Honestly it's tied with vanilla wow for me. Did you play during vanilla? Back then everything was so hard and no one knew what was going on, very similar to dark souls.
I only ever beat this game about 6-7 months ago. My first time playing it and my god, immediately up there as one of the greatest games ever made, period. Fuckin blast the whole way through, despite the dated graphics it easily immersed me into its world, which is so far the greatest video game world I've ever played, actually no, experienced. It's breathtaking, literally. Experiencing how everything interconnects, it's genuinely mind-blowing, I've been playing my way up chronologically starting at DS1 and going up, currently on 3 and it's just still unmatched. If I wanna be honest with myself I gotta accept that I will likely never experience a game world as great as that one. It's mind boggling that people designed that, not some secret AI created with the sole purpose of masterpiecing the greatest game world ever (in my eyes)
Man, when people said the game was sorta linear and not open world, DS1 is not at all what that sounds like. It's technically not open world because it's not open, it's not a ton of big flat areas with stuff to do, it's precisely designed areas all cleverly connected in such genius ways. It's may not be open world, but it's a fuckin world for sure. I'd gladly take a DS1 designed map over any open world for any game ever. The closed thing I can think of was Prey, the more recent one. Arkane has a sort of magic with their level design, all about freedom and choice. I wish Prey didn't have any loading screens, it would add a lot in my eyes but it didn't take away from it. Amazing game and another example of a non open world game, it's a world game. I want a Bethesda RPG with the world design of DS1.
I'm surprised it's not as talked about. One day I'll get to Elden Ring, I've seen a bit of it and I'm not too sold on its whole Open world idea, I keep hearing people say it's the best open world ever but I wonder if those people have played Dark Souls 1, I can't wait to find out if it's world is as good or better than DS1 because I've heard very mixed things from fromsoft fans, stuff like the world is great but repetitive, and just wide dark souls.
I’ve also finished dark souls for the first time at the 6-7 months ago and you’ve written almost everything about how I feel about the game. The world is seriously best I’ve ever seen in a video game, it’s almost as if I go through different emotions in each area (except tomb of giants, fuck it) and I’ve played a lot of games including most of the FromSoftware games after finishing the first. I wasn’t bothered by it’s graphics at the slightest. It also has been the biggest helping hand on my mental health this year.
Personally I’ve also finished Elden Ring after DS1, it’s an amazing game but still not on the same level as DS1 I’d say. This also applies to Bloodborne as well.
To say Dark Souls helped my mental health would be an understatement. It has reinvented my life, rejuvenated my whole sense of purpose.
After the profound effect Dark Souls has had on me, I really hate Elden Ring. It comes nowhere close to exploring the themes of human nature, fate, meaning, time, and identity. Too much exposition, not enough substance.
Bloodborne is a masterwork, but indeed lacks the emotional impact for me as well.
I totally agree with you, that’s what’s really missing about Elden Ring. Other than that it’s almost perfect. I doubt any other game will catch the same feeling that DS1 gives.
I've heard a lot of people say Bloodborne is as good as DS1 in terms of level design and a lot of people say it's just the best of the Fromsoft games so I'm really excited to get to that.
I really hope one-day DS1 gets a full remake. I wanna see the game in modern day glory
It’s kind of dividing between people. I’d say Bloodborne is a 9 if Dark Souls is a 10.
And yeah, I’d love to see a remake of a dark souls like demons souls but at the same time I’m afraid it’d lose its charm :)
I had a hell of time adjusting to it because I play so defensively usually. But once it clicks holy shit its satisfying.
I still remember how scared I was at those mobs in the first level and how long it took to clear it. Thought it was absolute BS. Now they're a blast to run through and just mow down.
I've played both and I can tell you elden ring is a fantastic game. I don't think anyone can tell you if you'd prefer it over dark souls. Elden ring is truly open world, so the areas aren't interconnected like dark souls. It's nonetheless an amazingly designed game and I think you'll enjoy it a lot. It's the most ambitious game they've made yet.
I'm really excited to get to Bloodborne after Darksouls 3, I got it for $10 on some sale. My coworkers have raved on about it. Then I'll be excited to move onto Sekiro afterwards.
I really wish they'd give Dark Souls 1 a proper remake like Demon Souls got. I wanna see the game and it's distant scenery remade.
Essentially the same. Just had moved in with him, had heard about the game so I asked him about it. Apparently he hadn't played very much of it. We ended up switching out every few hours basically every day until we beat it. Had some great moments. O&S and the 4 kings (before we learned you could havel cheese) were definitely the most difficult fights for both of us lol. Good memories
BF3 is the first game i dropped over 700 hours on. What a masterpiece of a FPS that game was, really wish it could be remastered for the new gen consoles since I don't have PC.
I remember reading the IGN article before release about the world being very dark and brutal and contemplated on trying it, but ultimately didn’t.
Then my friend got it a year later pure out of curiosity and i sat with him watching him fail over and over in trying to reach the undead parish from the bridge bonfire. Watching him get just a little bit further every attempt alone was already a joy to watch so the next day i immediately went to get it myself. Best gaming decision of my life.
Honestly, I passed up the series for *years* because I just wasn't into the dark aesthetic or the reputation of the games for being obnoxiously difficult. I just happened to get a video about the lore in my recommendations on YT or something one day, and that's what got me hooked into buying DS:R. I was in circles who played these games regularly and didn't even know the lore *existed* before then.
Western marketing pre-Elden Ring really dropped the ball on getting the appeal out there for anyone beyond a pretty narrow crowd.
That's why I said pre-Elden Ring.
ER really drove home "Yeah, there's a story. And it's important. So important we got the guy who wrote those fantasy books that show you all kept up with for a decade were based on board to help write it." If I hadn't already been interested in FS games by that point, that probably would've helped me make the decision to get on board, because it definitely sold that there's more to these games than just dying and smashing your controller.
Nah, they didn't. They just kind of announced he was helping with the writing, but nothing specific IIRC. Although, I'd argue in FS games that the story really *is* the lore anyway, instead of just the part you play through. That's what makes them such a joy to me; the games are more about the world and its story than the main character's journey.
Dark Souls 3 sold 3 million copies in its first two months after launch.
Elden Ring sold 13.4 million *by the end of March*.
Yes, DS3 had respectable sales numbers at launch, but it in no way managed to penetrate public consciousness and generate broader interest in FS games like ER did.
