Dude I loved the video, I expected this to have so many more views man. Good stuff really, this hit all the points I try to hit when bringing up the games narratives and feelings.
Blight Town is my favorite area. The reason being is that I struggled and got stuck in Blight Town over and over and over, the by the time I conquered it, I had it memorized and have found it easy ever since my second playthrough, as much as I get terrified grabbing every item every time I go through here with some of the walkways being so easily slipped from, it's the area I look forward to the most in every playthrough
Most of you early asylum questions can be answered with the second bit of opening narration "Yes, indeed. The Darksign brands the Undead. And in this land, the Undead are corralled and led to the north, where they are locked away, to await the end of the world... This is your fate."
Aww nooo you made some good points and then shot down my favorite game in the series. People are too hard on 2, for reasons that could be applied to both other Dark Souls games.
This is a rather frustrating opinion piece cuz on the one hand, it sounds like you share in what most others refer to Dark Souls as a symbolic analogy in their own changing perspective of their own personal struggles. But on the other hand, the parts where this generally should connect are the parts where you express most opposition for that. Blightown and Quelaag's domain specifically. By your very own metric of how you express the church arena to have meaning, the way you don't apply the same to Blightown is troublesome. In the grander sense of everything having meaning, Blightown is supposed to be the dark, uncertain threshold of pressure and oppression before a seeming sense of salvation in what's symbolically closest to the idea of Hell itself, Quelaag's domain and beyond. Blightown is a test of that very willpower you spoke of, in the face of an environment that punishes you for just being there. If the HP bar is how many times you can make a mistake without having to start over, the idea of poison is the pressure of knowing the longer you don't move forward and don't react, don't try, don't fight, the less safety of having thay 2nd or 3rd chance to correct your mistakes are given. Its the literal thesis of how you described the church arena as it builds up to it's boss, except it's taken up in scale. And unlike the church, it rewards you with some of the best rewards the game design gives you, from one of the most powerful pyromancies to even having a bon fire right before the boss arena. By the account of the way you describe the learning path of one's track to the gargoyles, the fact Blightown is something you don't apply the same to is just so very odd. And per Quelaag's, aside from the obvious long running gooner bit about her design, everything after her is so contrary to the rest of the game. From the absurd number of non-respawning Taurus demons all planted together the way they are to the simplicity of its layout with a few capra demons lying in wait, this area is pretty obviously part of what was never realized when cruch took it's toll on the game as a whole. So much of this area feels like it never got to be finished and assets that were meant to be part of something grander instead had to rushed in their placement or be overlooked as there wasn't a fleshed out world to place them. The whole area is contrary to the symbolism of most of the rest of the story. And just a few other things of note. The way firelink becomes a central hub that most areas have a way back to, found as one explores, was a completely novel experience when the game came out. Especially the way Blightown was also one of those "No way! Awesome!!" moments when you experienced its connection to the rest of the world map was hands down the biggest sign of relief thay made the whole experience as novel as it was. Games since have done their own version of this type of pseudo-metroidvania like world design, making Dark Souls' far from the best by comparison. The only thing it was best at was being hyped as the first, but again that's something that came with experiencing it back then. A lot of video essays still bring it up, especially those who had that as their first real engagement with such a system and it's less the design and more the nostalgic moment that fuels the hype that still lives on. But as such, it really makes everyone else who talks about it feel off as they're expressing a sense of a hype they didn't get to experience, specifically anyone who's video game history didn't include DS1 being their first time. And it makes that aspect come off more like a, "its cool cuz others say it's cool" type expression from younger video essayists who do their own interpretation of this. I'm not saying it's wrong or you're wrong, but I am saying that as a whole, that quality of the game really shouldn't be one of the pillars used to explain why it's such a great game outside of ones own personal experience with it, since the hype is effectively fueled by the collective nostalgia of those who were surprised by it during the time when such wasn't common. At it's core, its really always been a personal type experience so it only justifies itself by being a personal type expression unless talking about the nostalgia as a whole. Dunno. I'm not finished with the video at this point of writing but the way you talked about Blightown really struck me as wondering if everything else you said was truly your own or if it was more or less a reflection of what others say, with Blightown being perhaps the only real personal expression you added to this. And again, this is by the metric of how everything else was defined yet leaving the conclusion of that definition as something you admittedly avoid, which is contrary to everything else said. Don't get me wrong, there is no right or wrong way to enjoy something and speak about that enjoyment. But there is potential disconnect between what one says should apply yet doesn't apply. I guess this is more or less an extremely long winded way of saying, as one who fights hollowing every day toanother, give Blightown another chance but come to it the same way you learned to experience the church area and see if it doesn't begin to take on new meaning. Anywho, stay spiffy and keep at it. You got another sub from this. Cheers mate.
