I am so glad I finally beat this game.
Funnily enough, Dark Souls was a game I originally tried beating when I was 11 back in the Xbox 360 days, exclusively because I kept hearing how good the game was. I absolutely hated it back then, and never was able to truly understand the formula until I played Bloodborne years later. Since then, I have had revisiting this game on my to-do list for years. I am so glad I did.
Without a shadow of a doubt, Dark Souls is one of the most influential games of the last 2 decades and it is easy to see why. The world and combat flow together so elegantly in the first half of the game, and there are so many special moments of both pure joy and intense frustration. The highlight had to be Sens Fortress, which I described to my friend as the "ACME headquarters." Its an area that is designed to be frustrating and to kill you, but it does so in such a comedically slanted way that you cant help but respect and enjoy it. The moment I stepped on an elevator for two long and it crushed me against ceiling spikes, I knew this game was special.
The Artorias DLC was easily the highlight of the game for me, and it has elevated itself to one of my favorite sections in any game of the franchise. Artorias, Manus, Sanctuary Guardian, and Kalameet are all incredible fights, and it feels like the moment where From learned that they could push the difficulty of the fights even further. The visual design of this DLC was stellar as well, with every area looking absolutely gorgeous. The story and lore were also incredibly engaging, giving me characters that I actually gave a damn about. However, the standout element was the sound design. I was consistently blown away by how great the Abyss and enemies sounded in this DLC, and it was a massive step above the rest of the game.
The issues I have with DS1 aren't very unique though. Post Anor Londo does have some highlights for me like Seath's Library and New Londo Ruins, but there are WAY too many absolutely awful areas like Tomb of the Giants and Lost Izalith that it completely ruins the pacing of the game. I also found that most of the areas in the game were way too short, and that I absolutely would have taken less overall areas if it meant that some areas like Anor Londo and Sens Fortress were expanded upon.
I also found some of the bosses to be way too easy. Outside of the Artorias fights, there weren't really any that gave me any real trouble. Even known bastards like Capra Demon and O&S were way too basic to be seen as a real challenge. This is a strange complaint though mainly because its exclusively due to how the genre has developed over time. Nowadays compared to certain bosses in Elden Ring and Bloodborne, these are a cakewalk. But back then, when people werent really familiar with this type of game, these were some of the hardest fights you could face in a game. I still wish they were harder though.
Dark Souls is an absolutely incredible game, even though I really do feel it falls short in its 2nd half. But even with some of the dogshit areas, you cant help but respect this game. It and Demon's Souls essentially created a whole new genre, and that can not be undervalued. If it had stuck that landing, I could have easily seen this being up there as one of my favorites of all time.
As it is now though, I am content with saying that I had an absolute blast with DS1.....even though the Crystal Caves are complete fucking horeseshit OH MY GOD DELETE THAT FUCKING AREA
Funnily enough, Dark Souls was a game I originally tried beating when I was 11 back in the Xbox 360 days, exclusively because I kept hearing how good the game was. I absolutely hated it back then, and never was able to truly understand the formula until I played Bloodborne years later. Since then, I have had revisiting this game on my to-do list for years. I am so glad I did.
Without a shadow of a doubt, Dark Souls is one of the most influential games of the last 2 decades and it is easy to see why. The world and combat flow together so elegantly in the first half of the game, and there are so many special moments of both pure joy and intense frustration. The highlight had to be Sens Fortress, which I described to my friend as the "ACME headquarters." Its an area that is designed to be frustrating and to kill you, but it does so in such a comedically slanted way that you cant help but respect and enjoy it. The moment I stepped on an elevator for two long and it crushed me against ceiling spikes, I knew this game was special.
The Artorias DLC was easily the highlight of the game for me, and it has elevated itself to one of my favorite sections in any game of the franchise. Artorias, Manus, Sanctuary Guardian, and Kalameet are all incredible fights, and it feels like the moment where From learned that they could push the difficulty of the fights even further. The visual design of this DLC was stellar as well, with every area looking absolutely gorgeous. The story and lore were also incredibly engaging, giving me characters that I actually gave a damn about. However, the standout element was the sound design. I was consistently blown away by how great the Abyss and enemies sounded in this DLC, and it was a massive step above the rest of the game.
The issues I have with DS1 aren't very unique though. Post Anor Londo does have some highlights for me like Seath's Library and New Londo Ruins, but there are WAY too many absolutely awful areas like Tomb of the Giants and Lost Izalith that it completely ruins the pacing of the game. I also found that most of the areas in the game were way too short, and that I absolutely would have taken less overall areas if it meant that some areas like Anor Londo and Sens Fortress were expanded upon.
I also found some of the bosses to be way too easy. Outside of the Artorias fights, there weren't really any that gave me any real trouble. Even known bastards like Capra Demon and O&S were way too basic to be seen as a real challenge. This is a strange complaint though mainly because its exclusively due to how the genre has developed over time. Nowadays compared to certain bosses in Elden Ring and Bloodborne, these are a cakewalk. But back then, when people werent really familiar with this type of game, these were some of the hardest fights you could face in a game. I still wish they were harder though.
Dark Souls is an absolutely incredible game, even though I really do feel it falls short in its 2nd half. But even with some of the dogshit areas, you cant help but respect this game. It and Demon's Souls essentially created a whole new genre, and that can not be undervalued. If it had stuck that landing, I could have easily seen this being up there as one of my favorites of all time.
As it is now though, I am content with saying that I had an absolute blast with DS1.....even though the Crystal Caves are complete fucking horeseshit OH MY GOD DELETE THAT FUCKING AREA