@@jared30 No, I am just almost blind, the path to Forest of the Giants being on the part of the map it is, made it just dissolve into nothingness on my field of view lol
I started playing DS2 recently and I really was not feeling it but I thought Cardinal Tower had very cool level design and fair difficulty, definitely got me more invested
I’d have to disagree with that. You can go kill dancer and unlock an endgame area right at the start if you wanted to. Same as all the souls games. There’s a lot of hidden areas too, like the jail with that merchant guy, room underneath the dragon, estus flask room with 3 axe dudes. If you’re speedrunning you’re going to skip it all but if it’s a first playthrough you have a lot of paths to explore And after vordt the game opens up even more
@masterlinx767 what's wrong with the first ds? I just bought the remaster and just made it to blighttown after ringing the top bell. I wanna know what to expect lol.
Yeah, I don't understand this straight line argument, obviously if you're doing the speedrun route where you just pick up the resins and go straight to Vordt, it's going to be just a straight line but you are skipping a big portion of the area that you would have explored on your first playthrough. It's the same as with all the other games, once you know where to go and what to pick up, you are essentialy just going in a straight line from one boss to another but that doesn't mean that's what the game intended.
@@masterlinx767I just completed DS2 and I disagree DS2 end game like the dlc was way harder than ds1 and 3. I would say it's harder just because they put like a cheap amount of enemies in the rooms. I guess not even hard just unfair.
you are missing out, its prob the best souls game combat wise(sekiro not included), and story wise (in game that is without needing to check out a YT vid for lore) and the levels are amazingly good looking even tho they are linear@@asdfghjkllkjhgfdsa8725
Forest is fun, but there's a lot of punishment for first timers. The ambushes, pursuer, turtle knights and the fucking explosive barrel shortcut. It's really creative. Makes the Undead Burg look like a bigger bunch of lines
This is the first time I've seen someone think Highwall's level design is bad. It's an amazing tutorial area that prepares you for later in the game. I also find it ridiculous that those who see this game's linearity as a bad feature.
Completely agree, the linear nature of it let them focus on making each individual area the best it can be, I still have fun going through and exploring every bit of the map, and I am STILL finding new things to this day, I recently played through 1 again and just now 2 for the first time and I feel like a lot of the hate for 3s level design comes from nostalgia. DS1 has a great world and you CAN go anywhere from the start but it's very obvious where you are "supposed" to go, it also falls apart after you get the lordvessel and the quality starts falling off fast, and in DS2 while being more linear than 1 somehow is more confusing and its individual level design is all over the place in terms of quality. DS3 for me hits a perfect middle ground, where a brand new player isn't going to need a wiki or help to figure out where to go at any point, while still providing rewarding exploration and secrets, as well as great level design pretty much all the way through.
@@CoffeeArtThingsI think DS3 is TOO linear to the point where the early game heavily suffers for it making each subsequent playthrough feel almost identical as you have far less options for builds in the beginning. Road Of Sacrifices and Farron Keep leave a lot to be desired and the Undead Settlement is nothing to write home about either considering the very obvious progression paths, lack of tough challenges that you feel the need to return to later and not many interesting secrets or shortcuts. As for the High Wall. It’s fairly solid, I do think they put quite a few enemies in rooms together that they shouldn’t be, could’ve been slightly shorter for a first area and having to warp there rather than being able to travel and discover it yourself is a shame (the shortcut feels pretty pointless there too) but all in all I kinda like it. Cemetery Of Ash was a solid start too just not as perfect of a tutorial as the Undead Asylum. As for DS1’s late game I quite like New Londo, Duke’s Archives and The Catacombs, but I will never defend Demon Ruins, Lost Izalith or Tomb Of The Giants.
@@lukefitton7329 I agree that Road of Sacrifices and Farron Keep are the worst areas in DS3 but Undead Settlement is one of the best areas in the series, its not linear at all with 2 main different paths, plus a lot of small forks in the road, shortcuts like the rat tunnel, optional areas like the small lake at the bottom, Demon, Siegmeyer and the giant at the tower, optional boss and a secret covenant entrance, a lot of good loot and incentive to explore, amazing visuals, very good enemy design and Boreal Outrider Knight is a good and fun challenge at the end.
@@Emulator833 Not a huge fan of the giant on the tower personally, going up the lift just to ask him to stop and go back down after you’ve likely been bombarded with his arrows near the edge of a cliff was a little annoying for me. Also not keen on the Curse Rotted Greatwood as a boss. Cool that there are two paths but they both quite brief and soon lead to spaces accessible from both. I agree about the optional rooms with good loot though and some solid enemies in there but it’s just not an area I particularly enjoy replaying.
DS3 imo has great level design. People just like to say linear = bad level design. The individual areas in DS3 are mostly great, some are at least solid and even the ones people dislike, such as Farron, are well connected internally. The only areas I actively dislike in that game are Yhorm's lair and new Izalith. Dungeon has annoying enemies but the area itself is not bad imo.
Eh I kinda of agree with aggy the first level looks wise and just playing thru in general ain't really hittin on shit fr. I do 1000% agree with you tho irithyll dungeon is the sh*ttiest level in that game nothing but hatred. The layout is ass, the enemies are ass. The only thing to look forward to in that level is the boss cause the gimmick weapon to beat him with is really cool. Other than that throw the whole level away. That one dlc level with the angels is also terrible nothing but a blood pressure increase.
Having started with DS3 and currently going through DS1 I can see why people talk about the connectedness DS1 has, but I'm also annoyed about most bosses ending with a dead end and a homeward bone.
It also isn't very linear. The first area of the game has an endgame boss in it (Dancer) that, if you beat her, can lead you to one of the final bosses (Prince Lothric). It has variance. People just like to criticize things.
It’s the best IMO. You can literally get to the end of the game from the first area, it’s great foreshadowing of both the first half (after vordt you can see the entire map from undead settlement onward) and the second half (hollow butterflies, dragon, pus of man), plus it has two bosses and both are great. Meanwhile you have undead burg which looks super gross, feels way smaller and isn’t much less linear, and has… taurus demon. Forest of fallen giants is a bit more complicated and the pursuer is a good boss, but the environment and enemy placements aren’t too great imo
@@bolson42Vordt is not a great boss lol he’s the most mid and generic boss in the entire game. Dancers good though but it’s hard to consider her a boss of the starting area when most runs don’t fight her until after you’ve done half the game
@orionfell bro, do you expect that 2nd boss of the game to be a complex boss as a dlc one? Vordt is a perfect boss for the first area. He introduces a new mechanic of the game (frostbite). It has different moves and attacks and a clear second phase that makes the player understand that every boss its going to have second phases. It is definitely a better initial boss than Taurus Demon (although I love that boss fight design), Last Giant, the Persuer, and 90% of ds2 bosses
@alexandere9368 Well, Index Gundir introduces you to the game (fast and dynamic fights, second phases, parries...) and it is a well designed boss. Vordt isn't as charismatic but he has dynamic music and presents you the status effect of frostbite. Both are well designed bosses, I wouldn't say one is better than the other, both do good in their purposes
The possible first level of DS2: 1. Forest of Fallen Giants 2. Heide's Tower of Flame 3. Shaded Woods 4. The Gutter 5. Grave of Saints 6. Draenglic Castle
But 90% of the players doesn't want to learn this New gameplay and just want Ds2 to be the braindead rolling and R1 Spam of DS3. Ds2 enemies are way worse but Holy shit, i have 600 hours in Ds3 and only 3 280 hours in Ds2 but 260 hours in Ds2 is just PvE and Ds3 just probably 170~ hours of PvE. The gameplay is so bad because it's braindead, i can't take it more, this make me in a man that cannot play Elden Ring because of the Ctrl C ctrl V of Ds3 Gameplay, i don't have fun playing a game of 3 buttons with over exaggerated attacks animations, it's getting cringe to me.
