Dark Souls
I don't think I've sunk this much time into a non-MMO game since... well, maybe GTA V, but possibly not even that open world monster. And I'm not finished yet, though I feel like I am sort of over a large hump now that I have some choice as to which bosses to go after.
So how is it? Complicated.
Control: I didn't even try to use the keyboard, mouse setup, so I don't know. I connected a PS3 controller, ran MotionInJoy in the background, and downloaded a mod that changes the command prompts to match. No need to second-guess, and it all works well, though I've never really liked using both PS3 trigger buttons, personally.
I like the differences in combat styles a lot, actually, with a distinctly different feel in most cases.
Connectivity: My largest meta-game frustration. The PC version users Games for Windows Live. I have no idea what's going to happen when that's due to shut down (this year, I think). In the meantime, though, I've had to remove and reinstall GFWL software several times when I went to start the game only to get a "you are not connected, and your progress won't be saved" message for no apparent reason. This is where the "shoddy PC port" reputation comes in and smacks me in the face most often.
Difficulty: Dark Souls is not as brutally hard as I was given to expect - sort of. Yes, I've died a lot. A lot. But I've also noticed reaching these points of better gear or just increased familiarity at which things that killed me repeatedly for the slightest screw up are, almost suddenly, very easy. If you can reach the point of your demise before dying again, you can regain everything. If you can't, you lose any non-item humanity you had and any souls (XP/currency). If you're trying to save up for something, that can be a hassle, but really I found even the most serious of setbacks to annoyances rather than controller-throwing frustrations.
PVP/Coop: Good, bad, and facinating. I've only summoned player assistance once, and that went fine. The vulnerability to PVP invasion while in human form has only been a bit frustrating a few times. Usually I just run in hollow form, but at the major bosses, I'll usually try to human up so I can at least summon NPC help - getting invaded while trying to wade through the mobs on the way to the bosses of Anor Londo was rough, but ended up being manageable.
But I find some of the other details truly fascinating. The messages written by people vary from cruel to useful, but are all pretty pre-picked, rather than freeform. Seeing ghostly images of other people, either from area overlap or bloodstains, is neat. Plus there are a few encounters with NPCs that look like invading players.
What strikes me as an awesome touch is the "leaf corpses" that I ran into in the sewers of the Depths. These were one of the creepiest things I've seen in a game in a long time - humanoid figures that would appear, looking to be made out of brambles or leaves. Strike them and they fall apart. They never move, but they can appear even in rooms you cleared. I had no idea what to make of that other than expecting them to leap out at me or something. I only recently looked this up online and found out they appear when other online players die to the Curse effect. Not hostile, not dangerous, but creeeeepy when you don't know what's going on.
Lore: Another area with big ups and downs. The world is highly atmospheric. And there's a lot of backstory there. The catch is, more of it seems to be told through item descriptions than the few sparse bits of dialogue which what NPCs you can interact with. It's almost, though not quite, as lonely-feeling an experience as Metroid Prime was (were your only "interaction" beyond shooting things is uncovering text logs). It does sort of fit the theme, as a living city of citizens would be out of place, but I prefer a little more interaction in my story and story in my interactions.
(Lack of) Direction: Wow, yeah. In an age of in-game tutorials, minimaps, and waypoints, Dark Souls feels like a major throwback. There are some messages in the beginning to tell you about basic commands. After that, you're just sort of thrown out into the world of undead and demons with a vague notion of a legend about a "Chosen Undead" needing to ring two bells. Story-wise, there are some small leads to follow, but rarely any direction or advice. Mechanics-wise, you're pretty much expected to learn the hard way.
And yet, while everything about this strikes me as insufficient and makes me think I should want more direction, it actually hasn't been that bad an experience for me. Admittedly, I've taken the opportunity to look up maps online to get some idea what my options are - something I'd rather be able to do in-game. Still, none of it feels as negative as it seems like it should.
