Dark Souls

[Toonces]

I'm going to use this thread to keep track of my thoughts on Dark Souls for PC.

So far, I installed the free resolution fix that allows for 1920x1080 resolution.  I think the game looks fine, but I think I have a much lower threshold for "good graphics" than a lot of people.

So far I have about 60 minutes invested among two characters.  The game is hard!  No surprises there, but I already lost my first boss fight twice.  Basically, you accumulate "souls" as currency for defeating monsters and completing objectives- sort of like XP I guess.  If you die, you go back to the last checkpoint and start again.  After you respawn, you have to get to your spot where you died previously and reclaim your souls from your dead body's blood stain.  If you die again before you reclaim your souls, you lose them permanently!  No saves, no repeats, gone is gone.

So, I already died twice in my first boss fight, so I'm back to 0 already. 

The hardest part of the game thus far, for me, is getting used to playing using a controller.  I'm so used to keyboard and mouse that I find myself accidentally clicking the wrong button on my controller a lot of times locking myself out of useful things like swinging my weapon.  I'll get it eventually, but I'm going to have to get my muscle memory a lot more tuned before I get anywhere in this game.

I think I'm enjoying it, but I've never been good at games that require fast reflexes, and this game definitely does.

[JasonPratt]

I tried playing Demons' Souls (which I had previously bought a few years ago but never got around to opening it), a few weeks ago, but after a weekend of it I gave up. Running repeatedly through the same portion of game again and again and again turns out to be less entertaining that I imagined.  :P

I mean, sure I do that when I'm playing a GoW/PoP type action game, die, reload (or sandpoop, whatever) try again. But I've never gotten horribly stuck playing the same linear portion of game over and over, and the DS game system seems explicitly based on that concept.

So to hell with it. (So to speak.) I hope your game goes better, Toonces -- I know a lot of people swear by both games (not just at it.  ;D ) In fact, the first game's server is still surprisingly active! I ran into numerous "ghosts" playing through the game's first level with me, which surprised me a lot. (Some of that may be random saved echoes, of course, but that still requires the server to be active; and the game specifically noted that the servers were strongly active enough to keep running as late as May this year despite plans to finally shut them down, with the publishers were pleased and grateful about!)

[Gusington]

Thanks for this thread. Dark Souls definitely interests me but it does sound masochistic. Maybe that's why :)

[Toonces]

Here's the deal- the game has simply gotten rave reviews everywhere I look, and there are some really neat mechanics in the game.  Also, the game is supposedly very deep.  Some folks have even said they prefer it to Skyrim although I'm certainly not ready to make that statement.

The combat is supposedly very tight.  The game is hard, but it's winnable...you have to fight smart.

I just have to get used to using a controller.  After that, I'm curious to see where the game goes.  It's completely open so you can go wherever you want at any time, but some portions of the map are much harder than others; the monsters don't level with you like Oblivion. 

On a side note, I bought the hard bound guidebook for it a long time ago, so now I'm finally having a chance to use it!  It's a very pretty book, if nothing else.

[son_of_montfort]

My problem with it is that, even on a higher end rig, the port makes the game a hog and that the controls are also very finicky. Those two things are not something good for a game where the slightest error will lead to instant death. The resolution fix seemed to work fine, but it still looked off. Eventually, I'll try it again and see if my Xbox controller works better with it.

[JasonPratt]

Yes, I know one of the hooks of the game is "fight smart". I didn't mind that at all. I minded having to "fight smart" on the same ten or fifteen minute path several times against the same respawning enemies (but with items that didn't reboot with me when I died) before I finally opened a door that allowed me to skip half the path next time in order to go down the other half of the same path several times plus a new portion of path in order to open another door  that would allow me to etc.

Plus the game's economic system is (logically, under the circumstances) geared to expect that you'll run through the same area many times gaining souls, so the upgrades and new equipment are soul-crushingly high. How many thousands of souls must I barter for a mere +1 upgrade to my weapon? Bleep you, Demons' Souls.

If Dark Souls is completely open (or even more-or-less so), that would fix much of what I had to give up Demons' Souls about; but I'm still soured enough to spend my time and money looking at other recent RPG offerings first (like Armalur or Dragon's Dogma).

[Toonces]

Dark Souls in 33% off ($27) on Steam this weekend.

I can't say whether you should, or shouldn't get it.  It's not a game for everyone, that's for sure.

[Yskonyn]

I have Dark Souls on the Xbox. It looks absolutely stunning and runs perfectly fine, BUT only if you install the game on the console's HDD. Otherwise you will have constant micro stutters.

