Dark Souls II (Scholar of the Frist Sin). Post number a million on it. Here was the last. Still playing it, currently in the absolute worst area of the game, barring the DLCs. It’s Shrine of Amana, and while it’s better in SotFS than it was in the vanilla game (apparently), it’s still grim. It’s hard to tell where you can and can’t step because the water edges are not clear (at least not for me. And this is with the gamma cranked). There are sorcerers strategically placed so that anywhere you move, they zap you with homing missiles. Plus, underground asshole creatures that inflict bleed. And still. I was progressing apace through it and almost through the first of three bits (in the second part of it) when I felt my controller rumble.
Forlorn has invaded me! Grrrrrrr. Forlorn is an NPC who periodically invades you throughout the game. Or maybe ‘Forlorn’ is a the name of a group of people and they are different ones. At any rate, I was not pleased and died to Forlorn. For whatever reason, that pushed me over the edge. I tried to run through the area, but died when trying to open the door to the hut that is the end of part one/beginning of part two. You do not have invincibility as you open the door, which I knew, but had hoped would not be true.
That’s another change in this game that is bullshit, by the way. In the first game, when you entered the mist door or any door, you had invincibility frames that got you through it. In this game, you do not. You can be hit out of the animation, which is frustrating as fuck.
Anyway, I was so mad, but I realized that it was best just to kill the enemies and make my way methodically through the area. But I also realized that I was just not here for the artificial difficulty of this area. I’ve mentioned before that the line between ‘difficult, but fair’ and ‘fucking bullshit’ is very thin. This area is definitely on the other side, but also, I think I am. What I mean is that since my medical trauma, I have a different point of view on the difficulty in general. It’s never been why I play the games, but I did take some pride in soloing the bosses.
With Elden Ring, however, I had no problems with using the Spirit Summons, the NPC summons, and summoning humans. I stuck to the first and second for the most part, but there were times when I called in humans because I couldn’t be stuffed. I’m not even talking about the second and third playthroughs, but also the first. I vividly remember reaching the boss of Volcano Manor and instantly calling in summons. Could I do it on my own with the Spirit Summon? Probably. Did I want to? No.
I soloed a few of the bosses. Mostly, I used the Spirit Summons. when I got the Mimic Tear, that was the end. It’s another me–why wouldn’t I use it whenever I had the opportunity? I am proud that I only used the Mimic Tear to beat (*spoilers for Elden Ring*) Malenia in roughly ten tries. Maybe less. I didn’t find her that hard because I had Swarm of Flies, an incantation that stacks bleed and is really strong. Funnily, it got nerfed right before I used it on Melania, but it’s still potent. I used it for much of the rest of the game, which, to be fair, isn’t that much more. She is very near the end of the game, depending on how you play it. Well, she’s optional, so you don’t have to fight her at all, but if you do, she’s near the end of the game.
It’s not hyperbole to say that From always makes the hardest bosses optional. Well, almost always. The final boss of Sekiro is an exception. So is Genichiro in that game. Actually, that game in general is an exception because you cannot summon. At all. I understand the reason for it, but it really cut the game off from so many people. I appreciate that FromSoft wanted to do something different and took a risk, but the end result was a game that definitely was not for everyone. Even people who love the game acknowledge that they would not suggest it to most people.
At the time I played it, I appreciated it, but I did not enjoy playing it. When I finally beat the game, it was the most transcendent moment in gaming I’ve experienced. I wrote several posts about it, but that’s not saying anything because I’ve written a ton of posts about every From game. The next time I tried to play the game, I just couldn’t be bothered. Granted, I’m stuck in NG+ on the hardest boss for me (Owl (Father)) and couldn’t make a dent on him in a few hours. If I was to go back again, it would be to get the plat, which means getting the ending that includes beating Owl (Father) again. And Isshin at least one more time. I’ve only beaten him once as well.
Sekiro is my least-favorite FromSoft game, though I fully acknowledge that it is a brilliant game. It’s funny because a YouTuber I used to watch once commented that he couldn’t understand how someone could say a game was good, but that they didn’t like it. In his mind, if a game is good ,why wouldn’t he play it? But it turned out that his man-baby persona wasn’t just a persona and he was a severe narcissist. Honestly, I don’t understand why he doesn’t understand that mentality. I can acknowledge that a game is good, but that it’s not my kind of thing. Same thing with any pop culture. Like Beyonce is phenomenal, but she’s not my cuppa. On the other side, I love What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction, but realize it’s not a great song. I love Harry Styles deconstruction of it and him in general, btw. He and Lizzo singing this song together was exactly my jam.
I just can’t deal with the bullshit in SotFS after my medical trauma. I felt the same with Elden Ring, btw. Before I ended up in the hospital, I had this elaborate plan as to how I was going to play the game. I was going to have two characters, one for solo and one for co-op. The first character was going to solo everything whereas the second was just for fun with others.
Then I had my medical trauma and all of that was wiped out of my mind. I only had one goal for the game and that was to enjoy it however I wanted and whatever that meant. I stuck to it while still playing the game my way. By the way, starting as the Confessor was not a good choice. I didn’t realize I wouldn’t have an attack spell. Or rather, that I wouldn’t have access to one for ten hours. Because that’s how long it took me to get to the Roundtable Hold where I could get my beloved Pyro.
I didn’t care at all about soloing. It’s strange because that was a point of pride for me in the other games. But, yes, my medical trauma changed me, and I’m fine with it. It’s funny because Aoife from Eurogamer said she doesn’t consider using the Spirit Summoning as not doing a boss solo. She was helping Ian, her colleague, with his adventure through Elden Ring and didn’t know how the summoning system worked. She doesn’t like to summon, but she doesn’t think it’s wrong if other people do it. At least that’s what she says. It’s not what her face says, though.
My current ranking of the games is:
6. Sekiro
5. Bloodborne
4. Dark Souls II (Scholar of the First Sin)
3. Dark Souls
And here is where I get stuck because I keep going back and forth between Elden Ring and Dark Souls III. The latter was my former favorite game of all time. I played a good chunk of it recently before hopping back to SotFS, and it’s just as great/comforting as before. Elden Ring is a brilliant game. Now that I’ve platted it after playing it three times, I am pondering if it’s better than DS III.
My answer to that is that I don’t know. I’ve had a great time with Elden Ring and I’m sure I will be playing it for the rest of my life. But (and you knew there was a but, didn’t you?), does it have the same staying power as DS III? Only time will tell, and in the meantime, I’ll enjoy both games.