The Evolution of Dark Souls Level Design (and Bloodborne!)

[@blaccmajicc]

In DS1 when I finally made it to the dragon on the bridge and kicked that ladder down to the bonfire my jaw literally dropped. Best level design ever!

[@TheVertical92]

Amen...

[@MetalliBucket]

Had the same moment! So cool

[@CDB522]

I got to the point where I constantly tried running across after ringing the first bell

[@kuwakaney2443]

It was a unique level design but I wouldn’t call it the best

[@WafleEnterprises]

KuwakaNey What would you call the best then? That alone is super rare to see in games, is having to rise/drop through many enemies and possibly bosses, only to turn a corner and open up a way back to the beginning, allowing you to explore previous areas but with better stats and gear. And to mesh between the beginning of a spot and the end easily

[@PlagueOfGripes]

I think you got sidetracked from level design into "I'm super gay for Bloodborne" for a long while there.

[@ElwoodPlays]

+PlagueOfGripes why do you think Bloodborne is male?

[@skaninja21]

+PlagueOfGripes You've got a heart of gold. Don't let them take it from you.

[@huwsinden7934]

+PlagueOfGripes In the end, aren't we all gay for Bloodborne?

[@QuestionmarkTimes2]

+PlagueOfGripes UPLOAD SOMETHING PLEASE

[@GBDupree]

+PlagueOfGripes You just dislike it for being too "slice of life", I mean you already have a farm of reverse mermaids and Eldritch horrors, why would Bloodborne be interesting to you?

[@rosurobosu8546]

dark souls 3 level design: this door can't be opened from this side

[@Raymando]

That's there in the first game too, in a lot of places.

[@love_amiguel4129]

that's more in ds1

[@thetrashman3431]

@PS1 Hagrid most doors that say "doesn't open form this side" have a lock bar or something going across it on the other side

[@deivymaybe7554]

PS1 Hagrid gameplay

[@mstwntd69]

Sure you're not talking about bloodborne?

[@GldnClaw]

Big fan of the polearm-and-shield combo eh? I'm a greatsword-and-naked guy myself.

[@mrwindupbird101]

I went for dual wielding a polearm and naked route.

[@christiaanboshoff5281]

It was pure fists and naked for me. How my gf likes it eh

[@CidGuerreiro1234]

Those warriors from Carthus have curved swords. Curved. Swords.

[@yamatocannon1]

As god intended

[@ekajgaint5663]

Dark Souls 1 i used the Lightning halberd, best weapon in the game imo. Dark Souls 3 I use raw Astora sword though

[@IronPineapple]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you like to use halberds For real though, really great thoughts especially in regards vertical vs horizontal level designs.

[@donatboy]

+Iron Pineapple Why are you everywhere?

[@HyperlordB]

+Iron Pineapple DS1 Halberd op.

[@fabulousknight1960]

+Iron Pineapple I, too, was glad to see that Bunnyhop acknowledges the OBJECTIVELY SUPERIOR weapon.

[@misterfish36]

You're going to love me and fucking like it

[@DIEGhostfish]

+Iron Pineapple My one disagreement with him so far is the Ballista, that thing is basically a puzzle you can use to trivialize other fights and to unlock at least one item. Oh and he didn't think to try the Dagger step. (And if you're going BACK to the swamp after getting the Milk Ring that works too)

[@BinaryReader]

Those loot crate intros haven't aged well.

[@matheusscabora9359]

Not from the USA, why exactly you say that?

[@KevinoftheCosmos]

Came here to say this

[@WoodlandDrake]

I was just about to say I haven't seen a Loot Crate ad in forever!

[@brightshadow9480]

Future commenters: press F for Loot Crate. (Don't ask why, it was a thing back in the late twenty-teens, ok?!)

[@outfield243]

Bankruptcy

[@hotwheelsdeepstate]

02:06 Dark Souls 1 08:36 Dark Souls 2 14:05 Dark Souls 2 DLC 15:15 Bloodborne 22:50 Dark Souls 3

[@DaveControlLive]

Fantastic video! I always felt the level and world design were what truly set these games apart (as well done as the combat mechanics are). Great to see a dedicated video on this!

[@omensoffate]

+Wicked Rob kiln is the end of the game

[@DaveControlLive]

+Wicked Rob Yes, but not until around 20 minutes into the video. Nothing excessively spoiler that I noticed

[@kyokyoniizukyo7171]

+DaveControl I know! its almost strange that it changed so much....

[@CosmicApe94]

hey buddy!

[@romeroamalfi8734]

Daveyyyy !!!!!

[@thesimsdreamer]

24:14 What? In DS1, the mosquitoes don't drop purple moss (the poison antidote), nor blooming moss (the toxin antidote). The Blowdart Snipers in Blightown, and the Demonic Foliage in Darkroot are the only enemies that drop either of these moss clumps. Good video otherwise, though.

[@andrewmarshall3408]

Sims Dreamer this could be a difference between base game and prepare to die edition. for some reason between standard and dlc bundled versions of the game they like to rebalance some otem placements and enemy mobs (just for an example) in ds2 base game, the dull ember is inside the iron keep, in scholar of the first sin (basically ultimate edition) it's in the lost bastille about 5 min before the smith you need to give it to

[@drogane9608]

Andrew Marshall I thought the only reason dark souls prepare to die edition is called that is because it was to celebrate the pc release which came free with the dlc

[@andrewmarshall3408]

Nah, it released on console as a bundle too :)

[@sharebear421]

Andrew Marshall I can't find any copies i don't think they released that bundle on console, just the separate dlc

[@InazumaKick95]

sharebear421 It was released on consoles. I know because it's the version I have on PS3. EDIT: After a google search I've found out that the Prepare to Die Edition for PS3/Xbox 360 was not released on NA only Europe and I guess Japan.

[@WestPictures]

A 30 minute Bunnyhop video? On level design? On DARK SOULS level design? This is a beautiful day

[@Daniel_C_Griffin]

uber late reply. That ballista in the smouldering lake. Why not have a giant control it, you kill the giant for a reward (2 chunks, maybe?) and then allow you to use the ballista to kill the lightning wurm and maybe break open a few extra areas which then leads to the Demon King boss fight. Would make the whole ordeal a bit more worthwhile, no?

[@sonytekkno]

Same as the Cannon in Forbidden Woods in Bloodborne. Enemy uses it? Thing has sniper precision. You use it? Falls down after 3m lul...

[@asparagusmelontoast]

You do use the tower to kill the worm, you just run behind it and let the tower takes shots at while you enjoy the free kill

[@ecchi4196]

Very late reply, but I do agree. It would also make more sense if it actually had a living giant operating it. Maybe even have one of those white trees in Smouldering Lake to give them a reason to shoot at things around it in the first place. I would've also liked if they had taken the time to give Lost Izalith its justice in DS3. What made the area bearable for me in DS1 was the lore surrounding it. As far as the DS3 version goes, you can totally skip over that. Maybe having had the Old Demon King deeper into the level would've made more sense. That way it builds up the suspense of seeing their dying society and actually regret being the one to put it out of its misery.

[@JesusIsAMoose]

9:45 I didn't even know that was a boss shortcut. I literally thought it was just a dead end door for a one time trap.

[@LetsPlayJakey]

pretty sure thats all it is

[@MarnieSea]

@@LetsPlayJakey yeah its not a shortcut.... i cringed watching him try to take it repeatedly

[@asparagusmelontoast]

@@MarnieSea yeah the shortcut for the boss is taking the ladder inside the building on the bottom floor to pop out behind the enemies guarding the pathway in a cell closer to the boss fog. still a creative idea but it was 100% just a trap door

[@wormwood8352]

@@LetsPlayJakey No, it actually is a shortcut, you can fall or roll onto the tiny ledge and from there walk inside and go up the ladder to reach the boss, skipping all the enemies. I've used it myself, it's a pretty do-able jump.

[@zaclovesschool2273]

yup. walked out the door on accident once trying to get my souls back...great anger

[@TheNintendoProducts]

No mention of the Bloodborne DLC? The Old Hunters Fishing Hamlet level is amazing. It's atmosphere, level design, and everything else is awesome.

[@TheNintendoProducts]

Also, I think you're kind of overrating the difficulty of Dark Souls 2 with all the multi enemy fights. None of the enemies in the game are really that aggressive, so just because there are alot of enemies to deal with it doesn't make it unfair.

[@chrisclark5304]

+John Russo yeah what a weird video that was

[@donatboy]

+John Russo creative bankruptcy was directed at DS3 not Bloodborne. He talkes about how much of the game is just reference to the older titles. He never speaks of the DLC.

[@doflamingodonquixote1929]

+John Russo you are absolutelly braindead if you seriously think that

[@doflamingodonquixote1929]

***** oh sorry man my bad yes he did say that and he is absolutelly wrong

[@Robert399]

Great analysis! Just 2 things I disagreed with: 1) I'm glad Dark Souls 3 brought back the multiple paths and shortcuts but, like DS2, it felt very contained within levels with very little between them. So it's more like beads on a string than the cup of spaghetti. It felt more like a refinement of DS2 than a return to DS1. 2) I think level design (the map, enemy placement, etc.) and environment design (the aesthetics) need to be separated. To be fair, you mostly kept them separate but I want to make that distinction explicit because a lot of people say "the level design's great" when they mean an area looks good. P.S. I bet "Loot Crate" are regretting their name now.

[@clag1109]

you make some good points also why is loot crate regretting their name

[@Robert399]

@@clag1109 Because people despise loot boxes/prize crates and it sounds like they're branding themselves after that (even though they probably predate them).

[@hawkeyegough9090]

shrine of amana is like a beautiful woman who turns out to be a head-eating demon, beautiful to look at but once you get close you're in for a world of pre-patch pain

[@elias.t]

You could say the Demon of Song is a good mirror for its area, then. A beautiful song sung by a frog demon.

