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Dark Souls is an almost perfect masterpiece...

levyjl1988

Banned
I don't think there is any game that can reach its scope.
  • No waypoint, forcing players to mentally map out the areas of the map and memorize which very few games do.
  • Purposeful backtracking, backtracking, and winding back to the area gives you that sigh of relief as you find shortcuts back to familiar ground.
  • Geographic areas are accurate and foreshadow potential levels that you will eventually come across.
  • Subtle character development and progress through inching yourself through the area. Reaching bonfires is a set of relief but also a double-edged sword as it also respawns enemies back.
    There is quite some courage for the player to venture into the unknown and discover.
  • Leveling up and becoming powerful isn't a power fantasy but to make your survivability much more possible.
  • Environmental storytelling through the items and the world evokes a well-established area that has been rotting and desolate.
  • Level design is tailored and play on all aspects of verticality and slopes and is dimensional. Not a.i generated like Assassin's Creed which creates repetitious boring environments.
  • Metaphoric symbols and representation are present in this game and can be deep.
  • Tutorials that feel extremely optional and get players to jump straight into the game rather than being force-fed.
  • Death has consequences as you have to be mindful of what you could lose.
  • Focus on ambiance music as you hear your surroundings and your footsteps.
  • Subverting secrets with invisible walls, which makes players want to hit every wall in the game.
  • Strategic enemy placement gives players an opportunity to prioritize enemy encounters and utilize environmental hazards to their advantage.
What do you love about Dark Souls?

Character customization in this game sucks, however. When you move one slider it moves other sliders as well which is annoying.
 

Yoshichan

And they made him a Lord of Cinder. Not for virtue, but for might. Such is a lord, I suppose. But here I ask. Do we have a sodding chance?
I appreciate the effort but it’s really not anywhere close to being a masterpiece.

Dark Souls 2, however... now we’re talking masterpiece!
 

mancs

Member
when you think you got a good character , who's got some good gear and is tough,...then a online invader enters your secret forest and abuses you! with their magic stick.
 

leo-j

Member
Dark souls 3 is beaten easily if you co op. Like the bosses go from being difficult to being easy like Mario 64 bosses.
 

SafeOrAlone

Banned
What is going on here?
Dark Souls 2??

Yeah, Dark Souls is a masterpiece. I thought I was a bit tired of the Souls games, but I finally played the remaster of Dark Souls and geeked out all over again. Especially in the sparse story and lore. Very cool stuff.
I didn't complete the game this time around though. It does get a little boring in the second half.
 

Banjo64

cumsessed
Is the Dark Souls II love satirical or are people just being contrarian?

This is what I think of it. This is probably the biggest insult I can give to this Miyazaki-less, slow rolling, slow estus-flask chugging piece of literal dog shit;

8gTuZQy.png
 
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Clear

CliffyB's Cock Holster
Is the Dark Souls II love satirical or are people just being contrarian?

This is what I think of it. This is probably the biggest insult I can give to this Miyazaki-less, slow rolling, slow estus-flask chugging piece of literal dog shit;

8gTuZQy.png
Looks like you simply can't or wont't adapt to DS2's changes to the formula.

It isn't perfect, but then again neither are any of the other Souls' games. And I unironically think its the most enjoyable and replayable of the trilogy.
 

rofif

Can’t Git Gud
Geographic Inconsistency


Rubble you can jump over, but can't


Bonfire Placements


Not exactly a masterpiece.

that's the worst argument about the locations making no sense. This guy is hugely responsible for people disliking this game and not having their own opinion.
It is no a physical land. It is in the lore (and dark souls 3 ringed city goes there all the way) that the lands converge and mix up. It should not make sense ! Why does it have to obey laws of real world ?!
And the game has such a weird, dreamy like feeling, the locations being so varied and out of place really grew on me.
Also - many only played scholar of the first sin and it's way more asshole city than vanilla which I think does some stuff better
 
