Overall, though, what makes the online gameplay for Dark Souls cool is that it merges both online and story into one lane. You're going to journey alone, but in reality, you aren't alone, as messages and jolly cooperators are there to help. Plus, it's just fun to play alongside other players. After beating the area boss, I always enjoy trying to help others in need. Once the boss is finished off, you will be rolling solo again just like that, and you can progress your story.
The only downside is that if there is a certain enemy or mini-boss that you still want to beat, you will not be able to summon help because the area boss was beaten. Playing the role of helper is also an amazing way to rack up your souls. Keep fighting alongside fellow players, and you'll be leveling up in no time, as each boss rewards you handsomely.
If you're a PvP player, then just keep those eyeballs glued to the ground for red summon signs. Be prepared for an epic duel. This sorta goes back to the classic gameplay concept of boss-to-boss, and Dark Souls nails it. All of that hard work trying to reach Anor Londo The battle with Sif pictured is one of the more visually stunning boss battles ever. Not to mention that Sif is just one of the coolest bosses ever. A giant wolf wielding a sword?
Overall, though, the game is littered with amazing and difficult bosses. Each one also fits perfectly into its respective area. When you enter into each area after figuring out the game's pattern, you might ask yourself, "I wonder who the boss is that protects this land? Her all-white robe, hair, tail, as well as her mystique, plant her beautifully on the snowy canvas of the Painted World of Ariamis.
Entering the painting, you knew the boss battle was going to be of "magical" proportions. The amazing thing is that each boss is so different from each other.
It's almost as if you're playing two or maybe three separate games. Just when you think you know the type of boss you're about to battle, guess again. The boss battles are the juice in Dark Souls , and the reward for beating each one is always a treat. Not only are you advancing in the game, but you can also rock their gear and use their weapons. The game has taken the meaning of "boss" to a whole new level. Being a golf geek, I like to use this analogy: you can either "lay up" and play it safe by summoning a fellow chosen undead, or you can go for the target and take the boss head-on by yourself.
The choice is yours, but don't be afraid to summon someone, as "jolly cooperation" is one of the pleasures of Dark Souls. Ahh yes, one of the most iconic checkpoints in video game history, the first installment of Dark Souls introduced us to the bonfire.
After so many intense battles, pressure moments, and deaths especially falling off ledges , the bonfire was there to help us relieve stress and dry off our sweaty palms. When our gear and weapons were exhausted after being used so many times, we could rely on the bonfire to repair our stuff. When things needed upgrading, the burning coiled sword was there as well. In short, there may be nothing more iconic in Dark Souls than the bonfire, and it would always come through in the clutch in time of need unless you're in New Londo Ruins -- then you're screwed.
It shouldn't surprise you that Dark Souls is a dark game. After all, it has the word "Dark" in the game's title. Taking a closer look, we see that the original Dark Souls is darker than its successors.
This could be a reason to like or dislike the game, but it seems like Dark Souls could've benefited from better lighting. As you daringly progress through Dark Souls , it becomes abundantly clear that the game provides few favors.
This foe is practically undefeatable because of his thick scale armor, immense damage, and health points. It's small subtleties like the Hellkite Dragon miniboss that separate Dark Souls from other action role-playing games. Progression is not easy, and there are few tutorials to aid progression. The original Dark Souls might have the worst loot system of any Dark Souls game because of the reliance on certain items. One can get through the majority of the early game wielding a Drake Sword.
The fact that seemingly negligible items like the Master Key can drastically change the playthrough experience is less than ideal. On the other hand, Dark Souls 3 has a more refined loot system that encourages you to use different weapons and gear. Dark Souls' boss fights are among the most epic in video games.
Behind bosses, there can be a rich backstory. An example would be the Great Grey Wolf Sif, who was once Artorias the Abysswalker's partner before choosing to guard his fallen comrade's grave.
Another unforgettable fight was against the Taurus Demon atop the castle. Climbing the ladder and moving in for an aerial attack was one strategy to beat the Taurus Demon. Put simply, Blightttown is often lamented as one of the worst, most unengaging, and unrewardingly difficult areas in the Souls series, if not gaming as a whole — a sentiment echoed by many gamers the world over.
Peering carefully out the door, I found a grooved track where the boulders were rolling by, every eight or so seconds like clockwork, giving me a narrow window to run up the track and look for an exit. Naturally, I found one. When I discovered that I could reroute the boulders myself, I wondered if this was a puzzle—say, I would have to send the boulders down the chutes in a certain order to unlock the next path. While the boulders will knock through a couple of walls to open secret rooms, figuring that out is strictly optional.
To stick a new kind of puzzle in the middle of this game would be disruptive. Even the players who like that kind of puzzle would have to change their frame of reference and dust off a set of skills that nothing else in the game has used.
See for example the inventory puzzle in the middle of Portal 2 : the player has to grab a turret and drop it into a scanner in a weapons factory, in order to trick the assembly line. This puzzle is so incongruous that the voiceover almost immediately gives away the answer, to keep the player from stalling out. The fourth and last set swings over the narrowest catwalk, in the highest point in the fortress, with the worst angle to check out how much space you have between the blades.
It would be about as bad as dropping your ice cream cone on a summer day. In Dark Souls , you have to pay attention to the floor. You can fall off the edges of cliffs, or shimmy along a narrow ledge to a treasure. In Dark Souls , the bonfires are your checkpoint system.
When you rest at a bonfire, it becomes your home base; if you get killed, you wake up back at your last bonfire and head out to try again. Bonfires usually appear out in the open, with the consistency of highway rest stops.
But once in a while, the designers decide to hide a bonfire, or block it off with a gate. But like I said, find the bonfire, and the entire dynamic changes. Now you have a waypoint at the edge of the roof.
You finally have time to explore. Dark Souls has been praised for its backstory—or as Tom Bissell put it , for not telling you what the backstory is. To a limited extent, Dark Souls practices environmental storytelling.
The game takes place in a ruined civilization—you can see that just by looking at the buildings. The few bits of backstory you pick up come from quick dialogues and from the loading screens, where objects flash by with a few breadcrumbs of exposition attached. Big Hat Logan? Anor Londo? You only have a dim idea of what these mean. Where most RPGs try to pile on history to give their stories weight, Dark Souls —for all the evidence of its history—keeps you focused on the here and now, rarely giving you a reason to reflect.
Big guys are tougher to fight than little ones. Heavy weapons take longer to swing than light ones. Fast, clumsy, strong, agile—we can see what these creatures are and what they can do, and the numbers floating over their heads just affirm our instincts. A wolf that fights by gripping a sword in its mouth? A giant bulbous demon that vomits lava?
A topless woman attached to a spider? Meanwhile, the guideposts through your journey have basic, humble descriptions. You have to ring the bell. You have to light the bonfires , and then kindle them. Everything is called what it is, and even the levels have short, simple names. Take the bonfire.
In gameplay terms, this is your checkpoint, the place where you save your progress and recover your health—one of the oldest mechanics in gaming. Dark Souls represents the safety and comfort in this idea by using one of our oldest symbols of warmth and protection. Now look at the gesture a character makes when they make an offering to the bonfire.
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