Will I ever finish Dark Souls?
Eventually. Each time when I play the game I discover something new. It is said a lot of areas and items or weapons are optional. And I have seen videos of people completing the game very quickly except that Dark Souls is not meant to be played that way. Exploration seems to be terrifying and rewarding at the same time. The game manages to scare you to death with the most impossible bosses only to hint that there is always a way to beat them as long as you as you look for it. The answer is out there in that world but it is up to you to find it. To rush this game would spoil the fun. So I am going to play it when I can and feel like it until I finish it one day. So far I have experienced all the emotions you could think of ranging from angry to ecstatic and I keep coming back for more.
I do have to mention that this game is utterly sadistic. Every time when you feel or think you are on top of it or owning the game then the game reminds you that you still are a measly maggot and that you deserve to be crushed constantly. Why would anyone come back to a game that tries to mock and humiliate you every chance it gets. Could it be that I am a sadomasochist? Yeah, very unlikely. It's more a case of PRIDE! I refuse to let a bunch of pixels beat me especially once you figure out what to do. But it's the figuring out that takes time and energy. In this day and age that requires some planning.
Edit (25-5-2014):
I stopped playing at one point because of real life getting in the way but I will continue playing if I know I will have plenty time of to do so.
Edit (23-06-2015):
I tried getting into this game after not having played this for a long while and it was just as hard as the first time I played it. For better or worse, this is a game that you have to be committed to and where you have to be bold and dare to explore. Which at numerous time can be very frightening since you do get punished for doing so. At the same time though it does force you to go deep within and ask yourself if this game is worth it. Are the challenges you face in this game useful? I think it could be if you really are loving it. For me it's one I will eventually play and finish. Although it is very low on my yet to play list. If this game had been a hack and slash like Ninja Gaiden then I somehow would have managed to stick to it. Currently I don't feel the love or the motivation. I do think it would have helped if there was more to the world, characters and stories you play in.
Edit: 13-12-2015:
So this weekend I picked up Dark Souls again to see if I could make some progress. Again I had to get used to the mechanics and get confronted with the fact that each enemy could kill you quickly if you are not paying attention. But I managed to get into the game fast and tried out exploring certain parts like the catacombs and the darkroot basic. Killed skeletons with Astora straight sword and sniped three Necromancers with my longbow. And kindled a bonfire. I was getting real fed up with those damn skeletons and decided to go back up to Firelink Shrine. Then I decided to explore Darkroot Basin and went to the Watchtower. I looked in and was surprised by this huge knight (Havel the Rock). Got hit twice and dead. Then I vaguely remembered why I avoided this guy but this time felt determined to defeat him and those Crystal Golems who were taunting me from afar. I never actually went deeper into the basin prior too this but I saw this huge creature in the water waiting for me and sometimes shooting some white force against me. Not someone you should mess with now I thought. First this Havel guy. Since my stats aren't leveled up properly enough yet I went for the careful approach and used the bait and thrust approach. (Undoubtedly some will say, he is not that hard fight him like a man. You know what? If this game has taught me one thing there are more ways to defeat an enemy or progress a stage. So why not use the method that seems to work best for you?) My character is too heavy and too slow to effectively avoid and roll. Thrusting with shield up seemed the best option for me. And it worked. I beat him and got his ring. What a sweet reward! Suddenly I can carry more and am much lighter on my feet because of his ring. Thanks Havel. May you rest in peace. Now it was time to turn my attention to these Crystal Golems. Very fierce looking but they don't seem to like fire that much and oh how nice of them to gather up at one spot so that I can pyroflame them from above. Ok now on to this Hydra monster. Oh my goodness, he keeps firing his white force thingy. Hang on what if I get into the water? Very nice, he is not using it any more. Slash slash slash and destroyed a head. In no time had I cut of most of his heads except for one. I decided using my longbow. Seriously this bow has been a life saver for me so far. Poor Hydra. He wasn't that tough after all. More bark than bite.
