So I just completed a SL1 run of this game and I did notice the gwyndolin fight does love to tp you to the firekeeper if you die. Fortunately you can just tp back to gwyndolin so it’s not the worst but still dumb. Also, New Londo didn’t feel any worse than a normal run for me. I ran past the ghosts and got the seal key first try(good ladder rng), ran over and broke the seal then boned out. Restocked estus, threw on full havel, and ran straight to the four kings fight. The run to four kings is always long but it’s so much easier if instead of going left up the stairs you turn right(toward the firekeeper soul) and drop onto the wall and then onto the ground. You’ll have to run past three dickwraiths and one ghost but you won’t have to worry about any of the rest of the level. I’m currently at the song demon in my SL1 ds2 play through and I have a feeling it’s all uphill from there. Im pretty sure I’ve already dealt with the worst that the game has to offer by this point

btw one thing I want to mention is that new game+ is also kind of valid, cuz even with lots of vit you take lots of damage. In new game +6 I finally had to suck it up and play patient on orstein and smough because they did so much damage and I couldn't tank lots of hits. But it only really makes the hardest bosses harder though, the easier bosses don't get much harder. Another critique is soul lvl 1 isnt challenging for lots of dark Souls vets including me as I expect dark Souls vets to at least know how to get through some areas fast. Otherwise, as far as I've seen, this is actually really smart and I may try this on other ds games. Great video, just two sma critiques. Wish you the best for the rest of your day.

I like the second-half of New Londo.

New londo is not good, but I feel that by skipping the shortcut(s) it is a lot harder then it has any right being. on the open air bridge with arches is a ladder you can jump to from just before climbing the stairs into the first building after you drain the water you can drop down onto the outside portion with the Dark wraiths each time cutting out more and more of the run back.

Ive completed new londo sl 1 since forever, and yeah, New londo is good. Top tier athmosphere and level placement

That arch to the rafter building looks so much like a surface you will slide off from, really trecherous. I was lucky that I happened to try it.

Bruh that was literally my first and second playthrough lmfao. The second time was even more frustrating cause as soon as i saw the yellow fog wall i got so mad at myself for being dumb a second time lmfao

I did that once.

you think thats bad ? i thought raw upgrade was the best upgrade for weapons in dark souls 2 and actually finished the game this way on my first playthrough after dying about 10.000 times for those that dont know raw removes strength and dex scaling from weapons meaning my damage output was extremely weak i remember fume knight taking 20+ minutes i just assumed the game was supossed to be this hard 😂

Think i did this on my 1st play

Seconded, I feel like you can see this really easily just by looking at Firelink. When I first played the game I didn't see the hill leading up to the burg, so I just pounded my head against the graveyard until a friend filled me in on the direction I was supposed to go

dude there is shit in ds games i have no idea how anyone found out.

@@humpteedumptee8629 Metadata. People cracked basically every souls game and have access to every quest, item, NPC, etc

@@humpteedumptee8629Well, messageboards were probably a HUGE help with everyone sharing tidbits of info until the puzzle was solved… Add on the fact that developers might have filled their friends in on some secrets and word just got around on the internet. Also someone mentioned earlier, metadata

@@CharlieTooHuman yea i figured the internet lol. personally im not a read the items to get lore kinda guy. i think inventory hints can be dope though. like in MGS2 to get merls codec info. or in re2re theres a code on the back of an item you gota flip.

I haven't played Sekiro yet. I just bought it today and plan on making a critique at some point in the near future. Maybe after bloodborne and DS3 critiques are finished.

@@feebleking21 can't wait to see a sekiro video, just found your channel today been binging it lmao good stuff

Agreed. Loved how Sekiro was able to make me feel uncomfortable and challenged again, even after getting familiar with the other games in the series. Makes me hope that fromsoft is planning to make more games like Sekiro that shake up the souls formula.

Hard Agree! I thought I would never get that feeling again even after SL1 runs in DS1, DS2 and DS3. Then Sekiro comes out and OMG that feeling again! Even my brother who's into action games like Ninja Gaiden and not into Souls games got into it.

