Great Video, love the pacing and I feel this is so true. Without these conveniences I don't think these games would have effected me as personally as they have. The ease of life mixed with the harsh challenge is a great dichotomy (if I'm using that right.)
Absolutely astounding video quality. Also if I can add my 2 cents, when you comment and compare how convenient Torrent is and how in DS I traveling is a challenge in itself, I think that in Elden Ring for example, my least favourite areas are places like forbidden lands and mountaintops of the giants, big, empty spaces with nothing to do, even when having the horse, it feels like a chore and a waste of time, contrary to how the rest of the game feels. And also, in the case of Dark souls, even when the enemies and terrain itself is a challenge, you never fight the menus, the controls, or any inconvenient mechanic (maybe the controls seem clunky by modern standards but that's beside the point)
On the npc quests issue, i heard it described best as "fromsoft games don't have quests, they have easter eggs hidden behind/tied to npcs" But i can still kinda agree. But hearing that changed my thoughts on the obtuse quests for the better.
Yeah I think some of the NPCs in the early games like Demon's Souls/ DS1 are like this to be fair. Though quite a few of the ones in Elden Ring like Ranni for example do ask you to do specific things for them, so I think it would have been good if there was something in the game that kept track of what stage of those you were on.
