Dark Souls Remastered

[Barry Admin]

Finally got this in the sale, been wanting it since it came out and couldn't resist any longer.  Here was me though: Oh, it's shit and I hate it and wasted money. 

I got my bum kicked solidly and was amazed at how out of practice I was.  I found the map intensely claustrophobic, with so many of the walls and rooms being tight and uncomfortable to navigate, especially round Undead Burg and those kinds of areas.  You know the spiral staircase going down from Firelink Shrine?  Yeah, that's the kind of thing I mean, although it's probably deliberately tight in order to load assests for the next part. 

Anyway, I guess this is how I felt when I first got Dark Souls all those years ago.  It's hard to remember now, but I know I was initially quite unimpressed, and I don't think I really got into the game until my second or third attempt, months later.

Sure enough, I'm fucking loving it all over again. I haven't got back into parrying yet, but am back to loving the combat system.  I no longer feel like the game looks kind of dated... rather I find myself thunderously impressed by just what it managed to achieve.  I love how you can see other parts of the map, it's such an incredibly cohesive and well designed world.  The shortcuts are brilliantly done, and the way so much of the game links back to Firelink Shrine is genius.  You don't regret the initial lack of a teleport, because there's so much to explore, and I'm constantly battling to try and remember how to get to certain places. 
 
I'm trying to just enjoy the game anew and not look up too much shit online.  I already missed the NPC invasion in the Depths, but meh, I might as well take advantage of my shite memory and just go with it, because the sense of exploration and trepidation is still unparalleled. Just have to lean into the fuckups I am making, such as going to the Depths without any purging stones; not having the ring for the Blighttown swamp; having to restart after Capra Demon because I realised I was playing another fucking dex character.  Going strength this time so I can finally fuck about with Great Club and shit like that.   

Anyway yeah, stunning game.  Still haven't finished the third one, but the first two have kept me interested for far longer than most RPG's manage.  Kind of busting to dig out the Scholar of the First Sin edition of DS2 now, as I love it soooooo much.

[Pink Gregory]

I know Dark Souls is this big, flexible game with loads of options, but since doing my one complete playthrough with two handed katana and basically nothing else - that one heavy attack with the blade draw, very nice - I'm not sure I have much desire to revisit it.

Would play it on Switch for short periods I guess. 

[Dickie_Anders]

The first Dark Souls is a magical game. It's the world that does it for me, how you make your way through it and it interconnects. How horribly bleak it all is. Even the bits that look nice and clean like Anor Londo have an abandoned creepiness to them. And the secret area that gives you a perspective on just what the world is... what a fucking game

Got the third one for Christmas, gonna give it a play in a bit (never played it before). Got to mentally prepare myself for these though because I'm absolutely terrible at games, and the depressing as fuck atmosphere can get to you after a bit

[Pink Gregory]

Did anyone else try to go down into the Tomb of the Giants rather than to the Undead Burg first?

Felt really, really dumb when I found the right path.

[Barry Admin]

I know Dark Souls is this big, flexible game with loads of options, but since doing my one complete playthrough with two handed katana and basically nothing else - that one heavy attack with the blade draw, very nice - I'm not sure I have much desire to revisit it.

I started to do an SL1 run when it became backwards compatible on Xbox, but ended up drifting off and forgetting about it. 

It is surprising just how much mileage you can get out of DS, and trying out different weapons and builds is definitely a big part of that.  I'm on a club +5 at the minute, but as I say, I don't think I've ever used greatswords and the like, so I really want to get some of that going.  Never really bothered with my NG+ eiher, as I like to just start all over again when I do get back into it. 

There's so much of the game you can miss just by not reading item descriptions and things like that, so I'm just savouring it, rather than trying to go for some kind of perfect, 100% items playthrough. However, after initially scoffing at all the people who cry about Blighttown (partly cause of the old frame rate issues, I'm sure), I did end up getting lost for hours at the first bonfire last night.  I think it was actually Sen's Fortress that I found far more annoying on my first playthrough, though, and I suspect I even stopped playing the game for months cause of it :-) I don't get angry and controller-smashy at all at having to restart sections a lot of times in gamres, just bored.

