played only up to the opening minutes of Anor Londo, will hopefully come back to this in the summer when i have more time and energy to commit to finishing!
instrumental to my newbie mind, primarily in its intricate gameplay detail and plethora of options to proceeding...oftentimes subtly defies intuition / invites contemplation in how best to approach its challenges...i greatly enjoy the ritualistic feel of trying/dying/trying in a vicious cycle, each circle getting just a little bit smarter in approach...my initial struggle with the first few levels gave way to a gradual ease of movement, teaches you how to play so slowly it's almost imperceptible...absolutely wonderful how much a fiction the supposed impenetrable difficulty turned out, that playing the game is more about making measured decisions and studying varied, deliberately chosen responses
funny to me in retrospect how damn difficult the Taurus Demon was; easily the longest i stayed at any level of the game, not because it was actually that hard but because i refused to change tactics, did not think of easier methods to winning beyond grinding harder and gaining more skill...the "cheapness" of certain approaches crumbles under the weight of the game's intentional design, that it's MEANT to be beaten, MEANT to challenge you before giving you an out every single time...the satisfaction comes from that process of push/pull against the world, that there's a spiritually driven disposition toward winning, i feel like Neo going into these seemingly hostile areas without faith, dying easily, before arming myself with a confidence in the game's design as a game, an unbelief that is truly just seeing the work for what it is, engaging with it on its own terms rather than projecting myself onto it
i look forward to completing the game!! while i don't think i'm particularly predisposed toward SoulsBorne style games, i'm happy to have put in the work to "get" them, and will likely play something like Elden Ring at some point :) s/o to the GOAT suzie asriel miniike for providing insight and advice throughout this initial experience, extremely Strand Type of her
instrumental to my newbie mind, primarily in its intricate gameplay detail and plethora of options to proceeding...oftentimes subtly defies intuition / invites contemplation in how best to approach its challenges...i greatly enjoy the ritualistic feel of trying/dying/trying in a vicious cycle, each circle getting just a little bit smarter in approach...my initial struggle with the first few levels gave way to a gradual ease of movement, teaches you how to play so slowly it's almost imperceptible...absolutely wonderful how much a fiction the supposed impenetrable difficulty turned out, that playing the game is more about making measured decisions and studying varied, deliberately chosen responses
funny to me in retrospect how damn difficult the Taurus Demon was; easily the longest i stayed at any level of the game, not because it was actually that hard but because i refused to change tactics, did not think of easier methods to winning beyond grinding harder and gaining more skill...the "cheapness" of certain approaches crumbles under the weight of the game's intentional design, that it's MEANT to be beaten, MEANT to challenge you before giving you an out every single time...the satisfaction comes from that process of push/pull against the world, that there's a spiritually driven disposition toward winning, i feel like Neo going into these seemingly hostile areas without faith, dying easily, before arming myself with a confidence in the game's design as a game, an unbelief that is truly just seeing the work for what it is, engaging with it on its own terms rather than projecting myself onto it
i look forward to completing the game!! while i don't think i'm particularly predisposed toward SoulsBorne style games, i'm happy to have put in the work to "get" them, and will likely play something like Elden Ring at some point :) s/o to the GOAT suzie asriel miniike for providing insight and advice throughout this initial experience, extremely Strand Type of her
VolliVolliVolli
1 year ago