feel like I barely scratched the surface..." but I'll definitely play this game at least 3 more times after I beat it to try different builds, etc. Peace everyone, keep on gaming. What a game, and what a video!!! Thanks Kelly, you're the best! You and James are the best gaming UA-camrs ever!!!
I always tell non-soulsfan "How many times have you run through a beautiful, meticulously designed environment and had no reason to explore every nook and cranny? How often have you spammed through every fight in a game without once having to think about HOW to beat an enemy?" We only thought that stuff was fun because it was novel. Dark Souls saved an entire industry from utter redundancy.
Exactly, I finally played Dark Souls Remastered for the first time in my life and actually finish the game and can say that pre-DS version of me and post-DS version are very different. There's very few games that have ever been able to do that.
Im sorry but as a Bethesda fan where deep lore is always there, DS was the opposite for me. The story felt shallow and underdone, and the actual main plot is really weak in how it was written by Fromsoftware. I can accept that perhaps DS still does more lorebuilding outside the main story than other games, but I was really underwhelmed with how shallow the game feels when playing it
Just finished probably my 17th playthrough of this game. It'll always be my favorite of the franchise. As much as I enjoy Elden Ring, Bloodborne, and the others, none of them seem to be able to touch Dark Souls. The world is perfectly crafted, the combat is heavy, unforgiving, and forces you to commit to every attack, and the change in atmosphere from level to level is S-tier. Dark Souls achieved the level of immersion Demon's Souls did without breaking the world up into sections. Everything is connected. Dark Souls is absolutely a masterpiece of a game.
In my family there is an ancient saying:
"Thou who Act art Chosen. In thine editing, maketh video of the game of Ancient Lords. When thou posteth the video of Dark Souls, the fate of the channel thou shalt know."
Also, TIME STAMPS!
Intro - 0:00
A Morbid Curiosity - 2:16
The Depths of Dark Souls - 5:52
Purpose & Theme - 10:11
Jolly Cooperation & Gameplay - 17:08
Boss Battles - 26:24
Level Design - 29:49
Characters & Tone - 38:07
Conclusion - 44:14
ACTMAN 👌
The Act Man lol
Demon's souls was just as much a masterpiece. And *ahem* it's now able to be emulated.
The Act Man please do a Star Wars Jedi academy video since you talked about it in a few videos like your video on why halo 3 is so awesome and why EA battlefront 2 is so bad so please consider making a video on Jedi academy or at least Halo wars 1 since it’s the only proper halo game apart from spartan assault and strike you haven’t reviewed
The Act Man why MW2 campaign is awesome PLEASE!!!
The fact that almost anywhere on the map, you have vague idea of where you are. Without there being a map. It's not just "levels" with a start and finish. It's one massive world that feels natural and immersive.
Yeah that’s the one thing Jedi fallen order failed at. Great game but they should have made the maps naturally lead back to the mantis rather than constantly back tracking. I mean a lot of the time there shortcuts so you don’t have to do quite as much journeying but you still have to back track whereas with dark souls eventually you’ll always just end up back at Firelink somehow
@@zZapStrapZz not always. The bottom of The Tomb of Giants doesn't lead back out, nor does Seathes realm.
And seamless... if it didn’t tell you where you were, you might not feel like you’re moving through different levels
@@Gurrla the inter connectivity of dark souls 1 was amazing, I’ll never forget going from the undead parish to firelink through the elevator for the first time, discovering ash lake below the world and through the tomb of the giants and my favorite distant view: The Demon Ruins from the Tomb of the Giant
@Ludimeel Sorbo’s backup it is open tho? Each individual worlds are open. They just don’t loop back.
Still one of the coolest meta concepts in all of gaming is the idea that those who quit playing because it was too hard are those who became the hollows in the world.
Hi
Mightweaver20xx or that your charcter truly dies (becomes true mindless hollow) when you decide to stop play this game
Τόλις Γραμματόπουλος You become hollow at some point of your deaths. I feel like once you’ve accepted your death is that when it happens so this theory wouldn’t be so bad either.
If you didn’t get the lord vessel, because you couldn’t be beat the boss. You were never the chosen undead. Just a random lucky undead.
Hollowing is the best meta concepts (for me personally) as it given the meaning of giving up.
And it's make me easy to differentiate passions among people. *stare disappointly at "passionate" game urnalists and feminazis*
One thing in Dark Souls that I don't think people talk about enough is the Firelink Shrine music. At first, It feels homely and comforting. But near the end of the game, when almost all of the characters are dead, the music is depressing, and makes you feel lonely.
I think that's the point
I felt that
@@YoutheMasterofUnlocking Obviously lol
honestly to me the music never felt comforting, it always sounded super depressing and lonely imo
on the beginning, it felt extremely lonely but kinda warm, the fact that you're safe and this is probably the last safe place on a destroyed world. kinda like The Nexus from Demon's Souls. But the warmth gets colder and colder, after Anastacia dies and even the "dangerous places" are now only a minor trouble to your now overpowered character. So it's not the only safe haven and at the same time, the comfort disappears after everyone kinda dies.
I knew about Dark Souls for a few years before getting around to playing, but if I had to credit one thing for sparking my decision to finally buy the game, it would be this video.
Ive played FromSoft games since Kings Field. Even imported the Shadow Tower that wasnt released in the US. Demon Souls was the most amazing game id ever played until Dark Souls.
yo mamma
Same
loser
Mine would be Elden ring which got me to try blood borne which made me wanna try the other FromSoftware games.
Elden ring is one of my fav games ever which is weird because I wasn’t into the DS games whatsoever so when I purchased it and started I was like agh man wtf why did I buy this game…as I gave it a go and continued…8hrs later I was like damn this game is f***in amazing. 😁
Dark Souls is one of those games you wish you could periodically forget everything about so you could re-live it again
This^
Well said!
Completely agree, and I haven't even killed the stray demon yet! Or the prowling demon, or the hellkite!
@@SCHIERKE_252 i tired playing it on my cousin console, I could not get past the second skeleton. but when I played dark soul 3 I felt such satisfaction when I beat that first boss
If we could we would...sadly...our puny human race can not do that
I'll never get tired of listening to people talking about Souls, just so good
Same here. I can't stop reading and listening critiques, analysis, reviews...
There's something cool about people experiencing and describing their Souls experience...
The most memorable moments I had in Dark Souls 1 was the Undead Parish to Firelink Shrine elevator, and the first time stepping off the stairs and reached the Kiln.
oh dear...it was so long ago already
i will never forget how i finished this game. it is such a beatiful game and i would give really much to forget the game, so i could play it again as a first experience.
Ikr
Well it also isn't often a game is awarded as the best of the generation twice.
Seriously the souls series is amazing with the first dark souls my favorite. It's a loveable game and it taught me more about persistance and overcoming obsticals more then anything else. I rewatch this video often, sometimes while I play dark souls 1 or 2
"What about the people who didn't beat the game? They are the ones that became hollow..."
Dude.
Ive always thought that in my headcanon as all the other players are canon all at the same time. so if one gives up then they just go hollow
@@zyvan3179 It fits into the games lore considering other player characters are referenced and we know time and worlds are wonky for this to work. I find that concept fucking cool, the best example is the people who become cursed and they become stone creatures you can see in your world. I always loved knowing it was some person who got caught in the curse mist
@@bigbay1159 it is just another reason this game is so fucking awesome and honestly anyone that thinks otherwise has shit taste.
Forgive me my friends, for I have gone hollow.
@@Frostyman452 honestly I dont understand why people dont finish it. its not that hard. unless life gets in the way. but if people quit because its too hard I dont understand cause its not really hard at all
"Sif wants to protect you from the abyss and you killed him for it". I was already sad about this fight but the way you worded it makes it way more sad 😔
Same goes for German and our character in Bloodborne. He’s fighting to save us from the nightmare except when we defeat him he is released from his nightmare.
For real? Why didnt he tell me then and instead starter cutting me with a big sword. This game makes no sense
@@darkstar3116 how about telling me that somehow so at least i know why i am killing him. Or how about moving to the side so i can take that ring. Or how aboout taking the ring and running away with it. And yeah the problem is unsolveable if it dosnt make sense. Also how do you figure out that you need to give 30 humanity to the spider thing to be able to kill that bug to save Solair. Also why do the flying demons which serve Gwyn carry me from Sens fortress to Anor londo then attack me when i see them if Gwyn wants to continue the age of fire. And i have a ton more questions and the more i think about it the less it makes sense. Also why are the developer so obsessed with tails that every boss has one i can get a weapon out of it?
