Hey. I’d like to thank everyone here for watching this video, let alone those who have been liking and subscribing. The algorithm really did come out of nowhere with this one, and I’m kinda losing my mind over it(in the good way). I’ve had a few videos get around the same amount of views as this one, but I’ve never gotten this much support. It means more than I can express through a TH-cam comment. I thought I’d also address a few things that have come up a lot since you guys have watched. 1. Don’t Quit The Game A few of you have said the video has discouraged you from finishing Dark Souls; don’t do that. I love this game, and I didn’t mean to turn players off from it, though I guess with a video like this, I can’t complain since it’s mostly my fault. If you want my opinion, then keep going, cause the experience and package as a whole are well worth it. But I don’t take anything I said here back, even if it’s off putting to some. 2. Audio Yeah, the audio quality is pretty bad. I’ve gotten a new mic since then, but it’s still not great, and the place I live in is loud as hell. It’s something I gotta keep working on. 3. Dunkey This mainly applies to the other videos on my channel and is something I was worried about for a while. I love dunkeys videos, and i take a lot after them, but I want to make these videos my own. I want a similar format, but with an approach different enough to stand out on my own. If it’s just my voice that sounds similar, I can’t do anything about that, it’s just my voice. But I can keep working to move further away from that. And that’s about it. Thanks for Reading!
@@s014c3_o-o I haven't beaten the game yet and I've been playing for six years. I just got to Anor Londo the other day and already moving on to the library. The main complaint ive had is the movement / jumping mechanics. I love the encumbrance /strength system but the actual movement is clunky. I've hated this game in many ways over the years but I've made more progress in the past few days than I have in years. Im loving it.
They said, go and ring the two bells. One is high up, the other one is far below. So I did the gargoyle thing first, then cleared the catacombs and the tomb of the giants ...
Yeah straight up WTF is with the directions??? The game gives you two paths to go below, New Londo elevator and Catacombs, but like, the the shortcut door to Blighttown is locked???? WHY??? WHY WOULD YOU MAKE ME GO UP TO GO DOWN????
There are two types of Dark Souls players Those who use the Sunlight Maggot in the Tomb of Giants and had a somewhat fun time, and those who didn't and absolutely hated it.
@@nahguacm True! I used the maggot in that situation anyway, wasn't wanting to sacrifice a spell slot lol (utility spells should really cost zero slots sort of like DnD cantrips)
You forgot the legendary type of players, hitless and speed runners that take no light into ToG, and perfectly navigate past every enemy until they get to Nito
ToG is peak souls, no other zone in any game since has captured the pure fear and anxiety that a newbie feels their first time through the zone. Only plebs dislike great atmospheric horror
Every time I replay dsr, I enjoy all the way to anor Londo, no matter if is a ng+ or a new character I can even do Duke's Archives and lost izalith but I swear the thought of doing tomb of giants and new London keep me stuck doing pvp in anor Londo just for the boring memories I have
One thing I love about TotG is you can see into demon ruins (if you die and go to the TotG bonfire, you can see your bloodstain) and you can see ash lake. I find this really connects the world in a way no other game has done.
only thing i wish is like Illusory Wall stated in either his Lordran Layout or Out of Bounds video, in that somehow have it update once you beat ceaseless to have the lava not cover all the ground
I think Blight Town was one of the fairest areas of the game, while definitely one of the most depressing. Pretty much only things stopping you from backstabbing your way through all the enemies to Quelaag are those toxic dart guys that stay in one place and don't even respawn. Maybe a couple of fire breathing dogs which aren't too hard if you deal with them guickly. I think the mosquitos were probably the most annoying ones for me in the first playthrough because I was using a halbert as my main weapon and it couldn't even hit them.
I despise every swamp area in every souls or souls like game I’ve played but Blighttown has never bothered me at all, as you said it seems a lot fairer than it looks
I remember when I played the first time with wanderer class and halbred weapon, I always have to refill my bolts everytime I'm going down there just to shoot the mosquitos
I wouldn’t say terrible but definitely underwhelming kinda the first half is peak gaming, I always enjoy it every time I re play it especially the gargoyles
I really think demon ruins, lost izalith, and tomb of the giants are the only low points of the second half. Dukes archives, new londo, and the catacombs are pretty good in my opinion.
Oh hey also theres is a bonfire in lost izalith. It is inside of the tower-like structure that is at the end of the bridge with the titanite demon. One of the walls is fake and theres a bonfire inside, basically right where you were saying there should be one. Its still really stupid to put it behind a fake wall lol
I think it's funny how many critical bonfires are... hidden. People can say these games are hard but fair but come the fuck on. There's ONE bonfire in Sen's Fortress and you have to throw yourself off a ledge after scaling the entire thing to get it. There's a bonfire hidden behind a wall in Darkroot. Don't even get me started on the bonfire hidden away at the bottom of Blighttown. That is fucking evil
@@jeff3221for all these bonfires you can just find them by exploring/ using your eyes for clues. Just be more observant. The sens one has a broken railing. The lost izalith one is the same building as another with an inside as well. Connect the dots. The Dark root garden one you can literally see by looking at the other side.
If we got an actual remaster, omnidirectional rolling, fixing some jank and some bugs, reworking the last half of the game, it could be the BEST game of all time
As someone who recently finished DSr, this whole thing of everyone saying the second half (more like third, and people are usually excluding DLC, the painted world, and The Kiln of The first Flame) is bad are blowing it out of proportion. It's not even bad, it's quite good actually. While The Tomb of The Giants is annoying, it was a unique challenge to handicap oneself to one hand, and it has a good boss, as well as being more scary than any modern horror game. Duke's Archive was quite disorienting and fun with rotating stairs and had such a serene area leading to the boss. New Londo had quite good level design in my opinion, and it was the same with the ghosts as with Tomb of The Giants: annoying but a good, novel idea of having invincible, slow enemies. Lost Izolith was actually the worst offender with all the lava, but it was also something to work around rather than against. I very much find the aesthetics of a former great civilisation submerged in a literal hell, and woth some more refined controls, it could have been 3rd person Doom! Also a hot take: The Bed of Chaos is a good boss. I defeated it on my third try and felt it being fun with a break up from all other bosses being dealt with by slamming them until victory. By figuring out the weak point and be cautious of the floor and boss attacks. Most of the problems that I had with the latter part seem to boil down to it having a lot novel ideas and challenges that restrict the player in some way, which might detract from the feeling of accumulating the power up to Anor Londo. I personally liked it, but I can easily see why it's a bother to others. Maybe if there where more options to work around the challenges presented, then maybe they would be more appealing.
9:55 In defense of the Centipede Demon, there are TWO separate areas in the boss arena that are large swaths of land you can stand on and fight the boss without worrying about the lava, so not sure where this "You need to cut off the hand to get the ring to beat the boss" is coming from.
I know I'm late but the issue is these pieces of land are separated by lava not much but enough that you'll take massive damage and have to waste 2-3 estus
I’ve done the platinum for every single fromsoft game since Elden ring and I’ve noticed something: DS1 and DS3 get free passes for all the things they do wrong. People go « I still love it. It’s not the worst ». But when the same thing happens in DS2 the same people are shitting on it. Kinda unfair imo.
Welcome to the souls community, just take most stuff with a grain of salt and like what you like. I started with Ds3 and almost skipped Ds2 because of the community and have since played all the souls game and have ab 2k-3k hours in Ds2 and have had an awesome experience with it and it has a great pvp system and mechanics that make me question how people enjoy Ds1 pvp in comparison.
I like ds2, its annoys you few times but i got annoyed on ds1 WAY MORE. The ADP problem is nothing close to the medium roll problem, on ds1 you need to be almost naked to have a decent roll. I dont like using shields
The thing with Dark Souls 2 is that it's so different from the others that it's flaws get emphasized, for example the new movement that they tried in that game is generally an improvement from DS1 but since the hitboxes are so bad in that game people associate the hitboxes with the movement, the much more linear level design EXETREMELY emphasizes how bad the enemy placement is in that game specially when a lot of those times you're probably just trying to get back to the boss arena (it's like having Lost Izalith times 10), in hindsight the game feels like it wasn't well polished leaving a lot of the flaws very evident while in DS1and DS3 you have higher highs, equally low lows and extremely well polished games in general
When I first played dark souls, I felt like with sen's fortress I would be almost finished with the game. And anor londo really felt worthy to be the final big area of the game. Little did I know that I was just past the midway point. But the latter half felt more like me just going through the motions of conquering one area after the other. There wasn't much novelty and the game overstayed its welcome just a little. That being the game as a whole was still a great experience.
@@connoriquada5429 I feel like the game would have been best with three bells of awakening and then Londo then Gwyn. Lord Souls being needed to finish felt very tacked on.
Ironically giving the player a choice on which order to take makes it feel as if you're not progressing in the game, but instead your stuck and need to do those 4 zones to start progressing. It also doesn't help that there's barely any equipment upgrades you'll do after Anor Londo, you got your rings, your armor and your weapon, apart from leveling up there's nothing more to upgrade.
The Crystal Cave looks nice but the way they designed the platforming in that location is so awful !! Every time I replay DSR I find myself getting extremely bored by time Mid - Near End game comes around.
Actually, there is a bonfire in Lost Izalith. The only issue is that it's behind an illusory wall and seeing all the dinosaurs and very few items along the way, you kind of don't want to even explore the lava pools. The bonfire is right across your entrance to Izalith. Instead of going into that makeshift tunnel, go across it and hit the wall.
