Dark Souls 1 to me feels like it came from an alternate universe where the platformer and shooter boom of Y2K never happened IDK. It feels more “Metroidvania” than anything else bearing that title because in many ways it feels like an actual evolution of those things.

It disappoints me greatly that the difficulty shifted from level design and bosses in DeS and DS to basically exclusively bosses in Bloodborne onward

For me it's how many aspects of the game show a level of respect for the player in how unintrusive they are. To figure out certain mechanics and storylines the game expects you to experiment, analyze and properly examine the UI, enviroment and writing. Of course it doesn't do these things perfectly in all cases, but no game is perfect

Honestly? The game treats you like a capable adult, it has polish, narrative coherence, mystery, it's balanced, and that's it.

Previous games were too difficult just to make you die and turn a short game into a long one (due to console limitations, and also to eat up tokens in arcades). Then, games got better, more artistic, and longer, and they realized they didn't have to force difficulty, and some brands started making the same games because it worked, and everything had a clear path, little customization (except for very hardcore things, like RPGs, I think, I'm not an old-school gamer), AND BOOM, A GAME THAT BRINGS THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS.

The game treats you like an adult (it doesn't give you a clear path at every step), it's not too easy as if you were incapable, and it's not difficult enough to make you die for no reason (some people find Death Stranding difficult because they play it like other games, but if you think realistically, it's almost always quite medium in difficulty). The classes, the world being alive and connected, the cultural coherence between maps and NPCs, the customization options, and the satisfaction of discovering new things, and knowing that if you beat a boss or map it was through merit, and not because the game forced you to progress.

I guess so, you know... Everyone likes it for their own reason.

It's Zelda for depressed people.

Aura

Atmosphere

Allure

Adventure

For me it's the map. There's something that tickles the brain when you start to recognise firelink as you come up from blighttown, just to find the fire is out. The despair and rage you feel as you make your way to Sen's is unique.

Then as you get more accustomed everything is all interconnected everywhere. Havels door opening toward the Hydra and onto darkroot. Up the waterfall and you can skip the sealed door to reach Sif.

The aqueduct line that connects lower burg. The elevator that connects the parish to firelink. The ladder kick to the bridge. The elevator to Izalith. The flooded gates of New Londo.

The masterkey is such a wonderful item for an experienced player. It really lets you break the game open in a unique way that other games simply can't.

I think it's the world, AND how stiff the movement is. I know they are two completely different things, but I think they work together somehow.

I mean, the world and level designed has been praised to hell and back, but I also really like how clunky traversing it is. Again, I have no idea HOW they work together, but I think they do.

Like, if you dropped the Tarnished, or even just the Bearer of the Curse, into Lordran, they would feel incredibly out of place

For me its the variety and the choice that is so impressive. Literally you can think of a build and it works. Yes, some builds are way easier to use, but somehow they balanced every piece of equipment, every spell, every piece of armour to be very viable in completing the game. I suppose that directly links with in game difficulty options.

Every boss is also a huge set piece. Playing a boss on repeat with a different build can really change the experience. For example, when I fought Manus first time melee build, I struggled. Next time, I fought him on a mage build, found him super easy. Artorias my first time was pretty easy, took like 4 attempts. On my mage build, I died. Took 30+ attempts.

If I consider another random game like dragon age origins (which I love), the role playing is far more robust (dialog lines, role definitions etc), but replaying the game does change drastically when I change classes the way Dark Souls does. Even the Witcher 3. I'll replay that game all day long , but outside of the decision making, the gameplay does change hectically during a build change.

The world and the lore are what do it for me. DS1 and BB are brimming with inspiration and creativity and personally, i can't help but want to take it all in and admire the hell out of every aspect: enemies, world design, environmental storytelling...

It respects the player’s agency to learn the dance moves

It doesn’t drip feed you dopamine

It’s not a Skinner box

It’s not afraid to lose your attention

It has faith in its own world and systems

I cant speak for others, obviously, but for me its this stuff:

• Dark storyline and lore that seems shallow at first but is actually really deep *if you decided to go actually looking for it, rather than being shoved down your throat with heavy exposition and videos.

• The best aspects of rpgs: class building, character customization, wide variety of weapons, spells, and equipment pieces (not just single item armor sets), exploration without being bloated, and almost everytime you find something out in the world it either is or could be useful.

• (possibly most importantly) Drops you in a world with a very basic tutorial and expects you to learn how to play the game which is difficult only if you DONT learn how to actually play it, rather than being arbitrarily difficult. No starter areas, no 4 hour long section at the beginning where youre fighting bugs/bandits/rabbits that couldn't kill you if they had an hour and an army. Just you and the whole game world where, once you DO learn how to play, you could win in with just a loincloth and your fists, if you really wanted to.

It’s not usually described this way, but DS is a tactical hack and slash rpg, and good ones don’t come around often. It’s often compared to RPGs like Skyrim etc because it has swords and magic and beastly enemies and fantastical environments, but it’s not really much like that kind of rpg. The last game I played that was anything like it was Enclave for the Xbox (gen 1).