I beat DS and the DLC just a couple of years ago I think, but have barely any memory of how to even get back to the DLC areas. 

[The Guppy]

Did anyone else try to go down into the Tomb of the Giants rather than to the Undead Burg first?

Felt really, really dumb when I found the right path.

That's pretty common, yeah. I don't think it's dumb. In most games it'd be obvious you'd gone wrong because the enemies are too hard, but Dark Souls has a reputation as a hard game for hard bastards who love being murdered, so a lot of players think the struggle is just how it is.

I only knew to go to the Burg because I'd watched someone else play.

[bgmnts]

Is the remaster worth it? I think it's like 17 quid on xbone but I have the 360 version already.

[The Guppy]

The frame rate and resolution are better, but the game is the same.

[Crenners]

Is the remaster worth it? I think it's like 17 quid on xbone but I have the 360 version already.

The framerate is locked 60fps compared to 30 at best on 360, which grinds to the teens in certain areas. Some other QoL improvements, as well. The original game no longer needs to exist.

[bgmnts]

The frame rate and resolution are better, but the game is the same.

Hmm, one of the rare instances where I may find it necessary then. That area that's underground is borderline unplayable at times.

[Barry Admin]

Been busy AF all day catching up on my CaB emails and stuff, so only getting to play for a bit now. Eeeh, I'm in bad shape. My club is at risk of breaking, so I'll have to swap out as I didn't get the repair thing.

So I think my best bet is to get the firekeeper soul and make it back to Firelink, and get all the anti poison/toxin shit I need. I used club on my abandoned SL1 run, so gonna switch that up now anyway, get some upgrades, then come back for the boss.

Could you always see that far ahead in upper Blighttown? That really surprised me last night, although perhaps that's why it was so laggy back in the day.

[Kelvin]

Funnily enough, I'm also mid way through a fresh run on DS1 Remastered, my first in several years. I started before Xmas though, so it sounds like I'm a bit further than you, Barry. I just finished Anor Londo after days of being stuck at Ornstein and Smough. 

I'm trying to just enjoy the game anew and not look up too much shit online.  I already missed the NPC invasion in the Depths, but meh, I might as well take advantage of my shite memory and just go with it, because the sense of exploration and trepidation is still unparalleled. Just have to lean into the fuckups I am making, such as going to the Depths without any purging stones; not having the ring for the Blighttown swamp; having to restart after Capra Demon because I realised I was playing another fucking dex character.  Going strength this time so I can finally fuck about with Great Club and shit like that.

I'm doing the same, but it led to a bit of a disaster for me at Blighttown, as I remembered the secret wall that leads to

Spoiler alert

Ash Lake

[close]

but had completely forgotten that the route there is peppered with Basilisks. So I did the worst thing I could do, got cursed, died, but decided to push through to the end, and reach

Spoiler alert

Ash Lake.

[close]

Only to arrive, find I was desperately underpowered for anything there, unable to survive a single hit due to the curse, unable to warp out, trapped at the bottom of the tree back to Blighttown, and completely unable to find the ladder back out. Even the slightest tap while cursed meant I would die. 

I almost gave up, considered starting a thread on here asking for suggestions, considered starting a new game (but had lost my enthusiasm to do that), and in the end had to look up online where the fucking ladder was to get out. All very embarrassing.

But I did eventually get out, and back up to Blighttown.

At which point I realised I still had to get out of Blighttown to buy the purging stone.   

[Barry Admin]

Oh shit Kelvin X-D thankfully the trip back from Blighttown is not too rough at all, I got that done last night but..

Spoiler alert

Lautrec had killed Anastacia anyway

[close]

I saw mixed reports there that suggested it didn't happen unless the second bell was rung.

