Dark Souls 3 Is Not Very Enjoyable

[Energist]

I know I'm going to get flamed for this, but that's ok. I'm not here to argue an objective fact about the game, but rather state my opinion.

For context, I'm at the Soul of Cinder or whatever. He's kicking my ass. I will beat him eventually, not worried about that.

Edit: I have since beaten Soul of Cinder.

But as I am on the cusp of beating the game, it occurred to me how miserable I was playing through the game. It was rarely fun, almost always stressful and frustrating. After every singular victory, came a seemingly endless wave of defeats until the next singular victory.

I'm not saying the game is too hard, but I am saying that it tries too hard to be too hard. It would have been better if the challenges were a bit less consistently overbearing. At no point did I feel like the game wanted me to succeed, nor did it ever want me to feel like the hero I should be towards the end.

The pacing of challenge could have been a bit better. Some breathing room here and there would have helped make the journey a bit more enjoyable by sprinkling some hope and sense of progress into the mix. I don't see why around every corner I have to get my anus reamed out. Surely there can be SOME content somewhere in the game that's a bit more mellow just to take the edge off of the truly hard content.

Also, there's no reason to put bonfires so far from some of these bosses. Having to run a minute+ back to the boss room just to try again is lame. Even the final boss makes you run back up the ramp. They could have put the bonfire right next to the boss arena, but chose not to.

Overall, the game just took more from me than it gave back.

Anyways, that's my take on this. I know I know. Learn to play. Git Gud and all that. No thanks. I like that the game is hard. I like that there are challenges to overcome. I don't like that the game is 100% stress, 100% of the time with absolutely no change of pace.

[Mr. Black]

This is not your kind of game, It happens the same to me with Sekiro. While I enjoy most of it, last part of game is way to stresfull and hard to be enjoyable.

[LuckyCheshire]

While I did enjoy DS3, I actually agree with your points. It's important for a game to have some variance in what it's expecting and what mechanics are being used. DS3 tries to do that by interspersing combat and exploration, but ended up more just having exploration during combat constantly.

The bonfire placement can be a little weird, yeah.

[Energist]

Originally posted by Mr. Black:

This is not your kind of game, It happens the same to me with Sekiro. While I enjoy most of it, last part of game is way to stresfull and hard to be enjoyable.

That may be the case, but I am always drawn back to these games because I do appreciate the mechanical depth and the fun challenges.

I'm not trying to say that the game is too hard for me. It's more so that there is never anything to do other than struggle. Not much in the way of puzzles or meaningful traps. Exploration is always gated behind more struggle.

It feels good to fight a really strong boss and beat them. It doesn't feel good to constantly get my ass kicked over and over and over again with nothing else to fill the time.

[Energist]

Originally posted by LuckyCheshire:

While I did enjoy DS3, I actually agree with your points. It's important for a game to have some variance in what it's expecting and what mechanics are being used. DS3 tries to do that by interspersing combat and exploration, but ended up more just having exploration during combat constantly.

The bonfire placement can be a little weird, yeah.

I am glad that you understand the nuance of what I am saying.

It is awesome to have really challenging content to overcome, but the lack of variety of the challenge level, and I guess the lack of alternative activities other than said challenging content, made it into a huge grind for me.

I would have liked to see more puzzles, traps to disarm, or meaningful exploration besides turning a corner.

[CazadorDeLobo]

That's the wrong moment to about-face your experience, my friend

[Energist]

Originally posted by CazadorDeLobo:

That's the wrong moment to about-face your experience, my friend

Lol. It was the first time I could take a breath and reflect I suppose. There was no option but to get here, but it feels like a hollow victory.

[Catarii]

For relaxing time and peace and beautiful view:
Welcome to Majula!
Oh, wait. Damn.

