Top Ten Scariest Dark Souls Monsters
These monsters will tear out your heart and eat it in front of your face… then they’ll start killing you.
Dark Souls
Players: 1 Offline Player
Publisher: Namco Bandai Games
Genres: Action, Adventure, RPG
Publisher: Namco Bandai Games
Genres: Action, Adventure, RPG
Release Date: October 4, 2011
Developer: From Software
MSRP: $59.99
Developer: From Software
MSRP: $59.99
Dark Souls is an upcoming action role-playing game from the developers who brought you Demon’s Souls, From Software. Dark Souls will have many familiar features: A dark fantasy universe, tense dungeon crawling, fearsome enemy encounters and unique online interactions. Dark Souls is a spiritual successor to Demon’s, not a sequel. Prepare for a new, despair-inducing world, with a vast, fully-explorable horizon and vertically-oriented landforms. Prepare for a new, mysterious story, centered around the King’s Crowns and the original, now dying flame at the center of the world. But most of all, prepare to die.
Angry Joe Plays Dark Souls
Posted By AngryJoe about 1 year, 7 months ago
Angry Joe Plays Dark Souls,
Can Angry Joe handle the Difficulty?
Angry Joe Plays the Sequel to one of the hardest games on PS3, Dark Souls. With the tagline, “Prepare to Die”, this RPG promises to be even harder! Can Angry Joe make it through the first level without flipping out? Does the game live up to its reputation? Find out!
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Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition Review
More games need a factual "prepare to" subtitle. DOA5: Prepare to Jiggle. MGS5: Prepare to Watch. Lighting returns: Prepare to Not Care. While your thinking up your own and getting ready to put them in the comments, why not read this review?
Dark Souls Review
Dark Souls is like a really big bottle of fine whiskey. Your're loving it at the beginning, angry as hell in the middle, and by the end you'll probably pass out. Why? Find out by reading this review.
Dark Souls Review - ZGR
Daniel is clearly very excited to talk about Dark Souls! - Dark Souls Review - ZGR
Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition Review - ZGR
We all know that Daniel from ZGR LOVES Dark Souls, so can you guess how his review of the new Prepare to Die Edition goes? 
Dark Souls: Artorias of the Abyss DLC has a Release Date
It’s time to go back to the past to find out the secret of the Abyss.
Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition Review
More games need a factual “prepare to” subtitle. DOA5: Prepare to Jiggle. MGS5: Prepare to Watch. Lighting returns: Prepare to Not Care. While your thinking up your own and getting ready to put them in the comments, why not read this review?
Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition Review - ZGR
We all know that Daniel from ZGR LOVES Dark Souls, so can you guess how his review of the new Prepare to Die Edition goes?
Dark Souls Apparently Coming to PC
Good news for those interested in dying a lot, in a variety of ways, while using a mouse and a keyboard. German gaming magazine PC Action spills the beans (and my drink): Dark Souls is headed to the PC.
Rumor: Dark Souls PC Petition
Excited PC players, unite! Encouraging statements from a Namco Bandai Forum Administrator have PC gamers up in arms about the possibility of getting their arms up in a PC version of Dark Souls. Warning: this game is so hard that reading this article might kill your character before a PC version even exists.
FAQ YOU - Dark Souls
If you’re helpless and distraught in the depressing realm of Dark Souls, rejoice ! Because Benzaie is here to FAQ YOU !
Dark Souls Review - ZGR
Daniel is clearly very excited to talk about Dark Souls! – Dark Souls Review – ZGR
Dark Souls: Artorias of the Abyss DLC has a Release Date
It’s time to go back to the past to find out the secret of the Abyss.
Dark Souls Apparently Coming to PC
Good news for those interested in dying a lot, in a variety of ways, while using a mouse and a keyboard. German gaming magazine PC Action spills the beans (and my drink): Dark Souls is headed to the PC.
Rumor: Dark Souls PC Petition
Excited PC players, unite! Encouraging statements from a Namco Bandai Forum Administrator have PC gamers up in arms about the possibility of getting their arms up in a PC version of Dark Souls. Warning: this game is so hard that reading this article might kill your character before a PC version even exists.
