Dark Souls: Initial Thoughts

[Kasawd]

I love how the enemies are intelligent and roll with the blows, use luring tactics, etc. When even the initial hollow are lethal, you know you're in for a rough time.

While my melee staple class is the wanderer, I was excited to play the Pyromancer and must say that it hasn't disappointed me, yet. Though, the initial shield is terrible, you quickly find a replacement and tossing around flames while being not only flame resistant(An aspect of the tattered robes) and combat capable, rolling well makes the class enjoyable. Also, the smattering of permanently removable 'large' enemies is a nice touch.

As ever, the atmosphere is enjoyable. I'm not sure if the graphics took a hit, but, if we're comparing to Demon's Souls, I'm fairly sure it was simply foggier, where everything is clear, now.

 

[Ushiromiya Battler]

As for me; i'm currently in the undead burg. I made it, with about 1 point of health, to the Taurus demon. It killed me. I have no idea how you fight it and i'm not going to get the chance to learn without first going all the way back to the bonfire (which i'd done about 6 times already) in the burg. That's not a learning process that helps the player learn to fight the boss and tha'ts why placement of checkpoints is critical.

There is a ladder placed right besides the entrance, so that you can kill the crossbowmen on the top.
And a little tip, when you are rolling you are indestructible.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

As for me; i'm currently in the undead burg. I made it, with about 1 point of health, to the Taurus demon. It killed me. I have no idea how you fight it and i'm not going to get the chance to learn without first going all the way back to the bonfire (which i'd done about 6 times already) in the burg. That's not a learning process that helps the player learn to fight the boss and tha'ts why placement of checkpoints is critical.

There is a ladder placed right besides the entrance, so that you can kill the crossbowmen on the top.
And a little tip, when you are rolling you are indestructible.

Do you think he knows that's he's supposed to jump off the tower and stab the Tauros Demon in the face?


Probably not

I fucking love this game. One of my main complaints with Demon's Souls was that nothing felt connected, I've always hated having a main hub that you access levels from.

Dark Souls did away with that, and now the world just feels... right.

 

[Dansen]

I know how to take out the Tartarus Demon, but I'm having trouble getting around him when he blocks me off from the tower, does anybody have any suggestions?

 

[Woodsey]

Now where's that dick who threw a hissy-fit because I said the graphics in the trailer weren't particularly pretty? I'll find you!

 

[viranimus]

I dont know, I think your over exaggerating greatly. I mean I keep seeing "as good as early PS2 games" and I am not seeing it. Now granted the graphics are a tad more jagged and perhaps a slight hit to the graphical budget, but that was likely done all in favor of expanding the player base by building it for 360 players. But were talking a slight difference. Compared to a PC game its like the graphical distance between 4AA and 8AA. Seriously, its not that bad and certainly not that big of a deal.

`ell, If you had the core gameplay and aesthetic style, I would be just as content with the game if it had as many polygons and effects as something like Fat princess.

 

[Pearwood]

First negative thoughts:

Why do they let me pick an appearance when my character is hideously deformed anyway?
The camera angles on the second boss on the narrow bridge get confusing if you go near the lock on button.

First positive thoughts:

This game is awesome. Beautiful graphics, great gameplay, great soundtrack, just love it.

 

[krazykidd]

As for me; i'm currently in the undead burg. I made it, with about 1 point of health, to the Taurus demon. It killed me. I have no idea how you fight it and i'm not going to get the chance to learn without first going all the way back to the bonfire (which i'd done about 6 times already) in the burg. That's not a learning process that helps the player learn to fight the boss and tha'ts why placement of checkpoints is critical.

There is a ladder placed right besides the entrance, so that you can kill the crossbowmen on the top.
And a little tip, when you are rolling you are indestructible.

Do you think he knows that's he's supposed to jump off the tower and stab the Tauros Demon in the face?


Probably not

I fucking love this game. One of my main complaints with Demon's Souls was that nothing felt connected, I've always hated having a main hub that you access levels from.

Dark Souls did away with that, and now the world just feels... right.