@@draaavennoxus668 .. the cat warns you about it.
A daughter of chaos would have a "hidden" way in and out for her followers would she not? You are also hinted at this within her chambers as there is a sealed door there.
Don't be racist, just because certain gargoyles are tasked with bringing the chosen one back and forth doesn't mean they're all similar.
@@draaavennoxus668 I mean, everyone is losing their minds in that world including you. Fact is, unless you install a mod to skip it all you're going to do what it takes to see the end of the game. As a player you want to get to the end of the storyline of the "Chosen Undead" everyone is telling you about because it's just sounds like a main character thing to be, "Chosen". So regardless of what anyone else in the game says or does, you're going to go through what you need to in order to get the ending you seek. We always have the option to just play around simply using the co-play options and there's the option to be that person that tries to stop anyone from continuing on the path of the "chosen" both by joining certain Covenants and simply just of your own volition for the fun of challenging yourself against something beyond an NPC. Of course, even the people that mainly want to co-op of pk will need to progress through the game in order to complete the builds they prefer. Playing a video game is just an inherently selfish action and the npc's suffer lol
It says something about me that when I read the "40+ hours later" I was like "Ah, he made it past the undead burg"
You need jesus
@Glorious Antichrist okay Elitesoldier, but definitely not on your FIRST Playthrough.
Unironically my first week playing dark souls was exploring the marvels of such an intricately crafted first level. It then took me about 3 morw months to get the lordsouls because it was just too filled with content to wonder and explore
@Glorious Antichrist And then everyone stands up and claps when you do?
I've just finished my first day playing. Died like 100 times. Only got as far as beating the gargoyles.
"Estus is Bottled Fire"
Me, a Dark Souls vet doing a research thesis on the story who just learned about this: "Oh yea, its all coming together."
Glorious Antichrist I imagine like a honey lemon flavored tea
Can we read it?
I always thought they're juice.
Estus is a soup ain’t it?
ShadowFighter741 Are you making an actual academic thesis on Dark Souls? That's fucking awesome.
I've played all the soulsborne games, watched hours of Vaatividya and Ashen hollow, read pages of lore.and I'm just finding out estus is bottled fire. I love this game
Yup, that's why it looks all weird and swirly in the base dark souls 1. It's not just a flame, it's THE flame, the first flame specifically. Also why you get more flasks when you "kindle" because it makes more flame lol
a bottle of lit git gud juice
Lone Wolf how do you know it’s the first flame? Isn’t the chosen one just harnessing it from the fjre
@@wesleyscott1633 I can't remember which item description it is but one of them talks about how the bonfires are "direct links to the first flame". Also the actual fire coming off the bonfire in ds1 (not the remaster) is all weird and swirly, theoretically because it's not just a flame but the first flame specifically. Bonfires are also created by making piles of human bones (see the homeward bone description) and the Humanity within humans longs for the fire of the first flame so it's implied that the desire of the residual Humanity is what creates the bonfire/link to the first flame.
It's also worth noting that in the description of the homeward miracle it says that the miracle is supposed to bring you to your Homeland, but when used by an undead brings you to the bonfire. This seems to imply that the bonfire is their home and it makes much more sense that it's their home because it's the closest connection to the First Flame that their Humanity longs for rather than just a random fire.
It's not an explicit lore fact, but I'd argue it's implied pretty heavily
Fun fact: Estus is based off of the ancient greek mythos of the 5 River Styxes, one of which was the Phlegethon which was a river of literal fire that could be drunk by gods and demigods to heal themselves.
16:20, this part hits hard, had a friend who clinically died due to a suicide attempt but was resuscitated, she later played bloodborne and claimed it saved her live because taking on a horrible challenge head on and beating it made her feel amazing, shes doing better now.
That's good to hear! Neat to see something least expected- like a Souls game- help someone.
I wish you two the best. Don't you dare go hollow.
I know exactly what she means. Tell her, Dan says "hello, there". Haha, And i really very much hope she stays amazing. Bloodborne is my favorite game of all time
@@XanderPGK Dark Souls helped me through hard depression
@@Viroh That's good to hear! I also hope you don't go hollow. Stay strong 💪
@@XanderPGK Thank you and same to you, friend.
"The difficulty is not bullshit"...
"for the most part"
*shows Capra*
Actually spat out my drink laughing
Like why exactly is it like that
I eventually went to youtube and found out the magic shield trick
I smacked Capra Demon on first try, but I was overlevelled with a Black Knight glaive.
@@oformakelvin3568 Boss is actually pretty damn easy if you use the arches and the stairs to your advantage. It can also be killed by toxin or firebombs without actually fighting it. Made a system to kill him very efficiently by throwing dung pies till he gets toxin and start blasting him with firebombs till he dies for every character i run for pvp builds.
The Capra Demon was actually really easy once I killed the stupid rabid dogs. All you have to do is lure it to the archway, then drop down on it from the ledge and do a two-handed aerial stab. Repeat a few times and it's dead.
"Sorry Demon Souls" at least he paid his respects
F
F
*F*
The FATTEST F
That's an F right there homie.
I already knew Dark Souls is a masterpiece, but I still watched
I was going to correct your grammar from *is* to *was,* but then I realized something.
*Dark Souls will ALWAYS be a masterpiece*
It's my favorite game series of all time. I love it
Same. But i watched because i love hearing other people that love it for the reasons i do and i love to hear what other people love about it that i haven't realized. Makes me go back and look at the game again in a new light. This game doesn't stop giving, ever.
I remember first time beating the game and after the fight with Gwyn I realised that this bonfire is the end. I thought maybe I can fire it up later and I walked outside the arena (which starts the dark ending) without knowing what would happen.
I think it was brilliant idea - if player hesitates to link the last fire then the dark ending is his path. Hesitating to sacrifice your soul leads to desire to usurp the power - everything makes sense.
thats a cool thought
For me, I lit the flame (I was expecting an end cutscene when I killed Gwyn) and thought there was more. To be fair, I had little to no idea what was going on story wise in the game.
Bro i did the exact same thing and was like “wtf?” Great interpretation btw
"Resistance is the best skill to level, I max it first." You said it so sincerely you're gonna fool a lot of people with that :)
It fooled me. I actually started dumping my first few levels into resist and hp.
Feels bad man. 😰
What's the best?
Dalgus Maximus as someone who powered through with brute strength and Smough armor, vitality and endurance are the best and nothing else
@@dalgusmaximus4557 health, stamina, and strength or dex (strength for big slow weapon dex for fast medium weapon). Or health, attunement, int, and faith for magic builds.
It's something I'd recommend putting several points into, even if it just to deal with Blighttown.
"use you surroundings"
*hides behind pillar
*get slapped trough it
"for 7 yrs i got education and wife."
Smoughs Hammer in a nutshell
Black knight sword +5 with 20STR 20DEX makes them a joke. I punked them both out.
*edit* flawed masterpiece lol
@Joshua Canaday What kinds of games do you play then?
“Is your game difficult?”
Yeah, it’s pretty hard.
“Oh, I see. So it’s like Dark Souls.. got it.”
Not really.. it’s a racing ga..
“DARK SOULS.”
After playing Ninja Gaiden I must say. Dark Souls is a piece of cake in comparison. Only Kalameet was able to mascre me.
AraragiTheXIV try 2
@@goggins1275 if Ninja Gaiden 2 would be a good game I surely would have played it longer. Unfortunately it is one of the hugest disappointments I have ever had as a gamer.
AraragiTheXIV dark souls 2?
@@goggins1275 You mean Dark Souls 2 is harder than 1? I remember most of the bosses were pretty easy but there were also really hard bosses especially if you don't make use of a shield.
Although I didn't play the DLC yet which I really should do.
