How Dark Souls Perfected Difficulty in Video Games 

OH AND BTW! This video doesn't include anything about Demon Souls, mostly because I still haven't been able to get a PS5 and I'm assuming I have to perform a dark ritual to even play one, so it didn't feel right talking about it. I'm sure the new Demon Souls fits my feelings towards the entire genre, but I figured I'd explain why I never mentioned it. MAN DO I WANNA PLAY DEMON SOULS THO :'(

“These games really make you _feel_ like the loser” -IGN

This is really the “Dark Souls” of animated video essays

"Great way of making it feel like you are the looser" Elden ring every 2nd npc: "unfortunately, u get no bitches"

3:02 “Without getting a hit” Immediately drinks estus

“Dark Souls doesn’t have difficulty settings. It’s perpetually stuck on Fuck You.” I’ve never heard a better sentence to describe dark souls in its entirety.

CircleToons animates. CircleToons fans: *wait, that’s illegal*

it makes you feel like you're actually a human fighting these big and strong monsters

As a true souls vet currently getting kicked around, and bleeding everything in elden ring, I think you perfectly encapsulated the draw of the series. Thank you sir, and a hearty git gud to you all.

And somehow, farming a certain area you have completely mastered feels like the most peaceful and relaxing gaming experience imaginable. Almost like you're playing an instrument.

New player: "Why am I hearing boss music?" Dark Souls veteran: You get used to it...

omg the experience I had with dark souls remastered today is incredible. I wanna try a fist weapon only run, so I went with it. I got invaded on the Hellkite bridge, and the invader just dropped me some humanities and left. When I entered the Depth, I got invaded again. This time the invader saw that I only had two caestus, he also took off the weapon and used caestus! and then we began a pure fist fight and it was awesome! When I got to the bonfire in the Depth, I summoned a sunbro, who immediately dropped me 5 goddess blessings, mask of the father, a +5 giant's gloves, and the soul of Gwen???! Also on the way back from killing the caster I fell into the basilisk pit (casul, I know), but somehow made it back and reunited with the sunbro, and killed kirk when he invaded. I'm still having a hard time believing all this happened just this morning. This game and its community is incredible.

Just got Dark Souls and am playing it for the first time. I'm loving every second of it. Every moment is hell on earth and it's amazing. I've watched people play it for years, never once attempting it myself, and it really is something you have to experience to understand. I understand the hype

Skeletons in most games *generic normal enemy* Darksouls skeletons "SPIN THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE, YOU GOT DEATH!"

At times like these, I remember that he can draw more than just marshmallow people and actually animate them

i originally avoided the souls games cause the difficulty of them felt really intimidating to me at the time. didn't want to throw money away on something where i can't get past the first boss. but when i tried bloodborne, i was hooked. beating that first boss even if it was just the cleric beast, just felt so good, i just felled a soulsborne boss. with each slain boss i got more confident not in the mindset of this is easy, but moreso, i CAN do this. beating the game i wanted to experience more of the games. demons souls, then dark souls 1. beating ornstein and smough, was such a rush, i wanted to keep going, i wanted to see the next boss, the next area. i would come close to breaking down wanting to raise the white flag, but that fire inside refused to go out, it was always, just one more try. each try i do better than the last, getting farther and farther till i finally punch through. areas that were kicking my butt at the start, become a lot easier after surviving the trial it puts you through. its always pushing you to be better, till you finally beat it and get to see the credits roll. in the end i always feel pumped up and ready for another souls game or a new game plus run after completing a souls game, really wanting to see just how far i can go. playing other games i just can't help but notice how the difficulty just feels wrong. either the health bars are just too ridiculously huge or they just have way too much defense and i am just basically tickling the boss with a feather duster no matter how strong my equipment is. i dunno going back to some other games its just more noticeable. its not that they aren't fun anymore, its just hard to ignore. i do agree though, you have to play these games to really understand its appeal and how it handles its difficulty.

Circle You are the reason why I started playing dark souls.

"You want skyrims? i got twenty" you visually killed me.

“You learned his attacks” *shows pontiff* Yes I did Too many times

I wish I could experience ds3 for the first time again, I played it when I was in a really depressing stage of my life that made it really hard for me to feel genuine joy and euphoria from anything but it really helped me get through that because that's what I felt when i finally beat a boss, now I have a ton of amazing memories playing it with my friends and getting through the game for the first time and now it's my favorite game of all time to the point I have beaten it 4 times already

Another amazing thing about these games is how each one has its own personality and style of combat. Yet some skills from one game compliment skills in another. I struggled for 6 months with sekiro after ds1 ds2 ds3 bb. Hardest learning curve I have ever surmounted in my life. Then it just clicked, and it became my most favorite. Now I go back to bb and it's gun parry for days. I even use gun like shuriken in sekiro for disrupting attack for opening. Just amazing how there's even higher levels of enlightenment.