Wait ! your suppose to jump of the tower and stab him in the face ? I didn't know that... i just rolled between his legs everytime he attacked ...

Oh and wait till your face the

Spoiler

bell gargoyle! Roof top , no sides , final destination... fun times T_T

 

[Daystar Clarion]

As for me; i'm currently in the undead burg. I made it, with about 1 point of health, to the Taurus demon. It killed me. I have no idea how you fight it and i'm not going to get the chance to learn without first going all the way back to the bonfire (which i'd done about 6 times already) in the burg. That's not a learning process that helps the player learn to fight the boss and tha'ts why placement of checkpoints is critical.

There is a ladder placed right besides the entrance, so that you can kill the crossbowmen on the top.
And a little tip, when you are rolling you are indestructible.

Do you think he knows that's he's supposed to jump off the tower and stab the Tauros Demon in the face?


Probably not

I fucking love this game. One of my main complaints with Demon's Souls was that nothing felt connected, I've always hated having a main hub that you access levels from.

Dark Souls did away with that, and now the world just feels... right.

Wait ! your suppose to jump of the tower and stab him in the face ? I didn't know that... i just rolled between his legs everytime he attacked ...

Oh and wait till your face the

Spoiler

bell gargoyle! Roof top , no sides , final destination... fun times T_T

That one was quite easy actually, I think I may have overleveled for that one.

 

[ramboondiea]

well im barely out the tutorial area, but im having alot of fun so far, the game is tense, and i dont think the graphics are that bad my character looks like ass tho and the creation screen was abysmal.
i like the hint system, although a surprising number have already tried to screw me over haha
looking foreword to how the co-op things work, seen a few other characters ghosts knocking about, but not many

 

[Aeonknight]

So far, it seems alot more in depth than Demon Souls by far. Between the open world system, the Covenants, and dealing with humanity management on top of amassing souls, definately doesn't feel like the "long hallway" infrastructure Demon Souls had.

That said, that also leads to a few issues. Being a relatively open world, exploration is going to be an inevitable part of the game. What sucks about that is when you just clean out a boss and proceed past him, only to encounter a HUGE spike in difficulty from the local "cannon fodder" that results in you back tracking and finding an entirely new area to explore, hoping you don't get screwed by the unknown.

An example of this is when

Spoiler

you finish off the Hydra. Whether you used a Master Key and got past the armored fellow, or fought your way through the Darkroot Basin, once you kill Hydra proceed up the ladder next to the waterfall, you're left with 2 ways to go: Further into the woods where the Treant monsters have gotten a spike in HP/damage, along with near-invisible aggressive NPC's that you can't lock on to.... or you can cross the bridge and deal with 3 Catbears in the clearing. This is a pretty big jump in difficulty compared to the lolGolems before the hydra.

In other words, I have issues finding areas that are appropriate for my level of strength/equipment. It's either piss easy or brutally hard... where's the middle ground? I know this game isn't supposed to be a cake walk, but logical level progression is a part of any/every RPG.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

I know how to take out the Tartarus Demon, but I'm having trouble getting around him when he blocks me off from the tower, does anybody have any suggestions?

You can roll between his legs. If you have a faster character, roll between his legs, dash to the other side and lure him, roll under his legs and dash back to the other side and up the ladder. Do a plunging attack. Rinse and repeat.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

As for me; i'm currently in the undead burg. I made it, with about 1 point of health, to the Taurus demon. It killed me. I have no idea how you fight it and i'm not going to get the chance to learn without first going all the way back to the bonfire (which i'd done about 6 times already) in the burg. That's not a learning process that helps the player learn to fight the boss and tha'ts why placement of checkpoints is critical.

There is a ladder placed right besides the entrance, so that you can kill the crossbowmen on the top.
And a little tip, when you are rolling you are indestructible.

Do you think he knows that's he's supposed to jump off the tower and stab the Tauros Demon in the face?


Probably not

I fucking love this game. One of my main complaints with Demon's Souls was that nothing felt connected, I've always hated having a main hub that you access levels from.

Dark Souls did away with that, and now the world just feels... right.

Wait ! your suppose to jump of the tower and stab him in the face ? I didn't know that... i just rolled between his legs everytime he attacked ...

