I never learned to parry in any of these games, with one exception–those brick-wielding guys in Bloodborne.
However, I was able to complete all but Sekiro (stuck forever at the guy on the castle roof) because all but Sekiro have “easy modes” that I didn’t hesitate to fall back on when needed (summoning other players, using poison arrows from outside boss gates, that Capra Demon trick running up the stairs repeatedly, and so on).
One of my all-time most discouraging video game experiences (trying repeatedly to beat Flamelurker in Demon’s Souls and summoning invaders instead of helpers with my last few blue eye stones) is now one of my favorite video game memories. But I don’t know that I could ever bring myself to replay that game because I’m still so intimidated by Flamelurker, who I ultimately beat by hiding in the corner with the Thief Ring and casting Poison Cloud. I might still be stuck there had I not happened to have that spell.
Weirdly, this is exactly what it took for me to “break through” and start to understand how Souls games are supposed to be played. I was frustrated because I felt like I didn’t understand how to have fun in Dark Souls, and a friend was like, you should check out the balder sword it’s my favorite. And to this day, if I’m doing a dex build, I’m probably getting that sword. It’s so good; it has more or less a perfect moveset.
The second thing that made me really understand how to have fun in Dark Souls was to stop using shields.
I am a long way off from this point, as I am quite bad at reading attack patterns, lol. But I do find myself relying less on keeping it up at all times the more I play, and I’m experimenting with parry timers when it feels safe to do so, which is something!
I’ve beaten Dark Souls twice, and I’ve never put down the shield. Definitely not required to have fun.
For me, the real “aha” moment was on my fourth attempt to play the game, when I used a build guide, and realized how much stronger your character can get when you understand the systems and know where things are.
Congrats on getting past Capra! That’s a tough one.
This is part of the reason Bloodborne and Sekiro and their emphasis on aggression are meaningfully better than the other games to me (apart from Demon’s which is also better for different reasons). If these latter souls games are going to be sort of plodding to get through like Dark 1-3, Elden, then why dont I just play a more relaxed problem-solving one like Eternal Ring or Shadow Tower you know?
Oh, for sure. There’s a reason it’s kind of the “default” way to play. It’s always been point of friction for me personally due to some disability/pain issues, though, so reducing my reliance on it makes for a better experience. In my case, it’s been more about learning when I can safely drop the shield for faster stamina regeneration and the like, rather than going full-tilt into aggression
This was the observation that got me to try out Bloodborne originally a couple years back, since the shield had been such a point of frustration for me in Dark Souls. I wasn’t really ready for the experience then, but now that I’ve gotten a better appreciation for FromSoftware’s approach to combat, I’m definitely going to be revisiting it in the future
The thing that made Bloodborne difficult for me, and it’s not something I see anyone ever talk about, was the blood phials situation. I just don’t understand why they made your estus flask something that you have to grind for to refill. I get that part of the idea was to force you to not care as much about it, but the game was really hard for me to get into as it is as a shield turtle. It’s my gamer shame that I’ve never actually beaten that one because I would feel too discouraged after spending all my blood to lose a difficult fight.
edit: if I’ve misunderstood something about them, feel free to call me out in this forum
playing aggressive in bloodborne made me go back and play dark souls more aggressive which then made it more fun for me. i am either two-handing or duel wielding a weapon and keeping my equip load light so i can fast roll. to be clear, i am not good at the game so i die a lot, but i have more fun with this glass cannon style of playing.
though the first time i played dark souls i played the whole thing creeping around slowly with my shield up (that game scared me) and still had fun. so i think getting more comfortable with the game in general also helps.
this was frustrating at first but once i found a spot to farm those vials i just went back there when i was blood-broke. every other environment felt super unsafe/hostile, so when i went back to that one spot i felt i could chill out, kill some dudes and enjoy the environment at my own pace.
yeah this is how i felt about blood vials too. plus, deep down, i think a degenerate part of me just liked the farm grind.
i don’t feel the urge to return to bloodborne because the atmosphere just is not my flavor. it’s too one note. a well-executed note, but a note i don’t like. plus the challis dungeons feel like the spencer’s gifts of video games. claustrophobic, nasty, and vaguely smelling of latex.
I’ve done some grinding here and there in FromSoft games but it’s just not really my kinda grind I guess. It’s “put a podcast on while you play” stuff for me, which can be alright at times but typically not something I pursue. The consistency of the Bloodborne phial grind wore me down I think.
I will add that I have become a more aggressive Soulsboy, but it’s mainly because of the power stance from Dark Souls 2. In Elden Ring I’m dual wielding greatswords in lieu of a shield. I still like the weightier weapons I guess, which is probably a Souls over Borne thing as well. I would agree with @MoH that the atmosphere isn’t really my thing either. I love the Dark Souls aesthetic and atmosphere, and I love that they got big dragons and stuff too. Bloodborne is cool for sure but never drew me in as much.
walking around with a huge hammer and bonking scary looking dudes was quite fun.
bloodborne is the one i remember the most just because of how scared i was playing that game and i loved it because of it, but i also don’t want to play it again. the different areas of the game were so evocative and creepy that it became a game I had to put down after some time – i was getting too tense!
one thing i like about bloodborne that wasn’t in sekiro (which I also loved) is that bloodborne forces you to be in these really tight situations that constrain your movement, whereas i felt like Sekiro was much more open in order to make room for the grappling hook to be used. as a result, things felt a bit “floaty” for me at times – i need to play that game again to see how i feel now
I do believe there’s a point late in Bloodborne when you can purchase vials, basically at the point when leveling becomes superfluous anyway which is nice. But prior to that it is a bit of a chore, just treated it as an excuse to practice parrying different enemies.
id played so much dark souls, beat the heck out of dark souls 2, and it was only when bloodborne finally clicked for me after a harrowing journey (really) that the souls games crystallized for me. shields are a sometimes food
the first time I played it took me TWELVE HOURS to get to the Taurus demon! that’s like, the first boss!!! and I was still like “wowwww what an expansive game” haha
As for the parries aspect, I would keep an open mind about this. Sekiro is certainly very focused on parries, but, that is greatly counterbalanced by the parrying being, not only highly responsive control wise, but also I would say there’s much more permissiveness with the timing of it. I wouldn’t say that you can get away with just tapping away at the parry button, but, it gets a lot closer to that than Dark Souls or Elden Ring does.
It’s more of a trade-off than you might expect. You are expected to do it a LOT more, but it’s more intuitive and permissive and thus easier, at least on average. It also helps that I’m pretty sure more attacks in Sekiro can be parried overall. You don’t have to wonder whether 2/3rds of a boss moveset can’t even be parried no matter how good your timing is. It’s generally obvious what can and cannot be parried, a huge limitation to even wanting to master parrying in the other games.
I also never really figured out the feel for parrying in games other than Sekiro. I may be worst at the parrying in Bloodborne but it still feels magical every time I can manage a parry in Dark Souls or Elden Ring. It’s something about how it’s unclear if it’s anticipatory, and if it is, precisely how much you need to anticipate an attack landing to get into the parry window. With Sekiro it feels a lot more like matching timing than trying to find where the magic window is, if that makes sense. You more or less never wonder whether you were too early or too late on your inputs. On the other hand I can’t not wonder that, even on a successful parry in the other genres. Like, was I fast enough or slow enough?? I never know lol.
All of your mileage on all that may vary though, of course.
I also spent hours and hours thinking The Real Dark Souls Started at the skeletons around the entrance to the catacombs lol. I think it also took me three save files to find the Lower Undead Burg. Thought I had to beat Sif at that point at least on one save file.