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So since I didn't want to resurrect an old thread and this is about two weeks until release, anyone else stupid excited for this game? First, the original director is back, so hopefully this will be closer to the Dark Souls 1 that stole my heart. 2 was fun and Bloodborne was different, but nothing held a candle to the eloquence of DS1. It was a king among kings. Second, anyone else trying to hold off spoiling it for themselves? I know a bunch of release copies were given away/obtained by Youtubers and a couple of my favorite Let's Players are currently running it. While I really want to watch it, I'm trying to go in as spoiler free as I did with DS1.

Who else is stoked for this?

Wife pre-ordered it for me along with Dark Souls 2 (which should be arriving in a couple of hours). Working my way through the first game right now and am loving it.

Bit late on the DS bandwagon, but glad I tried it out for sure!

By the way, my pre-order for a PS4 copy says release date is the 12th, next week.

Definitely. DS2 was fun, but it feels a bit tiresome (it wasn't the same director). It was a great game, but not the same mindblowing experience DS 1 was.

Not really excited at the moment. But that's more due to the fact, that I don't watch any news or Youtube videos on it to avoid spoilering

For me, DS1 was a far better game in terms of mechanics and level design. But DS2's world, story and atmosphere were far superior. Drangleic Castle, Huntman's Copse, searching for Kind Vendrick (and finding him!), the king's mad brother, best NPC you meet repeatedly (Lucatiel of Mirrah), way to Mirror Knight and the Mirror Knight itself, Harvest Valley... I loved the whole game, basically.
Can't say the same about Dark Souls 1. Yes, it's great, but there are not that many moments were I had shivers run down my spine or watched in awe as a fuckton of dragons circled above my head.

Eagerly awaiting the release.

I've beaten the series in reverse order so far (Bloodborne, then DKSII) and now I'm going through DKSI before moving onto DKSIII. I hope that the Demon Souls remake/remaster turns out to be true, so I can play that without needing to find/buy a PS3.

Any addition to this series is going to excite me.

Dark souls one, I bought without knowing anything at all about the souls series and bought it on a whim because the name and cover were cool. It was the best impulse decision of my life.

Now I'm slightly worried they might take a direction I won't enjoy as much, I would hate for the game to speed up too much and make it feel arcadey. Other than that, I'm incredibly excited and am determined to go in blind like I did when I started the journey.

It seems it'll be the last miyazaki Souls.

I'm also not so pumped about it as I was for DaS2, which I liked so much as to buy it basically 2 times on PC(on release and SoFS).

DaS was such an amazing game for both worldbuilding and gameplay.
DaS 2 had better gameplay. More viable builds, more challenge runs. 100% less Lost Izalith(which I hate), and worldbuilding wasn't as amazing as his predecessor.

If bloodborne is the future of the series I'll be disappointed, since I'm not the biggest fan of the mechanics there.

I'll pick up DaS3 during summer, since for the moment I'm busy with Elite

Maybe someone can explain it to me (or maybe not), but what's the attraction behind Dark Souls? I mean, I've played 1 and 2 (not to their completion, but I've seen it done), and all I can see is a story that makes no sense coupled with a difficulty that is beyond my level of patience.

I'm not attacking the game, or those who like it, I just don't understand the love this series gets. I tried Dark Souls lite (Lords of the Fallen)and couldn't even stand that, maybe it's something with me then? Is there some online resource or secret I've been missing out on? I'd genuinely like to know because people that love this series really do LOVE the series.

I didn't get the hype either. Seemed to be just another hack and slash with the difficulty ramped up to frustrating.

Then I played the first game. It was frustrating. But something about it made me want to go back and try again. I didn't let myself give up because then the game would win. I wanted to beat that enemy that got me last because it pissed me off otherwise. I now love the game, because the game makes me hate it. It makes me want to try killing the same guy 50 times because when I finally DO kill him, the victory is oh so sweet.

You have to shift your mentality back to the games of yesteryear, where you didn't expect your hand to be held and you expected to keep doing things over again after you died until you finally got there. And you expected to die. Lots. And it was ok. It was part of learning the level and learning the boss, so that next time you'd nail it.

Oh and the atmosphere. Bleak, foreboding, unforgiving. The whole thing reeks of despair. But every now and again you'll find the faint glimmer of hope, a spark of joy. While many other games use these themes, Dark Souls manages to relay them unlike any other game, and it is curiously attractive.

It's not a game for everyone, but don't fall into the trap of quitting once you've died a few times. Stick with it, and you may find yourself enjoying it more than you thought you would.

