Nope. I disagree... to some extent.AngloDoom said:
See, Dark Souls and Demon's Souls were different in that standard 'modern' strategies, most of them borrowed from, say, beat'em ups or other rather simple-minded button-mashing fare were plain the wrong way to go.
Where in most other modern games all that's required of you is target acquisition, a quick trigger finger and, sometimes, three seconds or so of patience to have your life bar automagically refilled, the Souls titles let you figure things out yourself, at your own pace. Right from the get-go you (should) learn that any and all gung-ho action quickly ends in your own demise.
See, in my first play-through I went for a rogue. It was not before very, very late in the game that I bothered to figure out the parry-riposte or backstab mechanics - I was just too busy not dying, too overwhelmed with everything and too genuinely afraid of failure. Then, eventually, I stopped and said to myself: "There must be a better, quicker, more efficient way of killing bid bad silver knights! I can't spend so much time on every single one of them!" - and, lo and behold, there were quicker ways to dispatch them, with new animations and even a sound effect that made it clear: I DID IT!
While the game does not hand you much in terms of a proper introduction to story or mechanics, it (should) make it clear very soon that you need to tread carefully.
See that large, 8-foot fully armoured guy that conveniently stands with his back facing towards you? Do you
a) try to sneak up on him and try to backstab him with that broken butter knife you brought along?
b) run up to him screaming, bringing all your level 1 hell down on him?
c) go somewhere else, come back another time with, maybe, better armor, better weapons, better stats and some actual experience?
d) find a way around him so you can get the shiny shiny something before the tall guy comes to chop you up?
See, once I learned to incorporate the but temporary inconvenience of death and the rather immortal nature of our player character, things got very different, and way more interesting. Death is part of the deal here, and once you figure that out, you really only die when you're not careful, when you go pee or prepare dinner without exiting the game first, or when you made a mistake (such as wanting to play against cheaters).
Yes, some of the bosses managed to kill me even late in the game, but that can easily be prevented, or at least postponed a bit by simply not running through fog gates when you don't know what's behind them. As for most enemies, they can be evaded by running, jumping, rolling past them, under them, away from them. There are many shortcuts that allow you to drop to a lower level without instantly dying, and they allow for some turbo-charged second walkthrough that, once you've memorized the areas, is more like a run-through.
To be honest, I haven't had this much fun in a game since, say, Donkey Kong or Super Mario Land.
Yes, the game experience at the very beginning can be disheartening. Yes, I was shocked to not have any sort of in-game map. Turns out the game was so much better and so much more rewarding just because of these seemingly punishing choices.
Also, I think these two Souls games have the potential to influence the player on a more metaphysical, emotional level. The souls, or 'points' you collect are much more valuable because you know you can lose them in virtually no time if you're not careful. You can fall to your death, you can forget about that one enemy always lurking behind that one corner, beyond that one closed door.
At first, I thought it was rather lazy to not have some of that epic score blasting away like some elevator music of the damned all the time. Well, once again, turns out it's pretty much perfect the way it is. When there's a big bad coming at you, the score will let you know even before you might see what's coming at you, or where it is coming from. The music will make you jumpy, alert and it will make your blood pressure go up. When you stand still in a new environment, you can hear the shuffling of undead things, or you can hear bones rattle, or you can hear the distinct sounds of chainmail and heavy boots. Everything is scary for a not too brief period of time, and once you figure out how to master it, the whole game experience turns around and pats you on the back. Well done, it seems to be saying. Well done, you're all grown up now!
As for the insta-kill huge enemies or insta-kill combos of some lesser demonic foes - I've found that when you're not yet fully equipped, running away or having a look at things from afar are really the better options. If all else fails, the specific wiki pages will become your second home. It's where seasoned travellers posted all the knowledge they could find, and it's where struggling upcoming heroes go to find answers.
Even my experience was not entirely without failure or flaws, but compared to the feelings I had during playing and after finishing the games (a couple of times), I have to say I am looking at games differently. Most other games I find offensively simple, appallingly overloaded with bullshit backstory and just unacceptable in pure game mechanics. I'd rather go back to some more Dark Souls than play any crap new game for longer than just five minutes after it starts boring or offending me.