@@ABurntMuffinme too I just completed the souls trilogy with a cousin of mine since we’ve beaten the games on our own a handful of times and I actually really appreciate the hell of DS2. It’s def my third favorite of the games but I feel a lot of people feel that way
Hey! Question, how old are you? I feel the need to say that this isn't an insult; asking someone "how old are you?" come of to me as a common insult, so I feel I should clarify, that this question comes from someone who is fairly young, and is debating creating a few video essays. Also great video.
my own headcanon is somewhat of a christian reading of the game - its purgatory or maybe just hell taunting you with the idea that you might redeem yourself. Everyone is fighting to keep their soul or something. Maybe their penance or punishment is to be cursed to live and die over and over again. It would lend some reason to why its such an ageless kitbash of eras and locations between equipment, art, and architecture. The constant drumbeat of sin and repentance too would make more sense in this way.
What's with all the Elden Ring callbacks? I'd say an essay about Dark Souls should be able to go without bringing up other games in the series every 2 minutes.
@@bacon6364 It's like they're all part of the same series or genre or made by the same dev and have a bunch of shit in common or something wow who knew
@@evan12697 You and me have a bunch in common too, we are humans and generally are almost identical. Yet I could perfectly define myself without ever comparing myself to another person. That is what it means to stand on your own. Dark Souls stands on its own just fine, a comparison to its peers is valid but for an "essay" maybe we should establish a baseline first.
@bacon6364 it's an overarching philosophical idea for a series of games where the theme is death or soul-death and resurrection and whether there's any point to it or not
Even 2025 I get recommended excellent Dark Souls retrospective and lore analysis. Keep it up. Subscribed.
Dude I loved the video, I expected this to have so many more views man. Good stuff really, this hit all the points I try to hit when bringing up the games narratives and feelings.
Blight Town is my favorite area. The reason being is that I struggled and got stuck in Blight Town over and over and over, the by the time I conquered it, I had it memorized and have found it easy ever since my second playthrough, as much as I get terrified grabbing every item every time I go through here with some of the walkways being so easily slipped from, it's the area I look forward to the most in every playthrough
Holy shit, dope vid! Could you do an essay for peak souls 2 perchance? Keep it up man!
Most of you early asylum questions can be answered with the second bit of opening narration "Yes, indeed. The Darksign brands the Undead. And in this land, the Undead are corralled and led to the north, where they are locked away, to await the end of the world... This is your fate."
This is amazing
Aww nooo you made some good points and then shot down my favorite game in the series.
People are too hard on 2, for reasons that could be applied to both other Dark Souls games.
I love dark souls 2. I hate the community for being so hard on it.
@@THEPRCL, it's such a twisted jewel in a series of solid gold
This is a rather frustrating opinion piece cuz on the one hand, it sounds like you share in what most others refer to Dark Souls as a symbolic analogy in their own changing perspective of their own personal struggles. But on the other hand, the parts where this generally should connect are the parts where you express most opposition for that. Blightown and Quelaag's domain specifically.
By your very own metric of how you express the church arena to have meaning, the way you don't apply the same to Blightown is troublesome. In the grander sense of everything having meaning, Blightown is supposed to be the dark, uncertain threshold of pressure and oppression before a seeming sense of salvation in what's symbolically closest to the idea of Hell itself, Quelaag's domain and beyond. Blightown is a test of that very willpower you spoke of, in the face of an environment that punishes you for just being there. If the HP bar is how many times you can make a mistake without having to start over, the idea of poison is the pressure of knowing the longer you don't move forward and don't react, don't try, don't fight, the less safety of having thay 2nd or 3rd chance to correct your mistakes are given. Its the literal thesis of how you described the church arena as it builds up to it's boss, except it's taken up in scale. And unlike the church, it rewards you with some of the best rewards the game design gives you, from one of the most powerful pyromancies to even having a bon fire right before the boss arena. By the account of the way you describe the learning path of one's track to the gargoyles, the fact Blightown is something you don't apply the same to is just so very odd.