[@zaclovesschool2273]

yes

[@Feroke]

28:06 - Unfortunately no, you really don't-killing the Dancer early allows you to visit Lothric Castle and the Mad King's Garden earlier but that's about it-the corpse in front of the Grand Archives won't spawn unless you complete what's before in the game.

[@TheMegaOrigin]

You get to fight multiple late game bosses to unlock ridiculously powerful weapons for intelligence and faith characters, as well as the ability to upgrade your weapon to +9 before even getting to Vordt. What are you talking about?

[@budspudsy436]

"They ramped up the pitch blackness of the Tomb of Giants to eleven" Can't say I had to same experience, though I'm talking about the vanilla release. I specifically remember the draw distance being higher in The Gutter, you could only see like ten feet in front of you in TotG, in The Gutter it was possible to see where you were supposed to jump next without using a torch.

[@bo9455]

Unlocking a shortcut is DS1 felt way more satisfying to me due to the scarcity of the bonfires. One day i've got to get my hands on a ps3 and DeS as I never played it

[@Avghistorian77]

Same thing with unlocking shortcuts in Bloodborne, often there is only one lamp in an area, so always getting a shortcut back is so relieving and satisfying.

[@galil5386]

Or a ps5 haha

[@andrewstephens5885]

DS3 has great shortcuts but that game feels more like an action game than OG Dark Souls AND bloodborne ! so they’re a little less meaningful especially with how many bonfires are in that game

[@KyleJohnsonVA]

"Frenzy damage hits too hard and is too expensive to heal." Meanwhile, you have 48 Insight that is destroying your resistance to it. FORTY-EIGHT. Beyond that, nice video!

[@flamerobbe5972]

Well, I had even more because i thought it would trigger events. But after looking it up, Insight appears more or less useless, especially if playing offline. The triggered events just aren't worth it, so now i just throw Insight at the Bath Messengers for Armor Sets i will never use

[@StrikeWarlock]

@@flamerobbe5972 not really. A patch that came out 2 years ago allowed you to buy Blood Rocks for 60 insight.

[@flamerobbe5972]

@@StrikeWarlock That is true, but i didnt want to spend my insight initially. I wanted to keep it as high as possible in hopes of events. I think i had 99 going into Nightmare of Mensis and used every available item to boost my frenzy resistance. Nowadays i wouldnt consume every madman's knowledge on sight and would let them sit in my inventory until i actually wanted to spend them. The ingame description makes it sound more important than it actually is.

[@giobat8994]

Yeah they should have added an npc telling you the risks of having an high insight. As far as I know no one tells you that.

[@ambrosiaplatypus]

Ill never get tired of unenthusiastic, forced reviews of lootcrate crap. Thanks for not saying the phrase "Geek and gamer gear" atleast

[@Kalazar321]

+ambrosiaplatypus Mega 64 still has the best Lootcrate advertisements on their podcast. They know how to make sponsors fun and exciting.

[@bigredbehelit6124]

+Kalazar321 Mega64's are the only adverts I can tolerate.

[@Kalazar321]

Big Red Behelit They do go above and beyond with their improve during sponsor stuff. It's nice their sponsors pretty much let them say just about anything they want it seems.

[@lipsticksteve9156]

david bowie's cool right

[@U1TR4F0RCE]

He mentions it in the tovg podcast

[@josiahvock5675]

My personal favourite area in the entire series is from Dark Souls II, brightstone cave tseldora, now I know this is an unpopular opinion but dark souls 2 was my first souls game, I started playing it because I liked the challenge and the combat was fun, so I was playing through it area by area enjoying myself a lot, then I travelled through brightstone cave tseldora, through an empty village with parasitic spiders on humanoid backs, fought my way through the church and into what seemed to be a human made tunnel (also earlier seeing residents with pickaxes) and dropping down into a giant spider nest. Killing an insanely large spider and lighting the fire, as I was teleporting back to majula I suddenly thought back on the area, I knew exactly what occured in that area and it didn't require a single line of dialogue. it was after that area when the series jumped up to being some of my favourite games of all time.

[@Coliflowerz]

That moment felt ruined for me after you read the key description and it basically says the dude really liked spiders

[@drew8235]

There's nothing wrong with liking a poor game. Some of my favorite games of all time are far, far worse than DS 2. Like what you like. No one will ever agree that it's really good, but that doesn't matter in the end as long as you care about it.

[@tylerevans4582]

@@drew8235 I'll argue that DS2 is really good. I think it's better than both DS1 and DS3. It has better multiplayer almost across the board. It has better balance between the different builds. It has the best NG+, and better difficulty options in general. It has tons of nice quality of life stuff like the inventory being a grid rather than a list and the left stick being used for jump instead of the run button. The bosses have more interesting and unique mechanics than the other two games, and there's just plain more of them. It has powerstancing. I could go on. I don't buy that DS2 isn't good. I also don't buy that it's "A good game just not a good Dark Souls game." It has it's flaws, but so do the other two, and I think DS2 has the best complete package of the three.

[@ebtrax4081]

@@tylerevans4582 100% disagree. DS1's world design and bosses are a lot more consistent, plus the combat in ds2 feels janky as hell and a lot of the bosses are really cheap. It's decent, but there's no way its better than the other two.

[@tylerevans4582]

@@ebtrax4081 I don't agree that DS1 had more consistent world/boss design. As far as world design goes, the first half of DS1 is absolutely incredible, and easily the best in the series. The individual level designs are also top notch. The second half, however, has areas that I consider the *worst* in the series. The interconnectedness that made the first half so cool is gone, and the levels themselves aren't fun to play through. Bosses have the same deal. Some are fantastic and are among the best in the series, while some are awful and are among the worst in the series. The obvious example for bad levels and bosses is the entire section beneath Quelaag's boss room. There are four bosses down there and somehow none of them are very good. Demon Ruins itself isn't terrible to walk through, but Izalith is easily the worst area in any Souls game I've played, even including Demon Souls and Bloodborne. DS2 never gets that bad. At the same time, it never gets as good as the first half in terms of world design. I think even if you prefer DS1, more consistent isn't the right word for it. It has some major peaks and valleys in quality, while DS2 stays closer to the same quality throughout. Sorry for the wall of text. I know I'm in the minority when I say I prefer DS2, but there are so many things it does better than the other games that people often don't talk about. Anyway, my main point wasn't necessarily to compare it to the other games, just to say it's a *good* game since the person I replied to said it wasn't.

[@WritingOnGames]

Fucking hell, seven days? You're doing the lord's work George. you are my dad always

[@nickkern4109]

+Jabronie Johnson fuck you both. He's my Dad!

[@buffoonustroglodytus4688]

Fun fact: George is actually my mum! Hi mum!

[@WritingOnGames]

he's my favourite deputy

[@Diskhate]

+Writing on Games Well it really depends on how much he played them personally Dark Souls 1 (my first esperience with a souls game) took me over 70 hours on my first run, but now i usually go from start to finish in 3 hours (1 hour and a half if i use the "official" speedrunning route)..infact i remember the first time i tried to play the game as fast as i could: i managed to beat it in 6 hours, and it was probably only my fourth playthrough; which demonstrates that you don't have to know every possible route to beat it in an afternoon the same goes for all the other games, just took Dark souls 1 as an example once you know where to go, and have a vague of enemy placements, all games in the serie can be beaten extremely fast a week for all of them is definitely manageable, especially for George who takes gaming really seriously especially when he has to do it for work (he played POE somethin like 10 hours a day at the time to have the review done in a week) that said i'm definitely impressed on the quality of the video and it's analysis..that is indeed a lord's work : )

[@wampXs]

i really don't want they to do Dark Souls 4. DS3 being an end to the franchise was perfect, the revisiting of the themes and many elements from Dark Souls 1 did a full wrap and, in my opinion, a perfect ending for the trilogy. DS4 has a very high chance of sucking badly if it ever gets done.

[@nn6404]

+wampXs It's those even numbered dark souls games. I'm telling ya.

[@Sifer2]

I agree sometimes it's better to know when to stop while things are good. Like the vid says the theme is already getting a bit stale. But i'm sure the publisher is pushing them hard to keep it going since it makes money.

[@Sitruk86]

thematically, they can't really do a 4. the only reason 2 happened was because they fudged the lore abit with the whole "cycles" nonsense. the canon ending for 3 is "fuck Cycles. im taking the fire for myself. fuck you. I Am Become Flame." there's not really anywhere to go from there.

[@Lindgnitazhe]

+Sitruk86 there is a ton of unanswered question remaining tho.

[@golDroger88]

Yep, DaS3 wasn't DeS or DaS but at least it was a Souls game, unlike DaS2. No more, please, hope they just do new games like Sekiro and Deracine.

[@dying4laughing]

I absolutely hated the place right after The Gutter screw those poison statues

[@MustafaKulle]

Yeah, the level design there felt very lazy. It was obvious they couldn't think of anything else to fill it with.

[@ub3rfr3nzy94]

I was disappointed it wasn't a full zone. The colours looked cool.

[@dying4laughing]

Visually it was certainly interesting, but still. Screw those statues.

[@nicholassheavils209]

there are a few little things (the giants etc.) but they are easy to miss and don't have any cues for those not looking for them.

[@pogo575]

Least favorite part of the whole game.

