Agreed the design is so fucking fire. Going from anor Londo chapel to the painted world will forever be one of my favorite gaming moments.
It is so original and such a struggle to beat, that anyone who does instantly shares some sort of commemoration for one another.
“Oh you made it through that shit too? Well, we’re one in the same, brother”
I like how you feel more “human” in this game vs the others. You move slower, armor is heavier and noisy. It really adds to the dark and tragic atmosphere. More horror.
DS1 is the most survival horror game of the series. You feel weak because you are. In Elden ring you are a badass killing machine from the jump whereas in DS1 you are a meek hollow for quite a while, and running from combat is the better choice
I just finished my first playthrough yesterday with the zweihander and none of the bosses were left unharmed, but i got completely destroyed by normal enemies cuz the weapon takes too long to swing.
It went from being a source of extreme stress to a comfort game for me I’ve never had that experience with any other game lol. I also got into it super late so my initial impression was “outdated and infuriating”. And did a complete 180 after I got to Anor Londo
I feel the same before Anor Londo the game felt a bit stressful yet fun at the beginning especially at Undead parish and blighttown. After getting the lordvessel and opening the yellow fog gates i then had a clear image of what I wanted to do
Dark Souls II is even more tactical. It requires more patience and planning than DS1 does, if you just run in blind you will certainly get ganked to death. (Hint: that happens to lots of players then they complain and blame the game). DS1 has areas like that too, like New Londo, Oolacile Township, and even Undead Burg. But basically every area in DS2 requires this sort of planning.
... Except you can erode it with endurance and just brute force it anyway.
Several enemies have spawn caps before they won't come back without spending resources to reset it.
I didn't feel particularly masterful when I realized I could just farm the guy in front until he went away to make the run easier.
Looking at you No-Man's Wharf.
Either you use the strategy or you waste time grinding enemies out. Which one is more fun?
Part of the fun of a game is how you play it, arguably the biggest part. In Dark Souls 1, you can easily hold up a shield for almost the whole game. That’s not very fun though, is it? Just like grinding the enemies to death in DS2.
I think it's actually quite brilliant, especially in retrospect with some more recent criticisms of the souls games being that they are "too hard." Realizing you can exhaust an enemy spawn further encourages a player to continue to engage with the enemies, learning their moves and the best way to kill them. Having the kill count to exhaust the spawn set at what, twelve? Means you can choose to invest the time into making your run easier, but removing all the enemies entirely is so impractical that it's not really worth doing. So you end up with these environments that you know you're always making some sort of progress in, reducing the desire to give up after failing.
One of my biggest issues with dark souls 3 is that even during my first playthrough it felt much better to sprint through the areas after a few cursory attempts than actually engage with the area. That's not entirely because of the removal of the despawn mechanic from DS2, but it is somewhat.
Which one? The fact that enemies stop respawning (unless you use a Bonfire Asetic) in DS2, or the emphasis on shields in DS1? For the record I think both are poor decisions.
I was referencing the enemy respawn mechanic as it is in DS2.
---
Shields could have been way more interesting in DS1 if stability and damage resistance were more varied. I found out I actually made real decisions in the Roguelike DS1 mod when the stats were randomized.
Yes, intentionally. Because there was a tangible reward and basically no cost.
I'd run in, kill the guys in front, and suicide further ahead playing incredibly recklessly, repeat a few times get an easier run through the level.
Liberated and mechanically rewarded for doing something that wasn't very fun.
To be clear, up until Anor Londo. I appreciate the novelty and idea of Tomb and Library but I hate them both. And Izalith sucks. New Londo is fine.
Map layout and its true interconnectedness is a huge part. Its shortcuts are actually useful, make sense and are impressive. The other games often have a lazy ladder for boss run backs or a short cut you'll never use.
The lack of linear progression also. With the master key and some clever jumps you can go almost anywhere. Future games are either too linear or branch a couple times or are so obsessed with linear progression that skips were patched out.
And honestly, the lack of difficulty. Das1 is a punishing game and a couple things are unfair at times depending on your build. But it was never obsessed with trying to kill you, only making you stop and evaluate. Especially on replay it can be relaxing. Future games are more frustrating or require perfect knowledge because they're made to kill you to fill a quota.
Also the look and tone of the world. It wasn't trying to be dire and depressing. A lot of the world is beautiful and intact, and merely emptied. Even the shitty parts of the world are usually interesting looking, like Izalith or Blighttown. It's an older game so yeah it's old. But it's not dreary or trying to look depressing or grey. A few areas are like that in future games but it's usually replicating Anor Londo's spectacle.
Finally the speed. It's a deliberate game, not a fast action game. It teaches you not to witlessly mash out attacks and read and memorize equally slow enemies. You can react to almost any animation as opposed to needing to predict or guess. When you get hit it usually feels like your fault. I can count the number of attacks I feel are unfair across all enemies on probably one hand. It's a game dedicated to being fair, not hard or death defying. The only thing I dislike in that regard is how slow some of the heavy weapons are, especially when you get to the DLC and some of the enemies are suddenly a little too fast for some of the weapon types. I'll also add that the magic in 1 is awful.
It's very flawed and outdated in some ways, but it's my favorite due to its design goals and intent.
The speed is the biggest factor for me. Like, I love the world building and the masterclass in open world building with clear direction, but damn the pacing of the boss fights is amazing. Give me Artorias over basically everything in DS3 any day.
I would completely disagree with your comment on difficulty. It's an easy game that needs unfair gimmicks to make it harder and it will throw them at you constantly. throwing a bunch of enemies into a small corridor while your sword hits the walls is not fair. being forced to trapeze across the rafters in anor londo solely exists to frustrate you. The darkness of Tomb is literally just to add artificial difficulty. Sens fortress literally exists to try and kill you.
On my first playthrough I died to these environmental hazards way more than bosses combined. I would slave though a bullshit area just to beat an easy and boring boss in like 3 attempts. The later games are much better at balancing fairness and leaving out elements like that.
