Dark Souls has always been a game series that I stayed away from. The difficulty was something I was never interested in, especially since my gaming time is very few and far between, I wanted to have fun while I was playing, not be stuck frustrated while going through an area. I’ve always been more into the FPS (First Person Shooter) genre, and enjoyed games like Battlefield and Call of Duty while dabbing into the Halo series. I always played those games on the hardest difficulty, thinking that they were hard, I was completely wrong.
This article will be talking about my experience with the game, and will contain critical spoilers about the story, and bosses.
My addiction to the souls series started when I had a knee surgery back in April. I had the choice of Quantum Break, or Dark Souls 3. I asked multiple friends about what games I should get, and unanimously, they all said Dark Souls 3. I picked up Dark Souls and I posted a picture to a Dark Souls group I was in, “I died picking this up” with a picture of the cover. I went home and started loading the game onto my hard drive, and the game started. The first thing I remember thinking “this game isn’t going to be as hard as everyone said it was.” I had been watching some walkthroughs just to get an idea of what I was getting into, and it looked easy, but man was I wrong. As a souls noob, I wasn’t aware that I could level up and I died at least 30 times on the first boss. On my very first play through, I made it pass the first area without leveling and I felt so accomplished, that feeling never ended throughout my entire gameplay.
1: Cemetery of Ash
The first thought I had while getting into this game was not only the beauty of the level design, but the enemies that seemed to be easy. My first death came from the Crystal Lizard and my inability to dodge roll on time, something that every Souls player I feel has to practice a lot to get good at. I finally made it through and then I saw the beauty of the mountains, and took a screenshot. I continued on and encountered the other enemies that came with the area then I got to the boss. For a first time souls player, I got my butt kicked. I died about 10 times until I just got lucky. Dodge roll timing was something I needed to work on and I kept up with the practicing. My main mistake was dodging away from his attacks and not recognizing his tells for his moves. I got him down to half health, and I was nearly mortified with the Abyss Beast. This was the point where I died so many times, I made the mistake of not reading the messages and not seeing that you could lock on to your enemies, which once I found this out, I beat him on the next try. Iudex Gundyr will always have a special place in my souls experience, as my first boss I beat.
2: The High Wall of Lothric
I didn’t understand the leveling system and went through the The Wall without leveling and I do have to say, I was impressed with myself for doing so. The beginning of the level, I wasn’t sure what to expect nor what enemies I was to expect. The dogs gave me a lot big trouble, and I was still getting used to the controls and the dodge roll timing, getting my ass handed to me by the the men with the Ax’s on the way to the boss run. I was dodging away from them, in stead of dodging towards them and backstabbing. I also didn’t understand that all the enemies respawned when I rested at the bonfire, which I learned the hard way after going all the way to the winged knight and then resting at the bonfire, I was losing at life it felt like. I had so much fun delving into this game, but I was tired of what felt like “grinding,” which could’ve been prevented if I had leveled up. So finally, I make it past the winged knight, not to mention the whole “nope” situation with the Abyss Beast at after “The Tower On The Wall” bonfire, which I later learned you could kill with Firebombs super easy. I get up to the Lothric Knights and I just run past them, not even giving a second thought to the the items they may drop, then I spoke with the NPC and got the flag to go over to the Undead Settlement, the next area. But then, the box came. I can’t even remember how many times I died on Vordt, probably at least 30 times. And I just recently played through this area on NG+, and I killed him within 90 seconds, just shows the advancement in gameplay and understanding of the mechanics I have now. By far the most excitement I’ve ever had with that game was when I finally beat Vordt. I was yelling profanities at the TV, while trying my hardest not to wake up my sleeping wife in the process. Overall, I liked this area, but I have a love/hate relationship with it because of the difficulties I had with it, which were all my fault.