Dark Souls Review - ZGR
Daniel is clearly very excited to talk about Dark Souls! – Dark Souls Review – ZGR
Angry Joe Plays Dark Souls
Angry Joe Plays the Sequel to one of the hardest games on PS3, Dark Souls.
Dark Souls Review
Dark Souls is like a really big bottle of fine whiskey. Your’re loving it at the beginning, angry as hell in the middle, and by the end you’ll probably pass out. Why? Find out by reading this review.
Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition Review
Posted By Yousif A. about 8 months, 2 weeks ago
Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition Review
Angry Joe Plays Dark Souls, 
When Dark Souls came out on console, I had the task of reviewing it. I ended up scoring the game a 7, citing several reasons why not everyone is going to get behind the title. While Blistered Thumbs and I consider a 7 a high score, a large amount of people did not. Some got angry. Others said words that, if said in person, they probably would regret at a later date. So when Austin asked me to review the PC version, I prepared myself not to die, but to get barraged with dissent once again.
| PROS | Same Great game, Majority of new content is brilliant, There is a fix out for the resolution problem |
| CONS | Terrible port, Fixed resolution, Awful new PvP area, Keyboard and Mouse controllers an abomination |
| WTF?! | They let me review the game again! |
So imagine my surprise when I found myself enjoying Dark Souls more than I did the first time out. The sheer concept of finding those opening hours tricky now seemed like a ridiculous notion. I was past the Bell Tower gargoyles well within 4 hours and only came to a halt when facing the boss of the undercity. I may not have thought Dark Souls was the greatest thing since sliced bread, but I always accepted that the game could become addictive and suddenly I was hooked.
This reaction to Dark Souls on PC was even more surprising considering the quality of the PC version. That is to say, there is a distinct lack of it.
When console ports come to PC it is always a worry, but with almost a year since the original release of Dark Souls, it wasn’t unreasonable to hope that this new “Prepare to Die” edition would be optimized for PCs. From Software obviously decided reason was for losers and PC users can enjoy the game in 1024×720, without HD textures, and required Windows Live support. Additionally the keyboard and mouse configuration was so confusing that rather than attempt to remap the catastrophe that was the key bindings, I plugged in my trusty Xbox controller.
So there I was, playing the game in a poor resolution, signed into Windows live, playing on an Xbox controller… with the 360 version of the game sitting behind me. The irony was not lost on me.
Hey, weren't you in the Dragon’s Dogma tutorial?
Thankfully, a lovely man on the interwebs has created a small file for Dark Souls which fixes the locked resolution and can be found here. It’s no HD texture pack and the game will still look several years old, with the original version of the game hardly being the peak of graphical quality, but it will alleviate some of the disappointment.
Now, I have to say despite these few issues Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition does run better than the console version in some regards. The draw distance has definitely been increased and (at least on my PC) the loading times have decreased considerably. However, most importantly of all, the frame rate for Dark Souls didn’t even consider dipping below 30fps, which is quite the improvement on the constantly jerky console release.
Considering all the problems with the PC release of Dark Souls, my enjoyment of the title may make little sense. However, anyone who has played the game can tell you the reason. Accomplishment is a rare feeling in Dark Souls, but when it does rear its head, it is a pure gaming high. It punishes mistakes, therefore the tension is always high. Facing a boss gives you no escape from this tension, so the relief and joy that washes over you on completion is something else, only matched by the pure frustration and disappointment that accompanies failure.
Nothing is more frustrating in Dark Souls than an invasion. When another player steps into your world with the express intention of killing you, your concentration and focus is shattered. Dark Souls players know with careful steps and knowledge of an area, any player can overcome the foes ahead. When that foe is a player, all bets are off. Survival of the fittest becomes survival of the least petrified. Invasion helps knock the tension up to 11, but the feeling of elation upon victory is so much sweeter than a pre-programmed opponent.
Like kicking a grizzly bear in the nuts, this is not going to end well.
