Dark Souls is like Dune, Lord of The Rings, and other masterpieces. They feel important. They feel like an incredible breakthrough where we find ourselves thinking: "why had nobody else done something like this before?"
I first played in 2021 and it was more special to me than elden ring is. The world map, the multi-player, the lack of direction, the difficulty. They captured lightning in a bottle, and while elden ring is a better game if you dissect it and rate it on individual aspects, there is something magical about DS1
@@ChadAF_YT see I've "played" (read: tried) DS1 a few times in the past but had never gotten past Sen's Fortress. I finally sat down a few weeks ago and watched FightinCowboy's walkthrough to get me through Sen's and honestly this playthrough has been my favorite souls experience, only really challenged by Sekiro (bear in mind i've only beaten DS1, Sekiro and DS2:SotFS, and played a solid bit in all the rest except Demon Souls and Bloodborne). This game really is a masterpiece, bar, imo, the Bed of Chaos... that was the most bullshit ive ever experienced in any SoulsBorne game. I'm currently in the Duke's Archives and kinda putting it off because I only have a few more areas and bosses before the end and I don't want it to be over...
I definitely agree with this. Elden Ring is massive and it is phenomenal, but it still doesn't capture that amazing feeling Dark Souls 1 has of everything being put in a specific place for a reason. Every item, every enemy and every part of the world is designed and placed in such a way that feels, to me, perfect (okay maybe not in Lost Izalith though)
@@ChaosSoulYTFuck Lost Izalith and especially fuck The Bed of Chaos... That was easily the most rage inducing thing ive ever encountered in any FromSoft game.
I love the fact Priscilla offers you the exit without a fight. You can literally just walk past her and take the plunge. Its the only boss in the souls series who just allows you to proceed
@@DezZzO_YT absolutely right, I didn't even think about them as bosses 😅 I still enjoy Priscilla the most since she is there, ready to fight when you arrive but still telling you to get out
It is nice. They say it's because the developers didn't want a game breaking area locking players in with no escape, if they ventured there under leveled.
One thing I’ve always thought was impressive about the Souls games is how memorable all of the levels and enemy placements are. There aren’t many games that I can say I remember practically every room, every encounter, and every secret from. Besides the Souls series, I feel confident enough to say I remember every aspect of the original Legend of Zelda overworld, the RCPD precinct from RE2, Metal Gear Solid, and 1-1 from Super Mario Bros. All with at least 90% accuracy. The only difference is that those games are not only small and simple in comparison, but I’ve played through them dozens of times each over the 25+ years I’ve been playing video games. I’ve only ever fully played through each of the Souls games twice at most and I still have pretty much every area and enemy mapped out in my head. I wish I could retain useful information the same way I’ve retained Dark Souls.
For me, Dark Souls was a good call back to classic NES ninja garden games, with the Castlevania SOTN, metroidvania, world map. To me it's the best way to explain the game. I absolutely hated it when I first played it, but now it's the only game I really go back and play. Sometimes I wish I could wipe my memory of the countless tutorial and lore videos and just experience it again with my mindset now.
How is this not a bigger channel? Love your content, long-form analysis videos are difficult af, and you put a lot of effort and work into yours. It's impressive
@2joa000 I was referring to later in the video when he says seath can curse you and you need to go back to buy purging stones, which is untrue if you get cured by seath his clams will drop them
You can do that, however… Most likely you would have already gone through the depths hours before. Farming them might be good if you are going to do a NG afterward
It’s honestly incredible how much the soulsborne games have evolved over the course of only 11 years. Starting from elden ring and working my way down from now dark souls, I can still feel that incredible magic I felt in both games when transitioning. Just beat dark souls and now can’t wait to get into the sequel, even with all the negatives I’ve heard others claim about the game
Did you buy the games already? This is an unpopular opinion, but you might want to give the vanilla DS2 version a try as opposed to Scholar. Enemy placement in Scholar is just nonsensical, among other things.
I'm working on my dark souls 2 analysis now and it is definitely the weakest but that doesn't mean it's a bad game. A weak souls game to me is still better then most other games And yes I recommend regular Dark Souls 2 over Scholar
Thank you both for the information, I have yet to buy it so I will most likely try finding the original, just kinda bummed I’ll need to purchase/ download the dlc now separately
@@ChaosSoulYT I tried it myself under reccomendation from a friend singing its praises I hate it and think it plays like shit. I came in hopeful and optimistic but it just feels terrible to control and I don't enjoy it enough to keep going past the first 4 hours. I get that some love it, but for me it's god awful and genuinely bad atleast at the start. I think it would need a remake like demon souls and multiple complete gameplay overhauls for me to return, I'm not asking for or expecting that, those are simply the only way I see myself playing it. I played ds1 remake and loved it, and enjoy every other souls game but this is one I'm skipping for now
@@EyesDontCry Are you able to define the problems you've experienced? I know that DS2 (scholar or both versions) have a technical problem with deadzones and 8-directional movement on controllers, but for me it never mattered since I've always use KB&M in these games. As for gameplay things you might impact your enjoyment: do you know about adaptability and its relation to s in DS2?
I downloaded this on 360 from the Games With Gold program in like 2014 and never played it. I finally decided to play it in 2022 and was utterly blown away. It quickly became my all-time favorite and felt like a complete fool for not picking it up until now. After I completed it my first time I had the same feeling as when I went on some wild adventure with my friends and had 100 signs telling us to abandon our journey but chose to persevere instead. It changed me as a person and no other game has ever come close to what Dark Souls has accomplished.
About the area that has Moonlight Butterfly… you said “there’s nothing really special down here”, but you have to remember it DOES include one of the best RINGS in the game: the Wolf Poise ring, which adds 40 points of poise to your character. Poise is SO important to your character, otherwise you’ll get stunlocked to death in most cases!
I genuinely thought this was a channel with 100k subs I just hadn’t found before. It seems like a real interpretation of your thoughts and not something scripted. I really enjoyed this
A 2 and a half hour long video talking about one of my favorite games of all times? Sign me up! I subbed in hopes of more fromsoft. Keep up the awesome work!
As a new souls fan thanks to Elden Ring, I like hearing the stories and memories people had with the older games. Makes me wish I played the games in their prime. I'm currently on Dark Souls 2 and I'm loving it so far.
Yeah, I played and adored the other games (apart from Sekiro, which I only bought recently), but Elden Ring was the first one I was able to play on release. I almost wish the internet didn't exist when it came out, but I did a decent enough job of avoiding content so that I could enter it ~99% blind. Oh, what a feeling.
