What Souls game should I start with?

[Ronald Nand]

So I've been wanting to try the Souls games for a while now and after playing some of DS2 for a laugh at my friends house recently and enjoying the combat, I wanted to try and start playing one of them seriously.

So what I should start with? I play on PC and have a PS3, so the choices are Dark Souls 1, Dark Souls 2 and Demon's Souls.

My main concerns are the game being beginner friendly and runs the best on PC, I don't care much for the story telling style of the Souls games, so story is no big deal. I can't run DS1 at 60 fps, so if DS2 can run at 60 fps more easily that's a point in its favor.

 

[Fox12]

Well, Dark Souls is the "best" of the three. It has the best gameplay, and definitely the best narrative. Forgive me, but it just has more soul then the other two. If you want to play the best game, start there. Then you can look into playing the others. Demons Souls is probably the next best title, with DS2 being competent but not great.

None of the games are really beginner friendly, so a trial by fire is the best way to go.

 

[stroopwafel]

I'd say play them in order of release, starting with Demon's Souls(which is my personal favorite). Dark Souls is excellent as well but I felt it was a lot less polished with some areas being genuinely amazing while other areas being a boring/frustrating slog to get through. Demon's areas are all fantastic except for a little 'swamp' section you'll come to hate. The one thing Dark Souls has however which is very cool is how all the areas interconnect without a central hub(or atleast, one that's integrated into the areas themselves). Dark Souls 2 is also very good(espescially Scholar of the First Sin) but misses the 'Miyazaki touch' fans have come to love and expect.

You can't really go wrong with any of them though. All are some of the best action-RPG's.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Start with Demons Souls. It's probably the most beginner friendly, despite having the least intuitive upgrade system I've ever seen (seriously, wiki that shit if you want any hope of understanding it, wiki it super hard!).

Demons Souls gives you TONS of health items and the bosses aren't very aggressive for the most part so you're less likely to get stuck on a boss and get too frustrated to continue. And always remember, if something is too hard running past enemies like a bat out of hell is always a valid option.

After that I'd recommend playing Dark Souls 1 and 2 in order since their stories connect (even though some of the connections are fairly shoehorned in and don't quite make sense.

 

[TorchofThanatos]

I would start with Dark Souls 2 actually. I found it the easiest of the three and there was no weird hidden mechanics like in Dark Souls 1. In DS2 you can just buy healing items which can make the game a lot easier. Also use ranged weapons to snipe enemies. It is not cheesing and finally I would also use a guide or watch a Let's play. Parts of all the game can be so annoying with out one. Stupid hidden doors.

 

[Raggedstar]

Peachy I see this, since I just beat Dark Souls for the first time last night (haven't played DeS, DS2, and Bloodborne, but I intend to). I'll make some comments on it.

Friendliness: Not sure about the others, but Dark Souls is fairly newbie unfriendly at the start. A lot of useful mechanics go unexplained without some digging. Yahtzee said there's a wall in his review, and that's spot-on. Once you break through said wall (amount of time depends on you), the difficulty is pretty manageable. I got through Dark Souls on fairly amicable terms without having to stitch a guide to my face (I only referenced one when I really needed it for navigation and hidden bonfires, but went blind for bosses and new areas). I hear DS2 is a bit more newbie friendly, but I also hear the story isn't as strong and most of the bosses are "dudes in armour" (compared to DS's...4? Apparently one of them is even shoe-horned into DS2).

PC: The PC version of Dark Souls isn't great, but there's patches and mods available that at least allow it to fuction (I strongly recommend using a controller as well). It's worst at Blighttown, which is known to dip to around 15 fps across all platforms (though that's hardly the limit of issues Shitetown has). DS2 is supposed to be better optimized for PC. PTDE also comes with the Artorias of the Abyss DLC for free (to avoid spoilers, it contains new 4 bosses, several new areas, and further clarification on one of the more interesting stories in the game. Maybe 4-ish hours of gameplay).

Price: Dark Souls is pretty commonly on Steam sale for $5 USD. I mean, I bought it on a whim last year and I've spent about 90 hours so far just derping around. Sweet deal. Regarding DS2, it seems like the vanilla version is unavailable on Steam and you're forced to buy the more expensive Scholar of the First Sin remake (which was released a few months ago, so don't expect it to have a deep sale). Used copies of DeS I've seen dirt cheap lying around Gamestops.

I say starting with Dark Souls 1 is fine, however since I don't have a proper reference for the other games, interpret that as "don't worry about it, you'll make it through eventually" than a recommendation from a knowledgeable comparison. At the very least I enjoyed Dark Souls more than I thought I would (despite the wall and how the game is a bit rough on the frame rate and hit detection), and I'm excited to play the other games.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Since you have a PS3 go with Demon's Souls. It was my first and I didn't find it particularly taxing with its learning curve.

 

[ThereIsNoSanta]

They're all good, but I'd recomend Dark Souls 1. It's the most polished of the three, and there's a couple easy places to practice with new weapons and such when you're just starting out (look for an elevator near the Firelink Shrine).

Have fun, and accept death. They're tough, but rewarding.

 

[SantoUno]

I'd recommend Demon's Souls since it is more manageable in short intervals, while in Dark Souls if you are playing it for the first time there is a good chance you are going to get lost and not find a bonfire to rest at, which might frustrate someone enough to quit the game. Demon's Souls individual levels are much more manageable because you will either get through an entire level or die and just respawn at the Nexus which allows you to consider your next course of action.

