Demon Souls / Dark Souls

[dubbs]

1 hour ago, Designer1 said:

None whatsoever.

Thanks.  Wasn't sure about character or world tendencies being changed. 

[Designer1]

@dubbs

Also, if you haven't been to The Swamp of Sorrows yet, I would highly recommend getting the Sodden Ring asap. It makes a bloody difficult area a little bit more palatable.

[Designer1]

Dark Souls voted Best Game of All Time at The Golden Joystick Awards.
 

 

[Daweii]

The impact Souls has had on the gaming landscape over the last 12-years has been undeniable. I consider greatness in very simple terms, "did this game change gaming forever?". DOOM, Gran Turismo, Half-Life, Metal Gear Solid, Gears of War, Dark Souls, Minecraft. A game doesn't have to be the inventor of a gameplay style, it merely has to be the one that was so good it popularised it enough to influence decades of game development. 

The best example of this is Gear of War. It didn't invent cover mechanics, that credit goes to Kill Switch, but no one played Kill Switch so no one cares. Gears of War took a system, put it into a very good third person shooter and changed the industry forever. How many games have you played since 2006 that had cover mechanics? Probably hundreds because for a while it was in every game regardless of if the game needed it, only now are we starting to see games not use snap to cover religiously, but for a solid 15-years what Gears of War popularised was in most video games. That to me is greatness. 

Dark Souls probably isn't the "Ultimate Game of All Time", I would consider that to be DOOM because I don't know what gaming looks like without that game, but one thing is certain, Dark Souls is in the same conversation. Dark Souls isn't just a game, it's a genre and its legacy is going to live on for generations. 

[Ingram85]

Best Game of all Time? Nonsense. It’s great no doubt but that is just a ridiculous claim. It’s moody, difficult, intimidating to the majority and it’s full of flaws. Sounds like my missus. 

[dubbs]

I've got a week off coming up so I'm going to have to try and finish this.   It's been a while since I played it so it's going to be rough but it just pulls you in when it clicks. 

[Wainy316]

Got stuck into Dark Souls 3 while I've been isolating.  Steep learning curve and had my arse kicked loads but loving it. 

Is it considered remotely acceptable to summon NPCs for boss fights?

Edited December 15, 2021 by Wainy316

[jacketspuds]

11 minutes ago, Wainy316 said:

Got stuck in Dark Souls 3 while I've been isolating.  Steep learning curve and had my arse kicked loads but living it. 

Is it considered remotely acceptable to summon NPCs for boss fights?

I think it is, especially as the bosses have more health when you summon an NPC so it's not always easier.

[Designer1]

54 minutes ago, Wainy316 said:

Got stuck into Dark Souls 3 while I've been isolating.  Steep learning curve and had my arse kicked loads but loving it. 

Is it considered remotely acceptable to summon NPCs for boss fights?

Yes. I've done it countless times - that's what they are there for and part of the fun.

The only downside is that they increase the bosses health pool, but it's worth it imo.

Edited December 15, 2021 by Designer1

[Designer1]

Where are you up to btw @Wainy316?

And what class did you go with?

(I'm always interested when someone is having fun on these games cause they're my faves)

[Wainy316]

16 minutes ago, Designer1 said:

Where are you up to btw @Wainy316?

And what class did you go with?

(I'm always interested when someone is having fun on these games cause they're my faves)

I've just beaten the Abyss Watchers and am now getting battered in the next section.  I feel like I'm quite far but having only beaten 4 bosses I'm clearly not.

Class wise I went with Mercenary although feel I maybe should have gone with Knight.  Mainly levelling up strength, vigor, endurance and dex.  

Haven't bothered with magic but that looks like a fun alternative way to play that I'd be up for next time.

[Wainy316]

This is the first Souls game I've played properly, although I did play Bloodborne when it first came out.

[JoshVilla]

Decided to make my missus play Demon's Souls. She's quite a casual gamer, and has never played a Souls game before. She's so far made it past the first Blue Eye Knight and unlocked the first shortcut without dying (except to the vanguard demon of course).

I am impressed.

[Designer1]

7 minutes ago, Wainy316 said:

I've just beaten the Abyss Watchers and am now getting battered in the next section.  I feel like I'm quite far but having only beaten 4 bosses I'm clearly not.

Class wise I went with Mercenary although feel I maybe should have gone with Knight.  Mainly levelling up strength, vigor, endurance and dex.  

Haven't bothered with magic but that looks like a fun alternative way to play that I'd be up for next time.

Good stuff.

So I'm assuming you're in the Catacombs of Carthus now? That area can be a bit tricky on first visit (especially the double spawning skellies) but if it's any consolation it has one of the easiest soulsborne bosses ever!