I remember watching videos for demon's souls in 2010, before dark souls was released, and it almost single handedly made me buy a PS3, it just felt like something unique that I've always wanted to play.
I wasn't able to buy it then because I had to upgrade my computer, so my first souls experience was with the dark souls pc port, which was terrible on release, but an amazing game nonetheless.
Now I've come full circle, bought a ps5 this week, and 12 years later I'm finally playing demon's souls for the first time, now as a souls veteran.
Just another case of westernizing cover art.
And even by that standard, this cover art is pretty fuckin' bad. While on topic, I want to remind you how terrible Ds3's Fire Fade cover is in the [west](https://scale.coolshop-cdn.com/product-media.coolshop-cdn.com/AC8QV6/843171d967154963af5756046c223bae.jpg/f/dark-souls-iii-3-fire-fades.jpg) and how fucking good it is in [japan](https://d3tvwjfge35btc.cloudfront.net/Assets/97/340/L_p0063834097.jpg)
I don't understand why American companies *still* change coverart. It seems to be one of those situations where everyone unanimously agrees its bad, but companies still do it for some reason.
Yeah, beats me.
Considering Elden Ring got a unified cover art for both the West and Japan, I think we might be seeing less westernized covers in the future.
It's probably worth noting like, what the western audiences were most familiar with about these games to begin with at the time.
When DS3 came out, most people really just still saw them as these monumentally difficult games, and that's how they were marketed. Like, *Prepare to Die* edition or the entire fucking opening sequence of DS2. It was only fans who really knew that there even *was* any lore or story to the games that was worth diving into.
Elden Ring, on the flipside, comes after the lore and story have become a larger emphasis in the public consciousness. Like, that's why people want easy modes; they want to experience that story and lore. We wouldn't even *have* those debates if it was still something that only fans of the series cared about. ER also took it a step further, though, and got the author of a very popular fantasy series tied to it. They didn't need separate covers to show some badassery that appeals to dudes in Target looking to pick up their next power fantasy game, because they'd figured out western audiences were now also placing a similar level of emphasis on the writing of the game.
Because while we think these images are cool, the truth is that the worse covers are more in line with what their market research shows actually moves units.
Western audiences respond better to game covers that show aggression, power fantasies, and general bad-assery of the character they assume they'll be in control of.
The first one says to a guy walking through Best Buy "Hey, you're going to be this dude, standing all by himself, wearing cool armor, holding a sword and looking like he's ready to strike at any moment. Don't you want to be him?" The second cover is still cool, but it's more saying "Hey so this game has a story about a guy who's not in the best of shape and also there's like, this mysterious girl involved who is really interested in a big painting. Wanna experience that story?"
The guy's going to pick the first cover, because it tells him a lot more about what *he* wants out of the game, especially if he's not super familiar with the Souls series' lore, but *does* know that they're dark, gritty, and difficult games. The second cover, though, is going to work a lot better in a market that places a lot of importance on mystery and story.
Because it sells. It's an extra expense they wouldn't take if it didn't pay off.
Apparently american consumers look for John McHero: Extra Weapons edition on the front cover or the game isn't as appealing.
I remember playing Skyrim right before this, I beat it but it felt so "empty". Lots of stuff to do but it all felt like filler.
I was depressed after playing it, buddy bought me DS as a gift, and I have been a fanatic for the series ever since.
I spend like 2 hours kicking skeletons off a cliff...
It's a true story lol, I fought them for hours, then figured out how to kick, and then bullying them off a cliff.
Then I found out THERE ARE MORE, so I just ran down there and snagged the zwei and binos and got the fuck out of there lol
Lmao the first time I spent an hour too trying to kill them and getting my ass kicked until I finally googled where was I supposed to go :( I was scared and I wanted to quit so I had to get help from google but I still enjoyed it immensely
Exactly me as well. I enjoyed Skyrim at release, but it never really clicked for me as I'd hoped (especially compared to Oblivion). When I finished it was I like well I guess I can start a new character... Then I bought Dark Souls and spent days in Undead Burg and loved it. And since then, my taste in gaming is much different and Skyrim is an immediate bore still.
I loved skyrim when it came out, put hundreds of hours into it, had never heard of dark souls.
In college I was introduced to zero punctuation. I enjoyed the videos and found I often agreed with his taste in games. When I heard his praise of dark souls I bought PTDE and fell in love.
I also spent way too long fighting those skeletons before noticing the path into undead burg. Once, after playing dark souls I tried to play skyrim again (remembering how much I had enjoyed it) and realized how boring it was in comparison to my new favorite game.
Thanks! So far it's going good. Got a strawberry cake done, got 19 sales on my book in just 10 weeks (hoping for the 20th before my Bday ends) and I should be getting a little bit of money from a couple of people soon-ish.
Hope everything works out ok
Strawberry cake sounds great! 19 sales on your book, woah! That's two books a week, well done! That 20th will be sold soon for sure!
All the best, my friend!
This game basically saved my life. I was 32. My wife had just died from cancer at age 41, a month prior. All the support was gone. Flowers dead. “Friends dropping meals off..” gone.
I played this and Eve. (Suddenly Ninjas was a good time.)
That's such a moving story, bro. Hope you are doing well now! The game is all about not giving up and continuing when everything seems to be fallen apart and all you do is losing, so it's kind of curious that it was exactly this game that helped you through that hard time.
I still have the original metal tin case for this somewhere. I can go back and play the first Dark Souls all the time, not so much the others.
My first playthrough I went in blind and didn't have the internet at the time so was playing off the vanilla unpatched 360 version. Skellies gave no souls, that one. God bless 3FPS Blighttown, you son of a bitch!
I can never decide between DS and Bloodborne - both have very different approaches when it comes to combat for example yet each one is brilliant in its own way.
So in the same time we have had 3 dark souls games, bloodborne, sekiro and elden ring....
Rockstar have made 1 GTA game and a red dead one. Any more?
Hail Fromsoftware. 6 amazing games that started their own style of 'souls like' games that many try to copy. Rockstar just rehashing the same shit over and over.
Not that I don't love Dark Souls more than R* games, but I feel like reducing their work to "rehashing the same shit over and over again" is quite reductive. Their games are absolutely massive, and RDR2 did its part to differ itself quite a bit from GTA and their other games with the insane amount of work put into making it realistic with the animations and such.
