Dark souls is utter crap as a game.

[Aeshi]

Yes, Dark Souls difficulty mostly comes in the form of "just trial-and-error until you find what works" but it LOOKS LIKE it takes Skill/Intelligence to do, and that's what's most important because it means that people can feel superior to the mindless hordes without having to do something actually challenging.

Just about every 'great' game is based on the philosophy of "Make the player feel smart/competent for doing something even if said something requires neither competence nor intelligence."

 

[hazabaza1]

Because there's no story.

Okay, I know this post is kind of old but... oh shit son, you did not just say that.
Educate thineself. [http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4825DBA198EBE9B9]
Partially kidding, but if you do find yourself ever bored or just with nothing to do, go check out those videos. They're well made, full of facts, and it makes a game with "no story" become very deep and interesting, and at times very philosophical.

 

[hazabaza1]

Because there's no story.

Okay, I know this post is kind of old but... oh shit son, you did not just say that.
Educate thineself. [http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4825DBA198EBE9B9]
Partially kidding, but if you do find yourself ever bored or just with nothing to do, go check out those videos. They're well made, full of facts, and it makes a game with "no story" become very deep and interesting, and at times very philosophical.

People who say Dark souls has no story are usually the ones who like it when authors take long, painful exposition dumps on them. Because imagination and reading between the lines is hard.

To be fair, most games are blatantly obvious with their storytelling, so when a game like Dark Souls comes along, it's a bit hard to find what is supposed to be interesting.

 

[hazabaza1]

Because there's no story.

Okay, I know this post is kind of old but... oh shit son, you did not just say that.
Educate thineself. [http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4825DBA198EBE9B9]
Partially kidding, but if you do find yourself ever bored or just with nothing to do, go check out those videos. They're well made, full of facts, and it makes a game with "no story" become very deep and interesting, and at times very philosophical.

People who say Dark souls has no story are usually the ones who like it when authors take long, painful exposition dumps on them. Because imagination and reading between the lines is hard.

To be fair, most games are blatantly obvious with their storytelling, so when a game like Dark Souls comes along, it's a bit hard to find what is supposed to be interesting.

Was that your reaction? I was personally more intrigued by the mysterious Church alone than in any similar organizations in Bioware games. I wondered where the priestess came from and what her mission was, I wondered about her bodyguards and the crusades they must've fought in, I wondered how they became corrupted in that pit of despair. All of this wondering was infinitely more entertaining to me than reading any of the crap that that fraud Walters scribbled down haphazardly.

For the first playthrough I wasn't really focusing on the story to be honest, I was just trying to get through.
Subsequent playthoughs I started listening to a lot more of the dialogue and getting more intrigued. The Fire Keeper in Anor Londo was particularly interesting for me, but there's not a massive amount of lore surrounding her.

 

[rbstewart7263]

I know you first posters are going to be the "IT'S DIFFICULT SO IT HAS TO BE GOOD" crowd.
Let me tell you off immediately like so : I don't have to think about doing anything in demon souls I just have to run into the grubs with my axe head first enough times till I get pas them.
Which means it's not challenging or difficult or complex more relatively easy though difficult to execute at times(the entire time sorry).

Well, there's your problem. This kind of game doesn't reward rushing into battle and hoping everything works out all right. You've got to know your enemies and go in with a plan.

For the first time me and katana burger agree YOUR DOING IT WRONG!!! lol jk seriously though just take the same steps involved in buttsex and apply to darksouls. You beat it yet?

 

[Skin]

Mad at a dungeon crawler for being a dungeon crawler. Hmm.

