When I first heard of this game in 2022 I knew I wanted to play it. It was everything I love in a video game, the fantasy genre with the open-world format. I also learned it was designed by Game of Thrones writer George R. Martin. However the game was released strictly for the PlayStation console which I did not have until recently. I had all but forgotten about this game until I bought a PlayStation 5 last Black Friday. I saw the game on sale for $20 and decided it would be my next full emersion game (after a 1-year hiatus since playing Assassin's Creed Mirage). Of course even as I bought the game I was aware that it was considered one of the most difficult games of all time. However I knew with some patience and the support of Google and YouTube I could get thru it.
The Game Play
This being the first Dark Souls game I ever played, I wasn't familiar at all with the format. Early on I found myself quite lost on what to do and getting killed far too easily. I then of course had to turn to Google and YouTube videos (quite frequently) to better understand the importance of statistics. Just like many games these days, leveling up the character and weapons is vital to survive. The hero in this game is very customizable not only their looks but also their statistical skills. A gamer essentially can chose their play style, whether it be one of melee warrior combat, or a magical sorcerer, to anything in between. I chose the path of the warrior.
The key attributes to a character are their vigor, mind, endurance, strength, dexterity, intelligence, faith, and arcane. These attributes can be upgraded after collecting sufficient runes, which will also upgrade the character's level. If your character is more the warrior build like mine, then you want to upgrade their vigor, endurance, and strength attributes. If you prefer the magical route, then the attributes of intelligence, faith, and arcane are the way to go. I honestly hardly tapped into the magical elements in this game, and could see how someone would consider a second run thru of the entire game with a completely different character build.
This victorious feeling was short lived however, after advancing from Stormveil Castle into Lurnia and the Academy of Raya Lucaria. I'm not sure why it is, but something about magic often gives me the creeps. That was the case in Skyrim, Witcher, and definitely the case in this game. I won't lie some of my early tactics were just to run to the save spots known as the Sites of Grace. In the Academy I had to defeat two more epic bosses including the Red Wolf and the moon queen Rennalla. I found Rennalla to be extremely difficult and after many hours I simply could not beat her, and had go to bed in defeat. I remember being so frustrated at work the next day just waiting to get home and give her another chance. This time I had done my research and was much more familiar with her tactics. It was once again a very rewarding feeling to defeat her.
There are many forms of weapons in this game catering to one's play style. The character can equip multiple melee options and magical items during combat. I would often have a sword in one hand, shield in the other, with my health flask. I found the arrow and throwing knives did too little damage to be worthwhile. For magic I would frequently call upon my stead Torrent and my spirit ashes to aid me in battle. For half the game I used the Jellyfish spirit ash, until switching over to the Mimic spirit ash. I also found the finger seal to be helpful in casting magical cures for poison or scarlet rot. The armor was also an important way to upgrade one's defense which I changed frequently. Once I discovered my weapon of choice the Bloodhound Fang and maxed out it's level, I was finally able to easily defeat enemies.
I was quite shocked at how the difficulty went up a notch in the snow mountains just as I thought I was cruising along. It was fighting the fire giant, that reminded me of some of the extreme frustrations I experienced early on in this game. I remember fighting him on Super Bowl Sunday, and missing a good portion of the game because I could not rest in peace. I was so happy to finally kill him after many hours of battle that day, and thankful I didn't have to go into work defeated (as I did with Queen Rennalla). I quickly met my match once again however at Castle Sol when having to face Commander Niall and his two ghostly knights. After many attempts I was not able to beat this boss, and had to go to bed very upset. It was not until the next day that I defeated him, just barely I remember. After this the frustration continued in the Consecrated Snowfields where I died many times trying to navigate thru the heavy winds and fog.
From here I went to the realm of the Crumbling Farum Azule, which was also very difficult region to navigate with it's storm winds and powerful enemies. The legendary boss here was surprisingly not all that difficult for me and I defeated Maliketh, the Black Blade after only a few tries. From there I knew it was time to face the final leg of the game by returning to the capital of Leyndell that was now covered in ash from the burning Erdtree. I think by this point I was at around level 120 as I prepared to face the final string of bosses. I was not surprised to see Sir Gideon, who had once counseled me at the Royal Table, awaiting to challenge me. He was actually an easy win, followed by another easy boss in Godfrey the First Elden Lord. I of course knew it couldn't be that easy and boy was I right when I came face to face with Radagan of the Golden Order.
As I mentioned in the intro, what I loved most about the game was the incredible setting and the graphics. However I honestly found the story to be quite disappointing and lackluster. From the onset this hero known as a tarnished is very alone in this mysterious world. His character is quite weak without any backstory and showing no emotions aside from his ambition to be elden lord. I mentioned earlier that the game doesn't have many friendlies, and the few are very minimal who often fade away into nothingness. Such as Melina who appears to be a guide at the Sites of Grace, but not much comes of her. Or the blacksmith troll Hewg at the Round Table, and his apprentice Roderika neither of which offer much positive affirmation. There's some interesting side quest stories such as Ranni the Witch or Nepheli Loux the warrior, but there quite few-and-far between. I didn't even know who the main villain was all throughout the game.