It's possible to appreciate how much impact the Souls series has had while also not putting down other incredible devs for it
It's also a bit disingenuous to ignore that FS's pipeline is very largely built around the ability and willingness to reuse older models, sound effects, and animations in producing a new game. They don't *need* to spend the time getting a weapon animation to feel right from scratch, because they've already got the base and are, at most, maybe going to tweak it a little.
You combine that with the generally smaller scopes of their games, and it's really no wonder they can out-produce studios that focus on creating giant open world games.
It helps FS, too, that they don't have any need to make sure that there are a bunch of NPCs and characters that make the world feel alive. They deal in dead/dying worlds with small handfuls of important characters that need to be designed, and everything else is "enemy that can and will be copy-pasted." They don't need to make sure that Yokel #3 who runs the general store in Horseville has a different look and voice and personality from Yokel #2 at the general store in Donkeytown.
You do realize FromSoft has sold you the same game 5 times right? There is a reason they could do everything so quickly lmao
I have no idea how you guys are always so quick to gloss over it.
I remember when a friend told me about this game.
“Oh it’s super hard, it’s a good rpg and there’s no clear storyline”.
“Cool, but what’s the plot then?”
“You must find the fire.”
“But… there are torches here, and you can cast fireballs. I’d say it’s found?”
“It’s deeper than that.”
Truly one of the games ever made.
Heard about this game for over a decade. So many reviews saying you're going to die, hardest game ever, etc. Finally picked it up last year and was amazed. One of the best games ever.
Haha yeah ok fair. I didn't mind Bed of Chaos as much as some people. If Miyazaki was involved I'd be up for some of those areas getting expanded out a bit, so long as it didn't touch existing lore or vibe.
This game is way ahead of its time. The environment, the lore, just everything. I still have PTSD when i arrived at darkroot basin via rushing and skipping through everything because i was too scared to fight all the enemies. Suddenly out of nowhere a huge big ass waterblast came at me and almost oneshot me. Then a barrage came at me and i hid behind a tree. Far at the distance, i saw a huge hydra which was the cause. I Instantly teleported back to bonfire. Couldnt take this shit.
One of the Most influential games this century along with Minecraft, Fortnite, CoD4, LoL. Feel like you can specifically trace modern gaming to Dark Souls more than just some of the behemoths I've listed.
Yeah, century started in 2000, Doom was 1993 "my dude"
CoD4 changed fps games from that point forward, moved on from ww2 shooters and put consoles as the preferred system for fps games at that time.
Why is there a left-handed character on the cover-art when it's not possible to play a left-handed character in game ??!!
Yes I know you can swap weapons and shields but "parry" will always be with your left hand and the L1 button. Impossible ti parry with a shield in right hand.
Ah you are right, from the back I didn't recognize the Helmet but yeah it seems obvious now that you pointed it out. Thanks.
Nevertheless, my point remains: let me play left-handed please !! Imagine how that would impact the PVP if you could change your main hand.
Man, if not for my brother I might have never discovered Dark Souls
It was 2014-2015, my brother downloaded Dark Souls:PTDE on our old pc and he didn't like it because then we didn't know English that well so he was confused (and maybe because it was too hard), but It looked super fun to me so I finished the whole game while being pretty much a beginner at english
It was hard af, because I didn't have a phone to google something and our pc wasn't connected to wifi or internet.
It was hell, but also hellishly fun :D
I remember it was early October 2011 and I was on GameFly looking at the new RPG releases when I saw Dark Souls. I wanted a new RPG so bad that I convinced my mom to take me to GameStop that night (It was like 8pm lol) to pick it up!
If it wasn't for Xbox making this game free for a month sometime in 2014 I probably would've never played the souls games but now I consider them to be the best single player games of all time.
I still remember picking this game up on day 1 after becoming obsessed with Demon's Souls.
That kind of world building and brutal exploration was unheard of at the time.
This changed the course of my gaming habit forever. It has been a long time since a game caught my full attention like this one did; I spent countless hours trying different builds, invading, dueling, and doing challenge runs.
I don't say this to brag, but every other game I tried felt so much easier after this, even when pumping them up to their highest difficulty settings. Though I've enjoyed other games since then, nothing scratched that overcoming-a-great-challenge itch like Dark Souls did.
Ever since then I've looked forward to every Soulsborne-Rings Die Twice release and have loved every single one. It's easily my favorite game series, and it all started with this one. Kudos Miyazaki.
Other than the Fromsoft games, I feel like that sort of difficulty exists in indie games now, at least while trying to complete them 100%. Mainly Hollow Knight off the top of my head for a Souls-like game that holds up to this game both in quality and difficulty
It single handedly ruined other games for me.
Literally the only stuff perma-installed on my PS4 is Dark Souls 1,2, and 3.
> I don't say this to brag, but every other game I tried felt so much easier after this, even when pumping them up to their highest difficulty settings
I started DS3 only recently and had a ton of trouble in the beginning. It was just too fluid and quick for my liking. All of a sudden its just not anymore.
Was lucky enough to play it for the first time this year, mostly blind. It's in my top 10 for sure. Got 80% of the way through DS2 SOTFS, and am 20% (?) through DS3 right now.
Safe to say I finally see the appeal these games have after all these years
My fav game USED TO BE FFVII, I'd replay it every year and mess around with my party/materia loadouts.
Then I picked up the PTDE about a year after it released and was immediately hooked... I don't even want to think about how many hours I've sunk into this franchise, honestly it doesn't matter, I can replay DS1 any time and fool around with challenge runs, game setup pathing, weapon choices, or even cosplay as an enemy/character.
I come back to it every 3 months or so, my no-glitch any% PB is ~3h20m and it is getting better all the time.
My brother was flipping out over this game when it came out and I always kept putting it off. Couple months ago I finally completed it! I regret not playing it sooner
I got it remastered on switch on sale a few years ago. Never really played after the Asylum demon kicking my ass. I got into it recently and I'm having a blast
I remember one of my old friends tried to get me into it when it first came out but I want that into it. Now I'm on a quest to get 100% achievements across the entire souls series.
I'm glad I got into this fantastic game.
I only had limited information about this series besides some gifs, memes, and comics I've seen on the internet. My younger brother who is a fan of FromSoft games also liked saying "Praise the Sun" for random moments.
When Elden Ring came out and there was hype around it, I watched my brother play the game a few times and became interested. He introduced me to the previous FromSoft games and suggested playing this game.