Oh and wait till your face the

Spoiler

bell gargoyle! Roof top , no sides , final destination... fun times T_T

That one was quite easy actually, I think I may have overleveled for that one.

Drake Sword+summonable NPC=cakewalk. The NPC draws aggro and the Drake Sword does a ton of damage. That combo takes out the challenge in that fight.

 

[Gralian]

The only frustration for me thus far is having no way to sell junk or store items yet. Granted you couldn't sell stuff in Demon's Souls, but you could at least dump unndeeded items on Stockpile Thomas at the Nexus.

Also, no longer being able to stockpile grass to munch on is a bit disconcerting. As is limiting the number of times you can cast spells and miracles. Once you found the MP regen ring in Demon's Souls, you were on easy street. I guess it's for balance, but damn... doesn't give much reason to go anything but heavy melee with light magic for a desperate heal or weak soul arrow to pick off that pesky ranged mob.

 

[Ragsnstitches]

My biggest prob with the game is the weapon atks. They changed a lot of them that worked well to weird screwed up animations. The Halberd which used to atk with the axe part in downward motions now just gets jabbed forward with your char stumbling as they do it. The Morning star just get one big thrust downward, again with your char stumbling. A lot of those weapons didn't need the atk patterns screwed up when they worked fine for what they where most needed for.

Also while not as big of a deal I don't like that my char looks like a old corpse when it's hallowed. I spent like an hr in OCD fulled char customizing, only to find I'm gonna be spending most of my time as a mummy. Either way I like that the enemies are smarter and will follow you up ladders and stairs and actually use better strats then "run in with my cock out flail".

Only speaking on behalf of Demons Souls here, yet to get Dark Souls... but I felt as though the Halberd and it's variants made most of the game far too easy, first run through as the Holy Warrior (guy in awesome starting armour and halberd) was cake walk (relatively speaking) and the weapon stayed with me right up to the end. 2nd character I made relied on swords and maces, the game was a ton more difficult for it.

Perhaps they switch up it's role for balancing? I dunno, I like Halberds myself.

I like the idea of zombified character appearance between states... as long as it's not like oblivions vampirism that reverts your characters face back to pre-made one.

 

[Itsthefuzz]

Ok so, still playing it and I can say this: It's STILL REALLY HARD, but I'll love it forever.

 

[godofallu]

I just rang the first bell and i'd give the game maybe a 7/10.

The games main gameplay is good, but it is marred by constant flaws that shouldn't even be a problem. No explaining what anything is or what it means? I accidentally hit a shopkeeper so I can no longer use him forever! Did I mention that the multiplayer doesn't work. One of the devs on the forums specifically quoted me and told me to not bother trying to play with my specific friend because we were on different servers. Stupid. This is the same friend in the same country that I always do co-op with. We bought the damn game together.

Also why can't you use party chat while playing? That's like one of Xbox lives greatest features.

Gameplay is alright but with broken multiplayer, no party chat, and a ton of grinding I can't put it at anything above average. At least the Witcher 2 looked beautiful.

 

[microwavefriendly]

This is just bizarre.

People say 'this is a manly man's game' and that it's 'realistic' - no invisible walls to protect you from falling of ledges, for example. But when you die you come back to life (as we all do, of course) and can start again. Unlike Oblivion or Dragon Age (those games people say are for pussies, now that DS exists).

Surely if death is so common in a game, as it apperas to be in DS - you will die a lot they say - then it must have no meaning. The player doesn't fear death, as he might in DA or Oblivion (which is the sort of trepidation the developers of DS want the player to feel), he just fears the tedious repetition of task to progress. That's something else entirely.

wow....obviously you don't know anything about the game...maybe you should play it or actively research the game before you go criticizing.
you fear death in dark souls more than any other game...saving doesn't exist in dark souls as it does in dragon age or the elder scrolls.
the game autosaves every thing you do and when you die, you're stuck with the consequence. that means no reload if you screwed up, just like real life. then you have to go back and get the experience you lost from where you died, kind of like getting your gear back in diablo 2.