[@Diskhate]

Hey George i'd like to correct you on one thing: at 13:30 you say that the enemies in the forest in dark souls 1 had nothing to gain from being semi invisible..this is semi-wrong originally, because of their semi invisible/transparent state, you couldn't lock on them...it was patched later (if i remember correctly in patch 1.05) because A) players found it frustrating and B) once you obtained the same ring these transparent enemies have you could use it to render yourself transparent and, therefore, impossible to be locked on by other players...which completely broke the pvp at the time PS: great analysis by the way..i sure was hoping for a video about the whole souls serie from you Cheers from Italy

[@Rc3651]

+Diskhate Also, with them being invisible, I know that I personally pulled almost all of them when if I was observant I could have pulled them individually. It's a trap for people who don't take things slow

[@jerric1228]

+Rc3651 agreed. I found them pretty tough my first few runs, and when I learned their locations I always pulled them to the entrance to maintain control. I'm guessing he played offline, because what I remember if that area most was the tug of war struggle to get a co-op partner and make it to Sif in one piece, against a wave of invaders, who usually find your world before you can summon somebody. It was frustrating at first, but I learned to love it.

[@Rc3651]

jerric1228 Yeah, especially when you're trying to run away from an invader or two, it can get pretty hectic pretty quick :)

[@failurestates]

+Rc3651 Funny, I got the exact opposite impression from a lot of Dark Souls. It's not about going slow, per se, it's about being observant. For example, my reaction when I ran in and saw the first invisidude come at me was to turn and fight, but when more invisidudes started joining the party, my first thought was "leg it." Going back was pointless (had just spent most of my souls leveling up at the bonfire), so I only had like 2k souls on me, so I just kept rolling and ran toward the structures in the distance. Crossed the bridge, ran a bit further, and who do I find? A talking fucking cat. Joined the covenant, invaded dudes with the ring, got lots of souls. Talked to her again later because I was hopelessly lost, and what do I get? A ring that makes ME and invisidude. SWEET. I know that was kind of reductive and completely anecdotal, but the point is that Dark Souls doesn't actually punish players for running through, it punishes you for RUSHING through like you're on autopilot. Granted, playing the "running game" is incredibly risky in a Dark Souls game, but it isn't actively punished necessarily, so long as you pay attention (although I wouldn't recommend playing like that in Sen's Fortress, that place was designed to put the fear of god back into you because you know you were getting cocky by then). In fact, Dark Souls 2 was specifically designed with a faster playstyle in mind, one that doesn't rely on locking on, circle strafing, and holding the left bumper ad nauseum. This is why there are so many mobs of enemies in the game, only one class starts with a shield (and a broken sword to boot, bummer), the shields you do find are usually crappy and only reduce damage rather than block it until you hit the midgame (and by then you should have picked up on the more dodge heavy and manual camera favored mechanics), and with healing items taking a while to heal you and being kind of shit for most of the game (life gems are consumed on use, and estus requires you to not only stop entirely, but to also then wait for your health to regen at about twice the rate of a life gem). It's obvious that they don't want you getting hit, shield or no shield. That said, the Miyazaki led games tend to favor a much slower and more methodical pace, and that's not bad. It's just slower. FYI, my favorite game in the series is DS1, although I'd say that DS3 has the superior mechanics and boss design (at least most of the time), but DS1 just did the most to immerse me in its world. Also, please don't take the comments about dodging and faster playstyle as a brag, I'm really pretty bad at these games, at least until I learn them inside out. However, I just enjoy playing the style that I play, and I've found that while sword and board is certainly rewarding and a very efficient way to play the game (and even my non shield using characters have shields in their inventory for dealing with certain bullshit enemy placements or for parrying Gwyn to death), I just find that I get more out of playing the rollspamming runner with more of a focus on offense, and I've found that the games, even the first one, can reward that type of thinking from time to time. To each his own, right?

[@cool140000]

I've heard that Miazaki wants his next game to be a sci fi one. I think it'd be incredible for From to turn it's dark, punishing game design style on a genre solely in need of a good kick in the pants.

[@AngraMainiiu]

Shadow Tower 3 perhaps?

[@matts252]

Okay but what about a goofy mech game. like metal wolf chaos

[@Tejan45]

+DaS Guardians From Soft has literally already made a few very punishing sci-fi games. They're called Armored Core. They aren't the same sort of gameplay as the Souls games, and quite a few missions are easy to cheese, but going into that game blind will usually end with you in debt.

[@cool140000]

Tejan455 I meant another action RPG instead of ultra complex Armored Core style gameplay.

[@DeathToDrugUsers21]

Goddamnit, when did Miazaki tell you that?? I already fucking told him that we will not publish or help distribute a sci-fi Dark Souls title.

[@saedt]

No idea why, but seeing Dark Souls 1's artstyle always makes me feel that the new "better graphics" are just less eerie. Also, if anything ever made DS2 and 3 worse than 1 for me, it's the early warping. I hate the idea and it kills immersion for me. i do love DS3 a LOT but man....

[@happytouch2671]

I think the DS3 Graphics are to similar to Bloodborne

[@pavith3817]

Happy Touch it is the same engine so...

[@NextGenesis88]

Pavith but I don't necessarily think having the same engine really means what you'll get will always look the same. They both look great though.

[@randomguy6679]

saedt then don't warp...

[@saedt]

randomguy6679 and never level up, makes perfect sense

[@surlyandroid]

Got way too excited when I saw this was uploaded.

[@clag1109]

Exited? So you like left your house or something?

[@surlyandroid]

IntroExtro I can fix it if it's that important.

[@SuperArppis]

+SurlyAndroid Did you remember to clean up after? :D

[@MrBorderlands123]

+SurlyAndroid Just neck beard things

[@Wittemn]

+IntroExtro Don't be rude, he had to watch the whole video from outside his room.

[@joshuariser8605]

Agreed that DaS3 is more of a best-of album than a new LP. It takes all the elements from the previous games and fits them all into one game. The issue with that is DaS3 is lacking a lot of the nuance and quirks that made DeS, DaS, and BB so unique and interesting. I still love it and I'll probably play DaS3 way more than the Dark Souls that came before it, but it's simply fulfilled my expectations instead of subverting of exceeding them. Also, Demon's Souls is my favorite game in the series bar-none, so I hope you get an opportunity to give the game a full go. It's not nostalgia speaking (I didn't play DeS until after I beat DaS2), it's just really, really good. DeS has the most personality of all the Souls Series games and is certainly the most adventurous. There were no expectations so the entire game is full of risk taking and inventiveness. It's far from perfect, but even DeS's perceived flaws are unique and interesting.

[@joshuariser8605]

Also, you just made a video about a game with a very dedicated audience, so expect to have an inbox full of corrections about how wrong you are, even in relation to your personal opinions.

[@Ipurgepeople]

+Joshua Campbell Actually... I don't think it'll be too bad. George is very VERY good about being as unbiased as possible, and clearly states his opinions as opinions. I think we all have too much respect for George's journalistic approach to these types of videos to really expect any massive push back. I love the souls games, even if I've only finally just beaten one (DS1) earlier this year, and have only played it and Demon Souls for any length of time.. i'm one of those dedicated audience members. And while I'll admit I'm atypically way-too-logically driven than most, I still don't think most people over the age of 12 will get too hot in the gills over anything in this video.

[@lauramarx8098]

+Joshua Campbell yeah, me and some friends were talking about this when we first played DKS3. It feels like FromSoft have gotten really, really good at making Souls games but are *sick* of making Souls games.

[@logansetna316]

+Joshua Campbell a lot of the original images for the game really showed the team trying to innovate while looking pretty different from dark souls 1. the lighting was awfully different and i assume they changed a lot of stuff in those pre-release builds because of time constraints, but the game is still incredible

[@Darkjediiii]

+Joshua Campbell I kind of agree with you man. DS3 also meets my expectations for a Souls game. But those expectations are very high, since Dark Souls is one of the best games ever made. Dark Souls 2 disappointed, but I'm really happy with how Dark Souls 3 turned out.

[@ZPM7]

I've never seen the mosquitoes in Blighttown drop poison antidote.

[@JaimeDenizard]

+KroseZ Nope.

[@jaydeejay4166]

Me neither

[@lovepepsi7477]

i love george but he really rarely bothers to check the things he thinks he remembers right

[@EmperorZ19]

Yeah, I'm looking at the wikis (both Fandom and Fextralife) and the mosquitos don't have any item drops at all.

[@Xqvvzts]

9:37 That was supposed to be a shortcut?! I always thought it was a trap.

[@johns783]

i think it's you that is correct, and not the video.

[@NoTimeNoEffort]

Sadly it is a shortcut (there's no other ways to get to the boss from any bonfire in any reasonable amount of time). Which says a lot about how shittily made DS2 was.

[@NoTimeNoEffort]

The lone tower bonfire is ASTOUNDINGLY far away and also requires (and I do mean REQUIRES, there's not enough space to skip them) to go through the awful gauntlet of like seven angry men with zweihanders and it takes forever. Popping in the door skips the entirety of the bastille and puts you literally one ladder away from the boss fight. Again, it just shows how shoddily DS2 was made. I guess they looked at the shortcut for the four kings in New Londo and thought "yeah, that's an acceptable design choice"

[@Efreeti]

It's not a shortcut, dude. It's really not meant to be a shortcut. The bonfire run is not that bad.

[@kornboy22]

I agree. Dodge the guys all the way down to the ladder then go up the ladder and you were safe.

[@hemangchauhan2864]

I'd love to have a dark, Indian Mythology based setting. There are a LOT of Indian Mythological stories where demons are as distraught and helpless at times as humans are, and God are as selfish and ruthless as their counterparts. Plus the Indian palaces and temples are so elaborate IRL, that they can serve as good examples for designing levels around it. Plus, many demons drawn in the traditional art are quite terrifying.

[@peterkeleher]

+Hemang Chauhan nice idea! but im not sure how theyd avoid the fantasy-horror theme

[@hemangchauhan2864]

peter keleher I AM talking about horror-fantasy, but in an Indian setting. I'm just thinking of a way to make it fresh and original (like Bloodborne)

[@dylangibson6349]

That sounds amazing

[@JifftasticGhozt]

+Hemang Chauhan A Japanese narrative take on Indian mythology and architecture would be extremely exciting. Look at what they did with European mythos! I think your idea would be *my* favorite of the future From Soft projects.

