Would you have played the Demon/Dark Souls games if there was no online?

[Sean Hollyman]

I've only played Dark Souls 2 and my Xbox LIVE ran out before I got it, so I've beaten it twice without any online.

 

[Sean Hollyman]

Oh easily. Heck, I've been challenging myself in Dark Souls 2 to go through the entire game only getting by on NPC summons (Broke this rule for the Ruin Sentinels because I just can't 1v3 a boss). That's why I love the online aspect of Dark Souls. Completely fits into the world, but takes nothing away when removed.

I went through the whole game alone without internet connection, not even knowing you could summon NPCs.

It was...rough.

Course on New Game+ I learned you could summon, and it made the fights much easier *Waves fist angrily at Lost Sinner and her Pyromancer buddies*

 

[NeutralDrow]

I effectively DID play Dark Souls as if there was no online. For a significant chunk of the game, it was so poorly optimized (see: PC version) that I got kicked off the online component any time the game ran slower than normal.

I didn't mind this one bit.

 

[Another]

Haven't played DS2 yet (friday is so close...) but I didn't use the pvp in DS1 really. The couple of times i did try it was just a massive lag fest (also pc version btw, i assume the online for DS1 on consoles was better).

I would love a no pvp version. At the very least a options menu toggle for no invasions/summons would be great.

 

[IFS]

Yeah I would have played the games offline without issue, hell by the time I got around to playing Demon's Souls it might as well have been offline considering that I went through the game with about one coop session and maybe two invasions. That said I do feel like being offline would have weakened the experience, the lack of messages, the feeling of joy at taking down a tough boss and helping a complete stranger get ahead. Hell a few benevolent invaders on my first run of Dark Souls gave me a radically different experience than most people had, opening up shortcuts in one area and throwing me the black iron armor right before the Quelaag fight.

I'll actually speak up as someone who really enjoys the PVP in Dark Souls 2, way more than I did in DS1 (where I generally avoided it, and rarely won a fight) the various bits of balancing (making it so my general PVE build is perfectly viable in PVP, and putting more emphasis on skill over having the right PVE build/gear) and server changes (which removed most if not all of the lag) have made it into a very fun experience for me. I won't say that DS2 is the better game of the two (Dark Souls 1 will always be superior imo), but its certainly got better PVP.

I feel that DkS2 is an inferior game especially regarding the PvP and I am not even talking about balance. The system doesn't reward the players skill anywhere near as much as DkS1 did. It's dead in the water and the amount of PvP that is currently going on in DkS1 is a testament of its failure as a PvP experience.

I can't speak for how much activity Dark Souls 1 still has in PVP (though I'm certain people will be playing it for some time, especially since Dark Souls 2 hasn't been out for that long yet) but I've seen no shortage of online activity in Dark Souls 2. Getting summoned for most bosses happens really quickly, and the invasion focused covenants (Rat King and Belfry Guards at least) it takes very little time to run into other players.

As for not rewarding skill as much imo its rewarding skill a great deal more, the main skill that Dark Souls 1 PVP required (in my experience at least) was guessing where the lag actually had the person at, and knowing what equipment was best for PVP. Dark Souls 2 is much more balanced in my experience, so most builds are perfectly viable for PVP, which creates a much greater variety in the encounters and rewards being able to deal with all manner of situation a lot more. This is all my experience/opinion so it might not match up to yours very well, but I'm curious what makes you say that it's inferior.

 

[suitepee7]

yup, i played most of DS1 hollowed, only reverting when i needed to summon or i knew there was a dark phantom scripted to invade. i didn't go out of my way to be so, but i didn't really aim to be online

 

[cookyt]

The reason I ask, is with Dark Souls II it seems the games are being catered to those that seek and enjoy the invasion aspect of Dark Souls, which I feel is it's worst aspect.

I haven't played DS2 yet[footnote]Waiting for the PC release[/footnote], but it would make sense if they wanted to focus on improving the "worst" aspect of their game, and keeping the other (already well-liked) mechanics untouched. Just a general observation for all games, not DS2 in specific.

OT: I barely interacted with the PVP aspects of either Dark Souls or Demon's Souls as I spent most of my time hollowed/ghosted. I always felt that the forced PVP was kind of awkward as all my invaders were always optimized for PVP, whereas I was optimized for PVE. Consequently, I rarely got into co-op play since I was rarely alive to summon. The way I see it, though, hollowed vs. non-hollowed is just a compromise on max health, invasion risk, and co-op access, so I'm okay with the state of affairs.