I always say that Dark Souls is not a perfect game but it is just so, so special. It's my perfect game. The way the game feels is unmatched by anything else I've ever played.

It's a game that everybody in the world should try to play. Because it will mystify them

Its the only game that always feels good when you come back and replay it. Most other games feel repetitive

Hard to pin down, it's pure vibes

It really does hit different. If I were the manager of a struggling startup I would require employees to play DS1. It teaches you something profound about the natures of "trying" and "succeeding" that's hard to put into words.

Ever played Hollow Knight? This basically was Hollow Knight before Hollow Knight.

I just started again after like 5 years or so. Never played the remastered copy. But boy oh boy does it feel impressive. All the way, from start menu sounds to music and dialog. Gameplay is tough but fair in my opinion, and i feel the tikle in my butt when seeing big enemies and not sure how to proceed. Ambience is king!

I have a theory that Dark Souls series (and such) has a clever way of playing with our dopamine pathways in a way that is simply addictive. I guess it’s what most games try to do, but DS is really successful in that regard. Frustration mixed with glimpses of ecstatic overcoming of struggles, luck mechanics, learning and reward - all that scream to me: dopamine.

It is a game that has mutual respect

It respects you enough to let you figure it out, as long as you respect that it is a wild animal and takes a lot of effort to tame.

Respecting the player and genuine challenge.... There is no hand holding. There is no obtuse story forcing the player down a predetermined path. Freedom and challenge are at the core of the experience. It combines RPG and Metroid-like game design. It actually does so better than any Castlevania game ever has. The player gets to make real choices that impact how the rest of the game plays out. Who you choose to save or kill matters. The places you go and the things you collect have consequences. It is a true RPG and more. Fromsoft never really recaptured the "lightning in a bottle" they had in DS1.

To me it’s the feel of the game, there’s not that much music save for key moments, your left with the silence, your armor clanking and the hollows cries of insanity. You really get to take in the environment and its ambiance, from the lively sound of the bugs in the dark root basin to the creepy haunted corridors of the once populated anor londo. There’s so much to take in nearly every environment.

I can take my time. Yes, there are times of intense action, but there's no sergeant yelling in my ear to move to the next point on the map right now or we fail the mission. No prodding to "check out that cave."

The diagetic emthods it uses to elad and inform players. Like using lighting and enmemies to lead you along. Making every room and encounter unique and therfore a minor landmark you can use for navigating. Like i can say "the merchant is below the two spearman outside the watchtower bonfire in undead burg" any experienc eplayer knows exactly where im talking about.

I think this is one the most signifcant things players mean when they talk about the level and encounter design, but can't quite articulate what makes it feel good in DS1 but not so much in DS2.

I think it all comes down to it’s art design and atmosphere. It’s like you’re playing a dark fantasy painting.

Being honest..it was the aesthetic and setting..and I kinda like third person games with rolling mechanics..

But yeah there is a certain charm about the souls borne games that I cannot explain myself

I spent a decade plus trying to work this out. When it‘s really hitting, these games are totally ineffable. It‘s as if they have a direct line to my intuition. It bypasses the intellect, making it difficult to discuss. But if you’ve ever felt as if the whole meaning of the universe was contained within the crackle of a fire, or the reflection of a puddle, then it is kind of like that. In this way, it is about as radically subjective to each individual as is possible; it becomes less about what Miyazaki intended, and more about what it means to you personally, in that monent. And the next time you come back, it’ll mean something totally different, to you. This ”meaning” is often below the thought level/unarticulated, and often if you try to put it into words you can’t. Anybody relate?

After much experimentation I confirmed for myself beyond any doubt that intellectualising these games too much robs you of this experience. Mindfulness is good; analysis is a big no-no, if you want to experience this.

The devs are passionately in love with the medieval aesthetic and old fashioned knights, wizards, and clerics. An ancient world forgotten by time, on the edge of turning to dust. They're proven masters of the aesthetic and can convey their imagination in such a way that puts so many other games to shame.

Other devs simply want to build interesting mechanics and gameplay and simply put them in a pregen unoriginal world but you can feel the detail in Souls games. The ambience, attention to detail of every inch of the world, lack of music but when it plays it's legendary...

I’ll tell you why and it’s something you’ll never unsee once I say it

Most games are designed as games, shocker, but dark souls is built as a world first (so was demon souls but less so to me at least). The world is a place. Compare that with, I won’t shit on dark souls 2 again to avoid blowing my mentions. Compare to dark souls 3, which is mostly a linear path filled with nostalgia bait and rehashed areas. It’s not a world, there’s no sense this existed before, it feels like what it is. A bunch of themed levels designers found cool made for the player.

Dark souls isn’t, and it shows you that from the opening and constantly reinforces it.

I think it is the freedom it provides. You can play any way you want. Don't level up, don't roll, don't use a sword, don't wear an armor, don't beat certain bosses, don't save certain npcs, don't visit certain areas, etc. You have so many options to have your own unique playthrough, it can be addicting.

Hey can you see this comment????