Good news my dude. The communities organize times during the year where people will create new characters and do playthroughs. Each game has its own time of year. Return to Lordran for DSR, return to drangleic for ds2, etc. If you want a somewhat genuine experience I'd recommend playing during these times to experience to coop and invasions. Check out the subreddits for more info
@@NoSmoke1 I think a big reason for that, at least in my experience, is that if you don’t level up your adaptability to up your I-frames and estus speed, it feels totally clunky and horrible (imo). I tried it several times before I realized you need to upgrade adaptability and when I gave that a shot, the game felt a lot more natural and I was finally about to conquer it. I actually really enjoyed it once I made it past the first few zones. It doesn’t hold a candle to DS1, and I think DS3 combines the best elements of both of them, but it’s better than people give it credit for.
Amazing video! I hope you plan to do the whole series. There will never be enough long-form FromSoft game videos IMO, and you have a really nice way of narrating.
in regards to the mimic chests - the chests where the chains on the side are curled FORWARD = mimics. Chests with the chains curled BACK = normal. Fantastic video, looking forward to seeing this channel grow. :)
Just beat this game as my first souls game that i actually finished without giving up yesterday and it was amazing I can't stop playing it . I used to be scared of these games due to the difficulty now I love it
Best retelling of this feeling any rookie seem to have. Badly chain beaten by Taurus, saying "not for me" but haunted, had to go back month later and (begin to) click. During the time I left it, visions reminded me i miserably turned hollow at the first hardship. Had to go back, see Lando at least. That gwynn theme... One has to die to live again".
I don't remember it being called Dark Race. Could've sworn it was originally called Dark Ring, no? Edit: Looks like it had a few alternative titles. Dark Race, Dark Ring, and Dark Lord. Finally they settled on Dark Souls
Dude what’s crazy, is I have played DS1 through at least 6 times between the OG & remastered. I know the lore & story inside and out, I’ve seen countless videos just like this that explain everything pretty similar, but I will ALWAYS watch them no matter what because I love these games & anybody who also loves them or makes videos on them is a friend. Anyways thanks for this video I will never turn down a long form DS video dude
ngl looking back, ds1 crafting was a pain to figure out but it was simple enough to memorize and complex enough to add a challenge and make it interesting
I actually thought you were a way bigger channel I had seen before lol. Great DS commentary. I like longer videos like this that go into detail. Great for listening to while working. 🙏 Subbed and hoping you make similar content for other From games. Really like the analysis/critique/explained type videos and you seem to do them well. 🙏
Couple of corrections: you don't have to pick the cleric class for Thorolund to sell you miracles, and there is a direct narrative as well as a background one (ring the bells, get the kiln, etc).
A lot of corrections need to be made actually lol. I hate when reviewers use “you” when they should say “I”. He keeps saying stuff like “YOU need to let lautrec out or kill him” no ya dont
I love the graphics and art direction of DS1 more than of the later games. Its got a unique visual style which even ER doesn't top. Anor Londo is just majestic
The souls series reignited my love for video games. They forced me to play in ways I had never thought, and it made me better at video games in general. Also, a quick aside on the nature of hollowing. I have never heard anyone mention this, and this is purely from my experience of DS2 on my first play through. Anyway, this has to do with how the nature of hollowing is that you die repeatedly and slowly lose your sanity. Isn’t it so cool that part of the game’s lore and basic mechanics actually banks on the fact that you will die repeatedly, give up, and within the world of dark souls you would be just another mindless hollow? Something I’ve thought about endlessly. Probably a very common thought, but I don’t recall it ever being expressed.
i actually find the fact that you need to restore your humanity in order to join multiplayer play way more interesting meaning you need humanity/be human in order to be able to connect/communicate with others its a strong message about our own world too
This is my favourite video dissection of my favourite game of the souls and on the top 5 of all games. Really nice commentary, hope you do more analysis of games, because I'm not at all interested in guides since I know thos games like the palm of my hand, but I'd like to hear you talking about games more. Nice editing to illustrate what you talk about and a really calm and well thought narration. Keep the good work man!
im so happy to see elden ring’s success reignite this beautiful game as people begin to see the “humble beginnings” of Fromsoft games. They never expect the older games to be the masterpieces they are and when they finally see it, they’re blown away. i began playing dark souls in 2019 and instantly fell in love with the entire series and have been since. there’s truly nothing like your first play through of dark souls and only people who have experienced it can understand that feeling of exploring the beautifully crafted interconnected world, defeating the powerful bosses, uncovering the lore and secrets of the world, defeating gwyn, and linking the fire… the first time i heard that piano play during the gwyn fight i was overwhelmed with emotions that blew me away because i expected gwyn to be some epic boss fight, but in reality it was just a decrepit old man trying his hardest to protect his flame and preserve his age of fire. there’s so much to dark souls and i couldn’t be more blessed to be born in an age where i can experience this masterpiece and fromsoft’s future masterpieces unfold
I tend to do Darkroot Garden after Gargoyles instead of later because the gains there will help you kill Capra Demon. First playthrough got stuck at Capra, got Zweihander + Wolf Ring + Elite Knight, came back and slammed him. Grass Crest over there, so much stuff that's easy to get early on plus you get a lot of Souls.
Your video was hard to find under the search "Dark Souls Critique". I couldn't remember your channel name. Anyways, I saved it now. So I'm good! Your videos are better than 95 percent more informative than pretty much all the others put together. Not to mention entertaining!
Great video. Love hearing others thoughts. The Anor Londo rafters and archers are my two most dreaded parts of each play-through. Sometimes I’ll get super lucky and do it first try or I’ll get stuck dying over and over
Interesting side note: You can use alluring skulls to distract the dogs in the capra demon boss fight. Once I learned that it reduced the amount of "required" deaths on him. Lore fact Artorias is naturally left handed so when you fight him he has to use his off hand to wield the sword because manus broke his main one.
@@JohnBrowser2013 it's not ever mentioned but i was watching a first timer play and she used Aural Decoy which is the magic version of the skull. Distracts both the dogs and demon.
Wow, incredible video! When I saw your sub count, I thought it had k behind it and was flabbergasted when I realized it doesn't. As a huge fromsoft fan, it was great to hear your commentary. You earned a subscriber
20:40 just want to say that the first time the dragon swoops and breathes fire doesn't actually kill you. It does like 50 -70 % damage. It never killed me "first" time, but if you don't hurry to the side immediately, it will come again and finish you. After this, it does kill you every time. I guess that + the burn marks was considered warning enough lol.
