New World
I remember the wait for this strange niche japanese game that took over a year to come to europe over ten years ago. Demon's Souls the name, could have not been more generic but there was something to it. It was so rough, no screaming graphics and yet it stand out for me among many others. Like Cryptocurrencies who would have thought where that niche dream by a small few of developers could have come this far?
Yet here we are and I'm very happy about it, what I feel is that a more decentralized world will allow for more voice to talk and more time to fully use ears actively. I find this really beautiful connection in this changing times where each individual will have more power to roam an society of equally different ones.
Wait how come? Isn't the Souls series the games where the player to role as an Undead or an Ashen one or Unkidled, even the bloodseeking Hunter. This roles dosn't seems to inspire greatness or equity or even freedom. Monster like beings that roams these fading lands hunting and devouring souls to become stronger, that's what you are in this games, that's your objective, cruel by design!
Well that's true but isn't that what most games are about, killing thousand of foes without too much attention to why. The Souls take a self-aware approach to this old working formula. When I play I always feel the game almost telling me "yeah you are a cool lord of cinder but the way to break this unending curse isn't here, go experiment new ways, out of the comfort zone of battle and killing there's so much more. Look how this world of undead ended."
Probably is different for everyone but this is what I hear when playing what the playing hours inspire me towards.
Spatial Exploration
Spoilery
Off now the general concept and the combat gameplay loop that has never been why I was so keen on this series, why I was so enthralled about Demon's souls was the enviroment and how it emaneted something more then a setting, there was something going on, a story to be told silently on what may appear a first sight just a rattled wall. And while Demon's souls was the experiment Dark souls become the refinement.
https://images.app.goo.gl/swrmWniByX3nxw4h7
This image above is the whole Dark souls map, and if you take out the Starting area on the left and the optional Painted World on the left the one in the middle is the whole map. Finely connected without interruption or magical jumps, every place had a story behind and why it was situated there. The interconnection and the seemsless flow from one place to another is something that in my eyes is unparalleled to this days even in the next installements.
Apart from the jump from Sen Fortress to Anor Londo(wich in my opinion could have done without the flying goblin cutscene jump because they were perfectly aligned).
It may sounds like a small thing but the seemless world made my exploration matter, exploring something that has cohesive and consistent roads made the expirience deep and lasting even if the world is a complete fantasy made of the most different and wild areas to explore!
Nightmares Travels
While Dark Souls 1 stand the test of time for me as world building and the sequels don't come near it's design( they are great games and in their own right they best DS 1 in other areas, Ds 2 for it's rpg mechanics and buld variety and DS 3 for it's polished nature and individual zones wich are the most fun to explore one on one but the lack of interconnection and openess to the whole world made them lose some points in my view), the other game that truly shine for it's world building is Bloodborne. The city of Yarham is a labyrinth first a physical one and then as the player progress and madness ensues an illusory thruth is revealed slowly changing the feeling of the place. The jumps to other places here didn't bother me because it was integral to the what was going on in the world or what I should call a dream. Reaching places through impossible passage made it feel more surreal and questioning yourself about the reality and existence of the world outside the Hunter's Dream. It was a wonderful sidestep from the High fantasy of Dark souls.
Elden Ring
For how refined these previus games were they always felt restrained, shackled. For the beautiful level design, open to player exploration as best as it could there was really missing a total and complete open world exploration and this is were Elden Ring come in. Basically the looks of what could be Dark Souls 4 but in an open and bigger world. What I see triggers so much anticipation but will it answer correctly to the implementation of an Open World? Well if anything Legend of Zelda: Breath of the wild proved that is doable and all point in that direction. I'm ready to burn my hand!
There's so much info around right now about Elden Ring that I don't feel adding too much now, made the post so I could actually stop raving about it and go on with my life 😂
Have a goodday Gdevvers!