 

[Gralian]

As for me; i'm currently in the undead burg. I made it, with about 1 point of health, to the Taurus demon. It killed me. I have no idea how you fight it and i'm not going to get the chance to learn without first going all the way back to the bonfire (which i'd done about 6 times already) in the burg. That's not a learning process that helps the player learn to fight the boss and tha'ts why placement of checkpoints is critical.

Spoiler: The easy way to kill the Taurus Demon is...

Look behind you after entering the white fog to find a ladder on your right that lets you climb up and deal with the crossbowmen. Lure the Taurus demon over to that area, climb the ladder, fall and press RB to do a plunging attack on it that'll take away an almighty chunk of its health.

If you're not comfortable with plunge attacks another really easy way to beat him is to just stand back and throw Black Firebombs which you should have looted from a chest earlier. With him being so slow and unable to avoid the bombardment it's like shooting fish in a barrel... with explosives. And a really large fish.

This is just bizarre.

People say 'this is a manly man's game' and that it's 'realistic' - no invisible walls to protect you from falling of ledges, for example. But when you die you come back to life (as we all do, of course) and can start again. Unlike Oblivion or Dragon Age (those games people say are for pussies, now that DS exists).

Surely if death is so common in a game, as it apperas to be in DS - you will die a lot they say - then it must have no meaning. The player doesn't fear death, as he might in DA or Oblivion (which is the sort of trepidation the developers of DS want the player to feel), he just fears the tedious repetition of task to progress. That's something else entirely.

Considering you lose ALL your souls and ALL your humanity when you die, i'd say that's a pretty big incentive to fear death. Not to mention that the further you progress without dying, the greater the relatisation that should you die, you'll have to make your way all the way back to that exact spot to get your stuff back - something that may be impossible if getting to that point was a tough endeavour to start with or a fluke. So progression is kind of a double-edged sword and provides yet another reason to fear the reaper.

Not to mention if you want the best chance of getting exceptional loot, you need to stay human and have a high humanity count. Both of which you will lose if you die.

 

[ThePuzzldPirate]

The difficulty isn't the issue, although presenting the player with some fantasy monstrosity that fills the entire moveable area without any clue as to what you can do to avoid him or falling to your death is pretty stupid. The big mistake the game makes is that assuming the player is in the exact position of the character. I have situational awareness as a human being so that if i'm stood on the edge of a cliff i KNOW it. If i'm playing a game that isn't there, even if i can see that i'm on a ledge or something. That's why games have things like invisible walls. i've already been knocked off some stairs by a trap - and survived only to find i can't get back so i had to suicide and lose all my souls. Pretty stupid.

But for me the biggest issue is the simple placement of bonfires. Sure the enemies are rought, and that's fine. But forcing the player to go all the way back to the last bonfire, which was miles away, every time, is just retarded. There's no getting away from this. At least placing a bonfire right before every boss fight would have been the minimum i'd expect. In fact i'd go so far as to say that if you are going to make a challenging game then you as developers have got to up your game: you have a responsibility to give the player all the tools to interpret that difficulty: the camera has to be spot on, the lock on system spot on, the framerate spot on. Everything has to be there. I'm not saying it isn't, but there are times - especially with the great big bosses that come up short just because it's so difficult. It's no good putting the player into a position where he's getting sniped by things out of camera range, or by firebombs that are being thrown by people inside a room you can't get inside to see without first being firebombed. That's poor design.

I'm not going to say it's a bad game, and even if i did it would be pointless. But I'm certainly not going to say this is designed as well as it should have been - not could have been, but should have been. Especially for all the praise it's gotten. These reviews are writing cheques this game isn't cashing.

As for me; i'm currently in the undead burg. I made it, with about 1 point of health, to the Taurus demon. It killed me. I have no idea how you fight it and i'm not going to get the chance to learn without first going all the way back to the bonfire (which i'd done about 6 times already) in the burg. That's not a learning process that helps the player learn to fight the boss and tha'ts why placement of checkpoints is critical.

I never had any problems in bonfire spacing at all so it is something on your end, I can make it to the church in one sitting.