dark souls saved me. 

It's weird looking at this video now. When i was making it, i thought it was cheesy as hell, even though every word i said in this video was coming from my heart. But still... people keep watching this video, they keep commenting, they keep liking... what can i say? Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, every comment down below is a chance for me to learn something, appreciate others and look at this with a different viewpoint. I hope you'll be around for the ride, because this video was just the beginning. Much love

I found Dark Souls in my senior year of high-school and it did the exact same for me. It gave me a physical analog to push back against... it became... "if I can beat this, I can beat THIS." and its never stopped being that. I love this series.

The Best game series of all time and i love the feeling of beating a hard af boss for the first time

I had a similar experience. I was on the edge so often, and I went over a couple of times too. When I picked up the series again, it took my mind off of real life and let me feel accomplishment when I felt like a failure. I was determined to do something when I hadn't felt that way about anything in years. Thank you for reminding me how far I've come from my lowest points, even though I still look back at that edge sometimes, I feel so far away from it. Here's to the future :)

I always saw it as good symbolism for depression. Get knocked down, get back up but indeed never never go hollow

When you realize that you are not the only cursed one, that in fact there's people with the same weight in their shoulders as you. Suddenly the world seems different. You realize that you are not special, you are not the first and the last person to suffer. And yet, that's a really calming thought. Everyone is fighting their own fight but that doesn't mean we are supposed to be alone. The souls series is amazing for the hard truths that gives you trough the gameplay, music, lore. But when the final credits appear you know you well earn it. So now you know how much capable you are. And being honest, the fight won't get easier. But the thing that changed is that you know that you can handle the task. Man i love dark souls. Well then, be safe. Don't you dare go hollow

I felt the same with Elden Ring. I'm still strugling with depression, and as a way of scape or therapy I decided to return to the world of games. I stoped in Playstation one many years ago, ethen returned to the nex gen consoles. My first game was Elden Ring and this is the most impressive gaming experience that I ever had. When we are depressed everything is meaningless, we feel nothing almost all the time. But it is not possible do not feel anyrhing playing Fromsoft games. I felt angry and rage when defeated by bosses, frustated and...alive when I won. This kind of reawaked me and helped a lot. I never played Darksouls and as soon as possible I'll try it. Thank for your beautiful video and for share your experience. I hope that you are well and that you find another game that helps you too. For me, Red Dead 2 was as much as Elden Ring. This two games are very different experiences but both were helpful. My best wishes, my friend. And sorry for my terrible English.

I share the same feeling. I m over thirty and was feeling lost and without hope in my life. This series made me feel on my bloodstream, nerves and bones what struggle is. Then i learnt that there s no shame in falling....rather, it is a shame to not even try. I changed so much i even started a personal project i never dare before to put myself into. Now i feel, " if i fail, i rise up smarter and stronger" no shame in my failures anymore

fantastic video, but why so few views

I have CPTSD and during a particularly difficult year, I attempted to take my own life. The police stopped me and my medication was adjusted. During the process of healing I played DS3 and it helped me Immensely. I’ve played all the “ Souls “ games since - except Demon Souls - and they hold a very special place in gaming and my life in general. Getting involved in the discussions and watching guys like you make videos talking about, lore, game design, art design and my particular specialty, Music and Audio in general, has not only got me talking to people more but DS3 ignited something in me, to get up of my arse and do something. So I’ve struggled and fallen but now I’m studying video game music as a personal project, I’ve setup my studio space and I’m soaking up as many game OST’s as I can for inspiration. All because I had to complete the game, as much as I didn’t want to finish it. But I think that was the point!!. Too many things left unfinished in my life, time to take stock. change what I can, forget what I can’t and move on. I’m genuinely happy to hear I’m not the only one these games have had such an impact on.

