Forums » General Gaming

• Mason

  

  • 739 posts
   

  November 2, 2015 4:02 PM EST

  Loved DS1...

  Did a high dex character with the Great Scythe (which you can do a speedrun for as soon as the game starts) paired with the Eagle Shield, found it pretty OP. Can't remember what armor I was running...

  A Silver Knight/Faith build is also a ton of fun.

  Mostly, I remember endless trudges through the swamp farming leaches for titanite chunks...then re-starting a bunch of times...

  Dark Souls 2 was also pretty good but lacked the same flavor that DS1 (&demons souls) provided.

• Legion

  

  • 700 posts
   

  November 2, 2015 5:57 PM EST

  I really want to give it another shot when I think about everything that isn't the punishing difficulty. I would gladly wear some silly get-up (like the new Metal Gears's chicken hat) if it meant I could just experience everything else!
• Raid

  

  • 268 posts
   

  November 3, 2015 3:15 AM EST

  I loved the Silver Knight stuff in DS1 (especially that spear, my first playthrough was a spearman and as soon as I got that drop I never looked back).
  
  I can never understand the hate for DS2 (at least the Scholar of the First Sin version). It may lack the DS1 vibe but it had such customisation and so many more useful mechanics that I never really minded about the world not actually making sense or being interconnected.
  
  Soul memory though...
• Golden Fool

  

  • 627 posts
   

  November 3, 2015 3:53 AM EST

  I've played DS1 DS2, with Demon Souls being the only one I didn't finish and I think that was because I didn't like having to go back to the hub world in between areas, which while not exactly the same I also didn't like having to go back to that town to level up in DS2.

  My favourite in the series is DS1 and I'm going to say that's because in part it was a knew experience. Exploring that world and finding all the secrets that were scattered around the place combined with the difficulty and the uncertainty of what was going to be around the next corner or through the next fog wall just make me love that game.

  As for DS2 as I mentioned having to go back and talk to the Emerald Herald to level up annoyed me to no end, or the fact that you can warp right from the start also annoyed me as it doesn't encourage the same level of exploration. And yes I know that I have the choice of whether or not to warp, but when I have a large number of souls that you wan't to use and I can't do that unless I go back to the damn herald why would I risk it?

  I also found DS2 easier which I'm not going to say is because the game was actually easier, but that it was my experience with DS1 that made it so. A lot of what would have caught me off guard in DS2 I had already encountered in DS1 so I didn't fall for it.

  One argument I've seen people use for why DS2 is better is that the mechanics for PvP are better, but since my internet is fairly shitty when it comes to that I never went out of my way to do PvP so it just doesn't come into how I judge the games.

• Blaine

  

  • 24 posts
   

  November 3, 2015 9:05 AM EST

  I wasn't a fan of fast travel either. In Dark Souls, half of the fun is exploring, finding shortcuts, and figuring out how brilliantly connected the whole world of the game is.
  
  I didn't like Dark Souls II because it seemed like every boss had the same metagame (roll, roll, roll), if your a veteran of Dark Souls, this makes the game feel much easier even with the decreasing health bar.
• Chris

  

  • 1441 posts
   

  November 3, 2015 9:09 PM EST

  I kind of like the sort of Fast Travel Bloodborne does, where you can warp between lanterns

• T

  

  • 32 posts
   

  November 4, 2015 5:56 AM EST

  Dark Souls, I guess. You were always on your guard, and every new location really was a new discovery, and then you'd die and try your utmost to get back just to see more of it. And while that was a thing in Dark Souls 2 as well, it was never a "new" new discovery. You already knew that after passing through some cave or hallway, you'd end up in a whole new world. Making it past the docks, near the central hub (forgot names) was awesome, especially when you see the huge guardian and the palace behind him, but it wasn't unexpected. You KNEW that you'd be surprised, so the surprise wasn't as strong as it should have been. Dark Souls ruined the Dark Souls series. 

• Alpha

  

  • 35 posts
   

  November 6, 2015 7:56 AM EST

  The replay value is real hard to get back into mainly because the little variety in weapons. In terms of stats, I've only really used skill (Bloodbornes version of Dexterity). I have barely gone into arcane and bloodtinge, and a little into strength.