I love how DS2 has many optional areas right away, but yes Forest of the Fallen giants is technically where you should go first. DS3’s Highwall is definitely one of my favorite though, there’s a lot to explore as a first timer and it has enjoyable enemies and interesting landmarks. Nothing is gonna beat Demons Souls first area though 🤷🏻♂️
Respectfully I disagree. If anything it's the same if not better than other souls games level designs. You only have to kill like 3-4 bosses at most in the beginning and then you'd have access to both DLCs, & 2-3 end game areas. Even with linear level design ds3 still has great level design.
Try playing it with a friend, and find out that you'll have to replay freaking village and cathedral. Oh, and don't forget miyazaki hometown, which is that stinky swamp :D
Seriously, DS2 Forest of Falling Giants is an awesome level with optional branching paths and tons of nooks & crannies to explore. High Wall of Lothric is just a straight line like he said
@probablyswifty209 To his credit DS2's level design & connections is so bizarre you could "beat the game" whilst missing entire zones and bosses. There's IS alot of "backtracking" (I mean you teleport everywhere so...) with the petrified woman blocking shaded woods or the miracle woman pulling the lever for huntsmans copse... But those things made me feel like DS2's world was *alive* and not just some level
@@probablyswifty209 i mean this entire clip is aggy agreeing with you that ds3 has bad level design (the game is still better tho lets be real. ds2 isnt garbage but its not great either)
@@JubioHDX fat disagree i definitely prefer DS2 over three mainly because DS2 has much better level design and build variety. I still love DS3 but DS2 is crazy underrated.
How fucking dare you, lmao. High Wall is my second favorite area in DS3. Top 10 favorite Soulsborne areas. There are plenty of optional paths and windy halls. There are two different bosses and two different dirctions. Plus, the area has quite a bit of verticality.
high wall honestly just feels like a good starting point imo it doesn’t try and shove too much of what the game is down your throat it’s like ur starting at the very beginning with no knowledge of what to expect as everything is so different going forward
Arent their like 2 mimics, a dragon, and the mini me fat boi followed by like 8 or so knights with one of them being a red wraith? Thats alot of pound town for the first area.
@@cjyoung5635 thats if youre one of those people that just run through all the areas and dont fight any enemies. taking your time and killing all the enemies efficiently negates that problem.
@@AETERNA-PASSIO I mean that is true but within the context that dark souls 3 shoves the most stuff at you after the tutorial for no reason is still spot on. It'd be like if a streamer was told the cemetery was the right way to go for their first ever dark souls experience. (The coms would be right since that makes everything easier but it'd be hell getting to pinwheel and back for them)
Heidi’s tower of flame is freaking beautiful. Something straight out of a fairy tail. I ended up going there first before the forest. To me that’s the first area
@@masterlinx767 I know what you mean, nothing is quite as iconic as getting to the Ringed City only to be absolutely demolished by the ghost archers haha. The Ringed City is up there with Irithyll and Anor Londo for me. Aesthetically, I think Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree from Elden Ring is probably the closest to it in terms of the general atmosphere and architecture. I do wish the Ringed City itself was larger though, since the Ringed City streets is still a swamp (though at least its not poisonous).
@@braynaguilar8567 I didn’t like how from the cutscene you see the huge sprawling city then when you go in you spend 50% or more of the time in the dlc in a swamp and a cave. Missed potential imo
DS2 isn’t bad per-say, it’s just at the bottom of the FromSoftware list for a lot of folks, myself included. Behind DS1, 3, BB, Elden Ring, Sekiro, even Demon Souls.
Generally it comes down to the fact that it has some…interesting exclusive mechanics (cough cough ADP), had a fairly rushed development due to rewrites I think, don’t quote me on that, and the way the levels were designed was vastly different than in DS1. Though they kept the same “you can explore the first level or you can just skip to the end” mentality their way of doing it was totally different, something more in line with what Elden Ring did honestly, that being a large world with multiple different ‘dungeons’ to explore. Couple that with using the ‘spam enemies’ technique a little too often and many people found the game difficult in a way that couldn’t always be solved with getting better and would instead end up being more luck based (or it just made getting good significantly harder). Learning that soft capping ADP at 27 made my rolls similar to the DS1 rolls is what saved me. Now DS2 is probably my second favourite of the FromSoft games that I have played (why must so many of them be PS/PC exclusive!?!?). Nevertheless I understand why people dislike it
my main complaint is that high wall is generally kinda difficult with a lot of fast and deadly enemies, compared to undead settlement which is quite a bit easier to get through for a first timer. It kinda feels like the difficulty curve is swapped around for those areas, wouldve been nore enjoyable to rebalance em
So many of my friends first experiences with souls games is DS3... and a lot of them have had zero interest in trying another souls game until recently. I always thought it was the classic souls bosses are too hard, but turns all they ALL quit the game in High Wall. I dont blame them honestly, getting through High Wall for the first time is like pulling a tooth out.
Honestly, just finished DS1 remastered and had a great time (except for Izalith) and decided to play DS3 next (playing on PC so DS2 is non existent for me). I HATED the high wall. Started as a mage, no HP, dealing next to 0 damage, no stamina etc. Game becomes a lot better after High Wall.
Facts Once you get lordvessel, it goes from this interconnected world to “let’s just teleport everywhere and make linear levels”. People remember undead berg, but forget everything else
The 2 areas you are likely to start in DS2 are forest of the giants and Heide and honestly I would rather take those before Highwall of Lotric. Highwall feels like an area that exist to connect 2 real levels.
DS2 starter area was awesome. I hate the DS2 slander. Everyone hates it, but no one can say why. It has the best PVP, the best NG+ runs, some of the better loooing armor choices, and has some fun and unique bosses. I had more fun in DS2 than DS3 by FAR. I didnt even finish ds3 because i got so damn bored.
