Never fight fair. -- Kairos One of my favorite things about this entire genre is the flexibility of toolsets they provide every player. The path to success isn't a straight line, and it doesn't have to be what the dogma of someone else claims it is. For me, with such hostile and unforgiving worlds, I find the best and most sincere way to Respect the devs' creation is to take them deadly seriously, and push back on them as harshly and cruelly as they'll press upon me. I love that about this genre, and I believe it's an under-represented and underexpressed way to play and enjoy these games.
Meanwhile people were still arguing that there's a wrong way to play these games, even at ER's release. Including big Souls games playing RUclipsrs, you'd be surprised (if you weren't aware of such debates already).
I am absolutely aware, in fact I even have a video that sparked my entire drive to play games this way and show people this underused playstyle/mindset. ruclips.net/video/I8assLZ-AtE/видео.html They are roleplaying games, and they contain the items and tools needed to roleplay specific archetypes. Roleplaying a rogue is no more or less legitimate than roleplaying a knight or sorcerer.
@@LeoKRogue Oh I forgot about that video. A damn shame it didn't reach as many people as it should have. Maybe consider a community post with that linked(when these discussions crop up again)? Since the principle applies so universally.
Yeah, Bluepoint really did pop off with the presentation in this game. I actually think the sound design as well, is unbelievably good. Demon's Souls PS5 has some of my favorite sound design in any game I've ever played. This game really grabbed me, I went on an absolute _tear_ playing Dark Souls 1, Dark Souls III, Lies of P, Thymesia, Sekiro, Stranger of Paradise and Nioh 1 after finishing this on PS5, all one after the other. I devoured as much of this genre as I had the money and time for. And I'm still hungry for more. It wouldn't even be arrogance to say I love Soulslikes more than most people in the world right now and the more I play them the more I love them.
“ All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.” Sun Tzu
You have sparked interest in me to play the souls-like. Before I started seeing your channel, I thought that the souls genre was just about hitting some big hulk and then rolling away before hitting them again, rinse and repeat. However, after seeing your videos I have discovered that souls-likes can be expressive, that I don't have to be a fighting god (because, truth be told, I've never been, that is why I prefer playing as a rogue or a wizard). My elder brother is tougher with boss fights. He once fought the Dahaka on hard mode, hitting and rolling for two hours. I tried doing the same and failed. I had to search for a little trick, which is the Teddy Bear Easter Egg, a weapon that regenerates your health upon successfully landing a hit and with Tricky Teddy I could finally beat the Dahaka on Hard Mode.... Good old memories....🙂😁😄
Then you definitely have the mindsets to succeed in these games. ^_^ You're willing to understand and reach for pathways to power, that's what matters.
Main reason I do these kinds of comments is because they seriously boost the frequency at which your videos appear in my recommended feed. And since I truly enjoy watching them, that's a win for me!
I love the Souls games, I play all of them, but Demon's Souls is the only one I've only finished once; I remember getting really frustrated, the boss runs are painful. Your video inspired me to give it another shot.
Awesome. I love Demon's Souls because it has the most creative bosses in the entire FROMSOFTWARE catalogue. There's almost no boss in this game that's just "dodge/parry it and hit it until it dies," all of them ask you to use YOUR build and YOUR character in a creative way to overcome them. Each one feels like an event, like something you would actually see in a fantasy story that the protagonist has to defeat with cleverness. They pushed me into trying out weapons, spells or items I might have otherwise ignored, and I think it's really neat when a Soulslike manages to achieve that. I actually feel that way about its areas too, every zone feels very distinct and unique, has its own challenges and its own resources it's associated with. The runups to bosses are true tests of endurance against the attrition they try to wear us down with, so the survival horror-adjacent vibes really hit hard there. You want to make as few mistakes as you can and go in with as much advantage as you can accrue.
@@LeoKRogue yeah, I love how smart and patient you play. So many str/dex builds just smashing their way through everything. Unique content is a good thing to be proud of
You think so? That's great, because that's my exact goal whenever I play these games. I want to showcase a different mindset, a different philosophy, a different way to both enjoy _and_ beat them, both to veterans who maybe discount these playstyles or don't realize the potential fun in them, or newcomers who hesitate to reach for power because they worry about how "legitimate" it would make their playthrough. I think as long as you're not hacking or cheating, anything in the game was put there for a reason. People forget about the genre but Soulslikes _are_ Role Playing Games, so if you want to RP a knight, warrior or mage, you can, but by the same measure, you can absolutely RP a rogue too.