After this I did some exploring and went up the ladder to see what is up there. Saw this giant wolf patrolling the area no doubt a boss I will have to face at one point. But not yet. That golden Crystal Golem also will have to wait until I feel like taking him on in the water. I don't want to use the rusty ring since I would have to exchange it with another which will break if I do so. I am not ready to part with it just yet. Then I decided to leave this area for what it was and will decide the next time what to do next.
This time it was much easier to get into the game. Again I noticed how much this game forces you to be patient and calm. But is this game rewarding? In a small way it is. It does make you feel good to have beaten an enemy that you could not do before. Only that is about it. Very rarely do you get some gripping narrative or proper motivation to go on. I think it's more a sense of pride and refusal to let a game keep you down. I will have to get much deeper into the game to see if I am overlooking something.
Edit 16-12-2015:
Well, this is surprising. I am actually starting to enjoy myself a little. And why is this? Because I am making progress a little. I got myself the Gravelord Sword. I am not even requiring the stats to use it optimally but it already has proven itself to be a worthy successor to the Drake Sword. Those Blue Drakes for example are killed with just 4 strikes. Those Stone Knights in 3.
Edit 20-12-2015:
These last few days I have been spending a lot of time in Lordran. Doing all kinds of things but mainly farming souls, humanities and (blooming) purple moss clump to provide myself an edge when I need it the most. (It really pays off farming humanities in The Depths. It's filled with rats and they drop them a lot. Sometimes it may seem like it takes forever but stick with it. Besides doing a run in the sewers helps you level quickly if you still are a low level. Especially if you include the slimes since they drop Large Titanite shards.) I thought I was making nice progress and felt confident to take on the Stray Demon. Well, he taught me I was not ready yet or is it that he is very unfair. I mean first you drop down to the floor with health halved and just when you want to recover health he strikes you and bam you are dead. I did try out falling in other places and that did help me avoid being crushed but still he has this special attack that kills you in one shot. I am sure I will find a way to defeat him only not today. Instead though I felt like taking the plot further by ringing the second bell. I was so ready to take on that Chaos Witch. I got close many times but her random lava attacks were too much for me too handle even with Mildred summoned. After dying many times I realized I had a pyromancy that could make things easier. Flash Sweat. And bloody hell it make things super easy. The lava was not much of a concern now and I could strike her properly now (I did this without summon more so because I forgot to become human again). But I can imagine that with her distracting Quelaag and the lava not much of a bother it will be much easier. Tip: Invest time in buying all the spells you can get your hands on they might save your life one day. So now I have rung the second bell and I can go to Anor Londo. Not sure if I will just yet.
Edit 22-12-2015:
Tried out Senn's Fortress and I was really close to the bonfire but made one fatal mistake. I tried to pass by four swinging axes in one go while I should have passed two and pause to then pass the second pair. Not going to lie that I was furious. I stopped the game and went on to do something else. After a few hours I felt like taking another approach and ventured into the demon ruins only to find a new boss. I beat him (with a trick that obviously was put in on purpose. Why would these sadistic developers do this? Do they have something worse planned? After feeling very happy I got a fast win I went back to the bonfire and saw I had enough souls to level up. So I did and then I panicked. I saw my face mutate in front of me and I looked hideous. (Well, my character of course, I am incredibly handsome, duh!). Egg head is what they call it. Then I remembered being attacked by one of the supposedly harmless egg monsters before I fought the Ceaseless Discharge. Guess what? Some of them aren't harmless. The ones that are crawling (while incredibly slow) do seem have to have a beef with you. Granted I did dare the guy by getting very close to him to see what would happen and I got attacked. Seeing how it didn't do any damage I did not retaliate and went on to the boss fight. Thing is that this creature infected me resulting in the egg head. First this game curses you when you don't expect it now you will have a parasite (egg head will consume half of your earned souls) on you as well? Bloody hell! Thank god for Eingyi and his Egg Vermifuge that cures you from it. Just saying that if there ever was a reason not to kill Quelaag's sister no matter how tempting that firekeeper soul is then it's this cure. (Apparently the egg-burdened also drops the Egg Vermifuge when killed. But my experience with the drop rate tells me it is better to better be safe than sorry).