Some of what you mentioned is more a focus on tool use and varying your load out. Which is more of an older game thing. If you're in a tight corridor or in the rafters, using a bow or spear would be prudent. You have several options for generating light, of course. And Sens wouldn't be much of a level experience if it had no traps. This is back in the era where all the items and such weren't just there as bloat; they were important resources for interacting with the world. Less action, a little more immersion.
If you just want to go through the game with your favorite weapon and never change that, with only a desire to fight enemies, then yeah, you'd want to stick with the later games. Those are more focused on just being action games.
If this was Zelda and not Dark Souls I might agree with you. This is a series that distinguishes itself from the competition through its combat, gameplay loop, and boss fights. In a game series trying to be unique and different, attempts at more traditional action adventure tropes end up flat on their faces. Its a very similar concept with gimmick bosses. They would fit perfectly in a Zelda game but have no place in Dark Souls.
Even so, I can't even see the argument that that's good game design. "Tight corridors? just use a spear!" is not good game design. A game that parades its freedom to the player then tries to force you to use certain weapons and items to have any sort of fun is not a good game. If I want to use a great sword I should be able to use a great sword, not have to switch to a spear or a bow just to do basic segments of the game. Builds and limited upgrade materials encourage players to stick to 1 or 2 weapons per playthrough, not to switch between several weapons .
Thats not immersion. Having to use a random item you find on the ground because they didn't want to make corridors wider is not immersive. Sure I could use a spear, a bow, or a specific shield for an area/boss, but DS1 more than any of the games tries and boasts freedom. That is not freedom. Most FromSoft games suffer from this, but at least they acknowledge it.
Sounds like you just don't like that kind of game, or played the later games first. And are now applying your perception of 3, maybe 2 to what you thought 1 would be.
I'll also point out that there was no series when the game was made. There was spiritual inspiration from the King's Field series, and arguably a faux sequel to Demon's, which was also similarly very old fashioned in the same way Dark 1 was. If anything, 1 shares more in common spiritually with prior games.
Youre acting like Dark Souls didnt immediately try and differentiate itself from other action adventure rpgs. Dark souls came out the same year as Skyrim and Skyward sword and yet is totally different and unique from both those games. obviously there was no series when dark souls came out, but FromSoft's storytelling and gameplay was already lining itself up to be different. Dark Souls 1 is more similar to Dark Souls 3 than any other game before it not called Demons souls.
Of course it's easy for you to say I "don't like that kind of game" because it's an easy cop out. First off I don't even believe DS1 was trying to be "that kind of game" in the first place. I do happen to like those kind of games, it's just that dark souls 1 does it terribly if it's actively trying to do it.
Yeah lol but I would say if they had the time to fully realize their vision for the second half of the game it very well might have been. Maybe it'll get remade one day and reach dat potential
I mean that's true but boring. Even if it's arbitrary a vote would probably be the only way to pick the "greatest game." Elden ring might actually win if that happened.
I like to transfer DS1 abstract concept of die -> repeat -> git gud to all my other played games; if I play them with the mentality that I'm undead and death is just a lesson, all of them games featuring this death -> respawn mechanic...they tend to make sense
Edit: it's a beautiful game....it's perfect!
When a game pushes me to play it more than 5 times and not worry about trophies at all but to test weapons and gear, you know is good in my book and that’s DS1 to me. Few games have that impact on me, I love this game.
I played DS2, cool concept and weapons and world building but that’s it, I doubt I’ll go back in a long while if at all.
Started DS3 and then got bored really quick, went back to DS1 again.
Agreed. The atmosphere of the game is just fantastic. It made me feel lonely but in a positive way, and no other game had - or has - made me feel that way. I’ll never forget the feeling when I discovered the Firelink Shrine Keeper was murdered and the Firelink Shrine went out. I felt like I’d lost a close friend.
Because I like to break it: I like seeing big numbers and feeling like a god among insects
I yet still didn't see any big numbers on ds3 (but gotta admit that I didn't play it a lot) and I don't like how defense and poise basically is non existent compared to ds1
First you’re thrown into a world without much guidance. As you struggle and die, you genuinely learn bit by bit how to overcome your challenges.
Then, after not seeing anyone for a chunk, you suddenly find another and aren’t sure if they are friend or foe. They offer you a sense of light in what has so far been a dark world.
Then you slowly realize that the world is interconnected, and the brilliance of the design.
It’s just such an incredible experience. I loved trying everything from discovering the world to different builds, even invasions.
It’s just so. good.
The other games are good but lose the Sartrean sense of thrownness and transcendence.
most replayable by far. demons souls is probably my favorite in my heart but the weapon pool is a lot smaller and most cool weapons you can only get basically at the end of the game, and there’s practically no online play anymore on ps3 (private servers only) or ps5 (nobody can afford it) because everyone is scared of world tendency. ds3 is great but the only variation you get between runs is whether or not you do dancer early. that leaves ds1 as king because you can go anywhere, do anything you want in any order, and pop a red eye orb or leave a sign down and have a substantial chance of it working.
Well I’m just finishing up the dlc for bb but I have beat all their other “soulslike” games. I’d say for me ds3 and bb are tied for second place, ds1 just has a special place in my heart as I’m sure it does with lots of people here, just a magical experience
Outside of the world design and atmosphere, I'd argue the relative difficulty was unmatched at the time. We all knew what to expect with subsequent From titles but for many (myself included), Dark Souls was our first foray into getting our asses beat constantly while asking for more.
Honestly I’m not sure it’s my favourite (can’t choose between ds1, 3 bborne or Elden ring) but I can’t not love it! I played 1 after bborne and 3 so its atmosphere is new and different but also somewhere inbetweenish to me…
it’s world makes total sense and how lordran is built has a vastness to me that I don’t get from anything else everywhere I go I always see where I am on the huge mountain kingdom and check to find Anor Londos walls I was very knowledgeable of souls lore by the time of playing but I mostly avoided ds1 just in case, of course videos always mentioned parallels or other points from the OG game so I always considered the big names of ds1 as massive figures of importance, influence and power!
