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Resident Evil 3
2020
Compared to the smashing success of the Resident Evil 2 remake, this game got almost no positive reaction at all. Fans were upset that some of their favorite sections from the original were cut, and that no free DLC or extra modes were added for replay value. It seems like a pretty bad deal all around, but it’s less of a downgrade than it may seem. I replayed the original for a point of comparison, and found that the remake actually does a pretty good job reworking it into a smoother experience. The best example is the removal of the clock tower sequence, which is considered emblematic of a remake that cut too much. However, as memorable as the clock tower imagery is, nothing that happens there contributes to the overall plot. The area is fairly small, and it doesn’t introduce any new enemies. The question the developers had to ask was if the smoother progression of the narrative was worth the blowback from fans of the original, and they decided to take the risk. Even if they miscalculated the response, they still achieved the goal of giving Resident Evil 3 the action-movie pacing it was originally envisioned with. That’s the line that always divides fans with remakes, whether you would prefer the original flaws to be left intact, or reworked with potentially warped hindsight. However, with the remakes of Resident Evil 2 and 3 both being so fundamentally different in style from the originals that the “remake” designation is stretched to the breaking point, the latter option is easier for me to accept. I can also understand being annoyed at the lack of replayability options compared to the multiple campaigns of RE2, but the additional difficulty modes and persistent item shop did a good job of keeping me interested all the way through the ultimate inferno mode. This review is more defending the game rather than explaining why you should play it, and that’s because I understand that even the other Resident Evil fans who are most willing to replay the game found the content to be lacking. It may make it into my top games of the year, but in this case, I don’t feel like my confidence in a recommendation is proportional to my level of enjoyment. I enjoyed the RE2 remake a lot, this is essentially more of the same. How much that’s worth is up to you.
Resident Evil 2
2019
This game is considered a remake of Resident Evil 2, but it’s not an entirely accurate designation. That’s even when using the term “remake” somewhat loosely, like in the case of Resident Evil for the Gamecube, and the key point to consider when drawing the line is continuity of the core challenge. In the original games, the core challenge is applying character and resource limitations wisely, allocating your reserves in proportion to the difficulty of a given challenge. This isn’t what Resident Evil 2 REimagined is about, but it’s hard to notice that at first. It’s not because of the over-the-shoulder perspective or the enhanced movement, but in the inability for players to wisely invest resources. Similar to Resident Evil 4, this game has an invisible difficulty adjustment system, which secretly changes the rules as you play. I won’t divulge everything it does so you can enjoy the game without being spoiled, but I believe that just knowing it exists will prevent frustration. Resident Evil 4’s adjustments could be handled gracefully with its linear structure and item drops coming from enemies, adjusting your supply levels without interrupting the pacing at all, but Resident Evil 2 didn’t use this type of system. It instead has set locations for items and a small nonlinear play space, so the only place to automatically tune the difficulty was with the enemies. Players in a rough spot may cripple zombies with a single bullet and incapacitate them with four, when a well-performing player may require five and ten respectively. If you enter a new room and intelligently devise a plan, only for it to be thwarted by enemies that are suddenly incredibly durable and aggressive, the difficulty adjustment is why. You have to put aside your frustration and accept that the game is trying to make sure you stay on the edge of your seat, even if it means being unfair. In a genre about making smart decisions, these foggy parameters can cripple the experience.
Since arguments about difficulty can easily be dismissed with a “get good” and it seems like such a minor issue get worked up about, I feel the need to finally show my badge. I beat Resident Evil 2 six times, including a hardcore S+ run with each character, where the enemies are stronger, you can only save 3 times, and have to beat it in two hours. The reason I enjoyed doing all that is the same reason why I said you should know about difficulty adjustment before starting the game. Once the cryptic mechanics are demystified, Resident Evil 2 can be enjoyed as the most cinematic action game ever created. There isn’t a Devil May Cry level of depth, but the reactivity from each enemy in such a nuanced environment leads to an incredibly satisfying gameplay system to master. That’s why I recommend it under the caveat that you give it your full attention over multiple playthroughs. After all, if I stopped after my first run, this review would have ended after the first paragraph.
Since arguments about difficulty can easily be dismissed with a “get good” and it seems like such a minor issue get worked up about, I feel the need to finally show my badge. I beat Resident Evil 2 six times, including a hardcore S+ run with each character, where the enemies are stronger, you can only save 3 times, and have to beat it in two hours. The reason I enjoyed doing all that is the same reason why I said you should know about difficulty adjustment before starting the game. Once the cryptic mechanics are demystified, Resident Evil 2 can be enjoyed as the most cinematic action game ever created. There isn’t a Devil May Cry level of depth, but the reactivity from each enemy in such a nuanced environment leads to an incredibly satisfying gameplay system to master. That’s why I recommend it under the caveat that you give it your full attention over multiple playthroughs. After all, if I stopped after my first run, this review would have ended after the first paragraph.
Resident Evil 2
2019
Takes everything great from the original game and combines it with everything great from the more modern games. Mr. X creates tension like nothing else in gaming.
The Legend of Zelda
1986
Did not age as poorly as I remembered, in fact remarkably charming and incredibly ahead of its time. Fun to revisit the groundwork that established the entire series going forward and a solid adventure that feels like a fair and balanced challenge with a surprising amount of freedom and exploration encouraged.
Unpacking
2021
Incredible example of environmental storytelling done well.
Demon's Souls
2009
The Road to Elden Ring #1: Demon’s Souls
Demon’s Souls is a very special game for me.
I have distinct memories of getting the game as a gift, starting it up, immediately running into a brick wall of difficulty, and shelving it for over a year. One day, I decide to give it a second try, and it just clicks. I finish it in a week, rush out to buy the newly released Dark Souls, and I find a franchise that still sticks with me to this day.
As the progenitor of one of the most important and influential game series of the modern era, Demon’s Souls holds up surprisingly well and remains very playable in 2021. I believe that this comes down to purely excellent fundamentals present in nearly every entry of the series, and serves as a testament to the obvious talent and love that FromSoft and director Hidetaka Miyazaki puts into their projects.
Combat, while definitely more primitive compared to the latest entries, is still almost unchanged on a base level. The intense, methodical combat seen in Dark Souls III is present here, just slower and without as many fancy tools to work with. Still, while rarely the most talked about aspect of these games, I think that the Souls combat is incredibly satisfying and remains one of my favorite battle systems in action RPGs and RPGs in general.
The level design of Demon’s Souls I think is where the game absolutely shines. Vastly different from the open world found in the Dark Souls games, DeS splits its zones into multiple standalone levels across five unique worlds.
The Boletarian Palace, a stone castle more grounded in traditional fantasy featuring dragons and knights, is the game’s opening stage. I believe an opening/tutorial area has never been more tightly designed in a future Souls game. The difficulty is perfectly paced, and the level features a very nice vertical design with two shortcuts that help new players get accustomed to the game without becoming discouraged. The level ends with an iconic, albeit easy fight against the series’ first true boss, the Phalanx.
After the first trip to Boletaria, the player is introduced to the game’s hub world, the Nexus, where they can put their guard down and feel safe from the horrors of the game world. Once this first stage is completed, the game completely opens up and the player can either continue in Boletaria or visit the other four worlds: Stonefang Tunnel, a maze of caverns and mines full of scaly workers and fireball-shooting bugbears; the Tower of Latria, a prison level with nods to Lovecraftian horror and absolute top-notch sound design; the Shrine of Storms, a ruined kingdom full of skeletons that I think offers the game’s biggest challenge; and the Valley of Defilement, a massive poison swamp that would go on to be a series staple.