Undead Settlement:
Passing through this area was a wake up call to the difficulty the game actually has. The dogs were my least favorite of the group of enemies so far, they were wild, erratic, and hard to judge what their move sets were, at least back then, now they’re an easy enemy. My souls journey had taken a new meaning now that I was finally past Vordt, after nearly 5 hours of gameplay (2 of that probably fighting Vordt), I finally made it past the first area. My new least favorite enemy became the Thrall’s, they were agile, had strong attacks, and were annoying to fight in numbers, which they always seemed to be in. I was catching on to the idea that you should fight enemies one by one, and not be the hero and fight them all at the same time. Being as that I was new to the series, I kept resting at the bon fire and running past the enemies, not really dodging attacks nor timing my hits. The Priestess gave my the most trouble in this area, I was constantly just running past enemies and not really caring about drops, just finishing the game more or less. Then there was my first invasion. Hodrick gave me trouble a few times that was mostly because I was, again, not timing my attacks right, and I was being too aggressive. I was used to playing games such as Shadow of Mordor, in which it’s easy to stagger enemies and playing hack and slash style gaming, but this was completely different. However difficult it was to take out Hodrick, the workers were somehow easier and didn’t give me much of a challenge as some of the other enemies in the area. I traveled through the area, and finally made it to the Boreal Knight, at which I got my butt kicked and quickly died. Then I found a cheating way to take him out. I went back to the elevator, and I sent it down, then I pulled the knight back towards the elevator and finally he went down killing him. I almost felt a sense of shame for doing that, almost like cheating in a way. Dark Souls 3 does a great job at that, it makes you feel like you’ve played the game wrong if you don’t fight and kill something, almost like you’re not satisfied without killing them in a duel. I ran past the knight and went straight into The Road of Sacrifices. I went and looked up a Wiki and found the way to get to The Curse of the Rotted Greatwood, and proceeded to take him out. The game seemed to be fair, and the bosses were progressively getting a little bit more difficult every time I fought a new one, but this boss gave me no problem. I took it out first try. I loved the game up to here, and I was ready to push on.
The Road of Sacrifices:
I felt this area is where the difficulty of the enemies really took a giant leap forward. The first enemy I found was the ax guys up the hill and I wasn’t aggressive enough and he turned into a bird and killed me quickly, that’s when I learned to be aggressive in this area. I just started rushing the enemies and keeping up with the aggressive approach to this area, which is probably why I felt comfortable. Stay aggressive is the key to this area, and knowing when and where to attack was what I learned very fast. I liked how this area just stepped up in the difficulty, just pushing you into this world. The crazy “monkey bird” things were what killed me a few times, being aggressive was the way to get through this area. The enemies seems to be grouping more, and attacking you in waves during this area, so being smart about your encounters is the way to progress through. Exploration really came into play here, learning how to avoid certain enemy encounters and make things easier for you was the key to navigating the early part of this area. Seeing as how the game was still in the early stages of throwing you into the fire so to speak, this area really lets the difficulty take over. Enemies become smarter, more in numbers, and much more difficult. The Crabs in the swamp gave me the most trouble, a lot of the moves they perform all start out the same and having patience is the key to defeating them.
Farron Keep:
Every dark souls game has that one area that has poison, this was top 3 most annoying areas in this game. I hated the fat roll swamp against fast enemies, almost like they wanted you to fail during your walkthrough. The poison swamp was annoying, but it was a learning experience. The enemies took a big leap from being slow and hitting hard, to being very fast and hard to anticipate actions. The Elder Ghru’s gave me the most trouble, the mix of magic and the tree branch hitting hard was something that gave me fits. Also, they’re strategically in places where you have to fat roll, or try to lure them to a small hill. They also have a huge awareness area and will follow you wherever you go. The little Ghru’s gave me fits as well, the grunt’s were the worst and and gave me the biggest trouble of all the little Ghru’s. The way they grab you, made for problems all around the area. I was finally able to use my Dragonslayor Shield, which made life ten time easier on NG+, and even that couldn’t keep me from getting grabbed by them and health being drained. My only saving grace for this area, was my shield. My first play through, the Catacombs were my least favorite, but this play through this area is. I hate the curse frogs, I hate the large Ghru’s, I hate everything about this area. I couldn’t wait to get through it.
Cathedral of the Deep:
The Cathedral was an area that I didn’t hate, but I didn’t mind either. I thought the area was very well balanced, as far as enemies go and the way the map is set up was intriguing. If you played your cards right, every enemy was easy to take on, and if you can pull them all out individually, this area was very easy. Although the boss was bull crap, and probably the easiest of them all, the area had a lot of story implications. I enjoyed the lead up to the giants as well, the area seemed very difficult, and enemies were spread out in a way to keep the area interesting and not too challenging. The Thrall’s were the most annoying enemy in this area, then the random Priest’s and odd enemies that were scattered throughout the area. Going through this area with my Dragon Slayer Shield was easier than I thought it would be, the shield helped a lot through out the level, especially against the knights. The story implications were very high in this level, and I was happy when it was over.
Catacombs of Carthus:
By far, my least favorite area of Dark Souls 3. I hated the enemies, the way the area was set up, and even more how the enemies spawned. The relentless torture with skeletons coming up from the ground constantly, the sneak attacks from behind through out the whole level, and the constant trolling by the developers with loot that isn’t worth the fights you’ve encountered. The hardest part for me was when you get past the first rolling ball of skeleton death and you encounter the three skeletons that come up front he ground, one spitting dark magic. The Dark Magic encounter was the hardest for me, then I had the bright idea of taking on the two red eye swordsman at the same time, which ended in my timely demise. Then, the more times you die, the less patience you have and it turns into a huge cycle. I hated the entire experience, and the boss was one of the easies bosses in the game, once you figure out how to kill him. The first time I was killed by his poison shitty breath, but I quickly took care of him the second time.
