My first game in the series was Dark Souls 2, i deleted, sold and reinstalled it more times than I'd like to admit. But it eventually clicked and I fell in love with the series.
Glad I'm not the only one. Ds2 was also my first game(at the time ds3 wasn't released yet) and I must have quit and started a new character at least 10 times. I would get to no-mans wharf, get frustrated, then quit just to start over again. I finally ended up beating it several years later after beating the other souls games/elden ring.
Hearing that DS1 was so cryptic is what made me want to play it. I like the idea of not being told a single thing about how to get around the world. Or how the mechanics work. It all feels so esoteric and mysterious.
I'm pretty old. I played Prepare to Die Edition by the sheer luck of knowing someone cool. It was like walking around in a museum of a world that had no real rules. You could go anywhere trying to even figure out why go anywhere in particular. You discovered what you found, it wasn't sought after since everything had a hushed aire of the unknown about it. The feeling of reward was palpable in a game punishing enough to feel real like Dark Souls was. The art design was singular at that time in my life. There was simply nothing else like it. I feel very lucky to have played so much of it with friends in the early days.
It also makes it cool with how the tutorial messages are in-game instead of a pop-up. So, when you get cursed, the pop-up message is that much more important.
This was also Elden Ring's weakness. The developers focused on making the game difficult, with cracked-out boss/enemy move sets, instead of top-notch level design. It's mostly a giant map with no true choke points.
@@leeham6230 agree with this. When I first played it and found out it has more "bloated" level design especially on open areas. The boss mechanics also reminded me of dark souls 2 with some BS "attack delays". I also once called Elden Ring a "Revamped Dark Souls 2"
@@digitalermitanyo8937 I think the delayed attacks are more reminiscent of Pontiff Sulyvahn of DS3. The basic enemies of Elden Ring also attack almost endlessly, similar to a lot the Dark Souls 3 enemies. It honestly felt like they took the "fast paced" nature of DS3, and cranked it to 11. I liked the slower gameplay of DS1 and DS2.
I think till this day Dark Souls I has the best ambience/atmosphere than any other. I specifically remember the feeling I had by the church, in undead burg, after killing all the enemies standing outside by the bridge that takes you to Andre, there being no music and everything empty, the best way I could describe it is: melancholic. Granted I was like 15 years old then and it was my first soulslike so every experience was amplified .
In a weird way, it reminds me of Mallet Island in Devil May Cry 1 and Nosgoth in LOK Soul Reaver. That same sense of tragedy and emptiness where there was once vibrant life and civilisation. I am also playing Bloodborne at the moment too and while I adore the architecture of Yharnam, it doesn't have that same sense of sombre decay and I find myself drawn to it.
First time playing Dark Souls I've got stuck all the way down at ash lake and the thought to climb back up through the arch-tree almost made me start a new character. But somehow I've managed to get back up, through the Blight town to Firelink Shrine. I love all the souls games, even the DS2. And udisputatly Bloodborne is my favourite, but DS1 is special. Nothing comes close with the world and atmosphere. It's one of those games you wish to wipe your memory of it tho experienced it again.
Your breakdown of the ambiguity of dark souls is precisely the reason the franchise has been so successful. Level design, difficulty, all these other things are absolutely pillars of what make dark souls unique and successful, but the ambiguity is by far the number one reason people love this game and it's successors.
100%. It's a big reason for why I fell in love with it so much, so to hear it get insulted for that made me feel like I had to demonstrate why the ambiguity is a good thing in my eyes.
The ambiguity is what kept me away from playing for a long time. Admittedly I wanted my hand held being used to that from easier games explaing everything. Then diving into Dark Souls again I really liked figuring things out for myself and feeling like I am making progress without having someone show me the way.
My favourite will always remain Ds1. I understand the need to remove poise in Ds3 to balance pvp a bit and have hyper armor instead, but seeing a full havel stagger against a light attack seems silly and unnatural to me. I wear heavy armor because I want to be an unmovable mountain that cannot be staggered
My 1st play through was 2023 & honestly, nothing has hit like it since. Took me back to a time & style of gaming that's culturally lost. Just felt like i was playing something iconic & historical, that game will be timeless & plays so well to this day. Absolute loved it!!!
I didn’t play dark souls until June 2, 2014 when it came free with gold on my Xbox game pass for my 360. Had never seen a single video or anything like it in my life, struggled my ass off with the words “Go Up and Ring the bell” from the crestfallen knight. Luckily a buddy came around and showed me the ropes. I remember having to make a whole new character because mine was so bad.
Ha it’s always nice when someone can come around and show you the ropes. Honestly I think for many players, if they’re able to get past the gargoyles, you’re most likely hooked after that.
This how I accessed the game. My achievements show that “light the first bonfire” and “ring the first bell” are 1 months apart. I raged at the undead burg 😂
bro my life TRULY changed in June 2014, all because DS1 was on games with gold and I was just eh ill try it out. It really was a life-changing journey for me and it's crazy to think my journey began all the way back then, just like you and the other commentor here. And it was all just a chance encounter...
I've been chugging through DS1 after playing Sekiro and Elden Ring and it genuinely is my absolute favorite so far. The way the entire map is interconnected with no loading screens is insane, along with the tone being so mystical and whimsical, has blown me away so far. I've also been doing it blind unlike how I played the other two, and it genuinely has been the greatest gaming experience I've ever had. Found Ashlake by accident very early on and it actually felt like I was in another dimension. So far I'm about to kick Seathe's ass in the crystal cave. I can't wait to play through DS2 and DS3.
I feel you, I came from Elden Ring and yes that is one of the best games ever but playing DS1 I see where it came from, it’s so good, and yes the map is honestly one of my favorite parts plus parrying ❤
@@ORLY911 i did especially the first time. I have a funny story though. I had argued with someone about why great hollow was good. While i was playing i was telling my friend about the argument. I happened to of just gotten to the top of sens fortress while we were talking. I said i was going to climb in and out of the great hollow at some point just to do it and he told me i should do it right then, from the top of sens fortress. So i did and figured id just homeward bone back up sens fortress after i got back to blighttown. He says no do the whole thing in 1 life no homewardbone . So i did, the whole thing. Never died, killed everything on the way. Took like 20 min. Get good.
After finishing Elden Ring in 2022 I finally started a Dark Souls run and I'm loving it 10 hrs in. I intend on going through the other 2 games as well eventually. I know DS2 is the red headed step child of the series which also makes me want to experience it oddly enough.
It’s actually a lot of fun and has tons of content it just takes some getting used to because the controls are jarring/ worse than the other games. Even dark souls 1 feels better moving around for some reason
Dark souls 2 is insanely difficult if you like just running past everything but the game is very much about using your environment to clear the areas rather than just relying on r1
When I first played it, I was expecting the ballbuster advertised by the media, but was pleasantly surprised by it only being very hard. Thing is, it was still Very Hard. It took me a few hours to get the combat to click, but when it did, BOY DID IT! Parrying in this game is INSTANT dopamine. It's great.
My first playthrough was a few weeks ago, so I remember everything. The game is definitely a masterpiece and I really enjoyed it, even lost izalith. I wish I could forget everything and experience it for the first time again. Dark souls 1 was my first souls game. Right now, im playing dark souls 3 which is amazing as well. Im very excited for what’s to come.
Do not stir away from D2 because of fans. Take your time with it, recognize it’s different, and continue. It’s really hard for the wrong reasons, but equally compelling and fun. Give a try, even if it’s the last FromSoftware game you play. Don’t you dare go hollow.
@@GismasDismasI will definitely play it. And I doubt it‘ll be my last FromSoftware game. I really enjoyed my time with dark souls 1 and 3 and I think that dark souls 2 will be great as well, even if DS1 and 3 are better. Don’t get yourself killed. Neither of us want to see you go hollow, my friend.
Of course knowledge of the game, enhances future playthroughs. There are options available to you, that you didn't know you had the first time. Short cuts, spells and items that you may not be able to get if you aren't in the right covenant or the requirements to do so. Some bosses can be skipped, some are optional entirely. You can actually make your build with purpose, you can go after embers and titanite early. You can dump everything into faith and get lightning early. The game opens up to the player so much more, when you know the game. You can make use of the fact that almost everything is interconnected. Dark Souls is the kind of game that is far more fun to play on repeated playthroughs.
While I can admit that Lost Izalith has an extremely poor layout the Aesthetic of it makes me unable to hate it. It’s so unique and cool even when compared to other fire areas in souls games.
The way the world unfolds in DS1 is the video game equivalent of a "page turner". You never knew what area was going to be next and what totally different experience it was going to bring. I still haven't finished 3 even though I think it's a great game but it's roughly for the converse reason: the next area isn't all that interesting compared to the last. The level design was really simplified. Beautiful but simplified. But DS1 was like a drug for the way every next area would suck you in.
That's because ds3 re-treads levels already explored in previous games - swamps, catacombs, snowy areas etc. Elden Ring kinda remedied that with Caelid - it was a totally new experience. As for level design: I was watching my brother play ds3 who had previously played Elden Ring and Lies of P. He had so much trouble navigating the levels. LoP has dogshit levels and most of elden ring's levels can be negated by being overleveled, having OP equipment or summons - all of which are pretty easy to do/get. So even ds3's levels are simplistic compared to ds1/des it's vastly better than other soulslikes
Dude, DS2 was my first one and I gave up so early on. When I saw DS3 I knew I had to give it another chance. Now I've beaten all but Demon Souls and I just have to say they are some of the best experiences I've ever had with games. It's just so satisfying to fight your way through the world and explore.
