Go ahead and call us game reviewers, but we saw ourselves differently. We were the first scouting party. We had no clue what we were doing.
Since From Software's masterful RPG hadn't been released yet, there were no wikis or strategy guides to consult for guidance. But we'd been taught as kids that it was dangerous to go alone so a group of us agreed to stay in touch by email and support each other in the struggle against a game that's both brutally hard and wilfully, bafflingly opposed to telling you how to play it. If a tree chews you to death in Darkroot Garden, costing you 12,000 souls, and there's nobody around to hear your lamentations, is there any therapeutic relief in that? We decided there was not.
Being among the first handful of people in the world to experience Dark Souls is a dubious sort of privilege. Like being an infantryman in 1944 discovering you'll be part of that first wave off the landing craft onto Omaha Beach. We'd all played Demon's Souls so we knew the sequel was going to be a bloodbath, but we'd volunteered for this because we wanted to be the first to explore the Lordran, the new world. We wanted to be the first to die there, and by extension the first to untangle the mysteries of how not to die. IGN's Keza MacDonald, who initially floated the idea of banding together, would also be the person to give it a name: The Chain of Pain.
The first thing you need to understand is that there are two basic types of Dark Souls players - explorers and tourists. The explorer doesn't mind journeying without a map, because they realise that, just as in real life, explorers are the only reason maps came to exist in the first place. They leave the bloodstains that the tourists who trail behind will tiptoe nervously around before continuing on their way. The tourist, meanwhile, cares primarily about reaching their destination, following walkthroughs like turn-by-turn directions. In their mind, the journey is a formality. They play for the trophy, not the thrill of competition.
One of the things that makes Dark Souls so special is that it assumes you're an explorer. It feels good to have a game assume that you're brave, up to the task at hand. But it's more than that. Dark Souls is one of the few contemporary games in which it's even possible to have the experience of true exploration. We've gotten used to waypoints flashing on our minimap. Or if the game senses you dallying in one location too long, a text hint will appear onscreen or, worse, another character in the game will spit out a piece of dialogue meant to steer you back on track. Dark Souls has no truck with such things.
The thing that struck me most when I went back and started re-reading the email exchanges in the Chain of Pain was how painstakingly slow and incremental the progress was on that first playthrough. Being left mostly to our own devices, we were forced to think, strategise, rehearse, pry off the game's locks with the crowbar of sheer persistence. Most of us would burn at least an hour on the Taurus Demon alone - the very first post-tutorial boss in the game - without realising that a simple exploit of his attack pattern can make him feel about as threatening as one of Fable's Hobbes. I'm glad I had to struggle. The victory was sweet. When he paid out that soul bonus, it felt like wages I'd earned from an honest day's work.
43 comments so far...
ghost whistler on 14 Apr '13 said:
Dark Souls is one of the worst games I have ever played. It is ugly, poorly explained, broken and far too difficult to be enjoyable. That gamers hype this poorly designed rubbish tells me everything I need to know about the parlous state of this hobby. Games should be enjoyable, they should accomodate the player at any skill level and not rely on poorly programmed frustration as a game mechanic. I would have hoped they wouldn't be making any more of this rubbish.
Jabbermon on 14 Apr '13 said:
I can't help but completely disagree, I think it is one of the most well designed games of this generation, the amount of detail From Software put into the world is incredible, and even though you will die a lot, it will always be your fault, not because of bad game design. It is definitely not broken, backup your statements with evidence in the future. Dark Souls isn't about accommodating all players from the start, it's about teaching every player how to become better at the game, good enough to succeed. It's old-school like that, it's frustrating to get to grips with but the feeling of satisfaction you get from it is unlike any other game.
Xu En on 14 Apr '13 said:
Ghost Whistler has it exactly right - this game is not worthy of the hype. Go to the top of undead burg (the round tower) and look down - look at the attrocious draw distance. The graphics in this game are truly bad. Mostly of the levels are plain ugly (not "gritty" or "atmospheric").
The review nailed the problem in the first page - describing the taurus demon battle - "without realising that a simple exploit of his attack pattern.." - the way to beat bosses is through exploits. Other enemies don't even move until you are within range - every playthrough is identical.