@@LeoKRogue yeah I agree with you on the RPGs thing 100%. People like meta too much imo, fun is important too. And I really do think your content is unique. I have 1000+ hours in DS3 and over 500 in elden ring, so a lot of souls like content finds me. Still, beating any souls game, especially one of the older ones in stealth is QUITE the rarity. I already like your assassin's creed content as well so I'm locked in man 🤣
@@LeoKRogue btw have you tried shortbows in elden ring? They're very interesting. You can do jump shots, running shots, dodge shots etc. I just started a ranger playthrough its been a blast so far.
My first run through I used the poison mist spell (there’s two, forgot which) on Old King Allant while still out of range of triggering his aggro. Probably the only Fromsoft boss I’ve ever stealth killed. Love your approach!
Yeah, I've seen a lot of players use that to kill him. It's an interesting irony that the way I fought him was actually straight-up, knife and dodge, when the rest of my playthrough was the opposite.
This was amazing and i wish you'd make more videos on from games. Aside from Fromsoft, 2 big games i would love to see you play are 1. Dragons Dogma 2, you would love the thief vocation. 2. Baldurs Gate 3, i feel Astarion is your spirit animal. Im currently playing Horizon Forbidden West on pc. It runs amazing and its so much fun exploring the world and hunting giant robot dinosours
I wish I would make more videos on FROM games, too. :P I do plan to play Dragon's Dogma 2, I really love the series and respect how unique what it does in gaming is. I've seen a fair bit of Thief gameplay in DD2 and already enjoy its mechanics. Baldur's Gate 3 is a big commitment, I'll probably play it some day, not sure if I would make videos on it though.
@@LeoKRogue yea, BG3 is big, i just recently finished it, 150hours and id bet 50 of those are on the massive act 3 of the game. A big part of it is actually learning the mechanics and exploring the world blindly. Subsequent playtroughs tend to be much faster. As for BG3 vids, maybe doing some of the act 1 fights would make a good one, like the goblin camp. Its a great place to show off your creativity and is probably the best encounter in act1
Hey Leo! I recall you mentioned in a collab some weeks back that you were thinking about doing a sort of "beginners guide" to the souls genre, much like you did for classic AC movement and especially Unity. Is that still in the cards? I've tried to start Demon's Souls at least 3 times now, but just can't seem to get into it. I'd love to hear your perspective on how to avoid some easy beginner mistakes and better take advantage of gameplay systems I'm not terribly familiar with. Much love as always!
That is absolutely still in the cards, I've been poking at Soulslikes as a subgenre bit by bit to see how people respond, and to build up the comfort I'd need to tackle that, but it's still something I want to do. Same thing with Survival Horror -- a lot of mechanical parallels and overlaps in these two genres. It would probably start as a kind of "sequel" to this video ruclips.net/video/I8assLZ-AtE/видео.html
What was your favourite rogue you made in an rpg? Mine was in Kingdoms of Amalur. Dark elf, rogue sorcerer, using chakrams for weapons. KoA is such an amazing game, love it so much. Also, whenever a game has magic as one of the choices, i always must go with it, usually resulting in arcane assassin (thats because of Dishonored) or a mystic/eldritch knignt or some type of warlock
This genre has always interested me. I just always get discouraged with the nonsensical plot line, and where and what to go what do I even do etc. stealth has always been my forte. So I’m very interested to see what kind of play styles you show with these games
I was the same way for many years, until I played Bloodborne and it kind of unlocked this type of game for me. I've been charmed to discover that not every Soulslike is actually indirect with plot in that way. Demon's Souls, Sekiro and Lies of P all have a simple and straightforward story. There's extra lore hidden in their depths that you can dig for and discover but the actual core of their plots is really direct and understandable, which I know a lot of players appreciate. On the note of knowing where to go and what to do, most of the games have only one or two real paths you can even go down at all, so as long as you keep moving forward, ticking checkpoints and killing bosses, you'll usually be okay.
