The Firelink shrine fogwall is because the game doesn't load cementary of ash to allow better load times. And the undead settlement fogwall was due to one of the NPC invaders
@@807D14M0ND5 i have no qualms with that. I do have a problem when he creates a 2 hour long video claiming the game is "almost perfect" when his understanding of the game and the souls series as a whole is evidently shallow. Edit: this guys video won't leave my damn recommended so I watched it a bit farther and my opinion has only gotten worse. How does this guy manage to have so much of his analysis ass backwards? Is it just me? Maybe I'm the one in the wrong. I don't know. It pisses me off nonetheless
Well, popular doesn't mean good. Neither high production value and better sound means what's being said matters. I've found way more interesting content by smaller content creators than from ones with lots of views. This is great actually.
I absolutely loved your analysis and I consider this video to be the most comprehensive inspection on dark souls 3 out here. You remind me of Joseph Anderson, my favorite game critique. I appreciate how you love the game, but is not afraid to look deep into its flaws. I agree with you on most cases!
20:38 Bro what, you never found Rosaria's covenant? Also the reason Boreal Valley has a bonfire on both sides of the bridge is in case you defeated the Abyss Watchers and Wolnir before the Deacons, since you need their doll to get past the barrier.
Hey, I've been watching this video as I lay down to sleep for a few days now. Just wanted to say that I think you are underrated. I'm a big fan of channels like Joseph Anderson and Matthewmatosis with the video essay style critique etc. of video games, and I think you are in the same vein as those channels. I was honestly shocked to see your sub/view count as I imagined it would have been much higher. Anyway, just wanted to say I subbed and will probably watch some of your other vids soon. Please keep making stuff like this.
I'm only half way through this video but I can already tell this is top tier quality. Very comprehensive and well thought out, only thing wrong here is that it isn't even longer so I can enjoy it even more. Great work bro I hope you get the recognition you deserve and this video gets much more views and attention
Amazing job with this, the perfect video to watch right after you finish the game to reflect on it all and dive deeper into its strengths and weaknesses.
This was a great video, especially the parts where you compared the normal run to a SL1 run; I think it shows a lot about a game if you approach it like that. Cool that you also included all the DLC in one video, I agree with most (although not all) of your views there too! I'm also subscriber number 69 which is pretty nice. Keep up the good work, I see a lot of potential for channel growth here!
@@anstorner No and no. Patches appearance in the cathedral is usually skipped because otherwise you'd have to do an extra run. It's much easier to just full clear Cathedral and then trigger Patches appearance in Firelink. Then you can buy the armour and drop it in the well.
This was a great video, I absolutely love Gael. The first time a beat him and other playthroughs using co op passwords with a friend is the best fight in the series, many of his attacks can stop half way and track the other player he's an amazing co op fight and and for me is such an amazing way to end the game. Amazing video, you deserve more views and subs keep it up and would love to hear more commentaries on souls games, looking forward to watching your sekiro video now
I have played DS3 a great amount of time , I agree with most of your points. One of my biggest issues with the game was one you mentioned , the locations of bonfires. They seem randomly placed most of the time. The worst example that I'm sure made everyone question it are the bonfires in the archives and Dragonslayer. You can see the Dragonslayer bonfire standing on the archives bonfire. Something that might not make sense but i have been thinking about is that going for the platinum seems the ideal way to experience the game for a new player. In other DS games you have to go out of your way for some achievements but in DS3 you are gradually introduced to the game mechanics and multiplayer aspect . Getting the spells and rings will result in you experiencing the multiplayer playing both as invader and protector and you will have to fully explore the world and complete the side quests. Maybe it's just me but i absolutely loved that journey.
30:33 pretty sure if you head outside the archway and to the left, there's a ladder that takes you to a higher roof of the cathedral and that's how you get to Rosaria's
In irythill dungeon there's a lycanthrope and Karla, and while the lycanthrope isn't an 'npc' in that sense, and karla isn't super explanatory as to why she's there, they are fun to think about. (in response to wanting npcs to fight and maybe even a friendly one)
30:23 There's actually more stuff there. You can go out and around the ledge, up a ladder, which leads you to the rafters at the top of the cathedral, an NPC and a covenant :) 45:50 omg heart attack xD 1:27:29 they aren't infinitely respawning, they just howl for reinforcements, but there's a finite amount of them, you can clear them out no problem
Very good video, I share many of the same sentiments you have. The only thing I would like to add is that for the tracking laser attacks from the final dlc bosses, you have to run behind the boss for them to miss you.
I struggled with Pontiff Sulyvahn too. To the point of just about quitting the game! So I took a break, watched a few videos and found out some better ways to fight him. He still gave me a hard time but I finally got him and I haven't really struggled on any other bosses like I did with Pontiff yet. I am almost finished with my first playthrough. I still have to beat the twin princes and Soul of Cinder. I'll worry about the DLC after that. I don't look forward to Nameless King based off some of the horror stories I've heard about him lol. I really enjoyed the video though! My experience was a lot like yours, so the video was very relatable.
I'll almost always have good replayability with these games because I like to role play. Which also makes me play in ways I wouldn't, or in unoptimal ways. Like I'm never going to just carry the grass crest shield on a character who is supposed to be a pyromancer and not using shields at all
Great video! It's a lot of fun to listen to people talk about a game I love and see how they find some things I like bad and vice versa. For example, I really dislike Irithyll of the Boreal Valley, for it is such a disappointment between first seeing its beauty from the Catacombs exit and then walking through it only to discover it boils down to a street and a swamp filled with overpowered enemies so close to each other it's nearly impossible to fight them fairly. Pontiff is one of my favourite bosses in the game though. On the contrary, I think Soul of Cinder is the best boss in the main game and the Demon Princes (both phases) are the best boss fight in the entire game. I also recently played DS3 on SL1 and again it's really interesting to see how you struggled with different bosses. I agree that Dancer is the hardest, I did Aldrich on my first try (which was probably nothing but luck), didn't struggle as much as you on Demon Princes but had a lot of trouble with Gael. Honestly, playing DS3 on SL1 is the main reason why I love the game now, as it reintroduced some of the bosses in a different light, for example I didn't know attacking the head of Midir is the best option until my SL1 playthrough and now Midir is my 2nd fave boss in the game. Similarly, Soul of Cinder becomes much better as you focus on the combos and different attacks instead of attacking whenever there is space to do so. The main thing I disagree with in your video is that the best experience with the game is the first one. When I first played it I had only played DS1 and DS2 once, loved 1 and hated 2. My experience with DS3 was a mix of 1 and 2, I liked the "DS1 parts" but hated the "DS2 parts". I tried to aproach it the same way I did 1, with a black knight sword and shield, but there is just some disconnect between me and parrying in DS3. Because of this and the feeling the game was sometimes copying 1, I felt like FromSoft completely misunderstood what made the first game great yet copied it anyway (for example, the fact that you can't parry Soul of Cinder) and because of it I detested my time with DS3. I never raged with DS1 or 2 really, but I smashed my keyboard to Abyss Watchers and my controller to Soul of Cinder the first time through. It was only after I came back to the game, knowing what ground the game stands on and meeting it there that I found how the various bosses are meant to be fought, areas to be explored and even the game to be played. The lack of a concrete tutorial and hint system works against DS3 the most out of the Souls series in my opinion. Overall, in my experience, later playthrough were better in every FromSoft game I've played (DS trilogy and Sekiro), except DS1, where the experience is about on par. However, had I known how the game is meant to be played (for instance giving up the shield at the very beginning and sticking to a powerful two-hand weapon) the first time through that experience may have been superior.