And yet the hype train goes on and on and on. (Becuase there is only one type of publicity)
A lot of of players are sick of this moronic upsell of low budget, niche games like this that only a minority will enjoy. Ultimately you'll be betraying your customers - when people end up spending their money on stuff that they simply will never enjoy.
ghost whistler on 14 Apr '13 said:
There is no detail. If you can stand to make it to Blighttown you will be attacked and poisoned by mobs using poison darts that you cannot see.
The whole game relies on tediousness and offers nothing to sate the experience.
People seem to think that lack of features is a welcome feature. 'there are no waypoints'. This is absurdity; the reason such features have evolved to become part of game design is because they work, and because players don't want to spend time wasted doing tediuos busywork. Unfortunately the 'hardcore' players have convinced themselves this is 'handholding' - as if that kind of petulant arrogance elevates them to something more than they are: it's a video game. It's not real life.
There is nothing to engage you, nothing to pull you in and the lack of a proper save system was the final straw for me. There are plenty of other and better games than this.
Johnbhoy69 on 14 Apr '13 said:
Some fair points made about how the game actually cheats a lot of the time. Barely visible enemies shooting poison darts at you is one such annoyance that had me more often than not swearing worse than Aoife in that Call of Duty video. Getting cursed is probably the biggest pain this game has to offer. The first time it happened to me I was so confused and shocked by how quickly my character died it took me a few minutes to notice my health bar. My heart sank, I thought F*ck this game...but I never stopped playing.
Admittedly I rented this game the week it came out and I did not have internet at the time. So I was completely alone. Knight Solaire was mistaken for an ''enemy with cool armour'' and promptly bit the dust. Then the Tarus Demon just had to ruin everything. I found it too hard, I hated it and didnt play it again after that 1st few hours.
Only after reading more about it did I want to give it another crack. I was glad I did. Having my internet in I found the game more enjoyable and easier to get into. The summoning ability is a life saver when you are a low level and a complete noob. I quickly learned about parrying and backstabbing just from watching summoned players, I even manged to best a few invaders along the way also.
Ill agree that after one or 2 complete play throughs the game is the exact same every time, unless you change characters classes. Knowing where every enemy is does get boring, especially as they stay completely still until you approach them.
There is no denying the world is beautifully created, even more so when it finally hits you that everything is connected.
I would love to be able to explore this world all over and discover things as if I was playing it for the 1st time. Its been said before but beating a boss in this game is more rewarding than any other game out there.
But there will always be people who say its too hard and its crap. And to them I say if you don't like it then no one is forcing you to play it. This game isn't being forced into your life the same way as some other games are.
Call of Duty for example with its Michael Bay-esque tv adverts with explosion after explosion and the ''cool celebrities'' saying how awesome it is to blow sh*t up and high five afterwards because that was so awesome that it refines awesome...yeah totally awesome bro. Not to mention the games themselves are the same every goddamn year.
RedBelmont on 14 Apr '13 said:
That may be your opinion but personally I think Dark Souls is my favourite game of all time. I'm not gonna argue why with anyone as if you don't like the game by now then there's nothing I can say to change your mind.
I just wanted to say thanks to OXM for posting this feature, it brought back some fond memories of my first playthrough and thought it was a thoroughly enjoyable read. That was a good idea early on to tackle the game in such a co-operative way and totally agree with what was said about how despite being a single-player game it's very much a co-operative experience. Great stuff and bring on Dark Souls II
fracturedrich on 14 Apr '13 said:
You are talking complete rubbish,you are moaning about a game because it,s to hard,you need to trade in your computer a buy a ds,ive heard that the games on the handheld are really easy,ive heard the lego series will suit you down to the ground.Dark souls was a ground breaking game and everyone i no rate it as the best game of all time.
ghost whistler on 14 Apr '13 said:
I don't need to do anything, silly boy.
I don't need to play games like Dark Souls either. Games need to appeal to me not the other way around.
Dark Souls' problem isn't that it's difficult, it's that it's just frustrating because of the tedious rewardless repetition. If i'm not getting soemthign from the game/experience, then that game/experience is doing it wrong.
I also don't care what call of duty does; that's apples and oranges as far as I'm concerned.
