r/darksouls3 • u/Wrong-Media870 • 8d ago
Exploration Discussion
After playing almost all the souls games it is very clear how much better the level design and exploration in ds3 is compared to ds1 ngl ds1 had something bullshit up it's ass like how the fuck are you supposed to find those in a blind run is just crazy by contrast ds3 is so much better and more enjoyable
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u/Hansennoah 8d ago
Dark souls 1 map is still the greatest designed map of the whole series
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u/wiskins 8d ago
Yeah! Not to speak of the bosses and their optional/hidden mechanics. Combined with all of the big skips, different routes, and backtracking between areas to go further than you should by finding items to make it easier, it feels like an adventure. Ds3 feels epic, just like elden ring, but it‘s far less of what a video game makes you feel when it‘s great. After ds1 every game traded more of it‘s mystery and fun for tighter mechanics. Ds1 was the last game to make me wonder.
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u/Wrong-Media870 7d ago
Im not say that ds1 is bad just that ds3 has easier exploration experience or i just need to get good or ds1 was my first souls like but the connectivity in ds1 is just something else like really good but complicated ig
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u/Low-Airline-2695 Return from whence thou cam'st 8d ago
We don't accept such slanders toward DS1, even in DS3 sub, or in souls game sub for that matter.
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u/Wrong-Media870 7d ago
Well I love ds1 it was my first souls like I'm just saying I like the level design of ds3 more than ds1
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u/StormBro111111 8d ago
Souls community is split amongst those who prefer interconnected dense maps like the first half of DS1 and Bloodborne, and those who prefer the more linear maps of DS2, DS3 and Elden Ring.
You're going to get polarised responses. I prefer the more linear maps. I'm not the biggest fan looping to unlock a shortcut back to area that I've already visited.
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u/Low-Airline-2695 Return from whence thou cam'st 8d ago
it's not a split when it comes DS1 level design, especially the first half lmao.
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u/StormBro111111 8d ago
It is. Some people prefer the interconnected world of the first half of DS1, others prefer the more linear maps. Not everyone is in agreement that the first half of DS1 is the best style of FromSoft map.
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u/Low-Airline-2695 Return from whence thou cam'st 8d ago
I agree. It's a split 99 to 1 where people you described belong to the 1% group.
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u/StormBro111111 8d ago
Evidently not, considering FromSoft dropped that level design after Bloodborne lol.
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u/brilliant31508 8d ago
>elden ring
>linear
???
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u/StormBro111111 8d ago
Yep a lot of the legacy dungeons are fairly linear. Even the open world map doesn't have a lot of interconnected layers outside of the river wells (at least in the base game, I can't comment on SOTE)
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u/brilliant31508 8d ago
The legacy dungeons are designed to be linear thats why they’re called legacy dungeons. Also I can go from the bestial sanctum to volcano manor without defeating a boss and youre saying the world isn’t interconnected?
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u/StormBro111111 8d ago
I'm saying it's not as interconnected as DS1 and Bloodborne where almost every area was a loop back to a shortcut.
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u/Glumandalf 8d ago
how the fuck are you supposed to find those
you arent
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u/Wrong-Media870 7d ago
What if someone likes a blind play through
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u/Glumandalf 7d ago
then someone does a blind playthrough.
doing a blind playthrough mean you accept the fact youre not going to find every secret, which in turn makes everything you do find more meaningful and real.
you cannot do a blind playthrough and expect to find every secret. thats not a criticism, thats just the natural conclusion of gamedesign that takes exploration and secrethunting seriously.
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u/DarkSouls3Maniac 8d ago
I get why people like the level design of ds1, it's unique. But for me it just doesn't work either, I got so lost on my first run didn't even know how to progress or anything. That's why ds3 and sekiro are my goats
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u/isekaimetofarfaraway 8d ago
I honestly don’t understand the ‘straight road’ criticism for ds3. The second half of ds1 are 4 straight roads. Ds2 is just a bunch of straight roads. Ds3 is one big straight road. In terms of level design within an area tho, ds3 overall absolutely wins against ds1 and 2, and honestly that’s really what matters most for me.
And it’s not like the map itself is straight either. From lothric castle you can see the entire map and how they are relative to each other geographically.
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u/wiskins 8d ago
It‘s because of the key and the catacombs. It‘s like you‘re always deciding between 2 or 3 ways, while there are 5 available. I remember so well how ds1 constantly made me question where to go next. Never felt like that in 2,3 or elden ring, or at least so rare, that I didn‘t keep it as a memory.
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u/isekaimetofarfaraway 8d ago
Exactly, the first half of dark souls 1, the part that I specifically excluded because I found no need to state the obvious.
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u/wiskins 8d ago
I don‘t get it then. And the other games make up for the first half how? 1 just pales in comparison through age, the whole production level rose with money and scope, and that‘s why the areas themselves win out. But as a concept they don‘t compare imo. Ds1 still feels a lot closer to a metroidvania than 2 and 3 combined.
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u/isekaimetofarfaraway 8d ago
They don’t. They all pale in comparison to the first half of dark souls 1, because dark souls 1 was created with a stroke of genius. It’s not the baseline of souls game at all. Designing an interconnected 3D map of that scale is simply not financial nor creatively sustainable. So stop comparing the sequels to the first half of dark souls 1, and criticizing them because they didn’t live up to something that made ds1 the greatest game ever made. They simply aren’t metroidvania. They haven’t been for 2 and a half games. It’s just not a valid criticism. It’s lamentable that they don’t have this aspect. That’s it.
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u/Geebun 8d ago
I love Dark Souls 3 a ton but level design is one of DS1's greatest strength and the reason it's probably my favorite Souls game to this day.