Also read:
Eventually. Each time when I play the game I discover something new. It is said a lot of areas and items or weapons are optional. And I have seen videos of people completing the game very quickly except that Dark Souls is not meant to be played that way. Exploration seems to be terrifying and rewarding at the same time. The game manages to scare you to death with the most impossible bosses only to hint that there is always a way to beat them as long as you as you look for it. The answer is out there in that world but it is up to you to find it. To rush this game would spoil the fun. So I am going to play it when I can and feel like it until I finish it one day. So far I have experienced all the emotions you could think of ranging from angry to ecstatic and I keep coming back for more.
I do have to mention that this game is utterly sadistic. Every time when you feel or think you are on top of it or owning the game then the game reminds you that you still are a measly maggot and that you deserve to be crushed constantly. Why would anyone come back to a game that tries to mock and humiliate you every chance it gets. Could it be that I am a sadomasochist? Yeah, very unlikely. It's more a case of PRIDE! I refuse to let a bunch of pixels beat me especially once you figure out what to do. But it's the figuring out that takes time and energy. In this day and age that requires some planning.
Edit (25-5-2014):
I stopped playing at one point because of real life getting in the way but I will continue playing if I know I will have plenty time of to do so.
Edit (23-06-2015):
I tried getting into this game after not having played this for a long while and it was just as hard as the first time I played it. For better or worse, this is a game that you have to be committed to and where you have to be bold and dare to explore. Which at numerous time can be very frightening since you do get punished for doing so. At the same time though it does force you to go deep within and ask yourself if this game is worth it. Are the challenges you face in this game useful? I think it could be if you really are loving it. For me it's one I will eventually play and finish. Although it is very low on my yet to play list. If this game had been a hack and slash like Ninja Gaiden then I somehow would have managed to stick to it. Currently I don't feel the love or the motivation. I do think it would have helped if there was more to the world, characters and stories you play in.
Edit: 13-12-2015:
So this weekend I picked up Dark Souls again to see if I could make some progress. Again I had to get used to the mechanics and get confronted with the fact that each enemy could kill you quickly if you are not paying attention. But I managed to get into the game fast and tried out exploring certain parts like the catacombs and the darkroot basic. Killed skeletons with Astora straight sword and sniped three Necromancers with my longbow. And kindled a bonfire. I was getting real fed up with those damn skeletons and decided to go back up to Firelink Shrine. Then I decided to explore Darkroot Basin and went to the Watchtower. I looked in and was surprised by this huge knight (Havel the Rock). Got hit twice and dead. Then I vaguely remembered why I avoided this guy but this time felt determined to defeat him and those Crystal Golems who were taunting me from afar. I never actually went deeper into the basin prior too this but I saw this huge creature in the water waiting for me and sometimes shooting some white force against me. Not someone you should mess with now I thought. First this Havel guy. Since my stats aren't leveled up properly enough yet I went for the careful approach and used the bait and thrust approach. (Undoubtedly some will say, he is not that hard fight him like a man. You know what? If this game has taught me one thing there are more ways to defeat an enemy or progress a stage. So why not use the method that seems to work best for you?) My character is too heavy and too slow to effectively avoid and roll. Thrusting with shield up seemed the best option for me. And it worked. I beat him and got his ring. What a sweet reward! Suddenly I can carry more and am much lighter on my feet because of his ring. Thanks Havel. May you rest in peace. Now it was time to turn my attention to these Crystal Golems. Very fierce looking but they don't seem to like fire that much and oh how nice of them to gather up at one spot so that I can pyroflame them from above. Ok now on to this Hydra monster. Oh my goodness, he keeps firing his white force thingy. Hang on what if I get into the water? Very nice, he is not using it any more. Slash slash slash and destroyed a head. In no time had I cut of most of his heads except for one. I decided using my longbow. Seriously this bow has been a life saver for me so far. Poor Hydra. He wasn't that tough after all. More bark than bite.
