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[xviper]

it's one of the best series in gaming history

there is something like them, no, not that repetitive garbage, Nioh, or that pathetic game, Lords of fallen

the best and actually the only good clone of the souls series is an indie game called "Salt and Sanctuary", i'm a souls series veteran who played since Demon's came out, and i can assure you that Salt and Sanctuary is Better than that lazy piece of shit that is Disgrace souls 3

 

[paperspace]

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[Sephzilla]

I honestly did feel a touch burnt out with the Soulsborne games after Dark Souls 3, but hot damn those are some of my favorite video games in ages

 

[Ferr986]

it's one of the best series in gaming history

there is something like them, no, not that repetitive garbage, Nioh, or that pathetic game, Lords of fallen

the best and actually the only good clone of the souls series is an indie game called "Salt and Sanctuary", i'm a souls series veteran who played since Demon's came out, and i can assure you that Salt and Sanctuary is Better than that lazy piece of shit that is Disgrace souls 3

Nioh is pretty different than Souls (that's why it's good IMO) and Souls 3 is anything but lazy.

 

[Opa-Pa]

I agree, I've played tons of games in my life, but I don't think I ever experienced anything quite like the feeling of discovering and playing through the Souls games. Demon's alone was incredible enough of a revelation, so the fact that Dark Souls added an interconnected world was completely mind blowing and added so much to the experience.

It's really difficult to put into words all the amazing things these games do that no other series had before for me, and at times I've even thought I may be exaggerating and perhaps they're not nearly as good/special, but replaying DaS right now has only deepened my love and admiration for the series. The way they nail absolutely everything, world, atmosphere, tone, combat, visual design, sound design, EVERYTHING is simply insane, and I got a feeling it'll either be a long time before we see something like these games from someone else or it'll never happen.

Really, I don't particularly care about the "games as art" conversation at all, but it's games like these that truly make me think of the medium being able to be seen as a legitimate art form. Not visuals, animations, storytelling or any of that movie wannabe nonsense, but cohesive game experiences that try to deliver their strengths in ways only video games can.

You really have to have no idea of what you're talking about to say these games are overrated lol, just say they're not your cup of tea and move on.

 

[hotcyder]

The irony in this post...
Most of the time , what you've just described here is the common attitude among souls fans towards fans of other games.

Exactly this

The way that people talk about the Souls games - and the OP in particular - make the Souls games to be this perfect end-goal for videogames, like they're what the medium has been working itself up to for the past 40 or so years.

I like them plenty - they scratch that itch of a somewhat non-linear open world game that isn't a GTA sandbox, and the world building is cool but not really my bag. Bloodborne is probably my favourite due to the loop of combat where you get health back from being confrontational.

But you can't pretend they don't have issues. Enemies engagement gets kind of boring - especially bosses with enormous health bars that just become a matter of kiting and whittling health. Systems are poorly explained and require DS-Wikis to explain them. The game just sort of has this obtuse feeling to it that feels less like the designers intentions and more like a lack of polish.

Plus... after Dark Souls 1, they kind of gave up on expanding on the series in any meaningful way.

But I mean whatever. You put in the time to put up with the bullshit so now you're the Big Dick G. Farts to everyone who doesn't like the franchise because they're all baby morons who didn't get used to its clunky fighting. Death to mobile and casual games, everything should be more like Dark Souls.

 

[Stygr]

it's one of the best series in gaming history

there is something like them, no, not that repetitive garbage, Nioh, or that pathetic game, Lords of fallen

the best and actually the only good clone of the souls series is an indie game called "Salt and Sanctuary", i'm a souls series veteran who played since Demon's came out, and i can assure you that Salt and Sanctuary is Better than that lazy piece of shit that is Disgrace souls 3

That ripetitive garbage has a wayy better combat system than Dark Souls and Bloodborne.

