So with the release of Dark Souls 3 I decided to pick up the series to see if it was any good.
I started with Dark Souls a week ago, then played Dark Souls 3 this week.
Having played both for the first time so close together in such a short period of time, I think I can say the following with pretty decent certainty.
>DaS1
>Harder first half, easier second half.
>Far better level design on average, albeit a bit more unbalanced in terms of quality.
>NPC interactions are handled way better.
>Combat mechanics may be slower but are far more satisfying, and allow a wider range of playstyles.
DaS3
>Bosses are far better.
>Level design is worse, but stays fairly consistent in terms of quality. Levels felt way more maze like, even in open, outdoor areas.
>Shortcuts become so common that you never really have any points that you get frustrated by because you only have any parts once. This is good in the general sense, but it also makes the game feel far easier.
>Combat mechanics fucks over shields. Equip loads fuck over heavy armor by being a separate stat that scales like shit, and poise is pretty much non-existent. Basically the tanky, slow, and methodical playstyle was ruined for the rolling mechanic.
>Rolling turns out to be a lot of fun though.
>Bosses are better on average.
Anyway. That's my thoughts on the game.
more frequent shortcuts aren't a downside for me... forcing the player to run a long way through areas is just needless chore/difficulty... it's not fun
>That's my thoughts
ok
>>336095449
Yeah but in general it felt like there was no challenge. You could literally run past everything, open a shortcut, and then skip all the enemies after you die. Same with bonfires placed super frequently.
>>336095317
>poise is pretty much non-existent
Poise is literally turned off.
And since you didn't mention it, I'll be first to say that the pvp in DS3 is shit compared to DS1.
>>336095449
Having space between the bonfire and boss means that going human/enkindled/whatever to summon phantoms brings the risk of invaders.
>>336095317
DS1's flaws outweigh DS3's.
3 is better, but only by a hair.
>>336095715
Since dark souls 2 you can turn human whenever so it doesn't matter.
I feel like strength weapons are more shit than they should be. Stat scaling seems a little off, favoring faster weapons over slow ones. No poise makes some PvE a nightmare, but its doable because you're much faster than you were in the other games. Phase 2 on bosses is dope as fuck, except for dragonslayer armor. Because he is a leftover dark souls 2 boss, and his phase 2 is fucking stage hazards. Phase 1 on nameless king is dumb, and his phase 2 is easier. Yhorne feels like a waste of a boss, but was a REALLY cool demon souls throwback. All the waifus were eaten by Aldritch. Best ending is getting the dark party started.
>>336095317
Okay, I'm going to hijack the thread here so I don't have to create a thread to get a few replies and have it 404
I have a PS3, PS4 and PC, and I have not played a Souls game. I want to get into the series but I do not know which one to start with
What are the pros and cons of each Souls game and which one should I start with?
>>336095317
More shortcuts in DS 3 better for new players like me till I can git gud. I started DS before 3 and the rolling and attacks feel so delayed compared to 3. I would press the button to roll back and it would feel like it happened a second after I pressed it. Where in DS 3 it seems to happen almost instantly. It was hard for me to get used to in DS since it was so slow, but I think DS 3 is more forgiving towards new players. Just my opinion. Don't know about other stuff like level design, variety of weapons, PvP. Havent had too much time with the game or the series.
>>336095625
Haven't played much of DS 3 but some bonfires aren't placed so frequently. In some cases it took me a long time to find the next bonfire because I kept walking through all the areas except where I had to go next in the story. Could just be me though.
>>336095317
The poll doesn't lie
http://www.strawpoll.me/10097196/
>>336096159
Can't go wrong with Demon's Souls or Dark Souls Prepare To Die Edition
>>336095715
Dark souls 1 servers didn't work for the week I played.
I played Dark souls 3 on a pirated version because a friend of mine couldn't pay for the retail version. We used an online patch to play together and see messages.
>>336096159
I'd say DaS to Bloodborne to DaS 3 to DeS and then DaS 2 if you still want more.
DaS and BB are the most entertaining entries, DaS 3 is great but not as memorable, DeS has too much bullshit to be recommended before the others and DaS 2 is fine but totally missable.
>>336096018
I noticed that two handing was actually worse as well because the attacks take longer than single handing and the damage isn't worth it.
Same with heavy attacks. Makes me feel like strength was just nerfed to fuck in this game.
>>336096159
Start with dark souls. After that play demon souls, dark souls 2, dark souls 3 and bloodborne.
Demon souls has best atmosphere and level design, but its showing a little age. Playing this will let you know how to play without poise. Patrician choice in waifu. Seriously though, atleast play 1 and demon.