Thank You for reminding me what souls taught me. I actually cried because of your beautiful speech. Thank You

Its incredible to think about how this series has changed me. I remember 6 years ago I woke up to find that all my classes had been cancelled. I booted yp my Xbox and decided i wanted a new game to play. I saw Dark Souls III on sale and remembered I had seen Game Grumps play it. I bought it, and died more times I can remember to Gundyr, but for some reason, I didnt give up. I pressed forward and eventually, defeated him. Then came my obsession. I fell in love with everything Dark Souls III had; artstyle, music, character design, story, most importantly, the feeling of being put down over and over again only to eventually defeat that boss. It was a euphoric feeling id never had before. The more I learned about the game, the more I wanted to know more about it's primary source of inspiration; Berserk. Berserk captivated me in almost the same way, and made me think a lot about my place in the world, and lighted a fire of self improvement in me. Now I regularly read, work out, practice my kindness and study the works of Kentaro Miura and Hidetaka Miyazaki. I genuinely believe that had I not overcome fighting Gundyr, and continuing though the rest of the game, I would not be the same person I am today. Dark Souls saved me too. Great video.

Wow, it hit me harder than I 've ever thought. I really relate to this.

It's always the 'small' RU-vidrs that have hidden gems.Great video

This is a great video, Reminds me of the early days of playing dark souls on my PS3.. *"Don't you dare go hollow"* I ended up doing the DLC on a second character and the summons I was with beckoned me and beckoned me to follow them, we found and saved a Young Sif.. I literally cried. Afterwards I wondered if he was still there as a boss... When he sniffed my character I cried again. No video game has EVER done that to me. When I found the wolf in Elden ring a strong sense of nostalgia hit me.. I sat with him for at least an hour and just admired everything.

Popped up up recommendations, like and a sub for you kind sir 💖 Dark Souls for life

'And the last reward of them all' Cuts to Elden Ring advert, very superb video got to say that this franchise has also helped me a lot with mental health issues in the past and grateful that i gave the series a chance even when at the time i only played casual games, still wish for Demon souls and Bloodborne exclusives come over to PC being wanting to play them :/

These games really are that good. I’m still playing them. They still drive me sane.

This video was very reliable, very well put together too

Epilogue is such a tragic song to me. I love every fucking ounce of it but the memories I get when I listen to that song sometimes is hard to handle. Ive had to say goodbye to a lot of people in life and beating ds3 for the first time (at least with the ringed city anyway) I was at a loss for words. I was expecting such a powerful theme at the end of the game and I was met with a song that only existed to say goodbye to something beloved. Whenever shit gets tough and I have to let go of something I hold close, this is the song I turn to without fail. It's utterly magnificent.

The totality of all the souls that bound the flame before you became the final boss in DS3. Souls of Cinder. In fact, it's you, fight with yourself. Just one thought, the design of this boss is a modified version of the armor of the "canonical" elite knight DS1 makes my brain explode. It was a very cool idea.

Beautiful stuff, this video and you're story are so widespread among this community it's incredible. Thank you for this. "Great art disturbs the comforted, and comforts the disturbed" is an apt quote I think.

Keep this up. You have the potential to become huge.Thanks for the video

Dark souls and all the other fromsoft games really have a special ability like that, keeping people from the edge. For me it was Elden ring it released right when I was about to start writing my masters thesis. At first I thought it would eat up valuable time I could have spent on writing but quickly I realised it instead had become a place where I could relax and disappear in to the lands between for a few hours every night instead of constantly thinking about the thesis.

I needed this, thank you Exodus, stay safe, and don't you dare go hollow.

that was one of the best videos i have ever seen. I do not easily get emotional at all and I started to cry. I can say for sure, Mark these words, that the day that Mr. Miyazaki is layed to rest in the dirt, will be the end of the best story tellers imagineable, there will be a long moment of silence for all the beautiful creations he's made. Thank you for believing in us... Thank you fromsoftware...

Dark Souls broke me... Because I discovered Dark Souls it is now rare for me to enjoy any game that isn't made by Fromsoft

Thank you, although when i played my first dark soul game i didnt felt that way as i see more and more ppl make vids on it it become clear and it helps.

