Dark Souls is Crack

[TheFPSisDead]

God, this is what it must feel like to be a drug addict. When i go home i play Dark Souls. The game punishes and abuses me, i would be willing to say it's bad for my health. My wife gets pissed at me because i play Dark Souls..... fortunely each session of Dark Souls doens't cost me money. But when i'm at work i'm thinking about Dark Souls, strategizing, waiting to go home and play some more. I get pissed at the game and want to quit... but only for an hour or two, and then i crawl back on my knees and because a slave again..... my god.


I have never been this obsessed with a game before.

Can anyone here relate??

 

[Tartarga]

I was the same way with Demon's Souls for the longest time, it wasn't until they announced Dark Souls that I was finally able to break free of the games evil grip.

 

[AlternatePFG]

Oh yeah. I put the game down, and I really just want to play more of it when time goes on.

 

[Pipotchi]

I love it, I think after the last few years of autosaving and checkpoints and tonnes of Ammo and health its nice to play a game that spanks me every so often

 

[Weaver]

I just want to go home and play it as well.

 

[GundamSentinel]

I'm terribly afraid of the game, but I can't stop playing it. Just like Demon's Souls. But, I intend to take it slow and enjoy the agony for weeks.

 

[forman]

yeah! the game is fine!

 

[TheFPSisDead]

I love it, I think after the last few years of autosaving and checkpoints and tonnes of Ammo and health its nice to play a game that spanks me every so often

I agree, it's nice to actually have to struggle to succeed in a game.

 

[Vanguard_Ex]

This thread has finally tipped me over the edge into intrigue. What is it that makes this game so good?

 

[Kathinka]

god damn they have to bring this thing to the pc! i wan't to play it so hard^^

captcha: "lurking addiction". spot on!

 

[teknoarcanist]

Every time I JUST start to think, "Alright, I've got a handle on this, I'm bored now," the game introduces some new mechanic (FUCKING GHOSTS?!) ups the difficulty again, and I find myself re-hooked.

I love how truly skill-based the combat is. I keep thinking, "Oh fuck X enemy, he/she just does a ton of damage and I can't stop it." And then after I've died to them two or three times, I figure out how you're supposed to fight them, and then consistently kick ass. Especially those silver knights. I used to struggle; now I can kill them three at a time without even being touched.

I honestly feel like I could start a new character and blow all the way through Undead Burg and up through Undead Parish, and I would probably only die once or twice.

It hits the sweet spot, being this weird cross between a WRPG and one of those fuckhard action games. Every time I get stuck on the fuckhard action game, I get some new weapon or spell that totally changes the game. And any time I start getting bored with grinding and upgrading weapons, I can put on the serious hat and start trying to progress to the next bonfire. There's just always something that demands it be done.

I can actually see myself putting a good 40-60 hours into DS, like everyone else seems to do with Bethesda Games (which, after the first ten-fifteen hours, just bore me to tears).

 

[TheFPSisDead]

This thread has finally tipped me over the edge into intrigue. What is it that makes this game so good?

That's a really good question. Pretty much, whenever you get a firm grasp of the combat, and learn how to control your character, you feel like the ultimate badass. For me, there is nothing more rewarding than achieving a successful parry/reposte. Besides that, you actually have to be good at the game to progress. there is next to no story but the game world is so beautiful and terrifying that you feel like you want to see everything, but to do that you have to become powerful enough to survive. not to metion the online mechanic is one of the most fun aspects of the game. If a boss is kicking you ass you can summon some kids into your game and take down his ass co-op. Like wise, if you need to grind souls you can just lay down a summon stone and join someone elses game at no penalty. Its just really inventive and really well made.

 

[Echo136]

The game is my drug. I swear. I platinumed Demon's Souls and it became boring, but this game just takes it to the next level.

 

[TheFPSisDead]

block, parry, reposte. block, parry, reposte. block, parry, reposte.


i can do it in my sleep.

 

[Weaver]

This thread has finally tipped me over the edge into intrigue. What is it that makes this game so good?

It's a big question and the game is certainly for a certain kind of person. If you give it to the guys who only play CoD and Halo they're not going to have the patience for it. There's so much I can say about the game and I'll probably say it all. However, at it's base the game, like it's predecessor Demon's Souls is a game for people who are curious.

I know this probably seems like odd criteria for a game, but if you're a person who frequently "has to know" things then you're going to get a lot out of the game. The caveat here is that there is a lot of trial and error; so if you're both patient and curious it's a great game.

Everything is pretty obfuscated, and none of it is accidental. Stats are actually pretty well explained, but beyond that you have to figure out everything. It borrows a lot from roguelikes, you really don't know what something does until you do it; and it might be good, it might entirely screw you over. Being curious helps here, it helps drive you to figure out how things work. It helps drive you to keep exploring, even though whatever's around the next corner or through a foggy gate could instantly kill you, you just have to see what's there.

The game underneath it all operates with a vast, complicated rule set (like what can hurt ghosts, what scales with what, how do you move when you're burdened by x%, etc.) but none of it is upfront explained to you. As you play the game, part of the fun is uncovering these rules. It's like being an archaeologist and uncovering some ancient building, only after digging for days do you realize really how big and complicated everything is.

The game is also accompanied by tight and tactical combat. With the exception of the more ludicrous weapons (and of course, mythical monsters), I feel combat is slightly akin to what one on one fighting could have been like historically when fighting humanoid creatures; most of your fights will be spent playing defensive, waiting for a break in your enemy's guard. Waiting for them to make mistakes, because one slip up and you could very likely die. If you spend enough time with a weapon you will get to know it very, very comfortably.

The downside, IMO, is it's pretty grindy; moreso than I remember demon's souls being.

 

[Vanguard_Ex]

Answer numero 1

Answer numero 2

Thanks for the explanations guys, I've gotta say it definitely sounds good. I don't think I have the cash to purchase it anytime soon but I think I'll pick it up in the future. Cheers!

 

[LobsterFeng]

I don't have Dark Souls yet but I do have Demon's Souls. For me, it's one of those games that you never play but at the same time you're never going to get rid of it because you are thoroughly convinced that you are going to beat it one of these days. And maybe once on a boring Summer afternoon you'll pop it in and become obsessed with it for a couple of weeks, only to get frustrated and quit. And then the cycle starts all over again.

 

[Kathinka]

god damn they have to bring this thing to the pc! i wan't to play it so hard^^

captcha: "lurking addiction". spot on!

agreed, though I doubt it would run on my comp Q_Q, but the graphics are pretty low tech maybe it would if they ever port it.

dude, it runs on that weaponized toaster they call xbox360..if your computer was assembled within the last half decade, it's going to run just fine. you might not be able to crank everything up to ultra, but it should run^^