I don’t know anyone IRL I can explain this to, or discuss this with
Played Dark Souls for a little, but not much. Elden Ring, I beat and loved.
With Demon’s Souls lately, and this week… I spent no less than 4 days going the wrong. fkn. direction.
Got my little mace, a shield, and a wand for spells (I like being a battle mage, sue me!)
This Maneater boss was beating my ass, so I needed some help.
Found out about a spell I could buy if I could save a witch. So, I went to that level and headed for where I thought the witch was, but I had the world tendency of black, so the game was so much harder and I couldn’t get past these double-spawning black phantom fat officials.
So, I needed some help. Didn’t even understand world tendency, had to Google that a couple times Found out about a way to reset neutral in the first act, if I got rid of some executioner lady. I go back, but she wasn’t there. Needed pure black world tendency, I guess. I go get my little stone to resurrect my body, got killed and then cheesed the executioner by accident because she fell into a pit after she spawned.
Okay, reset to neutral. Go back to area, past where the black phantom fat officials were, and fought my way to a fog door. Where was the witch?? Oh. Oh no.
I had to open a door, behind me the whole time to get a key for a gate nearby the spawn where I’d start each run, for the past four days. Before resetting my world tendency. AND I already had the dang key.
Okay. Pop myself in, get the next key, rescue some joe schmo?? Find out where the witch actually is, through a gate and up some stairs. Well, I’ve already had the dang disguise to get the guy to drop the stairs and could’ve rescued her so easy.
Got her, got the spell. But… Needed another memory slot, so I grind out 3 levels for 18+ INT and can now cast a big fire storm, thinking minimal damage. The spell destroys everything, and it’s fkn awesome.
I take that spell and go burn the man-eater boss dudes with ease in my second try, after fighting a black phantom mind flayer on some stairs and getting my ass kicked 4 times.
Man-eater dead, I can finally move on.
I now understand why folks said Elden Ring was so easy. Still, climbing castles and whipping spells and smackin’ heads with a mace is so freakin’ satisfying. I bought Dark Souls 1 & 2 on sale and I’m so excited to play them. Getting lost and back tracking and figuring out NPC quests, giving up on all that and googling just to find out it’s even easier than I thought or waaayyyyy more confusing is part of the fun. But a mace and an epic spell is all I need, IRL.
I fkn LOVE fromsoft.
First souls game I played was demons souls and nothing came close to that since. You never forget your first etc. Maybe bloodborne. I know most people loved the dark souls series but to me it always felt like a rehash of much of the same that was truly novel and captivating in demons souls. Of course happy that many more people got to experience souls games with the move away from the Sony IP. Yet still for me the best souls games are those that were made exclusively for PlayStation, for better or worse.
Completely agree, the atmosphere was something special in Demon’s Souls, the music and mood of the hub area was spot on, nothing has matched that
I’ll concede the hub in Demon’s Souls is much better than Elden Ring. No matter what, I turned down the wrong corridor. Either looking for the blacksmith, or the twins, or the two fingers, didn’t matter. Every damn time, I’d go down the wrong way.
Plus, it felt… Empty? Demon’s Souls hub is much larger but still has an aesthetic that feels like everyone is scared, tired, or restless. I like that you can “save” people like Dead Rising and see them back at camp. It feels more immersive. Elden Ring has that too, but not as many NPCs end up there from what I remember. It’s more that they’d always leave the hub, like the lady who hugs. Plus, after the burning of the tree, it’s completely abandoned except the black might guy. Always feel bad that I couldn’t get him out. It’s like the people in the hub all just served as exposition on the lore of the world, not “real” people. I didn’t go back there nearly as much as in Demon’s Souls
Bloodborne was my first. It was always… Okay. I still don’t know what the hell was happening. Apparently there’s a night mode you can unlock??? I consider Elden Ring my first true one. I played the hell out of the base game. I’ve only got to complete the final boss twice to unlock all the trophies lol. But I definitely need to pick up the dlc one day soon.
Demons souls doesnt explain any fucking thing. Theres a lot that would take incredible effort to figure out on your own, I think they intended for it to take a community to get things figured out together.
Its been a really long time but I remember theres a ring in the first area that lets you have a lot more health while unkindled or whatever they call it in that one. Its sort of secret, I think just before the first boss in that area you drop down a hole into a room. For me at the time this was a major boon.
I also found it way easier to start as a spellcaster. Many traps and fights are easier from a distance or by using magic to bait enemies out so you can fight one on one and avoid group ambushes. There really is so much trial and error in this one, you are going to get blasted and have to memorize it all.
There are a lot of NPC phantoms that only appear with certain world tendencies, usually full white or full black. Its really a major bitch to get everything because of the effort to manipulate it. I made it through most of the game without even realizing what was happening. I do remember in the last area farming flying manta ray things and using black world tendency to get more souls so theres that if you get desperate. Good luck!
Thankfully I got that ring. The Cling Ring, I think it’s called? Super helpful!
I feel like I’m at least 30% through the game, if I had to guess. It’s a lot of fun, but much more brutally punishing compared to Bloodborne or especially Elden Ring. I still haven’t got a clue what the hell is really going on, but I look forward to manta rays!
I love reading people’s first time experience with these games.
Demon’s Souls was the last of the Souls games I played, and I thought it was hard still. The bosses aren’t as frenetic and complex as later titles, but the levels and the navigation is brutal. I still remember running back in that swamp over and over and over.