Give it a shot! RPCS3 works well. I played all the other souls games first and then DeS and it was still fun! So much of the series tropes you can see the origin of
An amazing Video, sadly I didn't grow up playing Dark Souls, I only started playing it about 2 weeks ago, but I already fell in Love with the whole Series even though I have only now finished DS1. I intend to play all Dark Souls games, including Demon's Souls. The way the gameplay and the story feel is just special to me, and I have never played a game that I loved as much as Dark Souls. I grew up hearing a lot of stuff about this game genre and I deeply regret not playing it sooner. To anyone who has not played Dark Souls yet, you really should, It's the best gaming experience I have ever had. Have a nice day.
When I got Dark Souls Remastered I was thrilled to revisit this years later. Nostalgia is a powerful thing, since I felt that the game's quality just takes a nose dive after you get the Lord Vessel...
I loved ds3 so I tried ds1 and bc of how awful I am at finding my way, the lack of fast travel scared me and I put it down. Your video convinced me to try to play it. Thank you :D. Cant wait for the journey ahead of me.
Hey man, your voice is crazy similar to most commentators I know. Your content is also very entertaining and to the point. I honestly think you’re going to make it big on RUclips so keep going dude.
What is completely weird is, that after having finished Sekiro as my first intro into the FS universe and then went over ER, DS3 and now DS1 is, that it takes really really much to catch me off guard so that I need to rage quit because I died 1564355 times at the same boss or passage/area. I completely got resilient. But funnily, when I play much easier games like Ghost of Tsushima (that I couldn't finish because I got bored halfway - thanks Fromsoft, thanks Larian) and die twice or thruce at the same encounter, I completely go nuts, getting impatient and need to adjust myself and tell that I need to calm down. It feels, like all this quest markers and short sighted dopamine dips support that stance, which is still there when you pick up a FS game the first time. Now I'm having the most relaxed time when playing an FS title, while other developers stress me to death.
Funny I also got stuck in skeleton city all the way down in tomb of giants and it took several hours searching and crawling my way back. When I went out from cave entrance I physically felt the fresh air and light of the skies. It was quite an amazing feeling of relief to experience.
This video really reminded me of the first time I played Dark Souls without a guide or hints, just me and the game, and I would erase my memory just to play it again. It was a feeling I haven't experienced with other games.
Dark Souls is an absolute masterpiece of a game and I agree with all your points. The level design and stamina usage feels so much more intentional than Elden Ring. It’s really firing on all cylinders, the combat, character builds, level design, boss design, hilarious NPCs, everything comes together in such a brilliant and mind blowing way.
The feeling of relief when you'd discover a shortcut that looped back to a previous area you were familiar with was a special kind of feeling. I understand the interconnected design couldn't be kept with the new larger games, but having almost all of the main areas connected was so unique and special
On my first playthrough I remember I used uchigatana + havel armor the whole run. Just tried to play a run like that a few months back and oh boy mid roll was horrible I dont know how I did it
Bro I also started with Demon's Souls and holy shit I LOVED it.. It was brutal, but I guess I'm just one of those people who fell in love with the world, the mechanics, and the difficulty
Exploring the catacombs without fast travel actually had me terrified. I thought I was going to be stuck in there forever and never get out. That is a experience you can't have with newer fromsoft games. It's not gripping your chest like you're really there terrified of never making it out. It was the same with the painted world. I went in there without knowing what was in there and I was not prepared. Got me behind handed to me, ran out of most of my items and in the end I was just glad to make it out finally.
I had about 89 hours in my first play through. My Buddy introduced me to the game not long after it’s release. DS1 was the first game that completely sucked me in. Greatest gaming experience I’ve ever had. I agree with ya. Going in Blind is the best way to go
What happened to you in the Tomb of the Giants happened to me, my first run. I didn't even realize how underlevel I was because the Drake Sword was so powerful. I didn't bother trying to get back out. So my first character went hollow in the Tomb.
the first time i played dark souls was late last year after my partner got me eldin ring,, i had always wanted to try it out and that was what got me to start. It really quickly became an obsession,, and im currently still trying to get past Smoug and Ornstein 😞🙏 going in almost completely blind other than "it is apparently really hard" only to see how actually beautiful it is was and still is crazy
My strongest memory of my first DS1 play through was getting omega skill checked by the Gargoyles, ranting about how hard they were, finally beating them, getting curbstomped again by the Gaping Dragon, only to find out from a friend that I totally missed Andre and had gotten that far using base level gear.
the fact we've been basically saying what this video says since about a year after the game came out, and it deserves to be resaid every time is just a great feeling
Great point. The lack of fast travel in the first half of DS1 means you have to commit to your destination. Taking the wrong path might lead you to a zone way too hard or overleveled for you. This makes exploration much more engaging, making you feel like you are on an adventure. Going down blight town for the first time, dropping from one plank to the other without knowing how you are going to get back up, was quite mesmerizing for me. With elden ring you are at all time 3 buttons away from teleporting wherever you want, and it removes so much from the sence of adventure and exploration. The game feels more like a successions of content/levels that are technically connected together, yet feel like separate pieces of the world because of how you are going to experience it. Even though the game is open world, it feels more like playing demons souls than having a continuous adventure like in Dark Souls. It's dumb, but it's the reason why I enjoyed dragon's dogma 2 more than the elden ring dlc this year. The dlc was great on many aspects, but it lacked the one key ingredient.
Dark Souls was the first one I beat but not the one I started off with, that being Demon's Souls. The game helped me through one of the worst years of my life (up until now) and having sleepovers with friends, Dark Souls and pizza are some of the most cherished memories I have to this day. I play through Dark Souls 1 at least once every year and I hope I can keep doing so until the day I fucking die.
I'm nearly finished with DS1 for my first time ever. it's unbelievable. Elden Ring was my intro to the series, but DS1 is a profound masterpiece. reminds me of playing the original Zelda when I was little and hand drawing a map etc.
My first DS1 playthrough was wild. It was my first souls game and I had a friend who basically forced me to get it. I made so many mistakes and had to claw my way out of all kinds of self inflicted troubles. That was the best gaming experience I've ever had. That got me hooked on the soul series, but honestly, DS1 will always be my favorite.
when I was only 10 years old, I found something interesting into this game so I was dying so hard to try it and I found it very bad and hard. But when I play throughout the game It finally tells me that "Because you are impatient, learn to be patient"(after I defeated this game). It really shows that this game is all about "be patient". I was lucky to experience this game because if it wasn't in the gamestop, I wouldn't have known this game....
Some standout memories of my first time: 1. Thinking that I was expected to beat the Asylum Demon with a broken sword and spending almost an hour trying until I finally saw the open door in the back lol. 2. The Taurus Demon falling off the castle wall (I fell too just after him but it still counted as beating him). 3. I think I took the wrong message from being able to run past the Asylum Demon only to fight him later. I started running past anyone, even low level mobs, that were too hard for me. This meant no xp and no levelling up so I got stuck in Darkroot Garden and couldnt advance so I dropped the game. 4. One day, months later, I was thinking about the game and had the realisation of how the game economy worked (grind, collect souls, spend on level up). Funny as it may sound, I wasn't doing this very basic loop so I started all over again and it finally clicked. Blew straight past Darkroot Garden. 5. The second time I nearly dropped the game was Ornstein and Smough. That took weeks and weeks of short bursts of attempts. I still remember leaving my PC room/office and going to just collapse on my bed in the bedroom while my girlfriend watched confused. 6. When I finally got to the end it didn't take too many attempts to beat Gwynn and I had my newborn son on my lap with me when I finally got to hear that hauntingly beautiful end credit music.
I started from Demon Souls way back in PS3 too lolz. I still prefer the old style dark souls map layout over the open world of ER though. I stand true to my word cuz i replayed DS1/ 2 couple times by now in recent year and i actually enjoy more than when i first started.
Playing in highschool when it first came out, slowly losing my god damn mind trying to figure everything out and jumping in blind, getting my ass handed to me with every boss.... Was fun as hell!!! Wish I could wipe my memories of this game to experience it all over again!!!
honestly the deprived class isnt as bad as it looks. the club is a surprisingly strong weapon, the even stat distribution makes it easy to move into any build, the only downsides are the shield and lack of armor but you can pick some up relatively quickly
A friend showed me dark souls one day on the Xbox 360. Played until Capra demon. Ragequit. Came back months later and I binged it and finished it in a few days. I feel like this was a common experience for early souls players. I know a lot of others who gave up, went back, and it just clicked.
I got it from gamestop in 2013 when i was 12 years old and the guy behind the counter warned me several times that it is a "very very hard game" but i didnt care bc i liked the knight dude on the cover. It took me over a year before i finished through undead burg and beat the gargoyles and another 6 years before i finally sat down and finished the game. Now ive beaten it atleast 15 times. this game will always hold a special place in my heart as it taught me to never give up
Sorry - I didn't mean to be rude. I know a blind run must have been such a slog back then. What an amazing experience a first playthrough of Dark Souls is!
