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Dark Souls 3


Nabeel Ansari
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I never did like these games, but Bloodborne was good and this Dark Souls does look a lot better than the previous games.

 

Mainly because this one's combat doesn't seem to move at the speed of a paraplegic sloth junked-up on codeine. Here's hoping they also fixed the stupid delayed reaction with the parrying and fixed the hitboxes.

 

Also, the music sounds a lot more epic.

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Yeah, the hitboxes in Dark Souls have never been great. But each installment (and Bloodborne) has seen sleeker, more streamlined combat than the previous. Let's hope they ironed everything out in DS3, or at least ironed out more than the predecessors. The combat was never enough to deter me, and I was always more interested in the RPG elements and the lore than combat.

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Currently playing through DS2 for the first time and thoroughly enjoying it, though even at 40 hours in I'm not entirely sold on the minor mechanical changes compared to the first one. The simplification of the humanity system and the ability to fast-travel anywhere at any time feel like attempts to make the game more accessible and, in the latter case, a way of dealing with a map that isn't as creatively laid out or self-connected as the first game's. And I already have so many Estus Flask charges and heal-over-time items that dying because I just didn't have the resources to heal myself after combat really isn't a thing at all, which feels weird to me given that it was a constant concern for me in the first game. Maybe I'm just better at Dark Souls the second time through.

 

In any event, I've no doubt that DS3 will be fantastic.

 

AngelCityOutlaw, I'm pretty sure that's stock trailer music and not game music. Gotta love the really exposed use of EWQL Symphonic Choirs at the start!  :<

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I liked the accessibility of DS2, I saw it as an improvement over DS1. I generally roll my eyes at hardcore culture, and when people think that something being hard to latch onto or just really hard is somehow a strength of said thing (probably an empowerment attitude from justifying their interests). This isn't directed at you, Moseph, but rather I do encounter many people on forums who treat the game design flaws as things you're supposed to get used to, or as they say "get good".

 

That being said, the fast-travel concern I think is valid. In DS1, the multiple areas were masterfully connected, and it was really apparent on my second playthrough. Being able to bypass Blight Town through the Valley of Drakes was a real treat. I was able to ring the two bells within an hour of each other. In general, the entire game world FEELS like one big area, and it's even better when you discover a new area, have the text pop up that says the name, and it turns out to be somewhere you've already been.

 

In DS2, everything just sort of branches out in separate directions, without much coherency between them. Every level in DS2 is its own isolated rabbit hole, and to get back to the hub? Warp to Majula. Very different from DS1, and I personally prefer DS1's handling of navigation better (lots of manual shortcut rewards).

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The overpowered Estus Flask issue actually stems from the fast-travel/map design issue, because in the first game, until pretty late when you finally get limited fast-travel, the bonfire you're at is the bonfire you're stuck at, and if you want more Estus charges you have to expend your valuable humanity resources to kindle the fire. This mechanic wouldn't have worked at all in DS2, because you could just have warped back to whatever bonfire you'd kindled to get the extra Estus charges (as you can do from linked bonfires later in DS1). So instead, DS2 has a permanent Estus Flask upgrade system, which removes the resource management and response to individual bonfire situations that were part of the DS1 system and replaces them with a treasure hunt for upgrades that end up overpowering you for many of the individual bonfire sections. IMO, it's a step backwards in terms of game design.

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AngelCityOutlaw, I'm pretty sure that's stock trailer music and not game music. Gotta love the really exposed use of EWQL Symphonic Choirs at the start!  :<

 

I dunno, most of the Dark Souls games have used tunes from the game in the trailer. Like that awful track that sounded like a train was approaching that they used in all the DS2 trailers.

 

Either way, Bloodborne raised the bar for the series' music IMO, so we can probably expect more epicness this time - it would be fitting since the game seems much faster and all.

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The Souls series has kindled my love of games over the past 6 years. I’m not sure why this series feels so refreshing, but I could venture a few guesses 

 

1) The cold meditative aura that permeates every corner of the world is punctuated by the absence of music or the eerily minimalist compositions that do appear. 

2) The sense of permanence from your actions, anger a character  or kill them and that is what will be till the end of the game. Lose 20,000 souls after a boss fight and don’t retrieve them? So it goes…You’ re still alive, but at a great loss, no loading an old save files ( at least not for me) 

3) The gameplay makes me feel linked to the controller in a way that feels fluid and natural, roll, tuck hit, roll, half moon grass, dodge, roll

4) The difficultly makes you analyze each move, the bosses feel like a boss should feel, they destroy you when you first meet them, and with each subsequent loss it feels like this is one of those games that is going to go unfinished, but by some miracle you fell them and it feels like “ How did I do that?” I don’t recall a boss battle where I had them sussed in a few fights, each one was a hard fought victory, equal parts skill and luck.