@@feebleking21 are you going to review Demons souls?

He doesn’t believe in that

Pyro doesn't start with it so he's not using it.

​@@shadow105720that's not the item he means at all you can't even start with silver pendant

@@AltAccount-dz8rp exactly. You can't start with the silver pendant so it isn't valid for the challenge.

@@shadow105720??? You can't start with a weapon either, or any rings

There’s an even shorter path, from fire link you cross the bridges that lead to the beginning of the area, past the first two ghosts in the area to the right (opposite side from the fire keeper soul) there’s a ledge that you can drop from that will directly lead to the lowest part of new londo, you can then proceed to the boss

@@lightbrand_ this. I always use this path. Don't even fight any ghosts.

I always go from Darkroot Basin

Darkroot Basin is the best coz you don't fight anything. You just run past a few drakes and 1 Darkwraith and then drop down to the boss room. Done

@@paid14 same

This sounds exactly like the cadence of the author of the video. Did you just write yourself a glowing positive comment? It’s obvious

@@Ares78987 lmao stop schizo posting

Why would you watch a full essay about darksouls before playing the game? You basically spoiled everything the game had to offer/surprise you with??? Literally ruined your experience. I get looking up a guide if you’re stuck but you basically know everything now. Dumb decision

Once you get in to the mechanics trust me. The Dark Souls games arent really bad. Just play a little cautious when you run in to a new Boss/Enemy and try to get a glimpse of their move set. After that the games become really well balanced and designed. (except for one edition) And if you have the Chance try Bloodborne too. And if you dont have a Playstation to play it....when you got something like 10Mb download rate you can also get PS Now for Pc which are 10 bucks monthly fee but you can play games like Bloodborne on PC kinda. Admitting you are streaming the game from a Sony Server. So sometimes it can be lagging but if your internet is at least 10MB download or higher you should be able to play it almost lag free. Also Skip Dark Souls 2 Scholar of the First Sinn. Its bad. REALLY BAD. I would say skip Dark Souls 2 in general but i got to admit...Dark Souls 2 (vanilla) is SO MUCH MORE playable than Dark Souls 2 SotfS Edition.

​@@Ares78987Who hurt you?

Thanks, I'm happy you liked it 👍

I'm currently trying to beat my sl1 run trying to beat the bed of chaos. I'm going to try to beat it sl1 ng+7 but that's a while away

@@fiddlestickjones what is sl1 run?

@@andrejz8954 Soul level 1. A run without leveling

I think I would like doing 4king lvl 1 without havels armor, but I really really don't enjoy the new londo boss run at all so I just didn't do it.

@@feebleking21 From what I saw in the video, that's because you don't seem to know about the OTHER shortcut besides the elevator in new londo. What you gotta do is, instead of going up the stairs, go to the right from where you see the first two ghosts and drop down (you can see where it's safe to drop). This way you avoid the small corridors full of ghosts and you'll find yourself in the lower level with the darkwraiths and pretty much next to the boss gate. Don't get me wrong, it's definitely an annoying boss run (like pretty much every other boss run in this game haha) but it makes it a million times more bearable.

@@CruelusRex oh i see. Well if I knew that then maybe I would have tried to do 4 kings without Havel's armor. Of course it sounds like a more hidden shortcut, but I guess that's dark souls 1 for ya. Secretes ontop of secretes and I'm sure I'll never even know every single one.

@@feebleking21 it’s hardly hidden at all, that was how I got to four kings on the boss run in my very first play through. Also you are just deliberately torturing yourself in your gwyndolin boss run. Just start at gwynevere and your boss run is infinitely easier and at least three times as fast

@@ryan3470 solid point. You should make a video complaining about my critique for me to respond to, first

I watched berserk 1997 a few weeks ago and I loved it. I think I’m going to start reading the manga again.