Dark Souls is still not for everyone. I personally know only a small minority of my friends would actually enjoy it. The controls are hardly perfect, the combat system feels clunky, the targeting system leaves something to be desired, and I still feel players can be subjected to unfair death at times. Above all this, Dark Souls is a hard game. You will have to grind XP to succeed and even then failure is a distinct possibility if you lose concentration. Worse is the fact that all that experience earned can be lost permanently through repeated mistakes. Not everyone is going to go for that kind of punishment.
However, some of you may be coming back for a second helping of pain, or perhaps reading this to discover what awaits console players when the DLC hit later this year. Well, if you thought that the DLC would contain new areas, probably contain new enemies and bosses, inevitably kicking your ass and making you cry like a little girl all over again, “that” would be a great guess.
Prepare to Die is ridiculously apt when it comes to describing the abilities of the new opponents presented to you in this game. If it wasn’t for the lovely save file that was provided with the review copy (skipping to the new content) I probably would still be slogging through the hordes of foes found in the additional areas. While I do often berate Dark Souls for being an ugly game, the art direction and animation is always superb, and this new content is no different. The Artorias Knight and the enemies around him are probably my favorite looking creatures in Dark Souls, full stop.
How long the content will take you is completely down to your approach and skill level. The developers say around 20-40 hours, but honestly I feel that statistic is off. I know some superstars at the game that would probably fly through, while others wallow in the despair that is the 4 new bosses for what would feel like an eternity. There is one section that everyone will breeze through though, and that’s the new PvP arena, which not only has horrific matchmaking, but ultimately falls flat. The joy of fighting another human being is not the combat itself, but the risk versus reward system the game has for invasion. I expect this area of the game to be lifeless very quickly.
Capcom try and make up for the Dante re-design by unveiling their reboot of Okami.
Disappointingly, most of the new areas are comprised of assets from elsewhere in the game. There is very little new here in terms of aesthetic. Several of the new enemies and bosses also borrow animations and design from previous models, and I am pretty sure there is at least one in there that steals from a foe in Demons Souls! Failing to provide new backgrounds and animation doesn’t spoil the content of the Artorias of the Abyss, which for the most part is great, but much like the PC options, feels like very little effort was put in to please the hordes of fans that have got behind the series.
Ultimately, Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition is a great game treated to a poor PC port. If this is due to budgetary limitation or From Software’s inexperience with the PC platform, we’ll never know. What I do know is that despite the flaws, the game is well worth playing. Not only will it keep you playing for quite some time, but even when you have settled into the game and think you have it under control, another player invades your world and turns everything you know upside down. Someone once told me that they don’t consider Dark Souls an adventure game, they think it’s a survival horror. I’m starting to agree with them!
So, which version do I suggest you buy? Any is my honest answer. While the PC version may not be up the standard of most PC releases, it still has everything the console version has. In a few months the additional content will be available to all, so the PC version has nothing to brag about there. While I do think the modding community may keep going with Dark Souls, eventually releasing an HD texture pack, the game should only be reviewed as what it is right now. Therefore, I once again open myself up to the hordes of Dark Souls fans and score this version exactly the same as I did the console version.
This game was provided by the publisher on PC for review purposes. The game was played for around 30 hours and was not completed. The new content was played through and took the reviewer around 15 hours to complete. The reviewer also invaded and was invaded lots of time, which he did not experience before reviewing the console version. The game also requires a connection to Games for Windows Live at all times, even if you own a copy on Steam.
7/10
Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition Review
More games need a factual "prepare to" subtitle. DOA5: Prepare to Jiggle. MGS5: Prepare to Watch. Lighting returns: Prepare to Not Care. While your thinking up your own and getting ready to put them in the comments, why not read this review? Dark Souls Review
Dark Souls is like a really big bottle of fine whiskey. Your're loving it at the beginning, angry as hell in the middle, and by the end you'll probably pass out. Why? Find out by reading this review. Dark Souls Review - ZGR
Daniel is clearly very excited to talk about Dark Souls! - Dark Souls Review - ZGR Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition Review - ZGR
We all know that Daniel from ZGR LOVES Dark Souls, so can you guess how his review of the new Prepare to Die Edition goes?-
September 05, 2012 at 02:53am
This is a game I really wanted to like because I loved it seeing my friends play it on XBox. The port is so god awful though that you might as well not bother with it. You’re not going to get a positive PC experience with this anyways since you’ll need to plug in a controller to even really have a chance to play it, so it might as well be said that while this is not a bad game, buying it on PC is a complete waste of money.