Too be honest... this is one of the reasons why I just stopped playing modern games they just don't want you try anymore I'm currently making a video about sekiro and its not only of the best games I've played but the most important it wasn't press x to win like most certain games sekiro KNOWS what its trying too do and I respect that sekiro and the other fromsoft games saved me too from depression. I remember struggling defeating the final boss and when i beat it i was screaming on the top of my lungs most modern games just don't even do that anymore.And also i felt that cause me personally i loved dark souls 1 the most it just relates too me for its story dark souls 3 was a great conclusion. I subscribed too your channel keep making more content and don't you dare go hollow.

Epic music. Thx for making this. Needed to see more ds3. Cannot get over this masterpiece, don’t know if i ever will.

Dark souls saved me from itself

Definitely deserve more subs ♥️♥️

Elden Ring gave me high blood pressure.

This was a pretty well made video bud. Hope your life is better and you are also in a better place in life as well. It seems like you do have good editing skills, keep pushing content if you will, surely you'll get more recognition eventually, just don't give up!

Dont you dare go hollow

Good job man keep going ☺️

I don’t know if I would have made it this far without these games

bro the chills

i hope you are doing good ❤️

Alt-account Exodus here. What in the actual fuck? 80 subs, since when did i gain like 28 subs in a matter of hours???? And the views, the comments, likes? Insane. Thank you so much, i'm going to bed with a smile on my face. Sincerely, Exodus aka the dude who made this video.

Awesome!

I really wish I got into this series from the start but didn't get onto it until I kept seeing memes about you died and bought ds3 then I fell in love .then comes along elden ring which in my opinion should be game of the year then ds2 was on offer in the game store and I'm currently at the iron keep and wondering should I get ds1 .arse backwards I know playing ds3 then elden ring then ds2 then ds1

this is hella cringe, bros "struggling" but he has time to play games and gets meaningful (obvious) life lesions from them lmao. its more sad than funny tbf that people like this actually exist

.... your lvl 802.... maybe find a different game to play. or chill with cheat engine. yes dark souls is a good game. but lol damn

FOR 2 YEARS?? Bruh i had to turn the video off

ive never played dark souls but im going through depression, loneliness, feeling like i have no purpose and i probably needed this video thank you

this game teached me more about life than school, and thanks for the subtitles, i struggle a little bit to understand english just by listening

I sometimes just want to give up, but hen I remind myself the series. I remind myself those hours I spent smashing my head against the wall in those games, and I remind myself that I haven't gave up then... So why should I give up? I still haven't found my porpoise, just living day by day. But I can't give up, not yet, Skeleton

I played Dark Souls 3 after investing so many hours into Elden Ring. Sitting there watching the credits roll finally after overcoming the profuse amount of arduous bosses, puzzles and snuffing out every secret there was to find. I felt a scarce sensation that I haven't felt in a long time when playing games or just in general....satisfaction..yet also..sadness I felt empty again knowing that I've done all there is to do and seen all there is to see in the game and well what am I to do now? Go back to COD and mindlessly kill random kids as they scream insults and racial slurs at me? No I wanted more. It made me wonder how much I was missing, if this was a so called offspring of Dark Souls, god only knows what awaits me in the real deal. So I bought 3 as I had heard it was the best one in the franchise and although shorter than Elden Ring, I had an even greater time completing it. I plan to play more in the franchise including Sekiro and bloodborne (my sister has a PS4 pro) but I think I've gone on long enough so I'll just end this comment with this. Dark Souls prevented me from going hollow.

I'm really happy to see someone appreciating epilogue, its such an incredible song

Hey man, the level of quality in this video is insane there's no doubt if you put this much effort in to every video you make you'll be at 1 million subs in no time!

the feels man... i wish i could beat DS3 again like i'm playing it for the first time..

I felt depressed when I played Bloodborne And i felt honest and cool when i played sekiro But i still don't know if i felt sad or happy when i played any darksouls game damn these games are so emotional

dark souls cured my anger issues through sheer exposure

This ENTIRE thing is putting into words exactly what the souls franchise did for me. I keep pushing people to try it because of how much of an effect it had on me and how much better my life has become since I gave them a shot. Thank you for this.