• Chris

  

  • 1441 posts
   

  November 6, 2015 10:09 AM EST

  There's a fair amount of weapons, and the Old Hunters will add more

• Naeg Runs-Into-Walls

  

  • 154 posts
   

  November 6, 2015 10:43 AM EST

  Bloodborne is NOT a Souls game. It's a disgrace! It's not a bad game, it's just a TERRIBLE Souls game. 

  The only answer I have is Demons Souls had THE best PVP, Dark Souls had the best world/bosses and Dark Souls 2 perfected the Gameplay (PVE)

• Chris

  

  • 1441 posts
   

  November 6, 2015 10:47 AM EST

  I love the game, and its techniqually not part of the Souls series, and I like it, made by the Demon Souls creator and all, influenced by his passions

• Raid

  

  • 268 posts
   

  November 6, 2015 12:49 PM EST

  I just realised that I never answered the question myself!

  I... don't really think I have a favourite. 

  Dark Souls 2 was perfect mechanics-wise for me. The nine stats were all useful (I actually liked Adaptability and having a separate stat for equipment load) and there was no Resistance. All forms of magic were useful (except maybe Lightning Spear miracles), unlike DS1 where sorceries vastly outclassed other forms of magic (pyromancy had a few useful spells, but also some pretty duff ones too). Infusions are actually worthwhile, and the whole buffing mechanic is vastly better. The variety of equipment is insane, and there are so many weapon types with a lot of unique movesets within categories. 

  Dark Souls 1 had the atmosphere and world design though. The world design of DS2 is still good (it makes a change being able to warp immediately and having a 'spokes on a wheel' world map rather than an interconnecting, shortcut filled one), but world design in DS1 is godlike (except Izalith...). The shortcuts are awesome - exploring after a while and finding a connecting route to somewhere you were ages ago connecting in ways you didn't imagine possible was just such a good feeling. Almost all of the levels were exemplar, unlike DS2 which had some good (Wharf, Bastille, Iron Keep, Gutter, Drangleic Castle, etc) and some bad (Tseldora, Aldia's Keep, Harvest Valley, basically all the coop DLC areas). The story was also much better - it basically consisted of ring bells, go through Sen's, kill great ones, win. - but there were so many bits of lore and story behind it, and it just felt right. DS2 also had a good story, but it just wasn't as magical to me. 

  Also, the characters... DS2 basically had Lucatiel, Benhart, and that was it. None of the others had any sort of compelling storyline, and even Lucatiel and Benhart couldn't really capture the life-likeness of DS1 npcs. Bumbling Siegmeyer constantly getting in trouble and always just missing his daughter (and the end of his storyline had me crying IRL) and Solaire looking for his sun were some of my favourite characters ever. Seeing them out and about in some deathtrap filled dungeon was just brilliant.

  So, if I had to pick... DS1 for story/world/characters, DS2 for mechanics/gameplay. Here's hoping DS3 is the best of both worlds!

• EpicGamer

  

  • 33 posts
   

  November 7, 2015 2:09 AM EST

  I do play the souls games and I will play them until I die. Although I am trying to get dark souls 1 back since Dark souls 2 is making me really mad I do like Dark souls 2 but new Game+ is Crazy as Hell Dark souls 1 its not that bad.

• Chris

  

  • 1441 posts
   

  November 21, 2015 10:53 AM EST

  So, should I get SOTFS? Also, am I screwed if I killed Andrei?

• Gollum

  

  • 558 posts
   

  November 28, 2015 1:52 PM EST

  I would get it, it has crazy value since all three DLCs come with it.

• Chris

  

  • 1441 posts
   

  November 28, 2015 1:57 PM EST

  Finally beat Dark Souls with the aid of our almighty Giantdad, maybe I should do a Guts playthrough now...

• Gollum

  

  • 558 posts
   

  November 28, 2015 1:59 PM EST

  I think with the addition of the new DLC, Bloodborne is my favorite of the five (never played Demon's). While the PvP is pretty bad, the PvE and combat are the best they have been. The thing that BB lacked in the main game was weapon variety, and the DLC addresses that problem head-on, adding about eleven weapons and some amount of guns.

• Raid

  

  • 268 posts
   

  December 13, 2015 1:50 PM EST

  I saw some of that DLC gameplay and it looked phenomenal. Like, Artorias of the Abyss phenomenal. How do they compare? Better than AotA, on par or worse? Still wishing I'd bought a PS4 for Bloodborne.