I started playing dark souls 1 in the Covid lockdown, at the beginning I didn't like the game because of how hard it was for me, but since there was nothing else to do, I decided to give it a try and oh boy, that was the best desicion of my life, I play that game for a whole year and got hooked on the souls like games.
I understand your point about ambiguity and running in blind, but having recently picked up on the remaster years after leaving the Prepare to Die edition hanging (because of a surgery and other unpleasant personal matters), I can say that a finer understanding of the game is helping me A LOT to enjoy it. I don't get frustrated when this or that boss kills me, waste humanity or souls- I know that I'll be able to make up for that later, this lets me stay relaxed and enjoy a lot of details that I had missed because my attention was totally wrecked by frustration.
I think there's certainly a balance to be met. Like I said, coming from Demon's Souls, I didn't find things difficult to figure out, but I understand how it could be that way for people who didn't already have experience with the genre.
My first Souls experience was with 3. A friend at work recommended it to me, so I picked it up. I had like, 30 minutes to kill before my shift one day so I started it and figured I’d get through the tutorial. I got Gundyr to half health on my first attempt, but that explosion into a writhing mass of tissue was the moment I said “I don’t have time to get this invested right now, I’ll be back for you later.” 😂
First playthrough of Dark Souls was magical. Felt like the scope of the game was massive with all it's grand presentation. I'm a completionist by heart and explored as much as I could find, learning that the world was as interconnected as it was blew my mind. Best map design I've ever played. I get some of those feelings in Shadow of the Erdtree, but as you mention being able to fast travel everywhere anytime takes away from it even though I understand the decision in this world. First time playing DS I had a raised shield at every corner and was focused heavily on endurance to tank damage as best you could. Ended up with black knight greatsword, grasscrest shield and Leeroy's armor to kill Gwyn. Solaire had found his own sun... Still one of my absolute favourites, phenomenal game despite it's aging
My first Souls game was DS remastered back in 2020. that game got me through lockdown and made me fall in love with the souls games and the genre as a whole. Though I have one MASSIVE regret. I got stuck in the asylum and couldn't figure out what to do after the asylum demon wouldn't stop killing me. I consulted a walkthrough, and discovered I was meant to just run through the door to the side. I then continued watching the walkthrough and had it hold my hand and show me the way through over half of the game. I severely regret doing this, I didn't go in blind and knew exactly where to go. Now I always recommend to only consult a walkthrough if you're desperate, don't let them hold your hand cause you're completely missing the point of the game
Subscribed after watching this video and really getting a massive nostalgia hit to when I did my first ever run of DS1 via the remaster in 2018. Loved the video and will be sure to check the streams when I can!
It was very interesting to hear the perspective of someone who played Demon/Dark Souls games at 11-14 or so. I was like 22 when Demon's Souls released and also played it early on. I'll add to your point about the ambiguity adding to the difficulty. I totally agree that it was a response to that era in gaming where other major titles were so easy and held your hand entirely too much. But I think the context you miss due to your age, is it was also a return to the NES era of gaming, when games brutalized you and were very cryptic. Dark Souls reinvigorated that old feeling of talking to a friend to see what they learned about the game, or getting to brag about reaching a new area, as we once could in elementary school over some Genesis game. I think a key difference that made it a bit more fair though was the internet. It was more acceptable to be that difficult and a bit cryptic when players could Ask Jeeves something when they were stuck, rather than be forced to get a Nintendo Power subscription.
I don't really remember why but I started with the third chapter and it was a crazy experience (first game on the ps4, I could try to play it blindfolded now (would definitely fail badly, I just wanted to say I really played it a lot)). I discovered the game was not only incredibly beautiful gameplay-wise and aestethically, but it held a wealth of hidden lore ( a concept I didn't even know existed before). After finally beating the marvelous final boss (still gives me chills of adrenaline just to think about and I still think it's one of the best bosses I've ever faced) and completely slumping down at the end of the long journey, with the end credits and epilogue ost rolling; I got absolutely intrigued by it, started searching more and more and totally fell in love with the universe of dark souls. I then tried ds2, didn't click....returned with a different mentality after some time (thanks to a really good RUclipsr and Soulslike lover, of which I've watched the start of the DS2 blind run to see how he behaved), leveled agility and loved that too (despite all, it has a lot of cool things and a lot of interesting mechanics). Finally reached the old goat, the start of it all (aside demon's souls...I have yet to play it sigh), and it was utterly stupendous (fun fact it also felt decently easy since I was a bit experienced on the genre by then, I even tried parries (orgasmic, true dopamine shots) and first-tried ornsty and smougghy). I know you all probably already know it, experienced it, but these games are definitely magical. I don't know how to exactly translate those feelings into words to be honest, but I'm really glad I've felt them. I enjoyed elden ring (even though it didn't give me the same feels and I think on some aspects it's a bit of a downgrade tbh(#bring back tail cutting)) but I totally had to go back and replay all of them (I 100% all of them, ds3 twice (first time farming covenants offline since I was on ps4💀)). I don't want to exaggerate but this series really changed my life. The way I play games, the way I approach life, metamorphosed. No matter what happens now, I lived those adventures, somewhere, sometime (other games like Skyrim, Undertale, Hollow knight surely played a fat part too of course). As for fast travel I kind of agree, however I would love to be able to keep the ability to do so once beated base ng. Having to play through half the game for each new cycle is a bit of a pain ngl (also limits free exploration for experiments). That's it, just felt like sharing my story too, like a bonfire tale. I also hope more and more people get to experience similar or different plaesant journeys (even tho if I have to be honest, I also feel a bit sad dark souls won't be a niche game for a small slice of elites anymore) and that we'll get more magical titles like this in the future. I wanted to add praises for the community, some people out there are absolutely amazing. The amount of lore, speculations, easter eggs, illusory walls, glitches, skips, mechanics, strats, builds, etc that has been found is unbelieavable! And the role play invasions, the summon signs, the messages....can be really hearthwarming. We're all in this together (togeetherrrrr...), maybe distant in the physical world, divided by space and personal problems, but we are fire-linked in some way. Don't give up fellow undeads 🍶
Hey! You started on demon's souls too?! Awesome! I went demons (PS3), DS III, DS, BLOODBORNE, DS III, Sekiro. I rarely meet anyone who actually went in chronological order! Good vid man!
oof the time dark souls 1 truly is my favorite back than my brother and i played it together best times i wish i could turn back the time to re- enjoy it
Played DS1 when it came out. I was 11 and it was such a completely different game than anything I had ever played before that I stuck with it. When the game came out most people playing didn’t know shit until years after. I was one of the few players invading people shortly after the game released. So many good memories.
My grandpa beat his first Dark Souls game at 62. I deffinently got a few " where the hell am i supposed to go" phone calls. But being an old rpg gamer he figured it all out without using the internet. Wich is more than I can say for myself 😅.
The "Ambiguity" section is fair. Dark Souls 3 was my first Souls game, I used a longsword with a "raw infusion" because it upped my damage numbers the most. Then I got on the forums and started learning about the stats, dex vs strength builds, quality builds and all that. I even fat-rolled through the entirety of the "Undead Dilapidated Village", killing the Curse-rotted Greatwood Tree, or whatever it was called, in my heavy Lothric Knight armor lol. It's funny, because I remember complaining as well about the ambiguity, and now I love the system so much. There is so much room for creativity and player expression, it's one of my favorite RPG systems ever.
I played dark souls when i was 13 years old back in 2012 when Prepare to die edition was released. I played the game and i noticed immediately the punishing bosses (literally they throw the boss Asylum Demon at your face), the underestimated enemies in the world that kill you when you let your guard down even for a minute, the plunge to death after you misstep or roll in the wrong direction near a cliff or a high location (This one always makes me curse) then i realized the title made sense - Prepare to Die. But instead all of these I chose to preservere in the face of despair and slowly but surely made myself and my character more resilient, patient and hopeful. Everytime i faced something which killed me dozens of time and i finally conquered them, i loved that feeling and literally fell in love with the game. I played the game for nearly 200+ hours back in the day and as of now i recently downloaded the remastered version and completed the game again and i am currently on NG+.
My first experience with dark Souls was when it became available on Xbox Live and I downloaded it, and then didn't touch it for a year. One day I was looking through my library and I was like, " Oh yeah I downloaded this. I wonder what it's about?" And I've been hooked ever since. I had no idea what I was doing. I did not understand the systems and I kind of got lucky with my build going Dex/Int, finding a balder straight sword, and cheesing it with sorceries and straight stabs. I felt like I was getting away with something. But then there was the boss battles. I didn't understand what humanity did until my second playthrough and I looked it up. My first playthrough I stayed undead pretty much the whole time and fought all the bosses solo, including Schmoog and Ornstein. I couldn't beat them for days, but The exhilaration I felt when I did is indescribable to someone who hasn't played this game.
I remember being lost and went to the catacombs way the first time and got completely destroyed, the I found out there was 3 ways that could be taken from firelink 😂
My most memorable moment from my first playthrough? After getting killed by skeletons and ghosts, i finally find the correct path, die to a black knight and wonder why everything kills me, i then find the first merchant, usually games dont let you hurt them so i rolled through all his merchandise to destroy the barrels/crates, he then got mad, pulled out his uchigatana and murdered me repeatedly until i eventually defeated him I was blown away, but at that moment i realized, oh damn, this game really aint messing around
Someone from GameStop recommended Dark Souls for the 360. I was burnt out on gaming at that point and was looking for ANY suggestions. It took a while but once it “clicked” my god, it was on.