The Souls series would go on to be known for its iconic boss fights, and DeS is no exception. Not every boss is great, but even a game this early has fights that I remembered years after playing. The Tower Knight is a massive intimidating foe you cut down by slashing at his legs. The Fool’s Idol is fought in a church where you must battle her clones while navigating around the pews and her worshippers. The Old Hero is blind, allowing clever players to maneuver around him untouched, providing they can work around his excellent hearing. Maiden Astraea and her guardian, Garl Vinland, don’t particularly offer a combat challenge but remain of the greatest story-drive and emotional battles in the franchise.
I suppose I should at least mention the elephant in the room, the supposed “insane difficulty” the series got a reputation for thanks to Namco’s awful marketing of Dark Souls. Yes, I believe the game is more challenging than most other games, especially of the era. No, I don’t think the game (or the series generally speaking) has unrealistic expectations of the player or is unfair. If the player takes the time learn the game’s mechanics, they are quick to see that the game is always teaching you something. How to handle group fights, how to handle large armored enemies, etc. The game is challenging, but never unfair. It punishes players that rush into situations and button mash, and deeply rewards players who take the time to learn the mechanics and patterns of enemies and bosses.
Some quality-of-life features seen in later games are very obviously missing here, notably sliding down ladders, plunging attacks, using multiple Soul items at once, leveling multiple stats at once, etc. I don’t think that the lack of these features ruin the game or make the game unplayable by today’s standards, but they are sorely missed and it’s easy to take them for granted in newer entries. However, I think that it’s not that hard to slide back into the mindset of this early game, and it rarely impacts actual gameplay.
While later games in the series improve on most aspects of DeS, I don’t think that any of them have matched the very unique and specific type of atmosphere found in the game. Dark Souls also achieves an incredible atmosphere, but one I find to be very different in tone.
Demon’s Souls also has bleak, dark fantasy themes found in the rest of the series, but has a unique, almost noble feel. Miyazaki has stated before that he aims for a certain kind of “dignity” in the designs of his worlds and characters, and I think this clearer in DeS than any other in the series. Enemies aren’t disgusting for disgusting’s sake (perhaps with the exception of the Valley of Defilement by design), and instead represent a sorrowful and tragic descent of a doomed civilization. The world building and story presented through minimal dialogue, item placement and descriptions, and environmental storytelling are second to none, and make exploring and really diving into the game incredibly rewarding.
Another point I’d like to mention is the music – though many would be quick to dismiss its quirky and strange sounding MIDI soundtrack, I think that this gives DeS an odd and otherworldly sound that matches the game’s tone perfectly. The Souls franchise is known for its excellent scores, but Demon’s Souls sticks out the most to me and I find to be the most memorable. The theme of the Nexus is calming and reminds the player that they’re in a safe place, while boss themes like the Tower Knight’s invoke a panic in the player and heighten the intensity. The theme of Maiden Astraea is another standout that I think deserves a mention.
Overall, I love going back to play Demon’s Souls and experience its uniqueness and quirks that set it apart from the others in the Souls series, as well as seeing all of the mechanics that would improve over the next decade. Though certainly not without its flaws, I believe that DeS set a new standard for attention to detail and care put into video games at the time, only further proven by Dark Souls, a game with even more love and heart poured into it. While I think that Demon’s Souls is objectively the best place to start with the Souls series, players who haven’t gotten around to it owe it to themselves to experience it, either through the PS3 original or the new PS5 remake (though I have some gripes with the visual and music changes Bluepoint made, it’s fundamentally the same game).
Demon’s Souls is not the greatest game ever made, but it’s one of my favorites.
Demon’s Souls is a very special game for me.
I have distinct memories of getting the game as a gift, starting it up, immediately running into a brick wall of difficulty, and shelving it for over a year. One day, I decide to give it a second try, and it just clicks. I finish it in a week, rush out to buy the newly released Dark Souls, and I find a franchise that still sticks with me to this day.
As the progenitor of one of the most important and influential game series of the modern era, Demon’s Souls holds up surprisingly well and remains very playable in 2021. I believe that this comes down to purely excellent fundamentals present in nearly every entry of the series, and serves as a testament to the obvious talent and love that FromSoft and director Hidetaka Miyazaki puts into their projects.
Combat, while definitely more primitive compared to the latest entries, is still almost unchanged on a base level. The intense, methodical combat seen in Dark Souls III is present here, just slower and without as many fancy tools to work with. Still, while rarely the most talked about aspect of these games, I think that the Souls combat is incredibly satisfying and remains one of my favorite battle systems in action RPGs and RPGs in general.
The level design of Demon’s Souls I think is where the game absolutely shines. Vastly different from the open world found in the Dark Souls games, DeS splits its zones into multiple standalone levels across five unique worlds.
The Boletarian Palace, a stone castle more grounded in traditional fantasy featuring dragons and knights, is the game’s opening stage. I believe an opening/tutorial area has never been more tightly designed in a future Souls game. The difficulty is perfectly paced, and the level features a very nice vertical design with two shortcuts that help new players get accustomed to the game without becoming discouraged. The level ends with an iconic, albeit easy fight against the series’ first true boss, the Phalanx.
After the first trip to Boletaria, the player is introduced to the game’s hub world, the Nexus, where they can put their guard down and feel safe from the horrors of the game world. Once this first stage is completed, the game completely opens up and the player can either continue in Boletaria or visit the other four worlds: Stonefang Tunnel, a maze of caverns and mines full of scaly workers and fireball-shooting bugbears; the Tower of Latria, a prison level with nods to Lovecraftian horror and absolute top-notch sound design; the Shrine of Storms, a ruined kingdom full of skeletons that I think offers the game’s biggest challenge; and the Valley of Defilement, a massive poison swamp that would go on to be a series staple.
The Souls series would go on to be known for its iconic boss fights, and DeS is no exception. Not every boss is great, but even a game this early has fights that I remembered years after playing. The Tower Knight is a massive intimidating foe you cut down by slashing at his legs. The Fool’s Idol is fought in a church where you must battle her clones while navigating around the pews and her worshippers. The Old Hero is blind, allowing clever players to maneuver around him untouched, providing they can work around his excellent hearing. Maiden Astraea and her guardian, Garl Vinland, don’t particularly offer a combat challenge but remain of the greatest story-drive and emotional battles in the franchise.
I suppose I should at least mention the elephant in the room, the supposed “insane difficulty” the series got a reputation for thanks to Namco’s awful marketing of Dark Souls. Yes, I believe the game is more challenging than most other games, especially of the era. No, I don’t think the game (or the series generally speaking) has unrealistic expectations of the player or is unfair. If the player takes the time learn the game’s mechanics, they are quick to see that the game is always teaching you something. How to handle group fights, how to handle large armored enemies, etc. The game is challenging, but never unfair. It punishes players that rush into situations and button mash, and deeply rewards players who take the time to learn the mechanics and patterns of enemies and bosses.
Some quality-of-life features seen in later games are very obviously missing here, notably sliding down ladders, plunging attacks, using multiple Soul items at once, leveling multiple stats at once, etc. I don’t think that the lack of these features ruin the game or make the game unplayable by today’s standards, but they are sorely missed and it’s easy to take them for granted in newer entries. However, I think that it’s not that hard to slide back into the mindset of this early game, and it rarely impacts actual gameplay.
While later games in the series improve on most aspects of DeS, I don’t think that any of them have matched the very unique and specific type of atmosphere found in the game. Dark Souls also achieves an incredible atmosphere, but one I find to be very different in tone.
Demon’s Souls also has bleak, dark fantasy themes found in the rest of the series, but has a unique, almost noble feel. Miyazaki has stated before that he aims for a certain kind of “dignity” in the designs of his worlds and characters, and I think this clearer in DeS than any other in the series. Enemies aren’t disgusting for disgusting’s sake (perhaps with the exception of the Valley of Defilement by design), and instead represent a sorrowful and tragic descent of a doomed civilization. The world building and story presented through minimal dialogue, item placement and descriptions, and environmental storytelling are second to none, and make exploring and really diving into the game incredibly rewarding.