Smoldering Lake:
My first play through, I had the most trouble with this area. Mainly because I was using the Flameberge infused with a fire gem……….yes I wasn’t the brightest ‘Souls’ player back then. But the enemies aren’t too bad, but the main enemy that I had a problem with was the Smouldering Ghru. Staying aggressive wasn’t my strong suit during my first play through, I played more of a laid back approach and tried to react to the enemies actions, in this area you couldn’t do that, which lead me to learning a new play style, aggressive. Remembering what I was doing back then, I can’t help but laugh. Instead of dying and trying to find another way around, I just kept going the same way and not changing, which especially in the ‘Souls” games,’ isn’t the best idea. The NPC with the FUGS gave me some of the biggest fits, I felt he was more of a mini boss than anything, this area when I went back through it on NG+, wasn’t nearly as hard, but I also hadn’t infused my weapon with a fire gem. DOH! The boss was boring, I was expecting more of a bigger fight after all the trouble I had with the area, but I was disappointed. Then the trolling with the damn crabs again, and again, and again. This was my second least favorite area of the game, purely for the enemies and the lackluster boss.
Irithyll of the Boreal Valley:
When I arrived to this area, I felt a sense of relief for about 45 seconds, then that alligator dog attacked me and I started to understand this area wasn’t messing around. The difficulty spike was tremendous and sudden, it doesn’t just gradually step it up, it’s immediate. Even after the first bonfire, the Pontiff Knights are fast, do a lot of damage, and are relentless. They’re hard to get the timing right (my first play though they were), and the range of damage with their swords is far for how fast they move. The enemy that I hated the most in this area was the Burning Stake Witch. The range of damage this enemy can do, is absolutely brutal. Especially when you walk up near the boss run, and you see 2 Pontiff Knights and two BSW’s. If you’re not careful, you will get torn up. Even outside of the entrance, those BSW’s can still destroy you. Then there’s the boss. Pintoff Sulyvahn. Besides The Nameless King, this was the hardest boss to me. This guy is a punk, to put it lightly. He’s fast, there’s very little room for error, nor is there room for even Estus chugs, it gets annoying and aggressively frustrating. I eventually had to summon in help and quickly got the job done, but on NG+ I was able to beat him solo. Then you go out into what seems to the be the lead up to Anor Londo. The Silver Knights shooting arrows at you while trying to fight on thin rafters and dodge stagger inducing arrows, thanks Fromsoft, a real treat. Overall, this area was fun, but it wasn’t without flaws nor issues, but it had everything it needed Difficulty, Relentless Enemies, and a Boss that just wouldn’t quit.
Anor Londo:
This area should be called “Silver Knight Breeding Grounds,” because thats basically the only enemy that is easy to fight in this area. It isn’t that big, so I won’t go into much detail, but Aldrich for being mentioned so much in the game, wasn’t a hard fight like I thought it was going to be. He seemed to be easier than expected, but that stupid Deep Accursed enemy was the hardest, that monster spider which spits curse all around themselves. I was happy to get this area over with, simply to put Irythyll over with, at least so I thought.
Irithyll Dungeon:
Jailers. Literally, the worse enemy in the game. The hatred I feel for these enemies is more than any other enemy I have had in any game, ever. They can stagger you, while dropping your health to basically nothing, then of course because it’s dark souls, your heath doesn’t regenerate when your bar does, because f*** you, that’s why. The hardest part of this area, is navigation. Remembering where you’re going and what you’re doing is not the easiest, as all the hallways look the same, and seem to have the same enemies. Then the ultimate ‘F U’ from the developers, “hey we know you hate those enemies, so here’s a whole room full of them, enjoy!” If not for the Jailers, I wouldn’t mind this area, but Dark Souls being Dark Souls, it can’t be that easy. I feel like playing Dark Souls is a lot like raising a toddler, if you don’t see of hear anything, something bad is going to happen, this is the definition of that idea. Something is always popping our around every corner, and hiding behind something that wants to kill you.
Profaned Capital:
For all the hype about Yhorm, this area isn’t that big. The enemies aren’t anything to really remember, but this is the first encounter with a Gargoyle, which once you memorize the move set, they’re one of the easier enemies in the game. Really the hardest part of the area was down by the poison swamp and the Monstrosity of Sin’s all in one place, they’re big, luckily they’re slow, but they do a lot of damage and if you can, fight them one by one they’re pretty easy, if not, good luck. One of the shorter area’s, and it doesn’t give much about the lore aspect of the map, which leads to a lot of confusion. Dark Souls is usually good at explaining things, or giving subtle hints to lead you in the right direction, but this area is another big ‘F’ U’ to the gamer, which happens a lot in dark souls it seems, but it’s what makes it great.