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Elcid

Banned
I’ve beaten all Souls games about 5x and am on 6 for Dark Souls 1. Dark Souls 1 has the best landscape. 2 has the best mechanics. 3 has the best balance. I love 1 so much because of the level design, but fuck some parts are bullshit. Anor Londo demons and the knight archers? That shit is just upsetting. I love all the Souls games, but I think at the end 3 is the best GAME of the 3.
 

mcz117chief

Member
that's the worst argument about the locations making no sense. This guy is hugely responsible for people disliking this game and not having their own opinion.
It is no a physical land. It is in the lore (and dark souls 3 ringed city goes there all the way) that the lands converge and mix up. It should not make sense ! Why does it have to obey laws of real world ?!
And the game has such a weird, dreamy like feeling, the locations being so varied and out of place really grew on me.
Also - many only played scholar of the first sin and it's way more asshole city than vanilla which I think does some stuff better
Right on, brother. Dark Souls 2 is fucking incredible, the best in the series.
 

rofif

Can’t Git Gud
I’ve beaten all Souls games about 5x and am on 6 for Dark Souls 1. Dark Souls 1 has the best landscape. 2 has the best mechanics. 3 has the best balance. I love 1 so much because of the level design, but fuck some parts are bullshit. Anor Londo demons and the knight archers? That shit is just upsetting. I love all the Souls games, but I think at the end 3 is the best GAME of the 3.
nice. This is quite reasonable opinion.
All are great. Dark souls 1 goes a bit downhill in 2nd half of the game. Dark Souls 2 have shitty graphics in some places (and dlc is asshole city), dark souls 3 can be a bit linear but is the best playing one when it comes to movement, action, bosses and dlc is amazing.
 
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TonyK

Member
I replayed it just after finishing Demons souls in PS5 and it's a masterpiece for me. One of the few games I consider near to perfect.
 

mcz117chief

Member
nice. This is quite reasonable opinion.
All are great. Dark souls 1 goes a bit downhill in 2nd half of the game. Dark Souls 2 have shitty graphics in some places (and dlc is asshole city), dark souls 3 can be a bit linear but is the best playing one when it comes to movement, action, bosses and dlc is amazing.
100% agree, Dark Souls 1 is pretty damn good in the 1st half but the other totally soured me on ever replaying it, on the other hand I cleared 2 and Demon's many times and I love them both.
 

Con-Z-epT

Live from NeoGAF, it's Friday Night!
I finished Dark Souls Remastered in Oktober 2020.

After playing Bloodborne, Dark Souls 3 and Sekiro in that perspective order.

I had a lot of fun with it. It's not flawless but a very unique experience. In a good way.

From Software just put a good spin on the dark fantasy setting.


You already covered a lot what makes this game special.

My honorable mention goes to the Onion knight.
I love his design and quest!

Praise the sun!
 

sackings

Member
1 has the highest highs (ash lake) and the lowest lows (bed of chaos). 2 is fairly consistent all the way through. Vanilla is pretty underwhelming (bosswise). The DLC is really what elevates it to a higher level. With no DLC, 3 is the best videogame of the 3. One could argue 1 is the best due to the overall experience (first time bias). I love all 3 pretty equally. Bloodborne is the king though. Simply transcendent game design.
 

Banjo64

cumsessed
Looks like you simply can't or wont't adapt to DS2's changes to the formula.

It isn't perfect, but then again neither are any of the other Souls' games. And I unironically think its the most enjoyable and replayable of the trilogy.
I’ll resume my second play through and go for the platinum within the next week or so. It has been 5 years, I might appreciate it more at this point in time. The replies in this thread have me genuinely curious.

One thing I will say for it is that I found Santier’s Spear to be one of my favourite, enjoyable to use PvE weapons in any Souls game (and Bloodborne).
 
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cireza

Banned
I disagree. Even though it is a great game, it has a number of pretty bad areas in my opinion.

Overall, I find that Dark Souls II is a better game, with a more consistent level-design, and the world is still pretty well connected and open. My favorite game in the series.
 