That said, I love all the smaller touches of the world at large that more asynchronous online aspects of the game afford. The blood stains, the soapstone messages, and the foggy visages of other players playing the same level provide a sense of connectivity and community that counterpoints the general despair and loneliness of the game world. If you remove those, the game would still be playable and even good, but it would lose a bit of its charm.

So, would I play Dark Souls without the online components? Yes. The core mechanics of the game and the aesthetic of the environment are more than enough to get me into a single player game. That said, I feel that the online component of the game adds to the single player experience in a way that's wholly unique, and removing them outright would detract from game.

 

[TheMigrantSoldier]

Absolutely, though it would have taken something out of the experience. I unhollowed every chance I got. Since invasions for me were very rare, each one felt special and added to the gameplay. I had a blast balancing on the bridges in Sen's Fortress while people were hurling fireballs and spears at me. I felt thrilled running through the forest, shaking off my pursuer. It makes for interesting stories.

 

[XMark]

From my experience, the multiplayer element of Dark Souls and Demon Souls boiled down to the actual game occasionally being interrupted by a severely overpowered invader who one-shots me. I've always been purely into the single-player aspect of the game, though I've never deliberately launched it in offline mode to avoid the multiplayer part.

 

[Riverwolf]

Welcome to the Escapist!

I'd probably be more inclined to play them more if they were ONLY single-player and NO online. Every other aspect of the game sounds just so wonderful (...well, apart from the fact that I understand Dark Souls to be kinda pessimistic, and I don't like pessimistic), but I don't generally enjoy online play.

 

[Drummodino]

I would certainly play them offline, however I would feel that something had been lost. Granted I haven't played Dark Souls 2 yet, but I really enjoyed the online in Dark Souls. I mostly played co-op and I had a heck of a lot of fun helping people take down tough bosses like Ornstein and Smough and Kalameet. Some of my favourite memories of that game involve being summoned to someone's world and then helping them take down invaders.

Also while I can understand people getting frustrated at invaders, personally I love the challenge. There's so much unpredictability in how a human player will act compared to a bot, you'll never know for sure what is going to happen. When I killed my first invader in Dark Souls I was so happy and proud of myself. The tension and cat-and-mouse of PvP is intense and I love it.

Also welcome to the Escapist, I hope you enjoy your stay!

 

[Ishal]

Yes, easily. But I think the lack would detract from the longevity of the game and the connected world they were going for.

The Souls series is pretty much a package deal in terms all the things included in the experience. But yes, as a single player only experience, I still would have played them.

As an aside. Dark Souls 2 is an interesting beast when it comes to it's multiplayer. It's better all around imo, but the way the covenants work and their design is so intriguing to me. There are similar ones like the Sunbros and Brotherhood of Blood. But there are other ones as well. There is a forest hunter style gankfest that is the Bellkeepers, and then there is the scumbag covenant of the rodents.

Add to that the dedicated arenas that two covenants have for dueling. PvP is both far removed, and up in your face at the same time. It's wholly dependent on how you want to play the game.

 

[otakon17]

Welcome to the Escapist and to be honest, beyond it limiting some kinds of weapons and items you can get; Hell no I didn't care for the online in Demon's or Dark Souls. It's a right pain in the ass trying to get a specific Phantom to spawn as it is in Dark Souls or get to the boss while still human and not get jumped by some twinking/hacking bastard that wipes you out with lagstabs or sheer brute strength.

 

[Valkrex]

I definitely would have still played them, the single player aspect of the Souls games are fantastic. However, the online components add something to the game that the series would be lesser without. I have never seen a game successfully blend single player and multi-player in a way that didn't make the multi-player component feel bolted on, or completely separate from the single player portion, and some of my best moments in gaming have come from this hybrid experience.

Nothing compares to the rush you get when someone invades you, and nothing gave me the same kind of satisfaction as fending off an invader long enough to reach the boss, allow the host I'd been summoned to reach the boss, or kill the invader outright.

And I also get the same satisfaction from allowing myself to be summoned, and helping a player defeat the area boss. Not only am I helping someone who needs it, I get to fight my favorite bosses over and over without having to restart the game or go to New Game+.

