Mags!

this step, Dark Souls III until you reach Firelink Shrine, was over much much faster than expected. knowing nothing about DS3, i had no idea that it was directly after the first fight. getting a taste of DS3's updated mechanics after getting a feel for those of Dark Souls, i'm excited to return to the game.

this step is Dark Souls until you run into a wall and get too frustrated to continue.

there were a few spots that had me considering moving onto the next step: the Capra Demon of the Lower Undead Burg, the traps and ranged enemies of Sen's Fortress, Ornstein & Smough, the slog from the bonfire back to Gravelord Nito, but each time i put the game down i only wanted to play more.

however, i am now faced with few options for progress other than Bed of Chaos and Sif. Bed of Chaos's gimmick irritates me and the route back from the bonfire is annoying. i'm not sure i want to keep trying that right now. i cried the first time i tried fighting Sif because i do not want to hurt the wuppy dog. hopefully by the time i need to return i will be able to steel my heart and defeat Sif.

for now, though, i think it's time to move on to Dark Souls III.

• i've been told armor is very good in Dark Souls (and less so in the sequels) because of the way Poise works, yet my desire to bonk things with big tooth and fast roll has led me to prefer nudity
• sometimes they just don't give u a bonfire, huh
• Ornstein & Smough are so cool
• Blighttown was not nearly as bad as i was led to expect based on its reputation, and i legitimately enjoyed it better than Sen's fortress
• returning to Blighttown later, i remarked on how it "felt like home" and this confused a friend
• this game is very cool but frustrating in ways that aren't purely "difficulty"
• it's so fun to bonk enemies with big dragon tooth

• everything feels smoother than Dark Souls. the controls, the textures, the way NPCs interact. everything has been made a little nicer to interact with.
• backstabbing is more difficult than in Dark Souls and this makes me a little sad
• i was frustrated that i didn't have big bonky until i found a greataxe and leveled strength enough to wield it
• then i was having a great time :3

• similarly to my experience with ds3, i was a little frustrated until i got big bonky (kirkhammer), then i was having a great time
• the setting, while it grew on me, felt very samey for most of the portion i played, and made it more difficult to learn the map
• backstabs are even more difficult than in ds3. this makes me sad
• the enemy designs are very cool, especially how they change as you gain more insight and progress through the game
• parrying with the gun seems like a cool mechanic. too bad im a big bonkpilled hammermaxxer
• lantern placement for the most part seems more forgiving than bonfires in Dark Souls and i appreciate it
• feels like the game was just starting to get really fucked up and im excited to return
• rom :3

i received clarification that beating Gwyn would immediately end my game and start new game plus without any way to access the DLC content, and so i was to beat all the other content available.

i defeated Bed of Chaos without too much issue after i figured out where i was actually supposed to go, and i suppressed my tears long enough to defeat Sif. i entered the painted world of Ariamis, and laid waste to Crossbreed Priscilla. i killed the Moonlight Butterfly and picked up Havel's Ring. i turned a mace into Smough's Hammer and, remaining nude as always, fast rolled around bonking my foes.

the end of this step was a little anticlimactic, but it was good to finish things up and do the few things that were giving me trouble.

returning to DS3 after playing the first game again (it bears mentioning that i'm playing the PC Prepare to Die Edition), the smooth 60 fps and high resolution textures are jarring and uncanny. i quickly settle back into things, but still a part of me craves the chunkiness and 30 fps. maybe something is wrong with me.

i clear out the Cathedral of the Deep without too much trouble, then make my way through the poison swamp. i am cursed. i am not sure how to deal with that in this game. i don't have time to care about it because i soon get through the swamp and into Farron Keep and encounter the Abyss Watchers, who promptly kill me (but not before i get a couple good bonks in).

this one really tested my patience. aboveground Oolacile is really cool, and the Abyss is very atmospheric. Artorias was a very fun fight that tested me for a while, but Manus. oh, Manus. my "15 points in vitality, endurance at 40, everything else in strength" build relied on me being able to fast roll, so i played naked in order to use Smough's hammer. i was very squishy and died quickly many many times.

at this point i started to lose my patience with the length of the runbacks in DS. they often feel like just long enough to forget any timing muscle memory i've learned from the last attempt, and the one to Manus is on the long side. i spent way longer than any other boss in the game but in the end i learned his attacks, learned how to avoid them and how to punish them, and when was safe to heal. beating Manus felt like by far the biggest challenge i've faced yet, and while for a while i was starting to doubt my Naked Fast Roll Big Bonk style for its squishiness, i triumphed in the end.

unfortunately, Gwyn, while ultimately easier than Manus, also lies at the end of a very long runback, and this frustrated me quite a bit. my build also led to difficulty with this fight, as Gwyn's attacks are (or at least feel) quicker, and at some ranges nearly kill me in one hit.

in the end, i beat Dark Souls. it feels good. i had to stop myself from getting into NG+ bc i still have so much else ahead of me. i'm excited to get into Dark Souls II and back into Elden Ring.

for context, i just beat iron keep.

• i like the way the game looks and feels. i'm still struck by the uncanny feeling i get when i play DS3, like everything is a little too smooth and shiny, and this is a perfect middle ground between the chunkiness of original DS1 and DS3.
• i have trouble with stamina more than in any other game so far. chloranthy ring helps but it feels like points in endurance don't go as far in this one.
• they really have three different stats for stamina, equip capacity, and roll i-frames, huh? really making u spend those souls to make the game playable.
• for the most part (looking at u, iron keep) the bonfires are more frequent and kindly placed.
• the bosses so far have been pushovers compared to the areas before them. this sucks in my opinion.
• i haven't found a weapon i like, this far into the game. this is partly my fault for not wanting to look too many things up but no greathammer boss weapon this far into the game is disappointing (although i did just get access to iron king hammer from the Old Iron King)
• fuck iron keep
• fuck earthen peak
• fuck enemies that ambush you on narrow pathways
• FUCK the ketchup kids
• and fuck their sunglasses
• wooden chests can be mimics, but don't hit them or you'll break them and get rubbish instead of whatever was inside
• if you see a wooden chest, you better hope an enemy doesn't hit it or it'll break (see previous point). one of the only places you can access to get that item you need to upgrade your weapon? too bad lol get over it or start a new game i guess
• surprise! travelling through misty doorways doesn't make you invulnerable anymore! you better kill all the enemies every runback :3
• lost a bunch of souls? need to grind? i hope the enemies you want to grind haven't disappeared forever!
• alternating between DS2 and Elden Ring really highlights the ways that DS2 is frustrating. i'm dreading every time i have to go back to DS2 at this point and i don't like that.
• hey, at least you can respec in this one
• slow estus is frustrating. i don't want to spend souls on lifegems, which don't feel all that much faster to use
• traveling back to Majula to level up sucks
• "bear seek seek lest" is fun