I don't think I can agree that ds2 has the best PVP or ng+ value but it's Def not as bad as people think it is, I believe that ds3 is still objectively a better game but you thinking ds2 is better is your opinion and I respect that
It's not about the NG+ runs or pvp or even the fact that you can mix and match most weapons.. Scholar of the first sin was lit storywise and some bosses were ruthless. But some of the mechanics were just made to try new stuff and it didn't appeal to some people changing the formula and all. Plus the game flatlines after a while and even some of the zones made no sense literally breaking immersion on some elevators. Was it bad ? no. Was it good enough ? yes. Is it the best Darksouls ? Sorry but for most people it's not even in the conversation. I definitely enjoyed it and it doesn't deserve the hate clearly but out of the 3 Darksouls it's my least favorite
"No one can say why" brother you'd have to have your head 12 meters deep in the sand to not know why with how much this horse has been beaten before but I'll bite. There's lots of areas but they're generally short as hell (usually only have 1-3 bonfires max) and only padded by the astronomical amount of enemies spammed everywhere, the game doesn't even allow you to run past the enemies because fog gates and doors don't give I frames so you have to kill every damn enemy on the map just to progress and if you die at any point you start over, which obviously also translates to boss runbacks being unbearable. And once you do trudge through you are met with the most boring wet fart of a boss you could imagine. Like seriously, one of these bosses was literally just a room full of fucking rats. Real inventive gameplay here. Another boss is just a dumb snake woman in a poison pit that makes it impossible to beat her until you google a guide and find out you can burn down a windmill with a torch to remove the gimmick (how the fuck is anyone supposed to know??????) And at that point she's pretty much just a glorified random mob. And that's not even going into the movesets. Most bosses have like 5 attacks max, one of which being a basic ass 3 hit combo (slash, slash, slam) where you dodge the slam and get a free punish. Most bosses in this game can be beaten by just strafing to the side, dodging the big attack and punishing repeat till dead. They don't even have second phases or anything. I've beaten most bosses in the game first try. I've legitimately died more times on the way to bosses than the actual bosses themselves. I've just made it to the Undead Crypt and have yet to meet a single unique and fun boss. They're all just predictable gimmicks. Most bosses can just be summarized with one sentence (oh this guy can only be hit in his face, oh this guy summons little guys, oh this guy is literally just another boss I already beat but there's two of em now). Even Gundyr, the tutorial boss in 3, has more depth than all the bosses I've faced so far. It's like someone made a souls game where every boss was inspired by the Deacons of the Deep. If despite all this you still enjoy this game more than the other games good for you I guess but I just legit cannot see where you're coming from.
@@mothman5035 your view definitely makes me see the reasoning better. I play souls games all the same. I never rush bosses. I methodically explore every room I find, kill every enemy I cross, and find it very fun. I guess it makes sense that I would like dark souls 2 more than other people who prefer other methods.
In ds1 your movement is clunky, but there’s poise to help with that. In ds3 there’s no poise, but you can roll roll roll, and the movement is precise. Ds2 has the clunkiest movement and nerfed the parts of ds1 that helped you. Poise nerfed. Endurance split into 2 stats, weight hurts your rolls on a scale. Stamina cost for rolls increased, imprecise snap turns on the left stick, castlevania-esque knockback on hit. The movement is whack in a game about spacing and timing. I honestly love the dlcs, but I’m having fun in spite of the game’s mechanics, not because of them.
Allow me to give you some of the precise reasons,first things it has a lot of gank even by souls standards, the enemies just stun lock you to death(old iron keep,shrine of amana), horrible boss runs, (kings pets ,both smelter demon),bosses do not have a lot of variety and rely on gimmicks(earthen peak boss and the dukes dear freja,squalid queen) and horrible hitboxes and bullshit moves(ancient dragon,royal rat authority) there are also other things like clunky combat or slow af Estus heals or areas that are downright impossible without a mage build .Ds2 had a lot of creative ideas as well however according to me it has to objectively be the worst in the series.
I've had to hear it a million times. DS2 is my least favorite of the series and I've heard why it sucks a MILLION TIMES I'm honestly starting to get sick of it to the point where it's making me want to actually play it again
DS2 doesn't get really gud until the last half of your first playthrough AT LEAST. Maybe even until NG+. However it has the best NG+ in the whole series. DS2 is just a weird game.
i cant lie yeah High wall of Lothric kinda sucks ass. Lothric knights are fuckin rough on anyone whos not good, and i always end up farming them on every playthrough for the full lothric knight set, and the lothric knight sword and greatspear are two of my favorite weapons, so that area always devolves to a lothric knight farming area for me so yeah its kinda annoying after a while
I just started dark souls 3 a couple days ago and im still at the highwall because its more like a maze i thought. I just got beat the first boss where you gotta raise the banner after. Im probably got at least 10-15 hours in already
@DamianW-b8c you just walk to her boss room at the beginning, rather going to vorm you go the opposite side to the door which can be opened, but you can’t climb up the ladder since you need the bowl
@DamianW-b8c lmao it’s hard to explain haven’t played in a couple years, but from vordt’s boss room door, you walk to the opposite side of the map, and go up the stairs pass the two knights and open that door
@@smoothyodaproductions4373 the levels are still good, just not as interconnected. there's a difference and the absence of second doesn't mitigate the first. having a more linear structure sacrifices the fun of exploration that other souls games have, but in turn it is the most polished, balanced game out of them all because it can accurately gauge how strong you'll be at what point (as long as you aren't farming or not killing anything at all)
Ok but tbf, Heide's Tower and i believe Shaded Woods *could* be your first location in DS2. I fucking despise Shaded Woods so that would unequivocally be my least favorite
Are we considering the "first area" of DS2 I as Heide's Tower of Flame or the Forest of Fallen Giants? Because the former was my first area when I played DS2 for the first time. I don't think thag lineal-level design is bad, but I don't like some other aspects of level design in DS3, especially Ringed City (as an area, not whole DLC).
Aggy probably thinks the High Wall is super linear because that’s how he engaged with it on his first and all subsequent playthroughs. It’s a rare example of a mostly linear Souls level with a variety of small branching paths that you can either explore, or blow past to fight Vordt. It’s a very meticulously designed level that’s intended to prepare you for the sprawl of more complicated levels at your own pace. It is sad that content creators that make a living off of Fromsoftware’s games put so little effort into understanding the function or intent behind From’s work.
I mean... DS1 areas are also pretty linear, its just that they have paths that connect eachother. There isn't even that many ways of looping back into the level unless u get the Master Key.
Ds3 was my second souls game after bloodbourne. I was God awful at builds and kind of evenly distributed my stats in both games, I tell you it took me 20+hrs to beat pontiff my first run 😢
Tbh I feel like DS3 gets the most hate for no reason. The general opinion on DS3 is “it’s a good game but (random complaint)” like, it’s not as bad as DS2 ofc but it’s such a great middle ground between all of the stuff fromsoft has been doing between all of their games. Not intense and annoying boss design that can come times litter Elden ring (especially in the DLC) while still having difficult enemies, more linear design than DS1 while still having branching paths, and mainly being packed with all of the good shit instead of making you peek behind every nook and cranny of every random location just praying that you’ll find a good item, and having its own identity beyond DS1, by showing the progressive downgrades that the bosses and larger than life enemies fall into by constantly having the world re-embered. despite the common complaint that it sucks off DS1 too much to have its own identity. Also the new lore revaluations from DS1 as a direct progression, like the nameless king, for example.