Act man I am sad because my parents don’t allow darks souls anymore, they think it’s demonic, and they got rid of all my discs for it. But I bought dark souls two online and I secretly play it at night when my parents go to bed. That’s how much I love these games because I am willing to get in trouble just to play it. My parents are like certain npc”s who try to tell you that your journey is pointless and that you’ll never make it, but I will not go hollow I will keep playing it rather what anyone thinks about it. I love your videos act man and recently I have been a little uninterested about gaming but you inspire me to play again and again. I hope by some way that you are immortal and that you will never leave us this world needs you. Your smart, funny af, and you dissect games from the core to help us all understand the concept of gaming and maybe what we missed in the game. Love u so much merry Christmas.
Parents are temporary, Dark souls is forever
Don't you go hollow, my friend.
pretty funny
your parents are just filthy casuls
Geez just a video game, go outside and play a real sport not be a total 🤓 nerd.
Thanks for the shout out and link good sir!
Shesez! Hello there!
Mighty boundary breaker, you deserveth it
helloo
Tell act man to do why is undertale a masterpiece
He might make a video stating why Undertale is Trash.
A 47 minute video validating my opinion? sign me up
Why do so many weebs like looking at traps with big dicks just go play dark souls.
haffa horse Self projecting I see
No no no. You mean the right opinion!
yesssss
@@haffahorse1538 Why not?
Dark Souls: kill a bunch of gods, then listen to VaatiVidya to find out why you did it.
Pretty much 🤣🤣🤣
I accidentally did it the other way around, and that is how I got the game
@@sirwaylonthe1st239 no wrong way, if the end product is a love of Dark Souls.
@@jordanneal576 yeah
Stop treating VaatiVidya like a fucking preacher. What Vaati says on his videos is "HIS" interpretation of the fragments of story Fromsoft put on the game. You can come up with your own conclusions, Vaati didn't discover the hidden story of dark souls, there's no story to discover, there's nothing there, is what you want it to be.
Playing Elden Ring made me want to try out other souls games. I had to go where it all began and I'm so glad I did. The level design in Dark Souls 1 is out of this world. So many areas are connected to each other, and only through exploration provide shortcuts. Then they also throw in one of the coolest moments I've seen in a videogame - they let you return to the starting area after you might have assumed there is no way back there. I thought that area was just a tutorial (it was, but it's so much more!). To explain, you have to climb up the firelink shrine and literally sit in the crow's nest for 15 seconds and this will trigger a cut scene where the crow picks your character up and flies you back to the beginning of the game except now there are harder enemies and an extra boss. NOT only that but there is an item you can pick up (the peculiar doll) that will allow you to enter an ENTIRE new zone (Painted World of Ariamis) via Anor Londo. All of this is optional, but SO cool and rewarding to do. I can only imagine how exciting it must have been to be the first person to discover this.
I'm sad and happy at the same time now because for so long I put off playing souls like games for whatever reason. But now that I finally caved when Elden Ring came out, an entire new world of games are open to me - Dark Souls 1-3, Bloodborne, Sekiro, and more.
I did the same thing
get ready for bloodborne cause that shit is fire 🙌
Lots of people don't like Sekiro friend. It's a great game but approach it with an open mind, the combat is alot different to darksouls and if you try to play it the same way you'll have an awful time. I don't have many friends who have stuck with it because they've gotten frustrated trying to play it like ds1
Why everyone always leave out demon souls 🤣
I love that game! They are all great!
@@scottybuenites Luckily I started with Sekiro, I really liked it (after 200 deaths 😋).
My favourite Dark Souls 1 character arc has to be Big Hat Logan's.
After having no more knowledge to spread and learn he goes out to Anor Londo and the Duke's Archives, where he starts looking for forbidden and forgotten sorceries.
He never goes hollow. He went insane.
An undead goes hollow if they lose their drive and purpose to move on, but Logan never lost his, he had so much choice in literature he tried to possess the knowledge of Seath the Scaleless, which drove him mad.
I want to agree with this, but if you look at there before and after models they're different. He's normal at Firelink but when you're in the Duke's Archives his skin is blue and hollowed. His face is hard to see but if I remember right I'm pretty sure his face is hollowed too
@@asneakylawngnome5792 The wiki claims that he didn't go hollow and in-game he just looks blue due to the lighting of the room. His skin is also the same as a non-hollowed undead's, like when the player reverses their hollowing
@@asneakylawngnome5792 In game he still very clearly has a Human Model
It seems like the same knowledge that drove seath batshit insane, Also drove Logan to batshit insamity
still tryna find out why he's called big hat logan...
@@ryanp6049 im not sure either, Mystery we will take to the grave
False. 40+ hours, still customizing character.
B C only to be hollow for 90% of the game
@@telponox1174 😂
and used knight set without any space of skin in whole gameplay, right?
Making the perfect Waifu
@@telponox1174 Why do you think the darkwraith covenant is a thing?
“You didn’t learn from your first mistake and did it again” not exactly the best time to show bed of chaos footage
BoC is the most bullshit thing in an otherwise great game.
@@maxburrill6192 I beat it third try on my first playthrough and I didn’t understand the whole freak out over the boc until I watched UA-cam videos and found that I was just lucky
i dont understand. I beat it on my first try. what happens to the rest of yall
@@sakutaazusagawa9406 uh huh, I'm sure you did.
@@maxburrill6192 everything before it was horrible. i died so many times getting to BoC. but when i got to it i was so disappointed. luckily i got vaatividya to explain why BoC was important.
Nah because I was ready to quit this game half way through, then I watched this video. Hearing that people who quit become hollow and aren't the chosen undead, made me go back and beat the game. I've now beaten the game multiple times, one of the best games ever.
chad
Jokes on you, people that have enough time to complete it are hollows
Me too!
CHAD
@@TheActMan You 2 years late me brother
"Don't give up skeleton!"
ah, Dark Souls in a nutshell
Lol
@@historiabyssus same lmao
Skellie and he's wheelie.XD
In dark souls 3 I was the first person to put that message there and I still can't pvp with that character because the message gets rated so often I get healed every ten seconds
@greenismycolor yeah you do get healed when someone likes your message.
Just wanted to say that this video made me try dark souls. Yesterday after month and a half later i finished the trilogy plus dlc's. What an epic journey, thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I'm about to embark
Welcome too our gloriously deadly but beautiful world 💀😄
Now its vatti vidya time....
On to Bloodborne and Sekiro then? :D
when i first walked into the Capra demons room i was like "wait this is a boss?" then i died lol
Legoman775 🤘😂✌️
I could be remembering wrong, but I'm pretty sure I beat Capra Demon first try because I started with a key that got me into Blightown and I didn't discover his boss room until I was way leveled up and I had the Black Knight Greataxe. Just what I seem to remember, not for sure though, it's been many moons since my first run-through of DS1. I just know that I was super confused when people said he was a hard boss. I was like, "But I beat him first try." Had no idea how "out of order" I went through the game.
@@theBROWNbanditP The zweihander is pretty handy cuz if you 2 hand the weapon it will be able to stun all enemies in the game it doesnt care if its a boss or a normal fat guy it will stun any enemy with 2 handed heavy attacks if you have a armor set that has high ammount of poise and a shield with good stability you can hit effectively with this ultimate greatsword that only weights 10 pounds and knock back you renemies so you can get a bit of a headstart
🤣🤣
Am i the only person ever to cheese this fight by running up the steps walking onto the ledge and dive attacking a few times?
definitely have to credit this video for making me play dark souls. Almost a year since beating ds1 and now Ive beat ds3, sekiro, elden ring, and bloodborne now starting ds2. This video does so much justice for this game, it really shows how amazing the game really is and im glad its putting people on to this masterpiece like it did for me. If I ever want to convince a friend to play dark souls, I will send them this video
Im rewatching this video for like the 10th time lol
Me too
Same
Yup😂
I always rewatch this video
F#king same, this video is gold
"Estus is bottled fire people!"
*MY HEAD IS EXPLODING*
I've played all 3 games and I never new that
Raven Smalls then what the hell is estus soup?
Is it just lava?
@@RoyBelmont liquid fire?
UnlovedMeme maybe? Another thing is the estus shards are describing as soaked in estus.., so its definitely a liquid..
FUN FACT: Hidetaka Miyazaki-san was actually a huge fan of Gothic architecture, Fantasy, and especially Berserk. which definitely explains why Frampt looks like a Hagfish with a human face and skin mustache. And why a lot of the monsters are something of a nightmare in of themselves.
