Dark Souls

[Thief]

I've been seriously considering getting into this series. Would you guys recommend that I start with Demon's Souls or skip ahead to Dark Souls?

[Segata Sanshiro Jr.]

I think Dark souls is slightly easier, but Demon's souls is a bit more guided, so it might be a good place to start. OL would likely give you a better idea tho.

[KiBa]

I love both, but Dark is, in my opinion, the far superior game in nearly every respect. If you play Demon's, in the first few seconds of Dark you will notice how much nicer everything is... the menus, the character creation, the atmosphere, the open world, etc. Basically, it boils down to whether you'd prefer to be an ethereal spirit or a rotting corpse after you die. But also, Dark has absolutely fantastic creatures and world, whereas Demon's is a bit claustrophobic with fewer "Wow!" moments. Analogy: Demon's is to Dark as Shenmue is to Shenmue 2. Naturally, therefore, (since this world is the place where the good must be destroyed) the doinks making Dark Souls 2 (the original mastermind has left the building, sadly) are taking a giant leap backwards by making the game linear, thereby murdering what was most awe-inspiring about Dark Souls.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm very proud of my Dark Souls character, not only statistically, but aesthetically, as I am a character creation perfectionist. Let's post pictures! I'll do so later.

Certainly, all that matters is unique beauty. Thus, I have the dark purple hair and eyes of a near-extinct race, combined, of course, with the face of a far eastern traveler... the most perfect combination!

[Henry Spencer]

Yeah, I'm with KiBa on this, I much prefer Dark Souls, then again I'm much further on in Dark Souls than I am with Demon's Souls.

I've been seriously considering getting into this series. Would you guys recommend that I start with Demon's Souls or skip ahead to Dark Souls?

Well, I bought and played Demon's Souls, sucked at it, gave up on it and left it in my backlog for ages. Then I bought Dark Souls and the game just...clicked with me right away, I much preferred the game design established there; broken up into areas with checkpoints (the checkpoints being the bonfires) as opposed to the big areas in Demon's Souls that you have to restart again and again. I think Demon's Souls is just more frustrating whereas with Dark Souls, it's a genuine challenge, feels less cheap somehow. Some of the death traps in Demon's Souls are just stupid and very much a troll from the designers. The combat also feels a bit more refined somehow and the leveling up system is better too (again, all just my opinion). So basically, Dark Souls is the best place to start, since that is what myself and Orange did.

[Thief]

Thanks guys, I think I'll go ahead and get Dark Souls. I suppose if I really love Dark Souls I can go and check out Demon's Souls some time down the road anyway.

[OL]

^^I think that's the right way to go. I think Dark is a little more beginner-friendly (not to say that it's easy at all) just because of how well-made it is, while Demon's is very much in the same "series" so to speak, but certainly wouldn't be as accessible for a first-timer.
Playing Dark Souls, then going back and playing Demon's is a good idea. Worked really well for me, and made me appreciate everything more than I likely would have otherwise.

Naturally, therefore, (since this world is the place where the good must be destroyed) the doinks making Dark Souls 2 (the original mastermind has left the building, sadly) are taking a giant leap backwards by making the game linear, thereby murdering what was most awe-inspiring about Dark Souls.

Are they?
I got the impression from everything I've read that they're keeping the setup just about the same.
I remember reading a question to the new director as to whether it was going to be open-world, and he replied "no," but his explanation entailed that it would be a dungeon crawler just like Dark Souls. I got the impression that he just didn't consider Dark Souls to be "open-world" (or, probably more accurately, "sandbox"), but rather a wide-open series of corridors (which it essentially is).
So I think it's likely still in good hands. This is From Software after all. I keep saying it, but they're very trustworthy when it comes to getting sequels "right". And the original director is still overseeing the project.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm very proud of my Dark Souls character, not only statistically, but aesthetically, as I am a character creation perfectionist. Let's post pictures! I'll do so later.

Good idea.
I think I'm more proud of how my Demon's Souls character looks though. Might record a short video.

[Tuffty]

Hope you enjoy Thief. I admit I'm actually a little jealous because you get to have that experience of playing the game for the first time. You can always come here for advice or help if you so wish!

Those of us who've played the game will agree that it's a wonderful game. But are there any parts of the game that had you frustrated or consider as outright bad? To me:

It's the Crystal Caves. Looks great obviously, but the invisible paths are just...ridiculous.

[OL]

I actually didn't mind the

invisible paths

at all. There's enough of a visual cue for you to get by them if you go slowly. And once you figure them out, you realize they're practically a straight line anyway.

Far more frustrating in my eyes was the

Tomb of Giants, or Cave of Giants, or whatever it was called. Not hard once you actually get the lantern, but before that? You can't see further than two feet in front of you! It's insane for an area that has so many bottomless pits and long falls. That place was the epitome of trial and error, and if you die... it's alllll the way back to the catacombs bonfire for you.

And in terms of Demon's Souls, the most frustrating part for me was the

Flamelurker boss battle. I may have just been under-leveled or something, but he was a toughie. The fact that he actually gets more aggressive as he takes more damage just made it retardedly difficult.

Oh, and here's my character from Demon's Souls. Hard to actually make someone good-looking in these games (the pre-sets are all ugly as sin), so I think I did a pretty good job.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VRDU-kKOqI[/youtube]

[Tuffty]

I bought the Artorias of the Abyss DLC. I like how even being able to access the DLC in-game is kept obscure and cryptic where it would normally be a menu option in other games! Only just entered the new area now and no joke, I've died in the first 30 secs. It's a real "oh hey I see you've put over 100 hrs in this game now, you think you're comfortable right? NOPE!" But I love it for that. Honestly, it's stuff like this that doesn't make me worry for the sequel. It shows that From Software has a commitment to really challenge players and to challenge them in such a way that it rewards as much as it infuriates.

[Tuffty]

On the actual Artorias fight now and....*sigh* I think I might need to summon somebody. The fight's a lot of fun, Artorias is a cool design and a cool fight. But it just takes so long and he can easily kill you in 2-3 hits if you aren't careful. And yet it's taking me 3 mins to even get a quarter of his life down! You need to be concentrating at all times or you're screwed. It's crazy.

[Tuffty]

Finally beat the DLC. Finally! Good lord, Artorias was hard, but Kalameet? Manus? Fuck those guys. Really enjoyed it though. Bring on Dark Souls II.

[Who Really Cares?]

12 minute gameplay vid of DS 2 coming today on IGN.

[Who Really Cares?]

The video

http://uk.ign.com/videos/2013/04/10/dar ... inute-demo

[Tuffty]

Huge sigh of relief anyone? Because that looks fucking awesome. I can't wait.

[Henry Spencer]

I always had faith in From Software, they're just incredibly consistent. The footage looked really amazing, still looks like an incredibly difficult game (one hit kills!) so excited now.

Miyazaki's new IP I am definitely interested in seeing, bet it's going to be great.