Just some thoughts: 1. New Londo is dark because it was being swallowed up by the Abyss... and then flooded to stop the spread from taking over the whole world so its supposed to be dark. The ghosts clip through things because they're ghosts and should have their own rules. I thought it was a nice touch and a good change of pace. Wouldn't make sense to have ghosts behaving like normal enemies. Additionally, the 4 kings are just a DPS race and if done right, you shouldn't get 5 of them to show up. Also, its the ABYSS, you're supposed to have a distorted sense of direction, ie: you're supposed to have trouble seeing how close you are to the enemies. 2. Lost Izalith was clearly rushed and is the worst area in my opinion. It's clear that enemy's were randomly placed like the taurus demons and dragon butts. It also had the worst designed mob enemy (the stone fire breathing monsters) in probably any souls game. These are all signs that the developers ran out of time and just had to put something together. Additionally, Bandi Namco wouldn't allow any changes when making DSR so that's why those area's weren't fixed up again when the new game was released. The Centipede demon was also a sad case of bad level design. You nailed it when describing their intentions, but Im assuming most people never realize the arm can be cut off until the thing is already dead. I know Ive never successfully cut off the arm. 3. Great analysis of the Duke's Archives and the Crystal Caves. Seeths does not want to lose his tail... 4. There is another hidden bonfire in the catacombs you didn't mention. Also why didn't you use anything to produce light in the tomb of the giant lol. 5. Last thing... FUCK THE BED OF CHAOS! (and nice video)
I'm a few years late but you get insanely rewarded if you do Lost Izalith before the Tomb of Giant which is getting the sunlight maggot, it genuinely makes the Tomb of Giants THAT much less annoying.
Quick tip, you might know about this but there is a hidden bonfire in one of the buildings in the lava sea. It is so much closer to the bed of chaos, exploration = reward :)
I'm just diving into the series for the first time myself, and I'm a little over halfway through my New Game+ run. I can actually say with confidence that, while I understand the significance of Anor Londo, I think it's actually one of my least favorite areas in the game. I think the only time that it's visually interesting is during the opening scene that shows you the castle skyline, but once you drop down and actually start walking around it's kind of plain and has nowhere near the intricate detail that areas like the Undead Burg/Parish, Depths, or Blighttown has. Most of it is just plain concrete, with some occasional checkerboard tile, the doors inside the castle are just... regular doors not unlike the ones I have in my own apartment. And the very worst part is the initial bonfire placement, forcing you to run through roughly 1-2 minutes of literally nothing with at least one elevator before you actually get back to the main area. Granted, a lot of this is a lot worse specifically when it's your first time through, since a lot of the running is eliminated by the choice between warping to either the first bonfire or the last bonfire, but I still hold that even Anor Londo could use a lot more spit and polish compared to some of the other areas.
@@Kitsyfluff 4 bonfires actually but only three are warpable. The one with firekeeper, solaire bonfire inside cathedral, gwyndolin one, and one after beating Ornstein and Smough.
i agree about the layout too, i remember playing through code vein and despising how samey it was in the anor londo rip-off area, so at least Anor Londo has different areas to it, like the painting room and Gwynevere’s chamber, duke archives etc. and the elevator is neat. but yeah Code Vein nailed its source material with cathedral of sacred blood, it’s got the samey hallways anor londo does and looks visually the same all over
I hate Anor Londo's outside section. Inside... it's okay... Outside tho? HOLY SHIT THERE IS NOTHING HERE. There's a reason they added a bonfire to the foot of the stairs in DS3. People talk about how run backs are good because they teach you resource management and blah blah blah but Anor Londo's runback if you die to the archers genuinely serves no purpose. You died now you have to waste 2 minutes of your life running through an empty city in a straight line. Wow! Truly the pinnacle of DS1!
I think the second half actually shows how good everything else is. Even though that half has some of my absolute least favorite areas (mainly new londo) and least favorite bosses (fucking nito) ever made, i still consider dark souls one of my all time favorite games even though i strongly believe that sekiro and especially bloodborne are even better. Also you can still do some of the optional fun stuff after anor londo. So i always get the annoying shit done with and then i focus on painted world, which is an amazing area and the dlc which is also amazing
While I agree that the second half of the game is certainly unfinished and unpolished, I still love it hahaha. I can't get enough of this game no matter how much I play it.
My theory is they just rushed it. There is whats supposed to be shortcuts from valley of the drakes to new londo ruins and the elevator in the demon ruins which seem bery weird and with us knowing that demon ruins and lost izaleth are extemely janky and unfinished, i sprculate that a lot of shortcuts and exploration was cut due to time.
I ended up throwing on the sunlight maggot my first playthrough for tomb of the giants and it was actually tolerable, screw dukes archives though, specifically seaths tail like you mentioned
Dude I’ve subscribed from this video alone. The disparity between the first and second halves of Dark Souls has been discussed a lot but you approach it from a fun angle. Actually going over Lost Izalith, the Duke’s Archives, etc. Great video. I’m sure I’ll come back to it again and again.
The other dumb part about tomb of giants and catacombs is: pinwheels don't respawn, the only non sorcery, non sunlight maggot method of lighting is a non guaranteed, semi rare item that you have a fair chance of never getting.
I just Platinum trophied the game in preparation for Elden ring. While I knew it would be a great undertaking I thought it would be enjoyable through the 2 and half play throughs I had to do because DS1 is debatably my favorite game of all time. During new game plus I was groaning out loud when I had to make my way through tomb of giants, Dukes archives or Lost Izalith just because how bad these areas are. Really made me take off the rose tinted glasses I had for this game but it’s still one of my favorite regardless.
Overall you make some pretty good points, but I do take issue with your point about not having space to swing in the Catacombs. That's an issue you have because you're swinging a greatsword around. There are many weapons which can swing freely with no issue in those tight spaces, and even certain attacks on greatswords that can be used in those sections. Black Knight Sword heavy attack is a decent example. Straight forward stab, perfect for a hallway. Not to mention 2 handing changes your moveset, and if my memory serves correctly the Black Knight Sword starts hitting vertically instead of horizontally. I do understand your frustration about tight spaces, but that was probably intentional design. It gives purpose to other weapon types and specific moves available to certain weapons. Spear/ Rapier are another good example. Those movesets were tailor made to stabby stab in a hallway.
I never got why they had to make Izalith all fire and stuff, I think it would have been better if all that and the Witch of Izalith were more green-enchantedness aesthetic orientated. Maybe Duke’s already covered that in a way, but I still think it would have felt way cooler.
She is the mother of pyromancy which deals with fire it would only make sense she lived in a very hot volcano like area unlike the royal forest which is mostly plant life.
@@jad563 A year late to the party, but that area kinda already exists within the game, both in the form of Duke's Archives/Crystal Forest and Darkroot, specifically the area nearest to Sif. I understand what you're saying though. You have to consider as well that each of these bosses has their own color theme associated with them as well, and that sets the tone for the whole area - Izalith is red, therefore lava, therefore horrific lava-loving monsters. Seath's is kinda blue, so therefore magic, therefore horrific magic-loving/hating monsters. Nito's is black, so therefore horror, therefore horrific skeletons. Four Kings is predominately grey, so therefore abyss, therefore... Abyss.
Glad to see I’m not the only one who felt this way, noticed it mostly on my way down into the tomb of the giants how poorly designed some of the later areas are
Post anor londo is a sad tale. They had to rush the whole thing and it clearly shows, truly a shame. Oh by the way, I’m pretty sure the four kings don’t “respawn”, they’re just not four for some reasons. The ones you see after the first 4 are just more, and I think if you spend enough time you can have more than 4 at once, but im not sure about the last part, don’t quote me on that
Tomb of the Giants is peak Dark Souls. Amazing, terrifying atmosphere. Literally makes you think twice before taking a step your first time through. New Londo is cool too. Dukes Archives are meh and Izalith is…. Izalith.
Honnestly Izalith is ok, I find duke's archives more tedious with the rotating staircases and crystal guys. While izalith you can easily run past the basic enemies and go to the boss in 1 minute.
i feel like some bits of the second half life the tomb of the giants had great concepts, but just didn't pull them off well. the idea of going through a pitch black cave full of reanimated skeletons sounds kinda cool, but in practice it's just annoying. and places like lost izalith were only bad because they didn't have the resources to make it good at that point. the second half of the game was more of a mixed bag for me, with some nice bits and other horrible parts. going through the demon ruins and lost izalith really wasn't bad to me honestly, like sure the quality drop is REALLY noticeable but its still kinda fun, but its completely ruined by bed of chaos. i hated the undead catacombs just because of the annoying skeletons, which really made me sad because nito is my favourite of the lords, and the area leading up to him sucked. i will say that pinwheel gets some bonus points just because of his really good backstory and music tho. dukes archives really wasn't all that bad, i only really had a problem with the enemies, the area itself looked really pretty to me. all of the lore related to seath is really interestesting too, sucks that his boss fight was just too easy. new londo wasn't that bad to me either. i hated the ghosts so much, but unlocking the second half of the area with the darkwraiths was actually really cool imo. and the 4 kings is one of my favourite bosses in the game. the fact that you fight them in a pitch black abyss is awesome and a little scary honestly. the fight itself is a little easy, but still really fun to me. and i think it all pays off when you get to the kiln of the first flame, that area was just so amazing to me in every way. the gwyn fight was just so impactful and sad
To be honest I don't understand what everyone complains about with the 4 kings everytime I have ever faced them including my first time they were a pisstake so I might consider letting them all spawn in next time I try it. The catacombs review is rigged to be good by you MadStick if you included the area just before pinwheel this is one of the worst areas
For a dex build, playing half of these areas felt A LOT better. Catacombs are a breeze with any spear's moveset, especially SKS, since it keeps skeletons dead. In Tomb of Giants, spears give you a lot more spacing between you and all the giant skeletons, which makes fighting them a lot easier. Duke's Archives had half of the challenge remove by being able to take down all the channelers and skeletons from afar with a bow, especially a big one, that staggers enemies, making them unable to fire back. In Crystal Cave you could use the bow to check for invisible paths and to cheese the big golem to falling.