Legend of the Galactic heroes >>>>>>>

What part of the Asylum Demon condenses the game loop in one area? Also, why do you think Gundyr and Margit teaches nothing from the regular enemies?

@@mecromelon6717 This is really really long, no pressure to read it all. So the Asylum Demon is a challenge that a first time player can’t beat, forcing them to pay attention to the arena, where a convenient side path is open. It encourages you to look around. Then, you’re placed in a hallway where you have a disadvantage, but you can use the cell on your side as cover and grab a shield, showing you that even though you’re at a disadvantage you can use the tools and your surroundings to overcome it. It then introduces you to environmental hazards in the form of the large rolling ball, which opens a path to an NPC that gives you healing items and sets up your journey for the rest of the game. Then you fight your first group of enemies, with a ranged on there to back you up, but again you can separate them by using the fence to block off the ranged enemy, allowing you to pick up just a little bit of how aggro works. Continue on and you find a door you can’t unlock yet, signaling that you need to return to the area later. Finally, by going through the fog wall, you quite literally get the drop on Asylum Demon, taking out nearly half his health. Because you explored off the most obvious path, you were rewarded with a weapon, an NPC, and a chance to learn how to engage with enemies, before being brought back to the fight again with numerous new resources and new knowledge of how the game works, and you’re given a chance to do a very powerful attack. The plunge attack makes this moment memorable and it sticks with you throughout your whole playthrough, and the lessons you learned will always sit in the back of your head. It subconsciously teaches you that exploring will massively reward you. The whole rest of the game, maybe save the rushed endgame, is like this. Multiple paths you can take that always lead to something, alternate ways to take on challenges by being creative, NPC’s you have to explore to find that reward you, things to come back to and resources in every area that help you take on the next challenge. You’re constantly learning in Dark Souls, no matter what, and I feel like Asylum Demon is the perfect introduction to that cycle of exploring, being rewarded, and testing our your new knowledge. Gundyr exists to show you that bosses have multiple phases and that the pace of the game is quicker. However the level itself feels disconnected from the boss. I feel like the level itself doesn’t have a learning curve like the Asylum does. Instead you fight one enemy, grab a flask, kill a ranged enemy, get to a bonfire. Kill one more enemy, grab a titanite shard, drop onto another, kill a ranged enemy, and then you’re at the boss. I feel like the level doesn’t do enough to encourage you to explore it since the one path you can explore is has an enemy that is absolutely going to kill a new player and signals to them that they aren’t prepared for that yet. Since there’s nothing else to explore besides a few little nooks with items, it does an okay job with this, but not as well as I think it should’ve. In the case of the Asylum Demon, the area itself is a part of the boss fight, but with Gundyr it’s the opposite. Gundyr is supposed to feel like the end of the level, and you don’t learn enough about the general gameplay loop by the rime you get to him if you’re new to the franchise. I feel like that’s part of the reason so many people quit when they first fight Gundyr. To veterans he feels like a slight change of pace compared to previous games, but he’s parry bait with a small healthpool and well telegraphed attacks. However I feel like the biggest issue is that if we fought something like a Lothric Knight instead, he’d be able to do half of Gundyr’s Job. Any other enemy can teach us that the gameplay is faster now, and any other boss can show us that they have two phases. But with the Asylum Demon, his slow, towering, lumbering design is perfect for making you think that he’s more of a threat than he really is and sets your victory up perfectly. I feel like Gundyr is a good tutorial boss overall but isn’t on the level of Asylum Demon. Margit, however, I feel fails pretty badly. By the time a new player reaches him they would’ve likely died to both the Scion and Tree Sentinel, already learned that attacks are delayed, and possibly already learned about bosses having multiple phases. By the time you fight him you’ve likely heavily explored the area and have learned anything he could’ve taught you already. Margit functions as a skill check and not a tutorial boss. Not to mention that he can be cheesed using Margit’s shackle, that you can summon a phantom, and that you can use spirit summons. Margit teaches you absolutely nothing you wouldn’t have already learned. Even the regular soldiers you come across can delay their attacks, and there’s an evergaol right next to him with a Crucible Knight, which basically feel like delayed Lothric Knights and teach you anything that he can at a slower pace. Plus you can skip Margit entirely, and he’s completely disconnected from the level. Instead of him being the focus of the tutorial, and overcoming him being the main goal of the area, he’s simply a boss that guards the next area. Which isn’t a bad thing, it’s just a different design like with Gundyr. It isn’t bad design, but it doesn’t succeed at making a great tutorial boss the way the Demon does in my opinion. I feel like Elden Ring doesn’t really have a tutorial boss, because you learn anything you would need to before you even see Margit for the first time, and the Scion teaches you nothing because a new player’s going to get slaughtered by it if they’ve never played a souls game before and you only have one shot. Anyway that’s just my overly long winded opinion!