And per Quelaag's, aside from the obvious long running gooner bit about her design, everything after her is so contrary to the rest of the game. From the absurd number of non-respawning Taurus demons all planted together the way they are to the simplicity of its layout with a few capra demons lying in wait, this area is pretty obviously part of what was never realized when cruch took it's toll on the game as a whole. So much of this area feels like it never got to be finished and assets that were meant to be part of something grander instead had to rushed in their placement or be overlooked as there wasn't a fleshed out world to place them. The whole area is contrary to the symbolism of most of the rest of the story.
And just a few other things of note. The way firelink becomes a central hub that most areas have a way back to, found as one explores, was a completely novel experience when the game came out. Especially the way Blightown was also one of those "No way! Awesome!!" moments when you experienced its connection to the rest of the world map was hands down the biggest sign of relief thay made the whole experience as novel as it was. Games since have done their own version of this type of pseudo-metroidvania like world design, making Dark Souls' far from the best by comparison. The only thing it was best at was being hyped as the first, but again that's something that came with experiencing it back then. A lot of video essays still bring it up, especially those who had that as their first real engagement with such a system and it's less the design and more the nostalgic moment that fuels the hype that still lives on. But as such, it really makes everyone else who talks about it feel off as they're expressing a sense of a hype they didn't get to experience, specifically anyone who's video game history didn't include DS1 being their first time. And it makes that aspect come off more like a, "its cool cuz others say it's cool" type expression from younger video essayists who do their own interpretation of this. I'm not saying it's wrong or you're wrong, but I am saying that as a whole, that quality of the game really shouldn't be one of the pillars used to explain why it's such a great game outside of ones own personal experience with it, since the hype is effectively fueled by the collective nostalgia of those who were surprised by it during the time when such wasn't common. At it's core, its really always been a personal type experience so it only justifies itself by being a personal type expression unless talking about the nostalgia as a whole.
Dunno. I'm not finished with the video at this point of writing but the way you talked about Blightown really struck me as wondering if everything else you said was truly your own or if it was more or less a reflection of what others say, with Blightown being perhaps the only real personal expression you added to this. And again, this is by the metric of how everything else was defined yet leaving the conclusion of that definition as something you admittedly avoid, which is contrary to everything else said. Don't get me wrong, there is no right or wrong way to enjoy something and speak about that enjoyment. But there is potential disconnect between what one says should apply yet doesn't apply.
I guess this is more or less an extremely long winded way of saying, as one who fights hollowing every day toanother, give Blightown another chance but come to it the same way you learned to experience the church area and see if it doesn't begin to take on new meaning.
Anywho, stay spiffy and keep at it. You got another sub from this. Cheers mate.
🎉
Thank you
18:55 hahaha the objectively best dark souls game (ds2) claims another soul, git gud
Read the comments. I was talking about the community being bad towards the game, not the game itself.
in spite maybe that should have had more context.
@@THEPRCL I'm also just ball busting, I totally get why people gripe with ds2's jank factor
@@ABurntMuffinme too
I just completed the souls trilogy with a cousin of mine since we’ve beaten the games on our own a handful of times and I actually really appreciate the hell of DS2. It’s def my third favorite of the games but I feel a lot of people feel that way
Hey! Question, how old are you? I feel the need to say that this isn't an insult; asking someone "how old are you?" come of to me as a common insult, so I feel I should clarify, that this question comes from someone who is fairly young, and is debating creating a few video essays. Also great video.
my own headcanon is somewhat of a christian reading of the game - its purgatory or maybe just hell taunting you with the idea that you might redeem yourself. Everyone is fighting to keep their soul or something. Maybe their penance or punishment is to be cursed to live and die over and over again. It would lend some reason to why its such an ageless kitbash of eras and locations between equipment, art, and architecture. The constant drumbeat of sin and repentance too would make more sense in this way.
What's with all the Elden Ring callbacks? I'd say an essay about Dark Souls should be able to go without bringing up other games in the series every 2 minutes.
@@bacon6364 It's like they're all part of the same series or genre or made by the same dev and have a bunch of shit in common or something wow who knew
@@evan12697 You and me have a bunch in common too, we are humans and generally are almost identical. Yet I could perfectly define myself without ever comparing myself to another person. That is what it means to stand on your own. Dark Souls stands on its own just fine, a comparison to its peers is valid but for an "essay" maybe we should establish a baseline first.
@bacon6364 it's an overarching philosophical idea for a series of games where the theme is death or soul-death and resurrection and whether there's any point to it or not
@@bacon6364you’re retarded