The build up towards the lord vessel was what made it so satisfying to acquire but then the next main bosses are in condensed areas right after made it a hassle
I’ve only played this game fairly recently and quite frankly there’s more areas in this game that I’m indifferent to or dislike than ones I genuinely enjoyed. Asylum: Okay tutorial area, don’t have much to say about it Upper Undead Berg: Decent first level. Not too challenging or gimmicky to a point of annoyance, it’s adequate at showing you the ropes. There’s a decent amount of secret spots and items that are good for the early-game, and the merchant sells some really nice gear. Undead Parish: First real challenge with the Balder Knights and the Gargoyles are a good boss fight. You can meet and team up with Solaire here and that’s cool. Lower Undead Berg: Sucks ass. Dogs and parrying thieves everywhere, the Capra Demon is one of the worst bosses in the game, and there’s no Bonfire unless you go back up to Firelink, which makes for a rather long and boring boss run back to Capra if you died there. The Depths: The first part with the Hollows and the Butchers is okay. I’m not fond of the dogs or the slimes, but it’s fine. The further you go in the more gross and annoying it gets, between the increasingly large rats and those atrociously creepy Basilisks. Gaping Dragon is not a good enough boss to make up for the low points. Blighttown: I’m never taking the Depths entrance ever again. There’s too many bottomless pits and ganks before you even reach the first Bonfire and once you get down to the poison swamp itself everything becomes significantly more manageable. I’ll use the Master Key to skip that part of the level any chance I get. Sen’s Fortress: Great fun, probably my favorite level in the game. I like levels with environmental traps that can be turned on the enemy and SF uses that design philosophy all the way up to the Iron Golem. Only thing I’m not a fan of is that the only Bonfire is 2/3 the way through the level and if you want to explore the lower parts for items, prepare to meet those two serpent guards at the start a lot. Anor Londo: I don’t need to elaborate on it being great. Outside those *goddamn* Silver Knight archers this place was the most fun to explore and had some of my favorite enemies to fight. O&as are a legendary boss and they’re still my favorite even after playing DS2’s DLC. Darkroot: Okay, I guess. I like Sif a lot but the rest is just kinda boring. I have nothing to really say about it besides always going here early for the Grass Crest Shield. New Londo: Decent but not spectacular. I think the various shortcuts you can take are neat and I like the Four Kings boss the most out of the four Great Lords, but the enemies here are not my favorite and I *really* wish that it had a Bonfire that wasn’t all the way in Firelink. Demon Ruins/Lost Izalith: I find these levels more bland than anything else. Besides being just generally ugly and having the worst boss of all time at the end I honestly find the blatantly unfinished nature of these levels to be refreshing compared to how gimmicky late-DS1 can get. Duke’s Archives/Crystal Caves: I think the Archives itself is actually fine. It’s the Caves itself that I hate. For how easy of a boss Seath is he sure does have the worst boss run in the whole game. Making an area full of invisible paths over bottomless pits and no checkpoints is just inexcusable, especially if you need that Blue Titanite Slab. Catacombs/Tomb: The only thing I like about the former is that you can grab the Rite of Kindling super early if you gun straight for Pinwheel and summon Leeroy for the boss. I just think that’s funny design. Everything else is awful for the reasons stated in the video. 4/16 is not exactly a great recommendation. Truth be told having played DS2 I liked more levels from that game than I did DS1.
Ik this is super late, but here's a fun fact for you: The Four Kings do more damage the more kings there are in the arena. I don't mean they do more damage because there's more hitting you, I mean they do more damage because if the attack is a strong overhead or side swipe(The ones with a purpleish trail), the king will do more damage if there's another one somewhere in the arena.
I’ve never agreed with this criticism honestly I genuinely like places like Tomb Of Giants or Dukes Archive and the concept of being able to choose whichever order you want to tackle them. They’re hard areas but beyond that I don’t see the issue with them. Izalith and BOC yes but I really fail to see the issue with the rest.
Bro, Ceaseless Discharge and Bed Of Chaos are easily some of the most inexcusable bosses in gaming history. Like I get they were testing things but like dude…WTF were they thinking? And some of the areas whilst they look cool are terrible, *Cough Cough Lost Izalith. One of my biggest complaints with old From Software games is that they made them so annoyingly difficult sometimes just for the sake of being difficult. For example, in DS2, the run to BOTH of the Smelter Demons is absurd. It’s just throw a bunch of very strong enemies in your way and pray that you make it with no shortcuts in the area either. Like bro 🙄. I get that it’s dark souls but this is crazy.
8:10 From what I understand, Lost Izalith was one of the last areas Fromsoft designed. This wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, but the company started pushing them hard to finish the game so they ended up having to rush the last couple areas (which is why the leaping dragon carcasses are just haphazardly placed around). I don't think the company thought Dark Souls was going to do well, so they weren't willing to give Miyazaki extra time to polish it, and was forced to quickly piece together the last parts of the game. Probably also why Bed of Chaos is the worst boss in there entire Soulsborne series.
It's not a half. I'm sorry but the content Blighttown, Undead Burg, Undead Perish, Darkroot Garden, Darkroot Basin, the Depths, Valley of Drakes, Sens Fortress, Anor Londo, Firelink Shrine, and the Undead Asylum are far more than a half in terms of playtime, bosses, and size. What you're describing is moreso 40% of the game, and that is if we ignore the DLC and view Great Hollow, Ash Lake, and the painted World as second half areas as second half areas. If we don't it's closer to a third, with DLC it's a quarter. And some of those areas aren't even bad, you even praised the Killn of the first flame and the Painted World.
I was really disappointed with the second half of the game on my first playthrough, after having such an ethereal first half made me understand why this game is often held up with the critical acclaim that it has. Dark Souls' relation with "difficulty" can, at its best, more accurately be described as a relation with a finely tuned learning curve that rewards many different avenues of thought and playstyle. At its worst its no more than a test of patience, and I feel the Duke's Archives and Crystal Caves are the best examples of these. No matter how many times one plays through these levels they are subjected to many of the same "gotchas!" that no amount of experience changes as opposed to the first time going through them. They are meticulously designed to be "linear" in the sense that everyone likely has to play/think similarly to the exact vision the developers had, not leaving much room for branching paths and unique experiences. Many of the other levels described here are very similar. Dying in Dark Souls is an indirect message that I must learn something to progress forward. As frustrating as this can be at times the rush of everything finally clicking is extremely gratifying, and rewards me with the sense that it is MY ability that overcame the challenge. With bosses like Four Kings and Bed of Chaos, I learn nothing of the 3-5 minute sprints from faraway bonfires after each attempt other than I'm wasting my time because a lack of convenience is being substituted for an artificial sense of difficulty and challenge. I get the mechanics and "gimmicks" of these two bosses nearly right away- the marathon sprints to them offer no satisfaction, even after beating them. I've admittedly been too hard on areas like New Londo and The Catacombs in the past- they're really not all the bad in the grand scheme of things. I actually think Nito is pretty Neat-O, as much as I agree with many of your critiques on The Tomb of Giants. That's why Dark Souls 3, despite a somewhat lackluster first act that still triumphs over the lows of the first game, remains my favorite of the series. Admittedly there's nothing that leaves me as awestruck as the amount of times I found I was able to connect back to Firelink in Dark Souls 1, but Dark Souls 3 is much more consistent in its delivery after they were able to really perfect the formula. Awesome and well made video by the way, excited to checkout the rest of your channel
Playing DS1 for the first time was such a brutal experience for me that I didn’t notice that the second was worse/harder, it all seemed the same type of BS 🤣
Dude, every new playthrough since my first I always do Lost Izalith first, then Tomb. Why? You can finish Solaire's quest and get the Sunlight Maggot. Fuck that lantern nonsense!
Dark Souls is kinda like the hero journey, when you beat Ornstein and Smough you are beating the hardest boss of the game right in the midway point of the story, you mastered the mechanics. you are on the top of the food chain at that point, you stop surviving and everyone starts trying to survive you, you are done with everyone's shit. i see getting the Lord Souls as just putting everyone out of their missery, to just let the flame fade. the game feels underwhelming at that point because you are stronger than everyone in a world that it's pretty much ending and you are just doing the work of hammering the final nail in the coffin. i know dark souls is pretty flawed and unfinished, but the 2nd half of it it's still peak gaming for me. fuck tomb of giants though, that place sucksssssssssssssss
I've been gradually working my way through the Souls series ever since 2016, only recently _finally_ got around to Dark Souls 1. Amazingly, I only had a single death in Blighttown... but having decided to give spear and shield combo a try on my first playthrough, the Catacombs will stand in my memory as one of the worst experiences I've ever had with these games.
I didn't mind Dukes Archives too awful much, but that's because the whole time I was just running until I found someplace new, and then ran some more. It got kind of annoying running so much but it didn't make me mad.
I lowkey kinda enjoy the later half. I love the dark atmosphere of the tomb of the giants and you have to switch between lighting the way or defending (unless you have the sunlight maggot). The large open lava expanse and desecrated temples of lost izalith are at least interesting and new londo has a very gritty and depressing aura. I also kinda enjoy duke’s archives. It feels like the last test of skill and endurance before gwyn. Overall, I still really enjoy the back half even if other people dislike it.
Were the platforms in the crystal caves really an issue for most people? I didn't have to use any prism stones 🤷♀️ the platforms are all completely straight, and quite wide
I just played it for the first time and the only place I had problems with was lost Izeleth. The boss was horrible but the worst was the run up to it. That stupid titanite demon sitting on the bridge made my life so stressful
they just should of scrapped nito and izalith's areas. and focused on polishing dukes and four kings. makes no sense that you need random souls to open the kiln
Only zone i dont like is the chaos area, but thats the dump zone that truly just wasnt finished. I always loved tomb of the giants though. I love the darkness mechanic, the different ways you can light your way (spells, lantern, prism stones, etc), and i loved that the game had a whole system for dealing bonus damage to undead in the zone. I also loved that you were supposed to go there before bearing Ornstein and Smough (since you get about 5-10X the souls nowadays, you'd never know you were supposed to go do the tomb first.)
Personnaly i like some ideas of new londo, just because you can go in this area at the beginning of the game, and its terrifying when you dont know how it works, on my first playthrough when i discovered this big area under firelink shrine, plunged into darkness, with some blue lights and ghosts, i was fascinated The atmosphere of this area is very well done, maybe they could have added some small lights but its not a huge problem But yeah a bonfire on this area would have been very welcomed
The only part I don't like is Lost Izalith. New Londo, Duke's Archives, and Tomb of the Giants are good areas. And whichever one you hate the most, you can save for last, so you'll be overleveled for it.
I defend tomb of the giants for how different it is from every other area of the game. The puzzle of how to get a light source is unique. The sunlight maggot is in izalith or you can get the light spell from dusk who is required to open the DLC. Final option is the skull lantern from within the level as a last resort. So much of the game has been about using far off views in the environment to figure out where you have to go. Using environmental storytelling like in the painted world to figure out its puzzles. This area takes that away from you. Forcing you to get creative. It is a really short area when you know what you’re doing so I have never gotten stuck there. It has neat lore implications with the paladin Leroy and the shield reference to the revolt against the gods. The gravelord servant covenant is all about spreading misery and death, and his domain reflects that.
My favorite area is New Londo. Catacombs (until bottom with those DAMN WHEELS) is a close second. Mainly because those were the first two areas I discovered on my first playthrough. It was a hilarious time for me, of running and dodging and ignoring everything until I could make it to the item I saw in the distance. I call it: the magpie strategy. Go towards the shiny thing skwaking all the way
Really great video. I have the exact same opinion, I can't tell you how many ditched playthroughs I have that end just before the second half of the game.
We need an actual remake of the second half of ds1 and a remake to the entirety of ds2, keeping the good ideas, scrapping the bad ones and make the game feel less junky
I actually quite like Demon Ruins, however I do fully agree with the Mario Maker comparison. In any case, I actually fully loved every moment of my first playthrough (other than tomb of the giants and catacombs). New Londo was interesting to me, although I do not like *not seeing*, I enjoyed the variety of monsters and honestly I'd say the four kings are my favourite boss in the game other than Ornstein and Smough. In the end, the only reason I think the second half gets totally clowned on in the game is because the first half is one of the greatest experiences in gaming history. Yeah, it's not amazing in the second half, but I'd say every area (save Tomb of the giants, catacombs and Lost Izalith) is still above average. Not quite amazing, or masterpiece level, but the level design is still good most of the time.
Ahahahaha love your take on DS1, and your snarky sense of humor about certain segments throughout the video has me laughing my ass off, especially the Tomb of the Giants part! 🤣 That being said, I’m subscribing to you now. :P
Apart from Lost Izalith and also I guess the Seath boss fight I think everything is actually fine, even good. But I remember when I beat Ornstein and Smough I really just wanted to finish the game and started to rush, which probably made me enjoy the second half a lot less. I remember I took my time with the beginning of the game and it was so much more enjoyable.
Bruh the four kings is an absolute joke to fight just put on beefy armour and get super close they do fuck all damage cause they don’t hit you with their sword but the hilt of it.
I didnt really dislike any of the area like you with Tomb of Giants (because played souls game from 3 into 2 into 1 and as you said DS2 is another level of frustration) but some bosses in those areas were like unsuccesfull mariage, first time they were awesome but replaying them in ng+ made me stuck for sometimes 3 days (only God know how much hatered I feel towards 4 kings). Also a lot memories of cool fights are easily destroyed if you pursue for achivements (as you said about Seaths tail for example). Cool video and respect for jokes they were awesome!
I still like the second half mainly because of the teleportation between bonfires which I despised it's absence in the first half But also because you can go through them very quickly if you know them well even tomb of giants I do agree that areas feels boring to explore and the bosses are mostly low quality with the best of them being four kings which is already a terrible boss in my opinion I really liked when you said dukes archives is just a dark souls 2 level because that's exactly how I view it , very ganky with annoying projectiles everywhere although it still better than most of dark souls 2 areas in my opinion and can be handled with knowledge
The only thing that pissed me off about Blighttown was the ass ass ass fucking camera. I only got killed by enemies like 2 or 3 times, but the fucking AWFUL camera randomly zooming in and out and in and out because of how ridiculously claustrophobic the level design was complete TORTURE to endure. I get that the major strength of dark souls one is the iconically tight and claustrophobic level design, but it steps over the line with this stage. If I can't see shit that my character easily could see in game, then you're game has failed in its 3rd person level design. A playtester should have made note of this and they should have just implemented the "camera sees through walls that are too close to it" thing I see so many 3rd person games do - even if just for this one stage- I would have absolutely nothing to bitch about. Even at the high level I was when I went there for the first time, I died almost 50 times in that one stretch from the bridge to the sewer PURELY from walking off cliffs, getting knocked off the scaffolding by enemies I couldn't see or just straight up dying for no reason - I have a game clip of me breaking a vase and just dying for no reason. Seriously. Fuck blight town.
Hey. I’d like to thank everyone here for watching this video, let alone those who have been liking and subscribing. The algorithm really did come out of nowhere with this one, and I’m kinda losing my mind over it(in the good way). I’ve had a few videos get around the same amount of views as this one, but I’ve never gotten this much support. It means more than I can express through a TH-cam comment. I thought I’d also address a few things that have come up a lot since you guys have watched.
1. Don’t Quit The Game
A few of you have said the video has discouraged you from finishing Dark Souls; don’t do that. I love this game, and I didn’t mean to turn players off from it, though I guess with a video like this, I can’t complain since it’s mostly my fault. If you want my opinion, then keep going, cause the experience and package as a whole are well worth it. But I don’t take anything I said here back, even if it’s off putting to some.
2. Audio
Yeah, the audio quality is pretty bad. I’ve gotten a new mic since then, but it’s still not great, and the place I live in is loud as hell. It’s something I gotta keep working on.
3. Dunkey
This mainly applies to the other videos on my channel and is something I was worried about for a while. I love dunkeys videos, and i take a lot after them, but I want to make these videos my own. I want a similar format, but with an approach different enough to stand out on my own. If it’s just my voice that sounds similar, I can’t do anything about that, it’s just my voice. But I can keep working to move further away from that.
And that’s about it. Thanks for Reading!
@@s014c3_o-o I haven't beaten the game yet and I've been playing for six years. I just got to Anor Londo the other day and already moving on to the library. The main complaint ive had is the movement / jumping mechanics. I love the encumbrance /strength system but the actual movement is clunky. I've hated this game in many ways over the years but I've made more progress in the past few days than I have in years. Im loving it.
It doesn’t matter if your voice sounds like dunkey, in fact it makes your voice kind of entertaining in your own way
I'll watch this later tonight, pat's 8 hours starfield review just dropped
does anyone know what the music at 18:00 is called? I know I've heard it somewhere, but I can't find it to save my life.
They said, go and ring the two bells. One is high up, the other one is far below. So I did the gargoyle thing first, then cleared the catacombs and the tomb of the giants ...
My dear boy..
I went to new Londo to find the second bell lol
Rough play through
Yeah straight up WTF is with the directions??? The game gives you two paths to go below, New Londo elevator and Catacombs, but like, the the shortcut door to Blighttown is locked???? WHY??? WHY WOULD YOU MAKE ME GO UP TO GO DOWN????
@@jeff3221uhhh…ever heard of the depths?
There are two types of Dark Souls players
Those who use the Sunlight Maggot in the Tomb of Giants and had a somewhat fun time, and those who didn't and absolutely hated it.