I did end up watching too many playthrough videos and reading too much the other night. Similarly to you, I eventually remembered that I'm supposed to follow the torches, but I just couldn't fucking find that ladder after the first bonfire in Blighttown, walked past it loads of times!

I despise any kind of cheating usually, but RPG's really torment my perfectionist nature, and I also know I'm too hyper to play through most games fully even once, so the chance of coming back and doing stuff right a second time is very slim. Any kind of sort of multiple choice game is hell for man who takes half an hour to pick a Chinese meal.

Gonna stay away from the guides as much as possible, as I said,and just wander about and have fun. Try out a bunch of different weapons and see which meaty chopper I'm gonna commit to.

[Inspector Norse]

Did anyone else try to go down into the Tomb of the Giants rather than to the Undead Burg first?

Felt really, really dumb when I found the right path.

Is that the path with the skeletons on it? I definitely gave up after getting stuck there on my first ever try because I thought oh if it's this hard I'm not going to enjoy it.

Started playing DS3 recently, found it probably the easiest of the bunch to begin with, but there seems to have been a bit of a difficulty spike at Cathedral of the Deep.

I despise any kind of cheating usually, but RPG's really torment my perfectionist nature, and I also know I'm too hyper to play through most games fully even once, so the chance of coming back and doing stuff right a second time is very slim. Any kind of sort of multiple choice game is hell for man who takes half an hour to pick a Chinese meal.

Gonna stay away from the guides as much as possible, as I said,and just wander about and have fun. Try out a bunch of different weapons and see which meaty chopper I'm gonna commit to.

I've used the guides a fair bit because there's only so much time I have to do these things and sometimes I'd rather just look something up than waste hours and hours wandering aimlessly because I don't have some important item that is dropped by one specific enemy who I never even saw because I didn't go down the right path a dozen levels back.

Plus there's some shit in there that I don't know how the hell anyone finds it or figures it out without the guides, though reading all the messages people have left helps of course.

Some stuff does still frustrate me about the format: one small mistake early on, and the whole game is changed. For example now on DS3, the Michelin Man knight guy got knocked off a cliff by a demon when he was helping me fight him near the tower with the giant who throws stuff at you. I've read that that guy has a fairly long questline in the game so it's a shame if he's gone, but I'm not the type to start over after sinking a dozen hours into it already.

[Barry Admin]

Yeah I totally understand what you mean. I will say that during this playthrough I'm finding myself impressed at how much help Dark Souls does actually offer to the player. For instance, Andre is telling me that if I get my shit kicked in during the Catacombs that I should go and get divine weapons, and then points out where to go. There's a ton of information which - as I mentioned above - most people tend to miss just by not reading item descriptions. It's hard to carry so much information with you during such a huge game, I'm back to taking notes now just so I remember what I've given to Snuggly etc. And it really pays off to talk to NPC's a lot.

Anyway, still loving it, got the target shield now so getting my parry on again, which feels awesome.

I love the sound design too, with all the weird noises resulting from mobs shuffling about nearby and such. Really enjoy hearing people ring the bells too - we all talk a lot about the interconnectedness of the map, but the implementation of online features is absolutely fucking inspired.

"Try holding with both hands" at the bottom of a ladder... Laughed out loud :-D also saw a really inspired "fatty" in the Depths, where it looks like you can go round a corner near the boss fight, but a pillar inexplicably blocks you. Chuckled at a bloodstain showing a guy backstepping off Snuggly's nest... Then accidentally did the exact same fucking thing myself ten minutes later.

Spent about an hour and a half deciding on my weapon, think I'll go Dragon King Greataxe or maybe Demon's Great Hammer. Jesus Christ I still can't decide.

Decided I'd probably used a lot of Elite Knight stuff before tho, so upgraded Balder armour.

Oh and I had Gravebro stuff happening again; invaded them for my first PVP encounter since I got this remaster. Was doing alright but ended up getting backstabbed from the front. I'm slowly starting to remember about poise and all that shit.