After the Taurus demon, I new player is likely to not be at full health though so they might be at lower then 70% health. Additionally, they wouldn't know to necessarily sprint immediately and go straight down those stairs... There's a lot fundamentally wrong with that encounter, despite it being so iconic.
1:37:10 curse is really bad, but is the easyest status to protect yourself against, if you put a high curse defense armor its not a problem anymore, so i think its well balanced if you know how to deal with it
Dark Souls still has the most incredible world design of any From Software game. Subsequent entries might have had better level design, but none of them had better world design. The interconnectivity was brilliant and it's so unfortunate that they never tried to up themselves in that regard. The first experience of this game can only be called magical and its one of those games you wish you could wipe from memory to reexperience for the first time. A timeless masterpiece that I still consider superior to all souls games, except for Elden Ring.
Great video. There is no way once I get to Anor Londo I'm going back through Sens fortress and back to the beginning to get the doll. I'll warp once I defeat smough and ornstein
Reason why you find a lot of humanity in the manus area is because manus is the original owner of the dark soul and the abyss is basically something that came into existence to counteract the interference of gwynn with the natural order (linking the first flame when nature dictated in needed to go out aka the first sin). Now it’s not 100% confirmed that manus is the owner of the dark soul but both the gameplay and lore support that. For anyone curious this is why i think he is the dark soul boy: - Looking at his lore we see that he was imprisoned and tortured in oolacile, which is a town that was devoted to serving the gods and doing gwynn’s bidding in particular (even anor londo is illuminated with oolacile magic). Gwynn’s agenda is stopping humanity from getting stronger so they cant get a dark age going so he imprisoned and tortured the dark soul boy. - in the base game you fight every other great soul owner. Nito, bed of chaos, gwynn but the dark soul owner is nowhere to be seen. It fits so well that in the very end of the dlc you get to fight the most mysterious figure in the game and it enhances the tragedy of artorias’ story even further. My guy was so devoted to gwynn that he unknowingly devoted his entire life to killing his ancestor and stopping a corruption that was a direct result of his master acting against artorias’ race’s best interest
I’ve only taken the master key once, it is more useful for quickly unlocking izalath, but it also makes the entire run through everywhere else too easy
I can't get enough of dark souls critical analysis videos. I've played it too many times and watched too many videos like this that I know all this stuff but it's still great watching this. But I'll have to disagree with what you said at 5:38, everyone knows the master key is useless and the most op item in the game is the pendant which you should always pick on all your playthoughs.
Amazing review man. I've been replaying DS1 remastered after so long and it's amazing being back, I forgot how perfect the world was. These games actually changed my whole perspective too. I've only been able to really enjoy souls like games since then and the occasional metroidvania since there are lots of similarities. Can't wait for the DS2 and Bloodborne analysis.
Man something I love about these games is how different you can play them. This guy says never level up resistance it’s useless and another hour long review type video I watched the guy said he always goes for that first. Both these guys seem like they know tons about there game from the lore to gameplay yet they have such different opinions yet still both can play it. That’s one of the reasons there is so much replayability to dark souls. So many different ways to play
I feel like the reason why the key to the Lower Burg isn't given by the Gargoyles is that in case players REALLLY struggle with them, they can go down into the Lower Burg, beat Capra, Gaping Dragon, possibily even Queelag and Ceaseless and especially obtain the Large Ember with which they can get up to +10 weapons and +6 armor. At that point the Gargoyles will be even easier.
The feeling that you get when you open a shortcut to an earlier area in Dark Souls is one of the best experiences in gaming and it did not exist before Dark Souls. FromSoftware created this uniquely pleasurable experience that is something that only a video game can offer you. I too tried Dark Souls, gave up and came back later and my whole conception of what a video game is and what it should be has been completely changed. I’m not saying every game needs to be Dark Souls but this game, funnily enough, has a SOUL you feel the delicate precision and love that they infused in to this game at (almost) every level and that craftsmanship has carried over into (almost) every game they’ve made since then. My personal favorite is Sekiro because I feel like they showed incredible restraint and fine tuned an experience that feels familiar to DS veterans but is distinct enough to feel like a branched off path of development. Anyways great video, I watched the whole thing and agree with most everything you said!
SUBBED and LIKED! What a video! You took us on a journey I’ve been on countless times but didn’t mind going on with you as my guide! Looking forward to watching many more of your vids!! Thank you!
Your video brought me (back) into souls games. I tried DS1 the first time in 2013 and never touched it again since I thought I would be too casual to do it. Now, one year after your video, I have beaten DS1 two times and Elden Ring like 4 times. Right now preparing to start Bloodborne. What else should I play in the „Souls-Like“ world? I have a PS5 and a Switch…
Hi bro just recently found your channel, I love your work and please carry on with other games aswell. I cannot wait for a critical analysis of dark souls III and elden Ring.
@@ChaosSoulYT my laptop did cought on fire and i couldnt find any one to change the whole motherboard for it So for now i just using my mom phone until i buy new pc Wish me luck
Something i really enjoyed about dark souls is that the enemies fought me logically, they wanted me dead and didnt let game design stop them with that. They ambush, use their environment, attack in packs It sounds silly but enemies in video games are almost aways rigged for them to lose, or do some illogical action that puts them in a disadvantage
About respawning skeletons… they can be killed permanently with a Divine weapon which is easy to get. Killing the Mimic in the Anor Londo room where you get all of Havel’s armor will yield an Occult club. Take that to André and he can revert it to a Divine+5 and you’re ready to kill any skeleton permanently, regardless if he is tied to a Necromancer
1:14:56 it's never confirmed that Priscilla is the daughter of Seath and Gwynevere nor is there any direct connection even hinted at between them but aside from that, loved the video!
Actually Priscilla is the daughter of Seath and Velka; it's only understable in the Japanese version of the game, there are some hints in the descriptions that are lost in translation. If you want I can go more in depth
Nice video. What was the fatal flaw for you with Bloodborne? You bring up all the other Fromsoft games... except Sekiro. Any particular reason? Sekiro, Bloodborne & Hollow Knight have been the games that have somewhat managed to re-capture the DS1 feel for me.
