Is Dark Souls really that good?

[Sande45]

Is Dark Souls really that good? Well, yes and no. Yes by comparison because I haven't come across a single game that does what Souls games do anywhere near as well. So it's not about Dark Souls doing anything especially well, just every other game doing the same thing poorly or not at all.

Dark Souls isn't mechanically all that difficult if you play a tank character. It becomes more about tactics than timing and mechanic skill. Even with a light character it's a lot more about knowing when to hit, when to heal, how to position yourself, being patient and cautious etc. than doing some crazy combos with insane timing or anything like that. Pretty much the fundamental thing about Dark Souls that separates it from the mass is how you should approach an encounter; in Dark Souls not getting hit comes first, then you start thinking about doing some damage yourself. In most other games you just beat on the enemies not getting hit or not having to worry about it.

 

[Mr Jack]

I think Dark Souls is a relatively hard game, but it is also quite fair. I do think everyone should at least attempt to play through Dark Souls without a guide, as discovering things for yourself is much more enjoyable. Before you look at a guide for help:

Read everything in the game, from messages on the ground, to item descriptions.
Listen to what NPC's tell you.
Explore.
Pressing 'back' or 'select' while in the stats screen will bring up help on what each statistic means.
On the level up screen, it will show what effect each increase will have, including the damage increase for any weapons you have equipped.
Poise is given by armour, and reflects your ability to take a hit and not be staggered.
Some weapons scale with stats like Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence and Faith. Some do not scale at all.
Kill the dogs first.
The Borg are right; Resistance is futile.
Be adaptable, some fights will be easier with little armour and high moblity, others the reverse.

If you find yourself stuck or not having fun and none of these apply, get some help.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Dark Souls is one of my favourite games last gen, definitely in my top five.

It's difficult compared to most modern titles, but what it also is, is fair.

If you died, it wasn't because the game bullshitted you (with the exception of maybe the lag in Blighttown, but even then, I didn't have too many problems with it). You died because you were reckless, or weren't quick enough, or weren't paying attention to your surroundings. It's one of the most atmospheric games I've ever played, and is very subtle with the way it tells its story.

I really enjoy the series, and I can't wait for Dark Souls 2.

This comment is getting extremely tiring. People said the same thing about Demon's Souls. The games difficulty is not so perfect that the fault only lies with you. The game still cheap shots you every now and again.

You think so?


Hmmm, I've never really felt like I was cheated in the game. There's been moments where I've thought 'those clever bastards', but I don't think any of those moments were setup in a way that made them impossible for me to avoid.

 

[Rutabaga_swe]

Some parts of the game are a bit BS and pretty much impossible to see coming, even with careful play. I don't think anyone would deny that, but the game overall is very fair and an overwhelming majority of your deaths will be because of yourself.

It's impossible to balance a game perfectly, but it's hardly I Wanna Be The Guy though, is it?

 

[Dandark]

Dark souls is a fun game but can be hard to get into. I would recommend treating it like a learning experience the whole time and eventually you will learn how to play it.

The game is actually extremely fair and skill based, once you get used to it and start learning enemies attack and movement patterns as well as how to use the game mechanics it becomes much easier.

OP here. I just got back from Gamestop and I'm popping it in right now. I think dying is going to be common for me, as it has been for everyone else, because the box literally says "Prepare to die" on the back of it. I skimmed through a guide and I have a pretty rough idea of how I'll build my character. I also heard that the "Uchigatana" is the best weapon in the game. Where can I find that?

You find the Uchigatana with the first merchant you encounter in the undead burg(Which is where you should go after the tutorial. Go up the stairs on the side of a cliff to the right. Do not go in the graveyard and do not take the elevator).
However it is not "the best weapon in the game", there is no best weapon. You pretty much want to find a weapon you enjoy and use that, I myself prefer heavy weapons while many prefer the quicker dexterity weapons like the katanas.

Although I said there is no best weapon in the game, I lied. There is a best weapon and it is called the Zweicannon.

 

[Rutabaga_swe]

Actually, the giant dad build f***ing wrecks PvE

 

[Wasted]

Dark Souls is one of my favourite games last gen, definitely in my top five.

It's difficult compared to most modern titles, but what it also is, is fair.

If you died, it wasn't because the game bullshitted you (with the exception of maybe the lag in Blighttown, but even then, I didn't have too many problems with it). You died because you were reckless, or weren't quick enough, or weren't paying attention to your surroundings. It's one of the most atmospheric games I've ever played, and is very subtle with the way it tells its story.

I really enjoy the series, and I can't wait for Dark Souls 2.

This comment is getting extremely tiring. People said the same thing about Demon's Souls. The games difficulty is not so perfect that the fault only lies with you. The game still cheap shots you every now and again.

I equate Dark Souls difficulty to NES-era hard games like Castlevania, Megaman, and Contra. Patience and quick reflexes should get you through the majority of the game without much hassle. I grew up on said Nintendo games and that's why I feel that the games difficulty is grossly exaggerated by the gaming community. I was able to beat it by myself (never summoned other phantoms for aid, not even NPC ones) on my first play through. I managed to kill all the bosses and my character stayed at 125 when I beat Gywn. It's definitely hard, but I played harder in this generation.