Dark Souls hit him so hard he actually animated an entire 5 minute video

2:50 "It's perpetually stuck on "FUCK YOU"." Aaaand that's why we love em! :D

Very well done explanation of the Soul series, one of my favorite things is listening to a friend go through their first playthrough of any soulsborne game

This man really described exactly what I've been feeling about videogame since I finished a souls game for the first time

It feels so cursed seeing CircleToons actually animate instead if dragging drawings around lol

CircleToonsHD: I feel soul bonded with Dark Souls Dark Souls vets: We got another one

Excellently done, I like that you touched on the fact that it literally does change how you look at other games. I still remember playing Bloodborne, Demon/Dark Souls 1-3, all back to back and then playing Assassins’ Creed Syndicate and just feeling so differently about the Assassins’ Creed games which I had previously loved

That's what I really love about these games. These games really do feel like the embodiment of David and Goliath or those stories where the knight fells a fathomless beast of a colossal scale. The adrenaline, the focus, and the ever lumming presence of failure, all wrapped up in a gorgeous looking game with fantastical designs for both people and monsters alike. And finally after countless attempts, after literal days of fighting the same boss over and over again, the feeling you get after defeating them is hands down the single greatest feeling you can get from a game like these.

VG Journalist: *dies once in a video game* "It's JUST like dark souls"

“You want Skyrim’s? I’ve got twenty!” Accurate

Just came across your account after years of not seeing a video and man your page has grown!! I’m really happy for you brodie!

Great summery of your experience!! 👏 I've learned while playing the Dark Souls series, that the game play can only be really appreciated through experience and actual effort rather than walkthroughs... and, yes, it make you put more of an expectation on other games as well, unfortunately lol

"Whoa, this Dark Souls game is like the Dark Souls of Dark Souls!"

We did it, boys. We went from MS Paint to fully animated scenes with backgrounds The voice acting in this also really reminds me of ProZD

I am aware that I am a year late here when saying this, but after playing Dark Souls for the first time, I completely agree with every word you say. Your video has truly touched my soul. And for that, I thank you.

This is great! Like your longer form content.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you have feelings for me”

I thought by running past all these enemies I’ve encountered I’d be able to get to the boss without wasting time and health on them. Imagine my surprise when all 15 of them show up because they don’t stop following you.

2:47 This is the best way to explain dark souls to someone who’s never played dark souls

Ninja Gaiden (on the original Xbox) was Dark Souls style difficulty before Demon's/Dark Souls. I never got into it at the time, but would like to try it again now that I love the Souls series.

haha genshin players really felt it when he said“increasing health doesn't make the game more difficult, it just wastes more of your time”

I’m surprised that someone who usually animates by just dragging things around with his pen can animate at this level of quality. Great job circle!

1 year later and I’m currently in your situation from back then lol. Been playing it for 3 days now and I love it.

The first video I watched from this channel and you just earned a new fan and subscriber and I vow to watch plenty of other of your vids. This is so funny 😆

Me fighting Dancer of the Borreal Valley: Dormamu! I've come to bargain!

After you play dark souls and looked back at a different game you played: Bro... when did this game get that easy...

Bro!!!!! This is one of those “what’s this channel/video? Sounds interesting” Then the video is over and I can’t even believe how fast those 6 minutes went. I’m subscribing!

I know im a bit late but the way you talked about difficulty and the feeling of accomplishment after defeating a boss reminded alot of how I felt playing Hollow Knight, so I'd definitely recommend that one

"Dark Souls offers no difficulty settings" Magic builds: *whistle and walk away*

Solaire, always in our hearts. Praise the Sun.

The way the witch just slaps him down is hilarious and Cursed greatwood saying fuck you is just key.

This was a great video, my exact experience. I want to try all the from games now

I loved ds1 and now I’m playing ds3. The bosses didn’t bother me because they were fun to play. What made me mad was after dying for the 40th time you have to make a 8mile run to the boss again

When did the animation update from MS Paint I’m not complaining

Amazing! You've made a great representation of dark souls!!

Hi from France ! You are the more understandable guy I found on youtube, thank you :) And yes, dark souls is love

"Ya want Skyrim?" "I Got Twenty."

If there's one thing Dark Souls has taught me, it's that you only lose if you give up.

I love the comedy in your videos while being super accurate.

When you get parrying down to a science it feels like you’re an artist

Dark Souls is so good, CircleToons had to animate everything.

More accurate title “how dark souls broke my morality and sanity and put me in an asylum”.

I just started Elden Ring and it's my first game in the Soulsborn world (or From Software game) and I feel exactly how you do. Wish I had experienced this earlier

This video is an adventure. Absolutely loved it

Doom Eternals difficulty increases the AI of the demons and makes them act more intelligently. Demon on higher difficulties try to cut you of and attack more aggressively. This is also a great way to handle difficulty imo.

The end of the dragging characters. . . *The beggining of animation. . .*

Gotta say that those comic arts are really really great. Also loved the video.

You phrased it so well. I used to play almost anything before I went through my soulsborne journey, and now, with the exception of a few games, they just don't scratch that awe inspiring itch anymore.