It's refreshing to see someone who neither mindlessly praises nor mindlessly trashtalks this game in particular. The conversation around it is often so polarized between "best thing ever" and "unfair garbage", where any sane bystander can clearly see that neither is true; so often either the flaws _or_ the triumphs (it has both aplenty) are ignored. It really is refreshing to see someone on the internet pick this game apart from a neutral, fair-on-both-ends standpoint.
this should really be labelled as a review, not an analysis. Much of the content is a survey of the game but an analysis would entail far more digestion of how the design decisions affect player choice, player experience, etc. good video
alright, part 1 of this comment is happening now, before I've looked at the video. So, I love dark souls 1 to death, I play it when it came out and i was 6 years old with my dad, and we got through a lot of it before not knowing where to go and stopping. We picked it up 6 - 12 months later and beat it that time, and it was the best experience ever, so magical. I come back to it over and over again, every single autumn/winter I pick the game back up and go crazy until getting bored again. I think dark souls is amazing but I'm very aware of the shitty aspects of this game, and I'm always excited to hear how people point it out. I was excited for the remaster because a real remaster of the game would be a lot of big changes, and I've never actually sat down and mapped them out, and so I'd love to hear you do that. Part 2 (an edit) will be after I've seen the video, and I'll discuss what I think as wrong or what might be interesting to talk about further or maybe something you missed.
Interesting bit about the iron golem in Sens fortress you left out is that you can fight him on the edge of the bridge, and when he falls down he can fall off the map
My first game was bloodborne, then i played elden ring. Never played a souls game before until now. Just starting out on ds1. Currently taking the strong skeleton path. It has not been a fun time.
Parry. The skeletons are there for you to master parrying (imo), as your weapons do paltry dmg and you're tackling multiple foes at once. The timings are MUCH more "natural" than in ER or the subsequent entries so if you can lock the graveyard fight mechanics down early I think you'll have much more fun with the game. Do go left first, and don't go hollow!
Yeah, you're right: _Until this video,_ it never occurred to me to throw Alluring Skulls into that fire to kill the boar. I always just either gruelingly took it out manually, or - more likely - chucked bombs at it from above until it died. Really, using the skulls _never once_ occurred to me at all. Bit of lacking conveyance there.
Ty enjoyed the video, some of the best things I love about DS1 is the level design of how interconnected it is it always feels good to see a door you cant access originally but you know it will connect back somewhere. I'll pay full box price for a DS1 remake
My theory on why the original Dark Souls was so successful is because of it's competition at the time. Alot of AAA games were suffering from an identity crisis. Too many titles were far more preoccupied with being movies telling a cinematic narrative rather than being a video game trying to be fun. I would argue it's still a problem. Maybe not as bad as it used to be though. Now microtransactions, season passes and releasing incomplete messes are the big problem. I'm not paying full price for an alpha build that they'll maybe fix later. That's bullshit.
Of all the hours and hours of dark souls content i've seen on youtube over the years, this is the first time i've heard that you can use young sif as a summons in the manus fight.
I’ll never forget my first play through of Dark Souls 1. I forgot about the door to the lower Undead Burg for so long I was 3/4 the way through the game before I noticed it again running through. By the time I got to the Capra Demon he was a 3 hit lol
imo first time players should avoid the master key altogether. the game world can be confusing enough to the uninitiated without opening up extra areas at the start, and its main effect is to let players skip several zones altogether, which for a new player is just missing out on a big chunk of the experience.
Someone may have already pointed this out but if you shoot the anor londo archers with poison arrows and wait for them to die from poison that area becomes a non-issue. Poison is extremely op in the first game.
Dark Souls is like Dune, Lord of The Rings, and other masterpieces. They feel important. They feel like an incredible breakthrough where we find ourselves thinking: "why had nobody else done something like this before?"
actually that might be one of the best takes I've heard on DS.
Even though Elden Ring is bigger nothing still comes close to being lost in the DS1 world the first time I played back in 2012.
I first played in 2021 and it was more special to me than elden ring is. The world map, the multi-player, the lack of direction, the difficulty. They captured lightning in a bottle, and while elden ring is a better game if you dissect it and rate it on individual aspects, there is something magical about DS1
@@ChadAF_YT see I've "played" (read: tried) DS1 a few times in the past but had never gotten past Sen's Fortress. I finally sat down a few weeks ago and watched FightinCowboy's walkthrough to get me through Sen's and honestly this playthrough has been my favorite souls experience, only really challenged by Sekiro (bear in mind i've only beaten DS1, Sekiro and DS2:SotFS, and played a solid bit in all the rest except Demon Souls and Bloodborne). This game really is a masterpiece, bar, imo, the Bed of Chaos... that was the most bullshit ive ever experienced in any SoulsBorne game. I'm currently in the Duke's Archives and kinda putting it off because I only have a few more areas and bosses before the end and I don't want it to be over...
@@brandondanforth8342 do yourself a favor and play bloodborne w a saw cleaver build. It got me started on the series in 2016
I definitely agree with this. Elden Ring is massive and it is phenomenal, but it still doesn't capture that amazing feeling Dark Souls 1 has of everything being put in a specific place for a reason. Every item, every enemy and every part of the world is designed and placed in such a way that feels, to me, perfect (okay maybe not in Lost Izalith though)
@@ChaosSoulYTFuck Lost Izalith and especially fuck The Bed of Chaos... That was easily the most rage inducing thing ive ever encountered in any FromSoft game.
I love the fact Priscilla offers you the exit without a fight. You can literally just walk past her and take the plunge. Its the only boss in the souls series who just allows you to proceed
What about Ancient Dragon or Vendrick? They don't give a shit about you either. Ancient Dragon even gifts you something important.
@@DezZzO_YT absolutely right, I didn't even think about them as bosses 😅 I still enjoy Priscilla the most since she is there, ready to fight when you arrive but still telling you to get out
sister friede even asks you to leave so that you don't have to fight her
@@jhx97 not when you're already in her arena. But I guess technically you're right!
It is nice. They say it's because the developers didn't want a game breaking area locking players in with no escape, if they ventured there under leveled.
One thing I’ve always thought was impressive about the Souls games is how memorable all of the levels and enemy placements are. There aren’t many games that I can say I remember practically every room, every encounter, and every secret from. Besides the Souls series, I feel confident enough to say I remember every aspect of the original Legend of Zelda overworld, the RCPD precinct from RE2, Metal Gear Solid, and 1-1 from Super Mario Bros. All with at least 90% accuracy. The only difference is that those games are not only small and simple in comparison, but I’ve played through them dozens of times each over the 25+ years I’ve been playing video games. I’ve only ever fully played through each of the Souls games twice at most and I still have pretty much every area and enemy mapped out in my head. I wish I could retain useful information the same way I’ve retained Dark Souls.