I'll often enjoy movies or TV shows more on the 2nd or even 3rd time around, even if I watched them first literally less than a week ago. But for some reason, it almost never happens with games (it did in Witcher 3 & Outlast for me), even after a long while of not playing (of course, if it's so long ago that I've practically forgotten it, it might as well be called a 1st time) And it SHOULD happen with me, since I'm not that good at adapting and "getting" games fast, so playing it again after already having gotten it should be the better experience. I guess games just hold more surprises, for the average person anyway, who won't be able to notice all the little techniques and choices made when creating movies, and thus a lot of them appear similar, whereas in games it's a little easier to spot. Or perhaps it's way more common to sit through a movie without paying much attention and missing every detail. It can happen with games too, but it's way harder when YOU guide the experience and need to pay attention to beat a game, especially one such as Dark Souls. You can watch a movie with closed eyes if you want; can't really with games lol. And I might as well be making a Roger Ebert argument at this point, but I definitely don't think most games are as good narrative-wise as most movies. Some developers would rather focus on the gameplay, but still have a story which turns out to be the most generic shit in the universe. It reminds me of the terrible John Carmak quote: "Story in a game is like story in a porn movie. It's expected to be there, but its not that important" I guess it's natural, since movies have no gameplay to do instead. For story-driven stuff, and thus most movies too, there definitely are examples where you might have to watch/play it if it's a game, twice, in order to "get it", no matter how attentive you were the first time. It's just an "emotional connection" thing. But when it comes to gameplay, I definitely think the first time should be, as long as you're doing everything right, definitely the best. I'm not saying there's no artistry to it, of course not, but it's definitely more "mechanical" (duh) - the gameplay. Gameplay hits you as in "Damn, that's good design", whereas story hits you more like "Damn, that's beautiful." Of course, realistically, some people might choose the wrong builds/cheese the bosses or beat them the wrong way, so some ARE going to enjoy it more the second time. Sorry for the long essay lol...
@@WafeTv Thanks for the write-up, you've given me a lot to think about. I definitely agree that games hold more surprises, prime example could be DS1. People often use the ladder in Undead Burg to describe feeling, a great surprise, relief and a "helping hand" from the game, to me the main moment happened in Blighttown - on my first playthrough I couldn't find the entrance to Lower Undead Burg because I forgot about the door opposite the exit from Taurus Demon, so I ventured to Darkwood Basin and from there Valley of Drakes, where I found the exit from Blighttown, got scared by the trolls and thought "this is way beyond my level for now" and left the way I came in. I did notice a locked gate near the cave, but didn't go deep enough into Blighttown to find the key. A couple hours later, I found the Lower Undead Burg door and entered Blighttown via the Depths. After Quelaag, when I went to exit Blighttown, I didn't at first know where the wheel elevator led. I picked up the key and no sooner had I seen the exit from the cave than I realised where I was. This was already magical enough, but: I tried using the key I picked up and just thought "well this is just another area, what am I going to do there?". I have never experienced anything like when I passed the broken gate, went up the elevator and the text "Firelink Shrine" appeared. It is moments like this, which arise from the players forced interaction with the medium, that differentiate games from most movies and books and gives the first playthrough the special feeling, as you are the one amazed at the discovery and not just sharing the feeling with a character. You can experience other characters' feelings repeatedly as they are there to react to it, not as much with something happening to you. When it comes to gameplay VS story, I think it really depends on the game. Sometimes the gameplay is just an obstacle for the story which would as an effect be better told as a TV series or movie, but when the gameplay is in service of the story (meaning the story is told in a way impossible to do so without the gameplay) is when games are capable of telling greater stories than most movies in my opinion. Papers Please, Talos Principle or Undertale come to mind. It's also why I hate games like Life is Strange, where the gameplay is so bad the story is only set back and would be better told via a TV series, where the unnecessary gameplay parts could be cut out in favour of more side content (not like Life is Strange has an amazing story or anything but it makes a good example lol). I understand where Ebert was coming from when he talked about games (also it was a long time ago and games have come a long way) but I think what he meant is mainly about gamers, where they don't seek art when playing games but rather gameplay and victory. Seeing the gaming community's reaction to people like Anita Sarkeesian and games like TLOU2 I think he may have been right. Some movies are often cited as best experienced twice due to twists and an overload of information for a first time watcher, but games are capable of doing the same. This of course doesn't mean they are on par when it comes to narrative, but I think they can be. This may be just me, but I have a hard time appreaciating an album the first time listening to it. I mostly can't take everything in right away and need several listens to focus on each element of the music separately - lyrics, production, the album's vibes altogether etc. As a result of this, with great albums I have the best time after about 3 listens, when I can appreciate everything it has to offer. Some movies are the same (this is a bit pretentious on my part but I believe there are movies where watching them once and forming an opinion is wrong, Charlie Kaufman and David Lynch movies come to mind) but mostly I can rate movies after a single watch at the cinema. With games however, I think it goes about 50/50 for me. Like I wrote originally, DS3, DS2 and Sekiro are all games I enjoyed far more after playing them for the second time, but there are games which I never want to play again just for the sake of playing them, like Batman Arkham Knight (I've honestly never played a game with a worse side missions + collectibles system lol) or Dying Light and games I enjoy the same as on my first playthrough, like the original Batman Arkham trilogy, Dark Souls 1 or The Witness. I think that there is this quality in games which isn't as present in music or movies, where repeated playthroughs can give the player a new perspective on the gameplay (same goes for movies and music obviously, but to a lesser degree) and it's not exactly up to the developers whether the game has this quality in its design, rather it depends on the rest of the game as a whole. You can't give a fresh perspective on a bad system, but you can on a system perceived as bad. So perhaps games should be the most welcoming towards new consumers (tried to think of a word for "players" that also encompasses other art but "consumers" still sounds kinda wrong lmao) due to games' innate interactivity and direct communication with the player, but sometimes they just aren't. Be it a missing tutorial, lack of varied gameplay styles or difficulty spikes, or straight up bad gameplay, sometimes the experience is best when you know what you're getting into and can see beyond the issues. Of course, demanding players to do this is impossible and shouldn't be done, but perhaps the ideal game is for the gameplay best experienced the first time. Now that's an essay :D
I kinda like that some areas such as the grand archives are on the smaller side. Personally for me it's a satisfying length that doesn't outstay its welcome, which is a problem I personally have with DS1.
At minute 31 or so you mention an elevator in Cathedral of the Deep that leads to a crossbow sniper and nothing else… there’s a ladder out his window and around to the left. I thought it was a part of the mandatory progression but I guess there are other ways around.
I'm so glad I found this in my recommended. Great stuff, the effort really shines through. Keep it up, man! (also please help I've died like 45 times to demon prince in my sl1 run and I still havent won)
I didn't pay for PS+ so I never did much online play. Pontiff Sullivan is the first boss I had to summon npcs for help. because of that I learned that you could summon npcs and you could be invaded.
The bland color pallet you mention by saying "that's dark souls for you" is really only a thing in DS3. I really miss the high contrast of DS1! Im afraid Elden Ring will be the same UPDATE: Elden Ring is the most colorful souls game yet!! YESSSS
I actually like Wolnir and The Deacons, I tend to appreciate bosses who exist outside of Mortal Kombat. There's nothing more obnoxious than artificial difficulty, especially when it contradicts everything in a character's lore. Imagine having this legendary warrior who studied the art of water to learn discipline in controlling their curse- only to have them rely on that curse in every battle.
i honestly enjoyed every single boss, but even if Abyss Watchers are my favourite ones, every boss y just so cool, i mean when you realize that Cristal Sage has suck a weakness to phisical damage and bleed, that combat is so easy and short, but i think the combat is not the whole boss, is just the way you get in the boss and meet the boss, i apretiate the ost, the level design in the boss area and the lore over all, because yes with storm ruler Yhorm is a joke but 1 you dont know it at first and 2 the lore of the Capital and Yhorm and Siegmayer is just awesome, so, yeah i personally think that the bosses in ds3 are so good
Having played 1 and 2 that was the most disappointing thing about 3 for me was how linear it was made this one the hardest for me to replay over the other 2.
On the topic of this game being easier than the others, I think I can attest to that. Dark Souls 3 was my first souls game I ever completed (I played DS1 before but I leveled resistance a lot, so I never got farther than beating the gaping dragon) I just slapped raw on a straight sword and leveled health to 40, after I got to 40 I put it between strength and dex and used a refined gem, and despite not being familiar with the game or genre I beat many bosses on my first try, including gael (I heard a tip that said to remember to delay your rolls but other than that I didn't use a guide or anything)
I have never heard of Dark Souls 3 being described as clunky and I have never once thought to myself that it was clunky of all things that I have ever thought about it that is not even close
Dark souls 3 it's not easy, DS1 and DS2 have awful controls and clunky movments. DS1 actually is slower and feels like driving a tank (and it's annoying). To make Dark Souls 3 harder as previous titles, just install some weird mod that makes your controller worst and that you are.