I can guarantee that if there were more decent games around at the time this rubbish was released none, but a sad few 'cool' p[eople would have given it a second glance. Sadly the last 3 years at least has been a complete desert of creativity for the xbox.
pg99 on 14 Apr '13 said:
Like what? You get weapons, armour etc and a sense of achievement (or at least relief). I haven't got very far in the game and I'm struggling with a boss but I still want to keep playing because I know I'm getting better. I find the game fun, the battles are difficult but fair and if you don't stay alert (paying attention to your stamina bar etc) then you get punished. I like all kinds of games, this happened to be one that appealed to me (although only recently). I'm not an RPG fanatic but I like the RPG elements in this. The game can get fairly repetitive, but at least you are getting souls for your time. And no game in recent years has given me the feeling of panic I had the first time I got invaded (causing me to hide behind a wall with my shield up
). I find the game quite thrilling, I think they got the atmosphere right. I'm sure I would have enjoyed this game no matter what other games were released at the time. Saying that people would be sad for liking it just makes you sound bitter.
OXM Aoife on 14 Apr '13 said:
Each to their own of course, but I love this game, and I think one of the reasons why (which this article alludes to beautifully) is the sense of support and camaraderie that arises when you're playing it and relaying your experiences to people that can both help and empathise with your struggles.
The first time I attempted Dark Souls I played it entirely alone/offline and found it utterly frustrating. I didn't get very far.
The next time I attempted it, I had a support group. I was being encouraged by several people who had either completed it or were slightly further along than I was. Their advice and authoritative insight made me determined to succeed myself, and I felt genuinely euphoric every time a minor victory was achieved.
As to the art direction, I love it. Sure, some textures may be ugly, but the overall look and feel they're trying to achieve with the world is exceptionally well thought out. It's especially satisfying to look up the concept art for each boss after you've vanquished them.
Johnbhoy69 on 14 Apr '13 said:
Need a hand?
fracturedrich on 14 Apr '13 said:
I have the limited edition,the art book what comes with that is stunning.It is the only game where someone can invade you with the worst timing,like within reach of that bonfire,then come back to help you with that boss you have been stuck on for hours.I have good friends from all over the world that i speak to every day because of dark souls,for a game with no voice chat option,this is quite something.
Metalrodent on 14 Apr '13 said:
heh I haven't even considered buying this due to the difficulty, I will one day though
TronZler on 14 Apr '13 said:
Woah what have i done?
repare to Die addition last thursday ya see,after i watched the trailer for Dark Souls II then heard all these discussions about it's predecessor.
It wasn't until Dark Souls II was mentioned,that i started to hear about this unique game. Old school gaming you say? I'm definatly old school but now after this well timed article (thanks OXM!) i can't help but have a hint of fear and trepidation about this weird unknown wolrd i'm about to enter,where seemingly,if i've followed this article right,tells you nothing to aid you.
I ordered Dark Souls
Now though,i expect when it comes through my letterbox around tuesday it shall be followed by a large thunderous BANG as it hits the ground,an then the sweating starts!
Good times or bad to follow,we shall see ...
Rewave Acid on 14 Apr '13 said:
"without realising that a simple exploit of his attack pattern"
But it really isn't though! Cheating my way through a boss gives me no satisfaction, and honestly dying so many times going through the same enemies and losing so many total souls just to figure out a weakness through either deceit or trial and error is a rubbish way for a game to work.
However the graphics weren't a problem, the world was immersive and beautiful, well thought out with absolutely phenomenal dark fantasy monster design. I just wish it didn't laugh at you and punish you so much for straying off the beaten track and trying new things. However it definitely is better with a 'support group'. Also the messages on the floor and the ghost thingymabobs were pretty woeful to be honest, a really confusing system. Maybe others found it more helpful though!