Lothric Castle:
The pure excitement of this level was what drove my exploration of this area. Also, the boss fight for this area is my favorite in the game. The healing mages that healed the Knights got annoying very, very quick. All the traps and contraptions and tough enemies made for one hell of a ride during this play through. The hardest part I felt about this was the winged knight that came out of nowhere while fighting all the other enemies, it took a few tries, but eventually I got it down. Then navigating the dragons that are going nuts breathing fire, oh and the Boreal Knight that won’t allow you to heal while your fighting it, then the endless stream of fire bombs being thrown at you while fighting enemies with explosive barrels around you, thanks Fromsoft. Then to top it all off, an Abyss Beast attached to the dragon that you need to kill that now spits poison, the wonderful world of Dark Souls. Then there’s the boss, by far my favorite. I loved the fight, loved the atmosphere, and especially the weapons you got after defeating him. The move set and the way they presented Dragon Slayer Armor was just amazing. Overall, a great ending to a great area.
Grand Archives:
Besides the Jailers, this stupid crystal sage is the worst annoyance in the game. It’s shooting down at you while you’re slowly crawling up the level to your untimely demise it seems, if you don’t like Thrall’s, this was surely your favorite level. It took me a few tries to figure out that the wax helped with the curse and made you invisible to the weird arms that come out of the shelves. Favorite part about this level, was the roof. The multiple Gargoyle encounters, and even the NPC fights that seemed to come out of nowhere, also killing the Crystal Sage was very satisfying. The worst part was the winged knights, they can fly now. They’re difficult, hard hitting, and have unlimited poise it seemed, so you have to really find an opening and take it instead of doing heavy attacks over and over again. They killed me multiple times, even on NG+. There isn’t much else to say about this area, except for the Twin Princes. The boss fight was so much fun, even though it wasn’t fair you had to fight him twice, but the fight was so much fun. This is an example of world design and boss fights that seem to match each other.
Consumed King Garden:
I really won’t talk much about this area because I just ran past the whole bunch of nope that are the Abyss Beasts,’ but the boss fight was fun, that’s all I can really say about that area because I didn’t really explore too much of it.
Untended Graves:
The Cemetery of Ash copy is a testament to how far I’ve come as a ‘Souls’ player. The first area of the game, I struggled with and it took me a few times to get back it. But this time, I breezed through it with ease. Then there’s Champion Gyndr. I’ll always enjoy Index Gyndr because he was my first boss I defeated in Dark Souls, and Champion was a copy of one of my favorite fights of the game. He’s aggressive, hits hard, absolutely doesn’t leave time for error, nor does he forgive a missed move. This fight, just like Dragon Slayer Armor fight, is what Dark Souls is all about, smart tactics, smart weapon swings, and smart dodge rolls. His kick got me at least 4 times, but I got him first attempt on both NG and NG+, loved this fight, and I loved the level that showed me how far I had come in my Souls series.
Archdragon Peak:
I have a VERY love hate relationship with this area. It’s supposed to be the last area of the game, which is why it’s so difficult. The enemies are relentless and the set up is magnificent. The first time you encounter the enemies, they are just like they were in Irithyll, brutal and non stop pain. They attack and swarm quickly, and they all stagger and hit extremely hard. They take a lot of damage as well, but most importantly, they fight as a team. Then there’s The Nameless King. I died to this guy 31 times before I beat him, mostly because my stats weren’t high enough and I didn’t have the right equipment. On NG+, I had my Dragon Slayer Shield and it was money against him, first try I took him down. But this is by far, not even close, unequivocally the hardest boss fight I’ve ever had in any game. He’s a mixture of Champion Gyndr, and Dragon Slayer. He hits hard, doesn’t let you make mistakes, doesn’t forgive it when you do, and won’t hesitate to use every different move set to take you out. Beating him, felt the most satisfying of all the bosses.
Kiln of the First Flame:
Not much to talk about here, just the final boss, The Soul of Cinder. I thought it was a fitting boss fight, it was a mixture of all the bosses you’ve faced up until this point. I got his health all the down, with Estus gone, then he had a second phase………..awesome. How “Dark Soulsy” of the game right?
My final thoughts of the game:
Wow. That’s the only way I can describe it. I used to like Halo 2 as my favorite game of all time, but that has since changed. This game is beyond anything I’ve ever played before, and probably won’t play anything like it again. My review I wrote for it, I gave it a 9.5 and only took the .5 away for some of the bosses being dull and lacking depth, other than that, the game is flawless. The level design is second to none, and the weapons are all fun to use, along with the enemies being brutally amazing.