You make a fantastic point. Ending up struggling through one of those long detours definitely shows you what to look for in the future for signs you might be heading in the wrong direction. If you can make it through the despair you do learn alot from it, and you're probably more than skillful enough at that point to tackle the areas of the game you missed. But also, that climb back out of the Tomb is utterly hellish. I think it took me a solid 2 hours to finally claw my way back out of there during that playthrough. And I'm really glad you enjoyed the video! Thanks for the kind words mate

Also if you go to the Catacombs first and struggle, but then meet Andre and talk to him, then later find the Moonlight Butterfly Andre lets you know how to best the skeletons of the Catacombs

You got a unique experience and understood the teachings of zerthimon, bravo

The back halfs flaws are exaggerated today. Only truly bad area is izalith.

Hey a fellow 200+ hours member! I just recently reached that milestone while working on this video! And thank you so much! I'm really glad you enjoyed it!

My issue was for the abyss is that i misclicked a button by mistake and it skipped the hint of needing one of the items. Due to this i was just kinda fucked unless i googled it

Yeah a lot think Rite of Kindling just lets you get 15, but it is 3 kindling saved across every NG+ for that character

Oh wow, I guess that just goes to show how little I kindled, lol. I always thought only the fully satiated Lordvessel gave you 20 Estus. That's cool to know!

Thanks so much for the thoughtful comment! And you make a great point that everyone that plays the game will interact with NPC invaders, so from that perspective they are as much a part of the game as summoning, bonfires, and boss fights. Honestly if they just removed the red filter and didn't have them spawn out of the ground I'd be happier with them. I really enjoyed the optional challenge they offer, and the unique weapons and armour you get are definitely not a detriment by any measure. I guess my problem was that I could never get past their visual effects, they make them appear very much "not of this world", and while that's definitely intentional, it also feels at odds with the rest of the enemies in the game. Every other enemy comes across as a real person or creature that inhabited the world long before you arrived, as though you're seeing the unfortunate end to a story you never heard. If the NPC invaders were a bit less spectral looking, or perhaps if you got the opportunity to talk to their in-world counterparts at other points in the game like you can with Marvelous Chester for example, it would help with that. Invaders are basically from parallel worlds right? So you could even have hollow/weaker versions of these invaders, or the corpses of their doppelgängers, in the world to find. I feel like that would go a long way to help make them feel more "real" as it were. Obviously this is my opinion, but as they appear currently, they are out of place in the game and I think that's what makes them feel like extra content, if that makes sense? But again, thanks so much for the thoughtful comment, I'm always down to get into some respectful disagreements, and thanks so much for your kind words as well. I'm glad you like the video!

@@PolarBear084 definitely. I wish they would've done something with the NPCs around hollowing, our character can look "hollow' but not actually BE hollow, and yet the NPCs go from looking perfect (nice skin, no hollow features) to all of a sudden hollow, a la crestfallen warrior, laurentius, etc etc. would've been cool to see some NPCs gain the "hollow look" before actually hollowing and then get a hold of some humanity and restore their appearance so that it seemed more a realistic part of the world, rather than just something the player character did. As for NPC invaders, I can understand the color effects taking away from the immersion, the lore around invaders and summoning was kinda weak to begin with. Solaire is in our world by the Hellkite drake, but then when we summon him he has the appearance of a summon, so if he is from another universe why is he also "normal" at times in our universe? Why isn't he always golden? Lots of holes in DS lore it seems haha keep up the great work

How refreshing to see people disagreeing yet being respectful with eachother in the internet nowadays.

​@exposingpowerfullieslivest5082 He isn't always golden because time does not flow in one direction in Lordran. When we summon him he is coming from a different timespace. When he is not golden, our times are aligned. Some characters are always aligned throughout time, others are never aligned, and lastly, some are both.

​@@PolarBear084npc invaders have been different colors since demons souls and it is explained in lore in both series. In bloodborne the invaders are not different colors because it doesn't fit in with the lore. Whilst I understand "immersion" is a thing that some may complain about/strive towards there's a bit of an issue here. Is a glowing person more immersion breaking than your character being unable to crawl over tiny walls? How about being able to ninja flip while wearing Havel's armor? This is lazy criticism. Also, do you /really/ think the necessity of reading items in video game is grounds for saying the worldbuilding just "isn't there for most players"? You need some kind of Lord of The Rings voice over for every bit of lore for you to care?

Hey thanks for your comment, I'm glad you enjoyed the video! You make a good point that running towards Manus for the Dark Circle attack is a consistent way to avoid it, and it does incentivise you to keep up the offensive going, which definitely makes sense for how frenetic and fast paced the fight is already. I do feel like, visually at least, it seems like you should be able to roll through the circle attack as it closes in, and I think not being able to do that consistently is what frustrated me about it. Running at a boss to avoid an attack does feel a little strange too, and not being able to roll or position yourself in a way that the bolts pass by you is a shame. But you're 100% right that the pendant requires timing to use correctly, so it's not an instant silver bullet as it were. And his other two magic attacks are great, and add a lot to the fight for sure. I do love Manus as a boss overall, definitely in my top 5 I'd say.

