Game:

Dark Souls (2011)

Duration: 4:04

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The amazing thing about Dark Souls is that it still holds up even after all of the subsequent games in the Soulsborne series. FromSoftware has been refining the Souls formula for over a decade, and in my opinion the likes of Bloodborne, Elden Ring, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice are some of the greatest games of all time. But even as the Souls formula has been iterated upon and refined, Dark Souls hasn't become outdated in the slightest. I think that should honestly be surprising given how closely FromSoftware has hewn to the same gameplay formula throughout the series; and this video tries to find some explanation for the surprise.

My basic idea is that the slow-paced gameplay of Dark Souls is the feature that keeps it fresh in light of subsequent iterations. Later games lean toward a faster style of combat, and faster combat requires a different kind of skill. A fast-paced game like Elden Ring or Bloodborne is all about reflex and muscle memory and timing your dodge rolls; but Dark Souls' slower pace is less demanding on those aspects of the gameplay. Instead, Dark Souls emphasizes stamina management and positioning, which is less a motor skill and more a skill of the understanding. Mastering Dark Souls more generally is all about understanding how the systems work and what plans or strategies to adopt in different combat scenarios. In later Souls games, you do need a plan, but the plan by itself is typically not enough; you also need to practice the timing of fast-paced combat routines.

But Dark Souls does not ask for that second layer of skill. It's almost entirely a game about planning and understanding; and that's what keeps it feeling unique even in light of all the subsequent iterations on the Souls formula that FromSoftware has pumped out in the 10+ years following its release.

(Note: I think that Demon's Souls also has the same qualities that I attribute to Dark Souls, but Dark Souls, in my opinion, has more polished gameplay and level design, so I think that it is a better topic for discussion.)

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00:00 Dark Souls' Unique Gamefeel
00:37 Lessons of Great Boss Fights
1:46 The Role of Knowledge in Gameplay
2:32 Later Souls Games Compared

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