[@hemangchauhan2864]

Jifftastic Ghozt Someone tweet Miyazaki :P

[@RealHumanBean4U]

To be fair with the Nightmare of Mensis, if you Visceral or burn the Loran Silverbeasts, they don't spawn snakes.

[@bigsad6794]

I wondered why nobody mentioned that those enemies are the exact same mechanic as the Egg Carriers and their Vile Maggots in Dark Souls 1 but with actual damaging attacks because everything in Bloodborne has to be a shrieking, lurching berserker.

[@Dastsabre]

Ryan Home probably because the egg carriers aren’t actually something most players engage with to any degree, more just an environmental piece than anything else

[@filmwiebe1703]

The Nightmare of Mensis wasn't my favourite area at first, but when you realize that Frenzy is linked to your insight, and that you can get Frenzy Resist armour from the messengers for insight, I loved it. Its an area that requires a different playstyle to succeed, to fight in the shadows. I also found the Loran Silverbeasts to be not much of an issue, since they get chewed up by frenzy damage too, and any sweeping weapon can deal with the small dudes they spawn super easily. I like the analysis of this video, but I think my major critique with it is that Supper Bunnyhop always plays the same way, and thus, critiques the games after Dark Souls based on Dark Souls. Its interesting that he uses the same weapon shield combo for all DS games, and has an issue with the multiple enemies from DS2. DS 2 has its own issues, but I personally preferred the make space playstyle in the game. There's lots of enemies because you have to learn when to use the lock on mechanic and certain attacks. Its all about mobility, making the space to fight in, and then succeeding. Its a different kind of level design that pushes the player forward, but not in a simple way. Its why he has issues with Bloodborne's final areas, because Frenzy is a new challenge that forces the player to check there equipment, and how they engage with the game. But the Analysis is still well done.

[@Juanouo]

@@filmwiebe1703 Also something that was missing that I find makes Nightmare of Mensis very interesting is that you can make the Brain of Mensis drop from the tower. Not only that, if you manage to drop from the hole it dropped, you'll first find the only Blood Rock in the main game and then you'll find it in a pitch black room unable to cause Frenzy anymore. And not only that, 'cause if you perform a specific gesture for a whole minute it will give you the best rune for farming in the game. All of this being optional.

[@filmwiebe1703]

@@Juanouo I didn't know about the gesture! Which one? I find the Nightmare of Memphis to be one of the more challenging yet beneficial areas of the game. I am excited to finish my NG+ to get to the Nightmare again.

[@berbonayeaye2800]

I have never, I repeat never had a mosquito in blight town drop a moss clump for me. I've never seen it in a video either, sorry to nitpick cause this is a great video but I think you're wrong in saying that those enemies drop poison remedies.

[@EggBastion]

+berbon ayeaye That's because it doesn't happen. I can see how he might have made this mistaken assumption though. Maybe, one time, he received a moss clump from a toxic dart guy suffering a fatal fall at the same time as he was delivering the killing blow to a mosquito. Maybe.

[@adq1864]

+berbon ayeaye You're right, they absolutely do not drop them.

[@zesork5627]

in the prepare to die edition they drop

[@JaimeDenizard]

No they don't. They only drop souls.

[@TheOutlanderReport]

Yeah they drop from the bushy tree guys in darkroot right? At least that's were I farmed them if I remember correctly.

[@rodrigopacheco12]

i really cant understand when people say that Dark Souls 3 perfected the level design of the series. Its the most bland and predictable it has ever been, with shortcuts immediately on sight and incredibly short levels that dont let you breath in the atmosphere. Dark Souls 3 was a plain chore to play through, its almost at the level of Dark Souls 2. The bonfires are no longer a breath of relief and an escape from a cruel world, they are just checkpoints. If this is what people wanted from Dark Souls, then im fucking glad the franchise is over, at least for now.

[@LN.2233]

Hatt Hanz souls 3 probably has the longest levels. Bonfires have always been just checkpoints.

[@Bryndleson]

The reason you no longer feel relief from seeing a bonfire is because you've gotten really good at souls games, because in actuality, the distance between ds3 bonfires and ds1 bonfires is about the same.

[@Tamatzu]

It's not terrible, but yeah, none of the levels in ds3 can even compare to going through the entirety of blight town. From the very beginning after the gaping dragon to fighting the spider lady (I forget her name) that level was ridiculously big both in verticality and its horizontal space when you got to the bottom.

[@LN.2233]

Tamatzu blighttown is overrated.

[@rodrigopacheco12]

TheShapesnatch no, I didnt feel that at all with Bloodborne. But even so, if its because i have gotten good, then al the more reason that DS3 does nothing new to surprise me

[@shushir2672]

22:35 "You don't efficiently level up from [Chalice Dungeons]" WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!??!?!?!?!

[@franacha]

Right? I did the dungeons up to lvl 5 and I came out an absolute monster

[@EmperorZ19]

With specific codes you can get highly exploitable chalice dungeons, but played normally you have to invest a lot of time before the rewards become any good

[@ImperfectWeapons]

God, look at the walking animation in DS2. It looks so "video-gamey." Noticed it within five seconds of starting the game and it bothered me all the way through.

[@nathaneskin3572]

It bothered me the whole game. Most of the weapon animations (for enemies too!) felt that way as well.

[@InfernalMonsoon]

The whole of Dark Souls 2 in general bothered me from start to the point I dropped it because I just cannot bring myself to play any more of it but if I'm not enjoying the game then there's really no point for me to pick it back up.

[@donatboy]

+ImperfectWeapons Feels like characters are marionettes.

[@peterkeleher]

+ImperfectWeapons i literally have no idea why they didnt re-use the animations from DS1 - they were all pretty damn good for humanoids...

[@CaptainPsychopath69]

+ImperfectWeapons aren't the sound effects also really compressed in DS2? especially when walking in grass, sounds like OoT

[@Doctor_Pazuzu]

Gotta be honest, I really didn't care for Bloodbornes level design. From a visual standpoint it might be the strongest of all the Souls/borne games, but from an exploration standpoint it's fairly weak in comparison to the other souls games. I found the use of shortcuts to be far less impressive than in comparison to Dark Souls 1 where you might find yourself seemingly miles away from Fire Link shrine only for a shortcut to immediately show that you've been much closer than thought, which was both interesting from a perspective of scale of the games world and useful from a gameplay perspective. Shortcuts in Bloodborne rarely felt very useful besides a rare few moments. A shortcut was occasionally a different but just as long route to your destination in Bloodborne. I also hated it's constant reliance on going back to the Hunters dream so that you can warp to certain locations. The act of getting your lamp, waiting for a loading screen, running to the warp stones, and waiting for another loading screen to continue your adventure is simply tedious. It also doesn't help that for the first few hours the first couple of arenas are so...linear. Many of the areas in Yharnam just felt like hallways with a few small alleys for me, luckily it's not so much the case in areas outside of Yharnam (although they still feel far more linear than that of other souls games) but it's still rather upsetting that the main location in Bloodborne is so very often a long narrow area that may bend itself a bit to give a faint illusion that you're not running through a dull line. Maybe it's because exploration takes more of a back seat in comparison to other Souls games, but I can't help that I still felt so bored by running around what should be really interesting locales. I simply don't think they used the urban city setting to it's full potential with Bloodborne. Other than that though, Bloodborne is damn near perfect and I don't hate the game by any means, hell I'd even still consider it's level design to be a cut above many other games but in comparison to it's Dark/Demon Souls kin, I found it to be incredibly underwhelming in the regard of level design. Still looks pretty lookin' though.

[@joesiegel1573]

"I have almost every enemy placement in Anor Londo memorized." "almost" Casul

[@zyzdzy]

the mind would much rather repress certain memories. like a certain pair of archers.

[@theBlindDeafMute]

And there in the field stood three sheperds, tending their flocks by night And the angel of the lord came upon them, and they were so afraid But the angel said, fear not, for I bring on this day tidings of great joy, Super Bunnyhop finally uploaded

[@Olodus]

+Gnomey Gnomeson And from the eather a melody sprung forth as hundreds of angels sang in unison: "Du du du du du du du duuu pling!". And the stars formed the image of a giant bunny winking at the shepards.

[@mrweatherby]

You really should go through Demon's if you like the design of DS3's levels. DS3's more densely packed, shortcut-dependent design is incredibly similar to Demon's philosophy of level design. There's also a boss who is a very clear nod to one from Demon's, though it's a bit on the nose. Demon's is a great game, and any fan of the Souls series owes it to themselves to experience it once. It might not stand out as your favorite, but it's interesting to see the genesis of so many tropes and design choices that persist throughout the series.

[@TarvynSero]

do you mean the one @28:30? :D

[@mrweatherby]

Tar vyn Probably, I'm still making my way through the video, kind of stop and go at the moment, so my comment was pretty premature. But man I can't pass up any excuse to talk up Demon's Souls.

[@BIZKITKID86]

I agree. DeS is a must play for Souls fans. It was my introduction to these games and is still one of my favorites in the series probably for that reason. Also, I am still hoping for them to do a re-release of Des for current-gen. Maybe add in that broken Archstone while their at it... I know I know, wishful thinking. *Sighs*

[@JordanSmith-yi3ji]

I had a weird entry into the series. My first encounter with the Souls games comes from watching the Demons Souls trailer on On Demand, years later im on KZbin and i stumbled upon one of Oroboros now old pvp videos and I was interested. A year later I get Demons Souls and Dark Souls at the same time for Christmas, I play hopping back and forth between them over the course of 3 months beating Dark Souls first then Demons Souls 2 weeks later. I was hooked and bought Dark Souls 2 as soon as I could. Beat it a month later, but spent over half a year to playing PVP. Now Im hopping between Bloodborne and Dark Souls 3.