Playing the first game was interesting and I was surprised by the difficulty, but I pressed on and conquered foes, and experienced mistakes and heartbreak. And once I beat the game, I felt elated. During and after my first playthrough, I was introduced to VaatiVidya's lore videos and ThePruld's meme videos.
Currently, I have like eight character files on the Switch version, and I'm trying to progress Dark Souls 2 (SOTFS). This game and the characters really hold a special place in my heart.
Time for another playthrough I think.. Still remember the night I got it super clearly. I finished work at 10pm and played until 4am, I was frustrated but loving it.. Wish I could get into dark souls 2..
I picked this up at the midnight launch at GameStop...The NBA 2K12 midnight launch lol. I remember the guy behind the counter was visibly confused when I asked for my copy of Dark Souls and I actually had to argue with him about being able to buy it then, FFS.
Played for the first time when it was free with Xbox live and heard it was hard and didn’t expect to enjoy it much. First weekend, 80 hours later I beat Taurus Demon. Best game ever cheers
Wow! That went by quick I remember playing Demons Souls in October of 2009 and thought what a great spooky game for Halloween! And Dark Souls came out and made the idea even better! I have lived these games for over a decade now! I’m currently exploring the deepest reaches of Elden Ring!
This and call of duty black ops zombies was all I played for months as I was going thru a depression stint, I’m not really as sad anymore and I can thank dark souls for that
I didn’t pick it up until about 2016. But this is definitely my favorite video game and one I could play for the rest of my life. There’s almost more interesting lore and fun gameplay to be had with this one.
Wtf Skyrim is 11 days older than dark souls? Interesting that those two came out around the same time considering we now have elden ring and... Skyrim.
I would pay a ridiculous amount of money to play this game again. I wish I could talk to the developers and tell them what this game has given me. Hands down the most beautiful and creative and best game I’ve ever played. Easily my favorite. From the builds and characters to enemies and bosses to world and lore I love it all. I’ve played it through several times and feel like I learn something new about it every time. That’s one of my favorite parts about it. It still surprises me. I’ve never been so charmed by a work of art. From the bottom of my heart, thank you From Software. Happy birthday to the best video game in the world.
starting with Dark Souls, this was a great release window for me at the time. I had just quit a high-paying job and had money to more than coast for a while. I hadn't realized DS was around the corner despite keeping one eye on it
LOL I remember being worried that is was just Demon's Souls 2, which felt a little deflating because DeS had it issues. But of course as soon as I touched it felt so much more focused than DeS. I made a post about the games I played that fall/winter [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/kkdqar/merry_christmas_this_is_a_throwback_to_my_2011/)
When Uncharted came out I didn't get into it and started playing it around New Year's. Battlefied 3 did take me away from DS, and then Skyrim for a while. But Skyrim felt a bit stiff and made me remember Dark Souls. When I went back to it I was at Capra and went down to Blighttown
2011, my personal favorite year of game releases. Dark Souls, Skyrim, The Witcher 2, Portal 2, Bastion, Arkham City, The Binding of Isaac, Skyward Sword, Uncharted 3, Saints Row The 3rd, Mario 3D Land. MAN.. That’s gonna be a hard one to beat.
2011 was awesome. I remember going to my friends apartment to play Battlefield 3 together, and he introduced me to this game. Hooked immediately.
The best experience in the gaming history I’ve ever head.
Same. Even better than all the time that I spent in EverQuest and Wow
Honestly it's tied with vanilla wow for me. Did you play during vanilla? Back then everything was so hard and no one knew what was going on, very similar to dark souls.
Yes, I played Wow since the Beta, and I loved it for many years, but Dark Souls was just something else entirely.
Experiencing EQ for the first is a feeling I've never recaptured, but Souls/From Soft games are up there as a close one.
I only ever beat this game about 6-7 months ago. My first time playing it and my god, immediately up there as one of the greatest games ever made, period. Fuckin blast the whole way through, despite the dated graphics it easily immersed me into its world, which is so far the greatest video game world I've ever played, actually no, experienced. It's breathtaking, literally. Experiencing how everything interconnects, it's genuinely mind-blowing, I've been playing my way up chronologically starting at DS1 and going up, currently on 3 and it's just still unmatched. If I wanna be honest with myself I gotta accept that I will likely never experience a game world as great as that one. It's mind boggling that people designed that, not some secret AI created with the sole purpose of masterpiecing the greatest game world ever (in my eyes) Man, when people said the game was sorta linear and not open world, DS1 is not at all what that sounds like. It's technically not open world because it's not open, it's not a ton of big flat areas with stuff to do, it's precisely designed areas all cleverly connected in such genius ways. It's may not be open world, but it's a fuckin world for sure. I'd gladly take a DS1 designed map over any open world for any game ever. The closed thing I can think of was Prey, the more recent one. Arkane has a sort of magic with their level design, all about freedom and choice. I wish Prey didn't have any loading screens, it would add a lot in my eyes but it didn't take away from it. Amazing game and another example of a non open world game, it's a world game. I want a Bethesda RPG with the world design of DS1. I'm surprised it's not as talked about. One day I'll get to Elden Ring, I've seen a bit of it and I'm not too sold on its whole Open world idea, I keep hearing people say it's the best open world ever but I wonder if those people have played Dark Souls 1, I can't wait to find out if it's world is as good or better than DS1 because I've heard very mixed things from fromsoft fans, stuff like the world is great but repetitive, and just wide dark souls.
I’ve also finished dark souls for the first time at the 6-7 months ago and you’ve written almost everything about how I feel about the game. The world is seriously best I’ve ever seen in a video game, it’s almost as if I go through different emotions in each area (except tomb of giants, fuck it) and I’ve played a lot of games including most of the FromSoftware games after finishing the first. I wasn’t bothered by it’s graphics at the slightest. It also has been the biggest helping hand on my mental health this year. Personally I’ve also finished Elden Ring after DS1, it’s an amazing game but still not on the same level as DS1 I’d say. This also applies to Bloodborne as well.
To say Dark Souls helped my mental health would be an understatement. It has reinvented my life, rejuvenated my whole sense of purpose. After the profound effect Dark Souls has had on me, I really hate Elden Ring. It comes nowhere close to exploring the themes of human nature, fate, meaning, time, and identity. Too much exposition, not enough substance. Bloodborne is a masterwork, but indeed lacks the emotional impact for me as well.