It's because he saw someone else talk about player messages being bad in a different video essay, so he decided to parrot it, but doesn't actually believe it himself

Thanks so much for the comment! You are right, these two points do at first seem to contradict each other. Do I want the world to be open and unguided so that I can make mistakes and learn on my own, or do I not want to waste hours of effort on a very difficult detour that would take yet more hours to escape? Well, both, honestly. I can praise this game for how enthralling its game world is, enjoy the open ended adventure that it allows you to have, and also acknowledge the downsides of designing the game in this way. Hell, just moving the golden fog door to right before Pinwheel would alleviate a lot my issues with the graveyard path, so that you don't have to get so deep into that hole before knowing you have to turn around. And I see your point about the player messages, and I believe I even mentioned that I do like them thematically. It makes it seem like there are many earlier adventurers who have left their mark on the world, leaving behind breadcrumbs for the next brave souls that start the journey to follow. But again, they do have their downsides. I don't think I'd want them removed from the game completely, but maybe an option to toggle them off while still being online, or allowing players to mark some tags as spoilers so they appear in a different colour would work. Basically I'm trying to say that I agree with you. I do both appreciate and respect the benefits of the cryptic, open world and the player messages that fill its streets with the echoes of past adventures, but I also acknowledge that they can sometimes be detrimental. And thanks again for the insightful comment, I really enjoyed reading it!

Great points, took the words out of my mouth lol

​@PolarBear084 that's why they don't just let you put whatever message you want to put. The templates cam help curtail something that could other wise be a super spoiler. Even when it spoils something I do like when "be wary of right" stops me from getting stomped, and then I can go back and rate that message to help the player in their world. Playing offline just isn't the same.

Thanks! Hope you enjoy it, and good luck with the new job!

If I could double heart this, I would. Thank you so much for your kind words, and I'm genuinely pleased you enjoyed the video! I'm proud to be able to add even a whisper to the chorus of discourse surrounding this monument of a game. I'll definitely carry your feedback into my next critique as well. Again, thank you.

Huh didn't know that! Glad I wasn't completely off the mark with those takes XD Like I said, all I really heard about the game when it first came out was what my friends talked about so that mostly passed me by. And I'm gonna add that just saying Magic is OP is underselling it. When you have a magjc focused character, particularly offensive magic, it's like you're playing a completely different game. Nothing wrong with using magic in the game at all obviously, I personally found it incredibly satisfying, it's just strange to me that From Software would include such disprate combat experiences in the same game where there's such an apparent focus on how that combat operates.

Sunlight Maggot doesn't require spending any Humanity. The shortcut is nice, but only accessible after placing the Lordvessel anyway so if you're already heading down to Lost Izalith at some point you can get two fairly easy bosses out of the way and open the shortcut from the other side, saving the 30 Humanity you have to give for opening the Shortcut slightly early.

@@thefrogwasnthurt2299 True, but I always take the shortcut for reasons. If only I could be so grossly incandescent

@@darkspawntales You can kill that thing through the wall as well (Poison Mist Pyromancy does so easily), or not speak to him in Anor Londo from what I've heard. I kind of like having his gear personally, but there are alternatives to forking over thirty Humanity.

I really glad you enjoyed the video! And thank you so much for such a thoughtful and detailed comment, it was a joy to read! You make a fantastic point that the online features were definitely always an intended part of the experience, and I think that comes through stronger in the later games, DS3 being the most notable example. There, the online features feel fully realized and are probably closest to what From Software wanted the experience to be like in DS1, and I think that's just down to them learning with each installment. I'm excited to finally play through Elden Ring and see how that game uses all of these earlier attempts as learning material to inform their design choices there. And as far as the story goes, I completely agree that there is a story to be found in the game, a fantastic one at that, but a lot of people will act as though telling the story through item descriptions and vague dialogue that you can never revisit if you accidentally hit the A button, is the best... heck even the ONLY way to tell it. The reason this works is because the atmosphere is so masterfully crafted that you want to learn more, and thankfully some incredible people in the community have taken on the Herculean task of compiling that story into something we can all understand. It definitely works, and I do like that ultimately it is the community that works together to understand the stories behind these games, but I cannot get behind the idea that this is a good way to present them overall. Stories should be able to stand as their own narrative, without the aid of Wiki's or incredibly passionate individuals willing to do untold hours of work on their behalf. Also, as an aside, I would really like to be able to pull apart the world of Lordran myself, and put together the pieces to figure out what happened there, similar to a game like Outer Wilds (not Obsidian Entertainment's Outer Worlds, I know those two get confused a lot). I was incredibly disheartened when I realized that the story was so far beyond my understanding, requiring way more time that I would be able to offer it at this stage in my life, and that my only option was to go watch someone else's compilation of it. I'm so incredibly grateful they went through and did the work that I would be unable to do, but man do I wish it was presented in a way that I could piece it together myself. Again, thank you so much for your comment, it was incredibly detailed and thought-provoking. I really appreciate it. And I'm so glad you enjoyed the video!