My strongest memory about DS1 first playthrough was also to walk a little too far inside the gaping abysm that was the Tomb of Giants and falling down the slide, and since i didn't want to lose my souls my dumb butt sat at the bonfire. With no torch whatsoever what followed was an unforgettable struggle to find the freaking way out. When i finally reached a bit of light again, i still had to run through the catacombs and the myriad of wheelcart squeletons, full of adrenaline barely evading death because i didn't even knew how i found the exit to begin with, steeping in uncharted land as my original decent was through the hole connecting to the blacksmith. No other game has made me feel like I truly stepped where i shouldn't like that one time.
The moment I knew DS1 was special, was in Lost Izalith. When Siegmeyer jumped in to fight those chaos eaters...I didn't know he was gonna do that. I audibly yelled out "Siegmeyer NO!" and jumped in right behind him without even thinking about it. 😂 We both lived, but that's when I knew that even if the lore doesn't grab you, the characters will.
How I feel with from soft games is like this. Most of the games people play might be difficult at times but most of the time that explains what you need to do where you need to go how things work . Little boxes will pop up every time you learn something new and tell you how to use it. And then once you beat the game, you accomplished. That’s how I felt playing through all the from-soft games for the first time. when I get through an area with all the items short cuts and secrets then I defeat the boss… I got the same feeling as beating most other games completely! You just feel so accomplished! After trying to figure out the area and then dying to the boss a couple dozen times and learning their move set and crushing them? great feeling! And it’s an even better feeling when you get to a boss and you destroy him in the first go. Makes you feel so badass boost your confidence for the next area until you get knocked down a peg. Everyone should try every fromsoft games. There will be atleast ONE that will click! (Blood Bourne for me!) And these games have opened a whole new genre of gaming. Now you have other publishers and developers trying to make games that scratch the itch from soft games. Like, Lies of P, Steel Rising, Wo Long, and so many others. It’s great!
The lack of teleport and the sheer interconnectedness of Dark Souls' world is genius. It is also at a much smaller scale than DSII and DSIII, to say the least on Elden Ring, which is absolutely huge. It can easily be said that it was necessary to make it available from the start, which was also why DSII, DSIII and Bloodborne only allowed you to level up in exactly one location. It did change things, not always for the better. You didn't need to find shortcuts to get from one place to the other, merely in how to get through where you are at. Both Dark Souls and Demon's Souls are call backs to the old school games, which were notoriously difficult when compared to today. Demon's Souls more so than Dark Souls, but Dark Souls and the following games in the From Software library call back to the days where checkpoints were relatively few and you had to figure out where to go and what exactly to do on very few hints. I also love the visual storytelling of the series, where they show you that things are fucked, they don't tell you that. All around the game, you see the signs of past glories and greatness and now, it is all fading and dying. Anor Londo, which looks to be a thriving and alive city is a lie, which you find out if you do a certain action. There is no background music save for a handful of locations. The boss music tends to tell its own story about the boss. With the final boss, being a tragic figure when you consider just how sad and solemn the boss music is. The game doesn't hold your hand, only gives you the barest information on how to play the game, and tells you to go out, have fun, and learn the rest. The introductory cinematic gives you context, the decaying and dying world around you tells its own story and if you want to learn more, you have to go out and find it.
Miyazaki was a fan of From Soft's King's field and Shadow tower, he was also an avid tabletop RPG player, Dark Souls was a great modern take on those games and personal experiences. What Miyazaki understood really well in Dark Souls was freedom and player agency, trusting the players' competence/perseversnce is something most developers just can't do these days. Demon's was a more timid game, but in Dark souls they went all out with exploration, cryptic secrets and challenging combat, it's all about the player unraveling the world, fighting against all odds in his own way and pace, that's what real RPGs are about and they knew it perfectly. The cherry of the top is the focus on scenic storytelling, with unforgettable areas like Anor Londo, Kiln of the first flame and Lost Izalith.
Dark souls was my introduction to fromsoft and the souls franchise. It was downloaded on my older brothers Xbox 360 that I got from him because my old one was stolen. I played it and I rage quit multiple times over and over and over. Yet something kept me coming back and at the time I didnt like hard games or playing on hard but Dark souls changed that and I slowly started loving Dark souls 1. I remember when I first beat ornistien and smough I was so excited and then I learned the lore and loved it even more and more and more and when I first beat the game I loved and was so happy. Then I played Dark souls 2 and I loved it as well, Dark souls 3 became my favorite game ever, I loved Bloodborne and was so excited when elden ring came out and I love Elden ring and fromsoft is my favorite developers ever made and its all thanks to this one game
Dark souls became free for gold June 1st 2014 and that's when I played it. I was 7 almost 8 years old. I'm 18 now and still can't get enough of it lmao
@@DxV04 Personal Top 10 favorite videogames, in no particular order: Mafia (original from 2002) Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines Witcher (first one) Spec Ops: The Line Disco Elysium Team Fortress 2 Prey (one made by Arcane Studios) Cyberpunk 2077 Halo Reach Darkest Dungeon Plenty of these have a deep nostalgic value for me, plenty of these I would call good, but not amazing, yet they are games I still remember over others for one reason or other. I value atmosphere first and foremost, then story, gameplay and the least important for me is technical side of things, mostly meaning graphics. Dark Souls is a game with great gameplay and atmosphere which I would love if I played it sooner, that would give the game that nostalgic quality for me. As such it was truly great experience, probably my favorite of the year, but mostly because of the piecemeal story it falls short of the others above.
@@amf1435 That is a kick-ass list. Out of those the one that stands out to me is Darkest Dungeon. What a game. I still haven't beaten it. LOL With regards to Dark Souls 1. I bought that during those nighttime releases with the tin case which I still have along with Skyrim. Needless to say, Skyrim got only 1 hour of me LOL. So I understand what you mean when you say if you would have played it, it would definitely be on that top 10 list.
I'm currently playing it for the first time and it's a mixed bag. I love the atmosphere, enemy visual designs and the level design in general. But I am kind of disappointed with the combat, parrying seems to have some very weird inconsistent timing and a lot of enemy attacks are just pure RNG or just straight janky BS, especially that dragon on the bridge near the beginning of the game and the asylum demon you fight once you return there (you lose a huge part of your health from the drop down alone). Other than that I'm not a fan of enemy placement and some boss arenas (specifically that butterfly thing and the Capra demon, seriously what even was that arena), a lot of times mobs will be placed in tight corridors where your weapon has a huge chance of hitting the wall/tunnel and bouncing off and that just gets annoying. One more complaint is that some bosses are just too far away from the fireplace making me lose interest thinking I have to back track all the way there. Really fun and unique game, especially for it's time but it's also full of slight but still annoying problems.
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My first game in the series was Dark Souls 2, i deleted, sold and reinstalled it more times than I'd like to admit. But it eventually clicked and I fell in love with the series.
I feel like it eventually clicks for everyone!
DS2 is not a good starting point, being the weakest DS game and also the most frustrating.
@@PerfectSense77 it's more fun than the first game on replays
Glad I'm not the only one. Ds2 was also my first game(at the time ds3 wasn't released yet) and I must have quit and started a new character at least 10 times. I would get to no-mans wharf, get frustrated, then quit just to start over again.
I finally ended up beating it several years later after beating the other souls games/elden ring.
@@PerfectSense77 I mean, to each their own right? I love DS2, best hub imo
Hearing that DS1 was so cryptic is what made me want to play it. I like the idea of not being told a single thing about how to get around the world. Or how the mechanics work. It all feels so esoteric and mysterious.
Ooh esoteric I like that word. I’m taking that.
I'm pretty old. I played Prepare to Die Edition by the sheer luck of knowing someone cool. It was like walking around in a museum of a world that had no real rules. You could go anywhere trying to even figure out why go anywhere in particular. You discovered what you found, it wasn't sought after since everything had a hushed aire of the unknown about it. The feeling of reward was palpable in a game punishing enough to feel real like Dark Souls was.
The art design was singular at that time in my life. There was simply nothing else like it. I feel very lucky to have played so much of it with friends in the early days.
It also makes it cool with how the tutorial messages are in-game instead of a pop-up. So, when you get cursed, the pop-up message is that much more important.
Thank you for using esoteric correctly! And I agree 👍
If you want more of that try Tunic, just be prepared to write down your own notes lol
Most of these “soulslike” only focus on difficulty which they doesn’t realize what makes from software great is because of the top notch level design
I have to agree.
Dark Souls is the only game in the series where the level design is truly great (for the parts that they had time for).
This was also Elden Ring's weakness. The developers focused on making the game difficult, with cracked-out boss/enemy move sets, instead of top-notch level design. It's mostly a giant map with no true choke points.
@@leeham6230 agree with this. When I first played it and found out it has more "bloated" level design especially on open areas. The boss mechanics also reminded me of dark souls 2 with some BS "attack delays". I also once called Elden Ring a "Revamped Dark Souls 2"
@@digitalermitanyo8937 I think the delayed attacks are more reminiscent of Pontiff Sulyvahn of DS3. The basic enemies of Elden Ring also attack almost endlessly, similar to a lot the Dark Souls 3 enemies. It honestly felt like they took the "fast paced" nature of DS3, and cranked it to 11. I liked the slower gameplay of DS1 and DS2.