For anybody looking for irl philosophy on ds: Nietzsches Superhuman (the innocence of becoming) and Kierkegaards Knights (The Knight of Infinite Resignation who becomes the Knight of Faith).

ur on recommended, the boi is gonne make it! ill drop a sub

epilogue squeezed tears from me as well

Don't you dare go hollow...

good job man, and remember you have a heart of gold; don't let them take it from you.

Man you are going to get big, love the quality. Waiting for next vid

in regards to the ps exclusives, you can play them on PC with PSPlus premium.

"Don't you dare go hollow" this is stamped on my soul

Ty the youtube algortih for once , you re video is truly amazingly well done and for some reason it make me feel nostalgia of when i complete dark soul 3, the other souls games a wait for me , i won t turn hollow !Have a great day comrade and also be you re life full of amazing suprise

I didn't think anyone else felt the same way I did with these games. Thank you.

Laurentius is my favorite character in the series. Barely knows us, but we saved his life and he's grateful for that. He feels like the only character that actually cares

Thanks for the Video. It's christmas evening and i am lying in my bed watching this and it touches me deep inside.

Pontiff Sulyvahn is not a game boss....he is a test of your resilience and if you are keen enough to see the slimmest opportunity. Yes. I was 2-handing an ultra greatsword and no shield. A complete Dark Souls newbie.

You have a beatiful approach to videogames, still a lot of people doesn't understand that they are a form of art ,now also recognized. For me the franchise that influenced me the most is God of war, I aslo played dark souls but just the 3, but I think that in that period I was too blind to see is beauty, but still the difficult of the game , the costant failures that you will inevitably meet when playing this game, are relatable to real life as you said, only the costant struggle makes you succeed.

Thought I was the only one that related to "Don't you dare go hollow" as closely as I do. There's bound to be more. Anyone can struggle. I only wish that some people would realise this.

This is amazing, truly beautiful piece of art\[T]/

FromSoftware is my favorite studio and in my opinion the only remaining AAA one that hasn't yet missed (yes, I like DS2). No other franchise captures the essence of the indomitability of human spirit like souls do. Don´t feel silly for praising what others might find "banal" or "just a game", I believe videogames can affect us much deeply than other media are able to. Bloodborne is my favorite game of all time, and its a shame so many people are not able to experience it due to bs exclusivity. Be safe friend...and don't you dare go hollow.

what a beautiful video brother. I wish I could say something about dark souls as well but I'm still stuck on moonlight butterfly I hate it

Good quality vid. I am inspired to dab my hand in creating something this nice as well (never created a single bit of content in my life)

I just want to lose my memory and experience these games for the first time again.I

I'm still waiting to one day, play all the games one after the other to truly experience the franchise (for me at least) no summons, no guides, just exactly what I imagined FromSoft intended it to be

Never go hollow ♥️

Well,i might sound strange, but i love the atmosphere of this game,i would like to be here,die so many times to lose my sanity over and become hollow,for me it was like a interpretation of a real world,you can pass threw a lot of problems,u can kill,rip and tear,be angry,have hope,but in the end...it will be a start of a new cycle of eternal suffering,its like another bad day,so yeah... praise the Sun,my friends....

waiting for this to blow up

I remember buying DS3 on xbox while it was on sale raged at gundyr then dropped it year later i was bored and tried again and beat him. I thought the game was ok but when the second phase music of vordt kicked in thats when it really hit me how special this series was. I was in a very dark place at this time and the days just felt like they came and went. I was miserable and this game really changed me. Now its my favorite game series of all time. Ive gotten all the achievements in Dark Souls 1, Bloodborne, and Elden Ring (fuck DS3 man all the rings and covenants is impossible). Going back to Dark Souls 3 on that boring afternoon is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

❤❤❤ dark souls's a part of me ❤❤❤

I can't get past the taurus demon:/

very good video you def deserve more subscribers

Beautiful thankyou💜

Don't go Hollow,Buddy

made a brother tear up at the end damn

Beautiful video

this is perfect.