The only truly cheap moments I can think out off the top of my head is Carpa Demon (boss arena is so small that you get attacked before you can create any sort of plan), Bed of Chaos (worst boss fight in the game based almost entirely on luck, it also shows you that the developers knew she sucked since she is the only boss in-game that does not reset fully on death), and Blight Town (only because the ladders blend so well that on my first play through I missed most of them).

 

[michael87cn]

If you play cautiously and defensively you don't really die very much. It's about learning how enemies move and adapting. It also helps if you don't walk right off cliffs, like a lot of people do.

The best thing to do, is go to youtube and type "best of dark souls" and watch some videos. Death montages will especially give you an idea of what the game is like.

I honestly loved the game, and I hate frustration and difficulty, but the game is actually not that frustrating. Checkpoints (bonfires) are all over the place, and never further than 5 minutes from where you can die.

 

[Church185]

The most important lesson to learn IMHO, is how stats and weapon upgrade paths work together. If you waste souls upgrading your weapon the wrong way (for your build) or put points into useless stats (resistance) then you may get to a point where you simply can't progress any further without either getting incredibly good at the game or grinding for souls.

For instance, you heard that the Uchi is the best weapon in the game, but if you haven't been putting points into DEX, or made a Magic Uchi while leveling DEX, you'll be doing so little damage to some bosses that the game may feel impossible.

As far as weapons go, the Claymore and the Zweihander are probably the most noob friendly weapons in the game. They have incredibly reach and versatility, on top of the massive amount of base damage they do.

 

[Elfgore]

Thanks to this thread I may finally purchase Dark Souls. It's a little too pricey for me to take a risk on it, but when it drops to ten bucks I'm all over it.

Let's hope this game doesn't kill me from rage.

 

[lacktheknack]

No.

It's a solid 7/10, but it's not "that good". I don't even really know my complaints, but overall, I just didn't love it nearly as much as I thought I would. I managed to finish the opening area and Undead Berg, and then I kind of just gave up. Twenty hours of restarting with a new character to figure out what I do well with and struggling against the two "easy" levels would normally be my bag, but it just... wasn't.

It wasn't even the rage (I barely raged at all), but mere "Oh look, there's a different and better game!" that made me stop playing.

 

[IFS]

I was absolutely horrible at Dark Souls when I first started playing it, and it is easily one of my favorite games of all time. its really not as difficult as people make it out to be, with a few exceptions most encounters can be overcome through patience, preparation, and caution. Its pretty cheap by now so its well worth picking up, just stick with either Pyromancer, warrior, or knight for your class on your first playthrough and things won't be too skill intensive early on.

 

[Walker Peterson]

It is an absolutely fantastic game. I might be biased as I've probably played 2000 hours of it, but it's just that damn good to me. If you aren't into RPGs or games like Legend of Zelda, you probably won't enjoy it. As for the difficulty, you definitely WILL die a lot, but much less so if you take things slow and use common sense. I wouldn't suggest using a step-by-step walkthrough for it, it takes a lot of the fun away (imo), but here's a few important tips:

Choose the master key as the starting gift. It unlocks a bunch of shortcuts that give you treasure and easier access around the game.

Vitality and endurance are undoubtedly the most important skills in the game. Get them up as much as possible.

Resistance is almost completely useless, I'd suggest staying away from this skill.

Make sure to manage your stamina. Whenever you don't need to block, put your shield down. Your stamina regenerates faster like that. Try to never waste your entire stamina bar at one time, it makes it take longer to come back.

Focus on simple block-attack patterns. Wait for them to attack, then do a simple counterattack. Easy and effective.

Find a weapon that you like and stick to it. Later on in the game you can upgrade it to lightning or fire, do it and keep improving your vitality and endurance while you learn the mechanics. All weapons are good for the most part, it's all a matter of preference.

TAKE THE UPPER PATH FIRST. Do NOT go through the graveyard or try to go down the bottom path from the beginning. This will save you from approximately 75 deaths.

Make sure you wear armor that you can dodge roll in. Armor isn't all too important other than the "poise" statistic, which essentially keeps you from being knocked over. Being able to dodge roll is key, so wearing lighter armor is important. This also improves your stamina recovery speed.



That's pretty much all I have for you. If you have any questions feel free to ask me, I know the game inside and out pretty much. If you do buy it, good luck, hope you enjoy. It really is fantastic once you get the hang of it.

 

[EvilRoy]

It's very clear that I suck at video games and I have a very hard time learning the ins and outs of a game's mechanics. Dark souls is scrotum-twistingly difficult and REQUIRES you to learn the ins and outs of it's mechanics, otherwise it will leave you as little more than a red smear on the sidewalk.

Should I give it a try, or will I just find it so unfair and difficult that I won't gain any enjoyment out of it?

I'm actually still on my first playthrough of this game, been working at it for a few months now (its a VERY long game, like Skyrim long at least if you take your time and explore).