There's also the secret third: the first time I played I went with an int build and had the light sorcery
@@nahguacm True! I used the maggot in that situation anyway, wasn't wanting to sacrifice a spell slot lol (utility spells should really cost zero slots sort of like DnD cantrips)
*TV BRIGHTNESS* lmao
You forgot the legendary type of players, hitless and speed runners that take no light into ToG, and perfectly navigate past every enemy until they get to Nito
ToG is peak souls, no other zone in any game since has captured the pure fear and anxiety that a newbie feels their first time through the zone. Only plebs dislike great atmospheric horror
Every time I replay dsr, I enjoy all the way to anor Londo, no matter if is a ng+ or a new character I can even do Duke's Archives and lost izalith but I swear the thought of doing tomb of giants and new London keep me stuck doing pvp in anor Londo just for the boring memories I have
Ah yes, New London. The place where you fight the Four Elizabeth II's.
Instead of the dark wraiths you would see beefeaters and the bridge in valley of the drakes would be london Bridge.
I'd also hate to be british
@@emenova3553 it's not that bad, just have nothing to do with knife crime or gangs or anything bad
It's the reverse for me. I absolutely love with passion New Londo, Catacombs and ToG, but hate with passion Duke's and Izalith
One thing I love about TotG is you can see into demon ruins (if you die and go to the TotG bonfire, you can see your bloodstain) and you can see ash lake. I find this really connects the world in a way no other game has done.
only thing i wish is like Illusory Wall stated in either his Lordran Layout or Out of Bounds video, in that somehow have it update once you beat ceaseless to have the lava not cover all the ground
“This one guy just threw a fuckin rock”
Immediately transitions to bed of chaos, had me cacklin
I think Blight Town was one of the fairest areas of the game, while definitely one of the most depressing. Pretty much only things stopping you from backstabbing your way through all the enemies to Quelaag are those toxic dart guys that stay in one place and don't even respawn. Maybe a couple of fire breathing dogs which aren't too hard if you deal with them guickly. I think the mosquitos were probably the most annoying ones for me in the first playthrough because I was using a halbert as my main weapon and it couldn't even hit them.
I despise every swamp area in every souls or souls like game I’ve played but Blighttown has never bothered me at all, as you said it seems a lot fairer than it looks
Yea it really is I heard so much about it only to find the bonfire 2nd try going down (after I died from the elevator thing)
Yeah honestly the biggest issue for Blighttown when DS1 first came out was the frame issues. When DSR fixed that, I breezed right through the area
i agree, it’s somewhat kinda fun when you use master key even and get to fight your way UP the tower imo
I remember when I played the first time with wanderer class and halbred weapon, I always have to refill my bolts everytime I'm going down there just to shoot the mosquitos
I wouldn’t say terrible but definitely underwhelming kinda the first half is peak gaming, I always enjoy it every time I re play it especially the gargoyles
I really think demon ruins, lost izalith, and tomb of the giants are the only low points of the second half. Dukes archives, new londo, and the catacombs are pretty good in my opinion.
@@PointlesslyNecessaryConvos yea I enjoyed the dukes archives a lot I just hate the enemy’s
New Londo Ruins, ruins my drive to ever play this game again, as it is required.
Oh hey also theres is a bonfire in lost izalith. It is inside of the tower-like structure that is at the end of the bridge with the titanite demon. One of the walls is fake and theres a bonfire inside, basically right where you were saying there should be one. Its still really stupid to put it behind a fake wall lol
A pivotal bonfire in Sens is also hidden, this sadistic fuck the new player design makes me recommend nothing but DS3 to people new to the series.
I think it's funny how many critical bonfires are... hidden. People can say these games are hard but fair but come the fuck on. There's ONE bonfire in Sen's Fortress and you have to throw yourself off a ledge after scaling the entire thing to get it. There's a bonfire hidden behind a wall in Darkroot.
Don't even get me started on the bonfire hidden away at the bottom of Blighttown. That is fucking evil
I found sens fire and did many of the sidequests no issues without a guide but for some reason could never find the hollows.
@@jeff3221for all these bonfires you can just find them by exploring/ using your eyes for clues. Just be more observant. The sens one has a broken railing. The lost izalith one is the same building as another with an inside as well. Connect the dots. The Dark root garden one you can literally see by looking at the other side.
and the blighttown one literally just explore. The game encourages it.
If we got an actual remaster, omnidirectional rolling, fixing some jank and some bugs, reworking the last half of the game, it could be the BEST game of all time
As someone who recently finished DSr, this whole thing of everyone saying the second half (more like third, and people are usually excluding DLC, the painted world, and The Kiln of The first Flame) is bad are blowing it out of proportion. It's not even bad, it's quite good actually. While The Tomb of The Giants is annoying, it was a unique challenge to handicap oneself to one hand, and it has a good boss, as well as being more scary than any modern horror game. Duke's Archive was quite disorienting and fun with rotating stairs and had such a serene area leading to the boss. New Londo had quite good level design in my opinion, and it was the same with the ghosts as with Tomb of The Giants: annoying but a good, novel idea of having invincible, slow enemies. Lost Izolith was actually the worst offender with all the lava, but it was also something to work around rather than against. I very much find the aesthetics of a former great civilisation submerged in a literal hell, and woth some more refined controls, it could have been 3rd person Doom! Also a hot take: The Bed of Chaos is a good boss. I defeated it on my third try and felt it being fun with a break up from all other bosses being dealt with by slamming them until victory. By figuring out the weak point and be cautious of the floor and boss attacks.
Most of the problems that I had with the latter part seem to boil down to it having a lot novel ideas and challenges that restrict the player in some way, which might detract from the feeling of accumulating the power up to Anor Londo. I personally liked it, but I can easily see why it's a bother to others. Maybe if there where more options to work around the challenges presented, then maybe they would be more appealing.
9:55 In defense of the Centipede Demon, there are TWO separate areas in the boss arena that are large swaths of land you can stand on and fight the boss without worrying about the lava, so not sure where this "You need to cut off the hand to get the ring to beat the boss" is coming from.
I know I'm late but the issue is these pieces of land are separated by lava not much but enough that you'll take massive damage and have to waste 2-3 estus
@@bluespidergaming7719 Jump over them and roll.
I’ve done the platinum for every single fromsoft game since Elden ring and I’ve noticed something: DS1 and DS3 get free passes for all the things they do wrong. People go « I still love it. It’s not the worst ». But when the same thing happens in DS2 the same people are shitting on it. Kinda unfair imo.
Welcome to the souls community, just take most stuff with a grain of salt and like what you like.
I started with Ds3 and almost skipped Ds2 because of the community and have since played all the souls game and have ab 2k-3k hours in Ds2 and have had an awesome experience with it and it has a great pvp system and mechanics that make me question how people enjoy Ds1 pvp in comparison.
I like ds2, its annoys you few times but i got annoyed on ds1 WAY MORE. The ADP problem is nothing close to the medium roll problem, on ds1 you need to be almost naked to have a decent roll. I dont like using shields
The thing with Dark Souls 2 is that it's so different from the others that it's flaws get emphasized, for example the new movement that they tried in that game is generally an improvement from DS1 but since the hitboxes are so bad in that game people associate the hitboxes with the movement, the much more linear level design EXETREMELY emphasizes how bad the enemy placement is in that game specially when a lot of those times you're probably just trying to get back to the boss arena (it's like having Lost Izalith times 10), in hindsight the game feels like it wasn't well polished leaving a lot of the flaws very evident while in DS1and DS3 you have higher highs, equally low lows and extremely well polished games in general
When I first played dark souls, I felt like with sen's fortress I would be almost finished with the game. And anor londo really felt worthy to be the final big area of the game. Little did I know that I was just past the midway point. But the latter half felt more like me just going through the motions of conquering one area after the other. There wasn't much novelty and the game overstayed its welcome just a little. That being the game as a whole was still a great experience.
I agree but to be fair the game would be extremely short if it ended at Anor Londo. The game would have significantly less replay value imo.
@@connoriquada5429 I feel like the game would have been best with three bells of awakening and then Londo then Gwyn. Lord Souls being needed to finish felt very tacked on.
Damn same here, i Kinda fell i was about to finish the game
Ironically giving the player a choice on which order to take makes it feel as if you're not progressing in the game, but instead your stuck and need to do those 4 zones to start progressing.
It also doesn't help that there's barely any equipment upgrades you'll do after Anor Londo, you got your rings, your armor and your weapon, apart from leveling up there's nothing more to upgrade.
The Crystal Cave looks nice but the way they designed the platforming in that location is so awful !!
Every time I replay DSR I find myself getting extremely bored by time Mid - Near End game comes around.
Actually, there is a bonfire in Lost Izalith. The only issue is that it's behind an illusory wall and seeing all the dinosaurs and very few items along the way, you kind of don't want to even explore the lava pools.
The bonfire is right across your entrance to Izalith. Instead of going into that makeshift tunnel, go across it and hit the wall.
Just some thoughts:
1. New Londo is dark because it was being swallowed up by the Abyss... and then flooded to stop the spread from taking over the whole world so its supposed to be dark. The ghosts clip through things because they're ghosts and should have their own rules. I thought it was a nice touch and a good change of pace. Wouldn't make sense to have ghosts behaving like normal enemies. Additionally, the 4 kings are just a DPS race and if done right, you shouldn't get 5 of them to show up. Also, its the ABYSS, you're supposed to have a distorted sense of direction, ie: you're supposed to have trouble seeing how close you are to the enemies.
