I was asking in the Discord how far along I was in the DLC. I said all the things I’d done, and estimated I was 60% through the DLC. I inhaled the game, gulping it down in healthy bites. Or not so healthy. I have heard the game is thirty hours long, so I mentally doubled that.
I will say, I’m a bit fatigued so I spent all day yesterday just wandering around and mopping up the little bits. Or not so little bits.
Let me continue with what I was talking about yesterday–the lack of decent rewards for the field bosses. Here’s your warning that there will be spoilers abound in this. The two ghostflame dragons should have been spectacular and a showstopper. Instead, they were sort of meh. I mean, they were well-designed visually, but they did not bring anything new to the table. They were dragons who spewed fire, only it was ghostflame instead of fire ice rot magma magic. I know this probably feels like a nitpicky thing, but it really isn’t. There were several dragons in the base game, but the only thing to differentiate between them were what they blew at you.
I touched on this in previous posts. I think the main game would have been improved by cutting out a quarter of the content. I can say the same about the DLC.
By the way, I started before most of the people in the Discord did and now they are all ahead of me. It’s a weird feeling. It’s because many of them are mainlining the main story whereas I am just meandering around. I did another dungeon that personified what I find so frustrating about the caves/catacombs/tombs/gaols.
This one was the Belurat Gaol. I completely missed this because as I said, I inexplicably didn’t go one of the ways I could have gone. This is where the second ghostflame dragon was (should have been the first I saw).
Everything I love and hate about this game was found in this gaol. Well, hate is a strong word for some of it–frustrating is a better word for it. I went into this cave and was immediately struck by the haunting beauty of it. It’s filled with living jars, which is category of characters in the game. There is an NPC named Iron Fist Alexander who is a huge jar filled with dead warriors. He’s a fan favorite (and, as per yooz, is someone I like, but not my favorite), and I’m sure people were intrigued by his past. There’s another NPC called The Great-Jar whom you can meet and kind of talk to, but not really. Then, you can fight his summons (three, one after the other) to get a really good talisman.
There are jars/pots that you can fight as enemies. As well as an absolutely heartbreaking side quest of the city of Jarburg. That is one from the main game that hit me hard–especially as I did not even find Jarburg until I beat the game–so I went through the whole storyline in about ten minutes. It’s one that has haunted me, honestly, more so than some of the more involved questlines.
In this gaol, there are several jars hanging ominously from the ceiling. I have included the gameplay reveal trailer above at the moment when this gaol is featured. It’s a gorgeous setting. Lugubriously lavish. And the lighting is top-notch as usual. I have to say looks-wise, this is one of my favorite dungeons of all time.
It’s also interesting in that it has a ghost (there are ghosts throughout the game who give you a snippet of dialogue that is pertinent to the area you’re about to enter) who is begging not to be put in the jar again. It sent chills up and down my spine because it implies that the warriors stuffed into the jars might not be dead. And then you run into a horror in a jar. Actually, that might be before the ghost. Anyway, it’s called a Condemned, apparently, and it shoots sticky, pulpy, writhing pink goo at you. And looks the same itself. It’s certainly not a normal human being, and it’s pretty disgusting. It has the jar on its back like a crab.
There are very few enemies in this dungeon, and it’s truly unsettling. The whole vibe is creepy and haunting, and it’s as if you are just waiting for something to hapen.
Then, you have to jump down on the tops of hanging jars, and I sighed heavily. We all know how much I love platforming in non-platforming games. I jumped, hit the chain, and died. Second time, I misgauged how far down the floor was and died again.
This is not on. I don’t mind (or rather, I understand) when I die to a hard enemy or boss. I do mind when it’s to bullshit like this. I should not be punished because my reflexes and depth perception suck. I finally made it and crept along. I was very thankful for the messages telling me when there was an enemy hidden around the corner.That is another thing that annoys me–not being able to see around corners. I don’t consider that legit difficulty–it’s just fiddly bullshit.
As I continued along the way, I was nervous about the fact that I was running out of my blue flasks. And there was no grace/shortcut back to a site of grace. I mean, I didn’t expect it because that’s not how the caves/catacombs/gaols/tombs work. There is never a site of grace or shortcut within the dungeon. They are meant to be grueling, and you’re just lucky to get a Stake of Marika before the boss fight. I mean, you usually get one, but there were a few times in the main game when you did not. I didn’t think they would do that in the DLC, but you never know with Miyazaki.
Side note: It’s interesting that in a recent interview, Miyazaki said the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC was pushing the envelope of difficulty in From games. That made me sigh in weariness when I read that because as I have said before, I don’t play the game for the difficulty.
The boss of this dungeon kicked my ass the first time because he immediately jumped on me as I was trying to summon my Mimic Tear. I noticed this in the other dungeon I did in the DLC, too. An immediate jump on by the boss, as if to stop me from summoning. I died to the boss (of both dungeons) and the second time in, the boss did not jump on me. For either dungeon.
It migt be a weird coincidence, but I wonder if it’s just one more way to give the player a big F-U. At any rate, I called in my Mimic Tear and we made incredibly short work of the boss. Got a cool Spirit Ash for my trouble and almost enough runes to level up (because I had many going in and were able to retrieve them after I died in the dungeon).
Near the end of the dungeon right before the boss, I had to do a few more jumps and my heart was in my throat when I nearly missed the second one. I would have quit for the day, probably, if that had happened. I really don’t like that you pretty much have to do the dungeon in one go (session) or start over from the beginning. I don’t begrudge the game for that, though, as it’s a valid design choice.
In the end, this was a fairly painless dungeon overall, but I still did not enjoy it. I was glad to learn more about the Jar Warriors, what they did to get to be that way, and to get my new favorite helm (one guess what it is), and the tasty new spirit ash. But still. I can’t say I’m glad I did the dungeon.
I heave a sigh before entering every dungeon. It was the same in the main game. I hated the Chalice Dungeons in Bloodborne as well. They’re just not for me, and I have three more I haven’t explored. We’ll see if I do more of that today or just tootle around. I don’t have the energy for anything intense.