Sekiro has fully taken all my attention recently when it comes to games and is the 6th game in a row now that FromSoftware has released that has fully taken me, but I know that this simply isn’t the case for everyone and many people are struggling to get onto Sekiro having never played a FromSoftware game before.
…So as the resident FromSoftware fanboy in Respawning – I have taken it upon myself (Asked by Joe) to write a small description of my experiences of the Soulsborniroioh, whatever the fuck they’re called now, games… And no, even though I said FromSoftware game I won’t be touching on Armored Core.
Demons Souls
Demons Souls is the hipster one of the family that barely anyone’s actually played but those who have won’t ever miss the opportunity to tell you they’ve played it (I have played it by the way) it was the game that some say started it all and others… Well… Don’t say that. It has some of the best bosses in the whole series however was not fine tuned enough to play off its own merits – Now that the servers are down if you do
want to go and play it… Make sure you git gud.
Dark Souls
Possibly the greatest game of all time, every single thing about this game is perfected from Demons Souls. The boss fights are all fair and tough, the world building is the best I have ever seen within any kind of media that has come before or after it. I have bought and finished this game on the Xbox 360, the PS3, the PS4 and the Nintendo Switch and I just cannot get enough of it. I want to play it when I’m at home, on the train, on the toilet, in bed just all the time. THIS is the game you should be starting with and playing through everything from the Asylum Demon right through to Artorias himself.
Dark Souls 2 / Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin
This one is the bastard middle child that not many people like. In many ways it went back 5 steps from what perfected Dark Souls towards Demons Souls from a hub world that branched off to a few levels to many uninspired humanoid enemies that felt a bit cut and paste from the first Dark Souls. Also many feel that it was the easiest of all the games by a longshot and the cut and paste enemy types just allowed you to float through the areas after simply learning the first enemy of each type you come across in each area.
THERE IS A BIG HOWEVER to this story though, all of this was somewhat fixed by the superior Scholar Of The First Sin version of the game which moved a few enemies around and was also bundled with all the games DLC packs – which ironically to the base quality of the game are actually the series’ best. This is the one to play if you have beaten all the other ones I recommend on this list and still want to fill a Dark Souls shaped hole in your life. Also, despite all of this it is actually my favourite of the series – partly just to see the salt pour.
Bloodborne
Bloodborne is the one in which FromSoftware took notice that everyone was so reliant on the shield… And decided to remove it completely.
This one has the best world of any game I have ever played, borrowing from the works of H.P. Lovecraft to deliver a terrifying, Victorian-esque world that features werewolves, kidnappers and this fucking thing:
To me it properly cemented Hidetaka Miyazaki as a certified genius that can do no wrong when it comes to making video games and I have relished all 3 of my playthroughs of the game. You can play this one whenever you want, it shakes up the formula enough that
you can pick it up first or last depending on the kind of world you fancy. One thing will remain forever etched in my brain and I wont give much detail to it but… FUCK THE ORPHAN OF KOS.
Dark Souls 3
The formula was perfected. Everything led up to this point in the Dark Souls franchise, the world building so far that led so many questions was finally being answered (Albeit within item descriptions) and everything was just so damn good. Yes it’s a little easier than everything that came before it but you know what? It’s still fucking nails and has one of the best bosses I have ever fought in any video game ever. EVER I TELL YOU. I’m not going to spoilt what he looks like or fights like but you’ll know him and his steed the second you see him.
I recommend playing Dark Souls 3 AFTER you have played everything on this list prior to this entry (Aside from Dark Souls 2 really but even then I say play in the order I have written) because it’s really the culmination of everything that has come before it. The enemies take speed from Bloodborne whilst still leaning to the classic Dark Souls formula that’s come before it. 3 years on you can still summon the very active community to help you through each boss you struggle against whilst still having that similar sense of accomplishment that you get from slaying everything in your path after 5 or 6 tries.
Sekiro
I reviewed this recently (LINK) but if you have yet to read that and want to know when to play this then read on… Basically Sekiro speeds up Bloodborne, removes the Dark Souls shields and emphasizes stealth and parrying like never before. All I will say on this title it… If you haven’t gotten good enough to get through all the Dark Souls games and Bloodborne then don’t even fucking bother looking at Sekiro. I am a vet of the series and I am struggling against this game. I recently banged my head against a wall for 6 hours on a single boss the other day.
You cannot summon help in Sekiro and it really separates the people who know what they’re doing and those who summoned assistance all the way through.
So that’s my roundup, I have tried to avoid spoiling too much and I suppose the real takeaway is play whichever games you want – It’s your time!