I played through DS1 twice, had no will to play through DS3 (got to the Catacombs and said meh after my 5th attempt to get through). It's so linear, so much harder to feel mastery in, and never wowed me in any way. It seems like a huge upgrade in combat and multiplayer but otherwise the world of DS1 is so much more compelling and original.
Maybe I got a bit lucky but I beat Sister Friede on the first try, that made an already short DLC feel even shorter. I remember getting to the end of the corvian settlement and thinking ‘this is it?’ Kinda disappointing. I agree that Friede was the most stressful fight in the game and while I don’t think she’s a bad boss, she certainly isn’t a fun one. Ringed city is definitely better but still kinda disappointing, there’s two poison pools that make up most of the map, and the actual ringed city itself isn’t some impressive city scape like Leyndell, it’s just small chunks of it. The only redeeming qualities were the bosses, Demon in pain and Demon from below is easily one of my favorite duo bosses in the series, and Gael obviously is widely regarded as one of the best bosses in the entire lineup, possibly the best. I loved the Gael fight and it was a great way to cap off the series. That said I think there should’ve only been one DLC but they stretched it into 2. However I bought the game on discount and only paid 20 dollars or so for the game with DLC included, so I felt I got my money’s worth.
How cool would it be if FS created a mode optimized for SL 1 where they detuned all the enemy health bars to fit a character that isn’t allowed to level up? I’d love to take on a challenge like Midir but no shot am I sitting there and fighting Midir doing less than .2% of his health bar per hit.
The leveldesign of Dark Souls 1 is the best of the serie. The gameplay of Dark Souls 3 is way better and nervous and it's because Bloodborne was release before (Also some good ideas of Dark Souls 2). I have played Elden Ring for 6 hours and it seems that it take the exploration on the center of the experience with much faster and smooth gameplay. Really enjoyed it.
Dude you missed whole swathes of the game! Your analysis is pretty sound, but yeah, maybe you should do a update and do smouldering lake, the ancient king’s antechamber, the second roof area attached to the lift to the undead sniper and ‘nothing else’ and so on…. Also a lot of these comments read like bots, which is really odd (and not very kosher) though I get it, it’s now a very crowded genre: long retrospectives of these amazing games are becoming more and more common. Anyway, good luck with your channel mate. :)
Pretty nice video! I enjoyed it and watched it to completion. Though, a few points... I find this to be more of a review, as you seemed to drift more to that subjective approach, than a full commentary/critique. 1. I don't think you can consider it full, or even a critique, if you only comment on the sections/levels that you don't dislike. The King's Antechamber, for example is a relevant section. You've played the game multiple times. To omit that section/footage for the reasons stated in the video was a disappointment. 2. Video is over 2 hours long, yet there is no (at least none that I remember) commentary on NPC side quests. You only mentioned the side bosses. Considering you mention that you don't play PvP, I would think that this portion of the game would be relevant to players like yourself. I mean, Holy knight Hodrick... 3. The core of you commentary seem to be rooted in combat mechanics and level design, referencing your SL1 playthrough a number of times. IMO, it would've been interesting to see a compare/contrast with DS1 or BB at different times. All and all, a great video on my favorite souls game. Thank you for making it.
1. I do comment on the zones I hate. I simply didn't comment on the Antechamber since it's not an entire area, just a small section of the Smouldering Lake, and mostly because I actually had nothing at all to say about it. Although you are right that I probably should've had some footage rolling. I just thought it wouldn't be needed for a 30 second segment is all. 2. The NPC quests are something I'm guilty of skipping in this game, I'll admit to that one. 3. I don't own a PS4 and thus haven't played BB yet. I didn't compare with DS1 as it's not really one of my favorite games, and therefore haven't played in quite a while. Don't remember much of it. I also haven't gotten around to playing DS2 yet. I've saved the Sekiro comparisons for the Sekiro video I'm currently working on (Sekiro having longer areas and why I think it works better, and so on...) Just so you know, I REALLY appreciate the criticism! Thanks a lot! Also, "Full" is kind of a deceiving title now that I think about it, as I don't comment on stuff such as NPC quests, so I did change it.
@@WafeTv Indeed. Your video hits a number of notes that I find to be spot on, such as the speed and flow of the game. So please believe I thoroughly enjoyed it. Your channel is relatively new and I believe that your heading in a good direction. Critiquing your video, I would rate it a 7/10. My only suggestions would be to pick a standard or baseline to critique from. For example, If you consider DS3 based on your interpretation of FromSoftware's philosophy and level development vs. how close it comes to fulfilling that is a better approach for critiques, especially long-form, IMO. Also I find a scoring system, whatever you want that to be based on, helps with translating your thoughts objectively. Like I would love to hear how you would score each zone, how you came to that determination (i.e. "I feel like King's Antechamber didn't really add anything to the level, so that's a detractor for me.) and how the zone's individual scores impacted your score for DS3 overall. All and all, I enjoyed your work and look forward to additional thoughts from you.
@@DMP89145 I've thought about the scoring system part, but honestly, I think it might do more harm than good. I'll think about it, but I find many people skip to the end in order to see the rating, including myself sometimes with youtubers like Fantano or Penguinz0's Moist Meter videos. Also, this might be pretentious, but I feel that if someone can't imagine pretty closely what I'd rate something, then I've failed on my part. For example, it's pretty clear that I think Midir is a 10, Gael a lower end 10 and the Twin Demons 9. Also some people have a very skewed perception of ratings, as in - they think anything below an 8 is terrible. If anything, it can make things less clear. When it comes to just games, I actually do have a big excel database where I rate games and other stuff mostly for myself; it's in my channel links. It takes like 10 seconds of my time after finishing a game and there are so many games or movies on there that I rate 8/10+, yet forget about in a month until I take a look at the list again. It definitely pays off if you like replaying stuff.
@@WafeTv Indeed. I see your point about the scoring and agree. It could end up being more of a detractor from what you're looking to accomplish. Well I've subbed, so looking forward to seeing the Sekiro video.
Hey man, I know this is an older vid of yours. But I feel like you spend way too much time just summarizing the game without having anything meaningful to say about the design therein. Less explaining what happened and more critique and examples of what you thought were good or bad design would have gone a long way. As it is I just felt like I'm watching a recap with occasional opinions thrown in.