 

[dreamfall]

Honestly, FROM's games will go down as some of the greatest of all time. I'm someone who blasts through almost everything on Easy settings, and Dark Souls changed my appreciation for punishing and rewarding good gameplay. I think to this day (outside of Nioh, which might be the best), the combat systems utilized are some of the strongest mechanically, and the changes Bloodborne along with Dark Souls III brought were very welcome. I played Dark Souls first, thanks to Durante's amazing work - and thank God for that. Demon's after (which still remains my favorite) and then every game as it released. I feel like the game series changed my life in certain ways - obsessing over good strategies, and exploring depths of darkness - it was everything.

I still have yet to tackle the DLC for III, but I'll wait until Winter to dive back in. Rest assured, I have nothing but fondness for all the titles, the sparse narrative, the beautiful map locations, the unique bosses, and the fair difficulty.

 

[Opa-Pa]

This is a thread about sharing our appreciation of what the series does right and nobody is claiming they're perfect or that they're above criticism lol. It just so happens that calling something overrated and leaving it at that will piss people off because it clearly adds nothing to the discussion and comes off as just mindless trolling.

That ripetitive garbage has a combat system wayy better than Dark Souls and Bloodborne.

Nioh isn't my cup of tea and still wouldn't call it garbage, but no it doesn't. This comparison has always been annoying and reductive.

 

[Ferr986]

But I mean whatever. You put in the time to put up with the bullshit so now you're the Big Dick G. Farts to everyone who doesn't like the franchise because they're all baby morons who didn't get used to its clunky fighting. Death to mobile and casual games, everything should be more like Dark Souls.

I don't see where do you see this in the OP? He even says they're not "best games ever".

And that attitude is not exclusive of Souls fan, it's called fanboyism, and it's in every big franchise, from Dark Souls to Halo to TLOU to Zelda or Mario.

At the end, this is just appreciating the Souls series, not saying it's the best shit ever and everyone else is dumb. Honestly, it feels weird that say "this is overrated, come on guys" and just run without a reason...

 

[Dark_castle]

Dark Souls will forever be one of my favourite games, even though it has a bunch of flaws that were ironed out on the sequels (that introduced their own problems). The atmosphere was incredible, and unlocking shortcuts after struggling through a hard level is one of the most gratifying things ever in games.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

One day I'll stop playing Xanadu Next all the time and finally get a new PC to enjoy this franchise. I say this considering some eerie similarities between Falcom's game and what I've seen from Souls games (Xananext's last dungeon, Castle Strangerock, feels like it could sit right next to something FROM designed.)

 

[Sami+]

it's one of the best series in gaming history

there is something like them, no, not that repetitive garbage, Nioh, or that pathetic game, Lords of fallen

the best and actually the only good clone of the souls series is an indie game called "Salt and Sanctuary", i'm a souls series veteran who played since Demon's came out, and i can assure you that Salt and Sanctuary is Better than that lazy piece of shit that is Disgrace souls 3

mom get the camera, I can't hold all these hot takes for much longer

 

[Sephzilla]

The Souls community produced some of my favorite fanart

 

[Gbraga]

I really wish this could just be a Souls celebration thread, but I guess this is still GAF.

Can't wait for the Dark Souls II part of the thread.

One day I'll stop playing Xanadu Next all the time and finally get a new PC to enjoy this franchise. I say this considering some eerie similarities between Falcom's game and what I've seen from Souls games (Xananext's last dungeon, Castle Strangerock, feels like it could sit right next to something FROM designed.)

As someone from the other side of the fence (I play a lot of Souls but still didn't get to Xanadu Next), I can confirm the apparent similarities, and they're also what got my attention. Friend of mine loves it, I definitely need to give it a shot. I love the art style, trailers and music.

 

[autoduelist]

Exactly this

The way that people talk about the Souls games - and the OP in particular - make the Souls games to be this perfect end-goal for videogames, like they're what the medium has been working itself up to for the past 40 or so years.

