A Beginner's Insight Into Dark Souls III

The Nova Nexus - Part 2
A Beginner's Insight Into Dark Souls III

Rising from the ashes of a forsaken and cursed land, I took my first steps into the land of Dark Souls. Scouring the outskirts of Lothric’s Castle, I clumsily stumbled my way through the first area, lost but entranced by the vivid horrors that lie before me. I came upon a small cavernous alleyway with a friendly message. “Turn back.” Stubbornly, I waded my way through the murky waters; the old saying here is true. Curiosity killed the cat. What I encountered was an arena-like enclosure of stone and tree roots, and as I worked my way up a slanted dirt path, I met a beast made of blue crystals. It rose from its resting position and followed me out of the naturally carved alleyway as I ran like a coward for my life. Panicking, I turned the camera behind me to see it was still following me.
I hooked a sharp right past some decrepit stone ruins and stepped out onto the edge of an awesome cliff, which sharply dropped off to the depths of a fog covered hell. Turning left now, I found my first bonfire, Lothric’s Castle looming in the background. Stupidly assuming I was safe, I breathed a sigh of relief, only to have the crystalized monster pounce on top of me, conjuring shards of ice from the ground which impaled me to death. I respawned at the bonfire I had just discovered, realizing almost nowhere was safe. With my guard up this time, I carefully traversed this majestic yet daunting cliffside, slaying miserable creatures of the undead and absorbing their souls.
I stepped into another more open arena, this time with a single being in the center. He appeared to be a statue, but as I pulled a massive longsword from its heart, the large enemy came to life. I unskillfully sprinted in circles and dodged to the side as the massive being smashed the ground and pummeled me to death twice, before I finally got aggressive enough to take him down. This was just the tutorial boss after all; we were just getting started, and I really had no idea what I was getting into.
I pressed on, methodically slaying restless, hooded skeletons with a swing or two, acquiring items whose purpose I did not understand but would learn in time. As I ventured off the beaten path, I took another side route, again bordering the edge of a dastardly cliff. What I encountered was unexpected to say the least. I saw a near naked man in a cloth robe wielding an extremely long katana. I chucked at the sight of him, expecting his lack armor to be some sort of strategic advantage for myself. I was wrong. With a quick and deadly combo, I was slashed to death in two or three hits. His range was utterly superior.
Learning my lesson, I decided to avoid this enemy for the time being. I shook it off, and continued into this new territory. Unaware I was in a safe place, I hesitantly proceeded with caution. Before sat a ring of large, empty thrones, and in the center of the room stood a woman in a white gown. Surely she was hostile, I assumed, as I had learned nothing could be trusted in this God forsaken world. I apprehensively approached, waiting for her imminent attempt to cut me down. But she did not. At this moment I realized, maybe I did have an ally in this place after all. In exchange for souls of the damned, she would bless me with a variety of upgrades, strengths, powers and resiliency. Though I didn’t have many souls to offer now, I knew I would be back when the time was required.

This was my very first impression of Dark Souls III. I had always been intrigued by the franchise, but sold myself short, assuming I was too much of a casual and not a skilled/patient enough player to ever attempt a run at this game. With a little push and encouragement from a close friend of mine, I decided to take the leap. Though I struggle heavily at times and often become infuriated with the difficulty spikes layered throughout, I find myself in the grasps of this game. After having an entirely sub-par and unfulfilling experience (difficulty-wise) with Kingdom Hearts III, Dark Souls was the kick in the ass I needed. I’ve barely scratched the surface of this universe yet I’m utterly enthralled by the experience Dark Souls offers and provides.

You as the main character are nobody. Banished from your home land and forgotten, you are not the chosen one. You are no hero; there is nothing particularly special about you. You have no redeeming qualities besides your ability to fight and defend yourself, and there lies no intricate back-story to provide you with any tangible character depth. And yet with this absence it is still there. I find myself fascinated with the mysterious origins of the character you play as. One could argue that the journey you partake in against Darkness and menace for your own freedom and survival is admirable, yet you feed off of the very souls of the beasts and monsters you murder in cold blood. (They had it coming.) In a way this makes you as lowly and vile as the filth you exterminate. Inherently you are one in the same. You are (quite literally when playing a Heavy Armor class) a faceless man with no other purpose to serve or fulfill besides escaping the hellish lands you’ve been permanently banished to. You are caught in a limbo phase of existence, essentially giving your “life” no meaning whatsoever.