Miyazaki apparently has great taste in Manga, since Sekiro was based off of Lone Wolf and Cub. Dude's got good taste. I do recommend checking out both Berserk and LW&C; they are Masterpieces.
WOW, YOU MEANN DARK SOULS WAS INSPIRED BY BERSERK? You mean the obvious fun fact that every dark souls fan knows? You really know something no one else does.
Yes. Berserk is great. Just got book 41. Sad that we will never know the end. 41 was the last. It was short. And ended on a cliff hanger. Very depressing. But hey. Glad to see another fan
@@JTJ-wm4cm Dude, Berserk's still going. Koji Mouri, Miura's best friend and very close colleague, is pretty much just writing down what Miura told him before his untimely passing.
Sekiro is more based on blade of the immortal
@@Nshield0 OH, I didn't think of BOTM at the time.
Dark souls got me through my depression and it’s honestly made me a better person and taught me valuable lessons. Greatest game I ever will play.
Interestingly, I was also going through a rough time. Video games help a lot to distract you from shitty realities :)
gurrl you’ve said it all my friend
hmm...perhaps I need this game 😐
@@judeleese7783 yes you do my friend. I highly recommend it to EVERYONE
Good to hear, always remember, don't you dare go hollow
there is an easy mode, it's called Black Knight Halberd.
Pretty much any Black Knight weapon and the Zwheïhander
Nah, It's called summoning phantoms first
@Sun bro SOLAIRE Dark bead is broken but you get it so late in the game. Saying that mage is a pretty easy playthrough.
goin straight for gravelord greatsword is anotha one.
Rakan Al Ajmi what about the drake sword?
Do you know what a Masterpiece is? This video.
This 40 minute long video was such a joy to see and feel. Few games can express and resonate so many thoughts to their players.
Games like Dark Souls, Bloodborne and Shadow of the Colossus are few examples that make me forget what I've played, just to experience it again.
And you, my Jolly friend, have the skills to make fellow undeads like me, don't want to go hollow.
May you find your own sun. And thanks for sharing your thoughts with us.
"Drops VERY GOOD carving"
Well said brother
Lmao at drops very good carving
how to i unhear that HELLO
Well said...
Lol I think that Shadow of the Colossus is boring af.
I watched this review over 10 times now and I still get the feels every time.
God I love this video. My best friend passed away recently and me and him have played threw the entire game countless times. Its something ill hold with me for the rest of my life. Playing it iant just a game to me now. Its a way to feel close to him.
It's a testament to both your homie and dark souls that such a cruel thing did not take the game away from you. In the way a bad break up can steal your favorite song.
You should write the devs a letter. Seriously. I bet they'd really like to hear your story. I'm just a musician, which a different type of creation, but I love hearing how something I made helped someone though something hard. Artistic success can feel trivial on a bad day in a dark world, but hearing people's stories really helps me see the earth under my feet. I'm sure they'd feel the same way.
More power. May your friend rest in peace
👊
May he rest in peace
Wait a minute Zach do you play brawl stars
"Sif was trying to save you from the Abyss... and you killed him for it" - Ouch, man. Why would you do that?
Fact, that shit felt like a personal attack
Cause unlike that weak Artorias you can do something about it
@@broly7784 never disrespect artorias again, he gave his life to save his pup ;_;
@@Brian2k2 The simple fact that he considered that the life of sif was more important than stopping the Abyss makes him the most useless Knight of Gwyn. I bet even Smough could have done better.
@@broly7784 Don't even think Artorias is weak, have you fought him the game? That's while he's crazy and using his off hand with his other arm broken. If he was using his main arm and his shield, we wouldn't have won(lore wise). I personally believe Artorias is the best fighter out of all of them, but was more distant from Gwen and his goals, which is why he wasn't the captain. Manus is a enemy we can only beat through being undead and able to revive. Artorias wasn't undead and thus, fell to the abyss. Of course Sif would want to stop us from not only defiling her masters grave but also to stop us from engaging the abyss. Artoias is like the 3rd best character in the game.
First time a played Dark Souls, when i found the entrance to the abyss, I was like WTF, why there is this sort of Well that the only purpose is to kill my self? Then a few hours later i encounter The Good Boy Sif and it droped the Ring, i read its discription and though to my self "WAIT A MINUTE, that hole of blackness that I fell in a few hours ago, could this be some kind of item that I need to dont die?" and them I plunge to certain Dead and fucking survive, that was the moment I knew this game was a Masterpiece.
Then you got jumped by the four kings.
@@thesnatcher3616 Facts😂😂😂
Dude I tought you were going to say "that was the moment I knew this game is bullshit" after everything that you said about "dying in abbys multiple times because of a ring". Anyway I think Dark Souls 1 was the most bullshit, brilliant and epic game at the same time. It's a masterpiece.
Lol I actually jumped the first time and died. Then I went to other places eventually getting the ring and upon reading, it says it helps with walking on the abyss... so I figured I had died in the abyss. But I was still afraid to jump again 😂
Wait you guys didn’t kill Sif before getting to the well area?
Literally shed tears watching this, because DS made me feel emotions no other game out there will ever deliver. The soulsborne games truly have to be felt and not just played.
Thank you for describing this experience so well.
Definitly gained a sub
The worst feelings in the game
-Protecting Onion bro, only to make him go hollow as a result
-Sif, limping.
-Not saving Solaire
-Realizing Anor Londo is a masquerade, is actually in darkness
-Realizing the queen was trying to save her sister
Best bittersweet feelings in the game
-Seeing how Artorias protected Sif
-Hearing Onion Bros last charge, ultimately killing him, but sparing him going hollow/his daughter not having to kill him
-Seeing solaire become the sun
The whole game is a "Biggest top 10 anime feels" I swear to God.
My personal favorite is the Sif cutscene that plays if you rescue him in the DLC before the boss fight.
What's the Queen saving her sister story?
@@poopikins I believe Izalith story. Quelaag protecting her sister.
"Realizing the queen was trying to save her sister"atleast you still can give Humanity to the Fair Lady =)
Spoiler alert.
I accidentally killed Oscar after thinking "The game won't let me kill a friendly, let's get a little practice for the controls." And now I have to carry that burden throughout my whole playthrough.
I killed Solaire... I accidentally hit him and he chased me onto the dragon bridge. He got toasted
@@cryofreezie3943 that so sad
Good luck with ornstein and smaug then. Not many summon there lately....
@Raffaele Tammaro wait wait wait...Solaire goes hollow? :’(
@Raffaele Tammaro I think I did hear about that
I wish Act Man would go through the rest of the FromSoftware games. I’d be interested to hear his thoughts on the rest of the DS trilogy
Maybe someday!
The Act Man 😃
@@TheActMan Do Bloodborne dude.
@@TheActMan you need to try sekiro
@@TheActMan do it now
Still my favorite Act Man video after all these years. #Justiceforactman
#Justiceforactman
What happened to him.
"Luck favors the prepared" is probably one of my favorite quotes now
Lmao right? "lucky I changed my oil and brought a spare tire for my roadtrip"
It's been said before by many as "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity" - Seneca
*starts creating a luck build*
That quote makes zero sense. When you're prepared it's not luck anymore
@@Uvirythit makes sense. When you have fucked your wife, yes you are prepared for a baby but will that baby suffer from a birth defect, a medical condition or die? What of your wife? She could die from child birth. Okay something less tragic, you studied for a examination. You are prepared but there's a possibility that you may fail
I’m on my first play through of Dark Souls Remastered and I’m just realizing that I will never know the true pain of Blighttown because I have no FPS drops
God damn blighttown was fucking cancer in the vanilla version
I loved the PS3 version, but the Switch version is my go to now because of the tolerable framerate in Blight Town and being able to play it anywhere. One day I want to just go camping just to play Dark Souls next to a bonfire.
U dont want to know the true terror i cried for a week and have ptsd
Enjoy it. You’ll have a better experience than I first did
I stopped playing in 15 (at best) FPS town and didn't touch it again until couple of weeks ago.
I first stopped playing it in 2013...
