Demon's Souls was the first love. It definitely changed my taste as a gamer. Showed me how that a good challenge can be so satisfying. Honestly, it made me appreciate and respect the art of video games more than ever before. Now I almost always play games on hard difficulty. I got it upon release, I remember that I watched some gameplay footage and I felt that the gameplay seemed tight, and that every attack counts. I felt like there was a great weigh to the combat... And I wasn't disappointed.
I love how the world is connected in the first Dark Souls, the lore was strong and well presented throughout the world and atmosphere. the main bosses were introduced properly and were given great back stories, unlike the other two games. So many great bosses, Ornstein and Smough boss fight is the best and most epic I've ever experienced in a video game.
Dark Souls II gameplay in general is better and much more balanced (especially online PvP). The way how the moderated backstabbing is brilliant. For someone who has to suffer from lag, the ring that protects you from backstabbing was God sent. It made the multiplayer much more fun. Stats, scaling, element infusion / upgrading and so on all were more refined.
