Chapter 556: The Flaw in the Story?
Many people lament that after "Diablo," although many companies followed the trend and released Diablo-style games, not a single one managed to reach the heights of "Diablo." This wasn't just about game difficulty, story design, or character design; the most crucial point was that these games failed to create that dark atmosphere.
Some games even tried to deliberately disgust players with piles of corpses and gloomy environments, but while playing, players felt no sense of despair at all. That's because the characters were just NPCs, far from being vivid.
When "Dark Souls" burst onto the scene, fans of dark-style games exclaimed it was a masterpiece! Because what "Dark Souls" created was precisely such a world of despair.
In the world of "Dark Souls," fire itself is an ethereal thing, appearing fragile yet warm, like a flickering flame that could go out at any moment.
"Dark Souls" created a world of despair, oppression, and suffering, where it seemed no one had a good ending. Those undead, as their humanity drained away, became wandering ghosts, completely forgetting their past.
And as players followed the protagonist's perspective, they witnessed too many tragedies in their constant struggle—tragedies so heavy they could crush the breath out of you.
However, "Dark Souls" also nurtured many moments of warmth. Although most supporting characters met their end in death, players still witnessed their stories.
The deserter from the Farron Undead Legion, the Crestfallen Knight, eventually gave up his shield, returned to Farron Keep, picked up his greatsword, and rekindled his courage to fight.
Anri, together with the protagonist, defeated Aldrich, the Devourer of Gods, and gifted her sword to the protagonist. Afterward, foreseeing her fate of becoming hollow, she equipped a broken straight sword and waited quietly for the protagonist in the Ashes Lake.
Onion Bro finally defeated Yhorm the Giant, fulfilling his promise. After drinking heartily with the protagonist and raising his glass to praise the sun, he chose to end his remaining life, leaving the Storm Ruler and his full set of armor to the protagonist.
In this world of despair, amidst the tragic fate where everyone would eventually die or become hollow, the brilliance of humanity burst forth, making people feel that warmth still existed in this world.
Many game media outlets also speculated: why did Chen Mo insist on not lowering the difficulty of this game?
The final conclusion was that only with such difficulty could this work become an eternal classic that players would remember forever.
Imagine if players could easily mow down enemies all the way through the High Wall of Lothric, with no difference between experts and novices—how could they then appreciate the ingenuity of the level design?
Players wouldn't remember the clever designs in the levels, wouldn't have vivid memories of the boss fights, and wouldn't feel any sense of adventure when entering a new map.
A journey where you could die at any moment is worthy of being called an adventure; mowing down enemies all the way is just a sightseeing tour.
It was precisely because of the high difficulty design of "Dark Souls" that players developed an extremely deep impression of the game, while also being highly consistent with the spiritual core of "Dark Souls."
Combining all these factors, these professional game review media outlets discovered that, upon closer examination, every aspect of "Dark Souls" was nearly perfect. Although it had a very high barrier to entry, it was like a fine piece of art, surpassing the vast majority of similar games of its era!
And the combat system of "Dark Souls" was nothing short of groundbreaking, destined to have an immeasurable and far-reaching impact on the combat systems of future games in similar genres!
The well-known foreign game media outlet TGN evaluated "Dark Souls" like this:
"This is a dark masterpiece from Thunder Entertainment that has driven game media around the world crazy. It can even be said that, to some extent, it has created its own genre, because its style is so unique, completely different from any game ever seen before!"
"Perhaps in the future, many 'Soul-like' games will emerge, and 'Souls combat' is highly likely to become a proper noun!"
"'Dark Souls' depicts a world burning fiercely in the fires of purgatory. It is a fierce and merciless beast that knocks you down again and again; yet this world also hides countless intriguing secrets, making every player involuntarily return, craving the thrill of overcoming difficulties and completing challenges!"
"Epic grandeur, heart-wrenching challenges, and a rich backstory make 'Dark Souls' the most thrilling adventure of all!"
"The scenery of the Kingdom of Lothric and its surroundings is visually stunning, with unprecedented exquisite design. Every scene in the game is unique, and the distant views players see are not just textures, but places players will actually reach in the future!"
"The illusory walls in the game are a love-hate design, to the point that some obsessive-compulsive players will slash at any suspicious brick or depression to see if there's a hidden door."
"There are a large number of NPC storylines in the game, but no clear quest guidance. Players need to unravel the mysteries through their own adventures over a long journey. They might end up killing some characters, and it's irreversible, but these NPCs also leave behind interesting legacies. This itself is a very fascinating design."
"The combat system of 'Dark Souls' is nearly perfect. Giving up your shield and dual-wielding weapons is no longer a reckless or flashy choice; it actually yields rewards. In many special boss fights, dual-wielding can even become a better strategy than holding up a shield."
"Players can freely equip weapons in their left and right hands, and can even cosplay specific bosses using armor and weapons, even pulling off the boss's signature attack moves. For example, many players jokingly call it the 'Farron Dance Squad,' and players can perform such maneuvers too."
"From a story perspective, I highly suspect that the tale of 'Dark Souls' is nearing its end, and the game's designer, Silent, has not revealed any plans for developing a sequel."
"Although this game fully deserves a high score of 9.5, it must be said that the incompleteness of the story is always a flaw. Some accounts of ancient times are vague, and even through the fragmentary descriptions in the game's item lore, it's difficult to reconstruct the original appearance of that history."
"Whether this narrative approach was intentional by the designer or an oversight is unknown. However, all fans who love 'Dark Souls' eagerly await the designer releasing an official setting collection or fan novel to tell the history of ancient times, allowing everyone to better understand the past and present of this game."
Genius remembers this site's address in one second: