Having ventured on from where we left off yesterday, me and Kaiden found ourselves in a swamp, an area I specifically abhorred in Demon's Souls, and this was no different. Not only is the swamp poisonous, but it plays host to some of the creepiest creatures in the entire game. Huge mosquito-types that spray you with blood, some giant fly/spider hybrids, and leeches, which are also obviously wonderfully oversized just to make them that much scarier.
This area is not fun. I'm sure, when Dark Souls was being developed, this is the part where they just let the extra-sadistic half of the office design an area, the enemies are terrifying, every step you take poisons you further, and the place is so dark that you can barely see a few feet ahead of you, let alone figure out which way you should be going. Oh and, just so you don't feel too pleased with yourself when you do finally make it out, the very next area is a tunnel covered with spider webs, leading to one of the hardest bosses in the game.
As you may have noticed, I've had a rough old time with Dark Souls today, I've now logged about 23 hours with the game, but the last few of those hours have really pushed my limits. As with Demon's Souls, the first couple of areas of the game seem hard at first, but once you play them for a few hours, they become much more manageable, you feel like you have some control in those areas once you know where the traps and enemies all are. I know that I can run through the first few castle areas now without too many problems, I know the enemies, I know the layout, I'm in control. Down in the dark swampy depths, I lose that feeling of control entirely. When you're in a huge open area with enemies rushing you from every direction, the ground poisoning you as you trudge slowly along, and the lighting so dim that navigation becomes a chore, it seems nearly impossible to suggest that you could ever really learn this area well enough to feel comfortable in it, and it certainly seems impossible to suggest you could ever enjoy it. Maybe that's the intention, they clearly set out to design a treacherous, harrowing, oppressive environment, and they succeeded, but in doing so, they've made an area that I never want to visit again because nothing about it was fun.
This same thing happened to me in Dark Souls, and it might just be one of my own personal issues, but I dislike the fact that any time I play this game again, I'll always dread that area and wish I could skip it entirely. I suppose it's an unavoidable element in a game like this, when the game is specifically designed to frustrate and scare you, there will undoubtedly be parts of it that fill you with dread. But, in this instance, it's not a case of being scared of the swamp, I've already conquered the area, I know I can do it and the enemies there aren't particularly challenging, it's simply a case of finding everything about that swamp to be tedious, unfair, and completely lacking in any enjoyment whatsoever. Maybe it's just me, or maybe it really is a case of the developer's going a little too far with this one. There are always those odd levels, even in your favourite games, that you sometimes wish you could avoid, the 'Library' of Halo: Combat Evolved, Ocarina of Time's 'Water Temple', those bits in the last-gen GTA games where you have to control RC planes, you get the idea, and I really think these swamp sections are the 'Souls' series' absolute worst bits.
Anyway, enough of "Mike's Pet Peeves", on with the story. After finally making it out of the swamp and reaching the spider's lair, I was treated to yet another brilliant and ridiculously challenging boss battle. I won't lie, that one took about fifteen tries, and the feeling of satisfaction from finally beating it was quite overwhelming. That's probably the best thing about these games, the feeling you get when you finally do it, when the thing you've been desperately hammering away at over and over finally falls down. There are times when I literally have to set the controller down and jump for joy, it feels that good. People will always criticise these games for the amount of time you spend in a state of frustration and anger, but what they don't realise is that, at least in my opinion, the rare moments of elation you get from eventually overcoming whatever obstacle is frustrating you are totally worth it. I spent about three hours, getting more and more annoyed, grinding away at that area and boss, but when I finally beat her, my moment of triumph felt pretty damn good, and it really felt like I'd accomplished something. I think that's the real driving force behind people who play these games, the sense of achievement and overcoming the odds when everything is stacked against you. Emotions that, sadly, are somewhat hard to find in games these days. Dark Souls provides them in spades.
My feeling of triumph turned out to be short-lived after the spider's demise. I was killed shortly afterwards by a colossal lava demon called Ceaseless Discharge, and that's all I'm going to say about that.
I went back to the relative safety of the castle, searching for new routes, ended up in a forest where the insect theme continued in the form of a battle with a giant laser-firing butterfly. I might as well stop putting words like 'giant' in front of everything, you could just assume from now on that most things in this game are stupidly huge. The butterfly didn't put up much of a fight and was defeated quite easily.
Now I find myself in a bit of a pickle. There are four or five possible routes to go, all of which seem to contain enemies that might just be a little too tough for me, so I'm back to grinding, the trouble is, I'm at the point where it takes quite a lot of time to even go up a single level, so it doesn't really seem worth the trouble. I've switched off the game for the day while I mull over my next move. We're nearly at the halfway point of the week and I feel like, if I continue at this pace, I can definitely finish the game by Sunday, but the move I make next could prove vital. I have no real idea which way to go or what to do next, but I'll have to decide one way or another.
Tune in tomorrow to see how it turns out...
Death count: I have no idea anymore, but it's easily over 100
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