Demon's Souls is actually my favorite FROMSOFTWARE game. There's nothing else like it, and a lot of really good ideas were lost when they transitioned to their later games.
I really love Dark Souls III. My opinion on it is a little odd but it has my favorite story FROMSOFTWARE have ever made. I find all the beauty and despair of the Dark Souls universe is at its strongest in DS3, and the ending I chose there is my favorite ending from any FROM game. Letting the Firekeeper extinguish the First Flame and wandering the endless dark with her by my side.
I have. They're both great games, I do wish Bluepoint had included a way to quickswap back to the original visuals and sounds though, since the actual game logic underneath is all the same but a lot of the OG atmosphere does hit different.
My PC is pretty good so I actually just played it through RPCS3. But, funny backstory, DeS was also the first FROM game I ever played, and I got it on PS3 the month it released in the west. I never finished it back then, I didn't have the mindset for Soulslikes until Bloodborne years later. Demon's Souls is now my favorite FROM game though.
![Leo K [Rogue]](http://yt3.ggpht.com/ytc/AIdro_lU2XPRnoiDY_KR9FankuYDSJC2utR6y9iK6BreeHJD_PA=s48-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj)
Never fight fair.
-- Kairos
One of my favorite things about this entire genre is the flexibility of toolsets they provide every player. The path to success isn't a straight line, and it doesn't have to be what the dogma of someone else claims it is. For me, with such hostile and unforgiving worlds, I find the best and most sincere way to Respect the devs' creation is to take them deadly seriously, and push back on them as harshly and cruelly as they'll press upon me. I love that about this genre, and I believe it's an under-represented and underexpressed way to play and enjoy these games.
Meanwhile people were still arguing that there's a wrong way to play these games, even at ER's release. Including big Souls games playing RUclipsrs, you'd be surprised (if you weren't aware of such debates already).
I am absolutely aware, in fact I even have a video that sparked my entire drive to play games this way and show people this underused playstyle/mindset.
ruclips.net/video/I8assLZ-AtE/видео.html
They are roleplaying games, and they contain the items and tools needed to roleplay specific archetypes. Roleplaying a rogue is no more or less legitimate than roleplaying a knight or sorcerer.
@@LeoKRogue Oh I forgot about that video. A damn shame it didn't reach as many people as it should have. Maybe consider a community post with that linked(when these discussions crop up again)? Since the principle applies so universally.
Me: coming in expecting deep insight.
Leo K: starts off the video with cheek slicing jiggle physics.
I died laughing.
it's important
I love how expressive they made backstabs in the remake, probably makes this gameplay fantasy very satisfying to play. Very neat video
Yeah, Bluepoint really did pop off with the presentation in this game. I actually think the sound design as well, is unbelievably good. Demon's Souls PS5 has some of my favorite sound design in any game I've ever played. This game really grabbed me, I went on an absolute _tear_ playing Dark Souls 1, Dark Souls III, Lies of P, Thymesia, Sekiro, Stranger of Paradise and Nioh 1 after finishing this on PS5, all one after the other. I devoured as much of this genre as I had the money and time for. And I'm still hungry for more. It wouldn't even be arrogance to say I love Soulslikes more than most people in the world right now and the more I play them the more I love them.
@@LeoKRogue Think you're really going to love Wo Long then
“ All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.” Sun Tzu
Sun Tzu my homieeee
They did not have to include a bakery for Vanguard Demon but they did.
slappa-da-booty and seeing it jiggle is how you know you're dealing REAL damage
I would love to watch more of these videos but with narrations from you, gotta hear that succulent Leo K voice
I'd like to do that, yeah.
The silent rogue at it again
awesome stuff
Okay now I need a LeoK bloodborne playthrough ASAP! Lovee your vids man
Its true
You have sparked interest in me to play the souls-like. Before I started seeing your channel, I thought that the souls genre was just about hitting some big hulk and then rolling away before hitting them again, rinse and repeat. However, after seeing your videos I have discovered that souls-likes can be expressive, that I don't have to be a fighting god (because, truth be told, I've never been, that is why I prefer playing as a rogue or a wizard).