Another point I’d like to mention is the music – though many would be quick to dismiss its quirky and strange sounding MIDI soundtrack, I think that this gives DeS an odd and otherworldly sound that matches the game’s tone perfectly. The Souls franchise is known for its excellent scores, but Demon’s Souls sticks out the most to me and I find to be the most memorable. The theme of the Nexus is calming and reminds the player that they’re in a safe place, while boss themes like the Tower Knight’s invoke a panic in the player and heighten the intensity. The theme of Maiden Astraea is another standout that I think deserves a mention.
Overall, I love going back to play Demon’s Souls and experience its uniqueness and quirks that set it apart from the others in the Souls series, as well as seeing all of the mechanics that would improve over the next decade. Though certainly not without its flaws, I believe that DeS set a new standard for attention to detail and care put into video games at the time, only further proven by Dark Souls, a game with even more love and heart poured into it. While I think that Demon’s Souls is objectively the best place to start with the Souls series, players who haven’t gotten around to it owe it to themselves to experience it, either through the PS3 original or the new PS5 remake (though I have some gripes with the visual and music changes Bluepoint made, it’s fundamentally the same game).
Demon’s Souls is not the greatest game ever made, but it’s one of my favorites.
Dark Souls
2011
The Road to Elden Ring #2: Dark Souls
What can I possibly say about Dark Souls that hasn’t already been said in someone else’s review or a 3-hour long YouTube essay? At this point we all understand its importance, its influence, and its massive impact on the industry as a whole. I’m just going to take this review as an opportunity to gush about what I consider to be my favorite game of all time.
Dark Souls masterfully improves on nearly every aspect of its predecessor, Demon’s Souls. Continuing Miyazaki’s philosophy of challenging but fair, the game teaches the player what to do, where to go, and what they’re currently capable of handling through excellent world design that subtly nudges them in the right direction by placing more difficult challenges in areas intended to be tackled later on. I can’t beat these strong skeletons in the graveyard? I can’t even damage the ghosts haunting under Firelink Shrine? I must have to go where these weak undead enemies are and carry on from here. Some may dislike the game is significantly less clear and straightforward than DeS, but I think that it provides the player with an unforgettable experience of naturally learning your goals and destinations and I think that’s really satisfying.
Demon’s Souls levels were small, but gave us a taste of the interconnected design Dark Souls would perfect. The world design and architecture in Dark Souls are simply stunning. The player can look in the distance and see half a dozen other areas of the game from most others, and each one is placed in a way that logically makes sense to where they’d be if Lordran was real. Taking a look at a 3D map of the entire game, one can see that areas never overlap each other, and are instead logically and realistically placed. Exploring through a difficult zone and arriving at a shortcut elevator at the end that magically pops you back at home base is insanely satisfying and the game is chock full of excellent zone connections like this. I think that this peaks here at Dark Souls 1, and is never really matched in the future of the franchise, perhaps with the exception of a couple incredibly satisfying Bloodborne shortcuts.
Another aspect carrying over from Demon’s Souls is the impeccable item placement and descriptions. Virtually every item feels hand-placed and like it’s there for a reason. Reading the description of consumables, armor, and weapons paints a vast picture of the story and background of Dark Souls’s characters and areas, and lets players with imagination really put the pieces together in an otherwise barren plot.
Dark Souls’s non-linear and open design, just like DeS, allows for an absolutely incredible replay value. After arriving at the game’s home base, the player is allowed to go nearly wherever they wish, collecting items and killing bosses in any order they please. This contributes to the ability to build your character into any class or archetype extremely early on.
One of the issues I had with Demon’s Souls that I neglected to mention was its healing system. The healing grasses are farmable, therefore, your ability to heal is theoretically endless, provided you’re willing to do the farming. Dark Souls fixes this problem completely with the Estus system. The Estus Flask heals more than most grasses in DeS, but the player is limited in their uses until they rest at a checkpoint. I think this adds another layer to item management, with the player having to asses if it’s worth it to heal or save their limited Estus until they need it more.
The other greatest improvement over Demon’s Souls is the integration of NPCs into the world in a much more natural and deeper way. Characters are found and rescued all over Lordran and return to Firelink Shrine, providing wares and services. However, all of these NPCs feel like they have their own motivations and goals, and will often leave and return to Firelink as they complete their own quests. The NPCs in Demon’s Souls were memorable but often felt like they were simply beholden to the player character, whereas here they feel like they have their own agency. The NPC questlines here are also more in-depth and the player can grow attached to some of these characters, like Solaire of Astora and Siegmeyer of Catarina as they encounter them throughout Lordran over the course of the entire game, even summoning them to help with boss fights. Patches the Hyena from Demon’s Souls even makes an appearance here, the first of many cameos as a series regular.
I never spoke about multiplayer in my Demon’s Souls review, but I think it’s worth a mention here, especially considering how phantoms are now worked into the single-player more cleanly. Players can summon other players (or NPC characters) to help them fight bosses in their world, but also run the risk of other players (or NPC characters) invading their world to kill them. Dark Souls 1 isn’t very active anymore, but the decision to implement NPC characters into the summoning/invading system was a great idea and lets the concept live on a decade later.
The score, this time by Golden Sun and Star Ocean veteran Motoi Sakuraba, while sounding extremely different from Demon’s Souls (significantly less MIDI-y), is incredibly grand, orchestral, and intense, while also feeling beautifully melancholy. For every large bombastic track like the theme of Ornstein & Smough and the Belltower Gargoyles, there is a moving, solemn track like Firelink Shrine or the theme of Gwyn, Lord of Cinder. I believe this is still the greatest Souls game soundtrack. So many of these songs are iconic and seared into my memory – instantly recognizable. Demon’s Souls did this as well, but I want to mention the game has almost no music, allowing each zone to immerse you with its sound design, until you step into a boss fight and the music kicks in and makes the fight even better. The notable exception is Firelink Shrine, having a beautiful home base theme that makes you feel safe.
Pretty much my only issue with Dark Souls is the Demon Ruins/Lost Izalith area. It’s fairly common knowledge that Dark Souls was pushed out before From was entirely finished with it, and this is no more clear than in these aforementioned areas. Bosses are scattered throughout the area at a rapid rate, including a reskin of an earlier one, as well as other early game bosses copy & pasted throughout the Demon Ruins as common enemies. The zones themselves really are just two giant open rooms full of lava with an obnoxious bright texture, leaving a lot to be desired, especially with most of the other zones in the games being really creative and visually interesting. Not to mention the final boss of the area, the Bed of Chaos. Infamous within and outside the Souls community, the less said about this boss, the better.
With all this being said, Dark Souls is not a perfect game. It is clearly unfinished in some areas, lacks a lot of polish seen in later entries (mostly Dark Souls III), and at its core is definitely still pretty basic, a slight upgrade from Demon’s Souls in terms of gameplay and combat. However, the clear love, heart, and soul poured into this thing seen in its world design, challenging but fair philosophy, replay value, build and class variety, non-linear open world, incredibly memorable and iconic boss fights, and beautiful score all come together to make something that few would deny is an incredibly special game and experience. There’s a very good reason Dark Souls is cited as one of the most important and influential games of the previous decade.
Dark Souls is my favorite game ever made.
What can I possibly say about Dark Souls that hasn’t already been said in someone else’s review or a 3-hour long YouTube essay? At this point we all understand its importance, its influence, and its massive impact on the industry as a whole. I’m just going to take this review as an opportunity to gush about what I consider to be my favorite game of all time.