[@BIZKITKID86]

Jordan Smith I can't imagine playing DeS & DaS at the same time. The funny part about my first experience with DeS is I had the same reaction that Shuhei Yoshida had with the game, you know what I'm talking about it (Lol). At least we both realized how wrong we were and now they're one of my all time favorite video games.

[@derekcampbell4209]

Playing through Sekiro now. I’m loving the level design so far.

[@roriksavant]

Fantastic, isn't it?

[@user-wt2dz5bx5m]

I love it, but it's far from perfect. Checkpoints are a little too frequent, and some areas pretty obviously had more thought into their design than others. Mibu village is as bad as it gets, so it's not terrible, and nothing is blatantly unfinished, but it's still noticeable. Also, because you're faster and can grapple hook ledges, everything feels a whole lot smaller even though I'm pretty sure the areas themselves are about the same size as their other games. It doesn't bother me because From put a ton of time into refining the combat and enemy designs, but I'd love to see DLC or a sequel with larger, more complex levels with more shortcuts and secret areas to complement the mobility.

[@derekcampbell4209]

Since my comment, I’ve gotten all endings for Sekiro, and when thinking of it’s biggest flaws, level design is not up there. Every fromsoft game has their drops in quality, and to me, I felt the reuse of almost every optional (and some mandatory) boss multiple times is the games biggest weakness. Luckily they’re mostly optional, and it does provide opportunities to fight them again without new game plus. It did feel so lame fighting more chained ogres, jouzo’s, centipede dudes, 25 headless, 20 Sichimen warriors (obviously exaggerating a bit). I don’t expect them to have 50 bosses, and they are good fights sometimes. The main story bosses were all pretty awesome as well.

[@16m49x3]

@@derekcampbell4209 I mean, they are not bosses, they are mini bosses, and in the last section you don't have to fight any of them. You can just jump past 5 mini bosses in 5 minutes. You can skip every headless, but each one give you a permanent version of the sugars. You can alsop skip every sichimen warrior I think. Only the first Ogre has to be fought. You should think of them as something in between a normal enemy and a boss.

[@WasaboDuckBoy]

Looking back, Sekiro's level design wasn't very good. Too linear, too short, no shortcuts. They should have made every level like Ashina Castle instead of populating them with so many minibosses

[@Vidaluko]

You used the Halberd in DS1, 2 and 3, I like you

[@StrikeWarlock]

He used it's variant on Bloodborne as well.

[@Awellneededsmoke]

Spears are better

[@megaponful]

+Chris Tauscheck i used to love spears. then i came across axes.

[@Diskhate]

I still remember the "main weapons" i used in every souls game on my first run... Demon's souls: Uchigatana & Kiliji Dark Souls: Zweihander & Great axe Dark Souls 2: Winged Spear & Murakumo Dark Souls 3: Uchigatana & Short bow (I LOVE the short bow in DS3) Bloodborne: Blades of mercy & standard Saw Overall i would say that Halberds are probably the weapon i used the least in each game...i even used Fist weapons and Dragon torso (with naked punches) more than halberds and my favourite weapon type would probably be Dex based swords and Daggers ...don't hit me....

[@unsubme2157]

+HaohmaruHL pole. axe.

[@DocHollidayGames]

24:23 Uh, what? I'm confused by this. I've played DS1 on PS3, 360, the remastered version on XB1, PS4, Switch, and PC, as well as the Prepare to Die version on PC, and in none of those versions did those mosquito things ever drop purple moss or any form of poison antidotes. What version of Dark Souls did you play that had this?

[@smcdonough1427]

Great video, but you sort of missed the point of the chalice dungeons in Bloodborne. The late chalices hold the hardest challenges of the game, they make excellent pvp arenas, are a never-ending source of jolly cooperation, and hold a ton of lore.

[@vladthecon]

i didn't love them but if i had to grind echos i preferred them to killing the same dudes in the same place 10 20 1000 times

[@sengiko]

All I can say about those dungeons is: fuck cursed dungeon Amygdala, it was bullshit

[@GummeeHater01]

@@sengiko that one is surprisingly easy. Go in solo so it's not aggroed, get behind its tail and right leg and go nuts. He'll either thrash his arms, from which you'd be safe, or he'll jump and slam, but if you stand there, his head lands right next to you and it's open season. Then get back behind him and it's just a matter of not getting squashed as you rinse and repeat

[@CarrotConsumer]

And are incredibly repetitive.

[@Punkandtokelife]

I wished there were more chalices honestly. (I’m not counting the root chalices)

[@MGlBlaze]

Personally I disagree with your assessment of the Gutter, though I suppose I can see that Black Gulch was super oppressive. I felt that The Gutter was a bunch of fairly dull wooden boxes strung together, and lacked the immediate sense of scale and threatening presentation of Blight Town. The poison-spitting statues meanwhile are an inanimate object that doesn't offer much in the way of conflict interaction, and I feel they get extremely tedious due to their large number. The blowdart snipers at least were more spaced out, a significant threat for their low numbers instead of a frequent annoyance, and as actual enemies provided a source of conflict and a permanent goal within each playthrough as they didn't re-spawn. It is at least one of the few areas which fucking knocks it off with all the multiple enemy bullshit encounters though, which is nice. The Shaded Woods proper was pretty interesting, even if everywhere else from there was boring too. As for the DLC; I never played it. I lost interest in anything to do with playing Dark Souls 2 long before any of them came out. Which is a shame because it looks like the DLC level design actually goes back to the previous series competence based on your video.

[@Finalgear14]

The level design of the dlc was much better than the base game. I however found the fighting to be tedious. Nothing but groups of 3-6 enemies that have a lot of health, have infinite poise (I used ultra great swords and couldn't stun shit), and have infinite stamina. Add in the absolute bullshit npc invades and it was just tedious (npc invaders were like mini bosses with infinite stamina, several thousand HP, and infinite spells if they used spells).

[@x5132]

+MGlBlaze I must mention, the DLCs are my favorite part of DaS 2. Ivory king over the others, it felt more grandiose, at least plot and design wise. You should give it a chance. The shaded woods I found amazing the first time through, but since, each time I cross it, it feels too short, and filled with unused potential, but I love it. I guess the only fault I find there is that I wanted more of it than there was.

[@Noh_Mercy]

+MGlBlaze felt the same way. I quit ds2 and didnt bother going into ng because I just hated it. But then my friend got the game and bought me scholar of the first sin to coop with him and the dlc ~kinda~ rescues it. I hated the pvp most, so that will never change, but the level quality of the dlc is so great, buying ds2 without it is an outright scam. ds2 non-sotfs shouldn't have existed at all.

[@onlycosm]

+MGlBlaze The gutter was actually the only area of the base game of DS2 I thought was good, didn't care much for the dlc either however I didn't end up playing the sunken king stuff.

[@RuneKatashima]

I agree with your assessment about the poison statues and the toxic snipers. I like the Shaded Woods as well as it was the only area in the entirety of DS2 that gave me pause and one of the few areas where an enemy killed me. I one or two shot every boss. I died very little in DS2. Mostly to falls, honestly. Falls when jumping for an item :/ I don't like DS2's level design, but I'm going to play the DLC regardless.

[@139nene]

0:54 to skip ad

[@dudeatos]

Miyazaki didn't work on Dark Souls 2 so that's definitely why it feels so different from 1, 3 and Bloodborne.

[@Sannidor]

Great level design but you can hardly climb an obstacle above your knee hight...

[@reviewralphusa7255]

so

[@siffegy]

+Gord Lord it doesnt logically make sense

[@misaeltoral508]

+DarkEffigy Yeah, that's one of those video game logic things that only the most butt kissing, blind fanboys would defend. It was specially cringe worthy in DSII with the Shrine of Winter.

[@TrueRinku95]

+Sannidor It's funny because you can climb obstacles in Demon's souls. Discharded stuff in the sequels for unknown reason.

[@Struct.3]

+Sannidor from a designers perspective it makes it easier to make interesting routes when the player cannot expect to climb everywhere, else you have to have boring walls everywhere making the game seem like a corridor built only to guide the player, or you get a completely different game because it has to be designed differently. although you can jump some places

[@PeterEhik]

Is there a love button cause I wanna click that every time you make a video about a AAA game, I can watch you talk about From Software games for years bro, please make more, you can do critical close-ups for Bloodborne and Dark Souls 3, Bloodborne is the only game in the series I've played and I'm not even close to being done with it yet but having a blast and it's so awesome to hear you talk about a game I'm playing.

[@je3237]

Glad to see you're loving Bloodborne, it's my personal favorite out of the three. What part are you at?

[@meaningawaitsforyou]

a critical close up of bloodborne would be amazing.

[@Araneus21]

24:14 Actually, both DS and DS3 plan around this quite nicely. In DS, you will likely reach Darkroot garden before Blighttown and quickly learn that foliage creatures almost always drop moss clumps of all 3 kinds, enticing players to stock-up on them. In DS3, you'll likely want to revenge your unfair death by the pincers of giant crabs in the area just before Farron keep by killing their lesser brethren, thus making them drop moss clumps and learning that you can stock-up on them here. Both games tend to have areas that provide players with something in one area that will be useful in next area.

[@ratska96]

of course you're going to get frenzied quick with 48 insight

[@HalikBun]

I actually like the diversity of aesthetics in DS2 levels, even if the level designs were straight forward. Each area had a very distinct color palette, for the most part.

[@zdf14]

Always enjoyed that whole vertically stacked level design in the first Souls game. Loved going down to Dark Root Basin and pointing the camera up to see the castle I was just at. Most games don't give you the privilege of seeing many of the areas you've been to by just simply looking around. Thought it was so cool.