maria (note: maria refers to itself in third person) couldnt disagree more regarding aldrich, hes one of the few bosses in the game that it sometimes still struggles with
I don't know how many times I have played DS3, at least over 5, probably more. I never knew that there was a lever in the catacombs of carthus, I just thought the boss run was long. It also was reasonable, a few rats an agile carthus warrior and great curved sword carthus warrior then wolnier
The only good part about archdragon peak is the dragon chasers ashes and Nameless King, everything else is either frustrating or disappointing. For such a grand setting with a great boss at the end the area is very small and not interesting or fun to explore
I was watching a very biased critique of ds2 and his biggest criticism of the game was the lock on issue, with the level design being 2nd. It’s interesting to see how lock on is also a topic for critique in ds3 also despite him praising the game to death. Edit: also the topic of length being an issue for veterans is hilariously true. What’s crazy though is that although first playthroughs and second playthroughs go from 40 hours to less than 10 hours in ds3, elden ring is worse with it being 100+ hours in the first playthrough and around 20 hours in the second playthrough. The next critique of the areas lacking diversity and being forgettable sometimes is also funny because the guy that critiqued ds2 had the same point but never brought it up when talking about ds3
As far as the actual Dark Souls franchise goes, this one is my favorite If we include all of these soulsborne games, I don't know if I would pick bloodborne or the demon Souls remake over it now at this point I've yet to play elden ring But as of now Dark Souls 3 at least definitively sits in my top three And definitely at the top as far as Dark Souls 1 2 or 3 is concerned To me Dark Souls 3 just felt like the formula perfected. I thought combat felt better, the animations are of course much better and it brings in some of the faster Pace aggressiveness of bloodborne Only it's still dark souls so I have a huge choice of weapons to utilize, and big old Shields to hide behind just like I like to The boss is all felt like they were on a scale they hadn't been at before, and I also didn't find any of them really boring, even something like deacons of the deep was a neat little idea that fit with the setting even if it was really easy But I do not find this game too easy either, to this day the only one that I found that was really manageable was the first game. Every other from soft game since then has felt more difficult (although I'm only just playing demons Souls right now and so far I'm teaching its butt) I thought if anything because these bosses move so much quicker with more fluid animation now, that many of them are harder than bosses you're going to fight in the original game where everything is a lot slower I found the early game in Dark Souls 3 to be a lot more punishing as well, the initial nights you face in the opening area are a great challenge, and giant crabs don't mess around There are of course many critiques, it's still really sad to see their system of looping things back around with shortcuts still doesn't translate to a more intricate and larger world with more options on where to go But as far as each area of the game, none of them really feel too small and the shortcuts that they utilize to connect those back to bonfires are still very creative and well done Bloodborne was kind of the same way so I didn't really mind Invasions were never one of my favorite things about the series, PVP all together I'm just really not into But invasions in Dark Souls 3 feel a little weird, I always had at least two people backing me up if not three to one invader who inevitably just gets clobbered by us Despite my like of being invaded, I can see that this is now a one-sided affair I'm actually never even beaten this game though, so how can it be my favorite? Well from the first area onwards, the allure to explore and try and find everything in any given area just pulled me more than Dark Souls 1 or 2 That feeling of first playing Dark Souls 1 is still unmatched overall, but the first game had a lot of areas that I didn't really care for, and just wanted to get them over with. Every part of Dark Souls 3 however, seemed really cool to keep exploring, and no matter how difficult it was I eventually became enamored with the different strategies it would take to clear them I really didn't stop playing this game because of disliking it either, it's just by the time it came out I didn't have the kind of time to play video games anymore like I did when I played the first one. I take my time with these games too, I beat the first game after 90 hours, a lot of exploring but I still didn't find a few secret areas, and a hell of a lot of grinding. I would over level one tank of a knight character because that feeling of going back to a boss that was whooping my ass, and then me being able to just lay the smack down on him was so gratifying I had the same strategy for this one
I was about to say, that leads to Rosaria who let's you respec stats and rewards the obscuring ring for invasions. Probably the most useful NPC in the game.
Cathedral of the deep was one of the best areas and because it was challenging and actually entering the cathedral is a death run I expected to see a formidable foe at the end of it. Needless to say I was very disappointed when I saw that it wasn’t a badass boss like Artorias, or Pontiff Sulyvan, nope it was just a group of effing church goers and fatties guarding one glowing guy which is very easy to figure out that’s how you damage them but isn’t at all fun or engaging. They just dumped a group of regular enemies in an arena and called it a boss, it’s very lazy or at least seems that way. I want to be challenged by a boss who’s fun to engage with, not wade my way through fatties and destroy the glowing monk with ease. I beat them on my very first try, as I did with too many of the bosses in DS3, kinda disappointing, the good bosses mostly make up for it, but I can’t help but think it could’ve been elevated to greater heights with a more interesting boss.
Agree with everything but i will not let you slander 1st phase gael it is genuinely a complex masterpiece and to me its a fight i look forward to equally as 2nd phase gael especially in sl1 where any hit is guaranteed death
I wish It had more of the stuff from Dark Souls 2 in it and even from the original Dark Souls like instead of stripping things to a more basic simpler format they might have even added or at least kept it the same but I feel the same way I absolutely love Dark Souls 3 but at the same time I wish it wasn't as stripped down feeling
Beating Dancer early is pretty much the only sequence break that you can do to explore things other than the same linear path. In some ways I like it because it can control the difficulty scaling carefully and consistently going down a linear path, and the only way to sequence break is to beat a very challenging boss. On the other hand it would be great if it was a bit more interconnected or have a more compelling world design. It feels rather generic and there’s way too many gimmick fights but the bosses that are good are some of the best in the lineup. I think it’s a great game but the combat arts are all generic and it feels like a rehash of dark souls 1 with excessive fan service and lacks it’s own identity in a way. I also really dislike having equip load tied to its own independent stat, it’s way too many “wasted” stat points for your equip load to only go up by one. It didn’t expand on much they just did what they know works and repeated it but sped up the combat a bit. Dark souls 1’s world design wasn’t perfect either though, because the final few stages were all around the same difficulty so you could end up overleveling and not find them as increasingly difficult. Plus after Anor Londo I didn’t really know where to go and had to wander around for awhile and backtrack to different areas which felt kind of unnatural
from 45:22 made me laugh uncontrollably... I imagine someone who hasn't played DS3 going "what combos? the dude is just getting his ass handed to him." and not realising that parrying like a god is something that you are not meant to do on your first playthrough of the game.
I was honestly surprised when I looked at your sub count, I expected it to be at like. 50-100k, yet you only have 400. You definitely deserve more considering the quality of your videos.
I died on the abyss watchers like 15 times and two shot pontiff. Bosses are harder based off of who is fighting the boss not their attack list imo. My tutorial ended on the watchers. 🤷♂️
Adding a "hard mode" just means you're getting an easy mode. And easy mode does not belong in any souls games. It's like the nature of Dark Souls itself, you can't have light without dark, life without death. By putting in a hard mode, then the other mode by default is the easy mode.
>He spent 200 hours with the game and never found Rosaria, the only covenant in the game that lets you respec. Amazing. This is why I advocate people just use the damn wiki. You said you played this game 7 times?
Ds3 is my favourite of the souls games (demon's souls, dark souls 1,2,3), i can't play bloodborne, my favourite was always demon's souls but then DS3 came out and it is a mix between demon's souls and dark souls, and that's why i love it so much. And no, sekiro is not a souls game, that game is more like a techu with open world, except tenchu is better.
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The Firelink shrine fogwall is because the game doesn't load cementary of ash to allow better load times. And the undead settlement fogwall was due to one of the NPC invaders
30:27 there is actually a ladder, on the left of that enemy, which gets you to the the rooftop of cathedral (its not just empty room) :D
btw i enjoy your commentary, i had the same exact experiance during my first playtrough, you should do some more :D
lol was about to leave the same comment :P
7 playthroughs, favorite game, but didn't find the cathedral roof ladder? Rapidly losing my faith in this guy...
@@44theshadow49 You can love a game and miss something. DS1 is my favorite game and I haven't played the DLC.
@@807D14M0ND5 i have no qualms with that. I do have a problem when he creates a 2 hour long video claiming the game is "almost perfect" when his understanding of the game and the souls series as a whole is evidently shallow.
Edit: this guys video won't leave my damn recommended so I watched it a bit farther and my opinion has only gotten worse. How does this guy manage to have so much of his analysis ass backwards? Is it just me? Maybe I'm the one in the wrong. I don't know. It pisses me off nonetheless
this is very well made for how little views it has. thank you, i really enjoyed watching.
Well, popular doesn't mean good. Neither high production value and better sound means what's being said matters. I've found way more interesting content by smaller content creators than from ones with lots of views. This is great actually.
Great video, major respect for doing a SL1 play through.
It is a crime that this video only has 17 likes, well done man, great work.
You’re criminally underrated, I can tell you put a lot of passion behind this video and it was a joy to watch, great job 👍
Long analysis vids like these are my favorite videos on youtube. Thank you
This video got recommended to me recently, and I've really enjoyed it. Thanks for all the effort
its absolutely insane to me that this video has so little views and likes. excellent critique and commentary. well done!
A greatsword with the moveset of a rapier sounds like my dream Dark Souls weapon honestly.
Elden ring has it your dream came true
I absolutely loved your analysis and I consider this video to be the most comprehensive inspection on dark souls 3 out here. You remind me of Joseph Anderson, my favorite game critique. I appreciate how you love the game, but is not afraid to look deep into its flaws. I agree with you on most cases!
20:38
Bro what, you never found Rosaria's covenant?
Also the reason Boreal Valley has a bonfire on both sides of the bridge is in case you defeated the Abyss Watchers and Wolnir before the Deacons, since you need their doll to get past the barrier.
