Dark Souls Review (Pulover)
The game that single handedly shaped my mentality about life. If it not had been for Dark Souls, I would be an entirely different person, I believe. Dark Souls I, II, and III are often called difficult games and thus people may not play it, or don't see the real values behind them. Dark Souls is not just a difficult game. It has a much deeper meaning to tell you, which depend on the difficulty.
First of all, by continuously doing the impossible, beating our way through the enemies which killed you so many times, we develop a new kind of mentality about problems and thereby think about them differently. Furthermore, after going through the PVE many times as I did in my 800 hours of Dark Souls PTDE, fighting enemies become a sort of relaxing dance, as I dodged through their moveset from muscle memory.
Second, in the dark world of Lordran and Lothric, we quickly realise that we are all alone, while everyone is dying around us with the world itself. We can be invaded, lose all our progress, however, in the most dark times there is a small light of fire, we see ghosts of other players, know that they are fighting their way through this world too, who can help us through summoning with our enemies. Thus we realize that we are not alone.
Third, I truly believe the lore of Dark Souls is a masterpiece. I believe that Miyazaki, the man behind Demon's Souls, Sekiro, Bloodborne and Elden Ring is an artist whose paintings can be experienced in a video game format. The lore of Dark Souls is unique. It is utterly dark, yet comforting. It is about the natural cycles of life. The storytelling is different in a way that pieces are scattered throughout item descriptions, the levels, and the world building itself. Nowadays this kind of storytelling is rare, and because it doesn't straight up tell you everything, you have to puzzle it yourself, and the community is all up for it: VaatiVidya's lore videos explain everything well. Everyone comprehends the lore differently, I heard many theories from people that said that these natural cycles of light and dark and their disruption can be compared with mankind's evolution, their lust for power and global warming for instance. The DLC ending of Dark Souls III, which connects the lore finishes it, is one of the most artistic and frightening things at the same time for me. Dark Souls I is like the perfect foundation, a stepping stone for III.
Which game should you try first? It depends, Dark Souls RE (or PTDE if you have it) might be a bit clunky or too slow paced nowadays. It has vertical levels and it has the most difficult layout out of the three. It is still beautiful, and this may be a good choice if you are interested in the lore, because the first game tells the basic lore, then the third really explains everything and extends it. The vertical level design is absolutely fantastic, and is truly mind-blowing when you realise that the whole world is connected, and that giant tree you see in the distance is actually a playable area. Dark Souls III on the other hand, is very fast paced, more dark toned. I would actually recommend new players to try out Dark Souls III first as it might be easier to get into because it is more linear, less clunky, and it is also more popular. Doesn't matter which game you choose, between DS I and III, both are amazing. DS II was good too, but it didn't give back that same feeling as the other two, and it is clearly very very different, also frustrating, because the difficulty curve comes from bad enemy placements.
Some technical information: These games have a huge array of mods, which are seriously amazing. Just don't forget that you have to play offline to not get banned! If you want to do a coop playthrough with your friend, you can do that. If you are also interested in PVP, great, the community is still active! Especially Dark Souls III, I get constant invasions even today.
All in all, you should play Dark Souls, it has very strong psychological effects, like the sense of accomplishment felt when you finally beat that boss which took hours. The lore is unique and carries meaning. I particularly like Miyazaki's storytelling. These days more and more people say that Dark Souls had a big impact on their life, and I am no different. After all these years I still couldn't get over Dark Souls. Remember guys, don't go hollow! Thank You Miyazaki :)
This review came from heart, thanks for all the awards!