[@avd7288]

"Every entity seems to have been placed well..." Anor Londo Archers

[@HandOfVecna1188]

Oh man, those are the best ones of all!

[@StrikeWarlock]

Miyazaki decided to be an asshole the day he decided where those 2 Archers should be

[@kieranm9340]

I think the reason you thing ds2 combat is clunky is because you're playing it like ds1. At 11:16 you just strafe around the sorcerer for a backstab (wasting time and letting the sorcerer's shots as well as the swamp thing catch up to you) You run out all of your stamina attacking (which is punished harder in ds2 than 1) with a poor hit box of the halberd (again added in ds2) and run away without looking at the magic bolts being shot at you to time your rolls (which you don't do) correctly. You just need to understand how to analyse and deal with multiple enemies better. ds2 gets a lot of hate because of it's "dudes in armor" but they give opportunity for more diverse enemy attacks as well as more armor sets, two things that ds2 do better than 1. ds2 has the most complex combat system of ANY souls game, and a lot of ds2 haters fail to grasp this game's complexities. If ds1's focus was the world, then ds2's focus was the combat.

[@silliussoddus1449]

Kieran Mondok I just wanna contribute some things. 1. Ds2 directional controls are imprecise, objectively. There are 8 angles of movement, while Ds1 and Ds3 have the full 360. 2. Ds2 has imperfect hitboxes. Like that Samurai guy in the DLC with his grab attack grabbing you when you behind him. These things are possible to not notice; I don’t really blame you. But they exist and decrease the quality of the game.

[@Dastsabre]

For a game that focuses purely on combat, the awkward movement and awful hit boxes are pretty problematic

[@easy8077]

Kieran Mondok •4 Roll directions •There are barely any grab- or combo attacks, but single swings which are purely dodged by invincibility frames and not by actually having no connection to the swing, considering this ofc flaws in hitboxes are more common

[@derekcampbell4209]

17:15 “gives speedrunners a shortcut and save on time” Speedrunners: walks out old yarnham door, jumps off ledge straight ahead, 10 seconds away from BSB

[@Gakusangi]

You're gonna love the second part of the Valley of Defilement in Demon's Souls.

[@IfJesusWoreAHat]

I really hate DS2 fanboys. I don't hate DS2, I hate parts of it but overall it's my least favorite of the series, and that's all it takes to have them jump down your throat and accuse you of being a DS1 or a Miyazaki fanboy, and then say silly things like it's the best game because it's the hardest or because the multiplayer is the best (while conveniently forgetting soul memory existed.)

[@suftenevenstevens5767]

+Plebeian+ Or because it "has more quantity of content". Just because it has more content sure as hell doesn't make all the content good.

[@jjstraka1982]

+410,757,864,530 DEAD COPS As opposed to the second half of Dark Souls 1, which is generally completely anticlimactic after Anor Londo and Ornstein and Smough?? As is mentioned in this video, Lost Izalith isn't even finished, the bosses in the Catacombs are a joke, and so is Seath for the most part. Yes, the first half of Dark Souls has a nearly perfect, looping design. The worst thing you can say about Dark Souls 2 is that it has some repetitive bosses and that it doesn't loop back on itself. Neither does ANY OTHER game in the series except Dark Souls 1. All the interconnection in Demon's Souls, Dark Souls 3 and Bloodborne are on a level by level basis, just like Dark Souls 2. And yes 2 doesn't do that particular element that well. But it more than makes up for it in variety and build choices.

[@Pokedude19140]

+Plebeian+ I see more Miyazaki fanboys if anything. They'll dismiss anything you say regarding the positives of DS2. It may not be my favorite souls game but it had the best pvp even with soul memory imo

[@JXZX1]

+Plebeian+ It's odd: I've gotten so bitter with the direction of the Souls series after 2 that I might in some ways resemble the 'Miyazaki fanboy' critic. I do think DS2 is probably my favorite of the Dark Souls series--though my overall favorite Souls game is Demon's Souls--and most of the arguments people make for DS2 being inferior could be easily used to argue that Dark Souls and Dark Souls 3 are worse. I dunno, I think both sides have gotten a bit too used to their positions.

[@Nicolas-Kage]

+Plebeian+ Oh, boy. Soul memory.. I agree. Dark Souls 2 feels like the game in beta. They even rearranged the enemies.

23 minutes in, I just had to stop to congratulate you. Great video! You certainly seem to have integrated the points you're making about exposition in your own approach, the narrative you're laying out is so concise and well-structured. I love it! It really shows that you've put time and effort into your presentation, since you address what you think are its low points. Overall 10/10, wish I found more videos like this on KZbin. Liking, subscribing and going back to finishing the clip now.

[@FinalDragoon]

Sci-Fi Souls. Make it happen From Soft.

[@penguinpal6]

+FinalDragoon star wars souls.

[@hairlessbear6945]

Armored Core Souls.

[@jamesruth8601]

+FinalDragoon "shrug" I'd play it.

[@kanyekubrick5391]

+FinalDragoon No man... What if the next souls took place in a Greek setting? Roman? Egyptian? My body is ready. Although sci-fi would be awesome, I'm having a hard time picturing what the game would be like? Sci-Fi with melee weapons? Ya, we've seen that Light Sabers work, but other than that, I can't really imagine it. Although I'm 100% sure FromSoft can pull it off and gift us with more cryptic brilliance.

[@doclouis4236]

+FinalDragoon Dark Souls Maker

[@TotallyToonsTV]

You managed to complete all the Souls game AND Bloodborne in just one week?! And here's me still stuck on just The 4 Kings on Souls 1 after about a year. I still haven't gotten gud.

[@bergonath8851]

Gitting gud might be a long process but don't give up. I almost gave up in Tower of Latria; I've platinumed the game twice afterwards.

[@chan4est]

+TotallyToonsTV You should restart your play through and give it another shot. Any souls veteran can do what he did, + Demon's Souls in far less time.

[@zerogear976]

+TotallyToonsTV that is sad if true

[@ninjawitasniper3766]

+TotallyToonsTV I've beaten Dark Souls 3 the day it came out .-. and the first time I saw 4 kings, I first tried it. and Gwyn too. Dark Souls isn't hard, you just need patience.

[@Ebb0Productions]

What a fantastic horrible place that was. I got Demon's back at release but rage quit when i hit Flamelurker. Gonna have to pay him a re-visit soon.

[@john_john_john]

13:33 the transparent hunters, and players with the fog ring, couldn't be targeted when the game came out on console. Back then, every invader used the fog ring, and since we were all inexperienced, dealing with a player you couldn't target was very hard.

[@TheDeliciousMystery]

You pretty much summed up my feelings. Its not perfect but the tone, artstyle, story, gameplay and music of Bloodborne is so up my alley my DS3 experience always felt like a step backwards into safe fan service heavy stuff after something fresh and new and in my experience tremendously enjoyable. When you really think about how you can go from the clinic to gascgoine, then buy the shortcut to amerlia and then basically sequence break all the way to martyr logarius there is so much variance in Bloodborne that i think is tremendously overlooked because of lot of people purely see the souls games as a game you only replay for a different 'build' rather than enjoy the experience. and theres nothing wrong with wanting to try fights different ways, its great fun. But the more limited builds sort of lead to an assumption the game itself is simple and linear and compared to everything in DS3 up to Irithyll its anything but. Its not everyones favourite but its definitely my favorite in the series. But then i'm more of a lovecraft than berserk fan soo...

[@digitalintent]

+TheDeliciousMystery I've yet to play Bloodbourne but from what I've seen, it will probably be my favorite too. I like the art style and I like the idea of faster combat. Dark Souls and Demon's Souls are two of my favorite games yet Dark Souls 3 looks really generic to me.

[@trunksbriefs4132]

+TheDeliciousMystery Got way into eldritch horror (Lovecraft) around the time of Bloodborne and I saw all of Berserk plus have been collecting the manga just before DkS3, both games thematically came at the right time for me but I think that Bloodborne is better, never really felt that builds were a problem, I seriously preferred being able to wield everything in one play. I finally got to using heavy equipment at the end of my second run for DkS3 but it was too late, love the game but had enough at that point. Mostly used Artorias' sword and armor, in Bloodborne I frequently switched between different weapons, a lot more fun that way.

[@DotRD12]

+Koalasonfire that's the only thing you can do tho and even that requires you cheese the boss untill you're strong enough. and by that point you're already pretty much at the point were you unlock Lothric Castle anyway.

[@chrissk08]

I'd argue that while 3 utilizes more open areas, not all of them are connected. In terms of exposition I think 1 is stronger and less predictable.

[@chrissk08]

Aside from Izalith lmao.

[@LN.2233]

chrissk08 That's the thing isn't it? It seems like Souls 1 is the only souls game that connects most areas together which is something Souls 2, 3 & Bloodborne (from what I played) doesn't do.

[@SchizoLingvo]

+chrissk08 to be completely honest, there're only two really interconnected areas in DS3. Lothric Castle and the Cathedral of the Deep. Especially the Cathedral, I, personally, unlocked the shortcuts in the castle, but never really used them, except for the last right near the boss. The Garden is kinda small and the shortcut leads you to some of the most BS enemies in the game, the other areas are just..open fields with some branching,

[@Sifer2]

Yeah lol it's called Does not open from this side Souls for a reason. Yet despite the over use of one way door shortcuts it still feels like there is too many bonfires. Cathedral of the Deep though was a solid level that approached original DS1 levels of efficient connected level design.

