u/ComfortableNinja88

So I wanna talk about something different and that is.... arguing. Arguing about anything, from dub or sub wars to is anime getting worse. I think people are getting too much retrained while talking about anime because you cannot really criticize too much as opinions are opinions are a thing nowadays. And I think this is making the community shallow. I am not saying this is a bad thing because there are alot of casual anime watchers these days unlike the hardcore majority of the past, but still a little spice makes things interesting. What do you think?

As a diehard Dark souls 1 enthusiast, I have heard everywhere that the level design of dark souls 3 is much worse which is a shame since level design is the primary reason I love ds1 so much.

Exploring the high wall of lothric just now and I'm blown away by how intricate it is. It's tightly packed, dense and a bunch of routes to take. Not to mention the insane difficulty that humbled me so hard. And I also love how it's throwing minibosses/bigger enemies constantly. It's simultaneously scratching my dark souls 1 itch and giving me another unique itch. Can't wait to see what this game has to offer next.

Souls games are extremely underrated in the "survival" aspect of the experience. They excel at making you feel truly hopeless not just by description but by actual experience. Difficulty is also a factor here but going from one point to another truly feels like you have accomplished something and don't just have less game to play anymore. The unexpectedness of traversal and the consequence of death also influence the immersion a lot. The feeling of exploring a new area blind in a souls game is unmatched in its intensity and sheer oppression exerted by the environment. Not to mention the exploration which is truly exceptional. Exploring exposes you to more danger but is also necessary to find new and stronger items and options etc. Especially in earlier souls games, this feels very much true.

While resident evil games are overly dependent on the aesthetics and grotesque features. Yeah they can seem scary at first but after playing them a little bit, they quickly become unexciting. The survival aspect is all about "you are trapped here with these disgusting looking monsters and the whole city is full of them" but in practice, it feels too lacking as compared to how it is presented. You can shoot them from afar and do flashy moves by the press of a single button most of the time and escape the situation. (I still have yet to play re7 so that might change my opinion a little bit)

In resident evil games, it feels like you need to find a lever to open a gate and get out. In souls games, it feels like you have to find a piece of steel, bend and sharpen it by your fists and make an axe of it to cut open the door.

(I still love resident evil games for their gameplay and other things. I'm talking here strictly about the survival horror aspect).

After trying and getting disappointed by a huge number of soulslikes, I kinda wanna try the daddy KF itself to scratch the itch. But the gameplay on yt looks visibly dated. Is it worth it?

So I just started ds3 and I was curious if I could marry her. Serious question ofc

‎First of all, does ornstein and smough actually mark the "middle" of the game? Undead asylum, undead burg, lower undead burg, undead parish, depths, blighttown, the great hollow, ash lake, dark root garden/basin, sen's fortress, painted world of ariamis, valley of the drakes and finally anor londo. All of these areas are usually explored by the player before beating O&S.

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‎Now let's look at the "second half" and see if it compares. Duke's archives, crystal cave, demon ruins, lost izalith, catacombs, tomb of the Giants, new Londo ruins and kiln of the first flame. People who are actually saying that these are two equal halves are just wrong and this fact should be enough to highlight the hypocrisy of dark souls 1 haters. Now let's look at the usual complaints.

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‎"Second half isn't as interconnected"

‎New Londo ruins loop to the valley of drake's which also connects to dark root basin, BACK to new Londo ruins, and blighttown. Lost Izalith also connects back to blighttown via the elevator. This does apply to the duke archives and catacombs. But this "issue" is inherently a praise for most of dark souls 1 world that actually does interconnect.

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‎"Tomb of the Giants is unfair" the game gives the player multiple light sources, one of them being in the tomb of the Giants to solve the problem. It should be a natural instinct to think "hmm it's too dark, the game must have given something to make this doable". And after a light source, it's very much fair. In fact, tomb of the Giants is peak souls experience. Even after nearing the end, it still gives you the magical feeling of dreadful exploration and navigation that dark souls is famous for. And that view of lost izalith and ash lake is no less of an achievement than getting a cool weapon of an item.

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‎"The areas are poorly designed and unfinished in the second half" New Londo ruins has one of the best exploration in the whole game. There are so many paths to explore and combined with the feeling of constantly being chased by ghosts, it is a unique feeling like no othe. Dark wraiths are one of the best enemies as well. Duke's archives is a bit hard to navigate and can be punishing, but it still has a distinct feeling and environment like no other area in the game. And the prison sequence is iconic for a reason. Crystal cave sucks and a huge missed potential. I agree with all the criticisms this area has. Catacombs, despite its reputation, is also a really well designed area. The constantly respawning skeletons keep you at your toes and navigating the path downwards through different routes is amazing (and especially the underground ruins area where you meet the skeleton blacksmith). I have already talked about the tomb of the Giants.

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‎And now finally "Lost Izalith"

‎I think the biggest culprit here is the bed of chaos. It singlehandedly makes the entire area lackluster and people immediately jump and agree that the whole demon ruins and lost izalith suck when they hear that it is unfinished, which is not true. Yes it isn't as fleshed out as the other areas of the game and yes it is unfinished, but it's not straight up bad. Just not as good as other parts. The tentacle monsters are cute, seigmyer and solaire quest lines have an important part here. The art direction is fantastic. The lore is fantastic. Fighting Taurus demons and Capra demons again is thrilling.

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‎So in conclusion, I can agree with the criticisms of the crystal cave and see why people complain about lost izalith. But most people complain about the second half just because they want to hate the game. Catacombs and new Londo ruins are just as good as the first half and dukes archives is well designed. Not to mention the dlc and the build up to gwyn fight.

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‎Dark souls wasn't meant to be extremely popular. But it is now and normies can't accept that it's not made for them. I have seen a lot of people complain about its "outdated" slow gameplay when it is meant to be slow and dense, so ofc people who play games where pressing one button makes the character do a 10 hit combo in a split second would trash on it.

I hate it when people act like grass crest shield is the only shield in the game (it's also funny to see people lose their minds on Capra demon when a good shield makes a complete joke out of him)