-
September 05, 2012 at 12:14pm
To be fair, it was developed by a team of people who had never developed anything for the PC before, so they at least got that going for them. They also admitted to a lot of the faults that it would have before it was even released. That being said however, it’s still a horrible port.
However, get a controller, hook it up to the computer, and this would actually be the best version of the game to play. There is absolutely no lag, and already people have and continue to develop new mods and fixes for the game.
-
September 04, 2012 at 03:19pm
Worst PC port I’ve ever played. They really no-assed it. I could not even get my damn Steam copy to run. (I blame Games for Windows Live.) Eventually I gave up and got a pirate version just so I could play the game I had bought.I still don’t regret buying it though.
The latest DSfix mod made the game look considerably better than the console version, largely because it let me turn off the focus effect that scaled down the resolution for distant areas, and of course turn up the damn internal resolution.
I loved the new content. Particularly the intense boss fights, and how it extended the lore.
As I see it the port was no-assed, the game, (including the new stuff,) was not. Then again I am a big DS-mark. I didn’t buy the game again for no reason.
-
September 04, 2012 at 01:26pm
What exactly is wrong with the pvp arena? A lot of players on the console had to set up areas for consistent pvp , so I’d think most would LOVE that kind of feature.
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September 04, 2012 at 11:28am
erm dark souls has a 30 fps limit on it and no fix for it has been made so when you talk about i not droping below 60 you meant 30
i still don’t get why we should not be harsh about bad ports. yes it is there first PC game that is why we should critize them so they can learn from there misstakes and down the line make a greater product for it.
also i am now going to ruin grafix on the 360 looking good to you take any 360 or PS3 game now look at small black outlines see how they flicker that is a low render resultion issue now got ontop a PC with the same game running at 1080p see how it no longer flickers with the small black outlines.
now that you see it is going to annoy the everlving crap out of you when you play games on a 360 or ps3 (that is also why borderlands is considerd a good looker since it has borad black outlines)
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September 04, 2012 at 11:03am
The recomendation changed from your last review from “For Fans Only” to “Try It Out”.
I consider this a step up.Also, Silent Hill: Book of Memories Prepare to Cry edition.
Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition Review - ZGR
We all know that Daniel from ZGR LOVES Dark Souls, so can you guess how his review of the new Prepare to Die Edition goes?
FAQ YOU - Dark Souls
If you’re helpless and distraught in the depressing realm of Dark Souls, rejoice ! Because Benzaie is here to FAQ YOU !
Dark Souls Review - ZGR
Daniel is clearly very excited to talk about Dark Souls! – Dark Souls Review – ZGR
Angry Joe Plays Dark Souls
Angry Joe Plays the Sequel to one of the hardest games on PS3, Dark Souls.
Top Ten Scariest Dark Souls Monsters
These monsters will tear out your heart and eat it in front of your face… then they’ll start killing you.
Dark Souls Apparently Coming to PC
Good news for those interested in dying a lot, in a variety of ways, while using a mouse and a keyboard. German gaming magazine PC Action spills the beans (and my drink): Dark Souls is headed to the PC.
Rumor: Dark Souls PC Petition
Excited PC players, unite! Encouraging statements from a Namco Bandai Forum Administrator have PC gamers up in arms about the possibility of getting their arms up in a PC version of Dark Souls. Warning: this game is so hard that reading this article might kill your character before a PC version even exists.
I’ve been playing Dark Soul’s for a few days now myself and it was hilarious to see Joe make same mistakes as me
And the waiting with a grin on my face when he said “so far i’m doing pretty well”… priceless.
Hope to see more adventures of the Angry Joe ,the slayer of demon with a giant butt.
Some more of these would be awesome. Maybe a Full Playthrough
Silly Joe, when you said “I’m the greatest gamer ever” and I knew what was coming up I just chuckled to myself. And then when you missed the door having run right by it? So funny
But ya, you can easily beat that boss without running away. If you learn its movements, keep behind it, you can slowly punch it to death. Yes, I did this. Alternatively, you can start with the black fire bombs and bomb it to death in 4 bombs and a few punches (no use wasting a 5th bomb).