Wow this is the “Something About series” of CircleToonsHD

I fucking love how everyone falls in love with these games. They really are some of the best in the industry.

First time seeing your videos and it's way more animated than any of those so-called 'story time animators' which usually aren't even real animation

Once you're finally, finally good at Dark souls you feel so amazing

“The truth is, you really gotta play it to understand” I think u mean “You really gotta die a million times and kill the boss to understand”

"You want skyrim, I've got 20" Never have truer words been spoken

I've always watched videos on dark souls. But never played it until like 3 years ago and now I love it.

Even though I searched RU-vid to laugh in pain against a darksouls video. You made me laugh genuinely man. You've just gained another subscriber.

I love dark souls because the “difficulty” isn’t based on chance, you can fix your play and it doesn’t pull any B.S. Oh and by BS I meant stuff like Capra demon and bed of chaos, I didn’t mean it didn’t pull any challenges, Definitely not.

"You want skyrims I've got plenty" I felt that..

This feeling from Dark Souls is why I am addicted to Blind First Playthroughs of the game on RU-vid. I can replay as much as I want but nothing ever tops that first success except a new souls game. Living vicariously through others is how I get my fix. Dam Elden Ring needs to cover out soon.

Omg we literally had the same souls experience down to the T I can believe it, I played Sekiro when it came out and just in the past year played through the souls trilogy and loved it I couldn't believe I hadn't gotten into earlier but felt like it came to me at the right time, I played through blind and after each game would check out the internet to see what I missed, somehow I managed to mess up so many side quests but "praise the sun" for new game +. I finished the souls games just in time for Elden Rings which might be in my opinion one of the best games ever made and the magnum opus of fromsoft, I'm so glad to hear someone had such a similar experience since most my friends played it years ago and never told me what I was missing and all the reviews make it seem like it's difficulty is such that the game sucks when it's really a testament to what games should be it's a Zelda games for adults and should be the base line for how action adventure game are built as in "I don't need your game to pander to me and let me blow through to the end credits it's about the journey" and fromsoft seem seems to know what they are doing.

"Why doesn't Animal Crossing invigorate me like Dark Souls does!?" Me digging the wrong spot 57 times in a row: *B R U H*

This video finally convinced me to get into dark souls. I bought dark souls 3 a few days ago and had now defeated Pontiff Sulyvahn. I lost count of how many attempts I did and also got my throat a little sore from all the cursing.

Your comments on difficulty are really good and something I wish everyone in the "DS should have an easy mode" debate understood

Me over here playing it in 2022. Also I had to take a 2 day break after beating the first boss. It felt great finally beating it

Dark souls makes you feel like an underdog. Aka an actual hero.

"Having an 8 year old call you a gagglef*uck" I bet we've all had that experience

How am I just now finding this? It's perfect!

The Dark Souls logo with Dark Souls 3 bosses in the thumbnail is a chef's kiss.

Sekiro has 2 difficulties: hard and even harder

3:35 i really agree because that one giant boss in dark souls 3 that has like a weakness to one pickaxe i almost killed without the pickaxe which i was really happy after learning that there was an easier way

The play it to understand bit is so true. I didn't understand why it was fun until I did and it all clicked

If you’re looking for the next Basilisk, you’re truly a masochist

“I played dark souls in 2020” *shows dark souls 3 ashes of ariandel dlc*

This video makes so much sense now. I just recently got Elden Ring in th esteam summer sale. I just beat Adula the Glintstone Dragon, and i still have about half the game ahead of me. And this is the first Fromsoft game i've played.

Great video man! Incredibly relatable lol

"Is this even fun?" Every souls veteran had said that. :)

I love how he draw basilisk 'giant eyes' as an actual eyes while it wasn't their real eyes

The best way I've heard Dark Souls described is that it's not "difficult" it's "punishing." Dark Souls is very clear about what its rules are. If you don't follow them, well, you died. Dark Souls can be mastered while "hard mode" in other games just feels like taking a walk in Demon's Souls' Valley of Defilement.

The thing about Dark Souls was I was both curious and apprehensive about them. I was at a point in my life where RPGs felt so mundane and similar that I couldn't even enjoy the ones I had been for a long time. Then I started looking into Dark Souls... Of course, the first thing I heard about was its difficulty and that kept me at bay from playing it for a few more years but as time went on my curiosity overwhelmed my apprehension. Buying Dark Souls 2 at a local game store, I started playing it that day and something clicked. The feeling I was missing for so long came back and I realized "Oh wait... RPGs are meant to be fun!". Since then I've played most of the Soulsborne library but something else happened: my love for RPGs came back. If it hadn't been for Dark Souls, I would've never played Witcher 3 or Outer Worlds or any other RPG I had a blast with these past few years. Dark Souls just has that feeling that's ready to awaken or reawaken something in the player. I get everyone's still put off by the difficulty but I still want people to at least try these games. They could find something that was missing, too.