Hey, I've been watching this video as I lay down to sleep for a few days now. Just wanted to say that I think you are underrated. I'm a big fan of channels like Joseph Anderson and Matthewmatosis with the video essay style critique etc. of video games, and I think you are in the same vein as those channels. I was honestly shocked to see your sub/view count as I imagined it would have been much higher. Anyway, just wanted to say I subbed and will probably watch some of your other vids soon. Please keep making stuff like this.
This video is probably the best retrospective on DS3 on all of TH-cam. With content like this your gonna take off man.
I'm only half way through this video but I can already tell this is top tier quality. Very comprehensive and well thought out, only thing wrong here is that it isn't even longer so I can enjoy it even more. Great work bro I hope you get the recognition you deserve and this video gets much more views and attention
Amazing job with this, the perfect video to watch right after you finish the game to reflect on it all and dive deeper into its strengths and weaknesses.
This was a great video, especially the parts where you compared the normal run to a SL1 run; I think it shows a lot about a game if you approach it like that. Cool that you also included all the DLC in one video, I agree with most (although not all) of your views there too! I'm also subscriber number 69 which is pretty nice. Keep up the good work, I see a lot of potential for channel growth here!
30:27 Wait, YOU DIDN'T FIND ROSARIA?
Also, little pontiffs is such a nice way to justify them
don't also you need that to be able to complete the Onion quest?, i mean you need it to reach patches the first time.
@@anstorner No and no. Patches appearance in the cathedral is usually skipped because otherwise you'd have to do an extra run. It's much easier to just full clear Cathedral and then trigger Patches appearance in Firelink. Then you can buy the armour and drop it in the well.
Gael isn’t a very difficult fight, but at least it’s a fun one. Friede is difficult, but not fun. So it’s a trade off.
She absolutely is fun
I rarely sit through a 2 hour video but this was a really good video, you're very underrated.
You're A Diamond in the Rough.
I will. Be watching you grow little light
This was a great video, I absolutely love Gael. The first time a beat him and other playthroughs using co op passwords with a friend is the best fight in the series, many of his attacks can stop half way and track the other player he's an amazing co op fight and and for me is such an amazing way to end the game. Amazing video, you deserve more views and subs keep it up and would love to hear more commentaries on souls games, looking forward to watching your sekiro video now
Fantastic video man hopefully the algorithm picks this up and you get the views you deserve definitely subscribed!
55:52 "left mouse button" 💀💀💀
I have played DS3 a great amount of time , I agree with most of your points. One of my biggest issues with the game was one you mentioned , the locations of bonfires. They seem randomly placed most of the time. The worst example that I'm sure made everyone question it are the bonfires in the archives and Dragonslayer. You can see the Dragonslayer bonfire standing on the archives bonfire. Something that might not make sense but i have been thinking about is that going for the platinum seems the ideal way to experience the game for a new player. In other DS games you have to go out of your way for some achievements but in DS3 you are gradually introduced to the game mechanics and multiplayer aspect . Getting the spells and rings will result in you experiencing the multiplayer playing both as invader and protector and you will have to fully explore the world and complete the side quests. Maybe it's just me but i absolutely loved that journey.
30:33 pretty sure if you head outside the archway and to the left, there's a ladder that takes you to a higher roof of the cathedral and that's how you get to Rosaria's
Great discussion. Ocelotte is half dragon, like Priscilla in DS1, and shares her invisibility. Only 174 days till Elden Ring. XD
Only 98 from today. We under 100 baby!!!
@@skep7964 ohh, i dont think so
@@tasorodri sadge
rip
20 minutes in and this is an amazing video. awesome work!
In irythill dungeon there's a lycanthrope and Karla, and while the lycanthrope isn't an 'npc' in that sense, and karla isn't super explanatory as to why she's there, they are fun to think about. (in response to wanting npcs to fight and maybe even a friendly one)
Lycanthrope = Cross-bearer
Adjacent to the "X"anthous ashes
30:23 There's actually more stuff there. You can go out and around the ledge, up a ladder, which leads you to the rafters at the top of the cathedral, an NPC and a covenant :)
45:50 omg heart attack xD
1:27:29 they aren't infinitely respawning, they just howl for reinforcements, but there's a finite amount of them, you can clear them out no problem
Very good video, I share many of the same sentiments you have. The only thing I would like to add is that for the tracking laser attacks from the final dlc bosses, you have to run behind the boss for them to miss you.
I love catacombs area. Love the textures and feel of classic zone in fantasy game
30:20 you go through the open window, and then left, and then you get in the upper floor, there is a zombie with a ring there.
incredible man I really enjoyed watching this
I struggled with Pontiff Sulyvahn too. To the point of just about quitting the game! So I took a break, watched a few videos and found out some better ways to fight him. He still gave me a hard time but I finally got him and I haven't really struggled on any other bosses like I did with Pontiff yet. I am almost finished with my first playthrough. I still have to beat the twin princes and Soul of Cinder. I'll worry about the DLC after that. I don't look forward to Nameless King based off some of the horror stories I've heard about him lol. I really enjoyed the video though! My experience was a lot like yours, so the video was very relatable.
I'll almost always have good replayability with these games because I like to role play. Which also makes me play in ways I wouldn't, or in unoptimal ways. Like I'm never going to just carry the grass crest shield on a character who is supposed to be a pyromancer and not using shields at all
Great video! It's a lot of fun to listen to people talk about a game I love and see how they find some things I like bad and vice versa. For example, I really dislike Irithyll of the Boreal Valley, for it is such a disappointment between first seeing its beauty from the Catacombs exit and then walking through it only to discover it boils down to a street and a swamp filled with overpowered enemies so close to each other it's nearly impossible to fight them fairly. Pontiff is one of my favourite bosses in the game though. On the contrary, I think Soul of Cinder is the best boss in the main game and the Demon Princes (both phases) are the best boss fight in the entire game.
I also recently played DS3 on SL1 and again it's really interesting to see how you struggled with different bosses. I agree that Dancer is the hardest, I did Aldrich on my first try (which was probably nothing but luck), didn't struggle as much as you on Demon Princes but had a lot of trouble with Gael. Honestly, playing DS3 on SL1 is the main reason why I love the game now, as it reintroduced some of the bosses in a different light, for example I didn't know attacking the head of Midir is the best option until my SL1 playthrough and now Midir is my 2nd fave boss in the game. Similarly, Soul of Cinder becomes much better as you focus on the combos and different attacks instead of attacking whenever there is space to do so.
The main thing I disagree with in your video is that the best experience with the game is the first one. When I first played it I had only played DS1 and DS2 once, loved 1 and hated 2. My experience with DS3 was a mix of 1 and 2, I liked the "DS1 parts" but hated the "DS2 parts". I tried to aproach it the same way I did 1, with a black knight sword and shield, but there is just some disconnect between me and parrying in DS3. Because of this and the feeling the game was sometimes copying 1, I felt like FromSoft completely misunderstood what made the first game great yet copied it anyway (for example, the fact that you can't parry Soul of Cinder) and because of it I detested my time with DS3. I never raged with DS1 or 2 really, but I smashed my keyboard to Abyss Watchers and my controller to Soul of Cinder the first time through. It was only after I came back to the game, knowing what ground the game stands on and meeting it there that I found how the various bosses are meant to be fought, areas to be explored and even the game to be played. The lack of a concrete tutorial and hint system works against DS3 the most out of the Souls series in my opinion. Overall, in my experience, later playthrough were better in every FromSoft game I've played (DS trilogy and Sekiro), except DS1, where the experience is about on par. However, had I known how the game is meant to be played (for instance giving up the shield at the very beginning and sticking to a powerful two-hand weapon) the first time through that experience may have been superior.
I'll often enjoy movies or TV shows more on the 2nd or even 3rd time around, even if I watched them first literally less than a week ago.
But for some reason, it almost never happens with games (it did in Witcher 3 & Outlast for me), even after a long while of not playing (of course, if it's so long ago that I've practically forgotten it, it might as well be called a 1st time) And it SHOULD happen with me, since I'm not that good at adapting and "getting" games fast, so playing it again after already having gotten it should be the better experience.
