10 years late, I have fallen in love with Dark Souls, and you can too

Source: Windows Central

Dark Souls is something of a controversial topic, owing to its perceived difficulty. With some detractors claiming it's difficult for the sake of it, Nighttime Souls nigh takes on this mythical shroud that only the most elite, hardC0RE gamers can contend with its punishing gameplay. Ten years after its initial launch, I am finding that isn't really the case.

I am by no means a hardc0RE elite gamer, at to the lowest degree not as I approach xl. Back in the mean solar day I'd grind the hardest raid difficulty tiers in World of Warcraft and reach server-first boss kills, and even further back, put literal thousands of hours into Unreal Tournament 99, with a almost-sixth sense sensation of the respawn timer on the Shield Chugalug. Those days are pretty long gone, sadly. I have ear hair, y'know.

Notwithstanding still, as my ability to stick to a single game for whatsoever length of serious time becomes diminished for whatever reason, I've been falling in love with Dark Souls, a game I'd always assumed would exist also difficult for me to mete out. If you're someone who, similar me, ever thought Dark Souls looked like a game you should savour, I'k here to tell you the game isn't as difficult as you might think, and in fact, it's actually incredibly fair, throwing you tons of ways you can brand things easier for yourself.

I wanted to write down some of my experiences with Night Souls and then far, in tribute to what I already feel similar could terminate up existence 1 of my picks for all-time Xbox games of all fourth dimension.

Demystifying Dark Souls

Source: Windows Central

When I started tweeting about Dark Souls recently, I realized that I wasn't alone in my assumptions about the game. Many of the replies in some of my prune threads run along the same thought patterns of, "I bet this game is too hard for me," or "I tried it, and institute it to exist besides difficult," and then on. Information technology'south truthful, Night Souls' introductory few hours are virtually sacrilegious in their design, aggressively shrugging off the hand-holding tutorial sequences that are popular in modernistic games.

Thanks to Monster Hunter, I'd unwittingly somewhat learned a bit more about how Dark Souls itself plays in the process.

Right from the off, fifty-fifty the about basic enemies can kill you in mere seconds, and the showtime boss is a gigantic beast wielding a massive club, that shreds the environment in massive arcs. It's all function of the show, though. Information technology calls dorsum to the style games used to be, in the '90s, loathe to hold player's hands, merely eager to back up the observant and patient.

What fans often say is ultimately truthful; Dark Souls I would discover is an aggressively off-white game. And it's possibly merely since condign addicted to Monster Hunter World that some of Dark Souls' design philosophy really click for me. Until Monster Hunter, I'd become relatively conceited with modernistic gaming in full general, which seems all too often reluctant to punish the player too harshly. Monster Hunter equally its proper noun suggests is designed wholly effectually monster hunting. Since the game doesn't really revolve around a traditional level-based story structure, it hinges entirely on boss battles, essentially. Beyond 800 hours' worth of Monster Hunter Globe playtime, I ended up learning how to play a very different manner of game than what I'd gotten used to from Western devs — with stamina meter management, dodging with invincibility animation frames (i-frames), and learning to time the speed of my attacks, weaving around monster attack signals.

I recall it's probably fair to say that Monster Hunter World eases you into its gameplay manner a little more than gently than Dark Souls does. But, thanks to Monster Hunter, I'd unwittingly somewhat learned a chip more than virtually how Nighttime Souls itself plays in the procedure.

Source: Windows Central

Dark Souls' combat shares superficial similarities to Monster Hunter World, in that stamina management, is incredibly important, alongside learning the animation speed of your specific weapons. Beingness acutely enlightened of how quickly an set on volition land in relation to how speedily you lot'll be on the receiving end of an assault is a skill you learn to alive with beyond both games, beyond multiple types of weapons.

Each game has a large array of weapons with very unique combos and attack patterns, and each game will punish players who don't have the time to respect the relationship between an assail, stamina consumption, and defence. In some means, I'd debate that Monster Hunter World is often even more punishing, due to the erratic and oft-random ways monsters occasionally behave in the game. While I've non seen everything Dark Souls has to offer just yet, arriving at the city of Anor Londo, I've establish the boss battles to exist incredibly fair to the player, with relatively predictable set on patterns, and large cues that telegraph incoming attacks.

Even beyond the design of the game, which is impeccable, Dark Souls rewards explorers like no other game I've played.

Nighttime Souls wants yous to win

Source: Windows Fundamental

In many modern "open up world" games, developers call up that finding a text file or an audio log is a decent enough advantage for exploration, but after playing Nighttime Souls, I'm not sure that'southward going to satisfy me anymore.

You're a company of a strange and haunted country, and every corner holds either danger or riches in equal measure.