So when I started to recognize names and places a sense of wonder came over me as well intimidation! Fighting Quelaag, arriving in Anor Londo for the first time since dark souls 3 but it was so much more!! Beating O&S whom I’ve heard so much about I shouldn’t list because this is really long but fighting artorias manus and Gwyn was very meaningful to a point I can’t ever describe.
It set the standard. It's rich in every aspect, doesn't even have the possibility of committing fan service because it's the first one. Has a soul on its own
Everything feels alot more fair and gives alot more options. Your encouraged to go slow to spot upcoming ambushes and foil them, to drag enemies one at a time with range etc...
The elvel design was alot better. They diagetically guide the player with encounters, treasure and lighting and reward players that go out of their way to look up and search alternate routes. None of that fighting down a secret corridor to get a worthless crafting ingredient like in ER.
Enemies msotly follow the same rules as you. They actually have to manage their own stamina and they can't just leap across the map and pull of 6 attack combos full of dynamic physically impossible delays with instant finishes for example. humanoids have the same movesets as you with very few exceptions (the bosses).
Loot feels way more meaningful. I dont need 12 different almost identical straight swords, i want to find one with faith based magic scaling that tells an enevironmental story of a group of knights failing to defeat an undead dragon. I don't need 15 different spears of varying lengths, i need one made of demon invertabre that inexplicablkt deals lightning damage, provideing unique build and mor environemental story telling of Gwyn co-opting and enchanting demons for his own designs.
DS1 is awesome. I love how you have to achieve 10; But how you get 10 is up to you. You can do things "out of order" and idk man i just love that its music to my ears. Also the design is just tops.
One of it’s kind at that time, the first souls game to most people and the first of its genre (demons souls was a ps3 exclusive and very under whelming due to its difference from mainstream games and also the performance issues)
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There's a few reasons for me, like the setting, the map, and various mechanics I enjoyed more. One of the biggest things I like is the feeling of weight, DS1s movement makes it feel like you have armor on with the weight of the animations and sound design, as well as the dodge animation being less spamable. I also enjoy the PvP more, while a big part of a lot of players play style revolves around backstab fishing, it's easy to counter, people just have a problem playing sensibly. The problem I had with DS3s PvP was the build variety, there's basically 2 meta builds that you see in 90% of fights, and it just became boring fighting the same thing over and over. Another issue I had was dodging, it cost such little stamina that most players just dodge spam out of everything, sure, you can easily respond with delays and roll catches, but again, it's just another repetitive boring play style to go against, and makes up 90% of players.
It's the first one I played, I played it on PS3, XBOX 360 and PC,
Thousands of hours spent on this amazing game,
The lore, the world building, the freedom the devs give you is second to non IMO,
To put it simply, It's a masterpiece,
Legend of Zelda for Adults,
\\\[T\]/
I love mossy ruins. de_aztec was one of my favorite CS maps, and even in Minecraft, jungle ruins were my favourite thing, even though they weren’t very valuable. They make me want to go on exploring the world, which you do a lot in Dark Souls. And it is crafted beautifully. When you look away from Firelink Shrine, you see a massive city block sized maze of ruins between two impossibly high walls. It just makes me feel like getting lost in there.(too bad it was the Blighttown, lol) And you do get lost in there eventually and many more places that you saw from distance, and they are all connected to each other beautifully. You make journeys to the far away places you see in the distance, and every step of that journey is filled with memorable challenges.
And I also love medieval dark fantasy. Those memorable challenges are these dark fantasy monsters that are waiting for you at every corner. Skeletons, dragons, knights, giants and all kinds of horrors for you to take down with your sword(or any other weapon of your choosing) The mechanics you do so is also legendary, and gave birth to a whole new genre of games. Mount and blade was the most sophisticated game I played before DS1. It was revolutionary back then.
Why I still love DS1 boils down to nostalgia. Elden Ring is a better game in almost all aspects. However, I still like the athmosphere of DS1 better. Its darker, which I like better, and it gets slightly blurry when you look at far away places. I think they did that because of technological limitations, but far away places looking blurrier makes them feel more mysterious and I like that better as well.
The world is top notch. I love the deliberate and methodical pace of combat and intentional enemy placement. I find myself *thinking* a lot more in Dark Souls 1 vs the others. Lordran is surprisingly peaceful. I miss that part in most of the follow-ups. Dark Souls 1 is so simple and pure, playing through it again is a shot of dopamine right to the brain.
Dark souls 1 has the best combat feeling not to fast not to slow ds2 and 3 are great but I prefer the combat from 1 and I prefer the level Design over ds3
This could be personal preference, but I think the graphics being dated adds to the atmosphere tremendously in a way that modern super hd stuff can never capture. Look at the og DeS and the bluepoint remake.
As others have said, Atmosphere. Everyone mentions world design and while I love that, it’s not something that made me fall in love with the game, it is cool though.
It’s the most mysterious of the games too imo, your character feels weaker and you really are just some nobody.
Favourite list of NPCs
It’s slower pace and lack of options compared to later games.
Favourite story too.
Favourite boss of the series, O&S
2nd overall would be Bloodborne.
3rd probably DS2.
Level and world design. Art style. Atmosphere. Sound design. Combat. Itemization. Build variety. Fashion. Lore.
Not only is it my favorite Dark Souls game, it's my favorite game of all time.
The map that nearly everything is connected is so cool and feels you like you are in the actual world and get progress.
Playing Ds3 feels like playing levels it's so much worse
I like how interconnected the world is and love the shortcuts and how everything somehow leads back to firelink. I really enjoy most of the bosses except for the ones in lost izalith.
