Remastered Edition: With all these games I been playing recently, I think it was time to delve in the epitome of rage-inducing gameplay.
Of course I've already played this game before long ago and didn't make it very far. This was back in 2012 so coming back to this in 2023 in its remaster state, it was whiplash. Thank god I had my friend as a partner throughout the game because I truly needed it.
Dark Souls has a really eerie, depressive plot that left the player in a confused state, getting pieces of lore through NPC interactions, cinematics, but most importantly, through item descriptions. This was a unique experience for sure, and made the story ominous and somewhat complicated. My friend is a Dark Souls lore buff so he was able to elaborate on certain levels and references to characters which helped the immersion of the game.
Now despite the fun and crazy lore this game has, the gameplay is the most important.... And quite possibly some of the hardest and infuriating moments in my gaming experiences. The game is pretty unforgiving, and you learn this fairly soon (as in the first few moments of the game) , so optimization is literally key to this game. No matter if it's you're equipment load, or the skill you decide to upgrade, every decision is vital. Oh, and getting good. This is a requirement. If you don't learn to adapt to different play styles, you will fail miserably, and never progress the game. Me not really used to these weird and unforgiving mechanics, had a fun time getting my ass handed to me constantly. Also losing souls is always a huge downer since that's the only way to level up. In this playthrough, I probably lost about 6 level ups worth of souls which is probably the most infuriating part of the game for me, as leveling up is key to giving you the upper advantage. So yeah, I'd say the first 30-40 hours of the game was the roughest. Multiple moments where I died dumbly by falling off a ledge or getting swiped by 4 opponents at the same time made me just rage quit and take a break. Yes, you should take multiple breaks playing this game or I stg you will end up breaking your controller. I'd say me and my friends first real challenge was Sif, a giant grey wolf who wields a sword. Me wanting to do all the hidden and optional parts in the game, decided to go and kill sif at like level 20-30 ish, and it didn't go well. I also had to learn in this game that if a boss or area is just too unforgiving in the moment, leave and just come back when your stronger. That's what we did, and eventually toward the end of the playthrough, we went back and killed him easily.
All the boss fights are a little scary in their own right. Countless times playing this game I'd find myself almost helpless going against these creatures, but thanks to my friend and his big bonk, boss fights were much easier. Still, I found myself sometimes stranded in a boss fight once my friend was killed, and quite frequently I would die too but there was a couple times I was able to kill them. There's even plenty of non-bosses that almost act as mini bosses, such as Havel and his stupid shield and movement-tracking bonk. This was probably the first guy I had to optimize my load out so I was fast enough to dodge his attacks.
In the end, after 78+ hours of playtime and hitting level 103, I finally killed all the bosses/optional bosses, and killed Gwyn once and for all. Although this does include the dlc, I won't talk about it since I'll review the dlc on its own separate IMDb page. I will say tho; because of the dlc, Gwyn wasn't even as scary as I expected. Nonetheless, great final battle and with this playthrough igniting the fire, I do plan on replaying the game eventually to do the other ending. Definitely recommended but only to those that like a challenge, and when I say "challenge" I mean an unforgiving challenge. My only gripe is the weird way they introduce lore which can be confusing, but me playing with someone who is a "Dark Souls scholar", it made the experience much better by him explaining/guiding.
Of course I've already played this game before long ago and didn't make it very far. This was back in 2012 so coming back to this in 2023 in its remaster state, it was whiplash. Thank god I had my friend as a partner throughout the game because I truly needed it.
Dark Souls has a really eerie, depressive plot that left the player in a confused state, getting pieces of lore through NPC interactions, cinematics, but most importantly, through item descriptions. This was a unique experience for sure, and made the story ominous and somewhat complicated. My friend is a Dark Souls lore buff so he was able to elaborate on certain levels and references to characters which helped the immersion of the game.
Now despite the fun and crazy lore this game has, the gameplay is the most important.... And quite possibly some of the hardest and infuriating moments in my gaming experiences. The game is pretty unforgiving, and you learn this fairly soon (as in the first few moments of the game) , so optimization is literally key to this game. No matter if it's you're equipment load, or the skill you decide to upgrade, every decision is vital. Oh, and getting good. This is a requirement. If you don't learn to adapt to different play styles, you will fail miserably, and never progress the game. Me not really used to these weird and unforgiving mechanics, had a fun time getting my ass handed to me constantly. Also losing souls is always a huge downer since that's the only way to level up. In this playthrough, I probably lost about 6 level ups worth of souls which is probably the most infuriating part of the game for me, as leveling up is key to giving you the upper advantage. So yeah, I'd say the first 30-40 hours of the game was the roughest. Multiple moments where I died dumbly by falling off a ledge or getting swiped by 4 opponents at the same time made me just rage quit and take a break. Yes, you should take multiple breaks playing this game or I stg you will end up breaking your controller. I'd say me and my friends first real challenge was Sif, a giant grey wolf who wields a sword. Me wanting to do all the hidden and optional parts in the game, decided to go and kill sif at like level 20-30 ish, and it didn't go well. I also had to learn in this game that if a boss or area is just too unforgiving in the moment, leave and just come back when your stronger. That's what we did, and eventually toward the end of the playthrough, we went back and killed him easily.
All the boss fights are a little scary in their own right. Countless times playing this game I'd find myself almost helpless going against these creatures, but thanks to my friend and his big bonk, boss fights were much easier. Still, I found myself sometimes stranded in a boss fight once my friend was killed, and quite frequently I would die too but there was a couple times I was able to kill them. There's even plenty of non-bosses that almost act as mini bosses, such as Havel and his stupid shield and movement-tracking bonk. This was probably the first guy I had to optimize my load out so I was fast enough to dodge his attacks.
In the end, after 78+ hours of playtime and hitting level 103, I finally killed all the bosses/optional bosses, and killed Gwyn once and for all. Although this does include the dlc, I won't talk about it since I'll review the dlc on its own separate IMDb page. I will say tho; because of the dlc, Gwyn wasn't even as scary as I expected. Nonetheless, great final battle and with this playthrough igniting the fire, I do plan on replaying the game eventually to do the other ending. Definitely recommended but only to those that like a challenge, and when I say "challenge" I mean an unforgiving challenge. My only gripe is the weird way they introduce lore which can be confusing, but me playing with someone who is a "Dark Souls scholar", it made the experience much better by him explaining/guiding.