Re. the build - Merc is fine and pretty cool for a Dex build (they start with the twin swords iirc and that's a great weapon especially when imbued with Lightning) - I wouldn't bother too much with STR as you won't get much benefit from it as a Merc. Make sure you keep to light armour to keep your equip load manageable (this means you'll keep to fast rolling)

Let me know if you need any help - always happy to log on for some co-op.

[Wainy316]

8 minutes ago, Designer1 said:

Good stuff.

So I'm assuming you're in the Catacombs of Carthus now? That area can be a bit tricky on first visit (especially the double spawning skellies) but if it's any consolation it has one of the easiest soulsborne bosses ever!

Re. the build - Merc is fine and pretty cool for a Dex build (they start with the twin swords iirc and that's a great weapon especially when imbued with Lightning) - I wouldn't bother too much with STR as you won't get much benefit from it as a Merc. Make sure you keep to light armour to keep your equip load manageable (this means you'll keep to fast rolling)

Let me know if you need any help - always happy to log on for some co-op.

Yeah Catacombs of Carthus.

Oops, I'd been hammering strength which I'm generally drawn too.  I didn't do much research into the classes so I've just kind of winged it.  The character I've had in my head is Guts from Berserk.

Sounds good on the co-op front  

[Chindie]

Your starting class isn't that important to be honest, they give you a headstart on playing in certain ways but you can quickly spec towards any basis.

Summoning is part of the game, it's there to support you if you're banging your head against something.

And if it's any consolation, I struggled more with the Abyss Walkers than many later bosses, so good effort. That's a proper skill gate in the game IMO, a hurdle to see if you're really getting it.

[Chindie]

I started a relisten of Dark Calls this week and it's giving me the hankering to go back to, and finally finish, Dark Souls 2...

[Wainy316]

Even though I've started with the third I expect I'll have the bug and play through the series now.

I have seen Dark Souls 2 come in for a bit of stick.  Is there any particular reason for that?

[Chindie]

17 minutes ago, Wainy316 said:

Even though I've started with the third I expect I'll have the bug and play through the series now.

I have seen Dark Souls 2 come in for a bit of stick.  Is there any particular reason for that?

It's the weakest of the series. It's still a very good game, but it falls down on a few fronts.

It has a heavy reliance on 'gank' bosses. Dark Souls 2 has dozens of bosses but too many of them are made difficult by giving you multiple enemies at once. Dark Souls did this a few times, but with more... elegance?... than 2. 2 feels like it has a few bosses were it just chucks 2 difficult enemies at you at once and pumps the damage rate.

It's world is less coherent than 1. 1 feels like a world that makes thematic sense. In 2 you have a point where you go up an elevator and come out into a lava world. And there's an odd feeling of it being slightly less... premium, well put together. It feels like the B team designed it, because they did. Even things like bonfires are put on with less thought somehow - you'll find bonfires that feel pointless.

It has some mechanical weirdness. Your invincibility frames are dictated by a stat, which means there's moments where you dodge in a way that would be safe in 1 that gets you hit in 2. And this is magnified by 2 famously having janky hit boxes - there's loads of clips of people getting hit by stuff that absolutely didn't hit them. I recall a boss that I had dodged behind that just teleported me into it's grab attack because the hit box was ****. It also introduces a mechanic that means after 12 kills an enemy stills respawning, which means you can clear out levels, a thing where your mileage will vary. 

But it is still a good game and the game of the year edition is s bargain. One I need to finish l.

[Designer1]

45 minutes ago, Wainy316 said:

Even though I've started with the third I expect I'll have the bug and play through the series now.

I have seen Dark Souls 2 come in for a bit of stick.  Is there any particular reason for that?

DS 2 is considered the red headed step child of the series but for me it's still an 8/10 game and one that I've finished over 20 times.

*edit* @Chindiehas beaten me to it with his on point summary so I'll just add my own pros and cons:

PROS:

- Superb character and class customisation with a dazzling array of different choices.

- The best Hub area in the entire series. Majula is just a beautiful setting and its soundtrack is lovely.

- Best and most 'fair' PvP in the series.

- Heides Tower of Flame plus some other excellent areas.

- Best DLC in all the series and probably the most punishing (thus satisfying)

 

CONS:

- It lacks the clever world connectivity of DS1 and some areas don't hang together well.

- ADP is a pain in the arse stat and there's a reason it was binned after one game.

- quite a few generic boss fights and as Chindie mentioned, a fair few gank adds.

- The Shrine of Amana. If you're playing as a melee only build then good luck. If you're not then good luck anyway. **** that place.

- Some hit box inconsistencies 

One of the biggest changes that appeared in DS2 (and never returned) was most enemies have limited respawns. That one caused massive controversy in the DS community. Personally didn't mind it.

So yeah, great game but a few issues.

 

Edited December 15, 2021 by Designer1