How Dark Souls Changed Me

On 07/15/2013 at 11:48 AM by Blake Turner

I am of the belief that video games can aspire to the same artistic feats as films, music and books — perhaps even greater, due to the implicit role of the audience. Oddly enough, I didn't always believe this. I used to believe that games were manufactured products, that they were soulless cash grabs. I thought there was artistic merit in a small indie team, as it was their vision, untouched by publishers with eyes solely on a profit. I didn't see much merit in AAA titles though, and I had rarely been inspired by any huge blockbuster.

That changed with Dark Souls. You see, Dark Souls came at a low point in my life. I had recently been fired, I had broken up with my girlfriend, and I spent a lot of time at home with no real motivation to do anything. I had plans to go to college, but with the constant barrage of bad luck — and poor decisions — I was doubting my ability to succeed. Since I had no plans or motivation, I jumped into Dark Souls.

I immediately felt home.

Please click here to read the rest of my article so our website gets more hits and I feel like a soulless sellout for self promotion.

Chris Iozzi Staff Alumnus

07/15/2013 at 11:58 AM

*click*

I've been wanting to check this one out. I think you just persuaded me to move it up a backlog notch

Blake Turner Staff Writer

07/15/2013 at 12:07 PM

I'm glad man. I love the everloving shit out of this game. My favourite game of this generation for sure!

Chris Yarger Community Manager

07/15/2013 at 12:40 PM

Damn..

That was beautiful man

07/15/2013 at 12:45 PM

Thanks. I think this was the first real moment when an a game inspired change in me, and I needed to talk about it. Glad you liked it :)

Townz90

07/15/2013 at 01:28 PM

I don't harp on about Dark Souls enough and can't express how highly I rate it. It's very much the Castlevania of this generation.

07/15/2013 at 02:52 PM

Oh yeah. That's a every good comparison. I think of it as my Silent Hill 2 of this generation, because of how melancholy and terrifying it is lol.

leeradical42

Sell out lol!!! Just kidding wow that was touching and a perspective on the game i have yet to hear, but Darksouls is a masterpeice and is one of the best games i ever played even if it makes me want to throw my controller out the window lol!!!

07/15/2013 at 02:51 PM

Thanks man! Yeah it's a brilliant game, not just because of difficulty. The weight behind the combat, the oppressive atmosphere... yeah, I'm going to play this game again sometime soon lol.

07/15/2013 at 03:25 PM

Im still playing just got done with zens castle and yook a break i may start back soon especially with part two coming out.

KnightDriver

07/15/2013 at 02:40 PM

I haven't played Dark Souls yet even though i bought it recently, but I did play Demon's Souls. That game frustrated me, yes, but I never got angry at it. It would be like getting angry at your Martial Arts Master, an unforgivable offence. No, the problem was all mine. I just needed to train harder. That's the respect I give to the Souls games.

07/15/2013 at 02:50 PM

Most people found Dark Souls harder than Demon's Souls, yet for some bizarre reason I'm the opposite. I found Dark Souls much easier. Maybe it's because I'd already beaten Demon's Souls and new its tricks.

Machocruz

07/15/2013 at 07:13 PM

I've seen the opposite, with most people saying that Demon's Souls is far harder. I personally thought Dark was a cakewalk in comparison.

07/15/2013 at 07:56 PM

Same. I think it's more the fact that there's less direction in Dark Souls. That's the only thing I really found that was harder. I mean that boss fight on the bridge in Demon's Souls... nothing compares to that in Dark I don't think.

transmet2033

07/15/2013 at 02:42 PM

This is one game that I am sad that I never played it eventhough I owned it for a brief period of time. If I wasn't currently boycotting Microsoft, I would probably pick it up again.

07/15/2013 at 02:49 PM

What does boycotting microsoft have to do with anything? It's on every system except Wii and Wii-U?

My computer sucks. My ps3 is dead. My 360 is unplugged. I will definitely get around to it at some point, hopefully sooner than later.

07/15/2013 at 02:53 PM

Oh ok. Don't play it on pc anyway, it's terrible. I played it on PS3 and I think that's where it works best - for me anyway.

07/15/2013 at 03:27 PM

360 plays well to :~)

07/15/2013 at 11:35 PM

Yeah, but it was definitely built with a PS3 in mind. I've played all versions, and I find the PS3 just feels the best for some reason.

Alex-C25

07/15/2013 at 10:28 PM

Very great review Blake. It really felt like you gave a lot of emotion when you wrote the article.

As for Dark Souls, since I can't resit, I might get it before the Steam summer sales pass. It would fill my small wall of shame, but atleast I would have the game.

The PC version is terrible! I would recommend avoiding it at all costs, even if cheap. Get the console version!

And thanks!

BrokenH

07/16/2013 at 12:44 AM

It's ironic such a melancholy and gruesome game brought you comfort during a dark period in you life. Still, a touching life-share-story regardless. Thanks for having the courage to open up,Blake! For the record, I read the whole thing. I'm unable to respond on the other site at the moment because my user-name/password combination over there is in limbo. lol. Aka, nothing personal.

07/16/2013 at 03:01 AM

The saddest and darkest of things are often the things that comfort us the most. Dark Souls isn't really that gruesome though.

Thank you Ben! And that's ok. I just log in through facebook, but if you don't want to do that it's fine.

PixlBit

How Dark Souls Changed Me

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