I've found that although the game is more or less generally fair, there are more than a few horseshit ways to die and the game practices severe checkpoint starvation. Curse, for instance, is a near instant-kill if you have no resistance to it (you likely won't), and causes you to respawn with half health and unable to use mechanics such as restore humanity or kindle - you must then purchase an item or a heal from one of two or three dudes way the hell and gone from where you currently are to fix it. Later in the game a boss character actually uses curse as a primary attack.

That said, and this is critical, this game has character and equipment leveling mechanics. And enemies do not scale. So you can grind the shit out of it, should you find yourself at an impasse. I have done this more than once myself to beat certain bosses, although I am finding it ineffective against the curse-boss I'm currently dealing with. Which brings us to the next point - if at first you die four or five times in a row to a boss, consult a strategy guide. People who really like dark souls and presumably enjoy the at times excessive/bullshit difficulty will tell you not to do this, but as a fellow gamer with limited discretionary time and patience let me tell you there is no shame in it. Sometimes you need to know what element enemies are weak to, sometimes you need to know that there is a sunbro nearby to help you, sometimes you need to know that you took the wrong path and ended up in an area far above your head.

 

[Dandark]

Actually, the giant dad build f***ing wrecks PvE

I know
Im doing a giant dad playthrough now and I mostly do PvE, I just got summoned and pretty much soloed Gwyndolin for a friend simply by running at him and dodging his attacks then getting one hit off before he teleported away. I eventually got to him early enough to stagger lock him and that was that.
I mostly like it because if I get invaded then I can usually win.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Its a damn good game. I say this with a lot of frustration under my belt due to it. Its not a game you can get a walkthru/strategy guide for and dominate easily either, which is a rare thing in the current industry. It also punishes button mashing so you can't get away with that. Basically its a game that you must have patience, and an open mind to learn its mechanics, but once you find a playstyle you can manage its a great experience.
It took me a few re-rolls to find a starting class I could survive with, and have just recently finished Blighttown (hell). Prior to that the only bosses I had defeated were the Asylum Demon, Bull Demon, the Bell Gargoyles and the Moonlight Butterfly. All of which had their holy crap this is hard moments in themselves, til I figured out a way of taking them all down.

 

[A BigCup of Tea]

I got Dark Souls last week when it was £4 on the 360 dashboard, started playing it last night and died pretty much straight away after big bird drops you off as i ran into a graveyard and was immediately chased by a dozen skeletons and two massive ones, found a cave and decided to retreat there...big mistake as it was filled with more skeletons and some dude shooting fire from his hands, i think in 20 minutes i died about 15 times BUT i did have a lot of fun so i do recommend it but take things slow and read all the messages on the floor (especially the helpful ones that just say good luck (yeah thanks for that good luck with what?))

 

[Ragsnstitches]

It depends on your tolerance of retreading steps and if you can look at death as a mechanic more so then a penalty.

The first point is obvious. The game will make you replay areas and fight the same enemy formations repeatedly if you muck up in said areas. Your first encounter with most (if not all) boss monsters will force you to do this at least once, unless you have above average abilities.

This is where the 2nd point comes in. Death serves a purpose. Only enemy formations reset when you die in an area and only the common enemy types at that (mini bosses, which are notable due to their superior difficulty over the common minions, do not if you have killed them), except the gear and items you have acquired. This means that, when you die, you are going back into the area again facing the same formations but with foreknowledge of what's ahead. Caution on its own can get you through these areas without dieing (or without damage, if your reflexes are up to snuff), though that is quite difficult.

That said death is not without penalty, though you have at least 1 chance after your first death to amend that damage. When you die first, the souls you have on your body (souls being this games equivalent to xp and money) in consumed form (you can pick up souls as items, and they can be added to your soul pool if consumed) are dropped at the location where you fell. If you can get back to that area without dieing again, you can reclaim those souls.

Dieing on this 2nd chance will lose you those souls (as the green glowing blood pool, that signifies where you died last, is replaced by your most recent death).

The real bane to many a new player are invading phantoms (both NPCs and other players) since they are often tough and very stressful (especially if you are trying to reclaim your lost souls as the risk of losing them altogether increases exponentially). However they only appear if you are in living form.

In this game there are 2 distinctly different forms. Living and Undead. You start off as Undead. Acquiring Humanity (another resource) and restoring said humanity at a bonfire (equivalent to a safe zone... though not always safe) makes you living again. When alive you can be invaded and you can also summon blue and gold phantoms to aid you (up to 2). When undead you can (at a point) invade players or place summoning signs to be summoned to aid other players. A lot of these functions revolve heavily around the Covenants, with each covenant promoting a different set of rules and rewards for partaking in the online feature.

Don't be afraid to remain undead on your first playthrough so you can familiarise yourself with enemies, locations and weapons. The game can be punishing enough without the risk of invaders. Though doing so will also remove the ability to summon allies (though you can be summoned if you place down summoning signs).

It's highly recommended that at some point you try the online features since they are truly what stands this game apart from the rest.