This has been compared strongly with Monster Hunter, and my personal opinion would be to say that while the two games aim for the same level of graft->reward, i think Monster Hunter nails it in a way Dark Souls can't even fathom. Just my thoughts
(out of curiosity has anyone else played MH here?)
pg99 on 14 Apr '13 said:
I was interested in it a while ago but never bought, it definitely looks like it's is more forgiving of those with less free time though, so I think I can understand where you are coming from. Yea Dark Souls can be pretty harsh if you don't progress in the optimal order, but to be fair I was rewarded for straying off the beaten path thanks to my ability to run from enemies, as I was able to grab a winged spear from the graveyard which helped me a lot with Undead Burg. I found the messages to be helpful. One saved me from taking damage from an archer. I have seen a few of them telling players to jump, even though it looked like I would most likely fall to my death if I did so. All part of the fun imo, although one of them did lead me to a glitched corner which I was stuck in for a while. I wondered about the ghosts at first, but it was nothing that distracted me or negatively affected me. I actually think it's a great system, the messages are the opposite of woeful for me, the ghosts aren't really necessary but they remind me I'm not the only one on this arduous journey.
kronk10 on 15 Apr '13 said:
First of all this was not a review just a feature on how a game can quickly make up its own community dragons dogma did the same thing! And second of all this game is MARMITE i love it, i have not completed it yet but i find it fun and i have laughed my ass off plenty when you plainly see that its trolling you. I just hate it when people who do not like it come on here and say its the worst game ever and when people who love the game spout crap that the people who do not like it cannot play the game because its to hardcore etc etc Just be thankful developers are still making games that divide opinion so much because if they did stop making games like dark souls we would all be playing the same old boring crap every year
Insaneyokel on 15 Apr '13 said:
After seeing my big brother launch a controller across the room when he was playing it on his Xbox I thought I might give it a miss. Have to say it probably wasn't the best Xmas pressie I ever bought, or maybe it was, the swearing and ranting was quite funny
hujiki on 15 Apr '13 said:
This Game has to top my list of one of the worst games i have ever come across, its gets so frustrating that it becomes annoying in the sense of not being fun anymore, Games are made to be enjoyed and have fun but when you have to put work in a game like this the outcome is just not worth it anymore, The graphics are so 5 years old and it does not bring anything new to the table. Feels like a Skyrim ripoff with harder difficulty. I hear Dark Souls 2 is upon us soon, I hope it fails in sales, looking forward to the New Dragon Age when it finally does come out.
Metalrodent on 15 Apr '13 said:
You're bad at a game so its automatically a bad a game? if that was the case half my of my games would be classed as bad.
and a Skyrim ripoff? I hate to tell you this but Skyrim is hardly an orginal game, not to mention Dark Souls has a completely different playstyle and is aimed at a different audience (ie: not you).
Also, there is a great irony in you complaining about the graphics and its lack of new features, and then saying how much you're looking foward to the new Dragon Age
Grummy on 15 Apr '13 said:
Possibly the most polarizing game ever made. The thing that pisses me off is that there is rarely a line where both sides can meet and just agree. The fans tend toward rabid fanboyism and refuse to acknowledge that the game has problems whereas the haters just outright hate it and refuse to accept that the game has many positives and people have good reason to like it. In the end it comes down to constant bitching and sniping, haters and fanboys alike passing poorly veiled insults back and forth just because neither side can accept the other has a valid point to make. I guess that's why I feel lucky that I'm a convert, I can still see problems from when I originally hated it, but now as someone who likes it, I can also see the good. I recognize that it's a flawed game and that there are aspects of the game that need improving and moments of the game that are just badly designed, but I also recognize that there is a real pleasure in beating certain enemies, not because you feel great for beating something tough but because it is a mark that you have fully learnt that part of the game, you can identify and monitor your experience and see yourself get better as you move through the game.
It's flawed, it's not perfect, but it isn't crap either. I can recognize that, perhaps some people on this comments section need to start doing the same.
Joe90_Remy700 on 15 Apr '13 said:
it seems to me that the reason people hate it is the reason most other games molly coddle players thru it. and hence why the rest of gamers love it. me, i love it, as hard as it is, and you just have to keep trying it again and again to beat that little SOB round that corner.... argh!!!!