I like them plenty - they scratch that itch of a somewhat non-linear open world game that isn't a GTA sandbox, and the world building is cool but not really my bag. Bloodborne is probably my favourite due to the loop of combat where you get health back from being confrontational.

But you can't pretend they don't have issues. Enemies engagement gets kind of boring - especially bosses with enormous health bars that just become a matter of kiting and whittling health. Systems are poorly explained and require DS-Wikis to explain them. The game just sort of has this obtuse feeling to it that feels less like the designers intentions and more like a lack of polish.

Plus... after Dark Souls 1, they kind of gave up on expanding on the series in any meaningful way.

But I mean whatever. You put in the time to put up with the bullshit so now you're the Big Dick G. Farts to everyone who doesn't like the franchise because they're all baby morons who didn't get used to its clunky fighting. Death to mobile and casual games, everything should be more like Dark Souls.

Or, you know, people just like the franchise a lot, warts and all. Without all your condescending nonsense.

 

[LordKasual]

I feel like Metroid Prime could have successfully done this as well if it wasn't already Metroid.

Like Souls, it had this amazing way of telling its story and explaining its lore through collectibles and simple environmental objects. I can't recall any other game that isn't an explicit Adventure title that does the same thing.

 

[sjay1994]

Meh.

I shouldn't have, but I rolled my eyes reading this thread title.

I've only played BB and DS3

Spoiler

so feel free to disregard my opinion since some of you will

I think they are fun games, but that's about it. I don't have lingering thoughts about them or interest in their lore. There are some really cool things in these games, but that's kinda it for me, a series of cool things with nothing really grasping me asides from the mechanically sound gameplay.

I feel like the constant chest thumping and propping up of these games have given it an air of pretentiousness that I find off putting and was why I never bothered with DS1 or Demons, but had an interest in 2 due to some LP'r's such as EpicNameBro and Super Best Friends breaking them down for me making me willing to try DS2 when it came to PS4, but then going "oh wait, bloodborne is a thing. I should wait for that instead".

They are mechanically sound and fun, but thread titles like this just makes me dislike the series since its hardcore fans prop it up with buzzwords that people would normally laugh at if applied to other games like "a blessing for video games".

 

[Muppet of a Man]

I still can't believe I've recently experienced what rightfully one day will be acknowledged as the best game that has ever been created: Bloodborne.

 

[shimon]

Everything except for DS3 is amazing.What a series!

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

Not too mention how damn quickly they did it as well. There is no way that DS3 was the end of the series though.

 

[Cat Party]

Overrated is, and has always been, a roundabout term to state that "the masses" who love something haven't seen "the light" and come to the only true conclusion: That said game/move/piece of entertainment isn't a good as they think, cuz i said so.

The term has bothered me for some time. Overrated isn't solely a critique of the thing itself, but the people who like said thing. Too smug for me, tbh.

Yup.

 

[JudgmentJay]

Everything except for DS3 is amazing.What a series!

Everything including DS3 is amazing. Dark Souls 1 is the GOAT and Bloodborne is a close runner up. I've been craving my yearly replays of all the games, but 2017 won't let me.

Also, love the hottakes in this thread. Some people are real upset that people like video games.

 

[Nev]

The way that people talk about the Souls games - and the OP in particular - make the Souls games to be this perfect end-goal for videogames, like they're what the medium has been working itself up to for the past 40 or so years.

This is exactly what they are and is literally what I actually, truly thought while I played Bloodborne. Something along the lines of "this is what gaming has been building up to since its inception", yes.

Thanks for putting it into words for me!

 

[CMojicaAce]

 

[sjay1994]

Everything including DS3 is amazing. Dark Souls 1 is the GOAT and Bloodborne is a close runner up. I've been craving my yearly replays of all the games, but 2017 won't let me.

Also, love the hottakes in this thread. Some people are real upset that people like video games.

No one is getting upset at people liking a thing. It's fine to like a thing.