I guess games just hold more surprises, for the average person anyway, who won't be able to notice all the little techniques and choices made when creating movies, and thus a lot of them appear similar, whereas in games it's a little easier to spot.
Or perhaps it's way more common to sit through a movie without paying much attention and missing every detail. It can happen with games too, but it's way harder when YOU guide the experience and need to pay attention to beat a game, especially one such as Dark Souls. You can watch a movie with closed eyes if you want; can't really with games lol.
And I might as well be making a Roger Ebert argument at this point, but I definitely don't think most games are as good narrative-wise as most movies. Some developers would rather focus on the gameplay, but still have a story which turns out to be the most generic shit in the universe. It reminds me of the terrible John Carmak quote: "Story in a game is like story in a porn movie. It's expected to be there, but its not that important" I guess it's natural, since movies have no gameplay to do instead.
For story-driven stuff, and thus most movies too, there definitely are examples where you might have to watch/play it if it's a game, twice, in order to "get it", no matter how attentive you were the first time. It's just an "emotional connection" thing.
But when it comes to gameplay, I definitely think the first time should be, as long as you're doing everything right, definitely the best. I'm not saying there's no artistry to it, of course not, but it's definitely more "mechanical" (duh) - the gameplay. Gameplay hits you as in "Damn, that's good design", whereas story hits you more like "Damn, that's beautiful." Of course, realistically, some people might choose the wrong builds/cheese the bosses or beat them the wrong way, so some ARE going to enjoy it more the second time.
Sorry for the long essay lol...
@@WafeTv Thanks for the write-up, you've given me a lot to think about.
I definitely agree that games hold more surprises, prime example could be DS1. People often use the ladder in Undead Burg to describe feeling, a great surprise, relief and a "helping hand" from the game, to me the main moment happened in Blighttown - on my first playthrough I couldn't find the entrance to Lower Undead Burg because I forgot about the door opposite the exit from Taurus Demon, so I ventured to Darkwood Basin and from there Valley of Drakes, where I found the exit from Blighttown, got scared by the trolls and thought "this is way beyond my level for now" and left the way I came in. I did notice a locked gate near the cave, but didn't go deep enough into Blighttown to find the key. A couple hours later, I found the Lower Undead Burg door and entered Blighttown via the Depths. After Quelaag, when I went to exit Blighttown, I didn't at first know where the wheel elevator led. I picked up the key and no sooner had I seen the exit from the cave than I realised where I was. This was already magical enough, but: I tried using the key I picked up and just thought "well this is just another area, what am I going to do there?". I have never experienced anything like when I passed the broken gate, went up the elevator and the text "Firelink Shrine" appeared. It is moments like this, which arise from the players forced interaction with the medium, that differentiate games from most movies and books and gives the first playthrough the special feeling, as you are the one amazed at the discovery and not just sharing the feeling with a character. You can experience other characters' feelings repeatedly as they are there to react to it, not as much with something happening to you.
When it comes to gameplay VS story, I think it really depends on the game. Sometimes the gameplay is just an obstacle for the story which would as an effect be better told as a TV series or movie, but when the gameplay is in service of the story (meaning the story is told in a way impossible to do so without the gameplay) is when games are capable of telling greater stories than most movies in my opinion. Papers Please, Talos Principle or Undertale come to mind. It's also why I hate games like Life is Strange, where the gameplay is so bad the story is only set back and would be better told via a TV series, where the unnecessary gameplay parts could be cut out in favour of more side content (not like Life is Strange has an amazing story or anything but it makes a good example lol). I understand where Ebert was coming from when he talked about games (also it was a long time ago and games have come a long way) but I think what he meant is mainly about gamers, where they don't seek art when playing games but rather gameplay and victory. Seeing the gaming community's reaction to people like Anita Sarkeesian and games like TLOU2 I think he may have been right. Some movies are often cited as best experienced twice due to twists and an overload of information for a first time watcher, but games are capable of doing the same. This of course doesn't mean they are on par when it comes to narrative, but I think they can be.
This may be just me, but I have a hard time appreaciating an album the first time listening to it. I mostly can't take everything in right away and need several listens to focus on each element of the music separately - lyrics, production, the album's vibes altogether etc. As a result of this, with great albums I have the best time after about 3 listens, when I can appreciate everything it has to offer. Some movies are the same (this is a bit pretentious on my part but I believe there are movies where watching them once and forming an opinion is wrong, Charlie Kaufman and David Lynch movies come to mind) but mostly I can rate movies after a single watch at the cinema. With games however, I think it goes about 50/50 for me. Like I wrote originally, DS3, DS2 and Sekiro are all games I enjoyed far more after playing them for the second time, but there are games which I never want to play again just for the sake of playing them, like Batman Arkham Knight (I've honestly never played a game with a worse side missions + collectibles system lol) or Dying Light and games I enjoy the same as on my first playthrough, like the original Batman Arkham trilogy, Dark Souls 1 or The Witness. I think that there is this quality in games which isn't as present in music or movies, where repeated playthroughs can give the player a new perspective on the gameplay (same goes for movies and music obviously, but to a lesser degree) and it's not exactly up to the developers whether the game has this quality in its design, rather it depends on the rest of the game as a whole. You can't give a fresh perspective on a bad system, but you can on a system perceived as bad.
So perhaps games should be the most welcoming towards new consumers (tried to think of a word for "players" that also encompasses other art but "consumers" still sounds kinda wrong lmao) due to games' innate interactivity and direct communication with the player, but sometimes they just aren't. Be it a missing tutorial, lack of varied gameplay styles or difficulty spikes, or straight up bad gameplay, sometimes the experience is best when you know what you're getting into and can see beyond the issues. Of course, demanding players to do this is impossible and shouldn't be done, but perhaps the ideal game is for the gameplay best experienced the first time.
Now that's an essay :D
I kinda like that some areas such as the grand archives are on the smaller side. Personally for me it's a satisfying length that doesn't outstay its welcome, which is a problem I personally have with DS1.
At minute 31 or so you mention an elevator in Cathedral of the Deep that leads to a crossbow sniper and nothing else… there’s a ladder out his window and around to the left. I thought it was a part of the mandatory progression but I guess there are other ways around.
amazing content glad the algorithm found you
Very nice video, you got me to play this thank you
I'm so glad I found this in my recommended. Great stuff, the effort really shines through. Keep it up, man! (also please help I've died like 45 times to demon prince in my sl1 run and I still havent won)
1:26:10 Haha, we'll roll with it... get it, cause what do you do the most in Dark Souls? You roll.
This video deserves more views!
Great work! Subscribed!
I didn't pay for PS+ so I never did much online play. Pontiff Sullivan is the first boss I had to summon npcs for help. because of that I learned that you could summon npcs and you could be invaded.
two-handed serves the purpose of using weapon arts, which are specially usefull with boss weapons, such as the dragon slayer's great axe
you missed the roof section of cathedral of the deep
The bland color pallet you mention by saying "that's dark souls for you" is really only a thing in DS3. I really miss the high contrast of DS1!
Im afraid Elden Ring will be the same
UPDATE: Elden Ring is the most colorful souls game yet!! YESSSS
The fact that even after 5 souls games we still cant turn off camera reset is just insane
I actually like Wolnir and The Deacons, I tend to appreciate bosses who exist outside of Mortal Kombat. There's nothing more obnoxious than artificial difficulty, especially when it contradicts everything in a character's lore. Imagine having this legendary warrior who studied the art of water to learn discipline in controlling their curse- only to have them rely on that curse in every battle.
Deserves more views tbh
great video didnt feel like 2 hours. dark souls 3, bloodborne, dark souls 1 are the best games ever made
Cusotmisation sliders are slow ? You can move them 10 by 10 using rb and lb.. It takes 2 seconds to get to one side to the other.
1:33:06 He is pecking you with his beak. It is a bird after all.