5) The online functionality is one of the most ingenious uses of the technology to further the story, Ghost hunt your gaming sessions…..I…love…it

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I platted All three Souls games thus far, (I have to boast about here, otherwise I wasted my time) and I really did not like Dark Souls II. I suppose you would then ask me why I bothered to platinmize it if I didn't like the game, and the answer to that would be "Because I am stupid."

 

Anyway, REAL TALK!

The biggest problem with Dark Souls II in my opinion was that the environments and bosses slightly lacked creativity and completely lacked beauty. The trailer for Dark Souls III makes everything look amazing again. I wasn't planning on buying it at first, but I want it now.

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I feel like anyone who expects epic music from Dark Souls completely misses the point of the game.  :< I'd prefer it to remain silent, like usual, with the exception of important areas and boss fights. The opening screen music for DS2 and the theme for Majula were both wonderful, given how passive they were.

 

 

I'm fairly certain the point of Dark Souls is to die. A lot.

 

and I want to die to an awesome soundtrack, damn it. Just like IRL  :<

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I want to like Dark Souls, I really tried.  Made a good, honest attempt.  but after getting stuck at the Capra Demon I don't have the will to continue anymore.  The challenge to fun ratio sucks.  it's just too tedious spending 10 minutes getting to the thing over and over and over, only to be killed in 15 seconds.  I have to admit that DS has beaten me and I likely won't try any of the other games in the series.

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I'm fairly certain the point of Dark Souls is to die. A lot.

 

and I want to die to an awesome soundtrack, damn it. Just like IRL  :<

 

I'm not sure if this is sarcasm so I'll leave it at that :P

 

I want to like Dark Souls, I really tried.  Made a good, honest attempt.  but after getting stuck at the Capra Demon I don't have the will to continue anymore.  The challenge to fun ratio sucks.  it's just too tedious spending 10 minutes getting to the thing over and over and over, only to be killed in 15 seconds.  I have to admit that DS has beaten me and I likely won't try any of the other games in the series.

 

Well, the challenge to fun ratio doesn't suck (it's one of the best challenging games precisely because it doesn't suck), it's just too high stakes for some people, and that's... fine. There's no such thing as a game everyone likes.

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after getting stuck at the Capra Demon I don't have the will to continue anymore. 

 

 

This is why the Souls series is great, you will break before the game. Too many games simply surrender progress to the adventurer  and in doing so I no longer feel like I'm on an adventure. In any believable fantasy world, the deeds must match the legend. It's hard to believe I'm the Savior of the World, simply cause I was the first to press this very large button in the middle of the town square, with the neon sign over it that says "PRESS HERE" In the Souls series, despair is palatable emotion and a necessary one for immersion into the story. 

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Bloodborne is so far beyond Dark Souls (any of them) quality-wise.. just everything about that game is amazing. I find it funny though that so many people thought Bloodborne was so hard, and don't even get past the first (optional) boss... it really is sort of like a Souls game for filthy casuals. Not that Dark Souls 2 was overly hard at all, but I figure it would have been a lot easier if it were made and refined as well as Bloodborne was. With those good hitboxes and that fluid control. You can only have so much fun squatting in a corner with a shield which is why the quick and brutal combat of Bloodborne wins out. 

 

Going back to the starting area at high level with a +10 weapon is a heck of a lot of fun too. 1-shotting those guys who gave you so much grief when you were starting out is a good feeling. 

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it's not that Bloodborne is too hard - it's that it lacks the options that made Dark Souls good in the first place

 

in Dark Souls you have a bunch of different ways you can play the game and it changes how you approach each and every area and encounter; Bloodborne on the other hand is pretty much "get good at this one thing or get out", which is lame and boring

 

Bloodborne's got a lot going for it, but as far as pure design goes it's lackluster at best

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it's not that Bloodborne is too hard - it's that it lacks the options that made Dark Souls good in the first place

 

in Dark Souls you have a bunch of different ways you can play the game and it changes how you approach each and every area and encounter; Bloodborne on the other hand is pretty much "get good at this one thing or get out", which is lame and boring

 

Bloodborne's got a lot going for it, but as far as pure design goes it's lackluster at best

 

I can see that in that respect, yes, I hope Dark Souls III is better than Bloodborne. More accurately though, I'd say I hope Dark Souls III preserves the unique Dark Souls methodology and doesn't just become Bloodborne II.

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