I think till this day Dark Souls I has the best ambience/atmosphere than any other. I specifically remember the feeling I had by the church, in undead burg, after killing all the enemies standing outside by the bridge that takes you to Andre, there being no music and everything empty, the best way I could describe it is: melancholic. Granted I was like 15 years old then and it was my first soulslike so every experience was amplified .
*Ds2 would like a word* ahah
Same. Did the same thing. Its atmosphere is palpable
In a weird way, it reminds me of Mallet Island in Devil May Cry 1 and Nosgoth in LOK Soul Reaver. That same sense of tragedy and emptiness where there was once vibrant life and civilisation. I am also playing Bloodborne at the moment too and while I adore the architecture of Yharnam, it doesn't have that same sense of sombre decay and I find myself drawn to it.
Demon Souls for me had the greatest atmosphere. But each game varies so greatly in what they offer.
First time playing Dark Souls I've got stuck all the way down at ash lake and the thought to climb back up through the arch-tree almost made me start a new character. But somehow I've managed to get back up, through the Blight town to Firelink Shrine. I love all the souls games, even the DS2. And udisputatly Bloodborne is my favourite, but DS1 is special. Nothing comes close with the world and atmosphere. It's one of those games you wish to wipe your memory of it tho experienced it again.
Your breakdown of the ambiguity of dark souls is precisely the reason the franchise has been so successful.
Level design, difficulty, all these other things are absolutely pillars of what make dark souls unique and successful, but the ambiguity is by far the number one reason people love this game and it's successors.
100%. It's a big reason for why I fell in love with it so much, so to hear it get insulted for that made me feel like I had to demonstrate why the ambiguity is a good thing in my eyes.
The ambiguity is what kept me away from playing for a long time. Admittedly I wanted my hand held being used to that from easier games explaing everything. Then diving into Dark Souls again I really liked figuring things out for myself and feeling like I am making progress without having someone show me the way.
My favourite will always remain Ds1. I understand the need to remove poise in Ds3 to balance pvp a bit and have hyper armor instead, but seeing a full havel stagger against a light attack seems silly and unnatural to me. I wear heavy armor because I want to be an unmovable mountain that cannot be staggered
My 1st play through was 2023 & honestly, nothing has hit like it since. Took me back to a time & style of gaming that's culturally lost. Just felt like i was playing something iconic & historical, that game will be timeless & plays so well to this day.
Absolute loved it!!!
You've made me remember something i forgot, that nostalgia from beating the game when i was 15 hits hard
Broooo me and you were playing the game at a similar age!
I didn’t play dark souls until June 2, 2014 when it came free with gold on my Xbox game pass for my 360. Had never seen a single video or anything like it in my life, struggled my ass off with the words “Go Up and Ring the bell” from the crestfallen knight. Luckily a buddy came around and showed me the ropes. I remember having to make a whole new character because mine was so bad.
Ha it’s always nice when someone can come around and show you the ropes.
Honestly I think for many players, if they’re able to get past the gargoyles, you’re most likely hooked after that.
This how I accessed the game. My achievements show that “light the first bonfire” and “ring the first bell” are 1 months apart. I raged at the undead burg 😂
bro my life TRULY changed in June 2014, all because DS1 was on games with gold and I was just eh ill try it out. It really was a life-changing journey for me and it's crazy to think my journey began all the way back then, just like you and the other commentor here. And it was all just a chance encounter...
I remember downloading it then, anor londo was so busy with invasions really good times
I've been chugging through DS1 after playing Sekiro and Elden Ring and it genuinely is my absolute favorite so far. The way the entire map is interconnected with no loading screens is insane, along with the tone being so mystical and whimsical, has blown me away so far. I've also been doing it blind unlike how I played the other two, and it genuinely has been the greatest gaming experience I've ever had. Found Ashlake by accident very early on and it actually felt like I was in another dimension. So far I'm about to kick Seathe's ass in the crystal cave. I can't wait to play through DS2 and DS3.
Ds1 is the best
The elevators are the loading screens. It's a neat way of hiding them
I feel you, I came from Elden Ring and yes that is one of the best games ever but playing DS1 I see where it came from, it’s so good, and yes the map is honestly one of my favorite parts plus parrying ❤
im sure you had a great time climbing back up through the Great Hollow
@@ORLY911 i did especially the first time. I have a funny story though. I had argued with someone about why great hollow was good. While i was playing i was telling my friend about the argument. I happened to of just gotten to the top of sens fortress while we were talking. I said i was going to climb in and out of the great hollow at some point just to do it and he told me i should do it right then, from the top of sens fortress. So i did and figured id just homeward bone back up sens fortress after i got back to blighttown. He says no do the whole thing in 1 life no homewardbone . So i did, the whole thing. Never died, killed everything on the way. Took like 20 min. Get good.
After finishing Elden Ring in 2022 I finally started a Dark Souls run and I'm loving it 10 hrs in. I intend on going through the other 2 games as well eventually. I know DS2 is the red headed step child of the series which also makes me want to experience it oddly enough.
It’s actually a lot of fun and has tons of content it just takes some getting used to because the controls are jarring/ worse than the other games. Even dark souls 1 feels better moving around for some reason
DS2 is lots of fun, just feels cheap with difficulty, too many enemies etc but it's honestly amazing
Dark souls 2 is insanely difficult if you like just running past everything but the game is very much about using your environment to clear the areas rather than just relying on r1
When I first played it, I was expecting the ballbuster advertised by the media, but was pleasantly surprised by it only being very hard. Thing is, it was still Very Hard. It took me a few hours to get the combat to click, but when it did, BOY DID IT! Parrying in this game is INSTANT dopamine. It's great.
Parrying in this game FEELS GREAT.
My first playthrough was a few weeks ago, so I remember everything. The game is definitely a masterpiece and I really enjoyed it, even lost izalith. I wish I could forget everything and experience it for the first time again. Dark souls 1 was my first souls game. Right now, im playing dark souls 3 which is amazing as well. Im very excited for what’s to come.
Do not stir away from D2 because of fans. Take your time with it, recognize it’s different, and continue. It’s really hard for the wrong reasons, but equally compelling and fun. Give a try, even if it’s the last FromSoftware game you play. Don’t you dare go hollow.
@@GismasDismasI will definitely play it. And I doubt it‘ll be my last FromSoftware game. I really enjoyed my time with dark souls 1 and 3 and I think that dark souls 2 will be great as well, even if DS1 and 3 are better.
Don’t get yourself killed. Neither of us want to see you go hollow, my friend.
Re-playing through 3 myself with the streams and it’s been a blast so far! Much different than 1, but in a good way
Of course knowledge of the game, enhances future playthroughs. There are options available to you, that you didn't know you had the first time. Short cuts, spells and items that you may not be able to get if you aren't in the right covenant or the requirements to do so. Some bosses can be skipped, some are optional entirely. You can actually make your build with purpose, you can go after embers and titanite early. You can dump everything into faith and get lightning early. The game opens up to the player so much more, when you know the game. You can make use of the fact that almost everything is interconnected. Dark Souls is the kind of game that is far more fun to play on repeated playthroughs.
While I can admit that Lost Izalith has an extremely poor layout the Aesthetic of it makes me unable to hate it. It’s so unique and cool even when compared to other fire areas in souls games.
your first souls game was demons souls? damn unc😭
I know, I'm gettin' old.
The way the world unfolds in DS1 is the video game equivalent of a "page turner". You never knew what area was going to be next and what totally different experience it was going to bring. I still haven't finished 3 even though I think it's a great game but it's roughly for the converse reason: the next area isn't all that interesting compared to the last. The level design was really simplified. Beautiful but simplified. But DS1 was like a drug for the way every next area would suck you in.
I’m playing through DS3 now and I completely agree. It’s still good, but the level design isn’t where DS1’s was.
At least the bosses are cool though.
That's because ds3 re-treads levels already explored in previous games - swamps, catacombs, snowy areas etc. Elden Ring kinda remedied that with Caelid - it was a totally new experience. As for level design: I was watching my brother play ds3 who had previously played Elden Ring and Lies of P. He had so much trouble navigating the levels. LoP has dogshit levels and most of elden ring's levels can be negated by being overleveled, having OP equipment or summons - all of which are pretty easy to do/get. So even ds3's levels are simplistic compared to ds1/des it's vastly better than other soulslikes
Dude, DS2 was my first one and I gave up so early on. When I saw DS3 I knew I had to give it another chance. Now I've beaten all but Demon Souls and I just have to say they are some of the best experiences I've ever had with games. It's just so satisfying to fight your way through the world and explore.
Hey Nerv!
I 100% agree, sometimes it just takes a bit for it all to click but once it does they got you hooked!
Give it a shot! RPCS3 works well. I played all the other souls games first and then DeS and it was still fun! So much of the series tropes you can see the origin of
That lift going from Undead Parish to Firelink Shrine. It has to be one of, if not, my fondest memory of gaming
Doing a no bonfire run now and that lift is going to save my life.
An amazing Video, sadly I didn't grow up playing Dark Souls, I only started playing it about 2 weeks ago, but I already fell in Love with the whole Series even though I have only now finished DS1. I intend to play all Dark Souls games, including Demon's Souls. The way the gameplay and the story feel is just special to me, and I have never played a game that I loved as much as Dark Souls.