Dark Souls masterfully improves on nearly every aspect of its predecessor, Demon’s Souls. Continuing Miyazaki’s philosophy of challenging but fair, the game teaches the player what to do, where to go, and what they’re currently capable of handling through excellent world design that subtly nudges them in the right direction by placing more difficult challenges in areas intended to be tackled later on. I can’t beat these strong skeletons in the graveyard? I can’t even damage the ghosts haunting under Firelink Shrine? I must have to go where these weak undead enemies are and carry on from here. Some may dislike the game is significantly less clear and straightforward than DeS, but I think that it provides the player with an unforgettable experience of naturally learning your goals and destinations and I think that’s really satisfying.
Demon’s Souls levels were small, but gave us a taste of the interconnected design Dark Souls would perfect. The world design and architecture in Dark Souls are simply stunning. The player can look in the distance and see half a dozen other areas of the game from most others, and each one is placed in a way that logically makes sense to where they’d be if Lordran was real. Taking a look at a 3D map of the entire game, one can see that areas never overlap each other, and are instead logically and realistically placed. Exploring through a difficult zone and arriving at a shortcut elevator at the end that magically pops you back at home base is insanely satisfying and the game is chock full of excellent zone connections like this. I think that this peaks here at Dark Souls 1, and is never really matched in the future of the franchise, perhaps with the exception of a couple incredibly satisfying Bloodborne shortcuts.
Another aspect carrying over from Demon’s Souls is the impeccable item placement and descriptions. Virtually every item feels hand-placed and like it’s there for a reason. Reading the description of consumables, armor, and weapons paints a vast picture of the story and background of Dark Souls’s characters and areas, and lets players with imagination really put the pieces together in an otherwise barren plot.
Dark Souls’s non-linear and open design, just like DeS, allows for an absolutely incredible replay value. After arriving at the game’s home base, the player is allowed to go nearly wherever they wish, collecting items and killing bosses in any order they please. This contributes to the ability to build your character into any class or archetype extremely early on.
One of the issues I had with Demon’s Souls that I neglected to mention was its healing system. The healing grasses are farmable, therefore, your ability to heal is theoretically endless, provided you’re willing to do the farming. Dark Souls fixes this problem completely with the Estus system. The Estus Flask heals more than most grasses in DeS, but the player is limited in their uses until they rest at a checkpoint. I think this adds another layer to item management, with the player having to asses if it’s worth it to heal or save their limited Estus until they need it more.
The other greatest improvement over Demon’s Souls is the integration of NPCs into the world in a much more natural and deeper way. Characters are found and rescued all over Lordran and return to Firelink Shrine, providing wares and services. However, all of these NPCs feel like they have their own motivations and goals, and will often leave and return to Firelink as they complete their own quests. The NPCs in Demon’s Souls were memorable but often felt like they were simply beholden to the player character, whereas here they feel like they have their own agency. The NPC questlines here are also more in-depth and the player can grow attached to some of these characters, like Solaire of Astora and Siegmeyer of Catarina as they encounter them throughout Lordran over the course of the entire game, even summoning them to help with boss fights. Patches the Hyena from Demon’s Souls even makes an appearance here, the first of many cameos as a series regular.
I never spoke about multiplayer in my Demon’s Souls review, but I think it’s worth a mention here, especially considering how phantoms are now worked into the single-player more cleanly. Players can summon other players (or NPC characters) to help them fight bosses in their world, but also run the risk of other players (or NPC characters) invading their world to kill them. Dark Souls 1 isn’t very active anymore, but the decision to implement NPC characters into the summoning/invading system was a great idea and lets the concept live on a decade later.
The score, this time by Golden Sun and Star Ocean veteran Motoi Sakuraba, while sounding extremely different from Demon’s Souls (significantly less MIDI-y), is incredibly grand, orchestral, and intense, while also feeling beautifully melancholy. For every large bombastic track like the theme of Ornstein & Smough and the Belltower Gargoyles, there is a moving, solemn track like Firelink Shrine or the theme of Gwyn, Lord of Cinder. I believe this is still the greatest Souls game soundtrack. So many of these songs are iconic and seared into my memory – instantly recognizable. Demon’s Souls did this as well, but I want to mention the game has almost no music, allowing each zone to immerse you with its sound design, until you step into a boss fight and the music kicks in and makes the fight even better. The notable exception is Firelink Shrine, having a beautiful home base theme that makes you feel safe.
Pretty much my only issue with Dark Souls is the Demon Ruins/Lost Izalith area. It’s fairly common knowledge that Dark Souls was pushed out before From was entirely finished with it, and this is no more clear than in these aforementioned areas. Bosses are scattered throughout the area at a rapid rate, including a reskin of an earlier one, as well as other early game bosses copy & pasted throughout the Demon Ruins as common enemies. The zones themselves really are just two giant open rooms full of lava with an obnoxious bright texture, leaving a lot to be desired, especially with most of the other zones in the games being really creative and visually interesting. Not to mention the final boss of the area, the Bed of Chaos. Infamous within and outside the Souls community, the less said about this boss, the better.
With all this being said, Dark Souls is not a perfect game. It is clearly unfinished in some areas, lacks a lot of polish seen in later entries (mostly Dark Souls III), and at its core is definitely still pretty basic, a slight upgrade from Demon’s Souls in terms of gameplay and combat. However, the clear love, heart, and soul poured into this thing seen in its world design, challenging but fair philosophy, replay value, build and class variety, non-linear open world, incredibly memorable and iconic boss fights, and beautiful score all come together to make something that few would deny is an incredibly special game and experience. There’s a very good reason Dark Souls is cited as one of the most important and influential games of the previous decade.
Dark Souls is my favorite game ever made.
Elden Ring
2022
This review contains spoilers
Elden Ring was my most anticipated game since its announcement at E3 2019. I can happily say that I’ve enjoyed my time with the game, though it is far from flawless.
As someone who took the time to fully devour the open world and clear out any cave, mine, ruin, or dungeon I came across in my travels across the Lands Between, I can’t help but feel like I missed something reading so many people talk about how Elden Ring has fully transformed the genre of open-world games, or how Elden Ring’s open-world feels so different from others. I fail to see what truly differentiates Elden Ring from others in its genre beyond the unmistakably unique vibe that the Dark Souls games inherently have. As we’ll get into later in the review, the non-open-world areas of Elden Ring are the peak of its gameplay and level design, so I’m a bit lost as to how the game meaningfully benefits from an open-world.
The game’s opening regions, Limgrave and the Weeping Peninsula, give an absolute breathtaking first impression, and I believe serve as the peak of Elden Ring’s open-world experience. There is an incredible variety in the opening zone, showcasing mines, ruins, abandoned churches, a traveling caravan, a giant walking mausoleum, at least 3 incredibly detailed and fun to explore castles, and by my last count, a whopping 38 bosses. Once you expand into the wider world beyond Limgrave, into Liurnia of the Lakes, Caelid, and beyond, it is a sad realization to find out that you have pretty much experienced 80-90% of what the open-world has to offer already. Every single region is a mish-mash of similar looking caves full of rats and wolves, mines full of rock-human miners and upgrade materials, tombs full of zombies and skeletons, 4-5 abandoned churches with identical layouts featuring a Site of Grace and a Sacred Tear, and the same dozen or so field bosses that feel unique the first time you fight them, then like busywork when you’re tasked with killing the Tibia Mariner for the fourth time or the Burial Tree Watchdog for the seventh.
Even Elden Ring cannot avoid falling into the same traps of every open-world game before it. This, I think, is its biggest and most fatal flaw. The exploration feels like it should be very rewarding, but once you delve into the 40th cave and fight the Crucible Knight once again (but this time there’s 2! How interesting!) just to receive another Ash Summon you won’t ever use (or worse, crafting materials, the biggest slap in the face), it just starts feeling like a waste of time. You start feeling like just skipping the boring dungeons and riding as quickly as you can to the next main story area. It feels like massive filler, and the countless people praising the Lands Between as “the evolution of open-worlds” just has me scratching my head.