@@scalycoronet5198 I just wrote an incredibly long comment and accidentally deleted it, so I'm going to have to shorten this quite a bit. I agree Cemetery of Ash is kinda underwhelming, and Gundyr's buildup isn't very good. However, I love Gundyr as a boss (might just be my rose tinted glasses showing) so it always will be my favorite tutorial boss. Plus, it does set the standard of DS3 having great bosses and mediocre areas, good and bad. Margit is eh, though it does set the standard for exploration helping a lot, I don't have much to add. Now, Asylum Demon and the Asylum itself. The first "fight" with asylum demon has a message on the ground telling you to run, so I'd argue it doesn't force you to look around the arena as much as "messages give useful information", which is still true, but also repeated throughout the asylum with messages teaching you controls. The hallway is... fine, I really don't think it does all that much a lot of other areas in souls games and outside of souls games already teaches you. There are a lot of options, like running towards the archer inbetween shots, or blocking them, or if you have experience you could roll them, but pretty much any area with a ranged enemy has those options in any game. So while I think it works as a teaching tool, I don't think its anything particularly special that DS1 did. The environmental hazard is good and sets up future hazards. (Burg flaming barrel, the entirety of Sen's.) I'd argue the small group of enemies doesn't so much teach you about aggro and more teaches you how to deal with archers again but this time with enemies trying to attack you. A part I think is done good, although I don't think its anything impressive by tutorial standards, is the enemy before said locked door. It's the first armored sword hollow you're likely to encounter in the game, and it has a much more sophisticated moveset than the basic hollows. Although its pretty easy for most players, it might prove to be a challenge for those very new to gaming and helps build that curve a little higher for the asylum demon encounter. The plunging attack on Asylum is good, since its used throughout the early game. (Taurus, Capra, giant rat in the depths.) And even after you can find little places you can get plunging attacks off. (This is unrelated, but I find it kinda interesting that in DS3 there are a lot of areas through the game where getting a plunging attack is an option, even though it wasnt very emphasized in the tutorial.) I do agree that DS1 teaches you the cycle of the game... but I'd also agree DS3 and ER do that as well. DS3 doesn't teach you to explore a ton, though it does reward you with items, the path never strays too far, showing the linearity of the game. The cycle of the game being killing enemies and getting to the boss, well, that's kinda how DS3 is, it teaches you exactly how it will work. ER teaches you to explore a ton, look in every nook and cranny to find every last smidgen of gear to pick up, each thing possibly being the next step in defeating a boss you're stuck on or getting through a tough area. In this essence, Margit having a massive world you can explore before even facing him (you don't even have to face him, really) let's you learn naturally the mechanics of the game. The fact Margit can be skipped is part of what makes him a good teaching tool IMO. However, this is all to say... I think Dark Souls games actually have meh tutorials overall anyways. Of the games, would I say DS1's tutorial is one of the better, or best ones? Yes, but I don't think its a high standard to meet. DeS's starting area is... well I played through it and I'm still a little lost on what the hell was happening in it. When you die you go to the Nexus (its like DS3 Firelink if you haven't played) but it definitely felt like it eased pretty well, not as good as DS1, but better than DS2 and 3 at least. DS2's starting area is... convoluted and weird. DS3's starting area is barebones and clunky. Elden Ring's tutorial... well the real tutorial is very short and easy, like DS3's first area minus the somewhat difficult/interesting boss, although if we were to count Margit and all of Limgrave as a tutorial then I'd say its pretty good, although that's a pretty big stretch. DS1's tutorial? Its good, but I don't think its much past that. Not an incredible tutorial or a masterpiece of a tutorial, but it eases newer players into the game fairly well. TL;DR This entire comment was mostly pointless since I agreed with you in the end that its the best tutorial of the souls games, but I don't think its an incredible tutorial in terms of overall gaming.