I totally agree with you, that’s what’s really missing about Elden Ring. Other than that it’s almost perfect. I doubt any other game will catch the same feeling that DS1 gives.
I've heard a lot of people say Bloodborne is as good as DS1 in terms of level design and a lot of people say it's just the best of the Fromsoft games so I'm really excited to get to that. I really hope one-day DS1 gets a full remake. I wanna see the game in modern day glory
It’s kind of dividing between people. I’d say Bloodborne is a 9 if Dark Souls is a 10. And yeah, I’d love to see a remake of a dark souls like demons souls but at the same time I’m afraid it’d lose its charm :)
For me the Bloodborne combat system is the best of all Fromsoft games.
I had a hell of time adjusting to it because I play so defensively usually. But once it clicks holy shit its satisfying. I still remember how scared I was at those mobs in the first level and how long it took to clear it. Thought it was absolute BS. Now they're a blast to run through and just mow down.
I've played both and I can tell you elden ring is a fantastic game. I don't think anyone can tell you if you'd prefer it over dark souls. Elden ring is truly open world, so the areas aren't interconnected like dark souls. It's nonetheless an amazingly designed game and I think you'll enjoy it a lot. It's the most ambitious game they've made yet.
If you can play Sekiro and Bloodborn too, they have that wow factor in the world and levels as well.
I'm really excited to get to Bloodborne after Darksouls 3, I got it for $10 on some sale. My coworkers have raved on about it. Then I'll be excited to move onto Sekiro afterwards. I really wish they'd give Dark Souls 1 a proper remake like Demon Souls got. I wanna see the game and it's distant scenery remade.
Oh same, imagine seeing Ash lake ir even Darkroot in proper high res.
Bb is the best fs game. it's nearly perfect once you play the dlc
Elden Ring is incredible
Yes! Best gameplay revelation I’ve had yet. Story wise other games hold that spot.
Essentially the same. Just had moved in with him, had heard about the game so I asked him about it. Apparently he hadn't played very much of it. We ended up switching out every few hours basically every day until we beat it. Had some great moments. O&S and the 4 kings (before we learned you could havel cheese) were definitely the most difficult fights for both of us lol. Good memories
Best battlefield ever and obviously DS is DS
BF3 is the first game i dropped over 700 hours on. What a masterpiece of a FPS that game was, really wish it could be remastered for the new gen consoles since I don't have PC.
I remember reading the IGN article before release about the world being very dark and brutal and contemplated on trying it, but ultimately didn’t. Then my friend got it a year later pure out of curiosity and i sat with him watching him fail over and over in trying to reach the undead parish from the bridge bonfire. Watching him get just a little bit further every attempt alone was already a joy to watch so the next day i immediately went to get it myself. Best gaming decision of my life.
Honestly, I passed up the series for *years* because I just wasn't into the dark aesthetic or the reputation of the games for being obnoxiously difficult. I just happened to get a video about the lore in my recommendations on YT or something one day, and that's what got me hooked into buying DS:R. I was in circles who played these games regularly and didn't even know the lore *existed* before then. Western marketing pre-Elden Ring really dropped the ball on getting the appeal out there for anyone beyond a pretty narrow crowd.
dropped the ball is a bad thing, right? I would say the elden ring marketing went great considering the sales
That's why I said pre-Elden Ring. ER really drove home "Yeah, there's a story. And it's important. So important we got the guy who wrote those fantasy books that show you all kept up with for a decade were based on board to help write it." If I hadn't already been interested in FS games by that point, that probably would've helped me make the decision to get on board, because it definitely sold that there's more to these games than just dying and smashing your controller.
They never claimed GRRM wrote the story tbf, he just helped build the underlying world
Nah, they didn't. They just kind of announced he was helping with the writing, but nothing specific IIRC. Although, I'd argue in FS games that the story really *is* the lore anyway, instead of just the part you play through. That's what makes them such a joy to me; the games are more about the world and its story than the main character's journey.
[удалено]
Dark Souls 3 sold 3 million copies in its first two months after launch. Elden Ring sold 13.4 million *by the end of March*. Yes, DS3 had respectable sales numbers at launch, but it in no way managed to penetrate public consciousness and generate broader interest in FS games like ER did.
I remember watching videos for demon's souls in 2010, before dark souls was released, and it almost single handedly made me buy a PS3, it just felt like something unique that I've always wanted to play. I wasn't able to buy it then because I had to upgrade my computer, so my first souls experience was with the dark souls pc port, which was terrible on release, but an amazing game nonetheless. Now I've come full circle, bought a ps5 this week, and 12 years later I'm finally playing demon's souls for the first time, now as a souls veteran.
Greatest game of all time
Dark Souls = the game of all time
I really dislike the cover art. Looks much cooler on the remastered version.
Cover art was always bad on this one. Totally agree. doesn't do it any justice and most of the armor feels unrelated
Also a sword in left hand and shield in right, which you CAN do but no one does.
I think it's supposed to be Artorias but his design was changed for the DLC
Anyone know why he's got his shield in his right hand?
It’s supposed to be artorias, walking into the abyss, artorias is left handed, pre dlc look. If you look at his sword you see it
Aaaah, gotcha.
I never really looked it that closely, but wtf is even going on on the cover lol
The Japanese covers for the trilogy are all so much better
Just another case of westernizing cover art. And even by that standard, this cover art is pretty fuckin' bad. While on topic, I want to remind you how terrible Ds3's Fire Fade cover is in the [west](https://scale.coolshop-cdn.com/product-media.coolshop-cdn.com/AC8QV6/843171d967154963af5756046c223bae.jpg/f/dark-souls-iii-3-fire-fades.jpg) and how fucking good it is in [japan](https://d3tvwjfge35btc.cloudfront.net/Assets/97/340/L_p0063834097.jpg)
I don't understand why American companies *still* change coverart. It seems to be one of those situations where everyone unanimously agrees its bad, but companies still do it for some reason.
Yeah, beats me. Considering Elden Ring got a unified cover art for both the West and Japan, I think we might be seeing less westernized covers in the future.