Lords of the Fallen is garbage compared to souls.

The appeal is the immense depth of the story (which won't make much sense unless you either really really think about it or read a bunch of armour/weapon/item descriptions), the artistic depth of the environments + setting in general, the difficulty that is very much a "training your mind" kind of difficulty that has a giant ceiling of attainable skill, the immense depth in the combat system due to every weapon changing your attack style/speed/power/effects, the puzzles of the side quest events, the minimalist plot, the difficulty producing a large sense of accomplishment, and the customization options that really help you play the game how you want and almost always have a way to beat anything.

It's one of the best, most complete games I could imagine.

 Frankenberry wrote:
Maybe someone can explain it to me (or maybe not), but what's the attraction behind Dark Souls? I mean, I've played 1 and 2 (not to their completion, but I've seen it done), and all I can see is a story that makes no sense coupled with a difficulty that is beyond my level of patience.

I'm not attacking the game, or those who like it, I just don't understand the love this series gets. I tried Dark Souls lite (Lords of the Fallen)and couldn't even stand that, maybe it's something with me then? Is there some online resource or secret I've been missing out on? I'd genuinely like to know because people that love this series really do LOVE the series.

I've been playing FromSoft games on and off since Project Phantasma, so I'm kind of a fanboy, but...

Smooth beautiful gameplay does it for me. Mechanically it is as good as it gets and suits my tastes for an action RPG.

I'm also a monster hunter fan, so I also like the fact that to beat something you have to pay attention to it, but unlike monster hunter I never had to farm anything.
I hated shadows of mordor because the combat played itself and i didn't feel like I was actually doing anything aside from QTE.

The story and characters in DemonSouls and DarkSouls were actually good.

More than anything it was good to be challenged in a videogame when basically everything else in the industry holds your hand from start to finish.

 Nostromodamus wrote:
You have to shift your mentality back to the games of yesteryear, where you didn't expect your hand to be held and you expected to keep doing things over again after you died until you finally got there. And you expected to die. Lots. And it was ok. It was part of learning the level and learning the boss, so that next time you'd nail it.

That's pretty much it right there.

I don't think most people, especially those that grew up on seventh generation consoles, realize just how much modern games hand-hold the player. Just look at all of the games with linear paths, quick time events, automatic health recovery, minimaps/compasses, etc. Dark Souls doesn't do any of that and a lot of people find that refreshing. Being punished by the game for dying sucks, but it makes you try harder to not die. You could say that instead of punishing the player for dying, it rewards you for paying attention and playing carefully.

 Hanskrampf wrote:
Not really excited at the moment. But that's more due to the fact, that I don't watch any news or Youtube videos on it to avoid spoilering

For me, DS1 was a far better game in terms of mechanics and level design. But DS2's world, story and atmosphere were far superior. Drangleic Castle, Huntman's Copse, searching for Kind Vendrick (and finding him!), the king's mad brother, best NPC you meet repeatedly (Lucatiel of Mirrah), way to Mirror Knight and the Mirror Knight itself, Harvest Valley... I loved the whole game, basically.
Can't say the same about Dark Souls 1. Yes, it's great, but there are not that many moments were I had shivers run down my spine or watched in awe as a fuckton of dragons circled above my head.

I loved DS2's environments and weapon builds, but I thought DS1 had a lot of great moments. Don't get me wrong, DS2 had some truly impressive atmosphere, but a lot of it felt slapped together thematically. DS1 felt like an entirely connected world, even if I hated parts of it (Blight Town, feth that fething place). Plus I thought the bosses in DS1 were more impressive. I mean Grave Lord Nito, Seath the Scaleless, the Abyssal Kings, the Lord of Cinder, they all felt just ass kicking. Few of the DS2 bosses held that sort of impression for me.

I'm excited for Dark Souls 3, but I'm going from Bloodborne to it and worried about 1) muscle memory for the controls and 2) going back to using a shield

 Nostromodamus wrote:
I didn't get the hype either. Seemed to be just another hack and slash with the difficulty ramped up to frustrating.

Then I played the first game. It was frustrating. But something about it made me want to go back and try again. I didn't let myself give up because then the game would win. I wanted to beat that enemy that got me last because it pissed me off otherwise. I now love the game, because the game makes me hate it. It makes me want to try killing the same guy 50 times because when I finally DO kill him, the victory is oh so sweet.

You have to shift your mentality back to the games of yesteryear, where you didn't expect your hand to be held and you expected to keep doing things over again after you died until you finally got there. And you expected to die. Lots. And it was ok. It was part of learning the level and learning the boss, so that next time you'd nail it.