My elder brother is tougher with boss fights. He once fought the Dahaka on hard mode, hitting and rolling for two hours. I tried doing the same and failed. I had to search for a little trick, which is the Teddy Bear Easter Egg, a weapon that regenerates your health upon successfully landing a hit and with Tricky Teddy I could finally beat the Dahaka on Hard Mode.... Good old memories....🙂😁😄
Then you definitely have the mindsets to succeed in these games. ^_^
You're willing to understand and reach for pathways to power, that's what matters.
I love ALL Leo K [Rogue] videos!!!! ❤
wicked
I am
Main reason I do these kinds of comments is because they seriously boost the frequency at which your videos appear in my recommended feed.
And since I truly enjoy watching them, that's a win for me!
That's actually really cool, hadn't thought about that, but if it helps, then sick!
I love the Souls games, I play all of them, but Demon's Souls is the only one I've only finished once; I remember getting really frustrated, the boss runs are painful. Your video inspired me to give it another shot.
Awesome. I love Demon's Souls because it has the most creative bosses in the entire FROMSOFTWARE catalogue. There's almost no boss in this game that's just "dodge/parry it and hit it until it dies," all of them ask you to use YOUR build and YOUR character in a creative way to overcome them.
Each one feels like an event, like something you would actually see in a fantasy story that the protagonist has to defeat with cleverness. They pushed me into trying out weapons, spells or items I might have otherwise ignored, and I think it's really neat when a Soulslike manages to achieve that.
I actually feel that way about its areas too, every zone feels very distinct and unique, has its own challenges and its own resources it's associated with. The runups to bosses are true tests of endurance against the attrition they try to wear us down with, so the survival horror-adjacent vibes really hit hard there. You want to make as few mistakes as you can and go in with as much advantage as you can accrue.
Oh hell yeah, great gameplay man. Looking forward to hopefully more soulslike content 👀
Thanks! It's a genre I truly have a lot of passion for, just have to find out what I can do that would be interesting to present.
@@LeoKRogue yeah, I love how smart and patient you play. So many str/dex builds just smashing their way through everything. Unique content is a good thing to be proud of
You think so? That's great, because that's my exact goal whenever I play these games.
I want to showcase a different mindset, a different philosophy, a different way to both enjoy _and_ beat them, both to veterans who maybe discount these playstyles or don't realize the potential fun in them, or newcomers who hesitate to reach for power because they worry about how "legitimate" it would make their playthrough.
I think as long as you're not hacking or cheating, anything in the game was put there for a reason. People forget about the genre but Soulslikes _are_ Role Playing Games, so if you want to RP a knight, warrior or mage, you can, but by the same measure, you can absolutely RP a rogue too.
@@LeoKRogue yeah I agree with you on the RPGs thing 100%. People like meta too much imo, fun is important too. And I really do think your content is unique. I have 1000+ hours in DS3 and over 500 in elden ring, so a lot of souls like content finds me. Still, beating any souls game, especially one of the older ones in stealth is QUITE the rarity. I already like your assassin's creed content as well so I'm locked in man 🤣
@@LeoKRogue btw have you tried shortbows in elden ring? They're very interesting. You can do jump shots, running shots, dodge shots etc. I just started a ranger playthrough its been a blast so far.
My first run through I used the poison mist spell (there’s two, forgot which) on Old King Allant while still out of range of triggering his aggro. Probably the only Fromsoft boss I’ve ever stealth killed. Love your approach!
Yeah, I've seen a lot of players use that to kill him. It's an interesting irony that the way I fought him was actually straight-up, knife and dodge, when the rest of my playthrough was the opposite.
Would want to see more rogue philosphy on the other souls games
,nice
Thanks.
This was amazing and i wish you'd make more videos on from games.
Aside from Fromsoft, 2 big games i would love to see you play are
1. Dragons Dogma 2, you would love the thief vocation.
2. Baldurs Gate 3, i feel Astarion is your spirit animal.
Im currently playing Horizon Forbidden West on pc. It runs amazing and its so much fun exploring the world and hunting giant robot dinosours
I wish I would make more videos on FROM games, too. :P
I do plan to play Dragon's Dogma 2, I really love the series and respect how unique what it does in gaming is. I've seen a fair bit of Thief gameplay in DD2 and already enjoy its mechanics.
Baldur's Gate 3 is a big commitment, I'll probably play it some day, not sure if I would make videos on it though.