For me, Dark Souls was a good call back to classic NES ninja garden games, with the Castlevania SOTN, metroidvania, world map.
To me it's the best way to explain the game.
I absolutely hated it when I first played it, but now it's the only game I really go back and play. Sometimes I wish I could wipe my memory of the countless tutorial and lore videos and just experience it again with my mindset now.
How is this not a bigger channel? Love your content, long-form analysis videos are difficult af, and you put a lot of effort and work into yours. It's impressive
Glad you enjoy it! Plenty more to come!
The giant clams in front of seaths boss room drop purging stones so you don't need to go buy any just kill a few to get some
@2joa000 I was referring to later in the video when he says seath can curse you and you need to go back to buy purging stones, which is untrue if you get cured by seath his clams will drop them
You can do that, however… Most likely you would have already gone through the depths hours before. Farming them might be good if you are going to do a NG afterward
It’s honestly incredible how much the soulsborne games have evolved over the course of only 11 years. Starting from elden ring and working my way down from now dark souls, I can still feel that incredible magic I felt in both games when transitioning. Just beat dark souls and now can’t wait to get into the sequel, even with all the negatives I’ve heard others claim about the game
Did you buy the games already? This is an unpopular opinion, but you might want to give the vanilla DS2 version a try as opposed to Scholar. Enemy placement in Scholar is just nonsensical, among other things.
I'm working on my dark souls 2 analysis now and it is definitely the weakest but that doesn't mean it's a bad game. A weak souls game to me is still better then most other games
And yes I recommend regular Dark Souls 2 over Scholar
Thank you both for the information, I have yet to buy it so I will most likely try finding the original, just kinda bummed I’ll need to purchase/ download the dlc now separately
@@ChaosSoulYT I tried it myself under reccomendation from a friend singing its praises
I hate it and think it plays like shit. I came in hopeful and optimistic but it just feels terrible to control and I don't enjoy it enough to keep going past the first 4 hours.
I get that some love it, but for me it's god awful and genuinely bad atleast at the start. I think it would need a remake like demon souls and multiple complete gameplay overhauls for me to return, I'm not asking for or expecting that, those are simply the only way I see myself playing it.
I played ds1 remake and loved it, and enjoy every other souls game but this is one I'm skipping for now
@@EyesDontCry Are you able to define the problems you've experienced? I know that DS2 (scholar or both versions) have a technical problem with deadzones and 8-directional movement on controllers, but for me it never mattered since I've always use KB&M in these games.
As for gameplay things you might impact your enjoyment: do you know about adaptability and its relation to s in DS2?
I downloaded this on 360 from the Games With Gold program in like 2014 and never played it. I finally decided to play it in 2022 and was utterly blown away. It quickly became my all-time favorite and felt like a complete fool for not picking it up until now. After I completed it my first time I had the same feeling as when I went on some wild adventure with my friends and had 100 signs telling us to abandon our journey but chose to persevere instead. It changed me as a person and no other game has ever come close to what Dark Souls has accomplished.
About the area that has Moonlight Butterfly… you said “there’s nothing really special down here”, but you have to remember it DOES include one of the best RINGS in the game: the Wolf Poise ring, which adds 40 points of poise to your character. Poise is SO important to your character, otherwise you’ll get stunlocked to death in most cases!
This is a very nice nostalgic retrospective of Dark Souls, but not a critical analysis.
I genuinely thought this was a channel with 100k subs I just hadn’t found before. It seems like a real interpretation of your thoughts and not something scripted. I really enjoyed this
A 2 and a half hour long video talking about one of my favorite games of all times? Sign me up! I subbed in hopes of more fromsoft. Keep up the awesome work!
As a new souls fan thanks to Elden Ring, I like hearing the stories and memories people had with the older games. Makes me wish I played the games in their prime. I'm currently on Dark Souls 2 and I'm loving it so far.
Yeah, I played and adored the other games (apart from Sekiro, which I only bought recently), but Elden Ring was the first one I was able to play on release. I almost wish the internet didn't exist when it came out, but I did a decent enough job of avoiding content so that I could enter it ~99% blind. Oh, what a feeling.
Really happy you're able to enjoy DS2. Many people don't give it a fair shake, just judging it on what souls vets said about it in the past.
Good news my dude. The communities organize times during the year where people will create new characters and do playthroughs. Each game has its own time of year. Return to Lordran for DSR, return to drangleic for ds2, etc. If you want a somewhat genuine experience I'd recommend playing during these times to experience to coop and invasions. Check out the subreddits for more info
@@NoSmoke1 I think a big reason for that, at least in my experience, is that if you don’t level up your adaptability to up your I-frames and estus speed, it feels totally clunky and horrible (imo). I tried it several times before I realized you need to upgrade adaptability and when I gave that a shot, the game felt a lot more natural and I was finally about to conquer it. I actually really enjoyed it once I made it past the first few zones. It doesn’t hold a candle to DS1, and I think DS3 combines the best elements of both of them, but it’s better than people give it credit for.
Amazing video! I hope you plan to do the whole series. There will never be enough long-form FromSoft game videos IMO, and you have a really nice way of narrating.
Thank you! And yes I plan too :)
I seriously think I've watched every long form Souls video and Sekiro video on RUclips!
my dumb ass read 11 as II and thought this was gonna be about dark souls II 💀 i was like damn this ds1 tangent is going on for a long time
Don't worry I'll be doing a Dark Souls 2 video too :)
Bro is living in 3022 while the rest of us are still in 2022.
in regards to the mimic chests - the chests where the chains on the side are curled FORWARD = mimics. Chests with the chains curled BACK = normal. Fantastic video, looking forward to seeing this channel grow. :)
Just beat this game as my first souls game that i actually finished without giving up yesterday and it was amazing I can't stop playing it .
I used to be scared of these games due to the difficulty now I love it
I simply cannot get enough of those reviews it doesnt matter how many years have passed :D
Best retelling of this feeling any rookie seem to have. Badly chain beaten by Taurus, saying "not for me" but haunted, had to go back month later and (begin to) click. During the time I left it, visions reminded me i miserably turned hollow at the first hardship. Had to go back, see Lando at least. That gwynn theme... One has to die to live again".
I don't remember it being called Dark Race. Could've sworn it was originally called Dark Ring, no?
