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 On 02/03/2013 at 10:14 AM by Nick DiMola See More From This User » |
Hopefully the title of the blog gives you enough indication of what this entry is about. In short, I finally completed Dark Souls yesterday. After 65 hours of playtime, I managed to best the final boss of the game and get booted right back to the beginning of the experience for New Game+. Surprisingly enough, I don't feel the great sense of achievement I thought I'd be feeling after besting what's considered one of the toughest games on the market.
I think, in part, this is due to the event marking the end of a journey. The journey itself was the redeeming and enjoyable part of the experience, not the feeling of triumph upon reaching the peak of the mountain. Dark Souls is unquestionably an adventure and a huge growing experience. Coming into the game cold, you're likely to be pretty awful at it, but over time you begin to learn the ins and out of the systems in place and the strategies that enable you to succeed. Finding that success all along the way is the truly rewarding part of the experience.
While I'm sad to be done with such an extraordinary adventure, I'm glad to move onto something less morose and gloomy. Ni No Kuni is up next for me and I couldn't be happier. It's almost the polar opposite of Dark Souls in terms of presentation, so it should feel like a real breath of fresh air.
I recently picked up Demon's Souls on the cheap, so that's queued up for when I'm prepared to die, again. I didn't really like it the first time around, so my return to that world should be interesting to say the least. With any amount of luck, I'll be able to chronicle my expedition as has been done by both Julian Titus and Michael117 (for Dark Souls). It should be an interesting reflection on my past thoughts and how I currently feel about the game after besting its successor.
Commenting on my own blog. How vain!
I couldn't help myself though. I'd love to talk more about this game! Anybody playing it currently? Anybody beat it and want to share some war stories? Anybody scared to play it and need some convincing? Lay it on me below!
I got to play Dark Souls when a friend brought it over but only got so far. I had fun from what I played of it. It's very challenging but I never got the feeling DS was being entirely unfair. Luckily, I didn't have to deal with invaders.
Yeah, it's definitely a fair game. The odds are stacked against you for sure, but if you're cautious and plan properly, success is always within your reach.
Invasions can be frustrating, especially when you're underpowered. But once you figure out how to play better, these battles become quite tense and exciting. I haven't played much PvP yet, but whenever I get the expansion, I intend on diving in deeper.
I am going to be picking this up soon, as I have just about finally finished Skyrim and its DLC. I'm really looking forward to seeing what Dark Souls is all about, especially the cohesive world design/overall tone and the challenge of it. I've been itching for something densely challenging since I've played through Super Kaizo World 1 & 2 - aka Hell on Earth!
I saw you mentioned you're looking forward to moving onto something not so dark and morose; that was actually going to be my question - does the aesthetic and tone of the game start to get a little too heavy considering the amount of time you can spend exploring Dark Souls?
After the roughly 65 hours I put into, it definitely started to wear on me. A few others on staff started feeling it much earlier. I guess it depends on who you are, but it can be a rough experience.
For a good while I was so hooked on the game, it didn't bug me in the slightest. But once I came up for air, it was wholly apparent that I needed a change in scenery. Oddly enough, I've been pining to jump back in, but I've got Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance sitting here to play, so I'm going to roll with that. Maybe after I conquer those two I'll hit up Demon's Souls.
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