2. Lost Izalith was clearly rushed and is the worst area in my opinion. It's clear that enemy's were randomly placed like the taurus demons and dragon butts. It also had the worst designed mob enemy (the stone fire breathing monsters) in probably any souls game. These are all signs that the developers ran out of time and just had to put something together. Additionally, Bandi Namco wouldn't allow any changes when making DSR so that's why those area's weren't fixed up again when the new game was released. The Centipede demon was also a sad case of bad level design. You nailed it when describing their intentions, but Im assuming most people never realize the arm can be cut off until the thing is already dead. I know Ive never successfully cut off the arm.
3. Great analysis of the Duke's Archives and the Crystal Caves. Seeths does not want to lose his tail...
4. There is another hidden bonfire in the catacombs you didn't mention. Also why didn't you use anything to produce light in the tomb of the giant lol.
5. Last thing... FUCK THE BED OF CHAOS! (and nice video)
I'm a few years late but you get insanely rewarded if you do Lost Izalith before the Tomb of Giant which is getting the sunlight maggot, it genuinely makes the Tomb of Giants THAT much less annoying.
Quick tip, you might know about this but there is a hidden bonfire in one of the buildings in the lava sea. It is so much closer to the bed of chaos, exploration = reward :)
But then you have to change rings everytime you reach BoC. I chose to run past the Titanite demon to avoid that. =/
I'm just diving into the series for the first time myself, and I'm a little over halfway through my New Game+ run. I can actually say with confidence that, while I understand the significance of Anor Londo, I think it's actually one of my least favorite areas in the game. I think the only time that it's visually interesting is during the opening scene that shows you the castle skyline, but once you drop down and actually start walking around it's kind of plain and has nowhere near the intricate detail that areas like the Undead Burg/Parish, Depths, or Blighttown has. Most of it is just plain concrete, with some occasional checkerboard tile, the doors inside the castle are just... regular doors not unlike the ones I have in my own apartment. And the very worst part is the initial bonfire placement, forcing you to run through roughly 1-2 minutes of literally nothing with at least one elevator before you actually get back to the main area.
Granted, a lot of this is a lot worse specifically when it's your first time through, since a lot of the running is eliminated by the choice between warping to either the first bonfire or the last bonfire, but I still hold that even Anor Londo could use a lot more spit and polish compared to some of the other areas.
there's 3 bonfires in Anor Londo, not 2. did you forget the Darkmoon Bonfire below the spinning stairs?
@@Kitsyfluff 4 bonfires actually but only three are warpable. The one with firekeeper, solaire bonfire inside cathedral, gwyndolin one, and one after beating Ornstein and Smough.
i agree about the layout too, i remember playing through code vein and despising how samey it was in the anor londo rip-off area, so at least Anor Londo has different areas to it, like the painting room and Gwynevere’s chamber, duke archives etc. and the elevator is neat. but yeah Code Vein nailed its source material with cathedral of sacred blood, it’s got the samey hallways anor londo does and looks visually the same all over
I hate Anor Londo's outside section. Inside... it's okay... Outside tho? HOLY SHIT THERE IS NOTHING HERE. There's a reason they added a bonfire to the foot of the stairs in DS3. People talk about how run backs are good because they teach you resource management and blah blah blah but Anor Londo's runback if you die to the archers genuinely serves no purpose. You died now you have to waste 2 minutes of your life running through an empty city in a straight line.
Wow! Truly the pinnacle of DS1!
The remaster really squandered the opportunity it had to properly complete the rushed zones
I think the second half actually shows how good everything else is. Even though that half has some of my absolute least favorite areas (mainly new londo) and least favorite bosses (fucking nito) ever made, i still consider dark souls one of my all time favorite games even though i strongly believe that sekiro and especially bloodborne are even better. Also you can still do some of the optional fun stuff after anor londo. So i always get the annoying shit done with and then i focus on painted world, which is an amazing area and the dlc which is also amazing
While I agree that the second half of the game is certainly unfinished and unpolished, I still love it hahaha. I can't get enough of this game no matter how much I play it.
This game would be a masterpiece if they delayed the release, cut the lord souls entirely, and made the dlc the actual second half of the game
My theory is they just rushed it. There is whats supposed to be shortcuts from valley of the drakes to new londo ruins and the elevator in the demon ruins which seem bery weird and with us knowing that demon ruins and lost izaleth are extemely janky and unfinished, i sprculate that a lot of shortcuts and exploration was cut due to time.
The bonfire placement went completely ass after they gave us the warp ability
I ended up throwing on the sunlight maggot my first playthrough for tomb of the giants and it was actually tolerable, screw dukes archives though, specifically seaths tail like you mentioned
Dude I’ve subscribed from this video alone. The disparity between the first and second halves of Dark Souls has been discussed a lot but you approach it from a fun angle. Actually going over Lost Izalith, the Duke’s Archives, etc. Great video. I’m sure I’ll come back to it again and again.
The other dumb part about tomb of giants and catacombs is: pinwheels don't respawn, the only non sorcery, non sunlight maggot method of lighting is a non guaranteed, semi rare item that you have a fair chance of never getting.
I just Platinum trophied the game in preparation for Elden ring. While I knew it would be a great undertaking I thought it would be enjoyable through the 2 and half play throughs I had to do because DS1 is debatably my favorite game of all time.
During new game plus I was groaning out loud when I had to make my way through tomb of giants, Dukes archives or Lost Izalith just because how bad these areas are.
Really made me take off the rose tinted glasses I had for this game but it’s still one of my favorite regardless.
Overall you make some pretty good points, but I do take issue with your point about not having space to swing in the Catacombs. That's an issue you have because you're swinging a greatsword around. There are many weapons which can swing freely with no issue in those tight spaces, and even certain attacks on greatswords that can be used in those sections. Black Knight Sword heavy attack is a decent example. Straight forward stab, perfect for a hallway. Not to mention 2 handing changes your moveset, and if my memory serves correctly the Black Knight Sword starts hitting vertically instead of horizontally.
I do understand your frustration about tight spaces, but that was probably intentional design. It gives purpose to other weapon types and specific moves available to certain weapons.
Spear/ Rapier are another good example. Those movesets were tailor made to stabby stab in a hallway.
the mario maker comparison is scarily accurate
I never got why they had to make Izalith all fire and stuff, I think it would have been better if all that and the Witch of Izalith were more green-enchantedness aesthetic orientated. Maybe Duke’s already covered that in a way, but I still think it would have felt way cooler.
She is the mother of pyromancy which deals with fire it would only make sense she lived in a very hot volcano like area unlike the royal forest which is mostly plant life.
@@EDK-San51912 Ik that, but I still think a planty enchanted area would have been cooler with somewhere else being fire
@@jad563 A year late to the party, but that area kinda already exists within the game, both in the form of Duke's Archives/Crystal Forest and Darkroot, specifically the area nearest to Sif.
I understand what you're saying though. You have to consider as well that each of these bosses has their own color theme associated with them as well, and that sets the tone for the whole area - Izalith is red, therefore lava, therefore horrific lava-loving monsters. Seath's is kinda blue, so therefore magic, therefore horrific magic-loving/hating monsters. Nito's is black, so therefore horror, therefore horrific skeletons. Four Kings is predominately grey, so therefore abyss, therefore... Abyss.
Glad to see I’m not the only one who felt this way, noticed it mostly on my way down into the tomb of the giants how poorly designed some of the later areas are
Post anor londo is a sad tale. They had to rush the whole thing and it clearly shows, truly a shame.
Oh by the way, I’m pretty sure the four kings don’t “respawn”, they’re just not four for some reasons. The ones you see after the first 4 are just more, and I think if you spend enough time you can have more than 4 at once, but im not sure about the last part, don’t quote me on that
Tomb of the Giants is peak Dark Souls. Amazing, terrifying atmosphere. Literally makes you think twice before taking a step your first time through. New Londo is cool too. Dukes Archives are meh and Izalith is…. Izalith.
Honnestly Izalith is ok, I find duke's archives more tedious with the rotating staircases and crystal guys. While izalith you can easily run past the basic enemies and go to the boss in 1 minute.
i feel like some bits of the second half life the tomb of the giants had great concepts, but just didn't pull them off well. the idea of going through a pitch black cave full of reanimated skeletons sounds kinda cool, but in practice it's just annoying. and places like lost izalith were only bad because they didn't have the resources to make it good at that point.
the second half of the game was more of a mixed bag for me, with some nice bits and other horrible parts. going through the demon ruins and lost izalith really wasn't bad to me honestly, like sure the quality drop is REALLY noticeable but its still kinda fun, but its completely ruined by bed of chaos.
i hated the undead catacombs just because of the annoying skeletons, which really made me sad because nito is my favourite of the lords, and the area leading up to him sucked. i will say that pinwheel gets some bonus points just because of his really good backstory and music tho.
dukes archives really wasn't all that bad, i only really had a problem with the enemies, the area itself looked really pretty to me. all of the lore related to seath is really interestesting too, sucks that his boss fight was just too easy.
new londo wasn't that bad to me either. i hated the ghosts so much, but unlocking the second half of the area with the darkwraiths was actually really cool imo. and the 4 kings is one of my favourite bosses in the game. the fact that you fight them in a pitch black abyss is awesome and a little scary honestly. the fight itself is a little easy, but still really fun to me.
and i think it all pays off when you get to the kiln of the first flame, that area was just so amazing to me in every way. the gwyn fight was just so impactful and sad
To be honest I don't understand what everyone complains about with the 4 kings everytime I have ever faced them including my first time they were a pisstake so I might consider letting them all spawn in next time I try it.