It saved me too.

After playing and finishing Soulsborne games, I find that I can't get into playing other video game franchises. It feels like I've graduated from playing video games and I hate it.

I still need to finish the Dark Souls games, I've got through half of Dark souls 1 and gave up, Played 10 minutes of Dark Souls 2 and gave up and played like 5 hours of Dark Souls 3 and then... I gave up again. I will revisit these games soon, if its done this much good for your life then it just shows that the games are great. Great video

I get that. TBH, I had a terrible experience with the original Dark Souls pc port. To the point I was convinced I would never play another Soulsborne. Took a gamble on Elden Ring, beat it. Got Dark Souls 3 from a friend for my birthday. Beat that one too. Both I'd say were masterpieces to play through, even if DS3 felt a little short. It feels liberating to overcome massively OP bosses, even if you need help on a few occasions. I'm hoping Bloodborne gets ported one day, but on PS4 and with my less than stellar eyesight it didn't work when I borrowed it. Also recommend against CodeVein, that felt like it had everything worthwhile sucked out. But Thymesia otoh... potential, even if it's rough.

My first Soulsborne game was Elden Ring. I kind of ended up skipping all of them, because I have been dealing with health problems for many years. Things got worse than they ever had last winter, where I was bedridden. I got Elden Ring, because I just needed an escape. I was hooked. I logged 430 hours, getting the Platinum trophy and finishing many different playthroughs. In July, I had to have emergency stomach surgery. During recovery, I bought all of the Souls games. Since then, I have gotten the Platinum trophies in every game except Dark Souls 3, which I am close to. My health has steadily gotten better, and 5 months later, I feel better than I have in 10 years. The Souls games changed me. I started fighting back against my illnesses, and I have made so much progress. I don't give up, anymore. A bad day is just a bump in the road, and I will always come back stronger. Your video was the first time I really heard how I felt put into words. Thank you so very much.

Nakeyjakey made an extremely similar video but maybe it is Divergent thinking stranger things have happened hell the only reason why I played Dark Souls 1 was because I was at my wife's hood ass cousin's house and I looked over my shoulder to see what I was playing I was playing Pokemon so I was like it's kind of embarrassing despite the fact that none of the people who were it her cousin's house had a job had no right to say anything fun fact I bought this in The Witcher 3 for the switch because I was always out of the house and Dark Souls is very hard to the point that I actually was like I think I wasted money on this I sat down and learned how to play it but here's the worst part about it even when they saw me playing these different game the more adult games they're still like you're still playing baby games because their idea of an adult game is some sort of sports title a Grand Theft Auto and Mortal Kombat

Pretty good video Exodus, you pretty much describe the very same feelings I've felt, well done man. This game has helped me cope with trauma just as well as Berserk, Vinland saga and Vagabond has. Good luck, and don't you dare go hollow!

yeah all thats true but it should be also said that dark souls definitely can put you in a deeper depression by making you feel worhless. Those games are also great in that

I too found Dark Souls 2 years ago, in September of 2020. I played through all 3 within a few months and found I had fallen in love. The music, the atmosphere, the storytelling, the philosophical thought-provoking, the themes, the characters, the writing, the sense of ancient grandeur mixed with serious stoic tragedy... the need to find a purpose... the metaphors of fire, duty, dark, emotion. It is perfect. My life as a human being is fundamentally different because of it. I can hardly enjoy anything else anymore.

Right in the feels. Dark Souls taught me how to become a better person. Sunbro 4 Life \[T]/

Beautifully done video..

I don’t remember who said that but it stuck in my head. “If I had to give an example of games being a type of art, it would be dark souls”. Books, films, animation, paintings, music or any type of fiction are known for changing lives and point of views and so can games. They can tell a story where you can interact and being a pitiful knight in dying dark fantasy world slaying a giant lord or god of war or legendary warrior of the past really can give you a warm feeling. The story behind Artorias was a really touching one for me and everything is complimented by music that really tells sometimes more of an enemy that what you can find by yourself