Once I came to understand my preferred character build, I started moving thru the game at a better pace. That is until I got to Stormveil Castle, where I reached my first of several waves of intense frustration. I was killed many times by the boss Margit the Fell Omen, who kept "putting my foolish ambitions to rest". Defeating him was my first great achievement, but then I struggled to navigate the labyrinth of Stormveil Castle. I was killed constantly by the demon soldiers and flying eagles with knives and explosives attached to their talons. Furthermore I just did not know where to go until I turned to some YouTube guidance. I finally made it to Godrick the Grafted, who was twice as difficult as Margit and the frustration continued. I believe those first days I played this game I had serious doubts, of whether I was up for this, but I pressed on and finally beat Godrick. From there I was fully engaged and knew there was no turning back.
From this point on I explored quite a bit, eager to level up my character so as to stand a better chance against these wicked creatures. I found there was hardly a friendly place or person on the map to have a decent conversation with. Even the merchants weren't very friendly and the refuge Royal Table had a dark grim feel to it. The game has a funny juxtaposition to have such a beautiful heavenly setting inhabited only by the most vile and wicked creatures imaginable. Nonetheless I still enjoyed to explore every corner of the map, even the caves and undergrounds which had many important weapons and items.
I next took on the dragon-scored region known as Caelid with it's horrifying giant birds, dogs, and dragons galore. I was actually easily able to navigate thru the Castle Redmane and defeated the legendary boss Radahn after only about 10 tries. I then went to the Volcano Manor to easily defeat Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy. After this string of easy victories, I had assumed I was going to easily make it thru the finish without anymore frustrations but that was not to be the case. I marched into the royal capital Leyndell like a conquering hero, and had some challenges navigated but was easily able to defeat Margit once again. I then journeyed to the snowy mountains of the giants where suddenly everything got very difficult once again. I quickly found I would have to hault my main quest campaign to continue to explore and level up my character some more.
From here voyaging into the fiery realm known as the Mohgwyn Palace wasn't really all that bad. I once again easily defeated the epic boss, Mohg Lord of the Blood after only a handful of attempts. I then went to the breathtaking realm known as Miquella's Haligtree, and wish I could have just explored this mythical tree kingdom in peace. Of course the villains were once again extremely difficult and I found I had to rush thru to get to saving points. After struggling to get thru this region, it was not surprising that the boss here was one of the most challenging yet. I had heard from Sir Gideon that Malenia, Blade of Miquella was the only undefeated goddess, and this powerful Valkyrie lived up to the hype. It took me many hours to defeat this boss, and I found her phase 1 to actually be more challenging then her phase 2. It was only after I defeated her that I later found out she was an optional boss to the main questline.
I spent over five hours attempting to beat this guy to no success, using every tool in my playbook. And on the few times I made it to his 2nd phase, known as the Elden Beast, I found to be even more challenging. I went to bed that night defeated for a third time in this game (thankfully it was a Friday night). I decided the next day I had to upgrade my attributes some more and improved my character to around level 130. This time I was able to beat Radagan a lot easier and realized I could use Torrent to fight against the Elden Beast. I was so happy when I finally defeated this epic boss. The thrill was enhanced as this was the most challenging fight in the entire game, but even more so it meant that I had officially beaten the game. My ending was the Age of the Stars where I summoned Ranni the Witch to rule over the Lands Between in a complete new era. I suppose this was because I fully completed her quest, but I personally would have rather been the sole Elden Lord.
Overall Review
I'm not for sure how much time I spent playing other games, but this one likely ranked as the most at about 140 hours (and I might still do a little more exploring before wrapping it up). I believe the time spent on this game is is no doubt a testament to how much I enjoyed the game. Although I found it to be extremely difficult, I think that's what made it all the more enjoyable. It was that desire to succeed which sometimes drove me to madness but I always knew I could do it, and in the end I was able to overcome it all and that was such a great feeling. I don't think I've ever played such an engaging game as this aside from Zelda: Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom.
Aside from it's vague story, I still really enjoyed the fantasy setting and could see how someone could dive deeper in this Dark Souls lore. For me what I especially loved about the game was the freedom to go about it as you choose. I never felt so unsure of where to go next in a game. This was somewhat overwhelming given the enormous size of this map but also quite liberating. I actually did have to refer to an online forum of the best route to take in this game, given that some areas require higher levels. I must confess had it not been for these online forums and video tips I may have not made it thru this game. But even with all these tips, it was without question the most difficult game I ever played. As for it's overall ranking, I would have to think it thru, but would likely have it in my all time top ten.
No comments:
Post a Comment