But ya, would LOVE to see more
A full play through. Would be great to see how you find the crazy difficult bosses later 
Would love to see a followup to see what you think of it after a few levels. The games are very hard, not impossible hard but a “try this part of the level about 10 times before you can progress” hard.
0:37 One of the thief’s defining traits is being guilt-ridden. He is like Spiderman. 1:04 Wow they actually have a nudist class.
nudist class is more a masochist class. Blunt weapon and no armor, good luck with the game
When there are games who deserve a badass seal or approval, it’s Demon’s and Dark Souls. And who beats one of the games is, for sure, a badass. So play it, beat it, make a review. Or a Let’s Play at least.
Lol had same problem when i started first time that game first i thought you’re supposed to die like in demon’s soul’s but no either run or beat it well after 20 deaths i created new character and took bombs from the gift list then the damn thing was 5 hit kill
guess I’m not the only one who screamed “THE DOOR TO THE RIGHT, JOE!” when he fought that big demon thingie…
I’ve never screamed at my TV before now.
“THERE’S A DOOR RIGHT THERE!!!”
Can’t wait to see what you do when someone invades your game.
I too went “holy s*it!” when the demon dropped down. And lol’d when you found the exit, Joe. It’s understandable that a panicked player is too tense to notice it, but I didn’t notice it either before you said “is that a door?”
Yes please, more of this if you ask me.
Joe and guys, about coop. you CAN’T PLAY WITH YOUR FRIENDS. Sorry about that, but it’s utterly disappointing since in Demon’s Souls you could, with some preparations. But in Dark Souls… here : http://www.co-optimus.com/article/6965/co-op-rant-dark-souls-server-co-op-debacle.html
This has been fixed in patch 1.0.5. This is probably the best game of the year, and probably will be better than all games in 2012 also.
Argh, Joe, how many times did you try to kill that thing with a broken sword? And they even lit up the exit with a warm orange glow and you just walked right by it! Anyway, that boss fight teaches some good lessons for Dark Souls: Pay attention to your surroundings, and don’t be too ashamed to run!
I don’t know whether it’s just the way Joe articulates when he speaks but I totally had the impression through the entire video that he knew what he was doing and was just messing with the viewer. If that’s not the case, I’m frighteningly surprised how many times you missed that door to the left of the Abyss Demon, Joe.
I saw that door from the start and was facepalming every time you tried to Beat the dragon like that. But it was funny as hell, so you should do more of these… NOW!
Yeah, it’s quite obvious Joe never played Demon’s Souls, eh…
Ya know, Joe, in Demon’s Souls the first boss was actually MORE dificult because you had only 1 try at fighting him and he killed you in 1 hit (2 if you’re FRIGGIN lucky)… and if you die there? Too bad, prize was lost forever ^^ Unless you made a new character at least…
Oh, and you didn’t get some good weapon or something so… yeah, that chip damage was all you had back there…
Also, yeah, tutorial stage is a joke, it’s ment to be. The further you get the more “WTFKILLEDME” it gets.
I would love to see you play more of this game, Joe. Especially since you don’t seem to play all that many Japanese games. I am also interested to see you test your mettle against the harder sections of the game. Thinking about picking this one up sometime soon, once I am no longer broke.
Well, Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls are not THAT difficult once you get the hang of it.
Also, in normal circunstances Dark Souls is a tad harder than Demon’s Souls, but Demon’s Souls is a little harder than Dark Souls if you are in a pure-black world tendency.
—
I was screaming to the PC THE DOOR! THERE! RUN!
Oh, and Joe… how could you miss the well illuminated, non-hidden, on your face door so many times
Ah, pro tip 2… yeah, dont roll or backstep on a cliff, it ends bad
When Joe said he was the greatest gamer ever, I thought, “Oh, this is going to be good,” ’cause I had a feeling an extremely tough boss was coming up. (I have a feeling he knew it, too.)
I was playing Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D while this vid was playing, a game I wish was a little bit harder as far as battles are concerned.
