Chapter 543: The Wave of Suffering!
More and more similar posts appeared, prompting players to re-evaluate the game "Dark Souls."
In fact, it was evident from the game's ratings. Although "Dark Souls" was extremely difficult, once players accepted this premise, they began to uncover many of the deeper connotations hidden within the game.
Many people initially came to the forums ready to mindlessly curse the game, but after seeing these pioneering posts, they calmed down and decided to challenge Gundyr again.
This time, they saw the light of victory, and after relentless effort, they finally defeated Gundyr.
From this point on, many players underwent a shift in mindset. Because after truly defeating Gundyr, players understood exactly what made this game so enjoyable.
It was because it could give players the ultimate adrenaline rush!
This ultimate adrenaline rush was different from that in some shooting games or horror games. In shooting games and horror games, your concentration must be razor-sharp, but your failure often comes without warning. A stray bullet or a well-placed minor enemy could take you out.
But "Dark Souls" was different, especially in boss battles. Although the consequences of a mistake were also severe, the boss's actions followed certain patterns. As long as you observed carefully and grasped the rhythm, the boss was actually not as hard to beat as imagined.
In other words, the difficulty design of "Dark Souls" was actually just right. It forced players to understand the boss's combat mechanics, making it impossible to clear the game by mindlessly charging in or relying on luck.
However, once a player mastered the boss's combat mechanics and fought strictly according to them, clearing the boss was only a matter of time.
Moreover, players could feel their own improvement each time. From being one-shot in the first phase initially, to later reaching the second phase; from the first kill to pursuing speed kills later on, players could sense their own operations constantly improving and maturing.
It could be said that it was only after arriving at the High Wall of Lothric that players truly experienced the core fun of "Dark Souls."
……
Of course, a large number of players also chose to request a refund.
If someone asked, "Where is the hardest part of 'Dark Souls'?" The answer would probably be Gundyr and the High Wall of Lothric.
Of course, from a game design perspective, these two areas were clearly not the hardest, but they had the highest number of player drop-offs. Because most players who couldn't adapt to the Dark Souls combat system quit at this stage. For the players who stayed, after continuous effort, clearing the game was just a matter of time and persistence.
Of course, some people were simply born unable to play hardcore games like "Dark Souls." Because this game required players to have strong mental fortitude and a certain level of skill, it naturally weeded out those unwilling to suffer.
Chen Mo's extension of the refund time from two hours to three hours was precisely for this purpose: to give players more time to determine whether this game was truly suitable for them.
If it was truly completely unsuitable, requesting a refund was also a very correct choice.
Many people posted screenshots of their refunds on the forums, but everyone's attitude towards these people was very tolerant. On one hand, they expressed understanding for those with poor reflexes; on the other hand, they felt sorry for them for missing out on such a unique game.
After this, some players dug up that mysterious smile of Chen Mo's from the new game press conference.
Back then, Chen Mo had said that the refund time for this game was extended from two hours to three hours. Many people thought it was a small perk, but looking back now, many understood the meaning of that smile.
"I was wondering why Chen Mo smiled back then. Turns out he already knew we'd be tortured to death, so he deliberately extended the time by an hour!"
"So, the three hours were to let us challenge the boss without any worries, and get tortured until we were completely convinced?"
"Let's kill that bastard Chen Mo for making us suffer!!"
However, the three-hour refund policy did play a certain role.
The previous refund time was two hours. For some players, two hours wasn't enough to fully grasp the essence of "Dark Souls." Some people might even get stuck on Gundyr for over an hour. By the time they reached the High Wall of Lothric, they were being tortured to death, and with the two-hour limit approaching, they could only hastily request a refund without truly experiencing the charm of "Dark Souls."
After Chen Mo extended the refund time to three hours, those who were completely hopeless were still tortured to the point of despair at Gundyr and chose to refund. However, those who barely passed Gundyr and reached the High Wall of Lothric gained an extra hour of playtime. Within that hour, they could experience more of the game's depth, and thus a batch of players chose to stay.
Later, players realized that extending the time by an hour was a complete and utter conspiracy! It was a trick to lure them into the game!
Because after passing the High Wall of Lothric, players would soon arrive at the Undead Settlement and the Road of Sacrifices. They would find the game getting harder and harder, more and more twisted, and the design of the minor enemies becoming increasingly malicious!
Chen Mo's meaningful smile was also made into an emoji by players, named "The Smile of Serent."
Some even added text to this emoji: "Hey kid, want to kindle the flame?"
On the official forums, this emoji instantly became popular, turning into a universal reply. No matter what the topic of the post was, someone would reply: "Hey kid, want to kindle the flame?"
And everyone's reaction was very consistent: "No, get lost!"
As a high-difficulty game unlike any they had seen before, "Dark Souls" unexpectedly attracted a frenzy of adoration from many players. Some even spontaneously recommended it to their friends.
"Hey, I just found a new game called 'Dark Souls.' It's super satisfying for mowing down enemies. Come play!"
"That's right, 'Dark Souls' is really fun. It's definitely a hack-and-slash game, no doubt about it!"
"And you can even play it as a dating sim. The Fire Keeper lady is incredibly beautiful!"
"This is an extremely relaxing game. You can come and look at the scenery. The view in Irithyll is stunning!"
"The combat system in this game is freaking awesome. The Pan Gu system needs no introduction. In one word: cool!!"
Of course, all of these were accompanied by a winking emoji. Most people already knew that "Dark Souls" was actually a high-difficulty game, very unfriendly to newcomers.
Nevertheless, the game's popularity had already soared. These various topics only made "Dark Souls" gain more and more attention. On some streaming platforms, "Dark Souls" began to dominate various live streams!
The wave of suffering quickly spread to the streamer community...