Boss design in general is another point of contention for me. While there are a few standouts I’ll discuss in a moment, I feel overall, Elden Ring’s bosses are incredibly underwhelming. They feel creatively stretched thin over the 100+ encounters throughout the game’s immense length. Many encounters feel reminiscent of Dark Souls II, the game in the series most infamously known for “quantity over quality”. Simple basic enemies scaled up and presented as “bosses”, unimaginative monsters that flail around in tiny rooms and send the camera into a whirlwind, and possibly the largest amount of duo- or gank-fights in the series. Bosses are also reused constantly, leaving each additional encounter feeling staler than the last. I wouldn’t have too much of an issue with the field bosses, such as the Night’s Calvary being reused, but Astel, a major boss from an important side quest, whose initial encounter feels very special, is inexplicably reused in a random mine towards the endgame. Why? What purpose does this serve? It cheapens the original fight for no reason when they could have added another Stonedigger Troll and avoided this altogether. Bafflingly, main story boss Godrick is also reused in an Evergaol challenge, same voice actor and all.
When the bosses aren’t being egregiously reused or being otherwise completely forgettable, I think there are some excellent boss fights in Elden Ring. Margit, likely the first major boss players are going to fight, is an intense, shockingly deep battle for such an early encounter. Margit’s true form, Morgott, fought towards the back half of the game, improves this fight even more, adding a deeper movepool for the boss and some amazing visuals. The battle with the Fire Giant in the snowy Mountaintop of the Giants is one of From’s greatest spectacle bosses in the franchise. Weaving in and out of the absolutely monumental giant’s attacks as he rains fire down upon you is breathtaking and feels like a boss out of God of War. The battle against Rykard in the Volcano Manor is the ultimate evolution of the Storm King, Yhorm, and Divine Dragon boss fights and makes you feel truly powerful. The game’s penultimate major boss, Godfrey (and his alter-ego, Hoarah Loux), is a fast and frantic duel that shows you the true power of the Elden Lord.
I would also like to heap some praise on what the game calls Legacy Dungeons, aka traditional zones from previous Souls games. Stormveil Castle is a masterclass of level design and would stand among the best areas from the Dark Souls trilogy. The new jumping mechanic allows Fromsoft to go absolutely nuts with level verticality. It feels like you have half a dozen potential paths ahead of you from almost every point. The levels are also immense, with Stormveil alone feeling about the size of half of the Boletarian Palace from Demon’s Souls. While unfortunately I feel like Stormveil is the peak of these Legacy Dungeons, all of them feel like they have a lot to offer and are fun to explore and run through.
Build variety is at perhaps its best here, with every type of character feeling not only viable, but powerful. An arsenal of gigantic weapons await strength builds, dozens of daggers, spears, and flails are here for dex builds, and the greatest variety of spells are here for definitively the most interesting and fun caster builds in the entire franchise. After the disaster that was Dark Souls 3’s magic system, it’s great to see it being viable and strong.
The newest additions to the Souls combat system are Ash Summons and Ashes of War. Ash Summons cost MP (most of them at least) and summon in ghostly versions of enemies you’ve encountered throughout your journey to fight alongside you. These can range from a pack of wolves, a band of skeletal warriors, some minibosses you’ve fought, like the Black Knife Assassin, or even a clone of yourself that fights with your currently equipped gear in an absolutely brilliant twist on the Mimic from previous Souls games. I love this addition and feel it’s a great boon to the player against Elden Ring’s general increase in difficulty. It helps you balance the game’s harder fights closer to your favor in a way that doesn’t feel as cheap as summoning a co-op partner.
Ashes of War are the evolution of Dark Souls 3’s weapon arts. Whereas each weapon in DS3 had its own unique ability, Elden Ring allows you to mix and match them, purchase new abilities, and find hidden ones in the field. You can then apply them to any non-unique weapon you wish, allowing for even further build variety. The level of customization you have on your character in Elden Ring is truly staggering.
I’m super happy to say that while the multiplayer system is still needlessly archaic and convoluted, it’s an absolute massive step-up from the previous Souls games. Instead of requiring single-use, annoying-to-farm items like Humanity or Embers to engage in co-op, all you need is to craft one using a couple of extremely common flowers. At any point I could just open my crafting menu and whip out 20-30 of them. Additionally, playing online spares you from invaders in single-player, only opening you up to attacks when you have a partner with you. I think these are great changes and make the MP experience a lot smoother and accessible than in previous titles.
Though I complained about the game’s open-world and boss design, I want to stress how wonderful of an experience Elden Ring has been. The game completely devoured me for over two weeks, and while I can’t say I enjoyed every last second, Elden Ring was a brilliant package that will stick with me just as long as From’s other projects. Having this much to say (I could write another page on this game) is testament to how important and interesting FromSoft and Miyazaki’s contributions to the industry are. I hope they never stop releasing games, and I can’t wait for Elden Ring 2.
As someone who took the time to fully devour the open world and clear out any cave, mine, ruin, or dungeon I came across in my travels across the Lands Between, I can’t help but feel like I missed something reading so many people talk about how Elden Ring has fully transformed the genre of open-world games, or how Elden Ring’s open-world feels so different from others. I fail to see what truly differentiates Elden Ring from others in its genre beyond the unmistakably unique vibe that the Dark Souls games inherently have. As we’ll get into later in the review, the non-open-world areas of Elden Ring are the peak of its gameplay and level design, so I’m a bit lost as to how the game meaningfully benefits from an open-world.
The game’s opening regions, Limgrave and the Weeping Peninsula, give an absolute breathtaking first impression, and I believe serve as the peak of Elden Ring’s open-world experience. There is an incredible variety in the opening zone, showcasing mines, ruins, abandoned churches, a traveling caravan, a giant walking mausoleum, at least 3 incredibly detailed and fun to explore castles, and by my last count, a whopping 38 bosses. Once you expand into the wider world beyond Limgrave, into Liurnia of the Lakes, Caelid, and beyond, it is a sad realization to find out that you have pretty much experienced 80-90% of what the open-world has to offer already. Every single region is a mish-mash of similar looking caves full of rats and wolves, mines full of rock-human miners and upgrade materials, tombs full of zombies and skeletons, 4-5 abandoned churches with identical layouts featuring a Site of Grace and a Sacred Tear, and the same dozen or so field bosses that feel unique the first time you fight them, then like busywork when you’re tasked with killing the Tibia Mariner for the fourth time or the Burial Tree Watchdog for the seventh.
Even Elden Ring cannot avoid falling into the same traps of every open-world game before it. This, I think, is its biggest and most fatal flaw. The exploration feels like it should be very rewarding, but once you delve into the 40th cave and fight the Crucible Knight once again (but this time there’s 2! How interesting!) just to receive another Ash Summon you won’t ever use (or worse, crafting materials, the biggest slap in the face), it just starts feeling like a waste of time. You start feeling like just skipping the boring dungeons and riding as quickly as you can to the next main story area. It feels like massive filler, and the countless people praising the Lands Between as “the evolution of open-worlds” just has me scratching my head.
Boss design in general is another point of contention for me. While there are a few standouts I’ll discuss in a moment, I feel overall, Elden Ring’s bosses are incredibly underwhelming. They feel creatively stretched thin over the 100+ encounters throughout the game’s immense length. Many encounters feel reminiscent of Dark Souls II, the game in the series most infamously known for “quantity over quality”. Simple basic enemies scaled up and presented as “bosses”, unimaginative monsters that flail around in tiny rooms and send the camera into a whirlwind, and possibly the largest amount of duo- or gank-fights in the series. Bosses are also reused constantly, leaving each additional encounter feeling staler than the last. I wouldn’t have too much of an issue with the field bosses, such as the Night’s Calvary being reused, but Astel, a major boss from an important side quest, whose initial encounter feels very special, is inexplicably reused in a random mine towards the endgame. Why? What purpose does this serve? It cheapens the original fight for no reason when they could have added another Stonedigger Troll and avoided this altogether. Bafflingly, main story boss Godrick is also reused in an Evergaol challenge, same voice actor and all.