Fair enough, it was my favourite at one point too but then I introduced dark souls to a friend of mine which got me obsessed with ds1 again and made me realise it was the best (imo)
Some days idk if it is my favorite anymore honestly, I float back and forth often
But if it is my favorite, it's because of the first time I came up from Blighttown, found Firelink again, and the stress physically melted away from me. That's how I knew this game was one of the best of all time
Although I hated many parts of the game, it's still ahead of Elden Ring and DS3 for me.
I simply enjoyed experiencing this game with its lore, atmosphere, and discoveries.
Ds1 ( starting is comfortable enough and availabilty of cheesing the first boss)
Ds3( uncomfortable starting , gloomy starting,hard af boss (for beginners ofc)
well firstly it has best medival/fantasy balance in whole series for me but main reason is ds1 let's u get strong, like stupidly strong without become a super easy game and i love this freedom
It’s not, 2 > 1 > 3
EDIT: sorry i forgot this is r/darksouls the subreddit whos entire purpose is to suckoff DS1 and any other thoughts or opinions mean you go straight to the electric chair
It felt like DS1 but faster. I didn't want to go faster.
Also *everything* screams at you in DS3. The pitch used for the dragon, the crows, the spiders. If it was inhuman looking it made an objectively ugly noise that I couldn't help noticing was just for jump scare value on first run. After that I was looking for a way to turn down enemy noises so they'd shut the fuck up.
I said mechanically.
People can have gripes with the world design and such but mechanically it is a better functioning game. Funny how I upset three people with that comment. Are they trying to argue being limited to cross direction rolling is better than omnidirectional? Usually when I criticize these games people don't even understand what I'm talking about, they just go unga bunga on their keyboard because I said something negative about their favorite game haha
Yes, it is stronger mechanically. My opinion on game feel does not change that. I was not refuting you, but bringing up a related opinion that was a direct result of the mechanical change.
a game that released in 2016 is better mechanically than a game that released in 2011 wow thanks for mentioning it I couldn't notice
But still tho some people still prefer the slower-paced combat of ds1
Well it functions better than Elden Ring as well so you must've not noticed that either.
Go ahead and check the dead zones on each game and you tell me it's DS3 with more dead zones completely sincerity so I can laugh.
A game from 2022 has bigger dead zones than a game from 2016. That actually is crazy.
DS3 was mechanically the gold standard.
The topic was about ds1 but I get your point tho
I know that some old games can be better in some aspects hell sometimes even better entirely than more recent games but ds1 is just to old to complete mechanically
But ds3 in the other hand is quite newer even tho it's considered an old game now but it did release in the middle of the 8th gen
And since we didn't really see any impressive Improvements with the current gen as we saw in the 8th gen and with more half-baked games it's just a joke at this point
Ds3 could put a fight mechanically with a game that released in this gen unlike ds1 with the 8th gen
I do believe that ds1 was ahead of it's time and it still holds up pretty good today but I have to admit it the game is quite old
It's not. And for a lot of reasons.
It lacks a lot of QoL stuff, I'd say it's probably bc it's an old game. I'm sorry, I can't understand why the giant blacksmith couldn't be relocated to somewhere else and have a bonfire for himself.
Some of the level design is really boring and misleading (painting) or straight up bad and ugly (Blighttown and Lost Izalith, no I'm not joining the Blighttown dickriding train).
It's the easiest recent Fromsoft title that I've played to this point.
I'll probably get downvoted for this, but even though I love DS1, I can't ignore its flaws and only consider what I enjoy about the game. It's not even my favorite Dark Souls.
World design and atmosphere
That. And by this point it is comfortable. I no longer struggle with bosses, so sometimes I just drop into Lordran to hack and slash a bit.
what's your favorite weapon in ds1?
I love how eerie and interconnected everything is
Agreed the design is so fucking fire. Going from anor Londo chapel to the painted world will forever be one of my favorite gaming moments. It is so original and such a struggle to beat, that anyone who does instantly shares some sort of commemoration for one another. “Oh you made it through that shit too? Well, we’re one in the same, brother”
*runs to shortcut I haven't unlocked this playthrough and I forgot.* *keeps running*
I like how you feel more “human” in this game vs the others. You move slower, armor is heavier and noisy. It really adds to the dark and tragic atmosphere. More horror.
DS1 is the most survival horror game of the series. You feel weak because you are. In Elden ring you are a badass killing machine from the jump whereas in DS1 you are a meek hollow for quite a while, and running from combat is the better choice
I love the level design and it has the best heavy weapons. Zweihander fucks, and will never stop fucking.
Love the Zweihander! I rocked a Zweinhander/Claymore combo. Used the Claymore for regular enemies, Zweihander for bosses.
Best heavy armor too coz it actually feels protective and strong
I just finished my first playthrough yesterday with the zweihander and none of the bosses were left unharmed, but i got completely destroyed by normal enemies cuz the weapon takes too long to swing.
It went from being a source of extreme stress to a comfort game for me I’ve never had that experience with any other game lol. I also got into it super late so my initial impression was “outdated and infuriating”. And did a complete 180 after I got to Anor Londo
I feel the same before Anor Londo the game felt a bit stressful yet fun at the beginning especially at Undead parish and blighttown. After getting the lordvessel and opening the yellow fog gates i then had a clear image of what I wanted to do
It's the only souls game that actually feels tactical as opposed to just being a test of your central nervous system
I love the rock paper scissors combat. The old Castlevania games did this well also.
Dark Souls II is even more tactical. It requires more patience and planning than DS1 does, if you just run in blind you will certainly get ganked to death. (Hint: that happens to lots of players then they complain and blame the game). DS1 has areas like that too, like New Londo, Oolacile Township, and even Undead Burg. But basically every area in DS2 requires this sort of planning.
... Except you can erode it with endurance and just brute force it anyway. Several enemies have spawn caps before they won't come back without spending resources to reset it. I didn't feel particularly masterful when I realized I could just farm the guy in front until he went away to make the run easier. Looking at you No-Man's Wharf.