I agree, personally none of these souls games will be as loved by me as Dark Souls 1, I like the boss designs but the areas themselves do not overlap except for the one area of the game that I hated first and then loved after, being the Boreal Valley, once I found out how much it felt similar to Dark Souls 1's interconnected nature.
high wall is the best area in the entire game imho, at least as far as sheer design goes - the others are far more linear and/or boring. This one features a lot of enemy types, solid amounts of loot, a challenging optional boss that completely opens up the game (like nothing else does, unfortunately) and it can be tackled in a number of different ways. It's a really cool playground meant to teach you the basics and to let you test your character class, overall
I legitimately don't know if High Wall is better than the Forest of Giants because it benefits from being in the better game. Unfortunately, I think Aggy might be right. Forest of Giants is at least visually interesting even though everything else kinda sucks
I think that's not being really fair to the Forest. The Forest has some pretty cool shortcuts, looping back to the bonfire near the hag (one of them being exploding the wall). It also has your first meeting with the Pursuer, which will remove him as a boss if you could defeat him. It has the Giant trees which is such a fantastic thing to come back to at the end of the game, specially with that one tree that has the "Here a Giant rests in peace", and that tree being the only one you can't go to its memories and the only one giving a seed. It's such a subtle but touching thing that really stuck with me when I first played. You also find the key to one of the DLCs, and one of the king doors here. And also, "Forest of the Fallen Giants" is such a metal name! Specially with its double-meaning.
@yeahnahmate7 nah most people loved ds2 until a bunch of people who started with ds3 told everyone that ds2 sucks even though they've never played it. you should try ds2 some time, it's a great game and isn't a straight line the entire time
For the life of me I don’t know why so many people love ds2. I feel insane even having to bring this up but the game is not fun at all. There’s maybe 4-5 bosses in the game that I enjoyed and 3 of them are in the DLCs
Everyone's talking about the forest, but dont remember you could always goto heide's tower or even the gutter if you knew how to survive the falls early. Least at the beginning ds3 is linear af vs its' peers
I love all the Dark Souls starting areas. If you are complaining about starting areas maybe dont go look at bloodborne starting you in a room with a werewolf that kills you
this is exactly what threw me off dark souls 3, especially bc I had just finished all of elden ring and was hyped for another souls game but the level design sucked so hard at first that I dropped it, I might try it again in the future though
Had what I felt was a fairly impressive soulsborne run by my standards. Killed bosses like manus, artorias, Maria and orphan on my first attempt. Friede, Ludwig, Midir and gael in like 2-7. Pontiff though? Easily over 20. Rocks my shit every single playthrough without fail.
He cooked with that take. The fact that you warp there, can't even make it normally from firelink has always been a headscratcher for me. I don't like ds2 that much but forest of the fallen giants isn't even that bad except for some bad sections like the area before the shortcut door next to the elevatorz but because of the annoying enemies. But level design wise it is not bad.
"Whats DS2's first level?"
Exactly
Ok you have the point can't argue with that
I'd say it's forest of giants. If you call this area the first in ds3 and not the starting area with gundyr, that is.
@@jared30 i needed to see a gameplay of someone else to even see it was there the first time
@@burushifudara sorry there wasn't a neon sign saying forest of the giants this way
@@jared30 No, I am just almost blind, the path to Forest of the Giants being on the part of the map it is, made it just dissolve into nothingness on my field of view lol
Calling the Highwall straight is a pretty good compliment for the guy who built it.
Actually ye true
no
Walls can be curved numnuts
@@juble7086 what?
I actually think Forest of Fallen Giants is pretty good
it’s actually my favorite. ds2 is great
i think you both smoke crack
Its one of the best areas in the whole series
@@mystic_4817 i agree, to me it’s the most iconic but that might be biased
I started playing DS2 recently and I really was not feeling it but I thought Cardinal Tower had very cool level design and fair difficulty, definitely got me more invested
I’d have to disagree with that. You can go kill dancer and unlock an endgame area right at the start if you wanted to. Same as all the souls games.
There’s a lot of hidden areas too, like the jail with that merchant guy, room underneath the dragon, estus flask room with 3 axe dudes. If you’re speedrunning you’re going to skip it all but if it’s a first playthrough you have a lot of paths to explore
And after vordt the game opens up even more
@masterlinx767 what's wrong with the first ds? I just bought the remaster and just made it to blighttown after ringing the top bell. I wanna know what to expect lol.
Yeah, I don't understand this straight line argument, obviously if you're doing the speedrun route where you just pick up the resins and go straight to Vordt, it's going to be just a straight line but you are skipping a big portion of the area that you would have explored on your first playthrough. It's the same as with all the other games, once you know where to go and what to pick up, you are essentialy just going in a straight line from one boss to another but that doesn't mean that's what the game intended.
how does that equal to good level design? are you daft?
Second half is janky@CHEEKDESTROYER
@@masterlinx767I just completed DS2 and I disagree DS2 end game like the dlc was way harder than ds1 and 3. I would say it's harder just because they put like a cheap amount of enemies in the rooms. I guess not even hard just unfair.
Lies of P is a corridor
Main reason i havent played it.
you are missing out, its prob the best souls game combat wise(sekiro not included), and story wise (in game that is without needing to check out a YT vid for lore) and the levels are amazingly good looking even tho they are linear@@asdfghjkllkjhgfdsa8725
@@asdfghjkllkjhgfdsa8725nah u definitely should try it.. corridor doesn’t mean it’s shit
@@danielsama5886 Honestly really clunky and slow
Yeah stupid asf its def not stupid head ass@@Johnytomm
Forest is fun, but there's a lot of punishment for first timers. The ambushes, pursuer, turtle knights and the fucking explosive barrel shortcut. It's really creative. Makes the Undead Burg look like a bigger bunch of lines
Sounds shit just from your description, no thanks
This is the first time I've seen someone think Highwall's level design is bad. It's an amazing tutorial area that prepares you for later in the game. I also find it ridiculous that those who see this game's linearity as a bad feature.
Completely agree, the linear nature of it let them focus on making each individual area the best it can be, I still have fun going through and exploring every bit of the map, and I am STILL finding new things to this day, I recently played through 1 again and just now 2 for the first time and I feel like a lot of the hate for 3s level design comes from nostalgia. DS1 has a great world and you CAN go anywhere from the start but it's very obvious where you are "supposed" to go, it also falls apart after you get the lordvessel and the quality starts falling off fast, and in DS2 while being more linear than 1 somehow is more confusing and its individual level design is all over the place in terms of quality. DS3 for me hits a perfect middle ground, where a brand new player isn't going to need a wiki or help to figure out where to go at any point, while still providing rewarding exploration and secrets, as well as great level design pretty much all the way through.
Ds2 is already linear but Ds3 linear is boring.
@@CoffeeArtThingsI think DS3 is TOO linear to the point where the early game heavily suffers for it making each subsequent playthrough feel almost identical as you have far less options for builds in the beginning. Road Of Sacrifices and Farron Keep leave a lot to be desired and the Undead Settlement is nothing to write home about either considering the very obvious progression paths, lack of tough challenges that you feel the need to return to later and not many interesting secrets or shortcuts.