40h to finish it ? Lol after 40h on my first playthrough I was still trying to figure out how to beat Ornstein and smough
and thats the fucking half of the game
@Magnumx98 90h to beat dark souls 1 as a first souls experience. 50h for ds3 and 50h for bloodborne.. Kind of similar stats here. Which one did you prefer ? And which one was the hardest for you ?
Dark souls used to be my favorite but bloodborne is such a more solid experience than it. I cant choose between the 2 tbh.
lol took me 2 hours on that boss fight as well, but it was worth 2 hours of my life
It takes WAAAAY longer for people who haven’t touched the series before. I just finished my first play though at around 41 hours, but I’ve already got 300+ into dark souls 3 so the combat wasn’t all that new
So relatable, I was grinding souls hoping that I could one shot them, aaaaah the naive me
people say dark souls is difficult lol it's more bullshit than hard in many parts. 40h isn't that special I got it within 36 on my first run, ornstein and smaugh was easy but four kings man and the last boss though.
Near the end of my first playthrough of Dark Souls right now. I've just got three bosses left-Black Dragon Kalameet, Manus, Father of the Abyss, and Gwyn, Lord of Cinder.
They're going down.
@@ianlopez2058 It took me hours to learn the fight. Finally beat him with my STR character and then when I got to him on my DEX character, only took me a couple tries to do it again. So far, Manus is my favorite bossfight in the series. I'm halfway through Dark Souls 2 now.
Damn an almost hour long Act Man video?
Christmas came early this year.
Shawn Farrington
And every subcribers birthday.
Shawn Farrington Oh damn, hey Shawn! Can’t believe you’re here. Keep up the good work, dude.
"Can we just take a moment to appreciate the coolest area in all of video games? Ash Lake."
I can't tell you how happy hearing that sentiment made me.
The Dragon Greatsword can be acquired there by cutting the tail off the Dragon.
Sliding down that stupid cliff (yall know the one) sure was fun
Yes you can.
Same here! I haven’t reached that part in the video yet, so your comment is what makes me happy!
ua-cam.com/channels/ScVx33NEL55Vczx71Uw3AA.html
Re-watching this after the passing of *Kentaro Miura* really gives a different feeling...
Struggle is difficult, but no matter the goals, every struggle has its value, its meaning- if not for anyone else, it's for you, *the struggler* to understand, to appreciate and to take pride in.
Never go hollow, my friends.
May he Rest In Peace. Dudes work was so good it inspired this masterpiece of a game
😭😭
The concept of struggler and undead are beautifully written, for both fiction and tells so many real life lessons..
Rest in peace, Miura
@@kroh7742 where it not for the influence of berserk dark souls would not exsist.
Guts legitimately helped me get through some stuff, his sheer willpower to go against gods and even fate itself is inspiring, he always owned up to his problems and never gave up, and does all of that not out of hate, spite, or vengeance but for love of the most important person in his life.
seeing as the act mans channel might be terminated i will be downloading this vid i truly loved it and got me into one of the greatest video game franchises of all time. thank you @the act man
Termination ? Why ?... Sorry im new to this channel
@@metheuscane719 its not going to be terminated, it was some youtube drama, then youtube fucking actman over at the end, his channel is momentarily demonitized, but he's not going to get terminated, the drama for the most part has blown over
@@metheuscane719 yeah it’s all good now. But for a hot sec things could of gone very bad. And it still did for the act man and his channel but at least most of the videos are still here
I think the thing that blew me away the most about Dark Souls, was the discovery of Kaathe. This is a character that most people will never find on their own because of the criteria needed for him to spawn, but he has an absolutely monumental effect on how you percieve the story. If you never discovered him, you might never question why you are striving to prolong the age of fire. It seems like the obvious choice, but Kaathe turns it on it's head, and now you realize that your character is being manipulated, that Frampt is not being honest with you, and the implications of this are massive. You now realize that the Dark ending is NOT actually the "Bad" ending, rather it's grey. The whole game is grey. Nothing and no one in Lordran is entirely good or evil, and there are layers to this story that people have only discovered after dozens of playthroughs.
To me Dark Souls is the pinnacle of video game storytelling. It could never work as a movie or a novel, because story is baked into the gameworld itself for the player to discover. There is absolutely nothing Arbitrary in this game. Every single item, every single corpse, every single enemy is meticulously placed in order to say something about the world. While item descriptions contain exposition, it's up to the player to observe the world and contextualize the information you have within the world, and interpret it based on your own experience, and I cannot overstate how much I love that. Granted as you said, all of this would fall apart if the game world itself wasn't as captivating as it is, but Dark Souls just had me aching to know what I will find beyond the next door.
Your summary is exactly how I feel about Dark Souls. My favorite game always
Beautifully written comment
Yeah but who's to say that Kaathe isnt lying to you?
I'd say that the Age of Dark is "good". If you've played through 3/don't mind spoilers, I'd highly recommend watching The Ashen Hollow's video "The Complete Canonical Story of Dark Souls (FULL)
." It's a fantastic video, an hour long look at every single non speculatory bit of information we receive from the series, and puts it all into a _mostly_ chronological order. It's really fuckin good.
Bloodborne has way better story & lore, atmosphere, gameplay, world design, enemys, bosses ect. Well everything is better in Bloodborne^^
If only in real life you can restart from beginning with all the knowledge you acquire from endless mistake living as a dumbass before.
I wish that were the case lol 😂
It is called cycles and you experience as day and night, years and so on.
That would be aweosme if you could relive the same life with all you're knowledge from you're past life but life don't work like that sadly😭
@@drivernephi7494 haha right we need NG+
Life really needs an easy mode
Dark Souls truly is a masterpiece. But if you ask me Act Man.. this video is YOUR masterpiece.
@@zesterzap3831 yes
Is Dark Souls 1 a better place to start instead of Dark Souls 3?
@@NoahDaArk It depends entirely on you. DS3 has superior combat, but DS1 has a more complete world in every sense. It really is lightning in a bottle. Play both, don't worry about which one you start on.
@@NoahDaArk well I personally would play DS1 first because it'll explain a lot of things for DS3 and also have you appreciate the deeper moments of DS3
Noah Da. Ark Dark Souls 3 has so much fan service to 1 it’d be ridiculous to play it first
I just finished this game last week and holy crap, it’s one of the best games I’ve played
“Gravity has killed me more times than any boss in this game” Oh, how true this is.
And the camera...
When you feel yourself the most powerful creature in the game, this reminds you that you are not. Ruined a lot of no death run attempts. When I was 80 lvl and 2 bosses left, taurus demon threw me off a cliff at demon ruins.
Лёха Бодунов Damn man. That’s rough
Gravity is the one true boss of the souls serious
You can't kill it, but it can kill you. There is no where safe from gravity either.
That an elevators.
My very first time fighting the Gaping Dragon in the Depths, I came within a couple of hits of beating him. Then the acid vomit forced me off the edge, and I fell to my death 🤦🏻♂️😂
2:39 no shit I actually made a fiction essay in English class once that was almost word for word Dark Souls. got a 93 on it too
Yankee doodle I actually did too I had to write a story so I basically took it from dark souls and people thought it was really good
I actually would like to read that essay
Can I have a copy???
HOLY SHIT WHAT A FUCKING COINCIDENCE I just finished writing a story for a test where I used gwynn as the main character and rip off ds.
Shit, about to take a screenshot of this and take it with me to high school and college.
I remember beating sens fortress and the iron golem. I thought the game was over and I beat it. Then I get transported to a massive godly city. At that moment, I knew this game was something special. I’ve beaten this game at least 20 times by now and it’s my favorite game of all time.
I think the best thing about the “dark lord” trope here is that it’s kinda reversed in a way. While the dark lord ending still is the “self serving” ending, it’s not just serving yourself, you’re serving your species. Humanity is essentially trapped as slaves to gods with the age of fire, so in a way the “dark lord” ending is actually the good ending.
but then they go back to nothing. They were only really thriving during the age of fire. But at some level, it is akin to ripping off a bandaid. The age of fire would come to an end no matter what, and prolonging it could do more harm then good. But on the other hand, perseverance is what gives life meaning. The need to continue and fight onto another day is displayed throughout the game, and if you choose the lord of darkness ending, then you have gone back on everything so far.