When the bosses aren’t being egregiously reused or being otherwise completely forgettable, I think there are some excellent boss fights in Elden Ring. Margit, likely the first major boss players are going to fight, is an intense, shockingly deep battle for such an early encounter. Margit’s true form, Morgott, fought towards the back half of the game, improves this fight even more, adding a deeper movepool for the boss and some amazing visuals. The battle with the Fire Giant in the snowy Mountaintop of the Giants is one of From’s greatest spectacle bosses in the franchise. Weaving in and out of the absolutely monumental giant’s attacks as he rains fire down upon you is breathtaking and feels like a boss out of God of War. The battle against Rykard in the Volcano Manor is the ultimate evolution of the Storm King, Yhorm, and Divine Dragon boss fights and makes you feel truly powerful. The game’s penultimate major boss, Godfrey (and his alter-ego, Hoarah Loux), is a fast and frantic duel that shows you the true power of the Elden Lord.
I would also like to heap some praise on what the game calls Legacy Dungeons, aka traditional zones from previous Souls games. Stormveil Castle is a masterclass of level design and would stand among the best areas from the Dark Souls trilogy. The new jumping mechanic allows Fromsoft to go absolutely nuts with level verticality. It feels like you have half a dozen potential paths ahead of you from almost every point. The levels are also immense, with Stormveil alone feeling about the size of half of the Boletarian Palace from Demon’s Souls. While unfortunately I feel like Stormveil is the peak of these Legacy Dungeons, all of them feel like they have a lot to offer and are fun to explore and run through.
Build variety is at perhaps its best here, with every type of character feeling not only viable, but powerful. An arsenal of gigantic weapons await strength builds, dozens of daggers, spears, and flails are here for dex builds, and the greatest variety of spells are here for definitively the most interesting and fun caster builds in the entire franchise. After the disaster that was Dark Souls 3’s magic system, it’s great to see it being viable and strong.
The newest additions to the Souls combat system are Ash Summons and Ashes of War. Ash Summons cost MP (most of them at least) and summon in ghostly versions of enemies you’ve encountered throughout your journey to fight alongside you. These can range from a pack of wolves, a band of skeletal warriors, some minibosses you’ve fought, like the Black Knife Assassin, or even a clone of yourself that fights with your currently equipped gear in an absolutely brilliant twist on the Mimic from previous Souls games. I love this addition and feel it’s a great boon to the player against Elden Ring’s general increase in difficulty. It helps you balance the game’s harder fights closer to your favor in a way that doesn’t feel as cheap as summoning a co-op partner.
Ashes of War are the evolution of Dark Souls 3’s weapon arts. Whereas each weapon in DS3 had its own unique ability, Elden Ring allows you to mix and match them, purchase new abilities, and find hidden ones in the field. You can then apply them to any non-unique weapon you wish, allowing for even further build variety. The level of customization you have on your character in Elden Ring is truly staggering.
I’m super happy to say that while the multiplayer system is still needlessly archaic and convoluted, it’s an absolute massive step-up from the previous Souls games. Instead of requiring single-use, annoying-to-farm items like Humanity or Embers to engage in co-op, all you need is to craft one using a couple of extremely common flowers. At any point I could just open my crafting menu and whip out 20-30 of them. Additionally, playing online spares you from invaders in single-player, only opening you up to attacks when you have a partner with you. I think these are great changes and make the MP experience a lot smoother and accessible than in previous titles.
Though I complained about the game’s open-world and boss design, I want to stress how wonderful of an experience Elden Ring has been. The game completely devoured me for over two weeks, and while I can’t say I enjoyed every last second, Elden Ring was a brilliant package that will stick with me just as long as From’s other projects. Having this much to say (I could write another page on this game) is testament to how important and interesting FromSoft and Miyazaki’s contributions to the industry are. I hope they never stop releasing games, and I can’t wait for Elden Ring 2.
Bloodborne
2015
The Road to Elden Ring #4: Bloodborne
I’ve played Bloodborne probably the least of all the Soulsborne games, but I can really see why it’s gotten as popular as it has. In short, Bloodborne is the best game on the Playstation 4, with intense fast-paced combat, an impeccable sense of style and art direction, and several interesting game mechanics that help it stand out from its Dark Souls brethren. The worst things I can say about Bloodborne are mostly technical issues and even those hardly drag the experience down.
I think the biggest changes from the previous games are the new weapons and revamped combat system. Rather than choosing from hundreds of swords, axes, hammers, and shields, Bloodborne keeps the weapon selection to the double digits. However, each weapon feels completely unique to use and features a special transformation ability, allowing it to swap forms for a different moveset, essentially making each weapon a 2-in-1. Combined with the game’s massive emphasis on dodging and parrying over blocking and the overall faster pace of both you and the enemies, this reworked combat system makes Bloodborne feel a lot different to play despite being fundamentally the same as the Souls games. In addition, the game’s awesome Rally system, where the player can quickly regain lost HP by smacking the enemy around, encourages the player to play much more aggressively rather than Dark Souls’s more passive, defensive combat. Souls veterans may find they need to re-train their brains away from the slower methodical combat of the past three games to deal with the more intense (and maybe more difficult) combat of Bloodborne.
While we explored ancient fallen civilizations in the previous games, like Lordran and Drangleic, Bloodborne puts us right in the middle of the fall itself. Yharnam is in chaos as we scour streets full of burning corpses, mobs of terrified infected townspeople, twisted experiments, and visitors from another world. Hardly a secret 7 years later, but the mid-game twist from “traditional” horror like werewolves and giant snakes into genuine cosmic Lovecraftian beings is still one of my favorite twists in gaming history. The art direction reflects this, with early game areas using a gothic Victorian inspired look in the dingiest and dirtiest parts of Yharnam, and the late-game exploring fantastical Nightmare realms and high-class areas like the Cainhurst Castle. As the protagonist gains more “insight” from the horrific events unfolding before them, the world becomes more twisted and nightmarish. Even going back to starting zones reveals giant Amygdala demons that have always been there, you just didn’t have the ability to see them, an absolutely amazing touch typical of Miyazaki. From start to finish, Bloodborne just looks cool.
Bloodborne is more linear than its Souls predecessors but I think that this limitation allows the level design to be more intricate and interesting. Bloodborne’s levels are large, sprawling, and full to the brim with enemies, treasures, and secrets to find. The game’s introductory zone, Central Yharnam, is perhaps the strongest opening area of any of the Souls games, and arguably one of the greatest in the entire game itself. Though not that big in actuality, the area feels absolutely massive and does a great job of slowly introducing the player to the game’s various mechanics in a natural feeling way. Central Yharnam even makes a reappearance later in the game in one of my favorite unlockable shortcuts in the franchise.
Other areas, like Upper Cathedral Ward, are smaller with less to explore and uncover, but are super memorable for their unique set pieces or gimmicks. The Old Workshop and Hemwick Channel Lane also come to mind for smaller areas that are also super memorable. Honestly, I don’t think any area in Bloodborne is a miss, except for maybe the Unseen Village, but even that can be quickly ran through if the player finds it too unenjoyable.
As most everyone has heard by now, Bloodborne struggles on PS4 with frame rate issues and load times. Thankfully, the load times are much, much better than at launch, but the game still struggles to maintain a constant 30 FPS at times. Having replayed it very recently, it’s not as bad as it was in my memory, but it’s still unfortunate that at this point in time, we are unlikely to get a port to PS5 or PC that improves on this.