Oh and the atmosphere. Bleak, foreboding, unforgiving. The whole thing reeks of despair. But every now and again you'll find the faint glimmer of hope, a spark of joy. While many other games use these themes, Dark Souls manages to relay them unlike any other game, and it is curiously attractive.

It's not a game for everyone, but don't fall into the trap of quitting once you've died a few times. Stick with it, and you may find yourself enjoying it more than you thought you would.

Yeah, that's everything I've heard about the series, but I just can't find myself to be interested enough to try, honestly. My brother is a fan of the series, so I know a bit about it, but from what I know and understand, the games seem to actively punish people for playing it.

I mean, it's hard. Sure, if you're into that, I guess. But when the boss stomps you flat, not only do you have to fight him again, but you have to fight you way to him through dozens of enemies. Consumables aren't replenishable, except at checkpoints, which respawns all enemies. Hell, in bloodborne, you have to farm for consumables - that would piss me off, I think. It's bad enough getting killed, losing xp and all your progress, but when you burn all your health potions in the attempt and have to go farm them for an hour just to try again........man, that does not sound like fun. At all. Not even a little bit.

Then you throw in the fact there is no story (or they barely tell you about it in game) and there's no sort of tutorial, guidance, maps, direction, etc......it just sounds like it's actively trying to be unpleasant. I mean, would witcher 3 and fallout 4 be better games if they didn't have a story or a map, and forced you to wander around until you figured out what you're supposed to be doing, what your quest is and where it is located?

And in the end.......when the game doesn't tell you the story, where to go, what to do, or even how to do it, do you just power through it all and just 'git gud'? Or to you just look everything up? That's not a rhetorical question - I'm honestly curious to know if people just blunder around blindly until something good happens or if they look up how to play and where to go. Because if the latter, than what was the point of not including that information in the game? Just to be inconvenient?

Anyways. I've heard a lot about the series, but from what I understand, the learning curve is akin to a brick wall topped with razor wire, and on the other side the gameplay of is like trying to hike through miles and miles of shoulder-deep bog. And......hell. That doesn't sound like fun to me.

But that's just one filthy casual's opinion. Hate to spoil it for anyone else.

Both Dark Souls titles have a story, but it's not told in the usual way. It's told through connections. The few NPCs have each a few lines. Some of them alter, as you progress through the game. Item descriptions tell you bits of stories. The rest is combination.
Someone tells you about Tarkus the Black and that he was on his way to Anor Londo. You can find his summon sign near the Golem in Sen's Foretress. You ascend to Anor Londo. And you find his corpse, plunged to death.
There are lots of little bits of story, both of minor characters and the overall story. You have to connect them or watch Youtube videos and let people connect them for you (I recommend EpicNameBro and VaatiVidya). They just show you how much clues you missed in the game.
Miyazaki said in an interview (I think it was printed in the Dark Souls 1 Design Works book), that he watched western fantasy movies as a child. His English was lacking, so he was missing parts of the story and had to bridge the gaps in his mind. And that is the best explanation of what the game does. It gives you bits of stories, often hiding or even missing the connection to the whole.

As a game, it's not that hard. But it has a brutal learning curve. Even the Asylum demon in the "tutorial" will whoop your ass when you play it for the first time. But, and that is the main argument why it's a fantastic game, it's never unfair. Traps can always be spotted, enemies always be defeated. You don't have to die a single time (even the first encounter with Seath doesn't have to end in your death). It will always be because you made a mistake, and be it only a tiny one.
You also only will get lost, if you don't talk with NPCs. It's not an open world, either the level design is straight up leading you or you will have some clue to go on, be it a key to a locked door you encountered earlier.


@jreilly89: DS1's world was certainly more connected and felt like a whole. So many shortcuts! DS2 did take that away through allowing porting to bonfires from the beginning.
I agree, boss design was lacking in DS2, though it wouldn't say DS1 bosses were more impressive. I hated Nito, his undead minions were just annoying and made me run a full circle before hitting Nito a few times, then run another circle. Abyssal Kings were just a DPS race and had literally no design, Gwynn was one of the easiest bosses. Whoever thought it would be a good idea to make his attacks so predictable to parrying should be slapped a few times. Even the Balder Knights managed to throw you off by altering their attack speed mid-swing.

 Kap'n Krump wrote:
Hell, in bloodborne, you have to farm for consumables

I've never had to farm for Blood Vials or bullets - any you pick up when you're holding the maximum amount are sent to storage, and you're swimming in them after a little while.