It's when people act like something is the greatest thing ever made and invalidates everything else as casual trash, that all criticism people have is simply because they didn't git gud, that we should all be thankful for this series existing because its "a true video game" and its for "big bois" when things stop being "merely liking a thing" and becomes obnoxious.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

As someone from the other side of the fence (I play a lot of Souls but still didn't get to Xanadu Next), I can confirm the apparent similarities, and they're also what got my attention. Friend of mine loves it, I definitely need to give it a shot. I love the art style, trailers and music.

I mean, Xananext's definitely still a Falcom game, but it's unique within their old catalog and would appeal to Souls fans looking for something less intense, more casual yet interesting all the while. The final dungeon's what makes me bring up the comparison all the time; Xanadu Labyrinth and Eternal Maze are similar enough, too.

 

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[Fourmyle of Ceres]

I think that if people came to more games with the same overture they came for Demon's Souls they would feel this way about a lot more games. Most games are amazing if you give them enough room to breathe, not just as you're playing them but across years and generations.

 

[Wireframe]

Never got the appeal myself, tried demon's souls for a week and dropped it.

 

[Draft]

I am just about to wrap up DS3 (life got in the way,) and I've come around it. There are amazing bosses and maps. Boreal Valley and both DLC maps are incredible. Some of the NPCs have become my favorites in the series. Special game and a deserving end to the best AAA series of the last two generations.

 

[guyssorry]

Agreed. They saved me from a long period of playing nothing but Nintendo games, since I find 90% of big-budget AAA games to be terrible, and I had already exhausted most of the indies/smaller-budget games. Easily a top 5 game series of all time, IMO, and one of the most consistent series, too.

 

[sleazefrenzy]

I've been gaming since about 1994 and the Soul's series is probably my single favourite gaming experience within that time. Everything from the community and the YouTuber's to the games themselves and the endless pub conversations with friends. It was a great thing to be apart of and I can't wait to see what From Soft go onto next.

There's a great book called "You Died" put out last year that really captures everything that made the Souls games special, definitely worth a read.

 

[sjay1994]

Where are people acting like this?

GameFAQs?

The thread title is literally called "The Souls series is a blessing for video games".

This attitude that permeates the souls community is rampant on literally everything. Youtube, reddit, gamefaqs, /v/, even GAF. While the more toxic stuff I listed is not seen as often here I have seen people talk down other games especially during the clusterfuck that was "Bloodborne was robbed" during 2015 awards season.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

I don't know what you're talking about.

Seems realistic to me.

I can imagine this guy spending his days crying at every slight disappointment he faces in his daily life.

Hahaha

What a great game. Best thing to ever come from Mercury Steam (back when they were called Rebel Act).

Yeah, take the combat from Blade and the atmosphere, lore and exploration from From's own King's Field and you get something... suspiciously like Demon's Souls..

You'd need decent animations too to get Demon's Souls, though...

(Sorry, I know Severance is old and low-budget, but yeah)

it's one of the best series in gaming history

there is something like them, no, not that repetitive garbage, Nioh, or that pathetic game, Lords of fallen

the best and actually the only good clone of the souls series is an indie game called "Salt and Sanctuary", i'm a souls series veteran who played since Demon's came out, and i can assure you that Salt and Sanctuary is Better than that lazy piece of shit that is Disgrace souls 3

Oh look, more fodder for the ignore list.

"Lazy", ugh, fuck this.

Nioh isn't my cup of tea and still wouldn't call it garbage, but no it doesn't. This comparison has always been annoying and reductive.

I disagree. Nioh's core combat is better than Souls, and I don't say this lightly. That said, Souls games have better atmosphere and level, encounter and enemy design, and I prefer its RPG mechanics as well (stats, builds, equipment variety).

As someone from the other side of the fence (I play a lot of Souls but still didn't get to Xanadu Next), I can confirm the apparent similarities, and they're also what got my attention. Friend of mine loves it, I definitely need to give it a shot. I love the art style, trailers and music.