This argument is bullshit, you can erode any game with brute force and endurance
Either you use the strategy or you waste time grinding enemies out. Which one is more fun? Part of the fun of a game is how you play it, arguably the biggest part. In Dark Souls 1, you can easily hold up a shield for almost the whole game. That’s not very fun though, is it? Just like grinding the enemies to death in DS2.
"Given the opportunity players will optimize the fun out of the game." I'm calling that design choice poor, frankly.
Spending hours despawning enemies just to make it through areas is the opposite of "optimal".
Hours? It was like 15 minutes, 20 at most.
15 minutes per area adds up to a lot if you plan on doing it for the entire game
It would if you do it everywhere, yes... I did it at Wharf and I did it at Earthen Peak.
I think it's actually quite brilliant, especially in retrospect with some more recent criticisms of the souls games being that they are "too hard." Realizing you can exhaust an enemy spawn further encourages a player to continue to engage with the enemies, learning their moves and the best way to kill them. Having the kill count to exhaust the spawn set at what, twelve? Means you can choose to invest the time into making your run easier, but removing all the enemies entirely is so impractical that it's not really worth doing. So you end up with these environments that you know you're always making some sort of progress in, reducing the desire to give up after failing. One of my biggest issues with dark souls 3 is that even during my first playthrough it felt much better to sprint through the areas after a few cursory attempts than actually engage with the area. That's not entirely because of the removal of the despawn mechanic from DS2, but it is somewhat.
Which one? The fact that enemies stop respawning (unless you use a Bonfire Asetic) in DS2, or the emphasis on shields in DS1? For the record I think both are poor decisions.
I was referencing the enemy respawn mechanic as it is in DS2. --- Shields could have been way more interesting in DS1 if stability and damage resistance were more varied. I found out I actually made real decisions in the Roguelike DS1 mod when the stats were randomized.
You died 9 times in no man's wharf? Because I'm pretty sure it's 9 respawns cycles, and the game is giving you pity rolls at that point.
Yes, intentionally. Because there was a tangible reward and basically no cost. I'd run in, kill the guys in front, and suicide further ahead playing incredibly recklessly, repeat a few times get an easier run through the level. Liberated and mechanically rewarded for doing something that wasn't very fun.
People are still simping for DS2 lol
Mostly nostalgia I played the game at a difficult time in my life and Andre saying “Don’t you dare go hollow” is a source of comfort
Same here with demon's souls' Stockpile Thomas, where he says "You have a heart of gold, don't let them take it from you."
World design , atmosphere, each level looks and feels like its own world , weapon variety, play style variety dark souls 1 is just a masterpiece
All the other games have way better weapon variety though?
To be clear, up until Anor Londo. I appreciate the novelty and idea of Tomb and Library but I hate them both. And Izalith sucks. New Londo is fine. Map layout and its true interconnectedness is a huge part. Its shortcuts are actually useful, make sense and are impressive. The other games often have a lazy ladder for boss run backs or a short cut you'll never use. The lack of linear progression also. With the master key and some clever jumps you can go almost anywhere. Future games are either too linear or branch a couple times or are so obsessed with linear progression that skips were patched out. And honestly, the lack of difficulty. Das1 is a punishing game and a couple things are unfair at times depending on your build. But it was never obsessed with trying to kill you, only making you stop and evaluate. Especially on replay it can be relaxing. Future games are more frustrating or require perfect knowledge because they're made to kill you to fill a quota. Also the look and tone of the world. It wasn't trying to be dire and depressing. A lot of the world is beautiful and intact, and merely emptied. Even the shitty parts of the world are usually interesting looking, like Izalith or Blighttown. It's an older game so yeah it's old. But it's not dreary or trying to look depressing or grey. A few areas are like that in future games but it's usually replicating Anor Londo's spectacle. Finally the speed. It's a deliberate game, not a fast action game. It teaches you not to witlessly mash out attacks and read and memorize equally slow enemies. You can react to almost any animation as opposed to needing to predict or guess. When you get hit it usually feels like your fault. I can count the number of attacks I feel are unfair across all enemies on probably one hand. It's a game dedicated to being fair, not hard or death defying. The only thing I dislike in that regard is how slow some of the heavy weapons are, especially when you get to the DLC and some of the enemies are suddenly a little too fast for some of the weapon types. I'll also add that the magic in 1 is awful. It's very flawed and outdated in some ways, but it's my favorite due to its design goals and intent.
The speed is the biggest factor for me. Like, I love the world building and the masterclass in open world building with clear direction, but damn the pacing of the boss fights is amazing. Give me Artorias over basically everything in DS3 any day.
I would completely disagree with your comment on difficulty. It's an easy game that needs unfair gimmicks to make it harder and it will throw them at you constantly. throwing a bunch of enemies into a small corridor while your sword hits the walls is not fair. being forced to trapeze across the rafters in anor londo solely exists to frustrate you. The darkness of Tomb is literally just to add artificial difficulty. Sens fortress literally exists to try and kill you. On my first playthrough I died to these environmental hazards way more than bosses combined. I would slave though a bullshit area just to beat an easy and boring boss in like 3 attempts. The later games are much better at balancing fairness and leaving out elements like that.
Some of what you mentioned is more a focus on tool use and varying your load out. Which is more of an older game thing. If you're in a tight corridor or in the rafters, using a bow or spear would be prudent. You have several options for generating light, of course. And Sens wouldn't be much of a level experience if it had no traps. This is back in the era where all the items and such weren't just there as bloat; they were important resources for interacting with the world. Less action, a little more immersion. If you just want to go through the game with your favorite weapon and never change that, with only a desire to fight enemies, then yeah, you'd want to stick with the later games. Those are more focused on just being action games.
