If you think you'll only play one, make it DS3. It's the best in the series, and while knowledge of the previous games will enhance the experience, it's not necessary.Playing through Demon's Souls for the first time in about eight years. Melee only, putting most of my points into dexterity. Started with the Falchion but now using an Uchigatana that I picked up somewhere. Stage order so far, noting the highlights:
1-1*
1-2
2-1
3-1*
4-1
2-2*
2-3
4-2*
The game absolutely holds up despite its age. The soundtrack and atmosphere really stand out, as well as the boss design (I'm finding the bosses to be generally easy, but I appreciate the variety in the encounters). Graphics look surprisingly good on a plasma too.
Anyway, I wanted to ask for some advice about where to start with the Dark Souls series. I have played (and replayed) Demon's, Bloodborne, and Sekiro, but Dark Souls never appealed to me for some reason. I know I should just start with DS1 remastered and play through in order (and they're all on sale on PSN at the moment) but realistically I won't have the time and I expect I'll burn out at some point. Is DS3 a good standalone experience? Any thoughts on which one to choose?
Playing through Demon's Souls for the first time in about eight years. Melee only, putting most of my points into dexterity. Started with the Falchion but now using an Uchigatana that I picked up somewhere. Stage order so far, noting the highlights:
1-1*
1-2
2-1
3-1*
4-1
2-2*
2-3
4-2*
The game absolutely holds up despite its age. The soundtrack and atmosphere really stand out, as well as the boss design (I'm finding the bosses to be generally easy, but I appreciate the variety in the encounters). Graphics look surprisingly good on a plasma too.
Anyway, I wanted to ask for some advice about where to start with the Dark Souls series. I have played (and replayed) Demon's, Bloodborne, and Sekiro, but Dark Souls never appealed to me for some reason. I know I should just start with DS1 remastered and play through in order (and they're all on sale on PSN at the moment) but realistically I won't have the time and I expect I'll burn out at some point. Is DS3 a good standalone experience? Any thoughts on which one to choose?
Haha, fellow victims of the Dancer. The exact same thing happened to us in my neighbour's game. It was kind of annoying because it was yet another one of those large-ish mofos with long swords w/insane reach and kind of wibbly-wobbly manner of moving that I hate. It wasn't even all that hard but I was so upset that I had been so sneakily thrust into another boss fight and our souls were locked behind beating it that I was just not able to play well. ^_^;
Edit: Now the question is whether or not I fully commit and buy all three while they are on sale...
Finished 5-1, 5-2 and 5-3. Atmospheric for sure, but relatively straightforward. Some serious performance issues in 5-2 where all of the flies are buzzing around the corpses.
Edit: Now the question is whether or not I fully commit and buy all three while they are on sale...
Stuck on the two princes. The first phase is easy. The young one is just so magic resistant in the second phase that it becomes an endurance match with just enough time for me to keep failing so much that I don't last until I can beat him. I probably need to get up and personal. The Farron blade spell might be my best option since I think it might hit them both.
If you enjoy the Uchi, that's really fun to use on DS1, and you can get it really early. I used that plus a off hand shotel for parries as my first run on all of them other than 2, and I'd say it felt best on DS1, although I preferred Demon's shotel by a country mile.Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll start with DS1 remastered and take it from there.
Demon's Souls continues to impress. I finished 4-3, 3-2 and 3-3 last night. 3-2 was a highlight. Interesting level and the most challenging boss(es) so far. About to start on 5-1.
Edit: Now the question is whether or not I fully commit and buy all three while they are on sale...
I really liked the setup for 5-3's boss. Super clever.
Did you join a private server? I recently watched a playthrough (by one of the BFSC hosts!) and they actually got invaded. Wild.
Cool idea Run Goku, I've never anything like this before I don't think.
So I dunno if anyone here would really be interested in this, but I've been making these videos mostly for myself to enjoy at work. I use them as background noise when I'm at the office (or, lately, when I'm working from home but am too busy to actually play a game). I've always admired the sound design of the Souls games (particularly DS1), and the ambient noise kind of makes it feel like you're in Lordran while you answer emails or whatever. The POV also changes every five minutes, so it's not too boring if you do happen to have the video itself active on one monitor.
Anyway, if you happen to get something out of this, there's a few more on the channel and I try to make a new one every once in a while.
Finished up Demon's Souls last night. I enjoyed 1-3 and the 1-4 boss, but I also lost over 200k souls messing about in 1-1.
I don't think I'll commit to grinding for the platinum, so onwards to Dark Souls.
