DEMON'S SOULS A GAME FOR SONY PLAYSTATION 3

Well done! I've paused Demons Souls because I just wasn't in the mood for playing that big 5-2 gloomy lake but I'll pick it up again soon. Very tempted to go back to Bloodborne now I'm more au fait with what FromSoft games are all about

Bloodborne is amazing. I actually kind of can't believe it, I think I might rate it highest in From's entire catalogue, having not really "got it" on my first go-round

I can't choose a favorite but Bloodborne is amazing for sure

So I dug out Bloodborne just to see if it felt different to me now I'd played through Elden Ring and most of Demon's Souls and Dark Souls.

Ummm... No. Not really. Playing through that first Central Yarnham level was just as fraught and intense as in prior playthroughs back when it was my first FromSoft game.

I feel sorry for past-me. This is a very scary game and it is NOT easy either. Neither does it go easy on you AT ALL in the opening segments or spoon-feed you much info, even when compared to other From games.

You'll have barely got to grips with the rather more aggressive and intimidating combat system by killing your first couple of grunts, when immediately you're expected to go and fight a mob of about twenty - many of them who are either patrolling around on foot or are hiding in some way.

In Demon's Souls, at least to begin, you're fighting more or less static enemies. You know where they're going to be. In BB they've got these patrol lines which are often quite big, and the enemies are easily aggro'd.

Even though I kind of knew my way around a bit better, there's still that shock when an enemy dives out from around a corner or sneaks up behind you when you think you've cleared an area. Then there's the wolves on the bridge. No wonder so.many people bounced off this game.

Have you played Sekiro? It's less scary, but the combat and enemies are even tougher, imo.

No. I really want to but I've not really seen it for sale and I don't want to pay full whack.

The other noticeable thing, going back to Bloodborne, is how BUSY it is, as in it's quite difficult to spot lurking enemies in among the absolute chaos of the scenery. Elden Ring, Demon's Souls are a lot sparser and less claustro in general, even when you're in legacy dungeons. The streets of Yarnham are just littered with coffins and hearses and general crap everywhere.
This is compounded by things like the frame rate which a lot of people complain about. I didn't notice this in my original playthrough but yeah, a remake wouldn't hurt of this.

The frame rate is only a noticeable issue because of the speed and fluidity of the combat

My only “ah well, next time” feeling with Bloodborne is that the environments are too small, game is too short

Possibly the best DLC, though, iirc. That and DS3. (Though DS1 had good DLC, too.)

I’m fighting the Orphan today, my first time, I’m excited

Another minor issue with Bloodborne is that the scenery can sometimes get in the way. More than once I jumped, thinking an enemy was sneaking up on me and it turned out to just be a foregrounded buttress

I never made it to he end of Bloodborne. It didn't really feel like a short game to me because of the toughness of the levels and how often you had to run back through them

I love how that one interlocks, maybe the best on that front aside from the first Dark Souls. Plus, shortcuts, inter-dimensional travel, looming evils that have been there the whole time but which you've been unable to see ... I also kind of like its hub the best. All the Souls games and Elden Ring are just more variations on a roundtable. In Bloodborne, it feels different, and is better incorporated into the game as more than just the place you go to level up or whatever, imo.

Bloodborne seemed like an impossible challenge for me the first go-round, I actually gave up around Ludwig because I just felt like I was struggling so hard. But now, after two years of Dark Souls 1 and 3 and Elden Ring, it seems comparatively very fluid and easy. I did the thing this morning that most people on Reddit seem to believe is the domain only of "liars": I beat Orphan on my first try.

I quit at Micolash (I think, the guy who runs around crying and laughing?)
Also hit a wall with the wizard you fight on the rooftop

Sekiro never seems to be available for cheap, does it?

I beat Orphan on my first try.

Wow! I remember taking a good few tries, but not as many as I took on Ludwig and Laurence (and also for some reason Vicar Amelia is always a wall in my playthroughs, at least at the level you first encounter her). My big revelation with Orphan was that when it leaps up off-screen, you can stand in one place and start charging a big attack. If you stand still, it won't hit you and you can get a bunch of damage in once it lands.

Put this down for a few weeks because I just couldn't bear to face the Swamp if Sorrow.

My fears were confirmed. Absolute nightmare of a place

Wasn't bad with the ring that lets you move, iirc.

I think you can only get that if you do black world tendency somewhere. If I've got pure white on most of the archstones except this one, is there any reason not to turn them pure black? Does it affect the ending? I've p much done the little added quests in them

bosses in dark souls are so much harder. i've done 1-1, 2-1, 3-1, 4-1 and 4-1 and haven't found anything on the level of gargoyles, capra demon or quelaag

Yeah they're mostly about shock and awe compared to other games. A couple gave me a hard time - especially 2-2 guy

yeah I guess the swamp ring was some black tendency thing, at the bottom of tower of whatever. I guess the best bet would be to beat the boss on white, then work your way to black to get the ring? I think it's a remake only thing, which means they added it for a reason!

Well, it was painful and tense but I made it. It's kind of hilarious how easy some of these bosses are after such a tough slog through the level. Beat Dirty Colossus on first go without any trouble

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0sxAYybHF8

The only way to do those levels is slowly and stealthily. Those Giant Depraved Ones are so tough, and I struggled so much with the pair just after the second swamp section so many times. They just chase you into the bog so you can't move and whack you. Still managed it without the Sodden ring in the end

Those giants sucked, can only imagine them in slow mode, even harder to see.

Yeah they're mostly about shock and awe compared to other games. A couple gave me a hard time - especially 2-2 guy

― the forces of darkness making making us laugh ourselves into DEATH?? (dog latin), Wednesday, March 29, 2023 6:12 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

just beat flamelurker on second try. i may be a bit overpowered (and i did eat a lot of grass) but didn’t find it too bad. seemed like he went super aggro mode on his last 20% of health and that was a bit tough to figure out how to adjust to. took a peek at the 2-3 boss (dragon god), such a genius over the top design. love this game

Okay so can anyone tell me what's the deal with Maiden Astraea?

Like... I know some of the boss fights are easy, but this was ridiculous for what I assume is the penultimate boss. I just went up to her bodyguard who let me hit him a handful of times with barely any retaliation, and then she kills herself? Is the challenge meant to be solely emotional because I feel like I just kicked a puppy. The only tough part was making sure I got to the end of her dialogue without dying of plague

Just watched a YouTube video where her protector knight seems to chat to you all through the fight. He didn't do that to me - just stood there while I whacked him

Apparently it is so pro cheese there is a special achievement for killing him with range weapons from across the arena. For sure those soul creatures at the bottom are pretty op.

It never occurred to me to play music while playing Demon's Souls, and indeed some might call it sacrilege, but as it's a game largely free of BGM I thought I'd try playing it in tandem with SunnO))) and Scott Walker's darkly arresting collab "Soused", and mannnnnn this is an experience! 🤣

Completed it tonight after umpteen attempts at False King Allant. Not entirely sure what was happening at the end but, hey, FromSoft's gonna FromSoft.

It wasn't until I completed it that I found out there's meant to be a ticklish of things you should do first (like killing all the NPCs for their gear etc). But oh well.

There were a few quests I didn't manage to do - Ostrava got himself killed, I didn't do Mephistopheles quest, whatever that is.

So roll on NG+. I really really enjoyed this game

The guide I followed noted that this is one of those games that's impossible to 100% in one playthrough. You want to do everything there is to do - all quests, black and white tendency events, etc. - apparently you need to play it something like three times.

Yeah, I getcha. I'm actually loooking forward to playing through again, despite having spent a good bit of time on it - I'm guessing about 90 hours?