I played both, and I can confirm that some parts of Xanadu Next wouldn't be out of place in a Souls game. Also the entire world is interconnected, with just about every dungeon looping back to the central town (with some limited warping/fast travel). It's pretty cool.

The thread title is literally called "The Souls series is a blessing for video games".

This attitude that permeates the souls community is rampant on literally everything.

There's nothing wrong or "toxic" (JFC) for thinking Souls games are a blessing for video games. The OP outlined pretty clearly why they feel that way and was nothing but positiveness without denigrating other games whatsoever. In fact you are the one who brought in negativity and needless complaining in this thread. Serious, what the hell is your problem?

 

[Imp the Dimp]

The thread title is literally called "The Souls series is a blessing for video games".

This attitude that permeates the souls community is rampant on literally everything. Youtube, reddit, gamefaqs, /v/, even GAF. While the more toxic stuff I listed is not seen as often here I have seen people talk down other games especially during the clusterfuck that was "Bloodborne was robbed" during 2015 awards season.

Except Bloodborne beat Witcher 3 in 2015 on GAF? I'm pretty sure it's some run-down meme.

 

[Eidan]

The Souls series is definitely special, and I credit them for single-handedly killing my tolerance for most games' narratives.

 

[Star Orpheus]

I can appreciate that these games are solidly made but there just not for me. I tried both DS1 and Bloodborne but couldn't get invested in either.

 

[justjustin]

Yep, amazing series. Still the ultimate blend of 3D action games and dungeon crawlers.

I remember debating whether or not to import the Asia version of Demon's Souls, since it seemed like it wasn't gonna make it to the US. Pretty crazy thinking back, a series so mainstream today might not have even made it out of Asia. I waited anyway, and Atlus saved the day.

 

[hotcyder]

Or, you know, people just like the franchise a lot, warts and all. Without all your condescending nonsense.

Yeah, I apologise - this post really stinks on a second reflection. Chalk it up to browsing GAF during a particually bad day at work.

As I said, I like Dark Souls a lot - though I suppose I should be a bit more empathetic for why it is as well regarded as it is.

 

[Emitan]

The game -clearly- did say that area was too difficult for you... by killing you. If that's not a neon sign saying 'go a different way', then I don't know what is. Perhaps you struggled with this because you're used to modern, linear games [so didn't even think to try another path]... but this isn't a problem with D*Souls, it's a problem with modern game design that more games don't do this.

Like, this literally hurts my head. I want there to be different paths to explore, and not all zones should be safe at all times. Not every hard zone should be locked behind silly contrivances [oh, this bridge is broken til you do this and that], or so far away from the starting zone that there is no way to reach it until you've level'd enough that it's now easy.

I mean, what's the point of a hard zone if you can't reach it til it's not hard anymore?

The game killing you is a neon sign saying "do something else" but the game's tagline is "Prepare to Die"? So I guess you're just supposed to stop playing it altogether???

 

[FiveSide]

There were individual games from the past decade or so that I liked better than the Souls games, but as a franchise it's certainly the best thing to come out of the last two gens.

It's amazing that there have already been three games in the Dark series, and five if you count them all together (DeS + BB). It's just one of those franchises that already feels like a longrunner. Blows my mind that it started in 2009.

The best thing the franchise did for me was reinvigorate my love of self-imposed challenges. The games are great experiences played normally, but I strongly encourage everyone to try them SL1 (or BL4 in Bloodborne's case). I didn't particularly care for Bloodborne, outside of the great setting and soundtrack, until I did a BL4 run. (And until the DLC came out, which is far and away the best content in the game. The three main DLC bosses are the best sequence of bosses in all of video-games.)

I have no Souls fatigue. DS3 was the most polished and consistent entry in the series, and had a fantastic lineup of bosses with some amazing environments. The franchise might have lost some of the mystique it had at the beginning, but the core design template is still powering along like a well-oiled machine. I say keep them coming.