I grew up hearing a lot of stuff about this game genre and I deeply regret not playing it sooner.
To anyone who has not played Dark Souls yet, you really should, It's the best gaming experience I have ever had.
Have a nice day.
When I got Dark Souls Remastered I was thrilled to revisit this years later. Nostalgia is a powerful thing, since I felt that the game's quality just takes a nose dive after you get the Lord Vessel...
I loved ds3 so I tried ds1 and bc of how awful I am at finding my way, the lack of fast travel scared me and I put it down. Your video convinced me to try to play it. Thank you :D. Cant wait for the journey ahead of me.
Have fun :)
Hey man, your voice is crazy similar to most commentators I know. Your content is also very entertaining and to the point. I honestly think you’re going to make it big on RUclips so keep going dude.
Seconded
Thank you so much man! Means a lot.
In my first playthrough 12 years ago, I remember getting cursed TWICE (they stacked then) but I pushed on because I love this game.
OOF. Yeah, curses used to stack, what were they thinking with that? Glad you were able to push through and make it to the end, my friend :)
What is completely weird is, that after having finished Sekiro as my first intro into the FS universe and then went over ER, DS3 and now DS1 is, that it takes really really much to catch me off guard so that I need to rage quit because I died 1564355 times at the same boss or passage/area. I completely got resilient. But funnily, when I play much easier games like Ghost of Tsushima (that I couldn't finish because I got bored halfway - thanks Fromsoft, thanks Larian) and die twice or thruce at the same encounter, I completely go nuts, getting impatient and need to adjust myself and tell that I need to calm down. It feels, like all this quest markers and short sighted dopamine dips support that stance, which is still there when you pick up a FS game the first time.
Now I'm having the most relaxed time when playing an FS title, while other developers stress me to death.
Funny I also got stuck in skeleton city all the way down in tomb of giants and it took several hours searching and crawling my way back. When I went out from cave entrance I physically felt the fresh air and light of the skies. It was quite an amazing feeling of relief to experience.
This video really reminded me of the first time I played Dark Souls without a guide or hints, just me and the game, and I would erase my memory just to play it again. It was a feeling I haven't experienced with other games.
Wow this might be your best video yet!
Wow that's high praise! Preciate you newhouse, you da man
Dark Souls is an absolute masterpiece of a game and I agree with all your points. The level design and stamina usage feels so much more intentional than Elden Ring. It’s really firing on all cylinders, the combat, character builds, level design, boss design, hilarious NPCs, everything comes together in such a brilliant and mind blowing way.
The feeling of relief when you'd discover a shortcut that looped back to a previous area you were familiar with was a special kind of feeling. I understand the interconnected design couldn't be kept with the new larger games, but having almost all of the main areas connected was so unique and special
On my first playthrough I remember I used uchigatana + havel armor the whole run. Just tried to play a run like that a few months back and oh boy mid roll was horrible I dont know how I did it
Hahahaha I remember I used mid roll when I first played as well and I don’t get how I did it either.
Bro I also started with Demon's Souls and holy shit I LOVED it.. It was brutal, but I guess I'm just one of those people who fell in love with the world, the mechanics, and the difficulty
I loved Demon's Souls too, certainly wasn't for everyone lol
About time! We've needed to talk for a while!
Ha we needed to have a chat for sure.
Exploring the catacombs without fast travel actually had me terrified. I thought I was going to be stuck in there forever and never get out. That is a experience you can't have with newer fromsoft games. It's not gripping your chest like you're really there terrified of never making it out.
It was the same with the painted world. I went in there without knowing what was in there and I was not prepared. Got me behind handed to me, ran out of most of my items and in the end I was just glad to make it out finally.
I had about 89 hours in my first play through. My Buddy introduced me to the game not long after it’s release. DS1 was the first game that completely sucked me in. Greatest gaming experience I’ve ever had. I agree with ya. Going in Blind is the best way to go
What happened to you in the Tomb of the Giants happened to me, my first run. I didn't even realize how underlevel I was because the Drake Sword was so powerful. I didn't bother trying to get back out. So my first character went hollow in the Tomb.
DS 1 is so unique it's not possible to explain 😂
the first time i played dark souls was late last year after my partner got me eldin ring,, i had always wanted to try it out and that was what got me to start. It really quickly became an obsession,, and im currently still trying to get past Smoug and Ornstein 😞🙏 going in almost completely blind other than "it is apparently really hard" only to see how actually beautiful it is was and still is crazy
My strongest memory of my first DS1 play through was getting omega skill checked by the Gargoyles, ranting about how hard they were, finally beating them, getting curbstomped again by the Gaping Dragon, only to find out from a friend that I totally missed Andre and had gotten that far using base level gear.
the fact we've been basically saying what this video says since about a year after the game came out, and it deserves to be resaid every time is just a great feeling
Great point. The lack of fast travel in the first half of DS1 means you have to commit to your destination. Taking the wrong path might lead you to a zone way too hard or overleveled for you. This makes exploration much more engaging, making you feel like you are on an adventure. Going down blight town for the first time, dropping from one plank to the other without knowing how you are going to get back up, was quite mesmerizing for me.
With elden ring you are at all time 3 buttons away from teleporting wherever you want, and it removes so much from the sence of adventure and exploration. The game feels more like a successions of content/levels that are technically connected together, yet feel like separate pieces of the world because of how you are going to experience it. Even though the game is open world, it feels more like playing demons souls than having a continuous adventure like in Dark Souls.
It's dumb, but it's the reason why I enjoyed dragon's dogma 2 more than the elden ring dlc this year. The dlc was great on many aspects, but it lacked the one key ingredient.
Dark Souls was the first one I beat but not the one I started off with, that being Demon's Souls. The game helped me through one of the worst years of my life (up until now) and having sleepovers with friends, Dark Souls and pizza are some of the most cherished memories I have to this day. I play through Dark Souls 1 at least once every year and I hope I can keep doing so until the day I fucking die.
Honestly same. So many builds I need to try.
Nothing to add to your comment other than I hope you’re doing okay man. Keep going skeleton.
Demon Souls is truly the dark souls of souls-likes
I'm nearly finished with DS1 for my first time ever. it's unbelievable. Elden Ring was my intro to the series, but DS1 is a profound masterpiece. reminds me of playing the original Zelda when I was little and hand drawing a map etc.
Dark souls 1 is still the magnum opus.
I liked all the souls games better than elden ring tbh. Yeah even ds2 lol
My first DS1 playthrough was wild. It was my first souls game and I had a friend who basically forced me to get it. I made so many mistakes and had to claw my way out of all kinds of self inflicted troubles. That was the best gaming experience I've ever had. That got me hooked on the soul series, but honestly, DS1 will always be my favorite.
when I was only 10 years old, I found something interesting into this game so I was dying so hard to try it and I found it very bad and hard. But when I play throughout the game It finally tells me that "Because you are impatient, learn to be patient"(after I defeated this game). It really shows that this game is all about "be patient". I was lucky to experience this game because if it wasn't in the gamestop, I wouldn't have known this game....
Some standout memories of my first time:
1. Thinking that I was expected to beat the Asylum Demon with a broken sword and spending almost an hour trying until I finally saw the open door in the back lol.
2. The Taurus Demon falling off the castle wall (I fell too just after him but it still counted as beating him).
3. I think I took the wrong message from being able to run past the Asylum Demon only to fight him later. I started running past anyone, even low level mobs, that were too hard for me. This meant no xp and no levelling up so I got stuck in Darkroot Garden and couldnt advance so I dropped the game.
4. One day, months later, I was thinking about the game and had the realisation of how the game economy worked (grind, collect souls, spend on level up). Funny as it may sound, I wasn't doing this very basic loop so I started all over again and it finally clicked. Blew straight past Darkroot Garden.
5. The second time I nearly dropped the game was Ornstein and Smough. That took weeks and weeks of short bursts of attempts. I still remember leaving my PC room/office and going to just collapse on my bed in the bedroom while my girlfriend watched confused.
6. When I finally got to the end it didn't take too many attempts to beat Gwynn and I had my newborn son on my lap with me when I finally got to hear that hauntingly beautiful end credit music.
I started from Demon Souls way back in PS3 too lolz.
I still prefer the old style dark souls map layout over the open world of ER though.
I stand true to my word cuz i replayed DS1/ 2 couple times by now in recent year and i actually enjoy more than when i first started.
Playing in highschool when it first came out, slowly losing my god damn mind trying to figure everything out and jumping in blind, getting my ass handed to me with every boss.... Was fun as hell!!! Wish I could wipe my memories of this game to experience it all over again!!!
honestly the deprived class isnt as bad as it looks. the club is a surprisingly strong weapon, the even stat distribution makes it easy to move into any build, the only downsides are the shield and lack of armor but you can pick some up relatively quickly
Sure, I just moreso mean if you're a completely new player to the game.
A friend showed me dark souls one day on the Xbox 360. Played until Capra demon. Ragequit. Came back months later and I binged it and finished it in a few days.
I feel like this was a common experience for early souls players. I know a lot of others who gave up, went back, and it just clicked.
I started Dark Souls a few months ago and i just beat 2, on 3 and then it's time for Elden Ring
Good luck on your journey my friend!