[Kelvin]

I've used the guides a fair bit because there's only so much time I have to do these things and sometimes I'd rather just look something up than waste hours and hours wandering aimlessly because I don't have some important item that is dropped by one specific enemy who I never even saw because I didn't go down the right path a dozen levels back.

Plus there's some shit in there that I don't know how the hell anyone finds it or figures it out without the guides, though reading all the messages people have left helps of course.

I wouldn't feel too guilty about using guides, tbh. The game is clearly designed to have lots of secrets that people share with each other, via glowing messages, via bloodstains, on message boards, or in person. If they wanted people to find the secret walls, secret areas and secret bosses entirely by themselves, they wouldn't have designed in-game mechanics for people to share hints with each other. So I won't take any shit from Dark Soul snobs who suggest you have to find the obscure secrets yourself, or on a subsequent playthrough. It's clearly designed to feel a bit like the obtuse games we played as children and shared tips and secrets about with friends; "Did you find the fairy fountain in Ganon's Tower? You didn't! Well, did you find the giant bomb that follows you...?"

Frankly, the game is incredibly obtuse at times, and in my first playthrough, a couple of years ago, I had to get some pretty basic tips about kindling etc, from the thread on here, from Dark Soul's fansites, and from occasional youtube videos. It's an absolutely brilliant game, of course, and frequently very intuitive, but if you want a relatively comprehensive experience on your first run, you'll need to look up a few things here and there.

That's actually one of the reason I'm playing it through again at the moment. For my original playthrough, I used pyromancy a lot up until around Blighttown, so I wanted to play it through again from scratch, with a different build, but with a better understanding of the fundamentals.

Some stuff does still frustrate me about the format: one small mistake early on, and the whole game is changed. For example now on DS3, the Michelin Man knight guy got knocked off a cliff by a demon when he was helping me fight him near the tower with the giant who throws stuff at you. I've read that that guy has a fairly long questline in the game so it's a shame if he's gone, but I'm not the type to start over after sinking a dozen hours into it already.

I wouldn't worry about that. I managed to complete his full questline in new game+ mode, a few years ago. But as Crenners pointed out at the time, him dying in combat earlier on is probably a "better" ending for the character.

[Barry Admin]

Fog wall ahead.

[Kelvin]

I'm stupidly over-powered for this part of the game, which is a bit unfortunate. Basically, as a result of me getting stuck at Ornstein and Smough while staying with my parents over Christmas*, I grinded for hours while they watched stuff like Jonathan Ross and Call The Midwife. The end result being that I got really, really over-levelled, and now I'm killing enemies in one or two hits. I killed Gravelord Nito in one try last night, although it was very satisfying walloping the hydra that mullered me at Ash Lake a week or two ago. 


*I was playing it handheld on my Switch.

[DenzilHolles]

I've done that a lot in all Soulsborne games. If I'm ever stuck, which is frequently as my gaming skills are pretty mediocre generally, I'd spend a rather blissful few hours pottering around the worlds twatting things whilst catching up with podcasts until I've levelled up a bit. I try not to go too high as yeah you can get too overpowered. Probably spent some of my happiest gaming hours ever doing that actually. Most other games i find it a bit of a chore.

[Barry Admin]

I'm just suffering at Sen's all over again. I forgot that a perilous amount of traps and shit is really really bad when you're an uncoordinated, easily distracted dumbass.

Left Ceaseless Discharge for later.

Wanna go back and finish Stray Demon, he just pissed me off too much the other night. I'm back stripping off and two handing at times, really, really loving it, and wanting to take in more of the lore this time round.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

Left Ceaseless Discharge for later.

A course of antibiotics should clear it up.

[The Guppy]

For years I've seen people saying you can cheese Ceaseless Discharge by exploiting a glitch. And it does feel that way when you do it. I always felt kinda dirty. But it's actually pretty cool and makes sense, it's just impossible to see with the in-game camera.