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Sejan

Member
I really liked the world of DS1, but DS2 and 3 had far better gameplay. I have a really hard time returning to the first after playing through the superior combat of it’s sequels. I really think the complaints of DS and way too overblown.

If I have to pick between better gameplay and a better world, I’ll pick the gameplay every single time.
 

TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
Dark Souls 2 sucks donkey ass. Bad and boring level design, crappy hitboxes, iframes tied to a stat, almost all the bosses are dudes in armor, world inconsitencies (which coming from DS1 was a huge letdown) and many more things.

nDVpiln.gif


It also made Heineken part of the lore.

C48422A2F211F585E0D34C19374FD44EE40F6345
 
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i like almost everything about this game. Incredible masterpiece.
Also i hate comments like "the second part sucks", nope i disagree, the only part that sucks starts with the centipede and ends with the bed of chaos. 10 minutes more or less.
First time I ever hit the centipede he dropped a ring that made me more or less immune to lava. Which negates any issue with the fight.

The last moment of fun in Dark Souls was killing the Taurus Demon boss. Which was a huge surprise, since at the time, it was the single greatest experience I had ever had in a game. Starting with the curse status effect that didn't make any sense and then Blighttown and then the poison swamp. I rang that second bell and thought I had made it through the rough stuff and back to the fun. Nope. Demon Ruins with instakill wall worms and the Taurus Demon is now a common enemy... Little would I know that ten years later people are still talking about it like it was filling them with light or something.
 

V4skunk

Banned
I appreciate the effort but it’s really not anywhere close to being a masterpiece.

Dark Souls 2, however... now we’re talking masterpiece!
DS2 is good but it'll never forget going up in a lift to leave an area to enter the next area with the lift going down.
DS2 as interconnected world just doesn't exist.
 
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AgentP

Thinks mods influence posters politics. Promoted to QAnon Editor.
Dark Souls is great, one of the best, but the last 30% does not hold up as well as the first 70%. Demon's Souls is more consistent, but being first lacks some quality of life stuff and the almost fully connected world.

DS2 sucks
 

D.Final

Banned
I don't think there is any game that can reach its scope.
  • No waypoint, forcing players to mentally map out the areas of the map and memorize which very few games do.
  • Purposeful backtracking, backtracking, and winding back to the area gives you that sigh of relief as you find shortcuts back to familiar ground.
  • Geographic areas are accurate and foreshadow potential levels that you will eventually come across.
  • Subtle character development and progress through inching yourself through the area. Reaching bonfires is a set of relief but also a double-edged sword as it also respawns enemies back.
    There is quite some courage for the player to venture into the unknown and discover.
  • Leveling up and becoming powerful isn't a power fantasy but to make your survivability much more possible.
  • Environmental storytelling through the items and the world evokes a well-established area that has been rotting and desolate.
  • Level design is tailored and play on all aspects of verticality and slopes and is dimensional. Not a.i generated like Assassin's Creed which creates repetitious boring environments.
  • Metaphoric symbols and representation are present in this game and can be deep.
  • Tutorials that feel extremely optional and get players to jump straight into the game rather than being force-fed.
  • Death has consequences as you have to be mindful of what you could lose.
  • Focus on ambiance music as you hear your surroundings and your footsteps.
  • Subverting secrets with invisible walls, which makes players want to hit every wall in the game.
  • Strategic enemy placement gives players an opportunity to prioritize enemy encounters and utilize environmental hazards to their advantage.
What do you love about Dark Souls?

Character customization in this game sucks, however. When you move one slider it moves other sliders as well which is annoying.
It's a legendary game
 
The combat? Not quite, Bloodborne does it better.

The rest of the game is a work of art though. Can't take that away from it, I just wish it didn't spawn such a boring genre. The lore, the music, the level design, the art... very high tier.

Dark Souls is great until you finish Anor Londo.
Then it goes downhill from there.

Still, it's much better than than other Souls games (DS2, DS3, Bloodborne and Sekiro).
Nah, Bloodborne is better!
 
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