Funny thing is, not only have I never played a Souls game, I generally don't even play Hard mode on regular games, as usually I'm more an 'I wanna see the story' kind of guy. So I was pretty nervous about dropping money on this game, as I had no idea whether I would hit the sort of solid wall of frustration the article's writer hit. But I REALLY wanted to immerse myself in the world the game presented, so I decided to take the chance.
First few hours were a nightmare. x_x I was tense, twitching, and although I didn't die SUPER often, (maybe ten times before reaching the Cleric Boss,) that was largely due to the fact that I inched along the level and would gain JUST ENOUGH echoes to buy a new piece of equipment/item before returning to the Hunter's Dream. Even fighting just two villagers felt insurmountable.
But then it was like I broke through some sort of mental barrier. Muscle memory kicked in, and I began dodging far more effectively, learning to separate crowds of villagers to take them apart piece by piece so that even the 'Oh Hell No' bonfire lynch mob of them became perfectly manageable. Purchased the Hunter armor, which helped my damage resistances a little, and although the big ogre-like enemies and the pair of werewolves still gave me trouble (over half of my ten deaths being to them,) I was getting through the city much
Which culminated in the sheer satisfaction of taking out the Cleric Boss on my very first try. =D With that encounter finished, I was able to begin leveling up my stats, and my progression just soared after that. Took out the second boss, Father Whatshisface, on the second try, that jackass hunter with the gatling gun in one try, and more recently conquered the Blood Starved Beast after four tries. (his poison attacks made me sad. ._. )
Anyway, on the subject of the article, I can understand some elements of his frustration, particularly if the boss did glitch out for him, HOWEVER his bit about doing the same fifteen minute stretch of city suggests he never found the shortcut through the house to reach it. Infinitely easier to reach that spot via that route, you can skip the werewolves entirely, possibly even just run past the crowd and ogre. Same with the second boss; down the elevator, across the bridge, run past the handful of enemies, boom, you're there. And same with the blood thirsty beast; hop off the ledges, down the building, in the winding staircase tower, down to the bottom, past one or two werewolves, boom! Five minutes tops, likely less.
The map IS well designed for cutting down on travel time, you just need to actually take the time and risk of exploring.
Zanten, Doer Of The Things
Unless He Forgets In Which Case Zanten, Forgetter Of The Things
Or He Procrascinates, In Which Case Zanten, Doer Of The Things Later
Or It Involves Moving Furniture, in Which Case Zanten, F*** You.