Oh, I see... I hope you meant "pecking" though, lmao
@@WafeTv haha Oh my, I did mean pecking lol
i honestly enjoyed every single boss, but even if Abyss Watchers are my favourite ones, every boss y just so cool, i mean when you realize that Cristal Sage has suck a weakness to phisical damage and bleed, that combat is so easy and short, but i think the combat is not the whole boss, is just the way you get in the boss and meet the boss, i apretiate the ost, the level design in the boss area and the lore over all, because yes with storm ruler Yhorm is a joke but 1 you dont know it at first and 2 the lore of the Capital and Yhorm and Siegmayer is just awesome, so, yeah i personally think that the bosses in ds3 are so good
I don’t agree with few things, but that’s mostly personal preference, overall great video, keep it up
Having played 1 and 2 that was the most disappointing thing about 3 for me was how linear it was made this one the hardest for me to replay over the other 2.
On the topic of this game being easier than the others, I think I can attest to that. Dark Souls 3 was my first souls game I ever completed (I played DS1 before but I leveled resistance a lot, so I never got farther than beating the gaping dragon) I just slapped raw on a straight sword and leveled health to 40, after I got to 40 I put it between strength and dex and used a refined gem, and despite not being familiar with the game or genre I beat many bosses on my first try, including gael (I heard a tip that said to remember to delay your rolls but other than that I didn't use a guide or anything)
I have never heard of Dark Souls 3 being described as clunky and I have never once thought to myself that it was clunky of all things that I have ever thought about it that is not even close
Dark souls 3 it's not easy, DS1 and DS2 have awful controls and clunky movments. DS1 actually is slower and feels like driving a tank (and it's annoying). To make Dark Souls 3 harder as previous titles, just install some weird mod that makes your controller worst and that you are.
I played through DS1 twice, had no will to play through DS3 (got to the Catacombs and said meh after my 5th attempt to get through). It's so linear, so much harder to feel mastery in, and never wowed me in any way. It seems like a huge upgrade in combat and multiplayer but otherwise the world of DS1 is so much more compelling and original.
Maybe I got a bit lucky but I beat Sister Friede on the first try, that made an already short DLC feel even shorter. I remember getting to the end of the corvian settlement and thinking ‘this is it?’ Kinda disappointing. I agree that Friede was the most stressful fight in the game and while I don’t think she’s a bad boss, she certainly isn’t a fun one. Ringed city is definitely better but still kinda disappointing, there’s two poison pools that make up most of the map, and the actual ringed city itself isn’t some impressive city scape like Leyndell, it’s just small chunks of it. The only redeeming qualities were the bosses, Demon in pain and Demon from below is easily one of my favorite duo bosses in the series, and Gael obviously is widely regarded as one of the best bosses in the entire lineup, possibly the best. I loved the Gael fight and it was a great way to cap off the series. That said I think there should’ve only been one DLC but they stretched it into 2. However I bought the game on discount and only paid 20 dollars or so for the game with DLC included, so I felt I got my money’s worth.
How cool would it be if FS created a mode optimized for SL 1 where they detuned all the enemy health bars to fit a character that isn’t allowed to level up? I’d love to take on a challenge like Midir but no shot am I sitting there and fighting Midir doing less than .2% of his health bar per hit.
The leveldesign of Dark Souls 1 is the best of the serie. The gameplay of Dark Souls 3 is way better and nervous and it's because Bloodborne was release before (Also some good ideas of Dark Souls 2). I have played Elden Ring for 6 hours and it seems that it take the exploration on the center of the experience with much faster and smooth gameplay. Really enjoyed it.
Dude you missed whole swathes of the game! Your analysis is pretty sound, but yeah, maybe you should do a update and do smouldering lake, the ancient king’s antechamber, the second roof area attached to the lift to the undead sniper and ‘nothing else’ and so on…. Also a lot of these comments read like bots, which is really odd (and not very kosher) though I get it, it’s now a very crowded genre: long retrospectives of these amazing games are becoming more and more common. Anyway, good luck with your channel mate. :)
Pretty nice video! I enjoyed it and watched it to completion. Though, a few points...
I find this to be more of a review, as you seemed to drift more to that subjective approach, than a full commentary/critique.
1. I don't think you can consider it full, or even a critique, if you only comment on the sections/levels that you don't dislike. The King's Antechamber, for example is a relevant section. You've played the game multiple times. To omit that section/footage for the reasons stated in the video was a disappointment.
2. Video is over 2 hours long, yet there is no (at least none that I remember) commentary on NPC side quests. You only mentioned the side bosses. Considering you mention that you don't play PvP, I would think that this portion of the game would be relevant to players like yourself. I mean, Holy knight Hodrick...
3. The core of you commentary seem to be rooted in combat mechanics and level design, referencing your SL1 playthrough a number of times. IMO, it would've been interesting to see a compare/contrast with DS1 or BB at different times.
All and all, a great video on my favorite souls game. Thank you for making it.
1. I do comment on the zones I hate. I simply didn't comment on the Antechamber since it's not an entire area, just a small section of the Smouldering Lake, and mostly because I actually had nothing at all to say about it. Although you are right that I probably should've had some footage rolling. I just thought it wouldn't be needed for a 30 second segment is all.
2. The NPC quests are something I'm guilty of skipping in this game, I'll admit to that one.
3. I don't own a PS4 and thus haven't played BB yet. I didn't compare with DS1 as it's not really one of my favorite games, and therefore haven't played in quite a while. Don't remember much of it. I also haven't gotten around to playing DS2 yet. I've saved the Sekiro comparisons for the Sekiro video I'm currently working on (Sekiro having longer areas and why I think it works better, and so on...)
Just so you know, I REALLY appreciate the criticism! Thanks a lot!
Also, "Full" is kind of a deceiving title now that I think about it, as I don't comment on stuff such as NPC quests, so I did change it.
@@WafeTv Indeed. Your video hits a number of notes that I find to be spot on, such as the speed and flow of the game. So please believe I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Your channel is relatively new and I believe that your heading in a good direction. Critiquing your video, I would rate it a 7/10. My only suggestions would be to pick a standard or baseline to critique from. For example, If you consider DS3 based on your interpretation of FromSoftware's philosophy and level development vs. how close it comes to fulfilling that is a better approach for critiques, especially long-form, IMO.
Also I find a scoring system, whatever you want that to be based on, helps with translating your thoughts objectively. Like I would love to hear how you would score each zone, how you came to that determination (i.e. "I feel like King's Antechamber didn't really add anything to the level, so that's a detractor for me.) and how the zone's individual scores impacted your score for DS3 overall.
All and all, I enjoyed your work and look forward to additional thoughts from you.
@@DMP89145 I've thought about the scoring system part, but honestly, I think it might do more harm than good. I'll think about it, but I find many people skip to the end in order to see the rating, including myself sometimes with youtubers like Fantano or Penguinz0's Moist Meter videos.
Also, this might be pretentious, but I feel that if someone can't imagine pretty closely what I'd rate something, then I've failed on my part. For example, it's pretty clear that I think Midir is a 10, Gael a lower end 10 and the Twin Demons 9. Also some people have a very skewed perception of ratings, as in - they think anything below an 8 is terrible. If anything, it can make things less clear.
When it comes to just games, I actually do have a big excel database where I rate games and other stuff mostly for myself; it's in my channel links. It takes like 10 seconds of my time after finishing a game and there are so many games or movies on there that I rate 8/10+, yet forget about in a month until I take a look at the list again. It definitely pays off if you like replaying stuff.
@@WafeTv Indeed. I see your point about the scoring and agree. It could end up being more of a detractor from what you're looking to accomplish.
Well I've subbed, so looking forward to seeing the Sekiro video.
Only 30 minutes in right now, but pretty good video so far.
iF you turn away from the giant lightning slam, it doesn't hurt you at all. You can literally turn away, it hits, and you can jump back and strike.
good video man!
Great video
flexin' hard on a Pontiff
Hey man, I know this is an older vid of yours. But I feel like you spend way too much time just summarizing the game without having anything meaningful to say about the design therein. Less explaining what happened and more critique and examples of what you thought were good or bad design would have gone a long way. As it is I just felt like I'm watching a recap with occasional opinions thrown in.
maria (note: maria refers to itself in third person) couldnt disagree more regarding aldrich, hes one of the few bosses in the game that it sometimes still struggles with
I don't know how many times I have played DS3, at least over 5, probably more. I never knew that there was a lever in the catacombs of carthus, I just thought the boss run was long. It also was reasonable, a few rats an agile carthus warrior and great curved sword carthus warrior then wolnier
45:52 that music pop had me jump out of my seat
Jesus, no idea how that happened. I watch all my videos now before exporting, so, not gonna happen again lol.
