December 27, 2011

I May Be Cursed, But At Least I Can Throw Lightning. Thanks, God!

I finally got a break from all the insanity of the holidays to play some more Dark Souls.
Dark Souls is a really great game.

I know, I mean, I completely know, I know that I will give up on it and not see it through to the end. But it’s just amazing to me that I can die via a curse that permanently halves my HP until I go to a specific spot to get healed by spending a valuable resource, a place I have absolutely no idea how to get to, and I still don’t want to give up on the game. I still want to keep going and see all it has to offer.

I mean, shit, the strategy in this game is so much fun. I’ve joined the Warriors of the Sun, so I can now throw Lightning, and I have tons of faith to power that shit. I can just slaughter people with it, and it makes running around so much fun, especially when I know I’ll get to a bonfire soon so I can just waste charges smoking random enemies.

I fought the Capra Demon today. Every time I’d fight him, he’d slam me the moment I entered the fight and basically kill me right there. I couldn’t get away from him fast enough. It took many deaths before I went “You know, maybe I should just equip lighter armor.” The moment I did that, I had little problem. I could roll right past him and his attack dogs. I ended up luring him up the stairs, jumping off so he’d following me, then running back up the stairs and sniping him with lightning before he could reach me again. Smoked him in 3 shots. This is a guy I had died to probably about 15 times before this happened, and the defeats were near-instant. It felt so damn good to kill that stupid rat demon! That is why this game is so awesome. I was completely screwed, but when I figured it out, it was a breeze. You feel smart, in the same way that say, Portal makes you feel smart for solving something in that “a ha!” moment. The difference is you also feel skillful, because the solutions take a lot more skill than your average Portal puzzle to pull off. Those mostly just take brains, you know?

Similarly, I ended up exploring the Depths, where I accidentally fell into this horrible sewer maze and wandered around for awhile. I had no idea how to get out, and I was seeing monsters like Basilisks (which is what eventually killed and cursed me) and a gigantic fucking rat about 2 stories tall. The level of intensity I felt during that sequence was just amazing. Sure, I could have cast my Homeward spell, and now that I think of it, I really, really should have! But no, I had to see what the game had in store for me down there. It turns out it was turning to stone and halving my HP permanently. Thanks, game! But at least I found a cool Poison Resist shield before that happened.

I’m sure if you’ve played this game, or been around other people who’ve played this game, these are all stories you’ve heard before. I’ve certainly heard them. But when they happen to me, and I’m not screaming in anger but instead just like “HOLY SHIT!” That says something to me, you know? It really does.

Leave a comment