@@AsiwaritXR big chungus pfp, opinion invalidated
@@MobiusRosa 💀
he got the mario hat too, for one thing.
And at least mine isnt a 20p androgynous cartoon character
@@AsiwaritXR my friend drew it for me so I use it as my pfp
Salty much?
@@AsiwaritXR hear me out you both got horrible pfp's ez win for me L bozos.
What I liked about the Dark Ending is that it's not apathy. It's about breaking the vicious never-ending cycle of nothingness.
Except you don't break the cycle... You are simply letting it flow... Light, dark, light, dark.... The dark ending is following the cycle, not breaking it
I actually pretty sure that the dark ending IS the never-ending nothingness. Basically the fire brought disparity and with it LIFE. Whereas before there was only death and boringness. The cycle isn’t to be honored. I don’t like in ds3 that they basically retconned the power of the first flame. Before I could see the continual relinking in dark souls as a quasi- eternal life administering process. Maybe not the way it’s supposed to be but the way it CAN be and SHOULD be. It’s true that the natural state of matter is dead. Life is an anomaly. It’s precious and rare. Now that we have it we shouldn’t want to let it go. There is much to be enjoyed still!
Basically the cycle is not progress. Going back to the natural state is exactly that. Going backwards. Life and Order must keep moving forward. Afterall it’s breaking the cycle that leads to Nirvana right? Heaven is when the perpetual trap of life and death, good and evil, the ouroboros, is killed and all beings are allowed to have JUST life. JUST good. No more death. No more tears. Achieve completion. Peace 😌
@@briancooley8777 But it can be interpreted . The Age of Ancients "before the Flame" wasn't dark, precisely because there was no Flame to create disparity between light and dark. There was no death, because archdragons and archtrees were immortal, but at the same time not exactly alive. Also, we don't exactly know what Age of Dark would look like -- Untended Graves in DS3 is hypothesized to be a vision (?) of a world without Flame, but there is not enough information to be sure.
There is a hypothesis, if you believe Kaathe, that tha Darksign and the Curse of the Undeath is not a sign of the Flame fading, but a curse bestowed by the Gods, maybe accidentally when Gwyn linked the Flame, or by design. Basically, in this interpretation the Prophecy, actions of Frampt and Gwyndolin, the illusion of Gwynevere etc. are a ruse intended to manipulate humans into linking the Flame, prolonging the Age of Fire and allowing Gods to keep the little power they still had.
In the end, it's the question whether you believe that linking the Flame would save humans from going hollow, or is it just being a God's loyal dog.
@@briancooley8777 I think Ds3-- more specifically, the Ringed City-- did it well. The doesn't just fade, the world passes away into nothing. Which is, probably, what's going to happen to all of us. The Earth will be consumed by the Sun, the Sun will die out, and after billions, or even trillions of years, the universe will reach a total state of order and sameness. The new painted world gave an out to this inevitability, creating something entirely new instead of remaking the old. Dark Souls is over and done with. Now we wait for the next in line
The level design alone is masterful. The world feels huge, unique and isolated but connected at the same time.
Dark Souls best game of all time
"Literally Zeus but cooler" is still one of my favorite descriptors of anything ever.
Right? Zeus is pretty fucking cool, so
Gwyn vs Zeus from GoW
Gwyn basically is zeus but on fire
When he started Capra demon I just got happy because I beat him first try first playthrough literally the day that I'm watching this video
No you fuckin didn’t you don’t have to lie we all know this isn’t the first time you played dark souls and you didn’t beat Capra first try god dammit I want to fucking kiss you right now.
Same, i did beat him my first try without getting hit, and on top of that probably the same day as you, because i just finished the game
The Capra Demon was my play through killer my first couple of tries. To this day, time I play through the game I feel dread when I have to fight him 😂
@@nadnel2740 …
5 hours of trying by katana. Trying killing him by rotten pie via non coming into boss room with pixel hunting. Finally I killed him fair. My first souls game and I happy that I started from truly first ds game , with base story line. Like are 3-5 years ago.
To this day i feel shivers when i need to fight him
Never played dark souls and watching this made me go and get a copy, once I got to firelink shrine literally got stuck constantly dying to the skeletons by the grave, got to point where I said “man this isn’t for me” didn’t play for a week.
Rewatched this video cause I really like the lore and just trying to see if I missed anything and what you said about hollowing finally clicked in my head. If I stop playing my guy literally goes hollow and I pretty much failed. Went back on and after lot of deaths I cleared the skeletons and got a bad ass 2hand sword. Then I realized I could go up to undead berg and was breezing by with my new 2hand and everything clicked.
I was getting destroyed cause I was under equipped and not knowing how the game played, got a huge upgrade by essentially “retaking” a fallen hollows weapon and now was making progress where I should of gone. Literally got me hooked so much
And it’s crazy cause it was either make it or break it, but that moment were I cleared the grave I felt so good and unknowingly was rewarded for it too
Yo, you beat it yet? I'm glad you came back to it. You only get 1 first play through, don't spoil anything else. There's layers and layers and layers of complexity.
We are rooting for you keep it up king tell us your progress
@@cjpolett2055 I let myself be spoiled for this game and honestly, i still felt the same as if i had experienced it blindly because there is a massive difference between someone telling you the story as to actually playing through the game
Dude this is the game! I faced this the first time back in 2012 when I first fought the Bell Gargoyles. I thought that this game is such utter bullshit and quit multiple times. But I kept going back and trying once or twice ...and then I beat them and the feeling of exhilaration I got was unmatchable
zweihander FTW
I was always excited whenever Act Man put Souls references in his other videos (like that comparison of disappointing advertising regarding Dark Souls 2's graphics, before/after), and him making a full-fledged video on my favorite game in the series makes me all the happier.
Hope it was worth the wait!
;_; Getting a heart + reply from the legend himself??? It's a dream come true!!!
And it certainly was!!!
I want a response from The Act Man, im so jelly CSIsuperdroid.
Cheers to “the ultimate game of all time”
Legit started playing the souls series just 6months ago and just fell in love,
The atmosphere, the combat, the lore, the design, the depressing yet hopeful world…..
Now with over 1000hours on all soulsborne games, I’ll say it, I love dark souls, these games became much more than just a difficult game to me.
Thank you to fromsoftware for making the best videogames I’ve ever played. And to you for making this amazing video. (Rewatched multiples times already)
Bro that’s 33 hours a day
@@infermal9646 1000 added together, not 1000 on each mate 😅, meant to say 1000hours “across” all soulsborne games, forgive me.
>6 months
>1000 hours
This man is borderline hollow lol
Just playing around mate
Dark Souls 1 is the worst in the series for sure
@@kaizoku8575 I preferred DS1 over 2
This is the best game review ever made. I’ve watched it 5 or so times over the years. The opening is so nostalgic because when I finished dark souls for the first time I was 13 and I felt the exact same. The immense feeling of accomplishment followed by the confusion of what I’d just done. Amazing through and through just like your review 👍
I did a writing project that was the entire dark souls story and I no joke got an A+
That's technically plagiarism, isn't it?
@@Ignas_ pretty much
Ignas only if he was profiting from it
He profited that A+ but who really cares? it goes to show that the story of this game is so consuming that it merits an A+ in school....thats how much these characters are unforgettable...their search for knowledge and answers are awe inspiring....even to a scholastic audience...well man
@@Ignas_ You know I never thought of it that bad because it was still a little different, but yeah I guess it was kinda plagurism oof
Words can't describe how much I love Dark Souls, but this video basically summed it up. Playing Dark Souls for the first time was like being in a strange dream that you never wanted to end. I never valued video games as art but after playing Dark Souls I did.
I still remember playing Dark Souls for the first time.
1st hour: This game isn't that great, I don't understand why it is getting a ton of praise.
After 1st bell of awakening: Hey you know what this game isn't that bad! I'll continue playing.
After 2nd bell of awakening: Damn this game can be a real pain! But it's very rewarding and fun.
After beating it: Dark Souls is the best game I ever played and is definitely one of the best games ever made.
i hated ds 2 just because everyone else did too, but after playing the sotfs edition i changed my mind completly. the game is really good, and deserves to be called dark souls 2.
play ori and the blind forest. Its the game that left me with the deepest feeling throughout my few first playtrough
Great, I got this game when it came out and played it for like 1 hour, gave up and forgot about it for a few months.