Edit: Looks like it had a few alternative titles. Dark Race, Dark Ring, and Dark Lord. Finally they settled on Dark Souls
Dark Race would have been such an awful title lol
@@Facerip Same goes for Dark Ring, which was in the recesses of my memory until just now. That's a British slang term for "butthole", apparently.
@@boyishdude1234 "Try fingers Dark Ring" just doesn't work as well
@@boyishdude1234 yea that one is truly cursed
Dude what’s crazy, is I have played DS1 through at least 6 times between the OG & remastered. I know the lore & story inside and out, I’ve seen countless videos just like this that explain everything pretty similar, but I will ALWAYS watch them no matter what because I love these games & anybody who also loves them or makes videos on them is a friend. Anyways thanks for this video I will never turn down a long form DS video dude
ngl looking back, ds1 crafting was a pain to figure out but it was simple enough to memorize and complex enough to add a challenge and make it interesting
I actually thought you were a way bigger channel I had seen before lol. Great DS commentary. I like longer videos like this that go into detail. Great for listening to while working. 🙏
Subbed and hoping you make similar content for other From games. Really like the analysis/critique/explained type videos and you seem to do them well. 🙏
I appreciate it, thank you! I hope my channel gets bigger so I can keep this ball rolling :)
Amen brother, night shifts with long commentary on your favourite games/movies help keep me sane!
regarding mimics , you forgot to say that instead of fighting them, you can throw lloyd's talisman for free looting them without danger.
Couple of corrections: you don't have to pick the cleric class for Thorolund to sell you miracles, and there is a direct narrative as well as a background one (ring the bells, get the kiln, etc).
A lot of corrections need to be made actually lol. I hate when reviewers use “you” when they should say “I”. He keeps saying stuff like “YOU need to let lautrec out or kill him” no ya dont
Agree with you
Only thing is the OG marketing never said anything about prepare to die that was implemented way later for the PC port
Nicely Done! The large knights (Parish, Sen's and Painted World) are called Berenike Knights.
I want Dark Souls 11
The Sif fight hits the feels harder if you do the dlc and save him first.
I had to summon him to beat Manus - not because I was having trouble, but because that good boi deserved a shot at the bastard who killed his master
I love the graphics and art direction of DS1 more than of the later games. Its got a unique visual style which even ER doesn't top. Anor Londo is just majestic
The souls series reignited my love for video games. They forced me to play in ways I had never thought, and it made me better at video games in general.
Also, a quick aside on the nature of hollowing. I have never heard anyone mention this, and this is purely from my experience of DS2 on my first play through. Anyway, this has to do with how the nature of hollowing is that you die repeatedly and slowly lose your sanity. Isn’t it so cool that part of the game’s lore and basic mechanics actually banks on the fact that you will die repeatedly, give up, and within the world of dark souls you would be just another mindless hollow? Something I’ve thought about endlessly. Probably a very common thought, but I don’t recall it ever being expressed.
i actually find the fact that you need to restore your humanity in order to join multiplayer play way more interesting
meaning you need humanity/be human in order to be able to connect/communicate with others
its a strong message about our own world too
This is my favourite video dissection of my favourite game of the souls and on the top 5 of all games. Really nice commentary, hope you do more analysis of games, because I'm not at all interested in guides since I know thos games like the palm of my hand, but I'd like to hear you talking about games more. Nice editing to illustrate what you talk about and a really calm and well thought narration. Keep the good work man!
im so happy to see elden ring’s success reignite this beautiful game as people begin to see the “humble beginnings” of Fromsoft games. They never expect the older games to be the masterpieces they are and when they finally see it, they’re blown away. i began playing dark souls in 2019 and instantly fell in love with the entire series and have been since. there’s truly nothing like your first play through of dark souls and only people who have experienced it can understand that feeling of exploring the beautifully crafted interconnected world, defeating the powerful bosses, uncovering the lore and secrets of the world, defeating gwyn, and linking the fire… the first time i heard that piano play during the gwyn fight i was overwhelmed with emotions that blew me away because i expected gwyn to be some epic boss fight, but in reality it was just a decrepit old man trying his hardest to protect his flame and preserve his age of fire. there’s so much to dark souls and i couldn’t be more blessed to be born in an age where i can experience this masterpiece and fromsoft’s future masterpieces unfold
I’ve sat on the character select screen listening to that little note progression for hours it feels like. Such an ear worm.
The alluring skulls placement above the fire did give me the idea as a player to get the boar to hit the flames. It made me feel smart
I love you so much. This is the perfect type of video for me right now.
Very detailed overview. Nice job 👍🏾
I tend to do Darkroot Garden after Gargoyles instead of later because the gains there will help you kill Capra Demon. First playthrough got stuck at Capra, got Zweihander + Wolf Ring + Elite Knight, came back and slammed him. Grass Crest over there, so much stuff that's easy to get early on plus you get a lot of Souls.
The undead burgh bridge fire dragon is the game saying "if I fool you once shame on me, if I fool you twice shame on you" and I like that a lot
Your video was hard to find under the search "Dark Souls Critique". I couldn't remember your channel name. Anyways, I saved it now. So I'm good! Your videos are better than 95 percent more informative than pretty much all the others put together. Not to mention entertaining!
Great video. Love hearing others thoughts. The Anor Londo rafters and archers are my two most dreaded parts of each play-through. Sometimes I’ll get super lucky and do it first try or I’ll get stuck dying over and over
Bow and arrow
I consider myself a Soul's veteran and never thought of using alluring skulls for the boar tank. Simply amazing games!
Interesting side note: You can use alluring skulls to distract the dogs in the capra demon boss fight. Once I learned that it reduced the amount of "required" deaths on him. Lore fact Artorias is naturally left handed so when you fight him he has to use his off hand to wield the sword because manus broke his main one.
Where in the game is this ever mentioned?
@@JohnBrowser2013 it's not ever mentioned but i was watching a first timer play and she used Aural Decoy which is the magic version of the skull. Distracts both the dogs and demon.
@@JohnBrowser2013 as far as the artorias thing apparently its just fan speculation after doing some research.
In the catacombs you can use an occult weapon to kill the skeletons without them respawning
Wow, incredible video! When I saw your sub count, I thought it had k behind it and was flabbergasted when I realized it doesn't. As a huge fromsoft fan, it was great to hear your commentary. You earned a subscriber
Thank you very much! I appreciate it :)
20:40 just want to say that the first time the dragon swoops and breathes fire doesn't actually kill you. It does like 50 -70 % damage. It never killed me "first" time, but if you don't hurry to the side immediately, it will come again and finish you. After this, it does kill you every time. I guess that + the burn marks was considered warning enough lol.