The catacombs review is rigged to be good by you MadStick if you included the area just before pinwheel this is one of the worst areas
Despite the areas not living up to earlier parts I still find it to be better than many other games out there.
Recommended really dropped me here lol. Hopefully I’m the first in a wave. Great vid!
For a dex build, playing half of these areas felt A LOT better.
Catacombs are a breeze with any spear's moveset, especially SKS, since it keeps skeletons dead.
In Tomb of Giants, spears give you a lot more spacing between you and all the giant skeletons, which makes fighting them a lot easier.
Duke's Archives had half of the challenge remove by being able to take down all the channelers and skeletons from afar with a bow, especially a big one, that staggers enemies, making them unable to fire back.
In Crystal Cave you could use the bow to check for invisible paths and to cheese the big golem to falling.
New Londo, Tomb of the Giants, and Dukes Archives are some of my favorite areas in the game.
The build up towards the lord vessel was what made it so satisfying to acquire but then the next main bosses are in condensed areas right after made it a hassle
I’ve only played this game fairly recently and quite frankly there’s more areas in this game that I’m indifferent to or dislike than ones I genuinely enjoyed.
Asylum: Okay tutorial area, don’t have much to say about it
Upper Undead Berg: Decent first level. Not too challenging or gimmicky to a point of annoyance, it’s adequate at showing you the ropes. There’s a decent amount of secret spots and items that are good for the early-game, and the merchant sells some really nice gear.
Undead Parish: First real challenge with the Balder Knights and the Gargoyles are a good boss fight. You can meet and team up with Solaire here and that’s cool.
Lower Undead Berg: Sucks ass. Dogs and parrying thieves everywhere, the Capra Demon is one of the worst bosses in the game, and there’s no Bonfire unless you go back up to Firelink, which makes for a rather long and boring boss run back to Capra if you died there.
The Depths: The first part with the Hollows and the Butchers is okay. I’m not fond of the dogs or the slimes, but it’s fine. The further you go in the more gross and annoying it gets, between the increasingly large rats and those atrociously creepy Basilisks. Gaping Dragon is not a good enough boss to make up for the low points.
Blighttown: I’m never taking the Depths entrance ever again. There’s too many bottomless pits and ganks before you even reach the first Bonfire and once you get down to the poison swamp itself everything becomes significantly more manageable. I’ll use the Master Key to skip that part of the level any chance I get.
Sen’s Fortress: Great fun, probably my favorite level in the game. I like levels with environmental traps that can be turned on the enemy and SF uses that design philosophy all the way up to the Iron Golem. Only thing I’m not a fan of is that the only Bonfire is 2/3 the way through the level and if you want to explore the lower parts for items, prepare to meet those two serpent guards at the start a lot.
Anor Londo: I don’t need to elaborate on it being great. Outside those *goddamn* Silver Knight archers this place was the most fun to explore and had some of my favorite enemies to fight. O&as are a legendary boss and they’re still my favorite even after playing DS2’s DLC.
Darkroot: Okay, I guess. I like Sif a lot but the rest is just kinda boring. I have nothing to really say about it besides always going here early for the Grass Crest Shield.
New Londo: Decent but not spectacular. I think the various shortcuts you can take are neat and I like the Four Kings boss the most out of the four Great Lords, but the enemies here are not my favorite and I *really* wish that it had a Bonfire that wasn’t all the way in Firelink.
Demon Ruins/Lost Izalith: I find these levels more bland than anything else. Besides being just generally ugly and having the worst boss of all time at the end I honestly find the blatantly unfinished nature of these levels to be refreshing compared to how gimmicky late-DS1 can get.
Duke’s Archives/Crystal Caves: I think the Archives itself is actually fine. It’s the Caves itself that I hate. For how easy of a boss Seath is he sure does have the worst boss run in the whole game. Making an area full of invisible paths over bottomless pits and no checkpoints is just inexcusable, especially if you need that Blue Titanite Slab.
Catacombs/Tomb: The only thing I like about the former is that you can grab the Rite of Kindling super early if you gun straight for Pinwheel and summon Leeroy for the boss. I just think that’s funny design. Everything else is awful for the reasons stated in the video.
4/16 is not exactly a great recommendation. Truth be told having played DS2 I liked more levels from that game than I did DS1.
Ik this is super late, but here's a fun fact for you: The Four Kings do more damage the more kings there are in the arena. I don't mean they do more damage because there's more hitting you, I mean they do more damage because if the attack is a strong overhead or side swipe(The ones with a purpleish trail), the king will do more damage if there's another one somewhere in the arena.
Bro is the crestfallen knight
I’ve never agreed with this criticism honestly I genuinely like places like Tomb Of Giants or Dukes Archive and the concept of being able to choose whichever order you want to tackle them. They’re hard areas but beyond that I don’t see the issue with them. Izalith and BOC yes but I really fail to see the issue with the rest.
Girls with time machine: im going to visit my grandma
Boys with time machine: from software extend the ds1 deadline!
It's sad that you have only 96 subscribers, you definitly deserve more :(
2:28 the only thing the depths have going for them is that you can farm humanity from the rats there
Bro, Ceaseless Discharge and Bed Of Chaos are easily some of the most inexcusable bosses in gaming history. Like I get they were testing things but like dude…WTF were they thinking? And some of the areas whilst they look cool are terrible, *Cough Cough Lost Izalith.
One of my biggest complaints with old From Software games is that they made them so annoyingly difficult sometimes just for the sake of being difficult. For example, in DS2, the run to BOTH of the Smelter Demons is absurd. It’s just throw a bunch of very strong enemies in your way and pray that you make it with no shortcuts in the area either. Like bro 🙄. I get that it’s dark souls but this is crazy.
24:53 Literally the zone before blightown had a merchant that sold toxin consumables if you do the no master key route
8:10 From what I understand, Lost Izalith was one of the last areas Fromsoft designed. This wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, but the company started pushing them hard to finish the game so they ended up having to rush the last couple areas (which is why the leaping dragon carcasses are just haphazardly placed around). I don't think the company thought Dark Souls was going to do well, so they weren't willing to give Miyazaki extra time to polish it, and was forced to quickly piece together the last parts of the game. Probably also why Bed of Chaos is the worst boss in there entire Soulsborne series.
It's not a half. I'm sorry but the content Blighttown, Undead Burg, Undead Perish, Darkroot Garden, Darkroot Basin, the Depths, Valley of Drakes, Sens Fortress, Anor Londo, Firelink Shrine, and the Undead Asylum are far more than a half in terms of playtime, bosses, and size. What you're describing is moreso 40% of the game, and that is if we ignore the DLC and view Great Hollow, Ash Lake, and the painted World as second half areas as second half areas. If we don't it's closer to a third, with DLC it's a quarter. And some of those areas aren't even bad, you even praised the Killn of the first flame and the Painted World.
I was really disappointed with the second half of the game on my first playthrough, after having such an ethereal first half made me understand why this game is often held up with the critical acclaim that it has.
Dark Souls' relation with "difficulty" can, at its best, more accurately be described as a relation with a finely tuned learning curve that rewards many different avenues of thought and playstyle. At its worst its no more than a test of patience, and I feel the Duke's Archives and Crystal Caves are the best examples of these. No matter how many times one plays through these levels they are subjected to many of the same "gotchas!" that no amount of experience changes as opposed to the first time going through them. They are meticulously designed to be "linear" in the sense that everyone likely has to play/think similarly to the exact vision the developers had, not leaving much room for branching paths and unique experiences.
Many of the other levels described here are very similar. Dying in Dark Souls is an indirect message that I must learn something to progress forward. As frustrating as this can be at times the rush of everything finally clicking is extremely gratifying, and rewards me with the sense that it is MY ability that overcame the challenge. With bosses like Four Kings and Bed of Chaos, I learn nothing of the 3-5 minute sprints from faraway bonfires after each attempt other than I'm wasting my time because a lack of convenience is being substituted for an artificial sense of difficulty and challenge. I get the mechanics and "gimmicks" of these two bosses nearly right away- the marathon sprints to them offer no satisfaction, even after beating them.
I've admittedly been too hard on areas like New Londo and The Catacombs in the past- they're really not all the bad in the grand scheme of things. I actually think Nito is pretty Neat-O, as much as I agree with many of your critiques on The Tomb of Giants.
That's why Dark Souls 3, despite a somewhat lackluster first act that still triumphs over the lows of the first game, remains my favorite of the series. Admittedly there's nothing that leaves me as awestruck as the amount of times I found I was able to connect back to Firelink in Dark Souls 1, but Dark Souls 3 is much more consistent in its delivery after they were able to really perfect the formula.
Awesome and well made video by the way, excited to checkout the rest of your channel
Playing DS1 for the first time was such a brutal experience for me that I didn’t notice that the second was worse/harder, it all seemed the same type of BS 🤣
Myazaki apologized for making the bed of chaos thats how bad that boss is
That was ganually really entertaining video with good humor and passing, why the f does it only has 200 views?
nobody talking about how underrated this channel is, i feel like i'm watching a dunkey vid rn
The peak of Dark Souls is fighting Ornstein and Smough.