Yeah a bit too dark, perhaps.I've recently been playing around with a ton of visual/texture mods for Dark Souls 1 Remastered. I'm pleased with the balance of color and shadows, but I think it's a little too dark. What do ya'll think?
I think I only have the final boss and DLC to do. I found the winter wonderland but I have no idea where the ringed city DLC is even found. :S
Ah, no wonder I haven't found itSame place as the final boss. There's a bonfire that ports you to it.
Vendrick was just a mindless hollow and didn't pose much of a threat. Which is intentional of course, and I'm not critisizing that at all. It is kinda weird though how Gwyn was in the same state pretty much but still had some sick moves.
Kind of. I definitely get that it's not as exciting as a Gwynn, and that's perhaps disappointing. There is a reason why that encounter is framed the way it is, which you seem to be aware of. But here some flavor just in case. I personally thought it was pretty cool.
Vendrick had his soul disconnected or locked away from his body to ensure Nishandra couldn't manipulate his power to get to the Throne of Want. His soul is found together with his armor in Shrine of Amana, so Vendrick was basically a walking husk by that point, as his routine also indicates. And with the soul being the source of one's strength, it makes sense he's just a shadow of his former self. So, from a lore perspective at least, there's a reason he's so basic. The way I read it, it's meant to be anticlimactic. The melancholy music that plays as you encounter him also accentuates this. Gwynn, I believe, still had his soul, but he just lost much of his legendary power over the countless years he spent guarding the flame.
Anyway, I thought it was quite something (!) to see him in that state after you spent a long time with him being hyped up as this powerful king who for some reason decided not to link the fire at the last moment. After that, the puzzle pieces kind of fall into place. I do agree that the fight itself was kind of tedious or boring. I don't mess with the Ancient Dragon either since he has such monstrous HP, so even with a maxed out Fume UGS I was only chipping away at him slowly.
Ah I did actually find his soul but I didn't put together that the Vendrick I fought was literally a soulless husk, that does explain things. I just thought it was interesting how Gwyn and Vendrick have such similar concepts, both of them are supposed to be "underwhelming" after hearing so much about them throughout the games, but the concept is taken further with Vendrick. It didn't bother me but it did made me wonder if there was a reason why Gwyn was more capable.
I tried to pay attention but I'm sure a lot of the story went over my head so I'm gonna watch some VaatiVidya now to gain enlightenment :D
Oh yeah I get that, I meant I had wondered that before it was answered.^^ I was trying to clarify what I meant in my post because it came across as a complaint about Vendrick and I didn't mean it as one.
Yeah. I love how Velstadt is there guarding his husk anyway.Ah gotcha. I was honestly asking too. It's been awhile since I got deep into the lore of 1.
And yeah Vendrick was really a highlight for me in 2, after they build him up for the whole game and then you finally walk in and he's just a husk and that piano kicks in. Man. I see the complaint that he was a boring fight but it was perfect in that story.
Total conjecture on my part obviously, but lately I've been wondering if some of the people who think DS3 was just "DS1 again" or a retread actually played through Demon's, as DS1 reuses an afwul lot from this game. I'd say Dark Souls 1 is more of a remix of Demon's than DS3 is a retread from DS1.
Yeah, I can agree with that. At the same time another game would be pushing it. DS3 was kinda pushing it already.I do kind of echo that sentiment but not in terms of mechanics or seeing similar things again per se (since DS2 also dabbles in that). This is purely subjective, but I felt like DS1 and the events it portrayed were pretty much a closed loop. So I would've preferred it if DS3 followed DS2 by picking an entirely different setting while maintaining a similar premise and all the mechanical things we've come to associate with Souls. The idea of space and time colliding is cool, but I think it'd have carried more weight if there was more than one game between the game it was referencing most directly. It's like when a TV show reminds you of this thing that happened like 20 minutes ago. I don't know if that makes sense. That part of it just felt a little contrived.
Yeah, I can agree with that. At the same time another game would be pushing it. DS3 was kinda pushing it already.
I was pretty shocked by this when first playing DS3. I remember finding a second path in the stage just before Pontiff Sulyvan taking you into the prison area, and being shocked that I finally found a branching path.Dark Souls 3 has the best bosses and it's the best playing one, but it's so boringly linear, ugh.
I know it was barely one better than a hub world, but I kinda like how Dark Souls 2 did it, with four pretty distinct paths that you can take pretty early on. One way too tough? Try a different direction.
And many many terrible bosses, the majority of which being dudes in armor.Yeah, and lately my opinion has been shifting towards DS2 being a more interesting game than DS3, even if DS2 is uglier and controls worse.
This is a myth
Maybe it's not >50% of them, but it's quite a few.