[@Drew88317]

DS2-3 and bloodborne never gave me that feeling of "where am I?" DS1 and Demon Souls did a great job of making these impossible changes to landscape one of the best in my opinion being descending the tree from blight town to a well lit underground beach with archtrees. I always knew where I was in relation to the other areas in DS2-3 and Bloodborne. Don't let it sound like a negative to those games they're still really good, but I prefer being lost and bewildered :)

[@thalamay]

I love Dark Souls 3. I know, it’s heresy in certain circles, but I feel differently. People say it’s too easy, but I think it’s simply less unfair while still immensely challenging, particularly once you look at the DLCs. And of course veterans already went through the whole ”get gud“ phase with the first games, so of course they won’t have the same experience as the first time around. But when you try to look at it objectively, Dark Souls is the best Souls game. I also don’t mind them reusing assets from Bloodbourne where appropriate. The devs still wove a unique tapestry of a world that is very immersive.

[@Punkandtokelife]

thalamay The DLC bosses were all so badass. Especially Gale.

[@FIN791998]

You sure you dont mean DS2? because that game is really hated by the comunity. On the other hand comunity loves DS3 in fact there has been so many passionate debates if DS1 or DS3 is the best souls game and mocking the other one. In my opinion its mostly dependent on the first title you played not because of nostalgia, but because the game sets your standards and expectations from the series. People who started demons and DS1 do have a huge appreciation of the world, imersion, general pve, atmosphere and of course story, DS3 is mostly about the bosses. With that being said what DS3 really lacks in its gameplay is variety. Yeah sure enemies do have a huge amount of attacks and feel very different, its all about pressing the roll button and avoiding it all. Bosses are completely the same... just keep pressing the roll button untill you can attack. Sure some people might say its what these games are about. However, bosses and areas in demons souls or dark souls were or sometimes even in bloodborne not about "lets learn this guys moveset and learn roll timings" but it was about "lets figure out the best way to take him down". Bosses like Phalanx, Maiden Astrea, Fools Idol, Pinwheel, Gaping dragon, Quelaag, Gwyndolin, Micolash, Amygdala, Celestial Emisary... have all certain gimicks you have to figure out and feel completely different to Gael, DSA, ODK, Vordt, Gundyr, Pontif... dudes in armour just starts to get all samy. Not to mention that you have way too much i frames on your rolls so its too easy to avoid attacks and most of the time you can disregard roll direction completely. On the other hand this limits your ability to punish enemy attacks and you have way less openings then youd have in bloodborne for example. This results in a very deffensive dodgefest most of the time. Some people might like this but personally dont enjoy this type of combat. Lastly the most talked about issue of DS3 is that it coppies so much content from all 4 games without adding much to it nor does it have any original content what so ever. While some of them are cool easter eggs, most of them are just in way too big chunks to not be annoying. Like Storm ruller, Boletarian palace clone, Latria clone, valley of defilement clone, anor londo clone, another painted world, lady maria clone, living failures clone, fume knight clone, gwyn clone, artorias clone, maiden in black clone... I guss you get the point. So all in all DS3 is a very good game but it has just way too many issues to be the best one. Id say that all of the dark souls sequels are worse then the three fromsoft original titles: demons souls, dark souls and bloodborne.

[@thalamay]

FINs_empire Your opinion is exactly what I was referring to when calling my love for DS3 heresy. I’ve been following the community and most old school fans of the series were ripping on DS3. Mainly for the story, but also level design. Criticising the combat is a bit of an outlier though, I haven’t heard that before, in fact, this is usually where everybody loves DS3. At least partially, it sounds a bit like you have an issue with PvP. Since I‘m not into PvP at all, I don’t have an informed opinion on that topic. I always turn off all online features. Anyway, DS3 is one of my all time favourite games. I respect other people‘s criticism, but for me it is pretty much the perfect game.

[@zemirukaiba]

@@thalamay ds3 has the best level design of them all, not even close.. Not the best world design but the best intralevel design, it has the best bosses, don't know what this guy is saying aha talking about ds1 bosses aha they suck except O&S and Artorias.. dragonslayer armor is better than the whole roster of ds1 and ds2 bosses. Ds3 has thank god the warping ability available from the beginning but that came from ds2. ds3 has the perfect lenght and even its dlcs! speaking of wich... Friede Midir and Gael are why we all here talking about from software masterpieces

[@blimblam7]

I want a sci-fi style soulsborne game so bad

[@OmegaShanic]

+Blimblam I would also accept a super hero soulsbourne where the super heroes are the bad guys ruining your take over the world scheme.

[@Strideo1]

+Blimblam Using Armored Cores?

[@blimblam7]

Nah armored core is its own thing. I want something new.

[@NopeNaw]

+Blimblam Good thing Miyazaki also wants that. A Space Mecha soulsborne game would be kinda neat.

[@puffwad]

Miyasaki said he was interested in that. Here's hoping it happens!

[@royalflukes4148]

ds 1 had best lvl design by far not even close

[@zaclovesschool2273]

yep

[@tremorchrist84]

This is a overwhelmingly in-depth video. So much info involved... Even for just the personal opinions you expressed, there is plenty there to back up why you feel that way. It is a wonderful change of pace from most of the videos you see on youtube today. Even the so called "Professional" channels wish they could pack 30 min with so much quality awesomeness. As of late, it really feels like most of the high profile websites/reviewers are getting blown away by the smaller, independent channels. Long review short: You did a great job. Keep making videos of this quality and I will keep sharing them.

[@Kwotzi]

I've just noticed. Why doesn't this channel have like close to a million subs? The content on here is fucking excellent.

[@AzureSymbiote]

The voice.

[@mooganify]

AzureSymbiote Hey, look who it is!

[@AzureSymbiote]

mooganify It's a me, Micolash!

[@mooganify]

AzureSymbiote 😂

[@MogguSama]

20:47 Siegward* (Siegmeyer died back in dark souls 1)

[@GameCyborgCh]

(assuming you did the entire quest) and siegward after you defeat yhorm

[@protonjones54]

Great video, but George's whole criticism of Nightmare of Mensis makes no sense. You should already have a bunch of sedatives saved up by this point in the game to deal with frenzy, and frenzy isn't even that bad. You get 20 blood vials by default, you only need ONE to get most of your health back from frenzy damage. You can bait out the (only) 3 enemies that lie between you and safe passage across the first bridge. Winter Lanterns can be ambushed. Jumping off the elevator to the shoggoth bridge is fairly easy, how he managed to mess that up so many times is amusing.

[@JonesyMcDanes]

Dark souls 2 isnt a bad game but if you play it after playing any of the other souls game it might as well be ET.

[@MizukiTheUnderPro]

+JonesyMcDanes Well DaS2 had alot of replayability because NG+ changed stuff around by not just giving you better rings. Also the build variation was huge compared to DaS1 and DaS3, also it gets bonus points for working covernants. Design wise it was the weakest ill give you that but even DaS1 is weak when you hold it against DeS.

[@JXZX1]

... No? I enjoyed my first time with it more than I enjoyed my first time with Dark Souls. Hell, I still go back to DS2 after all these years.

[@LocoTony64]

+JonesyMcDanes its still a fun game.

[@Shmandalf]

I feel like the PvP was the best it has been in DaS2.

[@Shmandalf]

***** Dark Souls 3 completely removed the poise system, though.

[@rogaldorn2109]

That forced Loot Crate advertising was cringy

[@meris8486]

+Rogal Dorn A man's gotta eat

[@qinoga]

There's nothing anyone can do to make Lootcrate sound good. Cut the man some slack.

[@SolusBatty]

+Rogal Dorn He made it cringy intentionaly. He is always like that for sponsorships. How did you not notice that? A necessery evil. EDIT: Just focus on Bowie comment for example.

[@DJ_Macphisto]

+Rogal Dorn At least this month they didn't pack in a *FUCKING INFLATABLE FUCKING CROWN*. They still suck ass, though.

[@GreenLockProduction]

+Rogal Dorn dont underestimate them loot crates, dorn you might find your hands in one of those boxes ;-)

[@emonthemutated643]

*When you said Bloodborne is your favorite of the four* "PREACH SISTER PREACH"

[@KirillTheBeast]

I agree with 99% of the vid, but I see the Farron Keep as a probing/exploration test: you can purchase purple moss clumps at the shrine from the start, so when you traverse the crucifixion woods and "miss" the Sage, you get to a different area, with a bonfire and THEN you find out "crap, poison...", warp back to the shrine and stock up for the next area. The way I see it, it rewards you for not underestimating the poison threat (which is laughable in this game), since you won't have a lot of estus at that point.

[@GameCyborgCh]

i never get purple moss clumps when i get there. the poison doesn't do a lot of damage and with a weapon with the quick step weapon art you can travese the swamp way more quickly

[@vighneshsivakumar3418]

I really miss the world design of DS1, and I really want to find another game that does that. DS3 is great, but because of its DS2 style world design, it felt a bit flat for me. I don't have a PS4 so I can't try Bloodborne, but that sounds like a game I'd like better. What are your suggestions on other 3D games with DS1 style world design?

[@justindloski9129]

Sadly, there are none. That's why the original Dark Souls ruined every other game for so many people, including me. In fact, when I play 3, it just makes me want to play the original again.

[@SirZelean]

Hah. It felt flat. Like, literally! :D

[@Andystuff800]

Metroid Prime. Play it in Dolphin with the mousecontrol mod.

[@TommyPKFire]

Hey George, thanks for your videos. They've gotten me through some of the hardest times in my life. Your videos make me smile in the worst of moods and helped get me clean from drugs. You kind of saved my life. Please keep doing what you're doing. Just stopped by to say thanks! Have a great day, bro. Cheers!