I also remember grinding out weapon upgrade materials in a cave for literal hours, because I didn’t see any other way to get enough.
I ain’t seen a swamp yet, oi vey. Unless you mean the lower latria area with the many faced centipede screaming monsters…? I hate swamp levels lol. I’ll face it when it comes though.
The person in latria was a huge pain to navigate for sure. I beat the mining level and giant dragon with minimal issue. Same for the tower knight, phalanx, and armor spider. But getting around some of the levels is super easy to get lost, I agree. I freaking love it though.
I need a pure glassstone? I think? To level up my mace again. The lizard stopped spawning! 😭
I never go in on the “builds” that I keep seeing recommended. Maybe that’ll punish me later, but I love just finding a good weapon and some epic spells and smash n burning my way through the monsters. Elden Ring was the best for that. Dual weild a staff and holy sword, I was unstoppable lol
Plus, that ending was so fire. I’m at the final boss on ng, but started Demon’s Souls lol
It’s way more fun to make up your own build as you go, based on how you want to play anyway. Just be warned that the upgrade materials are really stingy after a certain point, so be a little selective with how many weapons you commit to.
…and you’ll know you’re in this swamp when you find it. Good luck!
Oh hopefully the mace will last till late game haha. Good lookin’ out tho! Thank you!
I know a lot of people hate on ds2 but it’s honestly a good game. It has its faults. It’s definitely the weakest title, but it’s still a banger if you think of it in a vacuum instead of comparing it to other FromSouls games. If you like the genre, I highly recommend ds3. It is (imo) the most polished by far. I like it better than Elden Ring but that might be a hotter take.
Oh yeah, that’s me for sure. I try not to compare games or listen to the recommended meta or even listen to the hate for not playing a certain way. There’s just not enough wizard media that’s epic. Like Harry Potter was mid until Dumbledore lit up a fire tornado. But that was before J.K. became a J.O.K.E.
I just love it when I can be a knight running castles and throwing massive spells. It might make the game slightly easier, I guess? And people hate that, I guess? But I’m like, my dudes, where else can you cast a spell that calls meteorites to smash a dragon?? Or a freakin’ mana laser beam that melts a god?? Just because I suck at rolling and dodging doesn’t mean I’m not having the time of my freakin’ life!
I keep saying we need more of two types of media:
Epic spells from wizards, witches, warlocks (without a kid friendly setting like HP) that has huge, realistic storylines.
And solid, horrifying mummy films. The two 00s mummy films are fun, but a family-friendly type of fun. The 3rd and Tom Cruise’s version can go to hell. There needs to be an amazing horror version, or at least more of the mummy theme, imo.
Sorry for the rant lol. I don’t get out much. 😅
There is a Tom Cruise mummy movie?
The first two mummy movies are OK. I saw them in the cinema as a kid. Not all that great movies, but entertaining. The Scorpion King spinoff was fine too. 3rd mummy was not very entertaining.
Yeah, Scorpion King was fun when I was a kid.
The Tom Cruise one was forgettable. It wasn’t directly related to the OG trilogy, iirc. It has a lady mummy and was mid AF. The 3rd Mummy was awful with the recast of the main actress.ever since, I’ve been craving a solid mummy horror. Watching the 1st as a kid, when that guy gets his eyeballs taken, I was freaked. I can still hear the character sayin, “my eyes!” Without a tongue lol. Need a good mummy film!
Damn. Now I def need to get Demon Souls.
Oh, it’s way different from Elden Ring, if you played that one. It’s a lot more linear. But it’s so fun tbh. Highly recommend. I keep getting my ass kicked and having a blast lol I’m super excited for the other games.
I forgot bloodborne is a fromsoft. I played the hell outta that one but never beat it. The world building in that is wild. Like a Van Helsing horror show. Like a werewolf filled Victorian era. It’s wild and hard AF because of the mechanics of the game. Using the weird gun to stop attacks and the style of attacks with melee are timed really weird. But the aesthetic is on point. Horror, instead of fantasy like demons/dark souls/Elden Ring.
Im not a fan of Elden Ring. Something about it is off for me. But i absolutely love dark souls 1&3. Sekiro seems good to, but i haven’t played it enough to get into it yet.
I love the clunkyness and slow paced fighting in DS1 tho, that’s easily my favorite so far. A slow ass tacticful medieval metroidvania? Yes please and thank you lol
I don’t have PlayStation though, so some games are off limits unfortunately
Curious what it’s missing for you. I loved it tho haha. Maybe it was too open world? Hopefully they’ll port the games to your system soon!
Maybe it’s the open world, idk. I also wasnt able to run it full speed in the outside area without looking down. That kinda ruins things. I do plan on playing it again on my steamdeck.
Without looking down? I’m not sure what that means.
I will say the controls are irksome with sprint being circle. I tend to half-claw my controller. Like, left hand is regular grip, but right hand is thumb on the R3 stick, middle finger for the triggers, and index finger for the circle button. While using thumb for the X, triangle, square buttons.
In GTA, I tend to push the camera forward to look a little down while driving. Helps me see stuff a little better but drives people nuts when they watch me play lol
Looking down culls the graphics that the game needs to process, making it run smoother.
Ohhhh, PC issues? Sorry. I never had enough money for a decent enough gaming computer to be able to play many games.