It’s all nostalgia at this point, great time and memories playing PvP
I got it from gamestop in 2013 when i was 12 years old and the guy behind the counter warned me several times that it is a "very very hard game" but i didnt care bc i liked the knight dude on the cover. It took me over a year before i finished through undead burg and beat the gargoyles and another 6 years before i finally sat down and finished the game. Now ive beaten it atleast 15 times. this game will always hold a special place in my heart as it taught me to never give up
Over 100 hours. That's insane lol
Sorry - I didn't mean to be rude. I know a blind run must have been such a slog back then. What an amazing experience a first playthrough of Dark Souls is!
I started with Dark Souls 1 when it launched. I immediately knew it was going to be the best RPG I had ever played.
I started playing dark souls 1 in the Covid lockdown, at the beginning I didn't like the game because of how hard it was for me, but since there was nothing else to do, I decided to give it a try and oh boy, that was the best desicion of my life, I play that game for a whole year and got hooked on the souls like games.
I understand your point about ambiguity and running in blind, but having recently picked up on the remaster years after leaving the Prepare to Die edition hanging (because of a surgery and other unpleasant personal matters), I can say that a finer understanding of the game is helping me A LOT to enjoy it. I don't get frustrated when this or that boss kills me, waste humanity or souls- I know that I'll be able to make up for that later, this lets me stay relaxed and enjoy a lot of details that I had missed because my attention was totally wrecked by frustration.
I think there's certainly a balance to be met. Like I said, coming from Demon's Souls, I didn't find things difficult to figure out, but I understand how it could be that way for people who didn't already have experience with the genre.
My first Souls experience was with 3. A friend at work recommended it to me, so I picked it up. I had like, 30 minutes to kill before my shift one day so I started it and figured I’d get through the tutorial. I got Gundyr to half health on my first attempt, but that explosion into a writhing mass of tissue was the moment I said “I don’t have time to get this invested right now, I’ll be back for you later.” 😂
First playthrough of Dark Souls was magical. Felt like the scope of the game was massive with all it's grand presentation. I'm a completionist by heart and explored as much as I could find, learning that the world was as interconnected as it was blew my mind. Best map design I've ever played. I get some of those feelings in Shadow of the Erdtree, but as you mention being able to fast travel everywhere anytime takes away from it even though I understand the decision in this world.
First time playing DS I had a raised shield at every corner and was focused heavily on endurance to tank damage as best you could. Ended up with black knight greatsword, grasscrest shield and Leeroy's armor to kill Gwyn. Solaire had found his own sun...
Still one of my absolute favourites, phenomenal game despite it's aging
My first time playing was a couple weeks ago. I am now playing through it the first time.
My first Souls game was DS remastered back in 2020. that game got me through lockdown and made me fall in love with the souls games and the genre as a whole.
Though I have one MASSIVE regret.
I got stuck in the asylum and couldn't figure out what to do after the asylum demon wouldn't stop killing me. I consulted a walkthrough, and discovered I was meant to just run through the door to the side. I then continued watching the walkthrough and had it hold my hand and show me the way through over half of the game. I severely regret doing this, I didn't go in blind and knew exactly where to go.
Now I always recommend to only consult a walkthrough if you're desperate, don't let them hold your hand cause you're completely missing the point of the game
Subscribed after watching this video and really getting a massive nostalgia hit to when I did my first ever run of DS1 via the remaster in 2018. Loved the video and will be sure to check the streams when I can!
Thanks my dude, hope to see you there.
It was very interesting to hear the perspective of someone who played Demon/Dark Souls games at 11-14 or so. I was like 22 when Demon's Souls released and also played it early on. I'll add to your point about the ambiguity adding to the difficulty. I totally agree that it was a response to that era in gaming where other major titles were so easy and held your hand entirely too much. But I think the context you miss due to your age, is it was also a return to the NES era of gaming, when games brutalized you and were very cryptic. Dark Souls reinvigorated that old feeling of talking to a friend to see what they learned about the game, or getting to brag about reaching a new area, as we once could in elementary school over some Genesis game. I think a key difference that made it a bit more fair though was the internet. It was more acceptable to be that difficult and a bit cryptic when players could Ask Jeeves something when they were stuck, rather than be forced to get a Nintendo Power subscription.
Thatw first time i took the elevator to fielink will always be cemented in my brain, level design is amazing
I don't really remember why but I started with the third chapter and it was a crazy experience (first game on the ps4, I could try to play it blindfolded now (would definitely fail badly, I just wanted to say I really played it a lot)).
I discovered the game was not only incredibly beautiful gameplay-wise and aestethically, but it held a wealth of hidden lore ( a concept I didn't even know existed before).
After finally beating the marvelous final boss (still gives me chills of adrenaline just to think about and I still think it's one of the best bosses I've ever faced) and completely slumping down at the end of the long journey, with the end credits and epilogue ost rolling; I got absolutely intrigued by it, started searching more and more and totally fell in love with the universe of dark souls.
I then tried ds2, didn't click....returned with a different mentality after some time (thanks to a really good RUclipsr and Soulslike lover, of which I've watched the start of the DS2 blind run to see how he behaved), leveled agility and loved that too (despite all, it has a lot of cool things and a lot of interesting mechanics).
Finally reached the old goat, the start of it all (aside demon's souls...I have yet to play it sigh), and it was utterly stupendous (fun fact it also felt decently easy since I was a bit experienced on the genre by then, I even tried parries (orgasmic, true dopamine shots) and first-tried ornsty and smougghy).
I know you all probably already know it, experienced it, but these games are definitely magical. I don't know how to exactly translate those feelings into words to be honest, but I'm really glad I've felt them.
I enjoyed elden ring (even though it didn't give me the same feels and I think on some aspects it's a bit of a downgrade tbh(#bring back tail cutting)) but I totally had to go back and replay all of them (I 100% all of them, ds3 twice (first time farming covenants offline since I was on ps4💀)).
I don't want to exaggerate but this series really changed my life. The way I play games, the way I approach life, metamorphosed. No matter what happens now, I lived those adventures, somewhere, sometime (other games like Skyrim, Undertale, Hollow knight surely played a fat part too of course).
As for fast travel I kind of agree, however I would love to be able to keep the ability to do so once beated base ng. Having to play through half the game for each new cycle is a bit of a pain ngl (also limits free exploration for experiments).
That's it, just felt like sharing my story too, like a bonfire tale. I also hope more and more people get to experience similar or different plaesant journeys (even tho if I have to be honest, I also feel a bit sad dark souls won't be a niche game for a small slice of elites anymore) and that we'll get more magical titles like this in the future.
I wanted to add praises for the community, some people out there are absolutely amazing. The amount of lore, speculations, easter eggs, illusory walls, glitches, skips, mechanics, strats, builds, etc that has been found is unbelieavable! And the role play invasions, the summon signs, the messages....can be really hearthwarming.
We're all in this together (togeetherrrrr...), maybe distant in the physical world, divided by space and personal problems, but we are fire-linked in some way.
Don't give up fellow undeads 🍶
Hey! You started on demon's souls too?! Awesome! I went demons (PS3), DS III, DS, BLOODBORNE, DS III, Sekiro.
I rarely meet anyone who actually went in chronological order! Good vid man!
oof the time dark souls 1 truly is my favorite back than my brother and i played it together best times i wish i could turn back the time to re- enjoy it
Played DS1 when it came out. I was 11 and it was such a completely different game than anything I had ever played before that I stuck with it. When the game came out most people playing didn’t know shit until years after. I was one of the few players invading people shortly after the game released. So many good memories.
My grandpa beat his first Dark Souls game at 62. I deffinently got a few " where the hell am i supposed to go" phone calls. But being an old rpg gamer he figured it all out without using the internet. Wich is more than I can say for myself 😅.
The "Ambiguity" section is fair.
Dark Souls 3 was my first Souls game, I used a longsword with a "raw infusion" because it upped my damage numbers the most.
Then I got on the forums and started learning about the stats, dex vs strength builds, quality builds and all that. I even fat-rolled through the entirety of the "Undead Dilapidated Village", killing the Curse-rotted Greatwood Tree, or whatever it was called, in my heavy Lothric Knight armor lol.
It's funny, because I remember complaining as well about the ambiguity, and now I love the system so much. There is so much room for creativity and player expression, it's one of my favorite RPG systems ever.
I played dark souls when i was 13 years old back in 2012 when Prepare to die edition was released. I played the game and i noticed immediately the punishing bosses (literally they throw the boss Asylum Demon at your face), the underestimated enemies in the world that kill you when you let your guard down even for a minute, the plunge to death after you misstep or roll in the wrong direction near a cliff or a high location (This one always makes me curse) then i realized the title made sense - Prepare to Die. But instead all of these I chose to preservere in the face of despair and slowly but surely made myself and my character more resilient, patient and hopeful. Everytime i faced something which killed me dozens of time and i finally conquered them, i loved that feeling and literally fell in love with the game. I played the game for nearly 200+ hours back in the day and as of now i recently downloaded the remastered version and completed the game again and i am currently on NG+.
As an old man that started with Demons Soul's, its so great watching my son play through Dark Souls.
My first experience with dark Souls was when it became available on Xbox Live and I downloaded it, and then didn't touch it for a year.
One day I was looking through my library and I was like, " Oh yeah I downloaded this. I wonder what it's about?" And I've been hooked ever since.
I had no idea what I was doing. I did not understand the systems and I kind of got lucky with my build going Dex/Int, finding a balder straight sword, and cheesing it with sorceries and straight stabs. I felt like I was getting away with something.