TL;DR:

I would have still played the games if they were only single player, but the game is noticeably weaker in my eyes without the online component.

ALSO TO EVERYONE SAYING THAT YOU NEED TO PULL THE ETHERNET TO AVOID INVASIONS:

That is just untrue. All you need to do to avoid invasion is simply not go into human form. Not that difficult.

 

[BathorysGraveland2]

Due to my refusal to get involved with that infernal GFWL, I'm currently forced to play Dark Souls strictly online anyway. I would have liked to see the invasion stuff, but really, it doesn't bother me too much. The game feels very complete and difficult enough with just the single player.

 

[Raku-Gosha]

The reason I ask, is with Dark Souls II it seems the games are being catered to those that seek and enjoy the invasion aspect of Dark Souls, which I feel is it's worst aspect.

I haven't played DS2 yet[footnote]Waiting for the PC release[/footnote], but it would make sense if they wanted to focus on improving the "worst" aspect of their game, and keeping the other (already well-liked) mechanics untouched. Just a general observation for all games, not DS2 in specific.

OT: I barely interacted with the PVP aspects of either Dark Souls or Demon's Souls as I spent most of my time hollowed/ghosted. I always felt that the forced PVP was kind of awkward as all my invaders were always optimized for PVP, whereas I was optimized for PVE. Consequently, I rarely got into co-op play since I was rarely alive to summon. The way I see it, though, hollowed vs. non-hollowed is just a compromise on max health, invasion risk, and co-op access, so I'm okay with the state of affairs.

That said, I love all the smaller touches of the world at large that more asynchronous online aspects of the game afford. The blood stains, the soapstone messages, and the foggy visages of other players playing the same level provide a sense of connectivity and community that counterpoints the general despair and loneliness of the game world. If you remove those, the game would still be playable and even good, but it would lose a bit of its charm.

So, would I play Dark Souls without the online components? Yes. The core mechanics of the game and the aesthetic of the environment are more than enough to get me into a single player game. That said, I feel that the online component of the game adds to the single player experience in a way that's wholly unique, and removing them outright would detract from game.

Thanks for the reply. and yeah reading people's opinion on it, it's rather unanimous that the game would lose some of its' luster with online absent. I've begun to see online as more a fine painting that finishes off a rooms aesthetics with out imposing (for the most part)

 

[Not Lord Atkin]

There is no bigger 'fuck you' than finally being able to scrape your way through the duke's archives with enough souls for an upgrade only to be invaded and killed with the bonfire only a few steps away.

See, I like having the messages and seing the ghosts of other players and touching bloodstains. I don't want to go offline. And I like being able, you know, KINDLE THE BONFIRES, so I don't think it's possible to play the entire game hollow. But invaders can just go fuck right off.

Would I play without online features? Yes. I like MOST of the online features but in the end, those are just nice bonuses. I always saw Darks Souls as a singleplayer game and I enjoy it that way.

 

[SanguiniusMagnificum]

Dark Souls has an online mode???

Right, right, just kidding. Since I play DS on my Xbox 360 and am not ready to bend over and give Microsoft more money to get Xbox live gold I've never played it online and I don't have any problems with that. Pikachu and Snorlax were quite difficult without a decent co-op partner (and no, Solaire, you don't qualify as a decent co-op partner, you sun-worshipping fucknut) but after a whole night of blood, sweat and other bodily fluids I managed to beat them on my own!

Well, except for that one week let a friend of mine let me borrow his PS3 (my Xbox broke down and I had to wait a week to get it fixed). I... didn't really notice it, to be frank. The only noticeable difference that I felt was that I mostly stayed hollow so that I wouldn't be invaded by players that were faaaaaar better than me. I tried PVP'ing but yeah, it wasn't very interesting IMO. Just 2-5 minutes of running around, trying to get backstabs while receiving PM's mostly consisting of "git gud, scrub"....

And oh, welcome to the Escapist!!!! Keep your seatbelt on for the entire ride and don't venture into the basement.

 

[[REDACTED]]

Having played Dark Souls on Xbox without a subscription to Gold, I would and I have. It's still a fantastic game, even if it makes the Covenants a bit vestigial-seeming.

Also, welcome to the Escapist, enjoy your stay. If you keep out of the basement and never utter a certain name that can be abbreviated to A.S, you'll have a great time here.