I started playing again because I didn't have anything else to play and after a while I really started enjoying it.
After that I played demon souls which I thought would be easy but boy was I wrong.
It was even harder and unforgiving than dark souls but still a great experience.
I never thought these games would get so much attention.
i value games as art since chronno trigger
Where was the Anor Londo part where u realize that "How did I get this far?"
I did not realize until now just how surreal it is to have Patches and Lautrec talk shit about each other, considering they both have the same voice actor.
There is zero chance that I would have finished this game without a walkthrough
You tried Elden Ring yet?
@@christopherway2546 tryna beat Demon Souls and Bloodbourne first
same for me i tried 3 times getting into it but couldn't so i had to watch walthrought but now I regret robbing myself of a special experience.
same, using a guide is better than just getting stuck and quitting
The problem, imo, isn't players looking up what to do or whatever after they've been stuck for a while.
The problem is it's so hard to find anything for the Souls games that doesn't ALSO spoil the absolute shit out of everything at the same time
Dark Souls and Bloodborne ruined all other games for me, the bar is waaaaayyy too high now, unreachable even.
Try hollow knight, it'll meet/surpass your expectations.
I've played through Ds1, Ds3 and sekiro, and although they all have their moments of shining, I have yet to see a game as consistent as hollow knight in terms of level design, music, and sound design.
Fromsoftware's games have some killer OSTs like Gwyn, Artorias, OnS, Soul of Cinder and Divine Dragon, but every single soundtrack in hollow knight is masterfully made and leaves an impact on the player.
Also asides from DS1 none of fromsoftware's games have interconnected world design, and even in DS1 it was only for the first half of the game.
The point im trying to make is that Hollow knight is probably the only game in the market, alongside Hades and Nioh that can fill the crater that's left after playing souls games.
Try Ratchet and Clank. Those games are superior to Dark Souls in every way possible.
@@ThwipThwipBoom didn't expect to see trolls on this channel..
@@Arkunter I'm only half trolling. While Dark Souls is a good game, I will always choose to play a good Ratchet and Clank game instead. It's just a lot more arcadey bright and fast paced fun, unlike Dark Souls.
"a duel for the ages"
a duel
summons solaire
I feel like the more more-significant fights feel much better solo. Feels like your tuning into the spirit of the monster and really duking it out
@Joseph Waters when i was playing ds1 i was trying to save humanity for later all game (you know the gamer psychology "keeping items for dire situations") therefor i didnt know i can summon solaire for the smough and ornstein boss battle
it took me 5-6 try to kill them both with my crosbow that i didnt upgrade i just fired couple hundred arrows to them while dodging
it was a very long battle
i remember this invader i had once who came up to me. i attacked him first but when i saw he didn't attack i stopped. i shit you not, he dropped 99 humanities and used his black crystal. it was the best most satisfying moment in the game i had ever experienced.
You can't drop humanities
@@drezzylol wtf yes you can. i once dropped 99 humanities to one of my friends as well. i know there are certain reasons why you wouldn't be able to do so sometimes, but i don't remember those reasons. but yes you absolutely can drop humanity.
@@Yin7094 yeah my bad you only can't if you equipped it
@@drezzylol haha no prob i used to think so as well
Same happened with me in ds3 guy invaded right before lorian and lothric, dropped 99 embers and went home
I’m trying to get into this game currently. It sure does not hold your hand like all other games 😅
DS1 is basically the second coming of Ocarina of Time. The one thing that sucks is that you don't get to play Dark Souls the way it was in the 2010s, because a part of the game's design included the cultural environment is was released into. You just can't simulate watching VaatiVidya's earliest Prepare to Cry videos as it was in the 2010s when the community was still trying to piece together the lore without any of the context of Dark Souls 3. And the game was so unique back then too, because most RPGs were still using Assassins Creed and Diablo as their main reference point at that time. It's still a good game, but I regret that getting into it now you're kinda missing some of the best things about being a fan during that period.
Man I’m gonna go play dark souls again I love this game. When I was in high school I was very depressed one of my cousins told me that giving yourself purpose is key so I gave myself a goal of completing dark souls I mean every achievement beat it and I did and by the end I had friends people I could count on I wasn’t depressed anymore I dare say dark souls is possibly the only reason I’m still here. It’s the biggest reason I haven’t gone hollow.
"It’s the biggest reason I haven’t gone hollow." Fuck that's deep.
Best comment ever read. 10/10
Well said.
@@DCCody64 fucking quarentine. are we all replaying dark souls?
Jorge Del Arco literally on ds3 now first play through
Dark Souls is like a game of life.
You got kicked out from your home and about to face the world for the first time.
No direction on where to go, no money and a very few friends.
It's a damn cruel world but you bravely fight through it, only to fail and start from the beginning over and over again.
You become unhappy and frustrated.
Then you asked yourself, is it worth my suffering?
With a little strength you have left, you get yourself up. What's more to lose anyway?
So you continue but you are now wiser than before.
Everyday is like a battlefield and there's no easy road.
Countless of failures but you keep your spirit high.
Until one day you have completed your journey.
Only to realized that all the hardship you have experienced made you into a warrior.
And that the true happiness is not by completing the game itself but by overcoming all the adversities you have encountered in your journey.
Amen
Exactly what i have in mind
You got kicked out of your house with no money and few friends? That's pretty rough, dude.
🔪
Then you move on to invading...
I'm playing through Dark Souls right now for the first time ever. I tried playing it before years ago but I literally wasn't mature enough to handle the indifference the game has for the player and stopped after like the first area. It's like the game doesn't even want you there and is constantly trying to get you to stop playing, but you keep playing. Now I understand that's exactly how life is.
Soon you will even toying with enemies don´t worry!That is what Dark Souls is trully about,the very 1st experience.After that,basically is pvp what you´re looking for to remain here!Or challenging runs like sl1 or whatever.
Yeah just got ds1 and 2 but ima play 1 first but I already have 3
@@io-rd2ct beware, people say that 2 is a good game. I disagree strongly. Never has anything cause me to want to take a hammer to my computer more than my time with that game. It's not even that difficult, it's just bullshit.
Quanah Riddle yes I finished 1 but I don’t want to finish 2 it’s not because its long I just don’t wanna finish it for some reason
Yeah I tried to roll in a attack but it hit me then I tried to roll away form a attack and still hit me, well people do say the hit boxes are trash. Well this is what happens without Miyazaki’s golden touch
Never had a game made me feel something so beautiful and genuine deep within my soul never had a video game lifted me so far out depression and insecurity never had a video game been more impactful and life changing than dark souls
Just finished Elden Ring!
Went back to Dark Souls 1 and yeah... it's just not nostalgia! The game is truly a masterpiece!
Did you like DS1 more than Elden ring? How about Bloodborne?
@Kage Mara I know your question is for OP but I prefer ds1 and bloodborne over elden ring
@@lewanbroski504 yeah same
@@lewanbroski504 Agreed, DS1 and Bloodborne are truly pinnacle From games. That's not to say I didn't enjoy Elden Ring because I definitely did (I mean I have close to 400 hours played hah).
But the world of DS1 and the atmosphere of Bloodborne are unmatched by any other game I have ever played, and believe me that is a lot of games across many consoles.
@Suncrusher01 I wish ds1 continued its awesomeness after Ornstein and Smough, the games not bad after but its not as great as it was before, if it continued that caliber of gaming it would've easily been my favourite game ever not just my favourite souls game.
Because it doesn't bloodbornes my favourite souls games, if I was any good at Sekiro that would also be close to the top of my list of souls games, I am getting better but not by much.
the beauty of dark souls is that you never feel like your wasting your time except bed of chaos, the game is challenging yet fair except for bed of chaos. it may take you 5 or maybe 50 tries to beat a boss, but it will be wor- except dying 100 times to bed of chaos great level design cant even jump to the fucking branch because you keep one shotting me with an impossible to dodge swipe and forcing me to run through lava for 2 hours just to do it all again how the f-
There is hidden bonfire closer to the bed of chaos,you need to smack a wall to make it appear.
imagine dying more than twice to bed of chaos
this post was made by people who know how to roll gang
and the damn archers at anor londo i died about 20 times and was pretty raged lol
@@TylerDaSaint The only way I could deal with those guys was spamming arrows at them for like 10 minutes.