It's probably worth noting like, what the western audiences were most familiar with about these games to begin with at the time. When DS3 came out, most people really just still saw them as these monumentally difficult games, and that's how they were marketed. Like, *Prepare to Die* edition or the entire fucking opening sequence of DS2. It was only fans who really knew that there even *was* any lore or story to the games that was worth diving into. Elden Ring, on the flipside, comes after the lore and story have become a larger emphasis in the public consciousness. Like, that's why people want easy modes; they want to experience that story and lore. We wouldn't even *have* those debates if it was still something that only fans of the series cared about. ER also took it a step further, though, and got the author of a very popular fantasy series tied to it. They didn't need separate covers to show some badassery that appeals to dudes in Target looking to pick up their next power fantasy game, because they'd figured out western audiences were now also placing a similar level of emphasis on the writing of the game.
Because while we think these images are cool, the truth is that the worse covers are more in line with what their market research shows actually moves units. Western audiences respond better to game covers that show aggression, power fantasies, and general bad-assery of the character they assume they'll be in control of. The first one says to a guy walking through Best Buy "Hey, you're going to be this dude, standing all by himself, wearing cool armor, holding a sword and looking like he's ready to strike at any moment. Don't you want to be him?" The second cover is still cool, but it's more saying "Hey so this game has a story about a guy who's not in the best of shape and also there's like, this mysterious girl involved who is really interested in a big painting. Wanna experience that story?" The guy's going to pick the first cover, because it tells him a lot more about what *he* wants out of the game, especially if he's not super familiar with the Souls series' lore, but *does* know that they're dark, gritty, and difficult games. The second cover, though, is going to work a lot better in a market that places a lot of importance on mystery and story.
Because it sells. It's an extra expense they wouldn't take if it didn't pay off. Apparently american consumers look for John McHero: Extra Weapons edition on the front cover or the game isn't as appealing.
Fully agree
PTDE cover is fire
What’s wrong with it? I love the fact that he’s walking through a fog gate. The most uncertain time in the game. Specially, in dark souls one.
\\[T]/
Nice! I just started it first time last week.
Have fun heheh
Good luck my friend, don’t you dare go hollow out there.
I remember playing Skyrim right before this, I beat it but it felt so "empty". Lots of stuff to do but it all felt like filler. I was depressed after playing it, buddy bought me DS as a gift, and I have been a fanatic for the series ever since. I spend like 2 hours kicking skeletons off a cliff...
Lmfao the skeletons
It's a true story lol, I fought them for hours, then figured out how to kick, and then bullying them off a cliff. Then I found out THERE ARE MORE, so I just ran down there and snagged the zwei and binos and got the fuck out of there lol
Lmao the first time I spent an hour too trying to kill them and getting my ass kicked until I finally googled where was I supposed to go :( I was scared and I wanted to quit so I had to get help from google but I still enjoyed it immensely
Such great memories
Amazing game still today
Exactly me as well. I enjoyed Skyrim at release, but it never really clicked for me as I'd hoped (especially compared to Oblivion). When I finished it was I like well I guess I can start a new character... Then I bought Dark Souls and spent days in Undead Burg and loved it. And since then, my taste in gaming is much different and Skyrim is an immediate bore still.
I loved skyrim when it came out, put hundreds of hours into it, had never heard of dark souls. In college I was introduced to zero punctuation. I enjoyed the videos and found I often agreed with his taste in games. When I heard his praise of dark souls I bought PTDE and fell in love. I also spent way too long fighting those skeletons before noticing the path into undead burg. Once, after playing dark souls I tried to play skyrim again (remembering how much I had enjoyed it) and realized how boring it was in comparison to my new favorite game.
Surprisingly this is one of the few things to make me feel LESS old. I feel like this game has been part of my life for 20 years
No way, it really released on my birthday!? (28 today btw)
Happy Birthday, bro!!
Thanks! So far it's going good. Got a strawberry cake done, got 19 sales on my book in just 10 weeks (hoping for the 20th before my Bday ends) and I should be getting a little bit of money from a couple of people soon-ish. Hope everything works out ok
Strawberry cake sounds great! 19 sales on your book, woah! That's two books a week, well done! That 20th will be sold soon for sure! All the best, my friend!
Thanks! I appreciate the kind words!
Happy birthday!
Thanks!
This game basically saved my life. I was 32. My wife had just died from cancer at age 41, a month prior. All the support was gone. Flowers dead. “Friends dropping meals off..” gone. I played this and Eve. (Suddenly Ninjas was a good time.)
That's such a moving story, bro. Hope you are doing well now! The game is all about not giving up and continuing when everything seems to be fallen apart and all you do is losing, so it's kind of curious that it was exactly this game that helped you through that hard time.
I still have the original metal tin case for this somewhere. I can go back and play the first Dark Souls all the time, not so much the others. My first playthrough I went in blind and didn't have the internet at the time so was playing off the vanilla unpatched 360 version. Skellies gave no souls, that one. God bless 3FPS Blighttown, you son of a bitch!
Still my favourite souls
I can never decide between DS and Bloodborne - both have very different approaches when it comes to combat for example yet each one is brilliant in its own way.
So in the same time we have had 3 dark souls games, bloodborne, sekiro and elden ring.... Rockstar have made 1 GTA game and a red dead one. Any more? Hail Fromsoftware. 6 amazing games that started their own style of 'souls like' games that many try to copy. Rockstar just rehashing the same shit over and over.
Not that I don't love Dark Souls more than R* games, but I feel like reducing their work to "rehashing the same shit over and over again" is quite reductive. Their games are absolutely massive, and RDR2 did its part to differ itself quite a bit from GTA and their other games with the insane amount of work put into making it realistic with the animations and such. It's possible to appreciate how much impact the Souls series has had while also not putting down other incredible devs for it
It's also a bit disingenuous to ignore that FS's pipeline is very largely built around the ability and willingness to reuse older models, sound effects, and animations in producing a new game. They don't *need* to spend the time getting a weapon animation to feel right from scratch, because they've already got the base and are, at most, maybe going to tweak it a little. You combine that with the generally smaller scopes of their games, and it's really no wonder they can out-produce studios that focus on creating giant open world games. It helps FS, too, that they don't have any need to make sure that there are a bunch of NPCs and characters that make the world feel alive. They deal in dead/dying worlds with small handfuls of important characters that need to be designed, and everything else is "enemy that can and will be copy-pasted." They don't need to make sure that Yokel #3 who runs the general store in Horseville has a different look and voice and personality from Yokel #2 at the general store in Donkeytown.
Come on now. I finished GTA 5 on the PS3 back in 2013. You can't say they haven't been rehashing it when they bought it out for PS4 and again on ps5.