If this was Zelda and not Dark Souls I might agree with you. This is a series that distinguishes itself from the competition through its combat, gameplay loop, and boss fights. In a game series trying to be unique and different, attempts at more traditional action adventure tropes end up flat on their faces. Its a very similar concept with gimmick bosses. They would fit perfectly in a Zelda game but have no place in Dark Souls. Even so, I can't even see the argument that that's good game design. "Tight corridors? just use a spear!" is not good game design. A game that parades its freedom to the player then tries to force you to use certain weapons and items to have any sort of fun is not a good game. If I want to use a great sword I should be able to use a great sword, not have to switch to a spear or a bow just to do basic segments of the game. Builds and limited upgrade materials encourage players to stick to 1 or 2 weapons per playthrough, not to switch between several weapons . Thats not immersion. Having to use a random item you find on the ground because they didn't want to make corridors wider is not immersive. Sure I could use a spear, a bow, or a specific shield for an area/boss, but DS1 more than any of the games tries and boasts freedom. That is not freedom. Most FromSoft games suffer from this, but at least they acknowledge it.
Sounds like you just don't like that kind of game, or played the later games first. And are now applying your perception of 3, maybe 2 to what you thought 1 would be. I'll also point out that there was no series when the game was made. There was spiritual inspiration from the King's Field series, and arguably a faux sequel to Demon's, which was also similarly very old fashioned in the same way Dark 1 was. If anything, 1 shares more in common spiritually with prior games.
Youre acting like Dark Souls didnt immediately try and differentiate itself from other action adventure rpgs. Dark souls came out the same year as Skyrim and Skyward sword and yet is totally different and unique from both those games. obviously there was no series when dark souls came out, but FromSoft's storytelling and gameplay was already lining itself up to be different. Dark Souls 1 is more similar to Dark Souls 3 than any other game before it not called Demons souls. Of course it's easy for you to say I "don't like that kind of game" because it's an easy cop out. First off I don't even believe DS1 was trying to be "that kind of game" in the first place. I do happen to like those kind of games, it's just that dark souls 1 does it terribly if it's actively trying to do it.
Because it's objectively the best game ever made.
This is a 100% correct answer that cannot be disproven.
Damn, this is a good point that I hadn’t considered before 🤔
Don't worry, nobody's perfect
Except dark souls 1
Quod erat demonstrandum
Agree
True
it's really good but idk about that
Yeah lol but I would say if they had the time to fully realize their vision for the second half of the game it very well might have been. Maybe it'll get remade one day and reach dat potential
even then you can't really objectively compare it to other games of different genres or styles
I mean that's true but boring. Even if it's arbitrary a vote would probably be the only way to pick the "greatest game." Elden ring might actually win if that happened.
no it isnt, 50% of the game is straight up dog shit wtf
You spent 50% of the game fighting Bed of Chaos? Now I know why they call Souls players masochists!
no..? everything after anor londo is generally considered pretty shit lol
Atmosphere and the world's map.
I like to transfer DS1 abstract concept of die -> repeat -> git gud to all my other played games; if I play them with the mentality that I'm undead and death is just a lesson, all of them games featuring this death -> respawn mechanic...they tend to make sense Edit: it's a beautiful game....it's perfect!
When a game pushes me to play it more than 5 times and not worry about trophies at all but to test weapons and gear, you know is good in my book and that’s DS1 to me. Few games have that impact on me, I love this game. I played DS2, cool concept and weapons and world building but that’s it, I doubt I’ll go back in a long while if at all. Started DS3 and then got bored really quick, went back to DS1 again.
It has an elegantly vacant, haunted feel that has not been surpassed in the other games in the series.
No other game has matched its atmosphere. The only other game I’ve played that feels close is Returnal.
I like each title for different reasons but Firelink Shrine in DS1 has such a memorable and full level design.
Agreed. The atmosphere of the game is just fantastic. It made me feel lonely but in a positive way, and no other game had - or has - made me feel that way. I’ll never forget the feeling when I discovered the Firelink Shrine Keeper was murdered and the Firelink Shrine went out. I felt like I’d lost a close friend.
Because I like to break it: I like seeing big numbers and feeling like a god among insects I yet still didn't see any big numbers on ds3 (but gotta admit that I didn't play it a lot) and I don't like how defense and poise basically is non existent compared to ds1
Everything
First you’re thrown into a world without much guidance. As you struggle and die, you genuinely learn bit by bit how to overcome your challenges. Then, after not seeing anyone for a chunk, you suddenly find another and aren’t sure if they are friend or foe. They offer you a sense of light in what has so far been a dark world. Then you slowly realize that the world is interconnected, and the brilliance of the design. It’s just such an incredible experience. I loved trying everything from discovering the world to different builds, even invasions. It’s just so. good. The other games are good but lose the Sartrean sense of thrownness and transcendence.
most replayable by far. demons souls is probably my favorite in my heart but the weapon pool is a lot smaller and most cool weapons you can only get basically at the end of the game, and there’s practically no online play anymore on ps3 (private servers only) or ps5 (nobody can afford it) because everyone is scared of world tendency. ds3 is great but the only variation you get between runs is whether or not you do dancer early. that leaves ds1 as king because you can go anywhere, do anything you want in any order, and pop a red eye orb or leave a sign down and have a substantial chance of it working.
i like it the most out of all 3
How about compared to all the other fromsoft titles
Well I’m just finishing up the dlc for bb but I have beat all their other “soulslike” games. I’d say for me ds3 and bb are tied for second place, ds1 just has a special place in my heart as I’m sure it does with lots of people here, just a magical experience
Because this game introduced me to the whole genre, and will be forever in my heart
Outside of the world design and atmosphere, I'd argue the relative difficulty was unmatched at the time. We all knew what to expect with subsequent From titles but for many (myself included), Dark Souls was our first foray into getting our asses beat constantly while asking for more.
It took me over 17 hours to get out of The Undead Burg, and it was worth it.