SkeevyRay on 15 Apr '13 said:
To those that seem to be having issues with Dark Souls, I'd like to suggest Fable 3 as a more suitable game for you. The graphics are lovely, and the gameplay is very casual. You simply mash a button to make pretty magic! If you want to make even stronger pretty magic, you simply mash the button a little longer! There's even a fairy princess! Also, you can never ever get lost while "exploring" because there's really not much to "explore." And if you do somehow manage to wander off the linear path, just press your D-pad and viola! You'll get a magical bread crumb trail that shows you exactly where to go in order to get to the next phase of your exciting adventure! This should tide you over until Fable The Journey (which will be Kinect based) so far, this is looking like a great game for folks that find challenges to be tiresome. Just wave your hands around to slay the mighty goblins! Won't that be fun? Good luck out there gamers, and play safe!
kronk10 on 15 Apr '13 said:
I pretty much said the same thing in my post we should be thankful developers are still making games that polarize players i think its bloody awesome ! bring on dark souls 2
Grummy on 15 Apr '13 said:
That would be Voila, a viola is an instrument.
SkeevyRay on 15 Apr '13 said:
That would be an old Bugs Bunny joke, but thank you. I shall note this in my journal!
nduhn on 15 Apr '13 said:
Out of interest what games would you classify as being some of the best games you have played?
Limski on 15 Apr '13 said:
It could be the best example of games as art. Art makes u feel something and the fact that those that love and hate the game feel the need to talk about it shows its greatness u may love it u may hate but u sure as hell will never forget it. I got recomended it by a friend tried it out n didn't really like it. Stupid Taurus demon. Then tried it again several months after and it finally got its claws into me. Now it's one if my favourite games. In years to come people will have forgot about about cod 7 or all the other mainstream annually sequeled game u care to mention but Im sure u all will still have some stir of emotion whenever people mention this game.
Ps. Loved reading the chain of pain. Did anyone get in the painting while u were reviewing it???
Jabraham on 15 Apr '13 said:
This game is hard, cheap, a story which is hard to decipher, tells you only the basic mechanics and has made me break quite a fair few of my surroundings and i have to say i love it. its a game which you get a great sense of achievement by beating that boss who killed you a good 20 times and i think that is a main selling point as well as the fear and suffering you get realizing you have a mere fraction of your health and have no estus flasks. By this point i think everyone knows whether they like or hate it but if you haven't decided yet you have to do it the amount of hours you get out of it is ridiculous considering there are maybe four sentences of dialogue for every person you meet.
PonderingWalrus on 16 Apr '13 said:
Fable The Journey was released ages ago.
Also, yeah, what Grummy said.
SidTheSloth on 16 Apr '13 said:
Great article guys & gals! I enjoyed playing through avoiding the wiki's as much as humanly (or hollow-ly if you prefer) possible, but there was always that reassuring feeling that should things get too tough that they were there in the background - can only imagine the fun getting through it without that!
I'm so grateful they patched the multiple curse too, would have been unbearable otherwise - not sure what sadistic git decided to give the most crippling attack to the most dopey looking creatures in the game!
Only bits i thought were really unfair were the AL archers and the aforementioned poison dart blowers in Blighttown - a frame rate that struggles with double figures, a maze of ladders and inst-death falls and bastard enemies with a ridiculously overpowered grab attack - eugh, easily my least favourite area of the game, and one i avoided entirely in subsequent playthroughs using the back entrance to the swamp!
Maverick_McCool on 17 Apr '13 said:
Woah there little fella , are you saying that if I don't like Dark Souls , I'm only fit to play simple casual games? Nice way to come accross as a arrogant prick with your first post dude. Well done.
For the record , I think Dark Souls is shit , hard or not there is little about it that I like. Does that make it a shit game? Of course it doesn't , it's just a difference of opinion. As has been said it's a pretty marmite game , but to belittle people who don't like it just makes sound like an asshat.
SilentDark on 18 Apr '13 said:
Just picked this up today....meh. The difficulty is punishing, some people might hate themselves enough to work through it (I haven't given up entirely myself) but it has gotten frustrating rather quickly, add to that the bland NPCs (why does everyone sound so bored?) the fact that combat tends to amount to hit and run tactics and I can see why some people just can't get into it. Some of my concerns with it is the integrated online features (invasions, really, and what if I don't want to suffer some git running in a ruining my game, turn my network connection off, sign out of my account? Surely stuff like this could have been made optional with a simple off and on command in the options) and well the clumsy combat, it does feel my charaqcter is some kind of OAP the way she swings her scimitar around. I can understand why heavy weapons might be slow but a sword should have a fairly smooth fight style that is more multi hit based.