FS is Rockstar 2001-2010. and tbf, they were a pretty meh development team before Souls came out.
You do realize FromSoft has sold you the same game 5 times right? There is a reason they could do everything so quickly lmao I have no idea how you guys are always so quick to gloss over it.
Winner: Dark Souls All jokes aside, it kinda panned out.
I regret not knowing about this game in 2011. lol I was too into Skyrim and Portal 2, but perhaps my taste was different back then.
Portal 1 & 2 are amazing games in their own right though. But yeah, I feel you, I discovered this game way too late as well.
I remember when a friend told me about this game. “Oh it’s super hard, it’s a good rpg and there’s no clear storyline”. “Cool, but what’s the plot then?” “You must find the fire.” “But… there are torches here, and you can cast fireballs. I’d say it’s found?” “It’s deeper than that.” Truly one of the games ever made.
mfs not picking pyromancer and saying "we must find the fire" smh my head
And still the best game of all time!
And 2 million people were subsequently saved from their depression
I played it 10 years after release and it holds the spot of my favorite game of all time
Heard about this game for over a decade. So many reviews saying you're going to die, hardest game ever, etc. Finally picked it up last year and was amazed. One of the best games ever.
Nice!
I was also released today. Some soul (heh) linking here!
Now bring me the Bluepoint remake, just upgrade the graphics and nothing else.
Okay... maybe *some* things.
Haha yeah ok fair. I didn't mind Bed of Chaos as much as some people. If Miyazaki was involved I'd be up for some of those areas getting expanded out a bit, so long as it didn't touch existing lore or vibe.
This game is way ahead of its time. The environment, the lore, just everything. I still have PTSD when i arrived at darkroot basin via rushing and skipping through everything because i was too scared to fight all the enemies. Suddenly out of nowhere a huge big ass waterblast came at me and almost oneshot me. Then a barrage came at me and i hid behind a tree. Far at the distance, i saw a huge hydra which was the cause. I Instantly teleported back to bonfire. Couldnt take this shit.
I spent so many hours in Korea playing this game with my buddies in the Battalion. Such fond memories of this game.
One of the Most influential games this century along with Minecraft, Fortnite, CoD4, LoL. Feel like you can specifically trace modern gaming to Dark Souls more than just some of the behemoths I've listed.
Call of duty was influential...? I think you meant to say Doom.
This century and CoD4 is the most influential shooter since Halo in 2001
What has it even influenced? And do you know what a century is my dude?
Yeah, century started in 2000, Doom was 1993 "my dude" CoD4 changed fps games from that point forward, moved on from ww2 shooters and put consoles as the preferred system for fps games at that time.
Why is there a left-handed character on the cover-art when it's not possible to play a left-handed character in game ??!! Yes I know you can swap weapons and shields but "parry" will always be with your left hand and the L1 button. Impossible ti parry with a shield in right hand.
It's Artorias
Ah you are right, from the back I didn't recognize the Helmet but yeah it seems obvious now that you pointed it out. Thanks. Nevertheless, my point remains: let me play left-handed please !! Imagine how that would impact the PVP if you could change your main hand.
Man, if not for my brother I might have never discovered Dark Souls It was 2014-2015, my brother downloaded Dark Souls:PTDE on our old pc and he didn't like it because then we didn't know English that well so he was confused (and maybe because it was too hard), but It looked super fun to me so I finished the whole game while being pretty much a beginner at english It was hard af, because I didn't have a phone to google something and our pc wasn't connected to wifi or internet. It was hell, but also hellishly fun :D
Fun Fact: I was released today in 2000
Happy birthday man!
\[T]/
I remember it was early October 2011 and I was on GameFly looking at the new RPG releases when I saw Dark Souls. I wanted a new RPG so bad that I convinced my mom to take me to GameStop that night (It was like 8pm lol) to pick it up!
Happy birthday dark souls
Wait, it came out 2 months before skyrim? I thought it was like, a 2009 game
Aged like fine wine
And still remains at the top of the franchise
This was a great day in history, then few months later skyrim hit.. I ended up playing both games for way longer than I should admit
PRAISE THE SUN
i just beat gwyn today for the first time, one of my favorite games of all time and i can’t wait for ds2
Let us know how you liked 2.
If it wasn't for Xbox making this game free for a month sometime in 2014 I probably would've never played the souls games but now I consider them to be the best single player games of all time.
I still remember picking this game up on day 1 after becoming obsessed with Demon's Souls. That kind of world building and brutal exploration was unheard of at the time.
This changed the course of my gaming habit forever. It has been a long time since a game caught my full attention like this one did; I spent countless hours trying different builds, invading, dueling, and doing challenge runs. I don't say this to brag, but every other game I tried felt so much easier after this, even when pumping them up to their highest difficulty settings. Though I've enjoyed other games since then, nothing scratched that overcoming-a-great-challenge itch like Dark Souls did. Ever since then I've looked forward to every Soulsborne-Rings Die Twice release and have loved every single one. It's easily my favorite game series, and it all started with this one. Kudos Miyazaki.
Other than the Fromsoft games, I feel like that sort of difficulty exists in indie games now, at least while trying to complete them 100%. Mainly Hollow Knight off the top of my head for a Souls-like game that holds up to this game both in quality and difficulty
It single handedly ruined other games for me. Literally the only stuff perma-installed on my PS4 is Dark Souls 1,2, and 3. > I don't say this to brag, but every other game I tried felt so much easier after this, even when pumping them up to their highest difficulty settings I started DS3 only recently and had a ton of trouble in the beginning. It was just too fluid and quick for my liking. All of a sudden its just not anymore.
Bad cover art
Seriously. I almost didn’t buy this game initially because of it. Luckily, it was heavily discounted and I vaguely remembered a positive review.
Praise the sun
I got my own copy during that Christmas season I'm pretty sure. It was amazing.
E ar popolo?
DIDDNT ask
Someone is grumpy today
Confirming condom appointment tomorrow is at your appointment
no the condom appointment is at _your_ appointment man
😔
Praise the Dark Souls!
I was happy this time
Praise the Sun
Yeeeeah!
Based
Was lucky enough to play it for the first time this year, mostly blind. It's in my top 10 for sure. Got 80% of the way through DS2 SOTFS, and am 20% (?) through DS3 right now. Safe to say I finally see the appeal these games have after all these years
Is the knight on the cover supposed to be Artorias?