 

[Rooster Cogburn]

I am not very far into Dark Souls but so far I like it a lot. Dying is frustrating but overall it does not result in the tedium I would have expected. The game plays like a series of puzzles, even the combat. When I don't know the answer I die, and when I die I learn. When I find it I stroll through without breaking a sweat. Death is just what happens on your way to finding the answer.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

Dark Souls isn't a great game by any stretch. I think the best part of the game is the atmosphere and it does really pull you in. I never played Demon's Souls and I went in expecting Dark Souls to be really hard, and it was a pretty easy game in my opinion once you learn how the mechanics work. The combat is really simple, you just have to pull one enemy at a time to you and fight 1v1 and you'll be fine. I was expecting the game to force you to use advanced mechanics like the riposte, but it never does, you just need to block and strike at the right times. The boss battles were disappointingly easy for me, I beat most bosses on the first try. I also made it through Sen's Fortress without getting hit by one trap, they were so easy to see. I was really expecting much more from Dark Souls, a genuine hard game (a rarity for this gen) and it just didn't deliver.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

My friend loves it and I'd be willing to give it a shake if I had a console. Don't see how it can be utter garbage if it has such a good following. Its more like a kind of game you don't like than a game that has no merit.

 

[krazykidd]

Dark Souls isn't a great game by any stretch. I think the best part of the game is the atmosphere and it does really pull you in. I never played Demon's Souls and I went in expecting Dark Souls to be really hard, and it was a pretty easy game in my opinion once you learn how the mechanics work. The combat is really simple, you just have to pull one enemy at a time to you and fight 1v1 and you'll be fine. I was expecting the game to force you to use advanced mechanics like the riposte, but it never does, you just need to block and strike at the right times. The boss battles were disappointingly easy for me, I beat most bosses on the first try. I also made it through Sen's Fortress without getting hit by one trap, they were so easy to see. I was really expecting much more from Dark Souls, a genuine hard game (a rarity for this gen) and it just didn't deliver.

The game doesn't force you to do anything . Nor does it care how you beat it . Also you must be one hell of a gamer to do that well on your first playthrough . That isn't sarcasm i'm serious . I guess of a game that is known to be challenging isn't challenging for you , then it defeats the purpose . I can assure you not everyone has that amount of luck/skill to be instantly awsome at this game .

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

The game doesn't force you to do anything . Nor does it care how you beat it . Also you must be one hell of a gamer to do that well on your first playthrough . That isn't sarcasm i'm serious . I guess of a game that is known to be challenging isn't challenging for you , then it defeats the purpose . I can assure you not everyone has that amount of luck/skill to be instantly awsome at this game .

Bayonetta was way harder as the game forced you to utilize the dodge offset mechanic whereas Dark Souls is just block and strike the whole game. You could even block boss attacks just fine with a decent shield, I played a thief and always had my carry capacity at 25% or lower so I could dodge fast (so I didn't have high defense armor or shields). You just block, then lower your shield and your stamina regenerates super fast. I expected playing as a thief, I would have to dodge and riposte a lot since I thought I wouldn't be able to count on being able to block. I died quite often at the start because I was dodging instead of blocking. The bosses were mainly a joke. For example, Seath the Scaleless cursed me in my first encounter, then I came back with clothes and a ring with high ass curse resistance, and all I did was swing my katana, I didn't even block once, that's how easy the fight was. I didn't use a walkthrough while playing the game. I looked up stuff like how the game's mechanics work; how weapon scaling works, how magic works, exactly what the stats do, etc. Once you understand that stuff, the game is easy. I wouldn't even say I was a very skilled fighter in Dark Souls; if you just take it slow and have patience, Dark Souls is an easy game. It's kinda like how Resonance of Fate was difficult at the start but once you understood the battle mechanics, the game was really easy.

 

[Exius Xavarus]

The bosses were mainly a joke. For example, Seath the Scaleless cursed me in my first encounter, then I came back with clothes and a ring with high ass curse resistance, and all I did was swing my katana, I didn't even block once, that's how easy the fight was.

I played Demon's Souls to platinum, so Dark Souls wasn't too tough for me either. Parry/ Riposte was way easier in Dark Souls as the timing was less finicky. All well and good.

But, I think you might have missed out on what makes the bosses more challenging.

Seth, for example, is pretty easy to kill. The curse is only a nuisance really (and forces the player to take item slots to protect against it, eather than other, possibly useful pieces of equipment). But it's REALLY hard to get the Moonlight Greatsword. You need to chop off his center tail, which is a damage sponge in it's own right. Not to mention be wary of the other two tails, and the insta-kill attacks he can perform with them when standing in the place that is necessary to get the Sword.

Did you get the sword?
Did you bother for any of the boss weapons, or did you just mindlessly cut them down?