[Barry Admin]

Anor Londo looks beautiful!

Smashed the Iron Golem on my second go, what a pussy.

Was on and off the past few days and haven't had much time to play. Got stuck in Sen's for ages, you know why?

contains immense stupidity

I couldn't fucking see the doorway in the ball control room! Walked past it maybe half a dozen times, ooh where do I go now.

[close]

So biggest problem for me in Blighttown: a ladder
Biggest problem for me in Sen's: a fucking doorway

[Barry Admin]

Oh yeah, and I got a big fucking egg on my head that's got all mad and bloaty since I beat the Iron Golem. I can't remember anything about this so I'm just going with it. Feel like I want to go back and talk to Quelaag's sister again maybe.

Getting to the top of Sen's Fortress really did feel magical - just looking out and seeing all the scenery, and thinking of all the weird places I'd been to, in order to get there.

Edit: just wanna say also that it's crazy when you get to Anor Londo. All the big fatty's just standing around, and you're not sure if they're gonna go for you or not. It's a really refreshing change of pace that you can just walk around and explore the new place and get to the bonfire - really let's you focus on how awesome it looks, and gives the whole place a really creepy fucking vibe.

[Kelvin]

Oh yeah, and I got a big fucking egg on my head that's got all mad and bloaty since I beat the Iron Golem. I can't remember anything about this so I'm just going with it. Feel like I want to go back and talk to Quelaag's sister again maybe.

Yeah, reckon you've been infected by one of the egg guys near Quelaag's Domain. I think her sister's attendant can remove it, if you go back to him.

Getting to the top of Sen's Fortress really did feel magical - just looking out and seeing all the scenery, and thinking of all the weird places I'd been to, in order to get there.

Edit: just wanna say also that it's crazy when you get to Anor Londo. All the big fatty's just standing around, and you're not sure if they're gonna go for you or not. It's a really refreshing change of pace that you can just walk around and explore the new place and get to the bonfire - really let's you focus on how awesome it looks, and gives the whole place a really creepy fucking vibe.

Totally agree. I'm sure this isn't an original take, but Anor Londo really is the game's peak, in my opinion. It's such a cool environment to explore, and that initial reveal, as the gargoyles swoop you over the wall and the music kicks in, is easily the coolest moment in the game. Good luck with those sodding archers.  :)   


I'm right at the end now, just got to finish Lost Izaleth, then off to plunge the world into eternal darkness.

I've also done the DLC areas again, but was disappointed, as I didn't think I was going to be able to beat the optional boss, Kalameet the Dragon - his flame attack just hits so hard, and one of his dash attacks can pretty much one shot me at 40+ vitality. I know I beat him on my original run a few years ago, but I'm fairly sure I used a summon. This time, I was convinced my slow, heavy hitting build was going to make beating him much harder, and I just couldn't seem to close the deal. In the end I gave up, and headed off to finish the game.

Anyway, this morning I woke up, and decided to give him another try. Went back, and after 3-4 more rounds, I managed to knock seven shades of shit out of him without much fuss at all. Just have to take your time and give him lots of space. So yeah, dead pleased that I managed that without any summons or magic, and reckon I'll finally be taking down Gwyn tmw.   

[Kelvin]

Oh god, just remembered I never fought or beat the four kings, despite getting all the way to their fog-gate. I realised I needed to beat Sif first and never went back.

[Barry Admin]

Totally agree. I'm sure this isn't an original take, but Anor Londo really is the game's peak, in my opinion. It's such a cool environment to explore, and that initial reveal, as the gargoyles swoop you over the wall and the music kicks in, is easily the coolest moment in the game. Good luck with those sodding archers.  :)   

I think you might be right, I can't wait to see the big dude again and finally get my weapons sorted. The environment does look stunning in the remaster. Love the casual firekeeper too.

Archers is the exact bit I'm at :-) I keep saying "ohhh god, I forgot about these cunts" when I see certain enemies, but certainly remembered they were coming.