@@LeoKRogue yea, BG3 is big, i just recently finished it, 150hours and id bet 50 of those are on the massive act 3 of the game. A big part of it is actually learning the mechanics and exploring the world blindly. Subsequent playtroughs tend to be much faster.
As for BG3 vids, maybe doing some of the act 1 fights would make a good one, like the goblin camp. Its a great place to show off your creativity and is probably the best encounter in act1
Cool showcase as always Leo. What is this Rogue Philosophica you quoted? Only result when I google it is this video haha
That's because I wrote it.
@@LeoKRogue nice, its very poetic
Hey Leo! I recall you mentioned in a collab some weeks back that you were thinking about doing a sort of "beginners guide" to the souls genre, much like you did for classic AC movement and especially Unity. Is that still in the cards? I've tried to start Demon's Souls at least 3 times now, but just can't seem to get into it. I'd love to hear your perspective on how to avoid some easy beginner mistakes and better take advantage of gameplay systems I'm not terribly familiar with.
Much love as always!
That is absolutely still in the cards, I've been poking at Soulslikes as a subgenre bit by bit to see how people respond, and to build up the comfort I'd need to tackle that, but it's still something I want to do. Same thing with Survival Horror -- a lot of mechanical parallels and overlaps in these two genres.
It would probably start as a kind of "sequel" to this video
ruclips.net/video/I8assLZ-AtE/видео.html
What was your favourite rogue you made in an rpg? Mine was in Kingdoms of Amalur. Dark elf, rogue sorcerer, using chakrams for weapons. KoA is such an amazing game, love it so much. Also, whenever a game has magic as one of the choices, i always must go with it, usually resulting in arcane assassin (thats because of Dishonored) or a mystic/eldritch knignt or some type of warlock
That I _personally made?_
Either this Demon's Souls character, or my Destiny 2 Hunter. I also really loved Kingdoms of Amalur. Underrated game.
@@LeoKRogue yes, otherwise the answer would be Altair lol
Yup xD
Fav philosopher ?
Me.
@@LeoKRogue sounds about right
@@LeoKRogue have you heard of simone weil
This genre has always interested me. I just always get discouraged with the nonsensical plot line, and where and what to go what do I even do etc. stealth has always been my forte. So I’m very interested to see what kind of play styles you show with these games
I was the same way for many years, until I played Bloodborne and it kind of unlocked this type of game for me.
I've been charmed to discover that not every Soulslike is actually indirect with plot in that way. Demon's Souls, Sekiro and Lies of P all have a simple and straightforward story. There's extra lore hidden in their depths that you can dig for and discover but the actual core of their plots is really direct and understandable, which I know a lot of players appreciate.
On the note of knowing where to go and what to do, most of the games have only one or two real paths you can even go down at all, so as long as you keep moving forward, ticking checkpoints and killing bosses, you'll usually be okay.
@@LeoKRogue fuck it after I finish rise of ronin I’ll see if I can buy sekiro. That game has been calling to me the most
Sekiro is amazing and Rise of the Ronin will get you in the vibe for sure, especially with parry chains. I highly recommend it.
I did enjoy this game more than DS2 so it's definitely not the worst of the franchise
Demon's Souls is actually my favorite FROMSOFTWARE game. There's nothing else like it, and a lot of really good ideas were lost when they transitioned to their later games.
@@LeoKRogue oh yeah it's definitely a good game but I'm a fan of the faster titles like DS3
I really love Dark Souls III. My opinion on it is a little odd but it has my favorite story FROMSOFTWARE have ever made. I find all the beauty and despair of the Dark Souls universe is at its strongest in DS3, and the ending I chose there is my favorite ending from any FROM game.
Letting the Firekeeper extinguish the First Flame and wandering the endless dark with her by my side.
Please just play the original leo
I have. They're both great games, I do wish Bluepoint had included a way to quickswap back to the original visuals and sounds though, since the actual game logic underneath is all the same but a lot of the OG atmosphere does hit different.
You need to buy a ps3 just to play this game.
My PC is pretty good so I actually just played it through RPCS3. But, funny backstory, DeS was also the first FROM game I ever played, and I got it on PS3 the month it released in the west. I never finished it back then, I didn't have the mindset for Soulslikes until Bloodborne years later. Demon's Souls is now my favorite FROM game though.