Hey, thanks for the comment, I really enjoyed reading it and you make some great points! And I do think you're right when you say that there is a story to be found in Dark Souls, and that there's clearly people that want to understand that story. However, as you mentioned in relation how many people didn't try to understand the underlying plot in COD zombies, the story being this difficult to parse is definitely a hurdle for most. There is such a large barrier to entry, the information so disprately presented and so difficult to unearth, that a large portion of the people that play the game are not going to go to those efforts to figure it out. The fact that there are KZfaq channels that go through the monumental effort of compiling the underlying story into a form that is actually understandable for us, and that so many people watch their content to gain that understanding also lends credence to this. People definitely do want to understand the world of Lordran, but it would require far too much time and effort to personally attempt to unearth the story yourself and do all the work that the game asks of youto achieve it, cataloguing hundreds of item descriptions and analyzing hours of character dialogues. As I said, I admire why they chose to present the story/lore in this way, and I can definitely see the inherent appeal it provides. But I also can't ignore how obtuse it makes it. What I'm trying to say is that this method of presenting the story isn't a failure by any means. It elevates the atmosphere of Lordran, to the point that I could almost call it immpecable. But it also makes the actual story that you take part in quite inpenetrable. But thanks again for the thoughtful comment and I'm glad you enjoyed the video! You've certainly given me something to think about, so thank you for that.

Your complaint about Manus' black circle forcing you to run close, I assumed that it was developer intention to stop mages from just standing back and sniping. You have to stay engaged with the boss BECAUSE he can force you to move

Glad you're enjoying the video! And I did play Dark Souls 2, and enjoyed it a lot! I would put it below Dark Souls 1 and 3 if I were to rank them, but I definitely wouldn't say that DS2 was a bad game at all. I often say that DS2 is a great game, but not a great Dark Souls game, if that makes sense? Absolutely an underrated entry in the series, that gets somewhat piled on by the community from what I've seen, but it does have some flaws that drag it down a bit for me as well. Hope that answered your question, and thanks for the comment! I could definitely see Dark Souls 1 taking a little getting used to if it wasn't the first one you played.

@@PolarBear084 I think that's a completely fair statement! I find that it takes more work and enthusiasm to truly get immersed in the world, but once I did I was hooked. My biggest complaint is how brutal the early game is, and how empty drangleic castle is. It feels lifeless. I think it takes the opposite direction of ds3 where the first 1/3 of the game is overwhelming with exploration options, and I have come to quite like it. DS3's first few areas always leave a bitter taste in my mouth when I replay it, but the later game areas + dlc are all really awesome.

By the way, great video! Appreciate any chance to revisit this game in a thoughtful, critical way. Good luck building the channel, I liked and subbed

Thanks mate, I'm glad you enjoyed it! I certainly agree that the expectations that come with a genre can effect how successful you think the game was with respect to those expectations, but Dark Souls definitely uses RPG elements on top of the Action-Adventure aspects too. And I would disagree with your statement that you can't have a good Adventure game without a good story. I've played a few that fit that description pretty well. Whether it's a game where the story isn't very engaging like the Legend of Zelda, or if it's a basically impenetrable story like in the Myst series, these games still nail their atmosphere so well that the story almost isn't needed. Actually, Journey is another good example of this imo, where the world building and atmosphere is so strong, that it's kinda all you need to keep you playing. Thanks for watching it mate, glad you got something out of it!

Yeah, that's a great point! Very much has that feeling of slowly peeling away at this larger world and discovering hidden areas and regions. 100% agree!

@@PolarBear084 yeah exactly! There's even a time travel aspect between the two games!

Hey thanks for the feedback! Apologies the voice over was a little too slow for you. I think I was deliberately trying to be measured in my delivery because I have a tendancy to talk fast when I'm passionately explaining my thoughts on something, so there's a good chance I over corrected. I'm glad you were able to make it work by speeding it up in the KZfaq player though, and that you enjoyed the video! I'll try to work on my cadence for the next review for sure!

Oh yeah I totally get that, I watched a video recently on demons souls where the cadence was too fast, it’s a difficult balance I think. Usually when I watch videos like this I try to think of constructive feedback on the video instead of focusing entirely on the game itself. I think feedback on video essays is important and sometimes people focus on assertions people make and aren't aware of all the effort and thought behind the whole thing.

I still think there's value to everyone sharing their own thoughts on how this game feels to them

@@Tp_hedgelinghog it's been 20 years. It feels the same to everyone. I guarantee this entire review is mostly regurgitated information from other reviews.

@@Greendawn-di3dl and so what? 13 years, and someone can have their own ideas that other people might have also touched on. Why so angry about a guy talking about something he likes?

@@Tp_hedgelinghog it's like critiquing the Bible. It's been done and everyone knows about it; the only people that still do it are weird zealots.

If you really feel this way then why are you even watching thie entire video if it's simply 'the same old thing'? As an avid Dark Souls fan, I can honestly say that while I don't agree with many of his points, he still has an absolute right to post his own experiences about the game just as YOU have the right NOT to watch it! I think it's great that an older game such as Dark Souls still have the power and capacity to drawn new players in to experience it for the first time...how many games can honestly do that?