Also when you return to the hub, your Vials and bullets are automatically replenished from storage, so you don't need to fiddle around. But I don't know why they didn't have a 'Blood Flask' or something instead of Blood Vials, it wouldn't have made much difference. I guess they didn't want the characters chugging blood like beer

For those of you who had trouble understanding the story of Dark Souls.

I'd say watch vaatividya's videos if you want the full DS story. He goes into depth for every single character.

preloaded, fun times. One day, four hours until release!

I was lucky enough to have my copy arrive on Saturday!

I've played around 3 hours so far, initial impressions are good. The first "proper"area is the same as in the beta test so it was very familiar, except the boss was different (thankfully less tough!).

No online play yet, roll on Tuesday when I can start to be invaded...and invade of course

My Dark Souls 3 is pre-loaded and ready. I'm eagerly awaiting the release hour so I can hit play!

"This game will unlock in approximately 10 hours"

Ooohh, tomorrow's morning at work will be so much fun

"This game will unlock in approximately 9 hours"

Stop teasing me, Steam!

Not sure if I want to do my standard starter of a guts run on this one, or go with a more basic character with 1h sword and buckler.

I'll probably go with my usual. High strength, high vit, high endurance, axe or sword and a shield. Maybe dabble in faith if I see something cool (or until I realize they nerfed the feth out of it, ala DS2. Seriously, the faith/strength build was amazing, until they realized lightning could 2 shot bosses and they made it useless)

I only played DS2, and was iffy about it. I am however, getting DS1 for the PC, and will probably get DS3 for the PS4 if I enjoy DS1. My main issue with DS2 is I didn't have much of a reason to go on, IE I didn't really notice a story, but that could have also been because I never got very far.

 infinite_array wrote:
For those of you who had trouble understanding the story of Dark Souls.

Hilarious. But, because I have zero knowledge of anything happening, not very helpful.

Did get me interested in the guy's youtube channel though, so there's that.

For basic understanding of Dark Souls parts 1 and 2, without spoilers:

You died. And yet didn't die. Cause you're a zombie now. But as long as you have willpower to continue on, or the souls of other zombies, you are sentient. When you die, you drop your souls-- portions of the core of your being, of your humanity, but as long as you have the will to go on, you can regain what was lost. All zombies, like you, are drawn to mysterious kingdoms that seem cursed by fate, and you make your way through the kingdoms trying to find out the mystery of your undeath and the mysteries of the world around you. These cursed realms seem to have a... cavalier way with causality and time, as well, which you might notice when you die or rest at the mysterious Bonfires (gameplay wise, it's an excuse to have some enemies respawn). Along your way you will become stronger smarter, wiser, faster, or all of the above than you ever could have been while living, and accomplish astounding feats the likes of which make Heracles look like a sissy.

Oh, and you'll die a lot. But it's okay to die. Get up. Try again. Walk through the fog, and welcome death, like a moth flittering towards a flame. Vereor nox.

Storywise, that's the most spoiler-free way I can summarize it.

 Melissia wrote:
For basic understanding of Dark Souls parts 1 and 2, without spoilers:

You died. And yet didn't die. Cause you're a zombie now. But as long as you have willpower to continue on, or the souls of other zombies, you are sentient. When you die, you drop your souls-- portions of the core of your being, of your humanity, but as long as you have the will to go on, you can regain what was lost. All zombies, like you, are drawn to mysterious kingdoms that seem cursed by fate, and you make your way through the kingdoms trying to find out the mystery of your undeath and the mysteries of the world around you. These cursed realms seem to have a... cavalier way with causality and time, as well, which you might notice when you die or rest at the mysterious Bonfires (gameplay wise, it's an excuse to have some enemies respawn). Along your way you will become stronger smarter, wiser, faster, or all of the above than you ever could have been while living, and accomplish astounding feats the likes of which make Heracles look like a sissy.

Oh, and you'll die a lot. But it's okay to die. Get up. Try again. Walk through the fog, and welcome death, like a moth flittering towards a flame. Vereor nox.

Storywise, that's the most spoiler-free way I can summarize it.

Chakka. Spoiler free: everything was good when the fire was lit, but now the fire's gone and everything is dying/decaying. Someone needs to relight the fire.

Well, that's part of the opening plot for dark souls 1 yes. Second one varied more, and I imagine third one will as well, they're not cookie-cutter games.

Steam Updater actually told me "Ready to Launch in approximately: over a year"