The game killing you is a neon sign saying "do something else" but the game's tagline is "Prepare to Die"? So I guess you're just supposed to stop playing it altogether???

I wouldn't hold the marketing against the game itself. The marketing always played into the difficulty angle while ignoring the real reasons the games are great, the level design, encounter design (including bosses), and environmental world-building.

The difficulty angle has always been perplexing to me anyway. They're certainly not easy games, especially in the modern gaming landscape. But they're not really all that hard either, as evidenced by the fact that they can very comfortably be beaten without even leveling up.

 

[Swimmer9800]

Playing through Bloodborne for the first time (my first souls game) was one of the most special experience I have ever had with a game.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

The game killing you is a neon sign saying "do something else" but the game's tagline is "Prepare to Die"? So I guess you're just supposed to stop playing it altogether???

Ugh. I wonder how many people got the wrong idea based on a marketing tagline for a PC port.

 

[R0ckman]

I actually wish there were more people not afraid to be more critical of some of the mechanics in this series. While I mostly enjoy it there is some really janky combat stuff that slips by that doesn't physically make sense.

At least in 3 I noticed sometimes that enemies you lock on to actually have a sort of hard to describe tether aspect to them. Causing attacks that would normally miss to dime turn the enemy to hit you so if you lock on and strafe, if the enemy vertically slices with a blade the attack animation will twist with the player and pull the enemy with you. Its also seen in some straight charge attacks where the enemy travels in a straight line but is also tracking you which doesn't make sense once the attack launches.

 

[PSlayer]

The game killing you is a neon sign saying "do something else" but the game's tagline is "Prepare to Die"? So I guess you're just supposed to stop playing it altogether???

The prepare to die meme was only introduced in the late DS PC port. Bamco decided to bank on what console players were saying about the game(s) but the game(s) never said it or were designed to be "hard"(Miyazaki even said that difficulty was never the point in a demon's souls interview AFAIK)

It's the bobba fett effect where the community around a franchise says that some feature is nice or some character is really cool and later the company tries to pander to the audience by promoting that feature/character.

 

[funkystudent]

Great games but it felt like they where running out of ideas in a big way in 3.


If FROM returns to Souls I am totally fine with this break they are having if it means they are OK with trying to shake it up. I am not quite sure what I would want though

 

[nbnt]

Agreed. Man I still remember the first time I saw Demon's Souls footage with my friend and how we thought what is this weird janky Japanese game, meh.. Boy how wrong were we.

Demon's is still my favorite, big part of that is because it was the first. But I love the trilogy of Demon's, Dark, and Bloodborne equally and think they're some of the best games ever made.

 

[CGwizz]

I played them all , demons souls, dark souls 1 and dark souls 3, didnt played 2, i had no time when it releases but for souls 3 i read about it. Now i am playing bloodborn and finally will finish it.

Dark souls series have lore and story like no other game.

Its the rise of humans, its the story of cicles of linking the fire.

It had the best bosses, the best characters, everytime i found about a character i was like damn, that is awsome.

Across all games to see the story of characters like Ornstein, Artorias, the sons of Gwyn.

This franchise ended perfectly, i hope we get a spiritual sucessor to dark souls but the story is done to me, the last piece of DLC was perfect and the last fight was fucking great ( the 2 last bosses of the last dlc are the most dificult thing i done in videogames, its brutal to beat the dragon and the last one).

Dark Souls 1 is my favourite cause it started it all. Cant understand people saying dark souls 3 is shit lol.


Also this game had the most fucking amazing armors in any games and the most amazing weapons. Love those fashion souls videos xD

It had the best community and the most shitlords too to ever grace gaming (4 man waiting to gank , fuck you all )

 

[Magic Mushroom]

I still can't believe I've recently experienced what rightfully one day will be acknowledged as the best game that has ever been created: Bloodborne.

Yes. Playing since the C64 days and Bloodborne is my GOAT.