FromSoftware / Soulsborne Games

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Soulsborne Games

Let's talk FromSoftware and Soulsborne games! To specify, I mean the following games:

• Demon's Souls
• Dark Souls I, II & III
• Bloodborne
• Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
• Elden Ring

(and I won't stop people from discussing any similar games if you feel like it)

For those who haven't played them and are not familiar with them, they are action RPGs generally known for the following characteristics:

• They're hard. therefore, git gud
• The gameplay is based around learning the attack patterns of your enemies: know when to dodge and when to attack!
• Money and EXP is the same currency: you earn it by defeating enemies, and when you die you drop all of it.
• There's atypical multiplayer elements: find messages written by other players to warn (or deceive) you, see the last few moments of a player's life, get invaded by other players or do it yourself. You can also summon other players to help you out with any bosses.
• The setting is bleak and the story is vague. Expect a lot of the story to be told through contextual clues and item descriptions. (alternatively, watch a 5 hour youtube essay)

Since the end of 2021 I've been juggling Bloodborne, Dark Souls: Remastered and Elden Ring. I haven't finished any of them yet, but I am having a good time! I've seen other people mention being fans on this forum so I thought I'd get a little thread going and see what other people think about the games. (also I am incrdibly lost in elden ring and might just ask for help here)

Here are some prompts but feel free to post about anything on the topic (please be mindful of spoilers, so make sure to use spoiler tags!):

• Which FromSoft game is your favorite?
• Are you playing one of the games right now (and are you stuck on a section?)
• What are your player characters like?

[SilkSkull]

I definitely have more to add to this after but right now I just wanna say that Dark Souls 2 is overhated. It was my first darksouls and I love it, I actually would rank it as one of my favorite soulsborne games.

[sig]

Dark Souls 2 is overhated

I've heard a lot about Dark Souls 2 being worse but never found out why exactly: I don't plan on finding out either until I've played it for myself, so I can form my own opinion on it

[Memory]

I didn't start playing these games until Dark Souls 3, but I loved it so much that I started working backwards through the series and then bought a PS4 just to play Bloodborne. Then I bought a PS5 (mostly) to play the Demon's Souls remake.

I've beaten them all, but my favourite is either Bloodborne or Dark Souls 3. I think they're the most polished and refine the staples of the series to their finest state. I lean toward Dark Souls 3 because it has most of the mechanics found in all the other games, whereas Bloodborne strips out some things to make it more about dodging and parrying, with faster paced combat. But I also lean toward Bloodborne sometimes because I prefer Yarnham over Lothric, and it has some of the best monster and boss designs.

I like Elden Ring a lot too, but I rank it quite a bit lower because I really think being open world was a detriment rather than a benefit. The world feels so empty, most of the dungeons and bosses are copy/pasted, and so many locations around the world are made up of reused assets. By comparison, the other games feel very hand crafted whereas Elden Ring feels thrown together.

Sekiro is definitely the hardest. I did finally beat every boss, but then I lost my save file and I really can't bring myself to do it all again. I think I'd cry if I tried. Sword Saint Isshin took me so many tries to beat, and the Demon of Hatred was an absolute nightmare. I never want to have to fight those two again.

I'm currently on my second playthrough of Demon's Souls. I really love the remake, but there is so much jank in that game that was carried over from the original. Even though the graphics are a lot shinier, you can tell that From Software really improved on their designs with each subsequent game.

Also, frig all rolling skeletons to heck!

I definitely have more to add to this after but right now I just wanna say that Dark Souls 2 is overhated. It was my first darksouls and I love it, I actually would rank it as one of my favorite soulsborne games.

I have a friend who is very vocal about how overhated Dark Souls 2 is and that it is, in fact, the best soulsborne game (in his opinion). I don't dislike it by any means, and I even like aspects of it more than Dark Souls 1, but it's far from my favourite. Mainly, I think the art direction is way better than the first game, which I consider to be quite ugly even for the time it was released. Majula is a really beautiful hub location, and it's not the only gorgeous area in the game. The closest DS1 has to offer is Anor Londo, but I still don't think it compares.

But I think the most valid complaint about DS2 is that most of the bosses are just "dudes in armor". One of the reasons I love the soulsborne games is for the varied bosses, and DS2 really has very little of that.

My only other complaint is the hit boxes aren't quite right. I've been flattened too many times by an enemy attack that clearly landed far to the side of my character.

[Necrosia]

I love Soulsborne! I'm mostly interested in the lore and world-building aspect rather then the challenge itself, I am aware that it  is an unpopular stance and it have also led to some sour interactions but both are valid ways to enjoy the franchise! Wanting to run the entire game naked using only the crappiest sword and no magic or preferring to spend hours looking at textures to replicate a garb in real life are both different ways of being a fan of the same thing.

Bloodborne is my favorite of all time, I have a saw cleaver replica hanging on my wall and my longest running RP is Bloodborne-themed.

I am personally not a fan of dark souls 2 either but mostly because it feels so out of place lore-wise to the point that dark souls 3 is almost a direct continuation of 1 while 2 seems like it was trying to rehash elements from 1 but failed halfway. I don't hate it tho.

I really enjoyed elden ring and am currently waiting for the DLC, I loved cheesing on it with the sword of night and flame and my best friend the mimic tear 

[Memory]

I'm mostly interested in the lore and world-building aspect rather then the challenge itself

I also don't really play them for the challenge. I actually prefer getting to NG+ and strolling through with an overpowered character, destroying all the early bosses.

But I'm not particularly big on the lore either. I don't typically read item descriptions, and the story barely registers for me. I like watching Vaati's lore videos, but I have little interest in discovering or piecing together the details for myself.

The things I like most about these games are the art design, world structure and most of all how precise the combat is. I don't need a high difficulty to appreciate how good it feels to attack, dodge and parry while managing stamina.

The feel of the combat is where I think a lot of soulslikes fail. The weapons lack weight, or the timing feels off, or the animations are too stiff/loose. I love Jedi: Fallen Order, but the lightsaber doesn't feel nearly as good as swinging the gigantic demon great axe in Dark Souls 3.