Overall, I think it's been a positive experience and continues to be so. I hope the sequel's at least as good. Maybe I'll be done with this one by the PC release date. Heh.
So how is it? Complicated.
Control: I didn't even try to use the keyboard, mouse setup, so I don't know. I connected a PS3 controller, ran MotionInJoy in the background, and downloaded a mod that changes the command prompts to match. No need to second-guess, and it all works well, though I've never really liked using both PS3 trigger buttons, personally.
I like the differences in combat styles a lot, actually, with a distinctly different feel in most cases.
Connectivity: My largest meta-game frustration. The PC version users Games for Windows Live. I have no idea what's going to happen when that's due to shut down (this year, I think). In the meantime, though, I've had to remove and reinstall GFWL software several times when I went to start the game only to get a "you are not connected, and your progress won't be saved" message for no apparent reason. This is where the "shoddy PC port" reputation comes in and smacks me in the face most often.
Difficulty: Dark Souls is not as brutally hard as I was given to expect - sort of. Yes, I've died a lot. A lot. But I've also noticed reaching these points of better gear or just increased familiarity at which things that killed me repeatedly for the slightest screw up are, almost suddenly, very easy. If you can reach the point of your demise before dying again, you can regain everything. If you can't, you lose any non-item humanity you had and any souls (XP/currency). If you're trying to save up for something, that can be a hassle, but really I found even the most serious of setbacks to annoyances rather than controller-throwing frustrations.
PVP/Coop: Good, bad, and facinating. I've only summoned player assistance once, and that went fine. The vulnerability to PVP invasion while in human form has only been a bit frustrating a few times. Usually I just run in hollow form, but at the major bosses, I'll usually try to human up so I can at least summon NPC help - getting invaded while trying to wade through the mobs on the way to the bosses of Anor Londo was rough, but ended up being manageable.
But I find some of the other details truly fascinating. The messages written by people vary from cruel to useful, but are all pretty pre-picked, rather than freeform. Seeing ghostly images of other people, either from area overlap or bloodstains, is neat. Plus there are a few encounters with NPCs that look like invading players.
What strikes me as an awesome touch is the "leaf corpses" that I ran into in the sewers of the Depths. These were one of the creepiest things I've seen in a game in a long time - humanoid figures that would appear, looking to be made out of brambles or leaves. Strike them and they fall apart. They never move, but they can appear even in rooms you cleared. I had no idea what to make of that other than expecting them to leap out at me or something. I only recently looked this up online and found out they appear when other online players die to the Curse effect. Not hostile, not dangerous, but creeeeepy when you don't know what's going on.
Lore: Another area with big ups and downs. The world is highly atmospheric. And there's a lot of backstory there. The catch is, more of it seems to be told through item descriptions than the few sparse bits of dialogue which what NPCs you can interact with. It's almost, though not quite, as lonely-feeling an experience as Metroid Prime was (were your only "interaction" beyond shooting things is uncovering text logs). It does sort of fit the theme, as a living city of citizens would be out of place, but I prefer a little more interaction in my story and story in my interactions.
(Lack of) Direction: Wow, yeah. In an age of in-game tutorials, minimaps, and waypoints, Dark Souls feels like a major throwback. There are some messages in the beginning to tell you about basic commands. After that, you're just sort of thrown out into the world of undead and demons with a vague notion of a legend about a "Chosen Undead" needing to ring two bells. Story-wise, there are some small leads to follow, but rarely any direction or advice. Mechanics-wise, you're pretty much expected to learn the hard way.
And yet, while everything about this strikes me as insufficient and makes me think I should want more direction, it actually hasn't been that bad an experience for me. Admittedly, I've taken the opportunity to look up maps online to get some idea what my options are - something I'd rather be able to do in-game. Still, none of it feels as negative as it seems like it should.
Overall, I think it's been a positive experience and continues to be so. I hope the sequel's at least as good. Maybe I'll be done with this one by the PC release date. Heh.
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