Sen's fortress wasn't too bad. Can't say I've never been hit by a trap, but I usually make it in one go. Did you save the NPC from his prison in Sen's?

I do the Catacombs/ Land of the Giants/ Gravelord Nito without holy weapons too.
Have you ever tried that?

If not, give it a shot tough guy. ;D

Did you beat Seathe without any curse resistance equipment? While hollow? I chop off his tail every time and Seathe has never once cursed me. I also played the entirety of the game up to Snuggles & Ornery with a +5 Scimitar and completely un-upgraded Wanderer armor, with 20 Dex and without summoning a single phantom to help in any boss battles! Give it a shot, tough guy! ;D

I played too much Demon's Souls before Dark Souls was released. u,u Although Dark Souls feels slower than Demon's Souls. Like swinging a 1H Sword, for example. The swings are much slower than in Demon's Souls, and sprinting is much faster in Demon's than it is in Dark Souls. Actually, I played some Demon's Souls after a Dark Souls binge and I nearly ran myself off a cliff several times because I wasn't used to moving so quickly anymore.

 

[G-Force]

I wan't political intrigue, drama, betrayal, moral greyness etc, not a vague uninspired statements about things I'm meant to make up for myself.

I would argue that because of the vagueness of the story and how it was mostly lore it allows for the greatest amount of roleplaying. The character is a silent protagonist we now little about so now you can project your own characterization onto him and find your own storyline. Are you searching for the truth? Do you want to eradicate the enemies? The character's personality is generated by your actions and your mindset.

How is that not roleplaying?

 

[Pink Gregory]

Can't we just agree that Dark Souls is polarising, rather than good or bad?

Some people like it, and talk it up to the heavens.

Some people don't like it, and talk in down to hell.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

The bosses were mainly a joke. For example, Seath the Scaleless cursed me in my first encounter, then I came back with clothes and a ring with high ass curse resistance, and all I did was swing my katana, I didn't even block once, that's how easy the fight was.

I played Demon's Souls to platinum, so Dark Souls wasn't too tough for me either. Parry/ Riposte was way easier in Dark Souls as the timing was less finicky. All well and good.

But, I think you might have missed out on what makes the bosses more challenging.

Seth, for example, is pretty easy to kill. The curse is only a nuisance really (and forces the player to take item slots to protect against it, eather than other, possibly useful pieces of equipment). But it's REALLY hard to get the Moonlight Greatsword. You need to chop off his center tail, which is a damage sponge in it's own right. Not to mention be wary of the other two tails, and the insta-kill attacks he can perform with them when standing in the place that is necessary to get the Sword.

Did you get the sword?
Did you bother for any of the boss weapons, or did you just mindlessly cut them down?

Sen's fortress wasn't too bad. Can't say I've never been hit by a trap, but I usually make it in one go. Did you save the NPC from his prison in Sen's?

I do the Catacombs/ Land of the Giants/ Gravelord Nito without holy weapons too.
Have you ever tried that?

If not, give it a shot tough guy. ;D

I looked up what weapons would be good for my build (dex and faith) and that sword wasn't a weapon I wanted so I didn't try for it. Boss battles should be challenging especially in a game that bills itself as being a hard game, you should not need to fight the boss in a certain manner to get a challenge out of the fight.

I'm pretty sure I saved the NPC in Sen's Fortress (where you get a rolling boulder to smash through a wall?). I only died once by a trap in the fortress, I changed where the rolling boulders were going and then I was exploring (just in the fortress), and I came back and I got hit by a boulder because contraption got reset and boulders were coming down the original path.

I don't play games to make them needlessly harder. I'll use Bayonetta once again, I just played that game normally (through all the difficulties) and that game was more challenging as it forced you to change up your tactics and learn all the game mechanics. Dark Souls, on the other hand, never made you learn advanced moves nor did the game force you to change up your tactics either, what you do at the beginning of the game works throughout the game just fine. I heard how great the combat system was supposed to be and it was really very basic in my opinion. I expected a lot more out of the game. I like Dark Souls and all, it's just that it's not nearly as hardcore and as awesome as so many people make it out to be.