Sdarts should be happy, our progress is slow in Dark Souls III, but we haven't given up yet. After encountering the two cousins of the monster we first met during the French livestream of our Patreon last week, we even managed to beat Aldrich Devorer of Souls. It wasn't easy, it took us a few tries before we finally understood the proper tactic to defeat him, but it was worth it. We are now exploring the gloomy Irithyll Dungeon, heading towards some kind of underground city or temple. This should be fun...
Note: Videos were captured in 1080p but game was running with DSR (1440p) on PC (60 fps).
Note 2: If you haven't reached this area of the game, beware that it can be considered a spoiler.
All comments (20)
=D
I'm very glad you stuck with it, the Souls games aren't really hard, they just require more effort and, consequently, more time from the players than other games.
But having said that, the rewards you get from the Souls games are far higher that the effort and time they demand. So you still come out ahead when compared to most games - it's well worth it in my very humble opinion.
You could think like this: you can spend 30-40 hours playing a "collect-a-ton" open-world game like Assassin's Creed or a RPG like Final Fantasy till 100% completion, but most of that time will be spent doing boring stuff like opening chests, collecting musical notes, grinding to upgrade equipment or unlock abilities, and go ticking off items off a progression list, etc. And I say this as someone who loves RPGs and collecting stuff in open-world games like Assassin's Creed, but I know very well that the "sense of progression" and the satisfaction that comes with it by doing this type of thing is mostly "artificial".
Or you can play a Souls game in that same time frame for 1-2 playthroughs - depends on how well you learn and adapt to the game's mechanics on your 1st playthrough, but most of that time will be exhilarating gameplay, fantastic lore, a very intricate and beautiful H.P. Lovecraftian type world, a feeling of satisfaction that most games rarely achieve and you will also raise your self steem a little bit - like knowing you can overcome any challenge as long as you set your mind to it, etc. And the "sense of progression" and the satisfaction that comes with it will be "real".
I know this "artificial" vs "real" talk sounds weird, but I honestly feel the difference in enjoyment I get from these types of games exactly in this manner/like this and I do notice it even while playing. Sorry if I can't articulate it any better, hopefully the meaning of what I'm trying to convey came accross.
I also know that a Souls game takes time and not many people who work and/or have children have that much time to spend on a single game, but I genuinely believe that if you're going to spend 30-40 hours playing a game - which unfortunately is getting very common since more and more AAA games nowadays are going for "quantity over quality" to try and justify that U$ 60 price tag, that the Souls games are some of the best games that most reward that time. That's why I wanted you guys to persevere and finish a Souls game at least once.
Sorry this got so long, I just wanted to explain that if you're going to spend time playing games and, consequently, some very long ones, you might as well try finishing a Souls game and see why so many people who stick with these games love them so much. And who knows, you might even find yourself having far more "fun" with it than other games of the same length.
PS. I haven't watched these 2 videos yet, but I did watch the other 6 videos of the PC version and your skills were quite good in them. For example, you almost killed that 1st boss in the 1st try, which was really cool.
Ganbatte! (Keep up the good work! / Do your best!)
I actually didn't buy the second game because the worry about time versus reward. I did not feel at all rewarded for the time I spent playing the first game, and I had no interest in playing it again (replay value). If there is one thing I dislike about any RPG is if it squanders my time.
I am on the fence with the third, I simply cannot make up my mind.
I also hate when games squander my time, but if a game is good/great and/or I'm very invested in its mechanics, I do tend to put some effort and time into 100% completing it if possible. Of course, if someone just cares about story/lore and gameplay, they don't need to complete it 100%.
However I have been playing less and less RPGs, even though it is my favourite genre - they already were very long in past console generations, but nowadays with the trend to make games "full of content" they are even longer. Most RPGs used to be 30-60 hours for 100% completion, but now most are 100-300+ hours for the same progression. I will make an exception to Persona 5 no matter how long it is because I love the Shin Megami Tensei series and Final Fantasy 15, but will wait for a PC version of it.
As for Dark Souls 3 specifically, I really believe it's more "accessible" than the previous games. From Software improved upon the Dark Souls 1 and 2 formula and added some elements from Bloodborne (which is also very accessible) as well. You can think of it like a more polished - ultimate - version of the Souls' games' mechanics. A lot of Souls veterans consider Dark Souls 3 to be better than Bloodborne, though that's highly subjective, it might help influence someone on the fence if they played Bloodborne.
But it's also good to bear in mind that the Souls games aren't for everyone, so while I highly recommend Dark Souls 3, it might be better to wait for a big discount. If on Steam, you can play the game for almost 2 hours and get a refund if you don't like it, though I would advise against only trying the game for 2 hours because that wouldn't give the best impression of the game's mechanics.
Another alternative is to put it on a "Wish List" and wait till a Steam Summer/Winter Sale, a PSN or XLive discount or even next year when the price will be very cheap. Souls games usually drop in price quickly.
As a bonus, Driftwood is enjoying Dark Souls 3 a lot and he wasn't a Souls games' fan before - hopefully, he is one now. You should probably watch the other videos Driftwood made of his PC playthrough (links below):
http://www.gamersyde.com/news_our_pc_videos_of_dar...
http://www.gamersyde.com/news_dark_souls_iii_is_ba...
They're quite nice and show that the game is actually quite easy in the beginning, and don't worry, it doesn't get much harder in the later locations because while enemies are stronger, you will have leveled up your character a lot, have much better gear, and will have a lot of experience in how to handle most situations. The game only gets harder in New Game+ playthroughs, but not by much since a lot of things like your stats, gear, upgrades, etc carry over and you can acquire even better gear that's only availabe in New Game+.
So all in all, Dark Souls games aren't that hard, and Dark Souls 3 is probably the best of them all for new players to the series or people who didn't enjoy past entries much. Also, the Souls community is extremely helpful and there's a lot of guides and walkthroughs if you get stuck and need some help.
Sorry this got very long, but I hope this helps you make a decision about Dark Souls 3 in a positive way.
Her long combos will probably drain the stamina quickly if trying to block the attacks.
Her long combos will probably drain the stamina quickly if trying to block the attacks.
Don't think you need much farming either tbh. Doing a base level run of the game right now, and the only thing i'm really missing currently is the HP. Damage is compensated with Raw infusion for almost the entire game, don't ever block anyway so stamina isn't a problem, and the game is so generous with the equipload that i don't feel bothered either.
But yeah, Dark Souls 3 is probably the easiest Souls game.
Is metal slug then, not a hard game? You can just feed it quarters. Is Contra not hard because you can win if you use the 30 lives code?
Knight now is the class for the game events and journalists, so they won't have much problems.
I just went to the farron Keep - it wont be an Souls game without an area full of poison shit lol.
That said, absolutely loving it. So many similar things to Bloodborne, which is a plus imo - enemies, locations. Unless it turns into crap later, probably will end up as my second or third favourite game in series after DS1 and demon's.
btw There are not many chests to find at all and i don't think i have a full set of decent armour yet, much like bloodborne. I think i found only one chest after 8+ hours. Not sure how i feel about that.
Also seems like the idea of burning corpses and creating a bonfire at random places is out from the final game? I have not read or watched anything after first few trailers, so noticed that right away.
If you are already at Farron Keep and havent found a full set yet, you need to explore more. You've missed several :)