Dark Souls 1 is a game with some of the best environmental blueprint piece of work I've e'er seen. A massive, sprawling labyrinth of intersecting, intertwining fortresses and structures, filled to the skirt with uniquely horrific monsters and damned souls. It's almost Metroidvania-like in its construction, rewarding players with shortcuts to previous areas to make the journey easier, layering on satisfaction in a way boodle solitary simply doesn't do. Even the loot in Dark Souls feels meticulously placed, designed to shape your playthrough and guide your character builds without explicitly telling you what to exercise. And a lot of those character builds will come around as a direct effect of exploration.

Night Souls is also a game that, for the about part, doesn't gate the player. You can practically go anywhere, right from the beginning, simply the game does requite you a sense of direction as long as you're paying attention. In that location's no map, and no quest markers, though, substantially leaving you to your ain devices over how you want to tackle the way forward.

At the beginning, you're told to ring 2 bells, one at the top of a church, and ane down below hush-hush. There are NPCs scattered throughout, driven mad apparently by the world's purgatorial state, who tin can provide additional context and worldly lore. The sense of vulnerability that comes through the game'due south high-stakes combat permeates into the story and exploration too; you're a company of a strange and haunted land, and every corner holds either danger or riches in equal measure. Information technology's those riches that will drive you forrard, as well.

Upgrading your character in Dark Souls is a gradual procedure, incrementally raising stats hither and there, adding +1 to your items when the materials present themselves. But every now and then, you'll happen upon an item that volition completely alter your outlook and prosperity. Later defeating a very angry knight in a tower basement, I received a ring that massively improved how equipment impacted my character's mobility, allowing me to use heavier armor and weapons.

Therein lies the excitement that Dark Souls' world brings: risk and reward, in equal measure.

I ventured well off the browbeaten path into a forest, and institute a shield that was more than twice as potent every bit the one I was conveying. In a graveyard, I discovered a powerful two-handed sword guarded by a militia of re-blithe skeletons. More to the point, none of these items was gated either, y'all tin can potentially grab these right as before long equally you lot leave the initial tutorial area, as long as you lot're willing to face the higher-level enemies guarding them.

By daring to explore, I establish that I was occasionally discovering Dark Souls' gentler side. These items make the game far more than accessible to play, especially for newcomers. They reward those who were daring enough to go and hunt them downward, or indeed, look upwardly a guide on how to become them early. However, exploration can also bring plenty of run a risk. At one indicate, I leapt into a mysterious hole in the ground, only to be dumped into a cage with a giant and very hungry rat monster. Therein lies the excitement that Night Souls' world brings: risk and reward, in equal measure.

Dark Souls has been out for ten years at this point, and there'south a huge wealth of content online that can aid y'all ease into the universe and get to grips with the gameplay. If, like me, you fabricated assumptions about how the game worked based on the first few hours of play, at that place are tons of tricks interwoven into the game's fabric to arrive less punishing on yourself. The game'southward armory of magical items are designed direct to help you win, but instead of just handing yous the win, it wants to reward you for discovering the method yourself.

Dark Souls is a revelation

Source: Windows Cardinal

In an era of boxing passes, free to play, pay to win, microtransactions, and "games as a service," I found that the thing I'grand loving the most about Dark Souls is the fact it's simply a video game. It's not a service, information technology doesn't want me to "appoint" forever, and information technology isn't using bogus psychological trickery to soak up my "engagement" — the game'due south art, the monster designs, the music, its deceptive facade of minimalism hiding what seems to be limitless depth exercise that by itself, and it'due south easy to see now why the game is held in such high regard.

If you've ever looked at these games and thought, "I wish I could enjoy these," I implore you to give it another get.

Dark Souls has been a magical feel thus far, literally, and to anyone who, like me, looked at the games and felt like they seemed cool just might exist a bit out of scope, I'd urge you to look once again. Endeavor to use a beginner's build guide on YouTube — simply I'd besides debate not to look too deeply for a total-blown guide, considering the sense of discovery is half of the fun. Choose a weapon way and really learn how it works between the different weapon swings, blocking, riposte attacks, tiptop attacks, and back attacks. Learn what the stats do (INT doesn't increase pyromancy harm, as I plant out the hard way), and if y'all get stuck, you can always grind some souls to raise your level and equipment stats a fleck.

I'm just happy to have found a game to really deeply autumn in love with again. Sometimes I wonder if I'm getting jaded, and that video games aren't as fun for me every bit they used to be. Dark Souls reminded me that I'grand non getting jaded, it'south simply that modern AAA games are all too often simply, well, bland. I experience like through Monster Hunter and now Night Souls, a whole new world of games and other "Soulslikes" just opened up to me to explore — ahead of Elden Ring itself. And if you lot've ever looked at these games and thought, "I wish I could savour these," I implore you lot to give it another go. Y'all may observe they're a lot fairer than you might think.

A revelation

Dark Souls Remastered

A archetype remastered

Nighttime Souls Remastered has retuned the original classic with improved visuals alongside some quality-of-life improvements.

We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Acquire more.

Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/10-years-late-i-have-fallen-love-dark-souls-and-you-can-too

Posted by: tietjenponjuseme64.blogspot.com

Share this post