After this I did some exploring and went up the ladder to see what is up there. Saw this giant wolf patrolling the area no doubt a boss I will have to face at one point. But not yet. That golden Crystal Golem also will have to wait until I feel like taking him on in the water. I don't want to use the rusty ring since I would have to exchange it with another which will break if I do so. I am not ready to part with it just yet. Then I decided to leave this area for what it was and will decide the next time what to do next.
This time it was much easier to get into the game. Again I noticed how much this game forces you to be patient and calm. But is this game rewarding? In a small way it is. It does make you feel good to have beaten an enemy that you could not do before. Only that is about it. Very rarely do you get some gripping narrative or proper motivation to go on. I think it's more a sense of pride and refusal to let a game keep you down. I will have to get much deeper into the game to see if I am overlooking something.
Edit 16-12-2015:
Well, this is surprising. I am actually starting to enjoy myself a little. And why is this? Because I am making progress a little. I got myself the Gravelord Sword. I am not even requiring the stats to use it optimally but it already has proven itself to be a worthy successor to the Drake Sword. Those Blue Drakes for example are killed with just 4 strikes. Those Stone Knights in 3.
Edit 20-12-2015:
These last few days I have been spending a lot of time in Lordran. Doing all kinds of things but mainly farming souls, humanities and (blooming) purple moss clump to provide myself an edge when I need it the most. (It really pays off farming humanities in The Depths. It's filled with rats and they drop them a lot. Sometimes it may seem like it takes forever but stick with it. Besides doing a run in the sewers helps you level quickly if you still are a low level. Especially if you include the slimes since they drop Large Titanite shards.) I thought I was making nice progress and felt confident to take on the Stray Demon. Well, he taught me I was not ready yet or is it that he is very unfair. I mean first you drop down to the floor with health halved and just when you want to recover health he strikes you and bam you are dead. I did try out falling in other places and that did help me avoid being crushed but still he has this special attack that kills you in one shot. I am sure I will find a way to defeat him only not today. Instead though I felt like taking the plot further by ringing the second bell. I was so ready to take on that Chaos Witch. I got close many times but her random lava attacks were too much for me too handle even with Mildred summoned. After dying many times I realized I had a pyromancy that could make things easier. Flash Sweat. And bloody hell it make things super easy. The lava was not much of a concern now and I could strike her properly now (I did this without summon more so because I forgot to become human again). But I can imagine that with her distracting Quelaag and the lava not much of a bother it will be much easier. Tip: Invest time in buying all the spells you can get your hands on they might save your life one day. So now I have rung the second bell and I can go to Anor Londo. Not sure if I will just yet.
Edit 22-12-2015:
Tried out Senn's Fortress and I was really close to the bonfire but made one fatal mistake. I tried to pass by four swinging axes in one go while I should have passed two and pause to then pass the second pair. Not going to lie that I was furious. I stopped the game and went on to do something else. After a few hours I felt like taking another approach and ventured into the demon ruins only to find a new boss. I beat him (with a trick that obviously was put in on purpose. Why would these sadistic developers do this? Do they have something worse planned? After feeling very happy I got a fast win I went back to the bonfire and saw I had enough souls to level up. So I did and then I panicked. I saw my face mutate in front of me and I looked hideous. (Well, my character of course, I am incredibly handsome, duh!). Egg head is what they call it. Then I remembered being attacked by one of the supposedly harmless egg monsters before I fought the Ceaseless Discharge. Guess what? Some of them aren't harmless. The ones that are crawling (while incredibly slow) do seem have to have a beef with you. Granted I did dare the guy by getting very close to him to see what would happen and I got attacked. Seeing how it didn't do any damage I did not retaliate and went on to the boss fight. Thing is that this creature infected me resulting in the egg head. First this game curses you when you don't expect it now you will have a parasite (egg head will consume half of your earned souls) on you as well? Bloody hell! Thank god for Eingyi and his Egg Vermifuge that cures you from it. Just saying that if there ever was a reason not to kill Quelaag's sister no matter how tempting that firekeeper soul is then it's this cure. (Apparently the egg-burdened also drops the Egg Vermifuge when killed. But my experience with the drop rate tells me it is better to better be safe than sorry).
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| What would you do if you saw your face mutating like this? |
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