Dark souls is best souls game. Atmosphere, level design and combat are all on point. Starts being shitty after the Biggie Smalls boss fight, but still great. 1 DLC that is worth buying and comes with the pc version. Online is probably dead, so you missed the golden age.
Dark souls 2 is ok. They bought into the "PREPARE TO DIE: THIS GAME IS TOO HARD FOR CASUALS" hype and it shows. Be prepared for stats tied to iframes and gratuitous groups of enemies that are both frustrating and unsatisfying to beat. Also, you're slow as molasses compared to 1 and demon souls. Level design and atmosphere are shit for the most part. Better pvp than 1. Base game has shit story. DLC has nice stories, but you have to buy it.
Dark souls 3 is solid. Better level design, story and atmosphere than 2, but worse than 1 and demon souls. Faster than 1, with the frustrating groups of enemies from 2, with the no poise from demons. Best bosses out of the series, even if they're mostly dudes with big weapons. PVP and general balance is a mess right now, but every souls game was like this at release. If you want to jump right in, play this one because the community is actually here for it. Feels like a love letter for Dark souls/Demon souls fans. But not Dark souls 2.
>>336097109
>iframes
I see this a lot, but what does that mean?
>>336095449
On the other hand, how many times in DaS3 were you really satisfied after opening a shortcut and finding a familiar bonfire on the other side? Becaise i can remember maybe 2 such instances, while DaS1 had them on every step.
>>336097661
It means that you're invincible for a certain portion of your frames. Your roll (essentially a dodge) has some of these invincibility frames, and how many you get is USUALLY tied to how much gear you have equipped. In 1, there are three tiers. This is the bread and butter of the souls games, and being good vs. sucking depends on you mastering how to use these rolls. Most people stick to the lowest tier (under 25% of your max equipment load) because that roll is both fast and has the most frames. To show how badly 2 fucked this up. You start the game with a roll that is WORSE than the WORST roll in 1, in terms of iframes. You also don't start with a shield, which makes things both tedious and unfun.
>>336097661
Each roll gives you about 1/3rd of a second of complete immunity to damage, nevermind if something physically touches you or not.
>>336097661
invincibility frames
>invincibility
immunity from being damaged
>frames
frames, as in 30/60fps frames, as in the images rendered onto your screen
When you roll there is a number of invincibility frames that keep you from taking damage if you are struck during this period. I believe in DaS3 they no longer work by frames & are time-based so calling them iframes is a little outdated but it works.
>>336098094
Go for medium roll in DS3, the i-frames is the same as light roll. Fat roll is garbage unless you're really skilled.
>>336098731
Pretty much, you probably won't be able to fastroll with your gear of choice without a massive vit investment.
>>336095449
On my first playthrough I think I unlocked 9000 shortcuts and used 2
Am I the only one that hates how linear this game is?
Dark Souls 1 you had three options from Firelink, one of which led to another 2 options if you had the master key.
Dark Souls 2 you get 4 or 5 options right from Majula.
This game is just linear throughout with 4 optional areas and 1 non optional split that is an instant dead end.
>>336099527
It's linear yeah. The only major choices are the 3 optional areas.
The only major choice you get is to do the dancer right away. It is much more linear but it's still well designed and overall the area quality is on par with DaS most of the time and much better than 2.
2 splitting off so early had the negative effect that every area for the 4 lord souls felt really disjointed and easy. They had to keep them level to not punish players for choosing them, yet the player would be getting stronger which means the last one would inevitably feel easy as shit.
>>336099878
>The only major choice you get is to do the dancer right away
That's more of a secret than a legitimate branching path.
>>336099527
Mate, are you dissin' DaS3 mate, cuz I'll have you know it's strictly following the series tradition, & I'll prove it to you:
>DaS1 has some things done great & some issues otherwise
>DaS2 loses some of what made DaS1 great & fails to address the issues it had
>DaS3 loses some more of what made anything about the previous two installments great, & fails to address the issues it had
>????
>PROOFIT
>>336099921
Well, I would count it as a branching path as it opens up 3 end game areas after fighting 2 bosses.
It might be hard to figure out, but it is certainly an option.
>>336096018
>Barkley
Nigga...
Bloodborne(cuz it was fresh AF and fast gameplay)>DaS>DeS>DaS3 marginally>DaS2
>inb4 pckuks
>inb4 people try to dispute these facts even though metacritic is all the proof I need
>inb4 paid reviews
>inb4 anon can't inb4
