This review contains spoilers
Took me a while to really “get it”, but once you do few games are as rewarding.
The subtle world building and lore are built up masterfully as you explore. Very immersive world, I love how you can see other areas of the map and the interconnected-ness feels epic and rewarding to explore. I really want to emphasize how getting immersed in Lordran makes you feel, like the world is vast and ancient, sometimes indescribably so. Honestly I enjoyed the backtracking, where that seems to be a detriment for a lot of people, it made Lordran feel grander, like you’re really exploring and pathing out this world. Shortcuts are a satisfying reward but finally getting the ability to warp between bonfires feels appropriately like a divine gift. Some areas of the game, specifically upper Blighttown, are too complicated and maze-y in a not fun way, while others are too streamlined and take away from the beautiful openness of the world. The use of illusory walls to hide secrets is fine, and many of them are subtly telegraphed to the player, but I find the one hiding the Daughter of Chaos bonfire to be egregiously poor design. If you miss that one, the closest warp you have to the Demon Ruins/Lost Izalith point of the game is Firelink Shrine (way too far plus Blighttown shenanigans).
The combat is exceptionally rewarding. I have to criticize the lack of instruction on several mechanics, including equip load, poise, and humanity, but a majority of the games mechanics are cleverly taught through combat encounters. The enemy variety is vast and forces you to switch up your equipment for different areas, keeping the slow methodical combat fresh. The variety of move sets available allows any player to find a style that makes sense or feels rewarding to them.
The bosses (except Bed of Chaos, and arguably Capra Demon) are satisfying to gradually learn how to conquer. I especially love how when you first arrive in Anor Londo, before entering the painting room, you fight another tower gargoyle. Easily dispatching him was so glorious to me, having struggled immensely with the pair you fight at the Undead Parish. The same can be said for the Capra and Taurus demons in the Demon Ruins. However some bosses did not live up to expectations, Gwyn especially felt a bit underwhelming after tough late game challenges like Four Kings or Manus.
The soundtrack is top tier. All boss themes set the mood well and give you something to think about the characters. I especially love Sif’s theme (who doesn’t), which musically tells you the tragedy of Artorias, and Ornstein and Smough’s theme, which properly calls them out as the titans they are, and uses different instrumentation to score each member of the duo. The choice to rarely have background music makes such themes stand out even more, and the passive areas of the game with theme music have so much more emotional power. I was floored by walking into Ash Lake the first time.
My gameplay gripes are pretty minor, the game is just shy of a 10/10 for me and I’m excited to explore more Fromsoft titles, which I’ve been sleeping on for years. You really do have to get good. Not just for the difficulty which is often overstated, but to really understand how to manage your resources while tuning your build throughout the game to face different threats. My character still felt like my own in the end, and I don’t feel I was disadvantaged by not following a specific guided build. This became one of my all time favorites once I figured more of it out. I played to the first bell of awakening years ago and could never quite figure out what to do next, or how to breakthrough tough bosses, or even whether those bosses were necessary. But once I set my sights on Blighttown and did some intense googling and wiki-scouring, I was able to finish the game in no time. Setbacks? Sure, but I truly felt like I pulled myself out of that pit and persevered through something, a feeling few games have given me.
The subtle world building and lore are built up masterfully as you explore. Very immersive world, I love how you can see other areas of the map and the interconnected-ness feels epic and rewarding to explore. I really want to emphasize how getting immersed in Lordran makes you feel, like the world is vast and ancient, sometimes indescribably so. Honestly I enjoyed the backtracking, where that seems to be a detriment for a lot of people, it made Lordran feel grander, like you’re really exploring and pathing out this world. Shortcuts are a satisfying reward but finally getting the ability to warp between bonfires feels appropriately like a divine gift. Some areas of the game, specifically upper Blighttown, are too complicated and maze-y in a not fun way, while others are too streamlined and take away from the beautiful openness of the world. The use of illusory walls to hide secrets is fine, and many of them are subtly telegraphed to the player, but I find the one hiding the Daughter of Chaos bonfire to be egregiously poor design. If you miss that one, the closest warp you have to the Demon Ruins/Lost Izalith point of the game is Firelink Shrine (way too far plus Blighttown shenanigans).
The combat is exceptionally rewarding. I have to criticize the lack of instruction on several mechanics, including equip load, poise, and humanity, but a majority of the games mechanics are cleverly taught through combat encounters. The enemy variety is vast and forces you to switch up your equipment for different areas, keeping the slow methodical combat fresh. The variety of move sets available allows any player to find a style that makes sense or feels rewarding to them.
The bosses (except Bed of Chaos, and arguably Capra Demon) are satisfying to gradually learn how to conquer. I especially love how when you first arrive in Anor Londo, before entering the painting room, you fight another tower gargoyle. Easily dispatching him was so glorious to me, having struggled immensely with the pair you fight at the Undead Parish. The same can be said for the Capra and Taurus demons in the Demon Ruins. However some bosses did not live up to expectations, Gwyn especially felt a bit underwhelming after tough late game challenges like Four Kings or Manus.
The soundtrack is top tier. All boss themes set the mood well and give you something to think about the characters. I especially love Sif’s theme (who doesn’t), which musically tells you the tragedy of Artorias, and Ornstein and Smough’s theme, which properly calls them out as the titans they are, and uses different instrumentation to score each member of the duo. The choice to rarely have background music makes such themes stand out even more, and the passive areas of the game with theme music have so much more emotional power. I was floored by walking into Ash Lake the first time.
My gameplay gripes are pretty minor, the game is just shy of a 10/10 for me and I’m excited to explore more Fromsoft titles, which I’ve been sleeping on for years. You really do have to get good. Not just for the difficulty which is often overstated, but to really understand how to manage your resources while tuning your build throughout the game to face different threats. My character still felt like my own in the end, and I don’t feel I was disadvantaged by not following a specific guided build. This became one of my all time favorites once I figured more of it out. I played to the first bell of awakening years ago and could never quite figure out what to do next, or how to breakthrough tough bosses, or even whether those bosses were necessary. But once I set my sights on Blighttown and did some intense googling and wiki-scouring, I was able to finish the game in no time. Setbacks? Sure, but I truly felt like I pulled myself out of that pit and persevered through something, a feeling few games have given me.