Dark Souls: Why we die

[spartan231490]

See, I do not find dark souls to be tough but fair. It is definitely unfair at times, and those are the times that I hate it with a burning passion. When it is fair, it's a great game, but that is not all the time.

 

[Maphysto]

Technically your character hollowing out and going insane is when you, the player, give up on the game. I think its a pretty smart idea really

I always thought it would be amazing if deleted or abandoned characters could invade or be found as enemies in the area they last died in. Like, you make a character, get to the second or third boss, die a bunch of times, decide you don't like that build, delete him, make a new character, get to that boss again... and there your old character is, standing in front of the fog wall, hollowed out and waiting for you.

It's not true as the OP says that Dark Souls is not a power fantasy. The protagonist is the CHOSEN undead, adhering to "chosen one" specialness which serves to flatter and empower the character, used time and time again in fiction.

Please read the part of my post about the story (the one hidden in the spoiler). You'll be surprised.

There's also the possibility that "the Chosen Undead" doesn't necessarily mean chosen by fate or the gods or whatever, but rather simply refers to whichever undead is strong enough to kindle the First Flame.

 

[Someone Depressing]

I like this. I also remember the lead developer saying something along the lines of "The player giving up and never resuming their game is supposed to represent the player character losing their mind and going hollow".

I'm pretty sure this is what the game was aiming for, and it genuinely pisses me off that some people just play the game for the gameplay, when the story and gameplay who hand in hand so well; it's like getting half of a cake. Or half of a kitten.

 

[Grendich]

Am I the only one who didnt understand what people meant when they said dark souls was hard? Once you figure out the very simple mechanics of parrying and rolling the game becomes easy mode. Death only comes when you get impatient or do something incredibly stupid.

I dont think anyone who is a fan of dark souls actually thinks it's hard. it isnt. it just doesnt hold your hand. and it does a very poor job explaining game mechanics. once you make the effort to learn a bit about them (what the stats exactly do, how poise works, how upgrading and scaling works), it already becomes a lot easier (and this is something fromsoft shouldve done better, imo).

If you take your time with the game, are careful, patient and willing to learn from your mistakes, it's not hard at all. but sadly there are a lot of people who dont give a shit about NPC dialogue, item descriptions or the lore in general and just rush into groups of enemies expecting to succeed by mashing R1.
and i guess those are the people that give the game a reputation of just being a really hard, unfair game and nothing more.