Anyway, it's by far the most unique and rewarding game I have playing in a long long time! I have said it before whenever it was discussed.
I have invested over 80 hours in the game and still haven't beaten it, nor is the end in sight.
But I am a bit of a slowpoke and like to scavenge for items or map out areas to the smallest nook and cranny.
Dark Souls is a tad less unforgiving than its predecessor Demon Souls. The fighting feels sharper, which makes a big difference in the experience of it being too hard or not. Most often I just know what I need to do, but I just can't get it just right. Once you do you'll always find out the game is, in fact, honest in its penalties and skill requirement and this makes for a superbly rewarding experience once you defeat a boss or find that sought after item, bonfire or shortcut.

Make no mistake; the game is hard. And you will die. A lot! Just like the slogan for the game tells you.
But it's nevertheless a totally engrossing experience! It is one of the games that truely makes me feel like a potent hero character if I play right! :)

Another excellent and fun feature is the multiplayer integration into the singleplayer world.
Every player has his own world to play in, but you can summon others to help you for a bossfight with a certain item.
Or, with another item, you can infiltrate someone else's world and hunt the 'owner'. He gets notified someone has breached his world and will go on a hunt to expell you from his reality. Great fun, cause the gameworld stays as is, with all its perils while this goes on.

Another unique feature is that you can leave messages for others. They will show up as firey rune-like inscriptions on the ground or on walls. It's an effective system where you can communicate using keywords from a fixed list.
You can either fool players to indicate a treasure is near, which does not exist, or you can use it to warn players of danger ahead.

[Gusington]

OK started this one tonight. I can't even get out of the intro scenario! The 'asylum demon' keeps handing me my ass. There seems to be some kind of relation between how hard he smacks me and his own power and health going up. What should I be looking for here? Other than not knowing what I am doing I think I could love this game. And I am playing with an XBox controller. It's the first force feedback game I have played and I crapped myself the first time the controller shook :/

[donkey_roxor]

OK started this one tonight. I can't even get out of the intro scenario! The 'asylum demon' keeps handing me my ass. There seems to be some kind of relation between how hard he smacks me and his own power and health going up. What should I be looking for here? Other than not knowing what I am doing I think I could love this game. And I am playing with an XBox controller. It's the first force feedback game I have played and I crapped myself the first time the controller shook :/

I assume this is your second encounter with it? The first time you're not supposed to fight it, and instead run through another open door.

If it is your second encounter, just lock on, watch what he does, and dodge/attack depending. I don't remember his health regenerating though.

[Toonces]

I never beat him.  Everytime he hits the bridge or wall or wherever it is you start standing.  I crash to the ground and then I can't get the camera locked on him fast enough to even start fighting him. 

Hahaha good luck and be sure you post how you defeat him if you ever figure it out.   ;D

[Gusington]

I found out that I was not supposed to fight him by searching a walkthrough....but really...how would I know that otherwise? And toonces I recalled what you posted about the XBox controller scheme bit I kind of like it....

[Yskonyn]

I found out that I was not supposed to fight him by searching a walkthrough....but really...how would I know that otherwise? And toonces I recalled what you posted about the XBox controller scheme bit I kind of like it....

Every living being has a reflex: Fight or Flee. :)
If the fighting doesn't work out, look for ways to flee. :)
If there are no ways, you need to fight. Simple eh?  :-*

But back on the topic of the Asylum Demon. First encounter is indeed flee. But you can fight him in the second time you meet it.
The trick is to climb up on the wall (to a door/gate I seem to recall) and wait until it starts to come after you and climbs up the wall towards where you are standing.
Then when it does, you execute the plunge attack down the ledge right into its head.

[Gusington]

I like the sound of that. I imagine that is why so many people give up on the game...they keep trying to hack through the unhackable.

[Great Ajax]

I think you are mixing up two different demon bosses from the early game.  That first one you do indeed execute a plunging attack from above but that demon doesn't chase you.  The second demon is the one that chases you and you have to retreat and climb, sword plunge, and repeat three times. I need to get back into this ...

Trey

I found out that I was not supposed to fight him by searching a walkthrough....but really...how would I know that otherwise? And toonces I recalled what you posted about the XBox controller scheme bit I kind of like it....

Every living being has a reflex: Fight or Flee. :)
If the fighting doesn't work out, look for ways to flee. :)
If there are no ways, you need to fight. Simple eh?  :-*

But back on the topic of the Asylum Demon. First encounter is indeed flee. But you can fight him in the second time you meet it.
The trick is to climb up on the wall (to a door/gate I seem to recall) and wait until it starts to come after you and climbs up the wall towards where you are standing.
Then when it does, you execute the plunge attack down the ledge right into its head.