With such a lack of a concrete backstory to define who your character really is, while simultaneously providing just enough information to develop a stable framework to build off of, the developers of Dark Souls allow the player to interpret, and in this case write, their own story. With such an emphasis on detaching the player from the protagonist, it actually provides the opposite effect. I am extremely attached and drawn to my faceless, unholy knight. I relate to him; tarnished by darkness, but under the surface lies some type of drive for redemption and survival. He’s imperfect, which is oddly easy to gravitate towards. His shrouded history is fascinating, and unlocking the vast mysteries and complexities riddled throughout this realm we inhabit does nothing to reveal much about the character we play as. We may learn and adapt to our environment, but our origins are for the most part entirely unknown.

Playing as this soulless vessel allows me to immerse myself in this world, like I’m experiencing it for myself, rather than through the eyes of the playable character. It’s my journey. It is one of the most interesting, deep, and mature role-playing experiences a guy with a big imagination could ask for. Dawning the facade of a knight in shining armor while traversing these hellish lands in search of the Lords of Cinder is genuinely riveting. I’m compelled to come back time and time again, forcing myself to be patient and push my way through these harsh badlands one sequence at a time. The atmosphere engulfs the player’s senses; wind howls in my ears as rusty chain creak out of sight. Rumbling, guttural growls echo through these endlessly expansive,cascading environments and thunderous footsteps shake me to the core as vile hordes of cursed, decrepit adversaries take attempts at my life. Larger, confident foes excitedly lock onto you when you come into their sight with the sole intention of massacring you. I literally observe them break into a hungry sprint, metaphorically licking their lips as they chase me down with a murderous one track mind.
Through all of this chaos and epic turmoil, there are everlasting moments of peace and self-reflection; I survey the stoney expanse of Lothric’s Castle, entranced by its sheer vastness and haunting beauty. I jaunt through a bed of purple flowers, feeling good about myself as I gain powers and make noticeable strides in my progression, only to be harshly cut down and put in my place by a gargantuan living tree that flattens me like a piece of paper. Meteor like missiles rock me as I’m baited by the sight of some oddly placed excess loot. Scarecrow like skeletons hide in dark corridors with gritty halberds as red-eyed zombies corner me in the cold and damp stone hallways of the Undead Settlement.

For all of the mischief, danger, and horror that persists throughout my journey of Dark Souls, there is something rewarding and enlightening about it. It is sophisticated in its own way. It is a true video game. It is an experience I have been missing out on, but I think better late than never applies to this situation perfectly. While I don’t think I would have made it this far without the encouragement and belief of a good friend of mine, it is still so very rewarding to stick it out and make real, trackable progress. While I’ve barely scratched the surface of the true pain and wretchedness to come, I can’t help but offer high praise to this unique and carefully crafted experience. Even if I beat my controller into my head, or rage shut off my PS4, I always have that urge to play again, if not ten minutes after cooling off.

That is my piece on my first impressions of Dark Souls III. If you couldn’t tell, I am entirely captivated by this world. It is a fantasy writer’s dream. Its serious and dark themes inspire me to create and develop my own pieces of fiction that I may have forgotten about or left behind. It’s never too late to pick it up again, just like it’s never too late for you to pick up Dark Souls and give it a whirl. Who knows, maybe you’ll surprise yourself. Why not give it a shot? Progressing in this game is a palpable accomplishment, and I look forward to sharing more experiences in the future. I may post some darker fiction I’ve been working on, because this game makes me remember what it’s like to create and develop intricate worlds of my own. Is that corny? I don’t really care. It’s the truth.
If you took the time to read, it is sincerely appreciated. If you played Dark Souls, what insights do you have to offer? I would love to hear. If you haven’t played but had some previous curiosity, I hope this was a nice introduction to some of the nuances ever present in this wonderfully evil gem of a game. With that being said, I think I’ll wrap it up here. Goodnight! Nova out.

-Max Nova 2/27/19 10:01 p.m.