@@scalycoronet5198 Elden Ring tutorial boss is the soldier in the cave :p

That’s a heartwarming story man, I’m sure both of you will remember those moments fondly

You know I never thought to look up the definition of t minus. I just said it because it sounded cool and dramatic.

@@feebleking21 great way to get me to watch the whole video, now I must know how you said t minus wrong...

I have yet to do a sl1 playthrough, and I can tell this is how I'm going to feel.

@@jordangroblewsky2087 it’s fun except it’s painful, i went in kinda blind so I had to experiment a lot with some bosses which was cool

@@jordangroblewsky2087 As long as you use a fire and lightning reinforced club you'll do fine

I really try to praise the game when it deserves it and criticize the game when it is New Londo lol.

Pretty sure his knowledge isn't that great, if he keeps misnaming everything and getting really simple shit wrong.

@@SynysterProjects Relax buddy it aint that deep

@@SynysterProjects I don't really care if I pronounce 2 words wrong in an hour long video.

@@SynysterProjects You're hermione telling him how to pronounce leviosa right now... be better.

Thanks! I'm working on the sequel video right now.

Usually I just go up, jump down and stab, then circle around his legs until I can do it again.

I’m sure that works, but personally what I do for taurus demon is I start by hitting a plunging attack on him, and then I stand just out of his range to bait him into attacking, hit him once and repeat until it dies

Plunging attack is super fun to do as well.

@@grackleboi2523 feels very good

Thank you, I enjoyed reading your comment!

Thanks!

Yeah you can totally just take the elevator

@@Edd6789 well you have to take an elevator either way but why would anyone go through the damn rafters to fight gwyndolin? Like this dude is telling me that he starts at the fire keeper and runs to the elevator, waits for it to come up, goes down, runs through the rafters, and takes the staircase down to the boss every single time? I just start at Gwynevere, go down and out the front gate, take the stairs down and boom. Like this dude is just torturing himself Edit: turns out gwyndolin tps you to the firekeeper when you die. I just died for the first time ever to gwyndolin because SL1 is super squishy. You can still tp to his fight, fortunately

@@ToastUrbath yeah also the fact that he didnt attack the ghosts in new londo for some reason

@@Edd6789 why would you attack the ghosts?

@@ToastUrbath why would you run through them and get killed for no reason lol. He complained about it being a stupid gamble to get through

What is the punishment for breaking the illusion? The only thing I've noticed about it so far is that there's no fire keeper in Anor Londo now but that's it

@@michaelhenderson1337 the enemy placement changes too and the fire keeper fights with you in the bridge

old comment, but just watched this vid and also thought his statement about the gwyndolin run-back was weird. I always use the bonfire right in front of the boss fog. But if that's not available in dark anor londo, which im not sure about, i would rather run from the princess bonfire and take the spinning staircase down. there are no more giants in dark anor londo so it's a pretty simple run.

@@spfy Dying in dark Anor Londo triggers an automatic teleport to the first Anor Londo bonfire. It's similar to the trigger used in Seath's first encounter arena.

​@@spfyor yk just warp to that bonfire lol

u could plunge him then lure him back to the other side, bait an attack and then go back to the top and fight him up top or just repeat the process.

Lets goooooo!

Glad you enjoyed it!

Such a bad boss run that he got exactly what he wanted, which is the D lol.

