Time invested: 72 hours as of this post
Game Completion: Finished the main story line only. Moved to New Game + (NG+)
Character: Cleric - (50) Strength build
Played with a wired xbox controller by Microsoft
Why Did I Choose Dark Souls?
I see myself as a good listener. When I browse different gaming websites and message boards I listen to how people talk about games more than WHAT they say about games. Not only that, I try to figure out a little bit about the people who are talking. I'm not saying I go all PI on these dudes, but I pay attention to word choices, phrasing, etc. What I am looking for are clues that a game is something special. This has led me to some of the most enjoyable experiences I've had over the last few years. The most important thing I look for is a lack of "X is better than Y" talk. When you love something, you typically don't bother comparing it to anything else. You'd rather just talk about how it makes you feel. You remember the tiny details. You can discuss the game with people who are both new and experienced without feeling anyone is butting in on your glorious discussion. You want MORE people to enjoy it and nobody gets in the way.
This line of thinking is what made Dark Souls catch my eye. Everywhere from /v/ to reddit to the comments section of anywhere that even mentioned Dark Souls there were people that wanted others to enjoy it. People would have heated but polite discussions on one weapon/armor combo vs another, starting class, strategy, etc. Now, compare that to the Call of Duty vs Battlefield, Diablo 3 vs Torchlight/Path of Exile/Diablo 2, XBox vs PS3, or any of the other flame bait conversations that start when those games are brought up. It was so refreshing to hear the Dark Souls community regardless of where they were found that I had to join their ranks.
But isn't Dark Souls like the hardest game ever? Why would I do that to myself on purpose?
No. "Hardest game ever" type games are different. Think of "I want to be the guy" type games that are hard just to be hard. This isn't one of those games and should not be included in the same talks. Dark Souls is VERY difficult, but it's the kind of difficult where you are learning an engagement a little at a time with a reasonable penalty for not doing well and plenty of opportunities to make up for mistakes. In all the time I spent in Dark Souls I can only think of maybe one place where I felt the difficulty was there just to be frustrating. The other million deaths I stacked up came from things I could have avoided if I was better at combat, was more aware of my surroundings, or not walked directly off a cliff (PS. Gravity is the hardest boss in Dark Souls sometimes).
When you die you respawn where you last rested at a bonfire. Bonfires are placed "fairly." As long as you are detailed and search around you'll find a place to rest that's not far from the major challenges in each zone. So, you fell off a cliff trying to dodge an arrow? What did you lose? You lost whatever humanity you had active forever... that's gone. You temporarily lost the souls you had on you but you can go retrieve them. Don't worry, I'll explain both "humanity" and "souls" later... it'll make sense.
So, what's so hard? It's very simple. The game forces you to be hyper aware of everything at all times. You need to plan out your fights, learn how different enemy weapons behave, how each mob moves, and how your gear behaves in different scenarios. Dark Souls forces you to explore. You need to see every nook and cranny or you'll suffer for not checking (without even knowing it). You have to explore, be aware, and learn to fight? Sounds like a great time doesn't it? Well, it is.
My first (few)hour(s) with Dark Souls [some spoilers ahead]
You get a lot of choices when starting the game and none of them made sense when I started. I was looking through the classes and only noticed slight changes in ability numbers (this guy gets 2 more strength, but this guy gets 2 more dex? Whatever). I took longer than I should have messing around trying to figure out what would be the best way to start out and ended up landing on a Cleric. Then, you have to choose a "gift." I chose the tiny ring because it gave HP. You should choose the Master Key because you're not dumb like me. It didn't hurt my play through, but it didn't give me any shortcuts either. From what I heard from the stream chat I could have avoided a few enemies and a few laps around the map if I had a master key instead, but what difference does it make unless you're in a hurry? Okay, so I'm a cleric, I run the sliders all over and end up with an acceptable appearance, a very large body style, and a shaved head. I look like just about every other MMO character I've ever had... great!
Then the game starts...
I'm dead. No... actually... I'm an undead in a jail cell. I no longer have that smooth white head I saw in the character creator. I'm rotting flesh covered in a monk's robe. What?