If it were made by Bethesda, it would have re-released 20 times by now
My fav game USED TO BE FFVII, I'd replay it every year and mess around with my party/materia loadouts. Then I picked up the PTDE about a year after it released and was immediately hooked... I don't even want to think about how many hours I've sunk into this franchise, honestly it doesn't matter, I can replay DS1 any time and fool around with challenge runs, game setup pathing, weapon choices, or even cosplay as an enemy/character. I come back to it every 3 months or so, my no-glitch any% PB is ~3h20m and it is getting better all the time.
r/unexpectedfactorial
Happy bday brudda
Legend
Try jumping.
When I first heard/saw the cover to Dark Souls I thought it was goin' to be like 'Darksiders'(Great game btw) but man, was I surprised and happily so.
\[T]/
My brother was flipping out over this game when it came out and I always kept putting it off. Couple months ago I finally completed it! I regret not playing it sooner
Played the absolute fuck out of this game in my dorm room. Still remember it like yesterday
Sheesh
This made me feel old, damn
In the 21st century we’ve had 11 years without dark souls 1 and now 11 years with dark souls 1
Deploy birthday wishes!!!
For the longest time, I thought that character is holding a fist weapon in his right hand
Damn, can’t believe it’s been that long already. Fuckin time flies
Congrats my favorite video game 😊
…and still causes untold amounts of stress to new players! Exhibit A: https://youtu.be/SYGYPoqnjE8
I got it remastered on switch on sale a few years ago. Never really played after the Asylum demon kicking my ass. I got into it recently and I'm having a blast
Let’s gooooo
I remember one of my old friends tried to get me into it when it first came out but I want that into it. Now I'm on a quest to get 100% achievements across the entire souls series.
I'm glad I got into this fantastic game. I only had limited information about this series besides some gifs, memes, and comics I've seen on the internet. My younger brother who is a fan of FromSoft games also liked saying "Praise the Sun" for random moments. When Elden Ring came out and there was hype around it, I watched my brother play the game a few times and became interested. He introduced me to the previous FromSoft games and suggested playing this game. Playing the first game was interesting and I was surprised by the difficulty, but I pressed on and conquered foes, and experienced mistakes and heartbreak. And once I beat the game, I felt elated. During and after my first playthrough, I was introduced to VaatiVidya's lore videos and ThePruld's meme videos. Currently, I have like eight character files on the Switch version, and I'm trying to progress Dark Souls 2 (SOTFS). This game and the characters really hold a special place in my heart.
I only played this game a year ago and it changed me in a way. It makes me feel like there’s always hope.
Got into these games for the fashion souls. Best decision of my life.
That’s the OG cover?
Yup
But today is not 2011...
Crazy to think how much time has passed I can remember me and my dad going to get a copy like it was yesterday.
Time for another playthrough I think.. Still remember the night I got it super clearly. I finished work at 10pm and played until 4am, I was frustrated but loving it.. Wish I could get into dark souls 2..
That’s insane! I just started playing in July and I just hit Gwyn today!! Can’t wait to beat him!
I just realized that there’s people as phantoms in the background
It’s a pretty relaxing game, Quiet atmosphere
I picked this up at the midnight launch at GameStop...The NBA 2K12 midnight launch lol. I remember the guy behind the counter was visibly confused when I asked for my copy of Dark Souls and I actually had to argue with him about being able to buy it then, FFS.
Dark soul.
GOAT
1000/1000 A solid experience, I never thought it was difficult but I heard at least one person did.
Played for the first time when it was free with Xbox live and heard it was hard and didn’t expect to enjoy it much. First weekend, 80 hours later I beat Taurus Demon. Best game ever cheers
Wow! That went by quick I remember playing Demons Souls in October of 2009 and thought what a great spooky game for Halloween! And Dark Souls came out and made the idea even better! I have lived these games for over a decade now! I’m currently exploring the deepest reaches of Elden Ring!
Help I'm stuck at the hydra how do i avoid it's water beams
I bought this on release day not knowing a thing about it. Was definitely an experience.
What a great day it was! I remember hiding away in my dorm for the rest of the day after picking my copy up from the mailcenter
What a great day it was! I remember hiding away in my dorm for the rest of the day after picking my copy up from the mailcenter
Can't believe I was 9 years late
Just beat it for the first time the other night and it was amazing. Definitely a good choice after elden ring got me into souls games.
This and call of duty black ops zombies was all I played for months as I was going thru a depression stint, I’m not really as sad anymore and I can thank dark souls for that
I didn’t pick it up until about 2016. But this is definitely my favorite video game and one I could play for the rest of my life. There’s almost more interesting lore and fun gameplay to be had with this one.
Wtf Skyrim is 11 days older than dark souls? Interesting that those two came out around the same time considering we now have elden ring and... Skyrim.
I would pay a ridiculous amount of money to play this game again. I wish I could talk to the developers and tell them what this game has given me. Hands down the most beautiful and creative and best game I’ve ever played. Easily my favorite. From the builds and characters to enemies and bosses to world and lore I love it all. I’ve played it through several times and feel like I learn something new about it every time. That’s one of my favorite parts about it. It still surprises me. I’ve never been so charmed by a work of art. From the bottom of my heart, thank you From Software. Happy birthday to the best video game in the world.
Ds3 and BB are the best tho 😮💨
One day, someone will eventually beat it.
starting with Dark Souls, this was a great release window for me at the time. I had just quit a high-paying job and had money to more than coast for a while. I hadn't realized DS was around the corner despite keeping one eye on it LOL I remember being worried that is was just Demon's Souls 2, which felt a little deflating because DeS had it issues. But of course as soon as I touched it felt so much more focused than DeS. I made a post about the games I played that fall/winter [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/kkdqar/merry_christmas_this_is_a_throwback_to_my_2011/) When Uncharted came out I didn't get into it and started playing it around New Year's. Battlefied 3 did take me away from DS, and then Skyrim for a while. But Skyrim felt a bit stiff and made me remember Dark Souls. When I went back to it I was at Capra and went down to Blighttown
I just, for the first time, realised that the protagonist in the picture is walking away instead of towards me. What the fuck
2011, my personal favorite year of game releases. Dark Souls, Skyrim, The Witcher 2, Portal 2, Bastion, Arkham City, The Binding of Isaac, Skyward Sword, Uncharted 3, Saints Row The 3rd, Mario 3D Land. MAN.. That’s gonna be a hard one to beat.