Hell, yeah, I’d love to check out another Let’s Play Dark Souls from AJ!
The door Joe, the door! Get the door! Joe, the door!
Well that was amusing. Sure, I’d like to see you play more. It’s going to be even better when it gets more complicated, heheh.
The games is realy fun im a uge fan of this serie and its not hard because it force you to fight impossible boss whit no weapon but force you to think befor engaging a fight , ennemy will always anbush you or use cheap shot methode to kill you, the can hide jump on you from roof or just come at you with great nuber so youalways have to look at your surouding and use it if you can like pusing ennemy off a cliff use a small corridor to fight them 1 on 1. Also a cool fact about this game is that you have many road to fing you way and reasur so a good tip would be to always look for every ways possible (also read comment on the ground some time it help they come from other player in the game )
Please, more of this let’s play Joe!
I love both soul games, and though this one maybe a tad harder than Demon’s Souls it’s still just a matter of learing and mastering simple gamemechanics. Just completed it the game, and it’s difficulty is quite fair throughout the game. There were only one bossfight I really had to use a tactic that some people might call cheap, but I found it myself through trial(S!!!!) and error(S!!!!).
So far this let’s play is golden. Glad to see it on more consoles. Everyone should have the opportunity to play these games. Cheers.
Btw. Awesome sidestepping skills.
I’m actually really curious about this game and the commentary was great. I’d love to see some more.
One of the hardest games ever, eh?
I can’t wait for VGA to tackle this.
That’s another thing I have to correct Angry Joe on.
It’s definitely NOT one of the hardest games ever. Yes, it is indeed difficult. And its difficulty is something unseen in the realm of current gen gaming. But that’s not what makes it so good.
Despite the fact that the reason why Joe died so much is because he didn’t see that door there, it pretty much sums up why this game is so good. You have to figure out how to beat an encounter. And when you do, it is satisfying.
Something you need to know about this game’s co-op…
Yes, co-op exists in this game. However, you cannot play with friends. But you can play it with random strangers. Yes, I know. It is weird. From Software is attempting to go with some sort of “camaraderie among strangers” deal. So don’t attempt to get your friends up and doing a lets play with you.
This was pretty good. I would like it if you did more LP’s of this game.
At the start there I was waiting for the game to kick you in the teeth. Then it did. Then I was waiting for you to see the door. This was just so freken funny. Corse I played Demon’s Souls so I know a lot of the things already like how all your souls drop when you die and that is what your regaining when you recover your power.
Yes, you seem to be pretty good at this sort of thing and I’d like to see your take on the game as a whole. Lets Plays are more enjoyable than simple reviews, imo, they feel more personal, like you’re talking with the viewer, not at them.
Yes, moar plz.
Gave ma a good laugh when you were complaining that it’s too easy and suddenly that demon dropped down.
Also when you finally spotted the door.
I love how people use the word cheap before they’ve made any attempt to figure out how they should be playing :p
You won’t have time to review this game properly, Joe. That said, like others I’d love to see you attempt to get a bit further
Compared to this game, Demons’ Souls really was easy mode, particularly for beginners. The learning curve at the start of this game is way higher.
Oh and just so you know messages that don’t have a ‘Rating X’ are tutorial messages placed by the devs. Every other message is a message left by a player, which other players can rate. I don’t quite know how anyone leaves messages in the tutorial area, I guess people who have finished the game and are going through New Game+ go through the tutorial section again, which didn’t happen in Demons’.
I never understood the whole concept of hyping a game by saying it’s uber difficult. People did the same for Ninja Gaiden, and none of those were difficult. And I mean com’mon, Joe, you had to have seen that door when you first passed it.
I haven’t tried this game myself, but this vid definitely makes me want to get it. Good luck, Joe!
One of my most anticipated games of the year! Yes Joe, please play some more!
That was a good video! It would be cool to see you play some more of it.
Ha ha I wanted to start yelling “There’s a friggin’ door to the left side of the room, how can you not see it” through the majority of the video.
Yeah I know right. At some point I was actually yelling: “DOOR THERE IS A FREAKING DOOR OVER THERE….DOOOOOOOOOOOOR” xD
Same here mate… Same here… So painful to watch!
