I first played Dark Souls 1 when it first came to steam on the recommendation of a friend of mine. I wasn’t really sure about it at first. I somehow missed picking up a weapon as a sorcerer, so I was trying to bonk hollows with the staff for like 8 damage a pop. I thought, “Wow, this game really is hard.” Then I found a proper sword and was like, “Oh.” . I also struggled a bit with that first plathrough and looked stuff up on the wiki very quickly. It wasn’t until DS2 came out that I was able to get into the blind playthrough groove. Where the pursuer killed me over and over and over. This is fine.

I think if I could only take one with me to a desert island, it’d be Elden Ring. It’s the biggest, with a lot of variety and stuff I haven’t seen or played. Even if some of the bigness leads to tedium (eg: getting the upgrade bearings on every playthrough).

But is it my favorite? I’m not sure. The first one really nailed the “abandoned, old, place” vibe. The firelink theme is iconic. It did a search to see if anyone had written about it, and found a big ol’ video doing a lot of analysis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjKAQ-zI5Ns

I started with demons souls and I’m seriously debating getting the remaster on the PS5. My favourite is Bloodborne I just love the gothic horror aesthetic and the rally system is so good I love the blood effects and the armour and weapons are all very cool, the pizza cutter is my favourite weapon in the whole series. There is a special place in my heart for dark souls 1 though it’s my most provided game I’ve got copies on PS3 and 4 and PC as well as the remaster. It’s just so good.

My first was Demon’s Souls and my favorite is Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin. (I actually haven’t played the original version of DS2). I just find SOTFS comfy for some reason.

Bloodborne was my first and was my favourite for the longest time. I jumped in blind, bounced off the game hard and came back like 4 years later and was enthralled with the game, its vision, theme etc.

Sekiro is my favourite simply because the gameplay is unparalleled. Amazing boss fights, all gas no filler (except for a few bosses that feel a little out of place), amazing soundtrack and visuals. Bounced off the game even harder than Bloodborne and had to start the game over three separate times and took several years in between the attempts. Finally clicked sometime throughout the playthrough and went on to get a platinum. I really wish we’d get a sequel or DLC simply because of its untapped potential. Here’s to hoping we’ll get something sometime in the future.

Lies of P is wedged right in between the two at second place. Perfect mix of both games. :)