But then there was the boss battles. I didn't understand what humanity did until my second playthrough and I looked it up. My first playthrough I stayed undead pretty much the whole time and fought all the bosses solo, including Schmoog and Ornstein. I couldn't beat them for days, but The exhilaration I felt when I did is indescribable to someone who hasn't played this game.
Amazing video. You deserve a lot more subscribers.
Nice of you to say, I appreciate it :)
I’m playing the game for the first time right now. I’m near finished. Such a great game
There will never be a better game than ds1. the vibe, the sounds, the story. Pure Life lessons. Unmatchable
High school and got barbecued and played this game, the atmosphere was crazy and no othe game came that close
I remember being lost and went to the catacombs way the first time and got completely destroyed, the I found out there was 3 ways that could be taken from firelink 😂
My most memorable moment from my first playthrough? After getting killed by skeletons and ghosts, i finally find the correct path, die to a black knight and wonder why everything kills me, i then find the first merchant, usually games dont let you hurt them so i rolled through all his merchandise to destroy the barrels/crates, he then got mad, pulled out his uchigatana and murdered me repeatedly until i eventually defeated him
I was blown away, but at that moment i realized, oh damn, this game really aint messing around
Someone from GameStop recommended Dark Souls for the 360. I was burnt out on gaming at that point and was looking for ANY suggestions. It took a while but once it “clicked” my god, it was on.
Awesome video, definitely made me feel nostalgic while thinking back to playing it as a 13 year old
I got married a few months before DS1 came out. Makes me feel really old hearing someone talk about it in relation to their childhood
I just started this series and my first is ds1 and… i can already tell this game is going to hold a special place in my heart forever
My strongest memory about DS1 first playthrough was also to walk a little too far inside the gaping abysm that was the Tomb of Giants and falling down the slide, and since i didn't want to lose my souls my dumb butt sat at the bonfire.
With no torch whatsoever what followed was an unforgettable struggle to find the freaking way out. When i finally reached a bit of light again, i still had to run through the catacombs and the myriad of wheelcart squeletons, full of adrenaline barely evading death because i didn't even knew how i found the exit to begin with, steeping in uncharted land as my original decent was through the hole connecting to the blacksmith.
No other game has made me feel like I truly stepped where i shouldn't like that one time.
The moment I knew DS1 was special, was in Lost Izalith.
When Siegmeyer jumped in to fight those chaos eaters...I didn't know he was gonna do that. I audibly yelled out "Siegmeyer NO!" and jumped in right behind him without even thinking about it. 😂
We both lived, but that's when I knew that even if the lore doesn't grab you, the characters will.
Bahahaha, that's a great story bro. Siegmeyer is such a badass.
Just finished the game today, i can feel it
How I feel with from soft games is like this.
Most of the games people play might be difficult at times but most of the time that explains what you need to do where you need to go how things work . Little boxes will pop up every time you learn something new and tell you how to use it. And then once you beat the game, you accomplished.
That’s how I felt playing through all the from-soft games for the first time. when I get through an area with all the items short cuts and secrets then I defeat the boss… I got the same feeling as beating most other games completely!
You just feel so accomplished! After trying to figure out the area and then dying to the boss a couple dozen times and learning their move set and crushing them? great feeling! And it’s an even better feeling when you get to a boss and you destroy him in the first go. Makes you feel so badass boost your confidence for the next area until you get knocked down a peg.
Everyone should try every fromsoft games. There will be atleast ONE that will click! (Blood Bourne for me!)
And these games have opened a whole new genre of gaming. Now you have other publishers and developers trying to make games that scratch the itch from soft games. Like, Lies of P, Steel Rising, Wo Long, and so many others. It’s great!
The lack of teleport and the sheer interconnectedness of Dark Souls' world is genius. It is also at a much smaller scale than DSII and DSIII, to say the least on Elden Ring, which is absolutely huge. It can easily be said that it was necessary to make it available from the start, which was also why DSII, DSIII and Bloodborne only allowed you to level up in exactly one location. It did change things, not always for the better. You didn't need to find shortcuts to get from one place to the other, merely in how to get through where you are at.
Both Dark Souls and Demon's Souls are call backs to the old school games, which were notoriously difficult when compared to today. Demon's Souls more so than Dark Souls, but Dark Souls and the following games in the From Software library call back to the days where checkpoints were relatively few and you had to figure out where to go and what exactly to do on very few hints.
I also love the visual storytelling of the series, where they show you that things are fucked, they don't tell you that. All around the game, you see the signs of past glories and greatness and now, it is all fading and dying. Anor Londo, which looks to be a thriving and alive city is a lie, which you find out if you do a certain action. There is no background music save for a handful of locations. The boss music tends to tell its own story about the boss. With the final boss, being a tragic figure when you consider just how sad and solemn the boss music is.
The game doesn't hold your hand, only gives you the barest information on how to play the game, and tells you to go out, have fun, and learn the rest. The introductory cinematic gives you context, the decaying and dying world around you tells its own story and if you want to learn more, you have to go out and find it.
Miyazaki was a fan of From Soft's King's field and Shadow tower, he was also an avid tabletop RPG player, Dark Souls was a great modern take on those games and personal experiences.
What Miyazaki understood really well in Dark Souls was freedom and player agency, trusting the players' competence/perseversnce is something most developers just can't do these days. Demon's was a more timid game, but in Dark souls they went all out with exploration, cryptic secrets and challenging combat, it's all about the player unraveling the world, fighting against all odds in his own way and pace, that's what real RPGs are about and they knew it perfectly. The cherry of the top is the focus on scenic storytelling, with unforgettable areas like Anor Londo, Kiln of the first flame and Lost Izalith.
Dark souls was my introduction to fromsoft and the souls franchise. It was downloaded on my older brothers Xbox 360 that I got from him because my old one was stolen. I played it and I rage quit multiple times over and over and over. Yet something kept me coming back and at the time I didnt like hard games or playing on hard but Dark souls changed that and I slowly started loving Dark souls 1. I remember when I first beat ornistien and smough I was so excited and then I learned the lore and loved it even more and more and more and when I first beat the game I loved and was so happy. Then I played Dark souls 2 and I loved it as well, Dark souls 3 became my favorite game ever, I loved Bloodborne and was so excited when elden ring came out and I love Elden ring and fromsoft is my favorite developers ever made and its all thanks to this one game
Im gonna say your thumbnail and title use is so great it surpasses most channels!
If there’s one game that deserves as much love as Skyrim in terms of re releases and graphics overhauls, it’s this one
Dark souls became free for gold June 1st 2014 and that's when I played it. I was 7 almost 8 years old. I'm 18 now and still can't get enough of it lmao
Immediately hearing you say your first souls game was demon's souls made me cheer and cry.
Thank you, slayer of demons.
Great video btw!!
I never "re-experienced" Dark Souls 1, because I never actually stopped playing it.
NIOH was my first soulslike. I learnt a lot from playing it but man is it a tough game to go in blind. Still never beat it but it’s one of my favs.
Played DS1 for the first time this year, finished it about a week ago. Brilliant game and while not my top 10, I have such a respect for what it did.
Glad you finally got around to playing it :)
Just out of curiosity, what are your top ten?
@@DxV04 Personal Top 10 favorite videogames, in no particular order:
Mafia (original from 2002)
Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines
Witcher (first one)
Spec Ops: The Line
Disco Elysium
Team Fortress 2
Prey (one made by Arcane Studios)
Cyberpunk 2077
Halo Reach
Darkest Dungeon
Plenty of these have a deep nostalgic value for me, plenty of these I would call good, but not amazing, yet they are games I still remember over others for one reason or other.
I value atmosphere first and foremost, then story, gameplay and the least important for me is technical side of things, mostly meaning graphics.
Dark Souls is a game with great gameplay and atmosphere which I would love if I played it sooner, that would give the game that nostalgic quality for me. As such it was truly great experience, probably my favorite of the year, but mostly because of the piecemeal story it falls short of the others above.
@@amf1435 That is a kick-ass list. Out of those the one that stands out to me is Darkest Dungeon. What a game. I still haven't beaten it. LOL
With regards to Dark Souls 1. I bought that during those nighttime releases with the tin case which I still have along with Skyrim. Needless to say, Skyrim got only 1 hour of me LOL. So I understand what you mean when you say if you would have played it, it would definitely be on that top 10 list.
Darks souls has taken nearly 100 hours to beat and nearly a year but I am now on my final boss grin
I'm currently playing it for the first time and it's a mixed bag. I love the atmosphere, enemy visual designs and the level design in general. But I am kind of disappointed with the combat, parrying seems to have some very weird inconsistent timing and a lot of enemy attacks are just pure RNG or just straight janky BS, especially that dragon on the bridge near the beginning of the game and the asylum demon you fight once you return there (you lose a huge part of your health from the drop down alone). Other than that I'm not a fan of enemy placement and some boss arenas (specifically that butterfly thing and the Capra demon, seriously what even was that arena), a lot of times mobs will be placed in tight corridors where your weapon has a huge chance of hitting the wall/tunnel and bouncing off and that just gets annoying. One more complaint is that some bosses are just too far away from the fireplace making me lose interest thinking I have to back track all the way there. Really fun and unique game, especially for it's time but it's also full of slight but still annoying problems.