This blew my mind because I had no idea the premise of the game or what I'd be doing. I had seen a few players streaming the game on Twitch.tv but I always saw them in full suits of armor fighting giants and dragons... not as a corpse chained to the floor in a jail cell. Okay, Dark Souls.... you have my full attention.
There are notes scribbled everywhere from both the developers of the game and other players than can help you (or not) scattered around the world. In the "Undead Asylum" there are a bunch from the devs themselves that actually guide you through your first few minutes... but that's the most you're going to get when it comes to direction. I pick up a mace and a shield off some dead guys in a hallway and I'm dodging arrows trying to get out of this place. I get to a big room full of pillars that looks "significant" to me... as if something was going to happen here. Next thing I know a giant demon falls from who knows where and starts eyeing me up. I'll never forget this part... I think to myself "well... these pillars must provide cover. I'll let him take a swing and then go beat on him a while and..." just then the demon took a swing and smashed both the pillar I was hiding behind and my face. YOU DIED.
So, this guy is big and fat. That must mean I can just let him swing and miss, run up and.. YOU DIED.
Okay, so I'll go back in and try circling him. YOU DIED.
Maybe I should try rolling... YOU DIED.
Okay this time I'll... YOU DIED.
I'm getting the feeling at this point that I'm not going to benefit from "conventional video game knowledge" in this fight and have to start paying attention to more than just what I've been looking at so far.
What was that note on the floor? "Run!" Okay then... I guess I'll just run around... is that a door? OMG I'm not supposed to fight him I'm supposed to run... I'm going to love this game. When was the last time you encountered a boss only to find out you're NOT expected to fight him?
Now, keep in mind this was over the course of 10 to 15 minutes (and a LOT of deaths) before I even realized there'd be an option to NOT fight him. He has a health bar and you can do damage to him... but you can just opt to run... which I sure as hell did.
A few minutes later I find myself reading a developer written tip that says "Press RB while falling to perform a plunging attack." Next to that was a player left note that said "Try a Plunging Attack." Next to that was a door filled with fog. I walk up and press A to go through the fog and now I'm standing on a balcony overlooking the same demon I ran from earlier. "Try a plunging attack..." okay... so all I have to do is line him up, fall and press RB... okay I can do this... I stand there looking at a demon with a huge maul who just so happens to be looking up at me. I enjoy this moment. I look down and think to myself "hey, dumbass... can't get me now can you... I'm going to 'try a plunging attack' and you're history." Just then he jumps up and OBLITERATES the balcony I'm standing on. YOU DIED. I'm back at the bonfire.
I'm blown away. It was such a small detail, but the monster just standing there looking at me WAS significant. I just didn't know it at the time. This goes back to the difficulty of the game. You NEED to be aware of everything. Not just the things that "normally" matter. Dark Souls level situational awareness would have saved me from dying on that balcony, but I didn't have it. So, now I'm forced to work my way back through the asylum to the balcony, but this time I know I've got to be quick.
This time the plunging attack was executed perfectly. I land directly on this demon's head with such force that I take off a good chunk of his hitpoints... but here I am on the ground again... with the same monster that flattened me earlier... with nothing new to fight him with. I'm forced to do this the old fashioned way now. Giant demon monster vs my mace. It took a long time, but I got it. I learned the fight a little at a time. Each new lesson resulted in a few less hit points on the demon. Every mistake landed me back at the bonfire a tiny bit more aware than I was before. I figured out which attacks I could block and which could only be dodged. I timed his movements. I learned positioning. I got in this monster's head. I started to get a feel for what he would do in different situations... different locations. I took his miserable life.
For all this effort I received a key. That key opened the big doors in the back of the room where I fought the demon. I walked up a hill only to be snatched up by a giant raven and dropped at a new place.
Welcome to Dark Souls.
Those hours you spent in the Undead Asylum getting dominated by hollows, traps, and that demon? Yeah, that was your tutorial. Go save the world... or whatever it is you're doing. All you have to go off of is a brief conversation with a dying man who says "ring two bells and the fate of all undead will be known." Seriously. That's it.
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