As for the High Wall. It’s fairly solid, I do think they put quite a few enemies in rooms together that they shouldn’t be, could’ve been slightly shorter for a first area and having to warp there rather than being able to travel and discover it yourself is a shame (the shortcut feels pretty pointless there too) but all in all I kinda like it. Cemetery Of Ash was a solid start too just not as perfect of a tutorial as the Undead Asylum.
As for DS1’s late game I quite like New Londo, Duke’s Archives and The Catacombs, but I will never defend Demon Ruins, Lost Izalith or Tomb Of The Giants.
@@lukefitton7329 I agree that Road of Sacrifices and Farron Keep are the worst areas in DS3 but Undead Settlement is one of the best areas in the series, its not linear at all with 2 main different paths, plus a lot of small forks in the road, shortcuts like the rat tunnel, optional areas like the small lake at the bottom, Demon, Siegmeyer and the giant at the tower, optional boss and a secret covenant entrance, a lot of good loot and incentive to explore, amazing visuals, very good enemy design and Boreal Outrider Knight is a good and fun challenge at the end.
@@Emulator833 Not a huge fan of the giant on the tower personally, going up the lift just to ask him to stop and go back down after you’ve likely been bombarded with his arrows near the edge of a cliff was a little annoying for me. Also not keen on the Curse Rotted Greatwood as a boss. Cool that there are two paths but they both quite brief and soon lead to spaces accessible from both. I agree about the optional rooms with good loot though and some solid enemies in there but it’s just not an area I particularly enjoy replaying.
DS3 imo has great level design. People just like to say linear = bad level design. The individual areas in DS3 are mostly great, some are at least solid and even the ones people dislike, such as Farron, are well connected internally. The only areas I actively dislike in that game are Yhorm's lair and new Izalith. Dungeon has annoying enemies but the area itself is not bad imo.
Eh I kinda of agree with aggy the first level looks wise and just playing thru in general ain't really hittin on shit fr.
I do 1000% agree with you tho irithyll dungeon is the sh*ttiest level in that game nothing but hatred. The layout is ass, the enemies are ass. The only thing to look forward to in that level is the boss cause the gimmick weapon to beat him with is really cool. Other than that throw the whole level away. That one dlc level with the angels is also terrible nothing but a blood pressure increase.
DS3 doesnt have bad level design as a standalone game. The reason why its 'bad' is because its a noticable downgrade from the previous games
@@mystic_4817 True, well said
Having started with DS3 and currently going through DS1 I can see why people talk about the connectedness DS1 has, but I'm also annoyed about most bosses ending with a dead end and a homeward bone.
It also isn't very linear. The first area of the game has an endgame boss in it (Dancer) that, if you beat her, can lead you to one of the final bosses (Prince Lothric). It has variance. People just like to criticize things.
Awful take, not a bad starting area at all, honestly it's pretty decent
It’s the best IMO. You can literally get to the end of the game from the first area, it’s great foreshadowing of both the first half (after vordt you can see the entire map from undead settlement onward) and the second half (hollow butterflies, dragon, pus of man), plus it has two bosses and both are great. Meanwhile you have undead burg which looks super gross, feels way smaller and isn’t much less linear, and has… taurus demon. Forest of fallen giants is a bit more complicated and the pursuer is a good boss, but the environment and enemy placements aren’t too great imo
@@bolson42Vordt is not a great boss lol he’s the most mid and generic boss in the entire game. Dancers good though but it’s hard to consider her a boss of the starting area when most runs don’t fight her until after you’ve done half the game
@orionfell bro, do you expect that 2nd boss of the game to be a complex boss as a dlc one? Vordt is a perfect boss for the first area. He introduces a new mechanic of the game (frostbite). It has different moves and attacks and a clear second phase that makes the player understand that every boss its going to have second phases.
It is definitely a better initial boss than Taurus Demon (although I love that boss fight design), Last Giant, the Persuer, and 90% of ds2 bosses
@@Death7_ The first boss in ds3 - Gundir - is far better than Vordt.
@alexandere9368 Well, Index Gundir introduces you to the game (fast and dynamic fights, second phases, parries...) and it is a well designed boss. Vordt isn't as charismatic but he has dynamic music and presents you the status effect of frostbite. Both are well designed bosses, I wouldn't say one is better than the other, both do good in their purposes
It's the straightest of straight lines (is a literal circle)
Forest of thr Fallen Giants is so beautiful. It's one of the few peaceful areas
The possible first level of DS2:
1. Forest of Fallen Giants
2. Heide's Tower of Flame
3. Shaded Woods
4. The Gutter
5. Grave of Saints
6. Draenglic Castle
All the examples they brought up, and High Wall are awesome levels.
Pontiff literally makes me want to play ds3 again. I love that fight
straight line is peak level design ever hear of a little diddy called crash bandicoot
Which was not a good game.
@@sacredgeometrydelet this
@@lukefitton7329 no
High wall doesnt have a guy swoop in from a falcon with a great sword therefore forest>highwall
Facts. They should have brought the pursuer back
Pursuer is one of my favorite bosses!!!
And he hunts you throughout the game like the big guys in Resident Evil 2 and 3
@@daith_izumiImagine two Nemesis in a small room XD
W Take 🔥
The forest level is an excellent introduction to managing groups of enemies and spatial awareness generally.
But 90% of the players doesn't want to learn this New gameplay and just want Ds2 to be the braindead rolling and R1 Spam of DS3. Ds2 enemies are way worse but Holy shit, i have 600 hours in Ds3 and only 3
280 hours in Ds2 but 260 hours in Ds2 is just PvE and Ds3 just probably 170~ hours of PvE. The gameplay is so bad because it's braindead, i can't take it more, this make me in a man that cannot play Elden Ring because of the Ctrl C ctrl V of Ds3 Gameplay, i don't have fun playing a game of 3 buttons with over exaggerated attacks animations, it's getting cringe to me.
@@mauriciorosademoraes9209 stop crying bro
Nothing like getting killed by the Peruser in DS2, I can still hear him say “I’ll see *you* later…”
I don't like the High Wall, but what is it with specifically Souls fans and saying/putting OBJECTIVELY before the most subjective thing ever
They're all entitled lol For ME Bloodborne and Ds3 are the best but I'll never say it's a fact. There's no objective opinion.
It’s baffling that a person who plays the FromSoftware games practically for a living can have such a horrid take on them.
Agreed
Like the area is litterally a ring how can you call it straight?
well he is semi-rarted
@@AETERNA-PASSIO shut the hell up
Never seen someone shrivel so quick.
I love how DS2 has many optional areas right away, but yes Forest of the Fallen giants is technically where you should go first. DS3’s Highwall is definitely one of my favorite though, there’s a lot to explore as a first timer and it has enjoyable enemies and interesting landmarks. Nothing is gonna beat Demons Souls first area though 🤷🏻♂️
They’re all good, ds3 is hectic af and really cinematic with the dragons and all the hollows I actually think it’s probably the best starting area
Passive aggressive tones in the making
Respectfully I disagree. If anything it's the same if not better than other souls games level designs. You only have to kill like 3-4 bosses at most in the beginning and then you'd have access to both DLCs, & 2-3 end game areas. Even with linear level design ds3 still has great level design.