Dude, every new playthrough since my first I always do Lost Izalith first, then Tomb. Why? You can finish Solaire's quest and get the Sunlight Maggot. Fuck that lantern nonsense!
Dark Souls is kinda like the hero journey, when you beat Ornstein and Smough you are beating the hardest boss of the game right in the midway point of the story, you mastered the mechanics. you are on the top of the food chain at that point, you stop surviving and everyone starts trying to survive you, you are done with everyone's shit. i see getting the Lord Souls as just putting everyone out of their missery, to just let the flame fade. the game feels underwhelming at that point because you are stronger than everyone in a world that it's pretty much ending and you are just doing the work of hammering the final nail in the coffin. i know dark souls is pretty flawed and unfinished, but the 2nd half of it it's still peak gaming for me.
fuck tomb of giants though, that place sucksssssssssssssss
I've been gradually working my way through the Souls series ever since 2016, only recently _finally_ got around to Dark Souls 1.
Amazingly, I only had a single death in Blighttown... but having decided to give spear and shield combo a try on my first playthrough, the Catacombs will stand in my memory as one of the worst experiences I've ever had with these games.
I didn't mind Dukes Archives too awful much, but that's because the whole time I was just running until I found someplace new, and then ran some more. It got kind of annoying running so much but it didn't make me mad.
I also agree, tomb of the giants was not only my least fav area in ds1, but the entire souls franchise
I lowkey kinda enjoy the later half. I love the dark atmosphere of the tomb of the giants and you have to switch between lighting the way or defending (unless you have the sunlight maggot). The large open lava expanse and desecrated temples of lost izalith are at least interesting and new londo has a very gritty and depressing aura. I also kinda enjoy duke’s archives. It feels like the last test of skill and endurance before gwyn. Overall, I still really enjoy the back half even if other people dislike it.
Were the platforms in the crystal caves really an issue for most people? I didn't have to use any prism stones 🤷♀️ the platforms are all completely straight, and quite wide
Did you play online? Did you have help in the form of Orange Soapstone comments?
@@CigaretteCrayon Year late, but there's falling crystal "snow flakes" that will hit the bridges letting you know you can cross.
i love how there’s barely any ds1 music in this vid but theres a shit ton of ds2 music
I always felt like tomb of the giants and the crystal cave were made the way they were just so they could justify the existence of prism stones.
Unfortunately in interviews it was stated that the later half of DS1 was rushed due to the publisher.
I just played it for the first time and the only place I had problems with was lost Izeleth. The boss was horrible but the worst was the run up to it. That stupid titanite demon sitting on the bridge made my life so stressful
they just should of scrapped nito and izalith's areas. and focused on polishing dukes and four kings. makes no sense that you need random souls to open the kiln
The only areas that really stink are the tomb, demon ruins and izalith
catacombs and crystal cave are just mid
New Londo is peak
This game was the closest thing we could have got from perfection. Sadly, this garbage second half ruins the whole experience.
Only zone i dont like is the chaos area, but thats the dump zone that truly just wasnt finished.
I always loved tomb of the giants though. I love the darkness mechanic, the different ways you can light your way (spells, lantern, prism stones, etc), and i loved that the game had a whole system for dealing bonus damage to undead in the zone.
I also loved that you were supposed to go there before bearing Ornstein and Smough (since you get about 5-10X the souls nowadays, you'd never know you were supposed to go do the tomb first.)
Personnaly i like some ideas of new londo, just because you can go in this area at the beginning of the game, and its terrifying when you dont know how it works, on my first playthrough when i discovered this big area under firelink shrine, plunged into darkness, with some blue lights and ghosts, i was fascinated
The atmosphere of this area is very well done, maybe they could have added some small lights but its not a huge problem
But yeah a bonfire on this area would have been very welcomed
Dude, I got grabbed by centepide demon an yeeted through the fogwall. Then he died. Otherwise I probably would have given up fighting him.
I think, objectively, that DS3 is the best one and this is the reason why I'd rate it over DS1.
The only part I don't like is Lost Izalith.
New Londo, Duke's Archives, and Tomb of the Giants are good areas. And whichever one you hate the most, you can save for last, so you'll be overleveled for it.
I defend tomb of the giants for how different it is from every other area of the game. The puzzle of how to get a light source is unique. The sunlight maggot is in izalith or you can get the light spell from dusk who is required to open the DLC. Final option is the skull lantern from within the level as a last resort. So much of the game has been about using far off views in the environment to figure out where you have to go. Using environmental storytelling like in the painted world to figure out its puzzles. This area takes that away from you. Forcing you to get creative. It is a really short area when you know what you’re doing so I have never gotten stuck there. It has neat lore implications with the paladin Leroy and the shield reference to the revolt against the gods. The gravelord servant covenant is all about spreading misery and death, and his domain reflects that.
My favorite area is New Londo. Catacombs (until bottom with those DAMN WHEELS) is a close second.
Mainly because those were the first two areas I discovered on my first playthrough. It was a hilarious time for me, of running and dodging and ignoring everything until I could make it to the item I saw in the distance. I call it: the magpie strategy. Go towards the shiny thing skwaking all the way
Really great video. I have the exact same opinion, I can't tell you how many ditched playthroughs I have that end just before the second half of the game.
We need an actual remake of the second half of ds1 and a remake to the entirety of ds2, keeping the good ideas, scrapping the bad ones and make the game feel less junky
Criminally underrated channel. Genuinely funny commentary combined with good insight into the game.
They were rushed in development near the end, but yes I do agree the end isn't as prime as Anor Londo
Those dog skeletons in the tomb of the giants gave me the creepy creepies man
Just thinking about the bed of chaos spikes my blood pressure levels
I hate the entrance to Duke's Archives. The mix of archers, channeler and melee warriors.
I just realized the giant skele-dogs from TotG are just the prototype of the Outrider knights from DS3. I hate both of them.
I actually quite like Demon Ruins, however I do fully agree with the Mario Maker comparison. In any case, I actually fully loved every moment of my first playthrough (other than tomb of the giants and catacombs). New Londo was interesting to me, although I do not like *not seeing*, I enjoyed the variety of monsters and honestly I'd say the four kings are my favourite boss in the game other than Ornstein and Smough. In the end, the only reason I think the second half gets totally clowned on in the game is because the first half is one of the greatest experiences in gaming history. Yeah, it's not amazing in the second half, but I'd say every area (save Tomb of the giants, catacombs and Lost Izalith) is still above average. Not quite amazing, or masterpiece level, but the level design is still good most of the time.
Ahahahaha love your take on DS1, and your snarky sense of humor about certain segments throughout the video has me laughing my ass off, especially the Tomb of the Giants part! 🤣
That being said, I’m subscribing to you now. :P
Apart from Lost Izalith and also I guess the Seath boss fight I think everything is actually fine, even good. But I remember when I beat Ornstein and Smough I really just wanted to finish the game and started to rush, which probably made me enjoy the second half a lot less. I remember I took my time with the beginning of the game and it was so much more enjoyable.
Bruh the four kings is an absolute joke to fight just put on beefy armour and get super close they do fuck all damage cause they don’t hit you with their sword but the hilt of it.
Half the complaints in this were just “I’m bad at this game”
Not for me honestly. I enjoy and love every part of DS1.
I didnt really dislike any of the area like you with Tomb of Giants (because played souls game from 3 into 2 into 1 and as you said DS2 is another level of frustration) but some bosses in those areas were like unsuccesfull mariage, first time they were awesome but replaying them in ng+ made me stuck for sometimes 3 days (only God know how much hatered I feel towards 4 kings). Also a lot memories of cool fights are easily destroyed if you pursue for achivements (as you said about Seaths tail for example). Cool video and respect for jokes they were awesome!
I still like the second half mainly because of the teleportation between bonfires which I despised it's absence in the first half
But also because you can go through them very quickly if you know them well even tomb of giants
I do agree that areas feels boring to explore and the bosses are mostly low quality with the best of them being four kings which is already a terrible boss in my opinion
I really liked when you said dukes archives is just a dark souls 2 level because that's exactly how I view it , very ganky with annoying projectiles everywhere although it still better than most of dark souls 2 areas in my opinion and can be handled with knowledge
“This one guys just threw a fuckin rock”
Lol 10 guesses who that could be about…
18:00 what is this music called? I've heard it somewhere before, but I can't remember where.
IT'S BENEATH THE MASK FROM PERSONA 5
The only thing that pissed me off about Blighttown was the ass ass ass fucking camera. I only got killed by enemies like 2 or 3 times, but the fucking AWFUL camera randomly zooming in and out and in and out because of how ridiculously claustrophobic the level design was complete TORTURE to endure. I get that the major strength of dark souls one is the iconically tight and claustrophobic level design, but it steps over the line with this stage. If I can't see shit that my character easily could see in game, then you're game has failed in its 3rd person level design. A playtester should have made note of this and they should have just implemented the "camera sees through walls that are too close to it" thing I see so many 3rd person games do - even if just for this one stage- I would have absolutely nothing to bitch about. Even at the high level I was when I went there for the first time, I died almost 50 times in that one stretch from the bridge to the sewer PURELY from walking off cliffs, getting knocked off the scaffolding by enemies I couldn't see or just straight up dying for no reason - I have a game clip of me breaking a vase and just dying for no reason. Seriously. Fuck blight town.
Bed of chaos and Tomb of the Giants were the most frustrating parts for me