#17
Dark Souls 3
9.5/10
Dark Souls 3 was my first venture into the Souls-like genre. It was definitely a hard game to get into. My first attempted playthrough of this game ended about halfway through. I managed to make it through a good number of bosses (not without hundreds of deaths though) then my run was ended when I made it to Pontiff Sulyvahn, a boss I still dread fighting even after beating the game two years later. After countless failed attempts at this boss I finally gave up and put the game away. I was convinced these types of games were for insane masochists who enjoyed punishing gameplay and i would never enjoy them. It wasn't until two years later that I came back to the game after my friend who was a Soul's fan urged me to try the game again.
I'm not sure what it was but something just clicked with the second playthrough of this game. It may have had something with reading the Berserk manga (which was a huge inspiration for these games btw) right before starting playing again. I chose a different starting class this time, I tried exploring each area a bit more this time around and got access to some weapons, spells and armor I missed the first time around. I also learned more about the game mechanics such as poise, invincibility frames, and breaking through an enemies guard, parrying, etc. I eventually defeated that boss that was giving me trouble and proceeded to beat every other boss in the game including the dlc's.
Completing this game and just defeating bosses that I first thought impossible is just one of the most satisfying and rewarding experiences I've had in gaming. and it's a game I will cherish forever.
