I debated whether this post should go within my current series on pop culture (and what I hate about it, in general). I decided it does not belong in the series at large, but it’s in a similar vein. Why? Because I’m going to talk about one part of niche pop culture that went mainsteram, and why I like (some) of it very much. And why I loathe/can’t with other parts of it.
We are talking, of course, about FromSoftware games.
I have a love/hate relationship with them. It’s very complicated. I’m not a fanperson, by any means. I love the Dark Souls trilogy and Elden Ring, but not the others. And they have been in the news for shitty company practices, too. Plus, the soft sexism in the games is a turn-off, too. I’ll get to all that later.
Down below, I have included a video when the lads were in Prepare to Try at IGN. It’s the secrets episode of their Dark Souls series in which Krupa shows Rory and Gav a few things you won’t easily find on your own in the game. They are in Blighttown and find the way down to Ash Lake–which is situated behind TWO illusory walls. And there’s a chest behind the first one so you would think you found the treasure at that point.
Rory says something like, “Imagine this is one of the first games you’ve ever played. It would break your tiny mind. You would be so disappointed after.” Gav: “You’d be playing it forever.” At some point, Krupa wondered how anyone found Gwyndolin.
This was what happened to me. As I’ve said several times, this is the fourth or fifth ‘hardcore’ game I ever played. I was only playing casual games earlier in my life. This was the first one with combat that wasn’t just compulsively clicking the keyboard, and it was the first time I used a controller. I don’t recommend any of this, by the way. It was such a struggle for me, especially as I have spatial issues that go beyond video games.
The hardcore fanbois insist you have to go into the game not knowing anything about it to get the ‘true/real’ experience. I would disagree with this. I mean, this is one way to go, but that’s what I tried to do. And I was hating the game so much all the way through the first quarter. I would have done much better had I known a few basics like focusing on a build and upgrading your weapon. Rory (from RKG) had a real struggle with the first game, but he made it through with Krupa’s guidance. He has admitted that he didn’t think he would have finished it without Krupa by his side.
In fact, in the beginning of their second season, which features the third game, Rory was saying that other people said it wasn’t as hard as the first game. He protested because he was finding it much more difficult. I told him (my monitor) that of ocurse he did because Krupa was much more hands-off in the second season. Not that he was leading Rory by the nose in the first game, but he was much more likely to subtly nudge Rory in the right direction if Rory looked as if he was too frustrated in general.
In the second series, Krupa just let Rory faff about as much as he wanted without saying anything. Plus, I think Rory forgot how much trouble he had in the first game. He got so angry several times when he kept getting stucuk. There was one classic moment in the firs series where they fought their way through the misery that is Blighttown, made it to the bottom bonfire, and did not light it because the mosquitos poisoned Rory and he died. They were jubliant about making it to the bonfire–until they realized that they had not lighted it. Which meant they were back to the previous bonfire and had to do it again. They sat there in utter silence as they made their way back again.
Side note: This is one quality of life change that I am grateful for in future games. You no longer have to sit at a bonfire/site of grace in order to have it be your current save point.
I often wonder how my gaming life would have been different if I had clung to my hantred of the first game and had refused to play the rest. Honestly, it probably would have put an end to my video gaming. Which would have been interesting.
Obviously, there was something in the original Dark Souls that drew me back in. I recently replayed the first half of the game for the first time since Elden Ring, and it holds up. But. And I much regret to say this. I have little desire to play the second half of the game. This is what happens every time I play that game. It’s not talked about often, but the second half is not nearly as good as the first half. There are ambitious ideas that were more misses than hits because they were up against a very hard deadline.
Dark Souls III is what Miyazaki wanted the first game to be. He’s never explicitly said it, I don’t think, but it’s pretty clear. There are areas with the same name as in the first game, but expanded and more elaborate. Let me amend that. Dark Souls III is Dark Souls expanded.
Here’s the thing. I think Dark Souls is tremendous for what it represents. I do not think it’s the best game in the series overall. I think Dark Souls III is the best game because it’s taken the best of the previous games and polished it to a shine. I have said repeatedly that it’s like the greatest hits album of a band that’s been around for twenty years, but it’s more than that. Yes, there is fan service. Yes, there is little that is earth-shattering the way the first game was (or Demon’s Souls was). More on this in the next post.