And to all those clowns out there going "You only hate the game because you suck at it, why don't you go and play imagine babies or something hur hur hur." two words. Grow up. So you little masochists have found a game with which to prove your manliness, bravo, unfortunately a game being too difficult can be a problem akin to being too easy, you simply aren't satisfied. I loved Devil May Cry but Easy was far too much of a cake walk and normal was too ball bustingly hard, if only there was a happy medium that we who are not gaming gods can have a challenge that tests us without ripping off our scrotums and feasting on our testicles. Idealy Dark Souls 2 would go one of two ways 1) Pure single player with multiple difficulty levels this would allow the masochists to keep punishing themselves while allowing other players of lesser skill levels to enjoy the game without the frustration this one offered, if you must have multiplayer then some kind of matchmaking service to allow teams to explore dungeons at a level and difficulty scale that suits everyone with PvP arenas (invasion just seems like a silly idea IMHO) 2) Just go full force with multiplayer and make it an MMO, if done right could even be the console answer to WoW.
msbhvn on 18 Apr '13 said:
This article persuaded me to give Dark Souls another try, after I rage-quit twice.
I hesitate to say I'm loving it, but I'm starting to get the hang of it. The punishing difficulty does get a bit annoying at times, even the weakest of enemies can finish you off frighteningly quick. Funny you should mention Devil May Cry as I found it to be quite similar in difficulty and mentioned this on the forums. The first couple of areas are quite dismal, something From should fix in the upcoming sequel. I've been invaded a couple of times, one of which I won, but you can avoid this by staying "hollow". If your face looks all rotten, you're safe.
This game has attracted more than its share of dumbass elitists, and they're generally the ones who go around invading and griefing people. My biggest grievance against DS is the lack of pausing. There's absolutely no good reason for it, and it only serves to annoy.
SidTheSloth on 18 Apr '13 said:
Whilst i lament the fact you felt it necessary to defend your disdain for the game (so far), i certainly understand the reasoning, unfortunately any thread on the game tends to go hand in hand with more than its fair share of idiots whose goal in life is to seemingly prove the great Internet Theory correct...
I'm not now going to compile a list and tell you that you're wrong either - some people hate certain games, i'm fine with that (i'm one of the few in the world who really disliked Deus Ex:HR for example), but before you get so frustrated that you do give up, maybe i can invite you along to the Dark Souls thread? Feel free to tell me to bog off of course, but there's a couple of gents who've recently started, who're playing through now with few of us who've completed it trying to give a few pointers without ruining the experience. People there were struggling with some of the points you mention, and whilst retards will inevitably point out that 'you suck', the reality is that the game really does a piss poor job of explaining any of the systems within it - some like this, but for others who don't it's a colossal barrier to entry that ruins any sense of fun and ensures they give up before learning said systems and reaching/enjoying what is undoubtedly the superior, later parts of the game when the world really opens up.
I won't go into extensive detail here, but a quick example - the combat will never become as slick or as elegant as Devil May Cry, but it grows on you throughout the game, mainly because you learn how the combat systems work. Every weapon is aligned to a stat for example, and as you increase the related statistic you become more proficient with said weapons. Can't find the weapon video i was looking for, but this video for example shows the difference in pyro cast speed as you increase dexterity, subtle stuff like this is never explained but once you realise it's going on you can forgive and understand a little more why at the beginning your guy swings a sword like it weighs the same as a lorry. The invasions too are another thing the game does little to make you aware of, i won't lie and say they're never irritating, but they can only occur in places where you haven't fought the boss or a few select other locations - but again this can still be controlled by the in-game humanity, you default as non-human after you die which means you can't be invaded.
As i allude to above, you can take or leave any of this, i don't enjoy the game less if people dislike it, i've just found with a few of the games many blanks filled in a lot of people have gone on to enjoy the game far more than they thought they would after the initial 2-10 hours - familiarity with the games systems also goes on to dispel the other myth, which is that a lot of the game isn't quite as difficult as it likes to think it is, or as hard as a lot of the macho bumholes you reference would like to exaggerate. Like i say, if my incessant waffle hasn't put you off, do drop by the thread via the link above (or it's in gaming discussion) if you feel the need and there's quite a few helpful folks who'll point you in the right direction without giving the game away.