I could never understand why everyone says the Archers are hard, just run and parry the last archer, I never have problem in that part
No more “Sorry Demons Souls” it’s back baby!
Lol when he said that I laughed in Soul Form.
@@HartlyLion Soul form*
@@DEEKPro Thanks
269th like
Back for real this time🤘🤘
This video got me to play Dark Souls. Still haven't beat it, but it really makes me wish i would have played it years ago
“The Crestfallen Warrior becomes obsolete. There aren’t any newbies for him to give tips to. His purpose is lost, and he becomes hallow.”
Him sitting there by himself, slowly fading away. That got to me...
I read you comment in Vaati's voice
I just bought this game...he can talk to me.
Wait. IS THIS FOR REAL? The best youtuber making a video about the best game? Im in tears.
not the best game
Dragonspheres
Okay, the best game ever, I see what you mean ;)
If he does bioshock I will break out in tears of joy
Dragonspheres yes it is
Dont forget my friend geralt of rivia
I quit gaming after the PS2 era, DS1 Is what made me play video games again. It's not a game, It's a miracle!
Are you me?
@@DarthAssViolater Haha! We're just the dying race of picky solid solo gaming lovers. Now, all the games are shallow open world look alikes (uncharted, watchdogs, fucking zombie games and the much hated COD....). Thanks Rockstar games!
@@juandom6432 yes thanks rockstar......except for the online but......
Man yal some basement weirdos lol
my biggest flex is beating Ornstein and Smough my first try
...how
Same but I was level 245.
@@averagechapstick On my second play through it took me like 20 tries, must've been luck or something. but I remember spending like 5 hours trying to get through the catacombs and got the gravelord sword before I went to sen's fortress, I guess it was made possible by the sword I had
Prove it or fake
@@geodad2642 I can't physically prove it. Elden Ring was my first souls game, so I was used to gank duos by then, just used the lock off strategy to prioritise movement. Also beat the man-eater duo on demon souls first try as well recently, I guess I've got a knack for gank bosses???
I just started this game. I figured I should in prep for elden ring. I have been gaming for a long time and I have not this feeling about a game in YEARS. You explained precisely what I have not been able to put my finger on with games over the years. When I play this I get the same feeling I used to get when I Played something like Alice or Link to the past. It has all the markers of classic games along with mentaly satisfying challenges. It is not like skyrim where you can run through easily then mess about. You have to fight for every amount of ground gained. It is incredibly frustraiting and satisfying all at the same time.
Dark Souls has completely changed the way that I thought about and approached video games. This game is intentionally designed to psychologically mess with you in every possible way, and make you question everything you thought you knew before. When the official tagline says "Prepare To Die," it's being completely serious.
I tryed Dark souls remastered and got stuck at the Taurus demon quit for a couple weeks picked it back up got to the moonlight butterfly Elden ring came out put DS down and beat Elden ring then started DS3 O am about to beat and then will pick up DS again
What is "Alice"? Have played ALttP but am unaware of Alice.
It's been 3 months. Did you finish it?
@@HaohmaruHL No I had to quit for the spring summer time too much work to be done. I am going to revisit in the fall/winter.
I never thought I’d beat a Souls game. True story but my father was very sick I was playing DS 2 and then stopped playing it while he was in the hospital ,,,,sadly he passed away and then in my grief and despair I went back to DS2 and I beat it and I had a weird kind of revelation and epiphany and then through my bravado and stupidity I went back and beat demon souls dark souls one and then eventually dark souls three and just recently I’ve beaten Bloodborne finally and I kind of owe it all to my grief that I had and I worked through that with the Souls games I kind of feel like I achieved some hidden meanings of life through my playthroughs. Great video my friend. I had insomnia and this was just what I needed.
I hope you are doing well Steven. I lost my father too from an illness. It gets easier to cope with as time goes by. Stay strong and smile. Don't you dare go Hollow!
My dad died in December and prior to that I had quit bloodborne. I came back afterwards and named my character after him (bradborne). I kind of just stopped playing again but not out of quitting, it was just genuinely hard for anything to hold my attention and I have barely been investing time in video games, but a month ago I started playing again and beat the game in under like two weeks, and just tonight I got the Queen of Yharnam trophy, so I feel the exact same way. I cant do the dlc rn so I want to try and beat the defiled chalice dungeons as well as the one shot cum chalice dungeon that is a well known blood echo farm you’re not really supposed to actually play through. On Layer 3
Honestly man I feel you. In a weird way this game is extremely comforting. You’d think a game like this would just make you more angry and upset and yet that feeling of achievement and happiness you get from beating bosses really does help you feel better about yourself and get you through tough shit. Hope you’re doing well Steven!
@@TwinXlyric "you will be surprised at how much you can learn in the heat of combat"
Late but this comment hits hard my sad is about to die
In my first play through, this game was so scary. It’s not just the dark mood and scenery but also because it was so difficult…I felt very small and scared in a scary world.
Same.
That’s one of the reasons why I love this game. It feels like In comparison to you, the world is hostile and makes you feel small and weak before you overcome it.
It is 2024 and I'm determined to beat this game for the first time. I've watched this video at least 15 times over the past 5 years and it's always stuck with me that this is a game I just have to experience. I got it on sale on Steam in 2019 right after watching this video for the first time. I got to Nito and just couldn't beat him and gave up, tried other things, but it always stuck with me. Now, 4 years later, I'm playing through with a renewed sense of purpose. I feel more equipped, better prepared, and ready to take this on. It's an amazing experience, and I've kept this video as the ONLY Dark Souls video to watch. I've refused to watch gameplay, tips, etc. and it's such an amazing experience. I really feel an immense sorrow over not experiencing this game or being on the FromSoft train at all until recently. I was right at the perfect time to play it too in 2011 at 15 years old, but must not have been in the "right" friend group or something because I didn't really even hear about it until around when the 3rd game came out. I wish I would have played it then and experienced all these great memories and been a part of the community. Alas, at least Dark Souls is forever, and I'm experiencing it now. I still feel like Act Man when he says "I feel like I barely scratched the surface..." but I'll definitely play this game at least 3 more times after I beat it to try different builds, etc. Peace everyone, keep on gaming. What a game, and what a video!!! Thanks Kelly, you're the best! You and James are the best gaming UA-camrs ever!!!
This game changes the way i looked at games, its also what spawned my extremely high standards for deep lore
I always tell non-soulsfan "How many times have you run through a beautiful, meticulously designed environment and had no reason to explore every nook and cranny? How often have you spammed through every fight in a game without once having to think about HOW to beat an enemy?" We only thought that stuff was fun because it was novel. Dark Souls saved an entire industry from utter redundancy.
@@micahfoley9572 it makes you use your brain it makes you think about what to do I love that
*laughs in warhammer 40k*
Exactly, I finally played Dark Souls Remastered for the first time in my life and actually finish the game and can say that pre-DS version of me and post-DS version are very different. There's very few games that have ever been able to do that.
Im sorry but as a Bethesda fan where deep lore is always there, DS was the opposite for me. The story felt shallow and underdone, and the actual main plot is really weak in how it was written by Fromsoftware.
I can accept that perhaps DS still does more lorebuilding outside the main story than other games, but I was really underwhelmed with how shallow the game feels when playing it
I lost it when he says "theres no gear that can counter that frame rate" LMAO
The only counter is to play on PC or the remaster now
22:27
Cynn Valentine well I mean, he’s right
Bro same reaction i had, AND I'M FROM DARK SOULS
Just finished probably my 17th playthrough of this game. It'll always be my favorite of the franchise. As much as I enjoy Elden Ring, Bloodborne, and the others, none of them seem to be able to touch Dark Souls. The world is perfectly crafted, the combat is heavy, unforgiving, and forces you to commit to every attack, and the change in atmosphere from level to level is S-tier. Dark Souls achieved the level of immersion Demon's Souls did without breaking the world up into sections. Everything is connected. Dark Souls is absolutely a masterpiece of a game.
17th playthrough? Do u never get bored after having played it so many times?
@@anonisnoone6125 Apparently not lol. It's just that good!