Are you gonna go and murder all the NPCs and go on to NG+? I'm kind of busting to replay DS 2 now - there are so many locations I want to revist, but I know I spent an absurd amount of time on that game when I got the Scholar of the First Sin edition.

[Kelvin]

Are you gonna go and murder all the NPCs and go on to NG+?

Oh, is that a common thing? That's interesting, as I've just started doing exactly that, but not to level up - just because I'm roleplaying an evil cunt this time, so that I can justify plunging the world into darkness at the end. Half an hour ago I killed Quelaag sister, just to spite her little butler for threatening me. Poor guy went absolutely nuts.

I find I have to do a bit of (very basic) roleplaying to give my character motivation in this game. Obviously the series is so great at implying and teasing out lore, but the downside of the "story" being pushed back so far is that, unless you inject some motivation of your own, there's really no reason beyond "fate" for your character to do any of the stuff they're doing. So on my original playthrough, when I wanted to reignite the flame, I decided his backstory was a girl he loved back home, before he turned undead. Very cliched and basic, but enough to give my character a reason to actually risk this stuff to light the flame, and it added a bit to him sacrificing himself at the end.

This time I'm just playing a manipulative cunt who wants to kill all the gods and take it all for himself. Again, very simple stuff, but it explains why I'm helping characters with their sidequests up to a point, then literally stabbing them in the back at the end. Gonna return to Anor Londo to kill Gwyndolyn (who I never fought in my original run, as it seemed out of character), just before I stick a sword up his dad. 

As for NG+, I won't play that now, as I beat it once before after my original run, and I have several other games I want to get to after buying them in the Christmas sales. I'm sure I will come back to do it, though - I really want to do a high dexterity run, with a fast, stabby character instead of the lumbering tank I have now.   

I'm kind of busting to replay DS 2 now - there are so many locations I want to revist, but I know I spent an absurd amount of time on that game when I got the Scholar of the First Sin edition.

I'm playing DS on Switch, it's an amazingly good port, maybe one of the best I've played on the console. But sadly the other games aren't available on that, so I've still not played DS2 or DS3. It was actually watching Dunkey stream DS3 that got me to back playing DS1 again, though. If you like watching streams, that Dunkey one is fantastic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJiE2up6h-A

I am considering getting Elden Ring on PC, though. I bought a decent gaming PC a couple of years ago, then literally never used it to play a single game. Seriously think Elden Ring might be the one.

[Crenners]

I'd defo suggest trying DS2 Scholar on your PC. Wonderful game, sprawling patchwork world and singular atmosphere. In some ways, I prefer it to DS1.

DS3 is fine but it's much more of an iterative sequel, plays well but feels less inspired and despite playing through half a dozen builds, I have very few fond memories. If I think of DS2, I feel so many different moods.

[Dickie_Anders]

I've been playing Dark Souls 3. I was unsure at first but now I like it quite a bit. The way the areas are designed seem quite different from previous games. They're more open, so you can roam about them freely and sort of puzzle them out yourself, instead of the more linear corridor-like design of previous games. It's cool

I've just got past this bit where you go through a graveyard full of zombies (easy) then have to go along castle roofs and balconies (horrible). It's a gauntlet of getting ganged up on by annoying little fuckers in executioner hoods, suicide bomber cunts throwing themselves at you, and absolute arsehole assassin wraith characters. You finally open this castle door scared as fuck, desperate to find the next bonfire, and in true Dark Souls style you open a few doors and find yourself opening a shortcut back to the bonfire you were last at. Love it

I feel like I might have gone to this place a bit too early though. I went back to this big open pond area with giant crabs in it and found another path I didn't go to before, leading to a new swamp area. Which is what I mean by the way the areas are designed - it feels much more expansive than before, so much so that things like that are easily missed. I have a feeling this will act as a good precursor to their new game, which looks like it's the next evolutionary step in that direction