The only good part about archdragon peak is the dragon chasers ashes and Nameless King, everything else is either frustrating or disappointing. For such a grand setting with a great boss at the end the area is very small and not interesting or fun to explore
I was watching a very biased critique of ds2 and his biggest criticism of the game was the lock on issue, with the level design being 2nd. It’s interesting to see how lock on is also a topic for critique in ds3 also despite him praising the game to death.
Edit: also the topic of length being an issue for veterans is hilariously true. What’s crazy though is that although first playthroughs and second playthroughs go from 40 hours to less than 10 hours in ds3, elden ring is worse with it being 100+ hours in the first playthrough and around 20 hours in the second playthrough.
The next critique of the areas lacking diversity and being forgettable sometimes is also funny because the guy that critiqued ds2 had the same point but never brought it up when talking about ds3
The sadness and dispair 52:16
As far as the actual Dark Souls franchise goes, this one is my favorite
If we include all of these soulsborne games, I don't know if I would pick bloodborne or the demon Souls remake over it now at this point
I've yet to play elden ring
But as of now Dark Souls 3 at least definitively sits in my top three
And definitely at the top as far as Dark Souls 1 2 or 3 is concerned
To me Dark Souls 3 just felt like the formula perfected. I thought combat felt better, the animations are of course much better and it brings in some of the faster Pace aggressiveness of bloodborne
Only it's still dark souls so I have a huge choice of weapons to utilize, and big old Shields to hide behind just like I like to
The boss is all felt like they were on a scale they hadn't been at before, and I also didn't find any of them really boring, even something like deacons of the deep was a neat little idea that fit with the setting even if it was really easy
But I do not find this game too easy either, to this day the only one that I found that was really manageable was the first game. Every other from soft game since then has felt more difficult (although I'm only just playing demons Souls right now and so far I'm teaching its butt)
I thought if anything because these bosses move so much quicker with more fluid animation now, that many of them are harder than bosses you're going to fight in the original game where everything is a lot slower
I found the early game in Dark Souls 3 to be a lot more punishing as well, the initial nights you face in the opening area are a great challenge, and giant crabs don't mess around
There are of course many critiques, it's still really sad to see their system of looping things back around with shortcuts still doesn't translate to a more intricate and larger world with more options on where to go
But as far as each area of the game, none of them really feel too small and the shortcuts that they utilize to connect those back to bonfires are still very creative and well done
Bloodborne was kind of the same way so I didn't really mind
Invasions were never one of my favorite things about the series, PVP all together I'm just really not into
But invasions in Dark Souls 3 feel a little weird, I always had at least two people backing me up if not three to one invader who inevitably just gets clobbered by us
Despite my like of being invaded, I can see that this is now a one-sided affair
I'm actually never even beaten this game though, so how can it be my favorite?
Well from the first area onwards, the allure to explore and try and find everything in any given area just pulled me more than Dark Souls 1 or 2
That feeling of first playing Dark Souls 1 is still unmatched overall, but the first game had a lot of areas that I didn't really care for, and just wanted to get them over with.
Every part of Dark Souls 3 however, seemed really cool to keep exploring, and no matter how difficult it was I eventually became enamored with the different strategies it would take to clear them
I really didn't stop playing this game because of disliking it either, it's just by the time it came out I didn't have the kind of time to play video games anymore like I did when I played the first one. I take my time with these games too, I beat the first game after 90 hours, a lot of exploring but I still didn't find a few secret areas, and a hell of a lot of grinding. I would over level one tank of a knight character because that feeling of going back to a boss that was whooping my ass, and then me being able to just lay the smack down on him was so gratifying
I had the same strategy for this one
13:13 good to know its not only me who thinks that blues brothers is the dark souls of re watchable films
@ 30:28: you know you can go outside and climb a ladder up?
Lol I guess I missed it. There are a couple of places you can go with literally nothing so I assumed it was the same here.
I was about to say, that leads to Rosaria who let's you respec stats and rewards the obscuring ring for invasions. Probably the most useful NPC in the game.
Cathedral of the deep was one of the best areas and because it was challenging and actually entering the cathedral is a death run I expected to see a formidable foe at the end of it. Needless to say I was very disappointed when I saw that it wasn’t a badass boss like Artorias, or Pontiff Sulyvan, nope it was just a group of effing church goers and fatties guarding one glowing guy which is very easy to figure out that’s how you damage them but isn’t at all fun or engaging. They just dumped a group of regular enemies in an arena and called it a boss, it’s very lazy or at least seems that way. I want to be challenged by a boss who’s fun to engage with, not wade my way through fatties and destroy the glowing monk with ease. I beat them on my very first try, as I did with too many of the bosses in DS3, kinda disappointing, the good bosses mostly make up for it, but I can’t help but think it could’ve been elevated to greater heights with a more interesting boss.
Maybe I should try Midir with a Gunlance 😄
Agree with everything but i will not let you slander 1st phase gael it is genuinely a complex masterpiece and to me its a fight i look forward to equally as 2nd phase gael especially in sl1 where any hit is guaranteed death
The elevator leads to nothing? Sad face. Poor Rosaria
crystal sage sometimes does not do anything, sometimes she smacks you 5 times in melee while you get staggered by 50 soul spears. idk.
difficulty is so subkective espacially with midir and gael, some find midir easier others gael, i find midir much easier than gael
I wish It had more of the stuff from Dark Souls 2 in it and even from the original Dark Souls like instead of stripping things to a more basic simpler format they might have even added or at least kept it the same but I feel the same way I absolutely love Dark Souls 3 but at the same time I wish it wasn't as stripped down feeling
Beating Dancer early is pretty much the only sequence break that you can do to explore things other than the same linear path. In some ways I like it because it can control the difficulty scaling carefully and consistently going down a linear path, and the only way to sequence break is to beat a very challenging boss. On the other hand it would be great if it was a bit more interconnected or have a more compelling world design. It feels rather generic and there’s way too many gimmick fights but the bosses that are good are some of the best in the lineup. I think it’s a great game but the combat arts are all generic and it feels like a rehash of dark souls 1 with excessive fan service and lacks it’s own identity in a way. I also really dislike having equip load tied to its own independent stat, it’s way too many “wasted” stat points for your equip load to only go up by one. It didn’t expand on much they just did what they know works and repeated it but sped up the combat a bit.
Dark souls 1’s world design wasn’t perfect either though, because the final few stages were all around the same difficulty so you could end up overleveling and not find them as increasingly difficult. Plus after Anor Londo I didn’t really know where to go and had to wander around for awhile and backtrack to different areas which felt kind of unnatural
from 45:22 made me laugh uncontrollably... I imagine someone who hasn't played DS3 going "what combos? the dude is just getting his ass handed to him." and not realising that parrying like a god is something that you are not meant to do on your first playthrough of the game.
I was honestly surprised when I looked at your sub count, I expected it to be at like. 50-100k, yet you only have 400. You definitely deserve more considering the quality of your videos.
consider not allowing yourself to get cornered
Make an enemy analysis/review for dark souls 3 or bloodborne, I'll watch it 10k times to make it worth making for you.
I died on the abyss watchers like 15 times and two shot pontiff. Bosses are harder based off of who is fighting the boss not their attack list imo. My tutorial ended on the watchers. 🤷♂️
Adding a "hard mode" just means you're getting an easy mode. And easy mode does not belong in any souls games.
It's like the nature of Dark Souls itself, you can't have light without dark, life without death. By putting in a hard mode, then the other mode by default is the easy mode.
>He spent 200 hours with the game and never found Rosaria, the only covenant in the game that lets you respec.
Amazing. This is why I advocate people just use the damn wiki. You said you played this game 7 times?
Ds3 is my favourite of the souls games (demon's souls, dark souls 1,2,3), i can't play bloodborne, my favourite was always demon's souls but then DS3 came out and it is a mix between demon's souls and dark souls, and that's why i love it so much.
And no, sekiro is not a souls game, that game is more like a techu with open world, except tenchu is better.
This is a 2 hour long high quality video that probably took a lot of time to make and only has 2k views............