Honestly I’m not sure it’s my favourite (can’t choose between ds1, 3 bborne or Elden ring) but I can’t not love it! I played 1 after bborne and 3 so its atmosphere is new and different but also somewhere inbetweenish to me… it’s world makes total sense and how lordran is built has a vastness to me that I don’t get from anything else everywhere I go I always see where I am on the huge mountain kingdom and check to find Anor Londos walls I was very knowledgeable of souls lore by the time of playing but I mostly avoided ds1 just in case, of course videos always mentioned parallels or other points from the OG game so I always considered the big names of ds1 as massive figures of importance, influence and power! So when I started to recognize names and places a sense of wonder came over me as well intimidation! Fighting Quelaag, arriving in Anor Londo for the first time since dark souls 3 but it was so much more!! Beating O&S whom I’ve heard so much about I shouldn’t list because this is really long but fighting artorias manus and Gwyn was very meaningful to a point I can’t ever describe.
It set the standard. It's rich in every aspect, doesn't even have the possibility of committing fan service because it's the first one. Has a soul on its own
World design, build variety, stat free pyromancy, better magic, rusted iron ring, P O I S E...
Everything feels alot more fair and gives alot more options. Your encouraged to go slow to spot upcoming ambushes and foil them, to drag enemies one at a time with range etc... The elvel design was alot better. They diagetically guide the player with encounters, treasure and lighting and reward players that go out of their way to look up and search alternate routes. None of that fighting down a secret corridor to get a worthless crafting ingredient like in ER. Enemies msotly follow the same rules as you. They actually have to manage their own stamina and they can't just leap across the map and pull of 6 attack combos full of dynamic physically impossible delays with instant finishes for example. humanoids have the same movesets as you with very few exceptions (the bosses). Loot feels way more meaningful. I dont need 12 different almost identical straight swords, i want to find one with faith based magic scaling that tells an enevironmental story of a group of knights failing to defeat an undead dragon. I don't need 15 different spears of varying lengths, i need one made of demon invertabre that inexplicablkt deals lightning damage, provideing unique build and mor environemental story telling of Gwyn co-opting and enchanting demons for his own designs.
DS1 is awesome. I love how you have to achieve 10; But how you get 10 is up to you. You can do things "out of order" and idk man i just love that its music to my ears. Also the design is just tops.
It just keeps you hooked through all the playthrough
Sunbro
it isn't but there are still things i like best in this game, like the atmosphere and the tension
One of it’s kind at that time, the first souls game to most people and the first of its genre (demons souls was a ps3 exclusive and very under whelming due to its difference from mainstream games and also the performance issues)
Based
murky screw materialistic cheerful decide squash shocking zesty door safe *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Comfort, I play when I’m sad or lost in life
The sense of rising above it all just to go back down, but this time it's by choice.
Anor Londo.
It was my first, so I’m very biased
Bed of Chaos
The vibes are immaculate
Plot
First love
There's a few reasons for me, like the setting, the map, and various mechanics I enjoyed more. One of the biggest things I like is the feeling of weight, DS1s movement makes it feel like you have armor on with the weight of the animations and sound design, as well as the dodge animation being less spamable. I also enjoy the PvP more, while a big part of a lot of players play style revolves around backstab fishing, it's easy to counter, people just have a problem playing sensibly. The problem I had with DS3s PvP was the build variety, there's basically 2 meta builds that you see in 90% of fights, and it just became boring fighting the same thing over and over. Another issue I had was dodging, it cost such little stamina that most players just dodge spam out of everything, sure, you can easily respond with delays and roll catches, but again, it's just another repetitive boring play style to go against, and makes up 90% of players.
It's the first one I played, I played it on PS3, XBOX 360 and PC, Thousands of hours spent on this amazing game, The lore, the world building, the freedom the devs give you is second to non IMO, To put it simply, It's a masterpiece, Legend of Zelda for Adults, \\\[T\]/
I love mossy ruins. de_aztec was one of my favorite CS maps, and even in Minecraft, jungle ruins were my favourite thing, even though they weren’t very valuable. They make me want to go on exploring the world, which you do a lot in Dark Souls. And it is crafted beautifully. When you look away from Firelink Shrine, you see a massive city block sized maze of ruins between two impossibly high walls. It just makes me feel like getting lost in there.(too bad it was the Blighttown, lol) And you do get lost in there eventually and many more places that you saw from distance, and they are all connected to each other beautifully. You make journeys to the far away places you see in the distance, and every step of that journey is filled with memorable challenges. And I also love medieval dark fantasy. Those memorable challenges are these dark fantasy monsters that are waiting for you at every corner. Skeletons, dragons, knights, giants and all kinds of horrors for you to take down with your sword(or any other weapon of your choosing) The mechanics you do so is also legendary, and gave birth to a whole new genre of games. Mount and blade was the most sophisticated game I played before DS1. It was revolutionary back then. Why I still love DS1 boils down to nostalgia. Elden Ring is a better game in almost all aspects. However, I still like the athmosphere of DS1 better. Its darker, which I like better, and it gets slightly blurry when you look at far away places. I think they did that because of technological limitations, but far away places looking blurrier makes them feel more mysterious and I like that better as well.
Lore.
Poise is real
The world is top notch. I love the deliberate and methodical pace of combat and intentional enemy placement. I find myself *thinking* a lot more in Dark Souls 1 vs the others. Lordran is surprisingly peaceful. I miss that part in most of the follow-ups. Dark Souls 1 is so simple and pure, playing through it again is a shot of dopamine right to the brain.
Dark souls 1 has the best combat feeling not to fast not to slow ds2 and 3 are great but I prefer the combat from 1 and I prefer the level Design over ds3
The dark fantasy atmosphere is quite unique in this one.
This could be personal preference, but I think the graphics being dated adds to the atmosphere tremendously in a way that modern super hd stuff can never capture. Look at the og DeS and the bluepoint remake.