After the Taurus demon, I new player is likely to not be at full health though so they might be at lower then 70% health. Additionally, they wouldn't know to necessarily sprint immediately and go straight down those stairs...
There's a lot fundamentally wrong with that encounter, despite it being so iconic.
also very true
I used this video as a guide on where to go. Loved the video! It was very helpful! First playthrough was amazing!
1:37:10 curse is really bad, but is the easyest status to protect yourself against, if you put a high curse defense armor its not a problem anymore, so i think its well balanced if you know how to deal with it
FIREBOBMS
Dark Souls still has the most incredible world design of any From Software game. Subsequent entries might have had better level design, but none of them had better world design. The interconnectivity was brilliant and it's so unfortunate that they never tried to up themselves in that regard.
The first experience of this game can only be called magical and its one of those games you wish you could wipe from memory to reexperience for the first time. A timeless masterpiece that I still consider superior to all souls games, except for Elden Ring.
This game’s story, setting, and characters are all so damn sad. Beautiful game.
Great video. There is no way once I get to Anor Londo I'm going back through Sens fortress and back to the beginning to get the doll. I'll warp once I defeat smough and ornstein
Reason why you find a lot of humanity in the manus area is because manus is the original owner of the dark soul and the abyss is basically something that came into existence to counteract the interference of gwynn with the natural order (linking the first flame when nature dictated in needed to go out aka the first sin). Now it’s not 100% confirmed that manus is the owner of the dark soul but both the gameplay and lore support that. For anyone curious this is why i think he is the dark soul boy:
- Looking at his lore we see that he was imprisoned and tortured in oolacile, which is a town that was devoted to serving the gods and doing gwynn’s bidding in particular (even anor londo is illuminated with oolacile magic). Gwynn’s agenda is stopping humanity from getting stronger so they cant get a dark age going so he imprisoned and tortured the dark soul boy.
- in the base game you fight every other great soul owner. Nito, bed of chaos, gwynn but the dark soul owner is nowhere to be seen. It fits so well that in the very end of the dlc you get to fight the most mysterious figure in the game and it enhances the tragedy of artorias’ story even further. My guy was so devoted to gwynn that he unknowingly devoted his entire life to killing his ancestor and stopping a corruption that was a direct result of his master acting against artorias’ race’s best interest
I love your videos mate, I like to have them on while I sleep! I really hope you continue this series.
Thank you! I do that with a lot of videos too so it's cool that you do it with mine haha
Really enjoyed your video. Thanks so much for making it!
I’ve only taken the master key once, it is more useful for quickly unlocking izalath, but it also makes the entire run through everywhere else too easy
I'm pretty sure you can plunging attack the armored boar in the undead parish, thats why the game gives you alluring skulls
I can't get enough of dark souls critical analysis videos.
I've played it too many times and watched too many videos like this that I know all this stuff but it's still great watching this.
But I'll have to disagree with what you said at 5:38, everyone knows the master key is useless and the most op item in the game is the pendant which you should always pick on all your playthoughs.
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Thanks for detailed analysis of the game! Waiting for next games analysis of souls series
@chaossoul i quite like your videos. Has a nice relaxed vibe without a forced script. Big thanks!
Amazing review man. I've been replaying DS1 remastered after so long and it's amazing being back, I forgot how perfect the world was. These games actually changed my whole perspective too. I've only been able to really enjoy souls like games since then and the occasional metroidvania since there are lots of similarities. Can't wait for the DS2 and Bloodborne analysis.
Changed your whole perspective on what?
Man something I love about these games is how different you can play them. This guy says never level up resistance it’s useless and another hour long review type video I watched the guy said he always goes for that first. Both these guys seem like they know tons about there game from the lore to gameplay yet they have such different opinions yet still both can play it. That’s one of the reasons there is so much replayability to dark souls. So many different ways to play
Always ends with a str build tho XD
Really awesome video and great content!
Have one remark to your Anor Londo issue on the rafters and archers:
Iron Flesh
I never thought of that... but sadly it doesn't work for all builds
@@ChaosSoulYT yes it does, it has no stat requirements, and only needs a pyro flame, which everyone can get for free and with nonstst investment
I feel like the reason why the key to the Lower Burg isn't given by the Gargoyles is that in case players REALLLY struggle with them, they can go down into the Lower Burg, beat Capra, Gaping Dragon, possibily even Queelag and Ceaseless and especially obtain the Large Ember with which they can get up to +10 weapons and +6 armor. At that point the Gargoyles will be even easier.
The feeling that you get when you open a shortcut to an earlier area in Dark Souls is one of the best experiences in gaming and it did not exist before Dark Souls. FromSoftware created this uniquely pleasurable experience that is something that only a video game can offer you. I too tried Dark Souls, gave up and came back later and my whole conception of what a video game is and what it should be has been completely changed. I’m not saying every game needs to be Dark Souls but this game, funnily enough, has a SOUL you feel the delicate precision and love that they infused in to this game at (almost) every level and that craftsmanship has carried over into (almost) every game they’ve made since then.
My personal favorite is Sekiro because I feel like they showed incredible restraint and fine tuned an experience that feels familiar to DS veterans but is distinct enough to feel like a branched off path of development.
Anyways great video, I watched the whole thing and agree with most everything you said!
I hope you can fix the chapters on this vid soon, I can never find my place when I resume
SUBBED and LIKED! What a video! You took us on a journey I’ve been on countless times but didn’t mind going on with you as my guide! Looking forward to watching many more of your vids!! Thank you!
Your video brought me (back) into souls games. I tried DS1 the first time in 2013 and never touched it again since I thought I would be too casual to do it. Now, one year after your video, I have beaten DS1 two times and Elden Ring like 4 times. Right now preparing to start Bloodborne. What else should I play in the „Souls-Like“ world? I have a PS5 and a Switch…
Hi bro just recently found your channel, I love your work and please carry on with other games aswell. I cannot wait for a critical analysis of dark souls III and elden Ring.
Long time no see
You've been gone for a few months 😁
@@ChaosSoulYT my laptop did cought on fire and i couldnt find any one to change the whole motherboard for it
So for now i just using my mom phone until i buy new pc
Wish me luck
There are actually three Berenike knights in the game, not two. Undead parish, sen's funhouse, and on the bridge leading to Priscilla.
