I've been playing some Demon's Souls. Those who have known me for a while will know that I've had several attempts at playing Souls games and have never ended up sticking with them. Just recently, I started watching a playthrough of Dark Souls III and thought "you know what, it's probably time I tried again".
I feel a bit more confident in approaching these games now; I've learned a lot about game mechanics and design over the course of the last few years — both through my own "studies" for MoeGamer and through discussion with others, particularly my podcast co-host Chris — and I strongly believe that understanding the philosophy behind the design of the Souls games is critical to truly appreciating and enjoying them.
I've played about seven hours of Demon's Souls over the course of the last two days so… well, you be the judge as to whether or not it's resonated with me this time. And yes, I deliberately started with Demon's Souls because it's been on my shelf for a very long time, and I have the feeling in my head that I "should" play it first for whatever reason. (I have also ordered the PS4 Dark Souls triple pack, since there was a good deal on that on Amazon, so even if I don't play these games a ton, I've got pretty much the definitive versions on hand to bust out whenever I feel like it.)
So yes. So far I feel like I'm definitely appreciating it more — though I do find myself wondering if I'd be feeling different playing a melee character. I'm playing a Royal at the moment and concentrating on ranged magic; perhaps in the Dark Souls games I'll experiment with a character that gets a bit more up-close and personal to compare and contrast.
Anyway, I'll probably write something about my experiences on MoeGamer at some point — perhaps a new occasional Delving Into series, or something akin to The Zelda Diaries from a while back. Either way, I'll definitely have things to say very soon!
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