Ds3 is too fundamentally boring for me.
Try playing it with a friend, and find out that you'll have to replay freaking village and cathedral. Oh, and don't forget miyazaki hometown, which is that stinky swamp :D
@@Happy_Sailor639 yeah ds3 has a lot of areas that are cool but have nothing that encourages you to explore... Unlike dark souls 2.
^ more glazing
@@yeahnahmate7 how is it glazing or are you just a brainrot slop enjoyer with no self control.
Forest of Fallen Giants is leagues better and more interesting than High Wall, like it’s actually not even remotely close
ds2 is so overhated it’s insane
Seriously, DS2 Forest of Falling Giants is an awesome level with optional branching paths and tons of nooks & crannies to explore. High Wall of Lothric is just a straight line like he said
@@yesiam7481 fr like I get that not everyone is going to love DS2 but why are we pretending DS3 has better level design 😭
@probablyswifty209 To his credit DS2's level design & connections is so bizarre you could "beat the game" whilst missing entire zones and bosses. There's IS alot of "backtracking" (I mean you teleport everywhere so...) with the petrified woman blocking shaded woods or the miracle woman pulling the lever for huntsmans copse... But those things made me feel like DS2's world was *alive* and not just some level
@@probablyswifty209 i mean this entire clip is aggy agreeing with you that ds3 has bad level design (the game is still better tho lets be real. ds2 isnt garbage but its not great either)
@@JubioHDX fat disagree i definitely prefer DS2 over three mainly because DS2 has much better level design and build variety. I still love DS3 but DS2 is crazy underrated.
How fucking dare you, lmao. High Wall is my second favorite area in DS3. Top 10 favorite Soulsborne areas. There are plenty of optional paths and windy halls. There are two different bosses and two different dirctions. Plus, the area has quite a bit of verticality.
high wall honestly just feels like a good starting point imo it doesn’t try and shove too much of what the game is down your throat it’s like ur starting at the very beginning with no knowledge of what to expect as everything is so different going forward
Arent their like 2 mimics, a dragon, and the mini me fat boi followed by like 8 or so knights with one of them being a red wraith?
Thats alot of pound town for the first area.
@@cjyoung5635 thats if youre one of those people that just run through all the areas and dont fight any enemies.
taking your time and killing all the enemies efficiently negates that problem.
@@AETERNA-PASSIO I mean that is true but within the context that dark souls 3 shoves the most stuff at you after the tutorial for no reason is still spot on.
It'd be like if a streamer was told the cemetery was the right way to go for their first ever dark souls experience. (The coms would be right since that makes everything easier but it'd be hell getting to pinwheel and back for them)
“All of them are weird”
Lost Bastille and Heide’s Tower of Flame???
she is on drugs
She’s hating for the sake of hating, I just don’t get it…
Heidi’s tower of flame is freaking beautiful. Something straight out of a fairy tail. I ended up going there first before the forest. To me that’s the first area
Heides tower of flame might be the worst area in the entire series
THE RATS AREA!!!!
bro is wearing his nice shirt
Forest of the Fallen Giants and High Wall of Lothric, both are very good starting areas
Hot take (I guess?...). I miss linear games now. It feels like everything is open world and massive and my ADD can't take it man.
Undead settlement and cathedral of the deep are 2 of the best, most well designed levels in any souls game imo
Cathedral is great, undead settlement is pretty decent, I think I’m just not a huge fan of the enemies there
Irithyll and the Ringed City are great too!
Cathedral of the Deep, Undead Settlement and all of Irithyll are pretty good. Most other areas in DS3 are just boring.
@@masterlinx767 I know what you mean, nothing is quite as iconic as getting to the Ringed City only to be absolutely demolished by the ghost archers haha. The Ringed City is up there with Irithyll and Anor Londo for me. Aesthetically, I think Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree from Elden Ring is probably the closest to it in terms of the general atmosphere and architecture. I do wish the Ringed City itself was larger though, since the Ringed City streets is still a swamp (though at least its not poisonous).
@@braynaguilar8567 I didn’t like how from the cutscene you see the huge sprawling city then when you go in you spend 50% or more of the time in the dlc in a swamp and a cave. Missed potential imo
Some deep analysis there
😂
Bro ds2 is so good, I'll never understand peoples beef with it
I think it's more you don't want to understand.
DS2 isn’t bad per-say, it’s just at the bottom of the FromSoftware list for a lot of folks, myself included. Behind DS1, 3, BB, Elden Ring, Sekiro, even Demon Souls.
Generally it comes down to the fact that it has some…interesting exclusive mechanics (cough cough ADP), had a fairly rushed development due to rewrites I think, don’t quote me on that, and the way the levels were designed was vastly different than in DS1. Though they kept the same “you can explore the first level or you can just skip to the end” mentality their way of doing it was totally different, something more in line with what Elden Ring did honestly, that being a large world with multiple different ‘dungeons’ to explore. Couple that with using the ‘spam enemies’ technique a little too often and many people found the game difficult in a way that couldn’t always be solved with getting better and would instead end up being more luck based (or it just made getting good significantly harder).
Learning that soft capping ADP at 27 made my rolls similar to the DS1 rolls is what saved me. Now DS2 is probably my second favourite of the FromSoft games that I have played (why must so many of them be PS/PC exclusive!?!?). Nevertheless I understand why people dislike it
Because people download their opinions from whiny coping youtubers, it's not complicated
ds2 being good is like how shitty pizza is good
My will to continue playing finishes at Faron. Then I remember how incredible the endgame is and boot the game up again.
The Pontiff situation is crazy
my main complaint is that high wall is generally kinda difficult with a lot of fast and deadly enemies, compared to undead settlement which is quite a bit easier to get through for a first timer. It kinda feels like the difficulty curve is swapped around for those areas, wouldve been nore enjoyable to rebalance em
Forest of the Fallen Giants is one of the best levels bro, love me some post-war wastelands
I definitely prefer DS2 level design over DS3's. Even if the combat is way better in 3
U will hate pontiff more if u know his lore
I thought Heide tower of flame was supposed to be first, so in my first play I did that wondering why it was so beautiful and so difficult.
I did exactly the same in my first play😂
Dark souls 2 is awesome
So many of my friends first experiences with souls games is DS3... and a lot of them have had zero interest in trying another souls game until recently.
I always thought it was the classic souls bosses are too hard, but turns all they ALL quit the game in High Wall. I dont blame them honestly, getting through High Wall for the first time is like pulling a tooth out.
Honestly, just finished DS1 remastered and had a great time (except for Izalith) and decided to play DS3 next (playing on PC so DS2 is non existent for me).
I HATED the high wall. Started as a mage, no HP, dealing next to 0 damage, no stamina etc.
Game becomes a lot better after High Wall.
DS1 mid to late game level design is non existent and you're too scared to admit it.
Facts
Once you get lordvessel, it goes from this interconnected world to “let’s just teleport everywhere and make linear levels”.