But seriously speaking, who hasn’t missed something important now and then?
I would love to see both a play through and a review Joe..I never heard about this game before and now I’m intrigued…Personally I love games that are punishingly difficult because I like the satisfaction you get after you beat it…Other than that, keep up the hilarious videos and I’ll keep watching
Hey, Joe! Nice work trying to get through Dark Souls. I literally just stopped playing (I’m a little further than you are) and saw this LP. Good job getting through this far on your first outing.
Just for the sake of it, I’ll give you a few tips and answer a couple questions brought up in the video:
1) Demon’s Souls doesn’t start in a prison like Dark Souls does. Instead, it starts in the outskirts of the kingdom. You fight some enemies, encounter a boss (kind of like the one you saw there) and you get killed (the boss is supposed to kill you, but if you kill it somehow, you’ll die after anyways). Funny thing is, however, there IS a prison area in Demon’s Souls as well.
2) The reason you moved so slowly as well as doing a body slam roll while playing was due to your stats and equipment. You have equipment burden in this game that slows you down. In Demon’s Souls, if your equipment weight was half your burden stat or more, you’d become slower, roll less effectively and all of your actions took more stamina. That’s pretty much the same thing as what happened to you in the video – the Knight has a lot of heavy armour and equipment, meaning that you were slow. The trade-off was that you took a LOT more punishment. My own character (I chose a Wanderer class start-up), though could evade and move a lot faster, couldn’t take many more than 3 or so hits from that boss (and that flying slam attack would have killed me in one hit).
3) The tutorial level is pretty easy… but the game beyond is much harder. You’ll need to be cautious exploring and fighting. The world around you is inter-connected. You may think going down one path is good, then suddenly fight an enemy WAY out of your league (meaning you’re going the wrong way). The enemies also often have strategic positions and try to trap you in bad fights (such as having a sniper hiding to shoot you while fighting another enemy). My advice is to keep your shield up and your eyes and ears open.
4) The orange text in the tutorial area was written by the game makers, but once you get past the tutorial, you’ll see random messages all over. You need to find and buy an item that lets you leave these messages (which any player online can see, so long as you’re online yourself). While playing, you may also see ghostly forms of other players as they play in somewhat real-time. On top of that, if you find the bloodstain of a player, you can touch it to see a small replay of their ghost showing it’s last few seconds (giving you possible hints as to what killed them).
5) Speaking of bloodstains (and this is important to this game), if you die, you leave a bloodstain that has a blueish glow around it (as you saw before). Whenever you die in this (or Demon’s Souls), all of the souls you collected are left on your bloodstain. If you die before reaching the bloodstain and touching it, the souls there vanish forever (since bloodstains only appear at the LAST place you died). This is one of the things that can make the “Souls” games so punishing – having to go back to your last resting place to recover your souls. Souls are, of course, incredibly important, since they are this game’s currency. Souls buy items in shops and at bonfires (beyond the tutorial world), they can be used as currency to level up and boost your stats. So, souls are money and experience points… and dying loses them until you can get back to where you died (unless you die first, losing them forever). See why the game’s hard now?
Anyways, good luck going through the game. I’d love to see more of your LPs ^-^d
More MORE I want to see more videos of you suffering WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! XD
More more! You know you loved it when you finally beat that demon bastard!
Yes, we do want a three person run through.
With one of the players obviously being Lord Kat. Lord Kat has to be there given his old videos. And Sean Fausz would be another nice addition.
I remember the Lord Kat/Joe/Spoony epic D&D session where Lord Kat shot a demon thing (Tiefling?) with an arrow while it and Joe were “fighting like men”. So Spoony would be another good choice.
Cool video.
Just so you know (although you probably do by now but others watching may not) that level is just a tutorial. Gives you the basics of the game play. As soon as you get into the next area you’ll see why this has the reputation it does.
It’d be awesome if you made more of these just to show a bit more, for me mainly cus I like this game and like to see others reactions to it, but ya… this game is hard. With patience though, it’s not to bad. I only get mad when I lose humanity really, getting souls seems fairly easy if you’re patient and don’t mind grinding at times.