My only other issue with Bloodborne is a minor one with the healing system. Taking a cue from Demon’s Souls, Bloodborne uses limited use farmable Blood Vials to heal the player instead of a renewable source like the Estus Flask. While I really enjoy using the Blood Vials themselves, as the animation is quickest in the franchise and feels really snappy and satisfying to use, it kind of kills the pace if you’re doing particularly poorly in an area, and need to backtrack to farm up some vials or the cash to buy them. Not the end of the world but I find it a slight blemish on the overall experience.
You may have noticed I haven’t mentioned the Chalice Dungeons, and that’s because I don’t find them particularly interesting to discuss or to play. They’re randomly generated dungeons the player can build and then explore for loot and upgrade material. They’re neat in concept but I think are fairly dull to actually play through. All of them look nearly identical and while the later ones can provide insanely good treasure, it feels like too much of a grind to get up to them. Bloodborne gameplay is still great but feels lacking in levels not hand-designed by FromSoft like the main game. That being said, players have experimented with Chalice Dungeons in the seven years since release, and have found some absolutely amazing discoveries, including a dungeon featuring a cut boss from the game in an unfinished state. The fact we’re still finding new things in Bloodborne so many years on is a testament to the love and energy that goes into creating these games.
So to summarize, Bloodborne is not my favorite of the Souls games, but probably has my fewest complaints out of all of them. It is expertly designed and feels great to play. It’s got an amazing art direction and looks super cool basically the entire time you’re playing. Gameplay is perhaps the best of the series and makes you feel like a proper monster hunter rather than the scared knight you sometimes feel like in Dark Souls. It’s a shame it’s only on PS4, because I think more people definitely need to play this. For anyone with a PS4 or 5, Bloodborne is an absolute must-play.
I’ve played Bloodborne probably the least of all the Soulsborne games, but I can really see why it’s gotten as popular as it has. In short, Bloodborne is the best game on the Playstation 4, with intense fast-paced combat, an impeccable sense of style and art direction, and several interesting game mechanics that help it stand out from its Dark Souls brethren. The worst things I can say about Bloodborne are mostly technical issues and even those hardly drag the experience down.
I think the biggest changes from the previous games are the new weapons and revamped combat system. Rather than choosing from hundreds of swords, axes, hammers, and shields, Bloodborne keeps the weapon selection to the double digits. However, each weapon feels completely unique to use and features a special transformation ability, allowing it to swap forms for a different moveset, essentially making each weapon a 2-in-1. Combined with the game’s massive emphasis on dodging and parrying over blocking and the overall faster pace of both you and the enemies, this reworked combat system makes Bloodborne feel a lot different to play despite being fundamentally the same as the Souls games. In addition, the game’s awesome Rally system, where the player can quickly regain lost HP by smacking the enemy around, encourages the player to play much more aggressively rather than Dark Souls’s more passive, defensive combat. Souls veterans may find they need to re-train their brains away from the slower methodical combat of the past three games to deal with the more intense (and maybe more difficult) combat of Bloodborne.
While we explored ancient fallen civilizations in the previous games, like Lordran and Drangleic, Bloodborne puts us right in the middle of the fall itself. Yharnam is in chaos as we scour streets full of burning corpses, mobs of terrified infected townspeople, twisted experiments, and visitors from another world. Hardly a secret 7 years later, but the mid-game twist from “traditional” horror like werewolves and giant snakes into genuine cosmic Lovecraftian beings is still one of my favorite twists in gaming history. The art direction reflects this, with early game areas using a gothic Victorian inspired look in the dingiest and dirtiest parts of Yharnam, and the late-game exploring fantastical Nightmare realms and high-class areas like the Cainhurst Castle. As the protagonist gains more “insight” from the horrific events unfolding before them, the world becomes more twisted and nightmarish. Even going back to starting zones reveals giant Amygdala demons that have always been there, you just didn’t have the ability to see them, an absolutely amazing touch typical of Miyazaki. From start to finish, Bloodborne just looks cool.
Bloodborne is more linear than its Souls predecessors but I think that this limitation allows the level design to be more intricate and interesting. Bloodborne’s levels are large, sprawling, and full to the brim with enemies, treasures, and secrets to find. The game’s introductory zone, Central Yharnam, is perhaps the strongest opening area of any of the Souls games, and arguably one of the greatest in the entire game itself. Though not that big in actuality, the area feels absolutely massive and does a great job of slowly introducing the player to the game’s various mechanics in a natural feeling way. Central Yharnam even makes a reappearance later in the game in one of my favorite unlockable shortcuts in the franchise.
Other areas, like Upper Cathedral Ward, are smaller with less to explore and uncover, but are super memorable for their unique set pieces or gimmicks. The Old Workshop and Hemwick Channel Lane also come to mind for smaller areas that are also super memorable. Honestly, I don’t think any area in Bloodborne is a miss, except for maybe the Unseen Village, but even that can be quickly ran through if the player finds it too unenjoyable.
As most everyone has heard by now, Bloodborne struggles on PS4 with frame rate issues and load times. Thankfully, the load times are much, much better than at launch, but the game still struggles to maintain a constant 30 FPS at times. Having replayed it very recently, it’s not as bad as it was in my memory, but it’s still unfortunate that at this point in time, we are unlikely to get a port to PS5 or PC that improves on this.
My only other issue with Bloodborne is a minor one with the healing system. Taking a cue from Demon’s Souls, Bloodborne uses limited use farmable Blood Vials to heal the player instead of a renewable source like the Estus Flask. While I really enjoy using the Blood Vials themselves, as the animation is quickest in the franchise and feels really snappy and satisfying to use, it kind of kills the pace if you’re doing particularly poorly in an area, and need to backtrack to farm up some vials or the cash to buy them. Not the end of the world but I find it a slight blemish on the overall experience.
You may have noticed I haven’t mentioned the Chalice Dungeons, and that’s because I don’t find them particularly interesting to discuss or to play. They’re randomly generated dungeons the player can build and then explore for loot and upgrade material. They’re neat in concept but I think are fairly dull to actually play through. All of them look nearly identical and while the later ones can provide insanely good treasure, it feels like too much of a grind to get up to them. Bloodborne gameplay is still great but feels lacking in levels not hand-designed by FromSoft like the main game. That being said, players have experimented with Chalice Dungeons in the seven years since release, and have found some absolutely amazing discoveries, including a dungeon featuring a cut boss from the game in an unfinished state. The fact we’re still finding new things in Bloodborne so many years on is a testament to the love and energy that goes into creating these games.
So to summarize, Bloodborne is not my favorite of the Souls games, but probably has my fewest complaints out of all of them. It is expertly designed and feels great to play. It’s got an amazing art direction and looks super cool basically the entire time you’re playing. Gameplay is perhaps the best of the series and makes you feel like a proper monster hunter rather than the scared knight you sometimes feel like in Dark Souls. It’s a shame it’s only on PS4, because I think more people definitely need to play this. For anyone with a PS4 or 5, Bloodborne is an absolute must-play.
Dark Souls III
2016
The Road to Elden Ring #5: Dark Souls III
So here we are at the end! Didn’t have the time to get around to Sekiro before Elden Ring’s release, but I’d like to talk about it sometime in the future. For now, we end with Dark Souls III, the conclusion to the Souls IP that builds upon the groundwork set by Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls 1 and 2, and Bloodborne. While it’s far from perfect, I think DS3 surpasses its predecessors in more ways than one.
For starters, the combat takes inspiration from Bloodborne. While not as fast-paced and aggressive as that game, it still takes the combat from Demon’s Souls and DS1/2 and speed it up significantly. The game is less plodding and meticulous and instead requires the player to think on their feet and act quickly to aggressive enemies with faster attacks and deeper movepools. The player, while still sped up from previous games, still feels slower than all the new enemies, so the idea of “Dark Souls 1 Knight vs Bloodborne enemies” helps make Lothric feel even deadlier and more dangerous that previous worlds.
