Dark Souls: A Return to Lordran

Time to Beat Again: 59 Hours

A dozen years ago my brother convinced me to play Dark Souls. He'd played Demon Souls on the PS3, but I never had a chance to. I recall my initial skepticism, that I'd enjoy the series. Twelve years later I can't shut up about how Dark Souls III is my favorite game in recent memory. As time marches relentlessly forward, I wanted to know, how does the Dark Souls series stand against modern games. With so many excellent games released each year it is difficult to return to old favorites. But I plan, over the next few years, to replay Dark Souls I, II, III, and Elden Ring. Two caveats. I never actually beat Dark Souls II, and I'm not including Sekiro. Even though the latter is a superb game, it isn't a Dark Souls game, while Elden Ring is.

In my initial playthrough of Dark Souls and onward, I've always used a Dexterity character with a katana, and the assistance of Miracles. The player doesn't carry over any elements from game to game, but I intend to play this sequence as an Intelligence character with Sorceries. 

On YouTube you can watch players who have spent thousands of hours playing the Dark Souls series. They're so good they can beat it without dying or even being hit. They play with mods that randomize enemies. They use strange weapon designs for the challenge. I'm nowhere near them in skill. I'm too interested in playing a vast variety of games to develop that talent. Still, I've beaten the series once, I must have acquired some skill.

The beginning of Dark Souls was easy. I assumed that after playing the series, I had developed a superior understanding of the mechanics. Later games were more complex, after all. If I could defeat Slave Knight Gael and the Elden Beast, this simpler game would fall before me. I beat the Asylum Demon, Taurus Demon, the Gargoyles, the Gaping Dragon, and Quelaag without dying. Even the Stray Demon and Capra Demon only killed me once. This couldn't last. Fighting Quelaag was as easy as squashing a spider, but traversing Blighttown was comparable to crossing the Dead Marshes. Initially I kept track of my deaths. After dying ten times descending through Blighttown I stopped. It strikes terror into even returning players. Dark Souls appears like a cake walk, until you're swarmed by Giant Mosquitoes, spitting blood, while you stumble in mud up to your knees.

This review intends to cover the transition between Dark Souls and Elden Ring. The original encompasses a smaller area. It is never an open world, but does include massive open areas, like the swamp at the bottom of Blighttown. On the other hand, I was surprised by the linearity of Dark Souls. Grand vistas obscure the fact that the player has only a narrow path to walk on, much like Alan Wake. That's not to say there aren't choices. There are many focal points offering different avenues. The initial Bonfire gives the player two choices. Travel up through the Undead Parish to ring one Bell of Awakening, or venture down through Blighttown to ring the other Bell of Awakening. Ring both and the gate to Sen's Fortress opens. The player has to claim the Lordvessel in Anor Londo. With this artifact, the player is free to adventure in four locations, each with a boss soul to claim. The Artorias of the Abyss expansion adds an optional area. Acquiring the four Lord's Souls opens up a final small area, containing the final boss.

Bonfires limit the player's ability to traverse Lordran. Bonfires are the original Sites of Grace. Players rest at Bonfires to recover Estus flask charges and health. Compared to later games, Dark Souls has a Bonfire deficit. It has forty-three, compared to seventy-seven in Dark Souls III, and over three-hundred Sites of Grace in Elden Ring. Admittedly, this is a scale issue. The later games are larger than Dark Souls. Even so, an Elden Ring player will feel the lack of Bonfires. They are never next to a boss. The closest Bonfire to each boss requires a combination of traversing difficult terrain and running past/fighting enemies. This means the player starts boss fights injured or with spells expended. It also takes time. The closest Bonfire to the Bed of Chaos is a minute and a half sprint, dodging enemies along the way. Of my ten deaths to the Bed of Chaos, I often died faster than the ninety seconds I spent running. I expended fifteen minutes mindlessly running to fight this boss. The knowledge that you'll have to run back to a boss can elevate the tension of the fight. Or it increases the frustration after the fifth death.

Another limitation is the lack of teleportation. Elden Ring players teleport freely from Site of Grace to any other Site of Grace from the moment they have two. Dark Souls limits teleportation to only nineteen of the forty-three bonfires. And the player can only teleport once they've acquired the Lordvessel. Most of the time, the lack of teleportation isn't an issue. If the player is on one path to a specific boss they are unlikely to abandon their quest. Because they can't! Because they don't have teleportation! The lack of teleportation is frustrating, but it adds to the size. The world feels larger because it must be traversed on foot. The dearth of teleportation encourages the player to look for shortcuts. I can't count the number of doors, gates, or elevators that said, “It's locked,” from one side. Once the player activates the switch, uses the key, opens the door from the opposite side, or kicks down a ladder, there's a nice shortcut (as long as you remember it exists). A related side note associated with doors. One of my video game design pet peeves: I hate when keys remain in the player's inventory after use. I'm confused because it clutters the inventory with a collection of used and unused keys, and I can't tell which are which.

The lack of teleportation means more footwork. Shortcuts make it easier, but Dark Souls has no map! Even when I remember a shortcut exists, I have to remember its location. The lack of map tests the player's memory. I spent an eternity trying to find my way back to the room where the player initially encounters Seath the Scaleless. Seath's home, The Duke's Archives is a labyrinth of floors and moving stairs. I needed to locate this room to defeat Big Hat Logan and take his equipment. Eventually I looked online for the information. Having already beaten Dark Souls (even if it was over a decade ago), I feel no shame in looking up the location of an item I want. The lack of a map also lacks a warning. Even from the beginning the player can venture into areas they should save for later. The player can enter the Catacombs from the initial Bonfire, but they can't beat it until after they acquire the Lordvessel. They'll fight difficult enemies, only to reach a dead end. Then, because of the lack of teleportation, they'll have to fight their way out. 

I needed Big Hat Logan's equipment, because I was playing as a sorcerer. I've never focused on spells. While sword fighting changed incrementally from game to game over the Dark Souls series, Magic looks like it has changed tremendously. Nearly all spells in Dark Souls are cast as a beam, bolt, or ray that flies towards the enemy. The starting spell is the Soul Arrow. There's also the Great Soul Arrow, Heavy Soul Arrow, and Great Heavy Soul Arrow. The Soul Spear and Crystal Soul Spear have a similar effect. Even the White Dragon Breath, Dark Orb, and Dark Bead don't differ much from this simple mechanic. Each varies in the damage inflicted, the speed of the beam, and the time to cast the spell, but they all fly toward the enemy to deal damage. To ensure a spell hits the player has to lock onto the target. A targeted spell flies true. Except for all the limitations (and don't even try a spell without locking on).

The lock on range in Dark Souls is limited. Abysmally short. If enemies back up a bit it breaks the lock. Dark Souls favors enemies, who can shoot accurately from incredible distances. The lock on range is poor, but even when they hit, some spells inflict zero damage. This happens in two circumstances. Sometimes the enemy retreats quickly, and though the lock on remains, the damage dissipates. Spells failing because of too much distance. Spells also fail against some massive enemies. During the battle with the Ceaseless Discharge (yes, real name), the player locks onto the body part analogous to a head. The Discharge attacks with its colossal arms, swinging them at the player like grotesque Greek pillars. If the Arrow crashes into an arm it does no damage, as if the arm is a shield. There are other examples of both range and size defeating spells. I don't think either result is intentional, but both are frustrating.