[@rattynobbs]

george really loves halberds

[@gatorboiy5269]

Never thought I’d hear someone say the gutter was their favorite area, since it’s just a darker, more cramped, and more bs version of blighttown

[@SirZelean]

I actually like it too :c I always make sure to light every single torch on the area

[@ecchi4196]

Lighting every sconce in the area is pretty neat. Also memorating the place by heart and invading there felt great. By the time I would've invaded a poor sod the third time there, I'd take the time to lead them through the level. That place is quite enjoyable once you get used to it

[@nullbraintheconfused1993]

My favourite area in DS 2. That long decent and then black gulch. Love it to bits. Blighttown (even in remastered with 60 fps) is my least favourite. Also I have fallen to death so many times in DS 1 because I got stuck on some invisible thing or got the camera turned forcefully. Guess experiences are different :)

[@zaclovesschool2273]

yeap

[@theophrastushohenheim3251]

Really great video. Dan from extra credits sent me over btw. Your well put together thoughts as a script in this video (and the bloodborne lovecraft one) just won you a subscriber. (whatever that is worth to you)

[@HeelPower200]

Lost Izalith does not constitute the "second half of the game".I wish people would stop that.There's the archives, tomb of the giants,the catacombs,new londo ruins...They are all brilliant areas that make up that dreaded "second half of dark souls".

[@dotanuki3371]

+HeelPower200 second half of the game is weak, izalith is just the worst of it. catacombs isn't second half, it's pre lordvessel. dukes is good, but caves is garbage. tomb isn't good, it's just the place with the gimmick. seath is trash, nito is trash, boc is trash, and kings is the worst bossfight in the game

[@ebinsprolo7844]

+HeelPower200 which are all weak areas compared to the start of the game, as soon as you get the lord vessel the game drops in quality and this is unanimously agreed upon

[@ronanvankessel6329]

AlyZa brilliant my ass. Those areas sucked as well

[@jazzmaster909]

Ronan Van Kessel Tomb of the Giants and Dukes Archives were awsome as hell. Lol

[@ronanvankessel6329]

jazzmaster909 tomb of giants really sucked for me. I hated it. And the dukes archives are soo unimmersive for me. Grand archives are much more immersive, IMO

[@gustavod.4795]

Chalice dungeons definitely lack in level design. But it's completely optional and can be good for a challenge, but not a sight to behold. Even crazier, the chalice dungeon holds unique bosses you won't even find in the main game.

[@Kalazar321]

+Gustavo Davalillo One of the most thrilling and exciting moments for me was fighting the Watchdogs of the old Lords in the defiled chalice. One of the hardest things in that game and it sucks many people don't get to it.

[@BarakalypseNow]

+Gustavo Davalillo Chalice Dungeons are definitely a mixed bag. They can get stale and repetitive, especially if you have multiple characters that you want to use in PvP (meaning you have to farm good gems from the dungeons). Still, the Chalice Dungeons represent the hardest challenge that the game can offer you, and there is some unique content to be had.

[@idon896]

They really should've just used those bosses and put them in the main game and used the effort into making the chalice dungeons into more levels.

[@mithunselvaratnam4655]

I had way more fun with the Chalice Dungeons than I expected to. I think they worked because Bloodborne is the only Souls game where the combat is so tight and fun on its own that it doesn't need level design and lore to be satisfying. It definitely benefits from those things, but I had a lot of fun experimenting with different weapon combinations and honing my skills against the bosses in CDs. In fact, I don't think I truly appreciated the nuance of the game's combat until I had beaten the Defiled and Loran chalices, along with the DLC.

[@RagingKarma2]

Yeah and then the defiled dungeon came along and I had to fight Amygdala a total of 172 times to beat her once. I hated the dungeons they were not challenging they just kept sending enemies at you. Also those big dog enemies were retarded.

[@matternicuss]

I don't get the hate the second half of DS1 gets. Sure, Lost Izaelith is the lowpoint of the game, but then there's The Catacombs and Tomb of the Giants, which are some of my personal favorite areas in the game. These two areas really make you feel as though you're venturing deep into a lost, forbidden tomb, and the atmosphere is incredible.

[@FragrantRain]

Take a shot every time the narrator says "fair" or "unique". Alcohol poisoning is fun!

[@winoINC]

I wanna play Soulsborne game from space , hardcore sci fi with From Software gamestyle, thank you Miyazaki:D

[@GameCyborgCh]

basically dead space but with light sabers

[@JoeKing69]

21:25 Totally agree it took forever to get on there but the trick is to simply WALK out of the elevator not roll

[@Aspratameme]

So, Dark Souls 2 is my favorite Souls game. It was not my first played, so I am not nostalgic. Is this bad?

[@mikeb6410]

I love the level design of 1 and the quicker more complex combat and weapons of 3. 2 is good.. but nothing about it was better than the other 2 in my opinion.

[@TheFelipeBZ]

Dark Souls 2 is great, the combat feels much more interesting for me then the other ones. You really have to commit to each attack, it is not like DS3 with faster attacks and lower cost in rolling. I do understand that Dark Souls 1 is really good, probably the best one, but DS2 is still my favourite

[@abyssalrayz9499]

Yay people like me

[@Jp4Real0]

Same, don't feel bad DS2 is awesome

[@jaguartony]

I full on dislike ds2 design philosophies (big weapons gud & cheap tricks) but I had a great time with it because I finished it with a friend.

[@snapslav]

13:27 "Remember how Darkroot Garden has those transparent forest hunters? They weren't too hard, they had nothing to gain from thr transparency, they were easy to forget." This screams that you played the game well after it received a NUMBER of patches. The original version of the game's effect for the Ring of Fog (the transparency effect) also prevent players from locking on to enemies. This was deemed OP for PVP, so it was nerfed to simply lower the lock-on range. If you'd played the game when it was first released, you'd have a vivid memory of the enemies in the forest being a TRIAL to get past, because you could barely see them, and you could NOT lock onto them. So they had a habit of sneaking behind you and backstabbing you very easily, which is what they were designed to do. The nerf meant to balance PVP made the area much more trivial, but it wasn't always that way.

[@lookingglassknight139]

you still cant lock on to the forest enemies

[@mfisher9977]

yes you can

[@JoshForeman]

It's amazing to me that I've been doing professional level design on AAA games for two decades, but still pick up nuggets of goodness from your work, George. Keep it up!

[@SPM0717]

21:25 Jeez, it's not that difficult to get into the opening! I can't remember dying on it, and if I did it was probably just the once.

[@Beatness121]

Can't wait for Sekiro! It looks like FromSoft is getting away from their Soulsborne habits but keeping the same core principles and applying them in a new and exciting way.

[@Godeias]

Dark Souls 1 had THE BEST level design, and I have been disappointed that they never did it quite the same again. The first felt like going through a 3D version of those old 'castle books' that showed the inner layers of castles, back in the day.

[@caliden2]

"student loan debtors" LOL

[@elliottvantonder5477]

You were certainly right about Sekiro's level design. Too bad the skyrim-ification continued with Elden Ring...guess the medieval setting really has gotten bland from all the repetition. To me Elden Ring felt like an open world full of b-sides of Miyazaki's best levels. Now that I'm watching this, they feel more like e-sides given how many swamp villages, gothic castles, catacombs, royal libraries, ancient fortresses and corrupted forests we've been through. I'm really hoping this "Spellbound" thing (or whatever comes next) will explore new environments.

[@danieladamczyk4024]

Elden ring world desing is flat. All games have this problem. They 3d only by name.

[@facundovera3227]

"Elden Ring's flat" Mfs can be in Siofra River, then to Radahn's arena, and go up to Mountaintops of the Giants. You have 4 paths to access Caelid, 4 to Altus Plateau, 3 ways to get to Volcano Manor, a front and s back entrance to Leyndell, Royal Capital. A whole underworld that connects with the Lands Between. Both Stormveil and the Capitol are some of Fromsoft's best level layouts. And Farum Azula is a pretty unique take.

[@AlbinoTuxedo]

I played Dark Souls 2 with a pure strength build and the greatsword and it made the game into my favorite if the series,l. It's the only game in the series where I FELT that investing in stats actually made you stronger, and using the greatsword made group encounters a lot more manageable and fun. It's really funny how playing a game a certain way changes your opinion about it

[@thegreatmadhatter668]

24:25 Mosquitos don't drop moss. Only the toxic dart guys drop moss in Blighttown. Very good video, liked your analysis very much. Still won't buy a PS4 just for Bloodborne :P

[@potatolancer2274]

+The Great Mad Hatter I bought a PS4 for Bloodborne. Now I only use it for Netflix

[@tomasdelcampo2]

+The Great Mad Hatter I dont get why people keep saying a ps4 is just for bloodborne since ps3 had like 20 great exclusives and ps4 already has a decent amount with uncharted 4 just coming out and many more announced like last guardian, zero horizon, ni-oh, the last of us 2, the evil within 2(almost guaranteed) plus some of the best series are ps exclusive theres more but I struggle to keep track Xbox has like maybe 2 or 3 comparable exclusive games in between xbox 360 and 1

[@thegreatmadhatter668]

That's all nice and stuff, but I'm not interested in other games for PS4. You might be, but I just want to play Bloodborne. And that means I would have to buy a PS4 for a single game.

[@tomasdelcampo2]

Well in that case assuming you live in the US or somewhere similar you can buy it new for $200, sell it it for 150 and get bloodborne new for 40. Not bad since a shitty new game and its dlcs costs the same or more Besides games and consoles cost 3 or 4 times the price in Latin America and other places but people still buy games (hint hint) sell your ps4 there or somewhere similar and you would be making money by buying a ps4 If you dont believe me I sold a used ps3 for well over a thousand dollars in Argentina and GTA 5 for over 200 dollars in Brazil with like zero effort

[@theCHEESEB3AST]

I'm so glad that you defended Dark Souls 2. I feel that the game is judged far too harshly. It's nowhere near as good as Dark Souls 1 but it's not some kind of 'black sheep' in the series to me as I stilk love it.

[@TheAphexTim]

21:20 Damn, I never noticed all the tiny mouths on the winter lanterns... As if they weren't terrifying enough already

[@HardcorePanda]

I love DS2 and it was my first souls game :)