That would have been great to know! I'm upset, Smough and Ornstein would have been so much less frustrating. I guess the Dark Souls 1 jank has multiple levels to it.

@@feebleking21 Oh it’s definitely got layers to it, for sure lmao. And yeah knowing that definitely gets you out of tight spots!

DS1 back in the day taught me to always run with my shield up for this reason. A habit I had to unlearn partway through DS2 when I realized that it was no longer needed but I could use better stamina management. Ahh, I miss the early, tactical, patient era of souls games. Elden Ring is kinda fun but it will never measure up to DS 1&2 in my eyes.

@@feebleking21 If you play Dark Souls Remastered you can bind left stick to jump. It's very useful

Thanks Tyler, you've given me a lot of support and I really appreciate it 👌

Those are really great fights, but I also liked phase 2 friede and demon in pain/demon below. O&S have bugs in prepare to die, but maybe they were patched out in the remaster?

@@feebleking21 I fought them in remaster because that’s how I got into the game, and I never saw any of those junkie bugs, so they probably were patched.

I think Demon Prince tops O&S to me and is the best dual boss fight in the series. The way they trade aggression and passiveness through visual ques and how one will be using ranged attacks while the other melee, plus depending on the one you kill last you will get a different boss with a new move set. It’s perfection imo

@@187Wretched Visual _and_ audio queue, not one or the other. Which is good, because you are looking at the other demon.

Gargoyles in DS are better than DkS

I'm not on remastered because I refused to buy it when I heard that they didn't rework lost Izalith, despite how unfinished it is. I felt like I couldn't properly rank Ceaseless Discharge if I used the fall to kill him, so whether intended or not I need to see how the fight mechanics were to rank him properly (Into the delete tier lol). Level 1 soul of cinder was the hardest boss in the base game for me, definitely a hard fight. From what I remember, the best strat for soul of cinder is to not engage when he is dual wielding swords since that is his best weapon moveset. Later I will make a "Dark Souls 3 Critique, but I'm Level 1" and I will refight lvl 1 cinder and talk more about how to beat him.

@@feebleking21 I get that part about lost izalith, but I also get why they didn’t change it, they want to keep it as it is or else many people would have gotten mad probably. It would have been cool if they brought in cut content into the game

@@tylerherdman1755 I guess I found it weird for Fromsoft to remaster an unfinished game, but the people who remastered it weren't the original developers so I guess they were afraid of making people upset. I guess I want a Dark Souls 1 remake because that could be my favorite game ever if New Londo and Lost Izalith were changed. At least add a new Londo bonefire.

@@feebleking21 I get your reasoning but only fromsoft can rework izalith and this remaster is not made by them

I dont think Sif was confirmed as female ? Not sure

Damn I struggled hard with Manus :( I traded him to death with a Zweihander and Poise, couldn’t imagine avoiding his onslaughts every time

Quelaag is just one boss. The entirety of dark souls 2 is flawed

Dark souls 2 is shit. It's a shit game not worth money. The bosses, the level design, enemy design, movement, healing, graphics, all shit tier I'd rather play wii sports than install dark souls 2 again. And I got all achievements in DS2 just to try and have a qualified opinion

To be fair Quellag is a single bossfight, while DS2 is an entire game. The vast majority of bosses in DS2 are easier to fight unlocked, while DS1 only has one boss that is objectively better to fight unlocked.

they really aren't flawed much and are very consistent from casual runs to sl1 to sl1 no roll to sl1 no sprint. yea ornsteins gap closing jank charge is jank as can be (but you should never be that far from Ornstein anyway so you shouldn't have to deal with it much), and yea Orn can hit through Smough. The way their attacks, speed and AIs compliment eachother is so well done, and still remains one of fromsofts greatest gank bosses, possibly still the best. Having the pillars to break up aggro is also very important as well and they work perfectly for that.

Pyromancers are literally the only class in DS1 that start at SL 1

Thanks man, this video was a difficult one to make!