Although Dark Souls 3 is a lot more linear than DS1, it has arguably the best level design so far in the series. Similarly to Bloodborne, DS3 has massive zones that feel incredibly rewarding to explore and find hidden treasures. The size of these levels allow From to play around with verticality and put a large amount of varied set pieces across each area. The Cathedral of the Deep has you scaling the rafters of a massive church before you get inside and battle the imprisoned giants. The Catacombs of Carthus have you venturing deeper and deeper into the lair of a skeleton army and features traps and ambushes around every corner. DS3 is probably second only to the original Dark Souls when it comes to incredibly memorable level design.
Another area DS3 shines is its improved NPC questlines. Though side quests given by important NPCs have been a staple of the Souls series since Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls 3 takes these side stories and really fleshes them out. Four NPCs offer fun and engaging side quests that send you to some locations you’d never go otherwise, and tie into the game’s four main bosses in a really satisfying way.
The DLC is also fantastic. Ashes of Ariandel and the Ringed City offer incredibly cool set pieces, new enemy types, new weapons, and a pair of some of the greatest boss fights in the entire franchise. Sister Friede and Slave Knight Gael are a showcase of everything that makes the Souls games so great and special, with Gael himself (and the vanilla game’s final boss, the Soul of Cinder) being the perfect sendoff to the trilogy.
The only negative I really have to say about DS3 is that bits and pieces feel pretty derivative of the past games, which is only natural after five entries. I think too much of DS3 relies on knowing the thing from a previous game, like Aldritch puppeting around Gwnydolin’s corpse from DS1 in the ruins of Anor Londo, or the new hub area just being Firelink Shrine again. In some areas it works, like the beginning of the Ringed City being a mismash of Firelink Shrine from DS1 and Earthen Peak from DS2. Some of these callbacks are fun for veteran players, but I think contributes to Lothric not really feeling like it has its own identity. Demon’s Souls’ Boletaria, Dark Souls’ Lordran, Bloodborne’s Yharnam, and as much as I dislike it, DS2’s Drangleic, all felt distinct and unique from each other. Lothric on the other hand, just feels like we’re back in Lordran again, except for the inexplicit mini-Yharnam in the form of Irithyll.
At its worst, Dark Souls 3 is uninspired and derivative of past Souls games. At its best, Dark Souls 3 is a masterpiece with some of the tightest combat and level design of the series, memorable and lovable NPCs with engaging side stories, and intense, difficult bosses that represent everything that makes the franchise so beloved. An absolute killer final outing.
So here we are at the end! Didn’t have the time to get around to Sekiro before Elden Ring’s release, but I’d like to talk about it sometime in the future. For now, we end with Dark Souls III, the conclusion to the Souls IP that builds upon the groundwork set by Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls 1 and 2, and Bloodborne. While it’s far from perfect, I think DS3 surpasses its predecessors in more ways than one.
For starters, the combat takes inspiration from Bloodborne. While not as fast-paced and aggressive as that game, it still takes the combat from Demon’s Souls and DS1/2 and speed it up significantly. The game is less plodding and meticulous and instead requires the player to think on their feet and act quickly to aggressive enemies with faster attacks and deeper movepools. The player, while still sped up from previous games, still feels slower than all the new enemies, so the idea of “Dark Souls 1 Knight vs Bloodborne enemies” helps make Lothric feel even deadlier and more dangerous that previous worlds.
Although Dark Souls 3 is a lot more linear than DS1, it has arguably the best level design so far in the series. Similarly to Bloodborne, DS3 has massive zones that feel incredibly rewarding to explore and find hidden treasures. The size of these levels allow From to play around with verticality and put a large amount of varied set pieces across each area. The Cathedral of the Deep has you scaling the rafters of a massive church before you get inside and battle the imprisoned giants. The Catacombs of Carthus have you venturing deeper and deeper into the lair of a skeleton army and features traps and ambushes around every corner. DS3 is probably second only to the original Dark Souls when it comes to incredibly memorable level design.
Another area DS3 shines is its improved NPC questlines. Though side quests given by important NPCs have been a staple of the Souls series since Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls 3 takes these side stories and really fleshes them out. Four NPCs offer fun and engaging side quests that send you to some locations you’d never go otherwise, and tie into the game’s four main bosses in a really satisfying way.
The DLC is also fantastic. Ashes of Ariandel and the Ringed City offer incredibly cool set pieces, new enemy types, new weapons, and a pair of some of the greatest boss fights in the entire franchise. Sister Friede and Slave Knight Gael are a showcase of everything that makes the Souls games so great and special, with Gael himself (and the vanilla game’s final boss, the Soul of Cinder) being the perfect sendoff to the trilogy.
The only negative I really have to say about DS3 is that bits and pieces feel pretty derivative of the past games, which is only natural after five entries. I think too much of DS3 relies on knowing the thing from a previous game, like Aldritch puppeting around Gwnydolin’s corpse from DS1 in the ruins of Anor Londo, or the new hub area just being Firelink Shrine again. In some areas it works, like the beginning of the Ringed City being a mismash of Firelink Shrine from DS1 and Earthen Peak from DS2. Some of these callbacks are fun for veteran players, but I think contributes to Lothric not really feeling like it has its own identity. Demon’s Souls’ Boletaria, Dark Souls’ Lordran, Bloodborne’s Yharnam, and as much as I dislike it, DS2’s Drangleic, all felt distinct and unique from each other. Lothric on the other hand, just feels like we’re back in Lordran again, except for the inexplicit mini-Yharnam in the form of Irithyll.
At its worst, Dark Souls 3 is uninspired and derivative of past Souls games. At its best, Dark Souls 3 is a masterpiece with some of the tightest combat and level design of the series, memorable and lovable NPCs with engaging side stories, and intense, difficult bosses that represent everything that makes the franchise so beloved. An absolute killer final outing.
God of War Ragnarök
2022
feels like the writers are actively working against the game. Every time I had fun with the game, I felt like it was despite the story and characters, not because of them. I’m sick of fucking condescending quirky dialogue filling AAA games now, it’s like watching the flanderization of an entire medium in real time. Just let me have fun with your god killing game! You can still be really fucking serious ™️ and sad ™️ in your story but at least fucking try to make your themes come together in a coherent way. The entire final act of this game hits with no impact at all, it all feels incredibly hollow. At least the combat is fun.
Hot Wheels Unleashed
2021
It’s completely competent as a racing game, but it’s abysmally sparse for content. That $40 price tag can piss off, thank god I got it for free.
Hot Wheels Unleashed
2021
The plastic car physics is an interesting idea but just ends up being punishing and frustrating where a every mistake can absolutely wreck your race.
As a kid I imagined these cars as having an actual weight and not just plastic toys, this game takes you out of the fantasy completely.
Also I find it odd that this very arcadey and floaty racer won't let you take shortcuts and teleports you back until you do the jump the way God intended.
Easy is a dull cakewalk, Normal is very brutal, mostly because of the punishing design.
I don't understand the design philosophy behind this game and sadly whatever little time I spent with it wasn't very fun.
As a kid I imagined these cars as having an actual weight and not just plastic toys, this game takes you out of the fantasy completely.
Also I find it odd that this very arcadey and floaty racer won't let you take shortcuts and teleports you back until you do the jump the way God intended.
Easy is a dull cakewalk, Normal is very brutal, mostly because of the punishing design.
I don't understand the design philosophy behind this game and sadly whatever little time I spent with it wasn't very fun.
God of War Ragnarök
2022
The fact they made the combat worse. Then the original game is funny.
God of War Ragnarök
2022
Terrible. Go to point A and B, kill the same fucking enemies, do the same fucking puzzles, make ridiculous objectives to make it last as long as possible, still gets called a "masterpiece".
Releasing the same fucking game over and over apparently gets it appraised if it has "Sony" in it.
Releasing the same fucking game over and over apparently gets it appraised if it has "Sony" in it.