SilentDark on 18 Apr '13 said:
I'll certainly think about it Sid. I'm not ready to give up yet but still kinda mad at the game. I find leaving it a few days and coming back and I sometimes mysteriously get better at a game. This makes no logical sense but it tends to work for me.
You pointed me to a youtube video in your post and for me that is one of the problems in this game, as you pointed out it's not very good at explaining itself but a game shouldn't require basically a helpdesk of other players telling the newbies how to get things done in this game, after giving me the basic controls in the tutorial level that is kinda it, just left to my own devices. This might work in other games with very simple combat mechanics that don't really need further elaboration or is this some cynical ploy to shift strategy guides.
Another problem I have with this game, griefing, the game is rife with it, from people deliberately leaving false information or misleading clues to the invasion mechanic, which I see as institutionalised griefing, newbies can be put off. Although I might get round to finishing this game it's already put me off DS 2, especially if we're just going to see more of the same really.
There is nothing wrong with enjoying the game but even discounting the difficulty the story isn't...well it's just not engaging, none of the NPCs I have encountered are remotely entertaining (the terrible VO certainly doesn't help things) and there doesn't seem to be any direction to it. Skyrim was an open world RPG but at least if you wanted to follow the plot it was very clear where you had to go and what you had to do. I'm just told there are two bells and that if I ring them both something will happen. How vague can you get, just something will happen, no rumours, no legends the dialogue mights as well have been "Use plot device A and plot device B to advance the story." Everthing seems so bland. If From Software would like to compete with the likes of Bioware, Bethesda, heck even Square Enix they seriously need to make a better effort because this seems thus far anyway to be a middle of the road RPG at best.
Thanks for the advice Sid, nice to see not all of the fans are elitist snobs who think playing a game at max difficulty while juggling chainsaws constitues true manliness. These people should probably play the game blindfolded with both hands behind their backs while Justin Bieber's music is being blasted at full volume (on loop), while simultaneously having hot pokers shove up their jacksie.
SidTheSloth on 18 Apr '13 said:
No probs, happy to help - almost feel compelled to in order to drown out the idiots...! Not sure about the Bieber stuff though, as annoying as they are i'm not sure anyone deserves that? Except Rodent maybe, i hear he's a fan?
The story & NPC's remain suitably vague throughout, but you do get more details as you go on and it's certainly thought provoking (and goes some way to explaining the 'dour' attitude of the NPC's). The narrative is nowhere near a Mass Effect/Bioshock etc, but i still found it suitably satisfying in a different sort of way. The biggest problem, and you allude to this & it's also kind of what i meant by the barrier, is that until you've rung both of those bloody bells you get pretty much sod all in the way of anything interesting, it just sews lots of seeds that manifest later...
I'll leave it there so we don't go into full game details etc. but pleased that for now you're persevering, at least then if you decide it's not for you no-one can say you didn't give it a fair crack!
Metalrodent on 18 Apr '13 said:
That was uncalled for
SidTheSloth on 18 Apr '13 said:
You know i'm teasing... Although i'm sure i did read in another thread that you were a fan - somebody else had said it so i assumed it was cobblers, but hey, it'd be funnier if it was true so i went with that...
Metalrodent on 18 Apr '13 said:
I wouldn't dream of owning any Bieber, he infuriates me (even more so after the 'Anne Frank would have been a belieber' thing).
I do however own some Rebecca Black, it's sandwiched between some 90's post grunge and djent (a modern metal subgenre)
SidTheSloth on 19 Apr '13 said:
I know Ricky Gervais is also divisive (he's successful so that usually requires that people in the UK hate said person), but i like him - his response to the whole Bieber/Anne Frank thing was class and pretty spot on with the assessment that "He's a prat, but not evil".
Who knows, maybe From Software will release a Bieber-boss DLC to troll the crap out of us. I'm not sure i could take being battered by a digitised Bieber only for him to then teabag my dead dude whilst 'singing' one of his songs (can't bring myself to google one, especially this 'early' in the morning!)
PonderingWalrus on 19 Apr '13 said:
Oh dear god no!
SilentDark on 19 Apr '13 said:
It would certainly motivate me to get back into the game, although I've already had my ass handed to me by Lance Bass so I doubt I could live with the humiliation of a loss to Bieber.