Dark Souls 1 and the Second Half Downfall

This is a topic I've wanted to talk about for the longest time. Dark Souls 1 is a landmark game for me and still holds fantastic memories for me even today after 10 plus years of playing it. But the second half of the game and its decline in quality compared to the first has always fascinated me. So I did what any sensible person would do: make a near half an hour video talking about it!

Of course, let me know what you think about the second half of Dark Souls 1 in the comments below!

like whacky Elden Ring challenge runs? Check this out:
How about some super cryptic moments in the Souls series? Look here:

[danieldeelite]

Bed of Chaos is one of the best bosses from a meta pov. The witches of Izaleth tampered with a force so dark that it causes pain in the real world. 100/10. Genius idea.

[FriedMetroid]

The first time I saw lost izalith, I actually thought the game was bugged. I thought the dragon butts somehow replaced the real enemies that were supposed to be there. Furthermore, the way they're placed looks like a guy with a level editor was just Spam clicking because they needed enemies in that area to ship the game

[KrackDaddy]

The even more fucked up thing about that door in los izaleth is that before the remaster you had to give the humanity one at a time over and over again

[jimbotron]

I went all the way into the tomb of the giants because I remember an NPC telling me that there was a secound bell "below" that I had to ring. it was heartbreaking when I go to the fog gate sealed by the great lord and had to go all the way back.

[AleK]

the weirdest part about demon firesage imo is the fact they didn't even change his explosion damage type to fire, it's still magic damage AND he's still weak to fire like the stray demon because that's how rushed he is

[freddogrosso]

The game peaked early with the way to the Gargoyles, imo. Undead Burg has the best design and enemy placement, by far. And the elevator back to Firelink? Better than falling in love.

[hoofyfoots]

As soon as I got out of blight town I forgot to rest at another bonfire. Used a homeward bone and ended up back in blight town

[jjs]

I never understood how many players complained about Blighttown in a game that had Tomb of Giants and Lost Izalith in it...

[EthanBoBethan]

I can’t be the only one who tried going through the Catacombs AND New Londo before ever finding Undead Burg because I missed the doorway in the aqueduct

[Ebon]

I assume the lack of bonfires in new londo was to avoid new players accidentally resting there early on and getting stuck, but i dont understand why they couldn't place atleast one bonfire right at the first bridge to avoid the slow elevator

[ASmartNameForMe]

I think a large part of the reason the second half falters is because of outside factors such as deadlines needing to be met and publisher pressure. Reports from employees at the time DS was being made report pretty poor conditions with crunch and overworking abundant and I think it shows here.

Fromsoft was a far smaller company then compared to now, so when Bandai said “we need this finished in 2 months” they needed to finish in 2 months or they’d be fired. Hence the first half being carefully constructed and detailed with the second half being a development marathon to reach the finish line in time.

[russian_knight]

Every new playthrough after I finish o&s I immediately get a deep sense of agony and dread knowing I have to go through the second half

[averylangs]

the duke's archives honestly is my favorite area in the whole game; not only is it visually stunning, but it also has such interesting sequences and mechanics (The fake out Seath encounter, the rotating staircase and secret doorways, as well as the whole small forest before the entrance to the crystal cave.)
Something about being in this huge library that's literally above the clouds on a hilltop, with the pink sky always visible from the outside sections is really captivating in a game that's usually so dark and dreary (besides for anor londo of course)

[alexstach]

I actually forced my way through the catacombs all the way to Pinwheel. It was hella difficult but I thought to myself "well it's Dark Souls, so it's probably supposed to be like this"

[tylerowen]

I agree with everything up until the final boss, I think it is absolutely perfect. Gwyn was shown as godlike in the opening cutscenes but turned out to be a hollowed who kindled the flame like you are trying to do. having no cutscene, being visibly hollowed, and having the most beautiful melancholy solo piano piece that gives off the vibe that this lord was defeated long before you got there. I think its a 10/10 boss fight and top 3 in souls.

[ZorrotheArtist]

I do understand being disappointed in Gwyn being weak, but as a lot of others have said... That's kinda the point.

[zzzxxx]

The first half of the game up to O&S is still to this day one of the best things ive ever experienced in gaming, its funny how drastic the dip in quality is almost immediately after anor londo.

[adamjohnson]

The difficulty of the four kings really shines in NG+. They have the largest difficulty jump out of any other boss, massive health and damage and it becomes very hard to not have 2 or 3 swarm you.

[thatguy]

Actually, the skull lantern us better than you think. The description says it is aligned with the catacombs and if you use the lantern you will see blue torches on the wall light up. While these wall torches don't provide much light, following them brings you straight to Nito so you don't have to run around the drakness trying to find the boss door.

[JKLeeds]

For those talking about getting the skull lantern in the catacombs:

I am aware that it can drop from the necromancers however contrary to popular belief it is actually not a guaranteed drop. The initial drop rate starts at 2% but then increases by ~10% for every necromancer you kill. So by the time you get to the 6th one, the drop rate is ~52%, just higher than half. I've had several playthroughs where I didn't get it as a result even though all necromancers were killed.