I was told to throw this game away when I complained about it being scary. I thought it was pretty hard at first but I think that was just nerves. This game is definitely a thriller!
It starts off with you ferrying yourself to some great threshold of stone.
Then you let yourself fall into an abyss, which apparently brings you to the ancient and crumbling land of Drangleic. If this were any other situation, falling = death!
I earned the first trophy of the game, aptly called "This is Dark Souls," for falling to my death. As you can see I had 2150 souls, the currency of the game, when I died. For those new to Souls-type games, I lose these but they are retrievable unless I were to die again before touching my bloodstain. The good part is that if you fall, your bloodstain will be on the top of the ledge/cliff and not at the bottom.
I quickly found and unlocked the blacksmith's services. He is a crucial part of my development as I've been bringing him new weapons I've been finding and seeing if it is worth it to reinforce them. Reinforcing them increases their damage output!
Armor sets have come and gone. But my trusty Broadsword has always been at my side, ever since the beginning of the game! Although I'm always looking for a replacement, I would be wrong to say this was a weak sword. It has gotten me this far and has saved my skin quite a few times. I have reinforced it to +6 using titanite. You're probably wondering why I don't have a big heavy helmet. What I'm wearing, the Travelling Merchant Hood, actually increases my item drop rate, as does my shield, the Watchdragon Parma (which I got for felling a dragon). The armor itself is the Drangleic set, which I found after defeating the Pursuer (with help from a summon because I still can't defeat one of these on my own). This set is much lighter than my last set (and I dig the cape) but it is harder to upgrade. Actually, Pursuers drop the material that I would need to upgrade this armor. The only armor I've upgraded so far is the merchant hat because I know I'm going to keep this on forever! I want those rare drops! I might not waste any precious titanite on the shield because I don't really use it in battle.
Especially after forging this new toy, which requires two hands! It's the Pursuer's Ultra Greatsword, crafted from the soul of the Pursuer himself. "The Mightiest of the Straight Swords," and I made it even mightier by reinforcing it with a petrified dragon bone (also obtained from the dragon I defeated). It packs a powerful punch with the standard attack being a vertical chop that can be immediately followed by an uppercut. It is a tad slower and can only max out at 3 attacks with my current stamina, so the broadsword is not obsolete just yet. In fact, sometimes it's even more convenient to use.
Then I found this greatsword in No Man's Wharf. It's kind of beat-up looking. I actually had to resort to it for a little while because my ultra was about to break. This one is noticeably less powerful but with a somewhat better moveset. It has an even lower durability than the ultra greatsword. While you may be of Final Fantasy quality, you do not fit my needs. Sorry, common greatsword, you are being let go. Had I found you much earlier, things would have been different.
I might just consume the other boss souls for souls to level up. Though I think I'll keep the Soul of the Last Giant (first boss) because I want to turn it into a giant axe, but I lack the strength to wield such a weapon at this point. I still also have the Ruin Sentinel Soul (that one was tough) and the Flexile Sentry Soul, my most recent boss victory. For the former I could forge a spell, but I'm no mage. The latter can be made into one of two different swords or a poisonous club, which I kind of like the sound of. And the Dragonrider's Soul I already made into the strongest bow in the game.
Some day I would like to test this weapon out. I got it from that nest with the voices that ask for smooth things (in Things Betwixt). This is apparently a very rare drop from them and not something you'd expect to get the day you discover the nest. It has a whopping strength requirement of 50! Oh by the way, here are my stats so far!
Any suggestions? It currently costs over 11000 souls to level up now. That's quite a pretty penny. I'm also starting to run out of places to grind because the enemies I've been killing repeatedly are starting not to respawn. So I have no choice but to venture to new areas. Which my heart does not appreciate. Whenever I am in a new area or fighting a really tough battle and dying, my heart starts to race. I can feel it as if it were ready to burst out of my ribcage. Once I claim victory (or perish) I can recover both ingame and in real life.
This game is quite stressful but I still consider it fun. I love the freedom you're given in terms of progression; some areas are entirely skippable! Others you might never even find. One thing is for certain, I will play several playthroughs of this game. No doubt. I kind of like that scary feeling of not knowing what will come next.
Well when I see that, I know what's coming!
But who knows? Maybe I will eventually get to the point where I can play this game without shivering with anxiety! Not tonight, not tomorrow. But someday.
All photos are by yours truly.