Something i really enjoyed about dark souls is that the enemies fought me logically, they wanted me dead and didnt let game design stop them with that.
They ambush, use their environment, attack in packs
It sounds silly but enemies in video games are almost aways rigged for them to lose, or do some illogical action that puts them in a disadvantage
I've loved the Demon's Souls video and this one, can't wait for the DS2 video!
It's on its way, don't worry :)
About respawning skeletons… they can be killed permanently with a Divine weapon which is easy to get. Killing the Mimic in the Anor Londo room where you get all of Havel’s armor will yield an Occult club. Take that to André and he can revert it to a Divine+5 and you’re ready to kill any skeleton permanently, regardless if he is tied to a Necromancer
When it comes to the anor londo archers casting the hidden body sorcery right before that section basically turns off the encounter
Awesome video man deserves more recognition
Thank you! I really appreciate it :)
1:14:56 it's never confirmed that Priscilla is the daughter of Seath and Gwynevere nor is there any direct connection even hinted at between them but aside from that, loved the video!
I think priscillas physical appearance is a connection in itself in a way
Actually Priscilla is the daughter of Seath and Velka; it's only understable in the Japanese version of the game, there are some hints in the descriptions that are lost in translation.
If you want I can go more in depth
Definitely
Played through dozens of times. Never put alluring skulls + boar together in undead parish. Watching this it's a "oh yea" moment.
This has been one of the best retrospective videos I've seen in a while. I'm very much looking forward to seeing more content from you in the future.
Awesome video mate, thank you.
Nice video.
What was the fatal flaw for you with Bloodborne?
You bring up all the other Fromsoft games... except Sekiro. Any particular reason? Sekiro, Bloodborne & Hollow Knight have been the games that have somewhat managed to re-capture the DS1 feel for me.
Sekiro for me is not a souls like. Hollow knight isn't from soft. Bloodborne I am still playing currently and haven't finished
@@ChaosSoulYT Fair enough, have fun with Bloodborne.
It's refreshing to see someone who neither mindlessly praises nor mindlessly trashtalks this game in particular.
The conversation around it is often so polarized between "best thing ever" and "unfair garbage", where any sane bystander can clearly see that neither is true; so often either the flaws _or_ the triumphs (it has both aplenty) are ignored.
It really is refreshing to see someone on the internet pick this game apart from a neutral, fair-on-both-ends standpoint.
this should really be labelled as a review, not an analysis. Much of the content is a survey of the game but an analysis would entail far more digestion of how the design decisions affect player choice, player experience, etc. good video
Yep.
alright, part 1 of this comment is happening now, before I've looked at the video. So, I love dark souls 1 to death, I play it when it came out and i was 6 years old with my dad, and we got through a lot of it before not knowing where to go and stopping. We picked it up 6 - 12 months later and beat it that time, and it was the best experience ever, so magical. I come back to it over and over again, every single autumn/winter I pick the game back up and go crazy until getting bored again. I think dark souls is amazing but I'm very aware of the shitty aspects of this game, and I'm always excited to hear how people point it out. I was excited for the remaster because a real remaster of the game would be a lot of big changes, and I've never actually sat down and mapped them out, and so I'd love to hear you do that. Part 2 (an edit) will be after I've seen the video, and I'll discuss what I think as wrong or what might be interesting to talk about further or maybe something you missed.
Interesting bit about the iron golem in Sens fortress you left out is that you can fight him on the edge of the bridge, and when he falls down he can fall off the map
I don't really speak about cheese tactics. The same can be done for Taurus if you plan it properly
My first game was bloodborne, then i played elden ring. Never played a souls game before until now. Just starting out on ds1. Currently taking the strong skeleton path. It has not been a fun time.
Parry. The skeletons are there for you to master parrying (imo), as your weapons do paltry dmg and you're tackling multiple foes at once. The timings are MUCH more "natural" than in ER or the subsequent entries so if you can lock the graveyard fight mechanics down early I think you'll have much more fun with the game. Do go left first, and don't go hollow!
Yeah, you're right: _Until this video,_ it never occurred to me to throw Alluring Skulls into that fire to kill the boar. I always just either gruelingly took it out manually, or - more likely - chucked bombs at it from above until it died. Really, using the skulls _never once_ occurred to me at all. Bit of lacking conveyance there.
whats the intro song
Anor Londo archer cheese=poison arrows. Hit each archer with two and watch the health bar tick off slowly
I never noticed the item at 15:02 and I’m on NG+3 😂 Still learning new things about a game that came out 12 years ago.
Hey! I recognize that voice! Glad to have you back man.
What do you mean back haha? I never left
@@ChaosSoulYT algorithm just buried you for a minute - didn’t recognize the name either ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Ah yes well SoulReborn is the only channel now and the future of all my RUclips efforts
Ty enjoyed the video, some of the best things I love about DS1 is the level design of how interconnected it is it always feels good to see a door you cant access originally but you know it will connect back somewhere. I'll pay full box price for a DS1 remake
My theory on why the original Dark Souls was so successful is because of it's competition at the time. Alot of AAA games were suffering from an identity crisis. Too many titles were far more preoccupied with being movies telling a cinematic narrative rather than being a video game trying to be fun. I would argue it's still a problem. Maybe not as bad as it used to be though. Now microtransactions, season passes and releasing incomplete messes are the big problem. I'm not paying full price for an alpha build that they'll maybe fix later. That's bullshit.
What a great video, definitely earned a sub!
Beat this game over 20 times. A masterpiece.
Legend
Many who fell in love with souls can't help but keep it installed, and run back through it at least annually.
Of all the hours and hours of dark souls content i've seen on youtube over the years, this is the first time i've heard that you can use young sif as a summons in the manus fight.
I’ll never forget my first play through of Dark Souls 1. I forgot about the door to the lower Undead Burg for so long I was 3/4 the way through the game before I noticed it again running through. By the time I got to the Capra Demon he was a 3 hit lol
imo first time players should avoid the master key altogether. the game world can be confusing enough to the uninitiated without opening up extra areas at the start, and its main effect is to let players skip several zones altogether, which for a new player is just missing out on a big chunk of the experience.
I didn’t know they had a Dark Souls 4-10. I’ve been so busy with Elden Ring.
Someone may have already pointed this out but if you shoot the anor londo archers with poison arrows and wait for them to die from poison that area becomes a non-issue. Poison is extremely op in the first game.