[Toasty]

I fully agree on bonfires since some of them makes no sense (the one in the archives and the one that you get once you defeat the dragonslayer armors is a valid example of this) or even certain shortcuts (the elevator that you must take to reach the lothric Twins). Par se the game isn't so difficult, it's more like to learn and memorize things... Once you know where to go and how to face certain enemies, it's a walk in the park (personally the only boss that still give me troubles regarding the moveset is the dancer since her moveset actually confuse me)

[Energist]

Originally posted by Toasty:

I fully agree on bonfires since some of them makes no sense (the one in the archives and the one that you get once you defeat the dragonslayer armors is a valid example of this) or even certain shortcuts (the elevator that you must take to reach the lothric Twins). Par se the game isn't so difficult, it's more like to learn and memorize things... Once you know where to go and how to face certain enemies, it's a walk in the park (personally the only boss that still give me troubles regarding the moveset is the dancer since her moveset actually confuse me)

The problem I have is that once I learn one fight, it doesn't really help me in future fights. No matter what I do, I always feel the same amount of struggle. I never feel like I'm getting stronger. It feels like spinning my wheels in the mud for 50+ hours until I finally beat the game .

Which I did earlier, by the way. I beat the Soul of Cinder.

I just don't really feel like the journey was fun or meaningful. It was so over the top, the entire time, that I still feel weak and incapable at the end.

Yeah, if I played through the game again, I am sure muscle memory will help me, but I don't ever want to experience this game again. That's sort of the problem. The lack of a sense of progression and growth really steals the satisfaction of beating the game, or the next boss because whatever comes next is going to be back to square one.

[2Becu]

I just started my adventure with DS3 and after DS2 i thought that since Hidetaka Miyazaki is back on board things will be better than it was in DS2 just like it was in DS1 but no. DS3 is in my opinion worse than DS2 was. Each boss i overcome i dont feel joy or happines that i beat it, its more of a relief with a big sigh... next comes a thought that i will have to go through a whole new area that is harder than the boss at the end of it to do it all over again. I will give DS3 few more shots but im closer to uninstalling than i was with DS2 because its just frustraitingly unfair. Dont get me wrong i like challenge but DS3 just feels like the game is cheating to make it hard not that its hard in itself. DS1 > DS2 > DS3

[Energist]

Originally posted by 2Becu:

I just started my adventure with DS3 and after DS2 i thought that since Hidetaka Miyazaki is back on board things will be better than it was in DS2 just like it was in DS1 but no. DS3 is in my opinion worse than DS2 was. Each boss i overcome i dont feel joy or happines that i beat it, its more of a relief with a big sigh... next comes a thought that i will have to go through a whole new area that is harder than the boss at the end of it to do it all over again. I will give DS3 few more shots but im closer to uninstalling than i was with DS2 because its just frustraitingly unfair. Dont get me wrong i like challenge but DS3 just feels like the game is cheating to make it hard not that its hard in itself. DS1 > DS2 > DS3

I can understand. For me, I persevered, but I can't say it was worth it. I've been in a bad mood every time I play it. What's the benefit to that ?

Maybe it's my mindset, or maybe I'm just really bad at the game.

[Judeo-communism]

It's just not your kind of game. You're feeling stress when you should be feeling fun and dopamine at overcoming the challenge. The game wants you to succeed ONLY when you deserve it. It doesn't hand you free dopamine or victories. You are expected to fail and keep failing until you perfect your skills and execute well.

You've set a different expectation for your self than what the game's intended target audience is for. There are plenty of other games for people who want easy dopamine and/or instant gratification. But this is a game for people who want a challenge and deal with "high stakes" for long periods of time.

[Energist]

Originally posted by Judeo-communism:

It's just not your kind of game. You're feeling stress when you should be feeling fun and dopamine at overcoming the challenge. The game wants you to succeed ONLY when you deserve it. It doesn't hand you free dopamine or victories. You are expected to fail and keep failing until you perfect your skills and execute well.

You've set a different expectation for your self than what the game's intended target audience is for. There are plenty of other games for people who want easy dopamine and/or instant gratification. But this is a game for people who want a challenge and deal with "high stakes" for long periods of time.

Well, good to know that. I was thinking I was just worse than the average player. It's hard to imagine there are people who like being in that state for such long periods of time. It's exhausting.

Don't get me wrong, though. I do have a strong appreciation for the games, and at their best, they provide an unparalleled experience. Dark Souls 3 just takes it to a level that I think is excessive and relentless at times.

[beer is good for migraines]

I never played any game in the series, but you (thread starter) have very legitimate complaints. Does the game not have difficulty options?

[shponglefan]

Originally posted by beer is good for migraines:

Does the game not have difficulty options?

Nope.