There is a form of co-op in this but its not all the way through as far as I know- it’s just for help. So if you need help on a boss you can put down a sign (you get the stone for it at some point) and people can join your realm or whatever they call it to help you. If your playing online and not hallow (a zombie) you can also be invaded by other players.
Just some tips:
I personally prefer blocking, parrying and riposte (as I find it fairly easy but some find it difficult) but others seem to like dodging (which is often the best way on certain bosses as you cant parry them or at least the ones I’ve fought so far) and quick movement so find what works best for you. Your equip load stat is how heavy you are encumbered basically from equipped gear. As it gets closer to half you slow down significantly. So wear gear that suits the speed you want to move.
Also, the starting classes are just guidelines, you can really play how ever you want. For instance, if you wanted to you could make a warrior/sorcerer (although it might take some real work). So just know that I guess.
Anyway, the only reason I share this is because the game wont, and its not game breaking to know that stuff so thought I’d share. There’s other stuff probably but that’s really the gist of it. Just know you are going to die and stay calm and be patient and the game can be pretty fun.
Please continue. You started out really rough, and you will DEFINITELY suffer, but this game is really rewarding in finally succeeding where you’ve failed over and over. That feeling you got from conquering the tutorial boss is just the tip of the iceberg. This game is the equivalent of angry sex after a long fight. Heavy risk, but the priiiiize.
I’m excited to see your skill progress and the decisions you make while I work through it too.
If you do keep playing, don’t run ahead to get away from enemies. They will keep chasing you and you WILL get swarmed and die.
BTW, the description for the Tiny Being’s Ring lied. It doesn’t regen, it increases Max HP.
Loving it Joe, here’s a bit of advice, increase your equip burden if you insist on using that heavier armor, you will be able to run and roll faster and still wear the good armor. That’s what I do anyway. Please post more of these Joe! I really wanna see you get angry at the game’s real difficulty, hehehehehahahahahaha!
I never saw your Run once in the entire video. Hold down B + moving the stick forward. While your run + attack can do different attacks.
Now be careful wherever you go from the point the video ended, from the next bonfire there are multiple path and you must choose carefully the one according to your level, if you go the way undead skeletons are…that’s not the right path, look up for a staircase close to the abyss, that’s the way.
A guy in Japan beat that boss barehanded without healing.
It’s an awesome game! The “recovery your power” means you get all your souls back if you return to where you died previously, because once you die, you lose all your souls. You have 1 chance to get them back, so if you die before you get them, the amount of souls will be overwritten by the souls you currently have.
I’ve played and beaten Demon’s Souls. Trust me Joe, this game is going to make you CRY! But, it’s never unfair, it’s just strict. Once you get the hang out it, you won’t want to put it down! This game could, dare I say it, give Skyrim a run for it’s money!
Joe here’s some advice. You picked the heavy armor class to start with so your dodge ability got cut down because the weight. Amusingly enough the class which the game says is the hardest is actually one of the easier ones since it has nothing slowing down its dodging or stamina regen. The easiest way to play the game is to wear light armor and get dodging down so nothing can hit you. Also you hold down the B button to sprint.
yeah, definitely play more, you will become extremely addicted if you continue a little bit further. I would love to see an angry review of this or a lets play of one of the later impossible bosses
I would love to see a Let’s Play of Dark Souls from someone who hasn’t played Demon’s Souls.
Oh and please change the title of this video to first impressions or Lets Play rather than a review.
Whoops, sorry, i didnt even notice i did that. My bad! Thx!
i could be wrong but i think Dark Souls is a spiritual successor Demon’s Souls and not a sequel
the video was entertaining though
I’d love to see more of this. I know for a fact you haven’t even scratched the surface of how mercyless this game is
Nice video as always Joe. I had the same exact experience with that first boss. I think it would be cool to see more “Lets Play” of this game. Dark Souls definitely takes me back to the ruthless 8/16 bit dungeon crawler days, in ambiance if not in game play. Looking forward to the Space Marine review
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this is more of a let’s play than a review, still pretty good though
Cool vid Joe. I’d love to see more. I picked up Rage instead of Dark Souls. lol