• The Lone Prisoner

  

  • 130 posts
   

  December 13, 2015 6:47 PM EST

  I've never played Demon Souls or Bloodborne as the only Playstation device I've ever owned was a PS2. Dark Souls 1 is one of if not the best games I've ever played. The gameplay is awesome, it has a wonderfully dark atmosphere, the characters are always fun to love or hate, and the way meta things like multiplayer and respawning are covered in the actual game's lore is so cool. I love the story but I love it even more because its hidden and a real puzzle to piece together. It doesn't have quite as much replayability for me as games like Skyrim do, but I feel everything else makes up for it.

  
  Now I'm one of those guys who didn't really enjoy Dark Souls 2, so if you're inclined to believe I hold my opinion merely because its popular or because I'm some sort of Souls hipster, just skip this part. I've heard it all before. I felt Dark Souls 2 just didn't match up to the first, and that was for a few reasons. The graphics, while certainly better than the original, are of a different art style than the first which I wasn't so much a fan of (RIP darkness from trailers). As for the gameplay, powerstancing is awesome, and resistance no longer exists, but in its place is adaptability, which I absolutely despise. The NPCs feel a little more alive, with all the interactions the player can have with them, but their stories felt a little less rich. The plot of the game (not the world, I thought the world itself was quite original) was very similar to Dark Souls 1, but that's not much of an argument as I know Dark Souls 1 itself had a very similar story to Demon Souls.

  I switched back to Dark Souls 1 after completing the game a few times and PvPing for a few months, and didn't look back until I started hearing about how great the DLC was. So I got the first DLC, but playing through the game felt like such a chore that by the time I got to the actual DLC I was very bored. I left and didn't return. I've been thinking about getting SOtFS on my XBox One though.
  
  

  Also why is this in Fallout? And what was there to miss about the Bonfire? It got closed down because it was dead. There was nothing there to miss.

• Gollum

  

  • 558 posts
   

  December 13, 2015 8:01 PM EST

  Never played AotA (I know, sad), but AotA would have to have been pretty damn good to stack up to The Old Hunters. Like, Bloodborne was my least favorite of all the souls games I've played (PvP kinda sucks, lack of build variety), but with the addition of this DLC it makes me not care. It boosts the replay value so much. The main complaint of the main game was the lack of weapons, so FROM added like 9 or 10 more in the DLC. All of the weapons are really unique and fun to use, which was needed, because in the main game sometimes you found yourself using the same weapon over and over.

  Many people are saying that some of the best bosses of any of the souls games are included in the DLC (seems to be a trend with these games ). Personally the first boss in the DLC is my favorite in the series, from the intro cut scene to the actual fight. One reason I preferred humanoid bosses in DS and DS2 is because they usually have a more thought out story behind them that you can connect with. In Bloodborne, most bosses either are human or were human at one point in their lives, which made them more memorable to me. The Old Hunters improves on this because you get to "meet" some of the old hunters from the lore, which is really cool.

  Overall it brings fun to a game that really needed some fun in it.

• Gollum

  

  • 558 posts
   

  December 13, 2015 8:15 PM EST

  DS2 should feel like a chore. It takes way longer to go through the story than DS1. I beat DS1 in 13 hours before, and you could pump out new builds like crazy. In DS2, there really is no reason to make multiple characters, because you can respec at any time. 

  SOTFS is harder than regular DS2, but the new enemy placements really make it a fresh experience. It is hard to beat the value of SOTFS in my eyes, all of the DLCs are great and the PvP is better than all of the other souls games.

• Ebonslayer

  

  • 275 posts
   

  March 21, 2016 9:04 PM EDT

  I tried out Dark Souls but returned it the day I bought it. I could barely get past the asylum demon.
  
  How do you do it? I see people in videos just killing these guys like nothing. What's your secret?
• Golden Fool

  

  • 627 posts
   

  March 21, 2016 9:07 PM EDT

  The basic strategy for any boss in that game is just stand near it's butt and attack when you get the chance 

• WuYiXiang

  

  • 312 posts
   

  March 21, 2016 9:11 PM EDT

  I refunded the games on Steam ASAP, too. It's too masochistic for my taste.

• Ebonslayer

  

  • 275 posts
   

  March 21, 2016 9:23 PM EDT

  @Wu YiXiang I didn't have Steam, I was a console peasant at the time.
  
  @Golden Fool I tried that when I fought the asylum demon and he sat on me!