People remember undead berg, but forget everything else
The Dukes Archives was pretty cool. But other than that I have to agree the second half of the game along with the bosses flop
New Londo, Duke's Archives, The Catacombs and Tomb of the Giants are all good to great areas.
@MyNameIsSalo ds1 doesn't reuse hollow soldiers for 2/3s of the game tho
@@fastenedcarrot9570 Tomb of the giants is literal dogshit wdym
I love the forest, Ds2 is literally my favorite and dark souls 3s levels do not compare
Dude i fucking love High Wall of Lothric, wtf is he on about??
We should see more aggy and parken content!
The 2 areas you are likely to start in DS2 are forest of the giants and Heide and honestly I would rather take those before Highwall of Lotric. Highwall feels like an area that exist to connect 2 real levels.
DS2 starter area was awesome. I hate the DS2 slander. Everyone hates it, but no one can say why. It has the best PVP, the best NG+ runs, some of the better loooing armor choices, and has some fun and unique bosses. I had more fun in DS2 than DS3 by FAR. I didnt even finish ds3 because i got so damn bored.
Sound like a mad cause bad situation
I don't think I can agree that ds2 has the best PVP or ng+ value but it's Def not as bad as people think it is, I believe that ds3 is still objectively a better game but you thinking ds2 is better is your opinion and I respect that
It's not about the NG+ runs or pvp or even the fact that you can mix and match most weapons.. Scholar of the first sin was lit storywise and some bosses were ruthless. But some of the mechanics were just made to try new stuff and it didn't appeal to some people changing the formula and all. Plus the game flatlines after a while and even some of the zones made no sense literally breaking immersion on some elevators.
Was it bad ? no.
Was it good enough ? yes.
Is it the best Darksouls ? Sorry but for most people it's not even in the conversation.
I definitely enjoyed it and it doesn't deserve the hate clearly but out of the 3 Darksouls it's my least favorite
"No one can say why" brother you'd have to have your head 12 meters deep in the sand to not know why with how much this horse has been beaten before but I'll bite.
There's lots of areas but they're generally short as hell (usually only have 1-3 bonfires max) and only padded by the astronomical amount of enemies spammed everywhere, the game doesn't even allow you to run past the enemies because fog gates and doors don't give I frames so you have to kill every damn enemy on the map just to progress and if you die at any point you start over, which obviously also translates to boss runbacks being unbearable. And once you do trudge through you are met with the most boring wet fart of a boss you could imagine. Like seriously, one of these bosses was literally just a room full of fucking rats. Real inventive gameplay here. Another boss is just a dumb snake woman in a poison pit that makes it impossible to beat her until you google a guide and find out you can burn down a windmill with a torch to remove the gimmick (how the fuck is anyone supposed to know??????) And at that point she's pretty much just a glorified random mob. And that's not even going into the movesets. Most bosses have like 5 attacks max, one of which being a basic ass 3 hit combo (slash, slash, slam) where you dodge the slam and get a free punish. Most bosses in this game can be beaten by just strafing to the side, dodging the big attack and punishing repeat till dead. They don't even have second phases or anything. I've beaten most bosses in the game first try. I've legitimately died more times on the way to bosses than the actual bosses themselves. I've just made it to the Undead Crypt and have yet to meet a single unique and fun boss. They're all just predictable gimmicks. Most bosses can just be summarized with one sentence (oh this guy can only be hit in his face, oh this guy summons little guys, oh this guy is literally just another boss I already beat but there's two of em now). Even Gundyr, the tutorial boss in 3, has more depth than all the bosses I've faced so far. It's like someone made a souls game where every boss was inspired by the Deacons of the Deep.
If despite all this you still enjoy this game more than the other games good for you I guess but I just legit cannot see where you're coming from.
@@mothman5035 your view definitely makes me see the reasoning better. I play souls games all the same. I never rush bosses. I methodically explore every room I find, kill every enemy I cross, and find it very fun. I guess it makes sense that I would like dark souls 2 more than other people who prefer other methods.
I Never hear precise reasons when people criticize DS2, it’s always “bad” or in this case “weird”.
In ds1 your movement is clunky, but there’s poise to help with that. In ds3 there’s no poise, but you can roll roll roll, and the movement is precise. Ds2 has the clunkiest movement and nerfed the parts of ds1 that helped you. Poise nerfed. Endurance split into 2 stats, weight hurts your rolls on a scale. Stamina cost for rolls increased, imprecise snap turns on the left stick, castlevania-esque knockback on hit. The movement is whack in a game about spacing and timing. I honestly love the dlcs, but I’m having fun in spite of the game’s mechanics, not because of them.
Allow me to give you some of the precise reasons,first things it has a lot of gank even by souls standards, the enemies just stun lock you to death(old iron keep,shrine of amana), horrible boss runs, (kings pets ,both smelter demon),bosses do not have a lot of variety and rely on gimmicks(earthen peak boss and the dukes dear freja,squalid queen) and horrible hitboxes and bullshit moves(ancient dragon,royal rat authority) there are also other things like clunky combat or slow af Estus heals or areas that are downright impossible without a mage build .Ds2 had a lot of creative ideas as well however according to me it has to objectively be the worst in the series.
I loved DS2. Didn’t even realize people thought it was worst game until after i beat it like 2 or 3 times lol
areas where u need ro be a sorcerer? what the actual fck xD @@silverkenessy5195
I've had to hear it a million times. DS2 is my least favorite of the series and I've heard why it sucks a MILLION TIMES I'm honestly starting to get sick of it to the point where it's making me want to actually play it again
I liked DS2s area layouts..
yeah but ds2 has the most content and the best dlc’s of the trilogy lol (outside of the ringed city i GUESS)
technically ds2 has a tutorial area
The DS2 slander is unreal. Sad!
DS2 doesn't get really gud until the last half of your first playthrough AT LEAST. Maybe even until NG+. However it has the best NG+ in the whole series.
DS2 is just a weird game.
All souls games are weird in their own special way.
@@danlorett2184 it's a weid game but I think it has more strengths than ppl realize just bcus it's different
Terrible game, sorry
@@Johnytommterrible take sorry
highwall of lothric is insanely boring
i cant lie yeah High wall of Lothric kinda sucks ass. Lothric knights are fuckin rough on anyone whos not good, and i always end up farming them on every playthrough for the full lothric knight set, and the lothric knight sword and greatspear are two of my favorite weapons, so that area always devolves to a lothric knight farming area for me so yeah its kinda annoying after a while
i like high wall.
I just started dark souls 3 a couple days ago and im still at the highwall because its more like a maze i thought. I just got beat the first boss where you gotta raise the banner after. Im probably got at least 10-15 hours in already
DS3 is amazing in many ways. I can't believe you're complaining about that stuff.
Ds3 is my favorite Soul game but from the genre I have to say Bloodborne has the best first area of all. Yharnam was so fun to explore the first time.