 

[yamy]

I haven't played Demon's Souls so I can't comment, but between DS 1&2 I would recommend you to play DS1 first for the simple reason that DS2 is a lot longer than DS1. You might feel a bit fatigued if you try to finish off DS2 and then go back to DS1.

You might also appreciate some of the improvements in DS2 more, such as a more stable frame-rate and better graphics if you play DS1 first.

 

[Arctic Werewolf]

I recommend Dark Souls 1. This isn't the criteria you gave, but your first Souls play-through is a unique experience. Spend it in a game that will really be something special. I have never played Demon's Souls, though.

The storytelling will grow on you if you're not careful. I remember snoozing through the Dark Souls opening because I thought I was just playing a game that's famous for being hard. Now it's one of my favorite games of all time.

 

[FPLOON]

Demon's Souls first, since you have a PS3... because if you didn't have a PS3, then gameplay-wise, it wouldn't be that much of a difference in terms of which one you want to fully jump into first from my perspective...

Other than that, a lot of people missed out on Demon's Souls because it's on the PS3, so if it seems like not that many people are recommending that to you as your first real dive into the Souls game, that's usually the reason why...

 

[DefunctTheory]

Dark Souls is widely available, cheap, and in most (Not all, obviously) fans opinion, the best. Its well polished, difficult while still feeling 'fairer' then Demon Souls, which sometimes felt like it was cheating, had what I thought was a more interesting story with more interesting characters, and is just good.

Also, there are amazing chests ahead! (You'll get that reference later)

 

[NeutralDrow]

I haven't played Demons' Souls, so I can't truly comment.

Given the choice between Dark Souls 1 or 2, though, I'd recommend going with 2. It's a lot easier to follow, a lot more user-friendy, has better mechanics anyway, and actually has something of a story. The only foreseeable problem would be that, if you ever wanted to go back and try Dark Souls 1, it would have a bigger learning curve to get used to its more unintuitive nature.

 

[layne]

I'd say Demon's Souls as it's a great game in its own right - the combat, bosses, secrets, etc. But according to what you stipulated as more valuable to you - perhaps Darks Souls 2 would be a better starting off point. It runs better on PC than Dark Souls and you already enjoy the combat. It's also a great game that you can sink hours into and the DLCs (which are included in the PC version) are exceptional.

 

[Aerosteam]

Order of release. Doesn't matter what the context is, always go with that.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

If you're looking for Beginner Friendly, Dark Souls II is probably the best bet. They made the game to be exactly like that, because they wanted more people to try it out. At let me tell you, it worked. I tried Dark Souls when it was first released and got so frustrated that I gave up on it. For YEARS. Then, when DSII came out, I decided I would give it a chance since they said it would be a bit more forgiving to new players. After completely mastering it, I went back and had a blast with Dark Souls.

From what I understand, Dark Souls also is a bit...wonky on the PC, because the developers flat-out told fans, "Hey, we have no idea how to do a PC port guy..." and fans responded with a resounding, "WE DON'T CARE DO IT ANYWAY!" and well...there you go.

As for the best game out of the series, that is easily Dark Souls. I personally like Dark Souls II better, although I don't know why, but I fully admit that the first game just does everything--or nearly everything--better. For the real Soul experience, I would say start with this one

 

[Redryhno]

Order of release is always a good thing I think. Haven't played Demon(never got a PS3), but DS1&2 obviously need to go in order of release to understand/appreciate all the little easter eggs throughout both. Otherwise you're missing alot of the story stuff.

HOWEVER, I will say that you should probably play through the first area of DS2 first and get to the main hub(Majula) before you start DS1. It's a much better tutorial and gets you used to the idea of what you'll be doing more than DS1 did. The Asylum is many things, piss-poor explanation of how to do anything is obviously one of them. And even if the jump mechanic is different and you will die because of muscle memory, it's still worth it I think.

Unless you're just interested in the gameplay in which case I'd say sorta just skip DS1(I hear angry shouting and it's suddenly alot brighter and hotter in here...). DS2 has the better gameplay for the most part. More forgiving hitboxes(because they actually match the models), parrying is alot more intuitive(because of, again, the models and animations getting cleaned up), stats are easier to understand(mostly because you aren't just relying on icons matching up with some others that have explanations, there's a help button) two or three of the bosses are sorta bullshit, but that's more DS2 vanilla without Scholar(get Scholar of the First Sin edition, cleans up alot of things, moves items around, even does the story better because of added text and other things I'd rather not spoil), and the DLC is SOOO much better, subjective I know, but alot of DS1 was a bunch of stone somethings, which I'd say is at least on par with the "dudes in armor" complaint of DS2, if not moreso.

 

[joest01]

My fave game in the series is obviously Demon's, but I would second Dark Souls 2 if your main concern is the learning curve. I haven't played on PC but I understand the port is decent. Not sure whether the weapon degradation ever got fixed though (degrade twice as fast on 60fps).

Dark 2 brings back the dual wielding. Fixes poise. The weapon upgrade system is much more generous. The mechanics overall are just more refined than in Dark 1 (which it is no secret I do not like).

Since I havent logged in to Dark2 in a while I don't know how active the online is. I imagine people have moved over to the Scholar edition. That should be pretty active I imagine.

 

[Fappy]

I'm actually playing Demon's Souls last (beat DS1 and Bloodborne several times each and DS2 once). Just started last night, in fact. Compared to the first couple hours of of the other three games, Demon's Souls is a breeze. Enjoying it so far though.