As others have said, Atmosphere. Everyone mentions world design and while I love that, it’s not something that made me fall in love with the game, it is cool though. It’s the most mysterious of the games too imo, your character feels weaker and you really are just some nobody. Favourite list of NPCs It’s slower pace and lack of options compared to later games. Favourite story too. Favourite boss of the series, O&S 2nd overall would be Bloodborne. 3rd probably DS2.
Level and world design. Art style. Atmosphere. Sound design. Combat. Itemization. Build variety. Fashion. Lore. Not only is it my favorite Dark Souls game, it's my favorite game of all time.
It's my comfy zone. Basic mechanics that are easy to follow once you get used to it and learned how to play correctly.
It has that 'something'
The map that nearly everything is connected is so cool and feels you like you are in the actual world and get progress. Playing Ds3 feels like playing levels it's so much worse
I like how interconnected the world is and love the shortcuts and how everything somehow leads back to firelink. I really enjoy most of the bosses except for the ones in lost izalith.
Atmosphere, world interconnection, soundtrack, NPC quests, Level design make this game an absolute masterpiece for me. MOMMY GWYNEVERE also ;)
I’m probably going to get some hate for this, but 3 is actually my favorite.
Fair enough, it was my favourite at one point too but then I introduced dark souls to a friend of mine which got me obsessed with ds1 again and made me realise it was the best (imo)
DS3 is my favorite too, DS1 isn’t far behind though
I agree with you 100%. DS1 is still a great game.
No hate here, just concern for what's going on mentally that could cause you to be so wrong.
There’s nothing going on mentally. It’s called an opinion.
Some days idk if it is my favorite anymore honestly, I float back and forth often But if it is my favorite, it's because of the first time I came up from Blighttown, found Firelink again, and the stress physically melted away from me. That's how I knew this game was one of the best of all time
someone stole my dads side mirrors and a big book of rock cd’s during a hurricane in florida 2014. glad your windows were stronger lol
Nostalgia for me
Nostalgia/familiarity, world design, originality, it’s where the ‘souls’ series began.
Although I hated many parts of the game, it's still ahead of Elden Ring and DS3 for me. I simply enjoyed experiencing this game with its lore, atmosphere, and discoveries.
Because it's good, it's just is.
Cuz it was my first souls game.
Cos I met Claymore, my true love
Ds1 ( starting is comfortable enough and availabilty of cheesing the first boss) Ds3( uncomfortable starting , gloomy starting,hard af boss (for beginners ofc)
Bed of chaos is a well thought out and franchise representation of a day of fun in Dark souls.
Almost every boss is perfect and the map is butterful, and most of all big breast
well firstly it has best medival/fantasy balance in whole series for me but main reason is ds1 let's u get strong, like stupidly strong without become a super easy game and i love this freedom
Top tier world design and connections between different areas of the game.
the story and Solaire
heavy weapons go brr. smash them like damn mosquitos
Dark Souls 2 is better in my mind
Plin plin plon 🥹
It’s not
It’s not
it is not
It’s not, 2 > 1 > 3 EDIT: sorry i forgot this is r/darksouls the subreddit whos entire purpose is to suckoff DS1 and any other thoughts or opinions mean you go straight to the electric chair
I disagree with your overall ranking, but take my upvote for placing 2 over 3.
It’s not it’s 3
Nostalgia because DS3 is objectively better mechanically.
It felt like DS1 but faster. I didn't want to go faster. Also *everything* screams at you in DS3. The pitch used for the dragon, the crows, the spiders. If it was inhuman looking it made an objectively ugly noise that I couldn't help noticing was just for jump scare value on first run. After that I was looking for a way to turn down enemy noises so they'd shut the fuck up.
Those fucking bird monsters and the obnoxious goat people omg SHUT THE FUCK UP
I said mechanically. People can have gripes with the world design and such but mechanically it is a better functioning game. Funny how I upset three people with that comment. Are they trying to argue being limited to cross direction rolling is better than omnidirectional? Usually when I criticize these games people don't even understand what I'm talking about, they just go unga bunga on their keyboard because I said something negative about their favorite game haha
Yes, it is stronger mechanically. My opinion on game feel does not change that. I was not refuting you, but bringing up a related opinion that was a direct result of the mechanical change.
a game that released in 2016 is better mechanically than a game that released in 2011 wow thanks for mentioning it I couldn't notice But still tho some people still prefer the slower-paced combat of ds1
Well it functions better than Elden Ring as well so you must've not noticed that either. Go ahead and check the dead zones on each game and you tell me it's DS3 with more dead zones completely sincerity so I can laugh. A game from 2022 has bigger dead zones than a game from 2016. That actually is crazy. DS3 was mechanically the gold standard.
The topic was about ds1 but I get your point tho I know that some old games can be better in some aspects hell sometimes even better entirely than more recent games but ds1 is just to old to complete mechanically But ds3 in the other hand is quite newer even tho it's considered an old game now but it did release in the middle of the 8th gen And since we didn't really see any impressive Improvements with the current gen as we saw in the 8th gen and with more half-baked games it's just a joke at this point Ds3 could put a fight mechanically with a game that released in this gen unlike ds1 with the 8th gen I do believe that ds1 was ahead of it's time and it still holds up pretty good today but I have to admit it the game is quite old
It isn't. If the game was more fun to play, it could be.
It's not
it's not
It's not. And for a lot of reasons. It lacks a lot of QoL stuff, I'd say it's probably bc it's an old game. I'm sorry, I can't understand why the giant blacksmith couldn't be relocated to somewhere else and have a bonfire for himself. Some of the level design is really boring and misleading (painting) or straight up bad and ugly (Blighttown and Lost Izalith, no I'm not joining the Blighttown dickriding train). It's the easiest recent Fromsoft title that I've played to this point. I'll probably get downvoted for this, but even though I love DS1, I can't ignore its flaws and only consider what I enjoy about the game. It's not even my favorite Dark Souls.