You can kill dancer at the start which is cool
Yeah but thats about it as far as good level design goes lol
@DamianW-b8c you just walk to her boss room at the beginning, rather going to vorm you go the opposite side to the door which can be opened, but you can’t climb up the ladder since you need the bowl
@DamianW-b8c lmao it’s hard to explain haven’t played in a couple years, but from vordt’s boss room door, you walk to the opposite side of the map, and go up the stairs pass the two knights and open that door
@@smoothyodaproductions4373 the levels are still good, just not as interconnected. there's a difference and the absence of second doesn't mitigate the first. having a more linear structure sacrifices the fun of exploration that other souls games have, but in turn it is the most polished, balanced game out of them all because it can accurately gauge how strong you'll be at what point (as long as you aren't farming or not killing anything at all)
Ok but tbf, Heide's Tower and i believe Shaded Woods *could* be your first location in DS2. I fucking despise Shaded Woods so that would unequivocally be my least favorite
And it’s my favorite straight line of all time
bro i do not care.. just aslong as im not getting stuck on invisible shit like in darksouls 1
DS2 has the shttiest first DS level ever, tf u mean 😂 DS2 wishes it can come close to DS1 and 3
The high wall is fine, its the slog after the high wall that makes me dread a new playthrough
DS3 is definitely the most linear but it still has some open-ness to it, definitely more than people give it credit for
My autism loves the straight lines.
Are we considering the "first area" of DS2 I as Heide's Tower of Flame or the Forest of Fallen Giants? Because the former was my first area when I played DS2 for the first time.
I don't think thag lineal-level design is bad, but I don't like some other aspects of level design in DS3, especially Ringed City (as an area, not whole DLC).
Aggy probably thinks the High Wall is super linear because that’s how he engaged with it on his first and all subsequent playthroughs. It’s a rare example of a mostly linear Souls level with a variety of small branching paths that you can either explore, or blow past to fight Vordt. It’s a very meticulously designed level that’s intended to prepare you for the sprawl of more complicated levels at your own pace. It is sad that content creators that make a living off of Fromsoftware’s games put so little effort into understanding the function or intent behind From’s work.
I mean... DS1 areas are also pretty linear, its just that they have paths that connect eachother. There isn't even that many ways of looping back into the level unless u get the Master Key.
These two could easily pass for siblings.. 😂
Undead parish is far more of a straight line idk what this dudes on about
Ds3 was my second souls game after bloodbourne. I was God awful at builds and kind of evenly distributed my stats in both games, I tell you it took me 20+hrs to beat pontiff my first run 😢
People hate on linearity too much. Sure, having choice in direction in nice, but linearity in a game's progression doesn't necessarily make it bad
Pontiff becomes way more fun when you put on a buckler and learn how to parry him
Tbh I feel like DS3 gets the most hate for no reason. The general opinion on DS3 is “it’s a good game but (random complaint)” like, it’s not as bad as DS2 ofc but it’s such a great middle ground between all of the stuff fromsoft has been doing between all of their games. Not intense and annoying boss design that can come times litter Elden ring (especially in the DLC) while still having difficult enemies, more linear design than DS1 while still having branching paths, and mainly being packed with all of the good shit instead of making you peek behind every nook and cranny of every random location just praying that you’ll find a good item, and having its own identity beyond DS1, by showing the progressive downgrades that the bosses and larger than life enemies fall into by constantly having the world re-embered. despite the common complaint that it sucks off DS1 too much to have its own identity. Also the new lore revaluations from DS1 as a direct progression, like the nameless king, for example.
I mean, it is linear tbf, so it makes sense that it’d be a straight line
I agree, personally none of these souls games will be as loved by me as Dark Souls 1, I like the boss designs but the areas themselves do not overlap except for the one area of the game that I hated first and then loved after, being the Boreal Valley, once I found out how much it felt similar to Dark Souls 1's interconnected nature.
high wall is the best area in the entire game imho, at least as far as sheer design goes - the others are far more linear and/or boring. This one features a lot of enemy types, solid amounts of loot, a challenging optional boss that completely opens up the game (like nothing else does, unfortunately) and it can be tackled in a number of different ways. It's a really cool playground meant to teach you the basics and to let you test your character class, overall
High wall is arguably the best. What a shit take
Ds2 is best one
Wtf this is the goat level i invaded so many people here
Lies. I love wall of lothric . Special place in my heart
Heart but no brain
@@mihaimercenarul7467 yes brain
@@Matt-og6qv nope you are brainless
I legitimately don't know if High Wall is better than the Forest of Giants because it benefits from being in the better game.
Unfortunately, I think Aggy might be right. Forest of Giants is at least visually interesting even though everything else kinda sucks
I think that's not being really fair to the Forest.
The Forest has some pretty cool shortcuts, looping back to the bonfire near the hag (one of them being exploding the wall).
It also has your first meeting with the Pursuer, which will remove him as a boss if you could defeat him.
It has the Giant trees which is such a fantastic thing to come back to at the end of the game, specially with that one tree that has the "Here a Giant rests in peace", and that tree being the only one you can't go to its memories and the only one giving a seed. It's such a subtle but touching thing that really stuck with me when I first played.
You also find the key to one of the DLCs, and one of the king doors here.
And also, "Forest of the Fallen Giants" is such a metal name! Specially with its double-meaning.
If you play any souls game and go in a straight line without exploring then you're not playing souls right
I love pontiff but the runback is a pain, for me atleast...
he's so based, DS3 level design is so so so boring. if DS3 didn't have good graphics, people would say it's worse than DS2 (which it is).
Delusional
@yeahnahmate7 nah most people loved ds2 until a bunch of people who started with ds3 told everyone that ds2 sucks even though they've never played it. you should try ds2 some time, it's a great game and isn't a straight line the entire time
For the life of me I don’t know why so many people love ds2. I feel insane even having to bring this up but the game is not fun at all. There’s maybe 4-5 bosses in the game that I enjoyed and 3 of them are in the DLCs
Everyone's talking about the forest, but dont remember you could always goto heide's tower or even the gutter if you knew how to survive the falls early. Least at the beginning ds3 is linear af vs its' peers
I love all the Dark Souls starting areas. If you are complaining about starting areas maybe dont go look at bloodborne starting you in a room with a werewolf that kills you
I love straight lines!
DS3 is one straight line, with a small, mandatory side quest to the cathedral. Immediately kills so much replayability for me, every time 💤
I feel the exact opposite. ds3 has the best replay ability besides elden ring ofc
@@Rowafruit the straight line kills it for me, I much prefer DS1's flexibility. But keep playing your favorite souls game and never let go
As if the Undead Burg and the Undead Parish were not 100 times more linear ...
What? This level is awesome
this is exactly what threw me off dark souls 3, especially bc I had just finished all of elden ring and was hyped for another souls game but the level design sucked so hard at first that I dropped it, I might try it again in the future though
Had what I felt was a fairly impressive soulsborne run by my standards. Killed bosses like manus, artorias, Maria and orphan on my first attempt. Friede, Ludwig, Midir and gael in like 2-7.
Pontiff though? Easily over 20. Rocks my shit every single playthrough without fail.
He cooked with that take. The fact that you warp there, can't even make it normally from firelink has always been a headscratcher for me. I don't like ds2 that much but forest of the fallen giants isn't even that bad except for some bad sections like the area before the shortcut door next to the elevatorz but because of the annoying enemies. But level design wise it is not bad.