Not the boss of me
Everybody knows that the best bits of Soulsbornelikes are the bosses, right?
Your carefully honed skills are put to the test against imaginative and outrageous beasties in spectacular arenas.
What could be better than that?
Literally every other part of the game.
Theres nothing wrong with the bosses in Dark Souls, theyre some of the best in the business.
(Except for the Capra Demon and his bloody dogs.
Absolutely hateful rubbish, that.)
Its just that, by and large, the experience isnt all that different to any other action game.
Its an action game, right?
Thats what Dark Souls absolutely nails.
There are hidden traps and lurking enemies, many of which will quite happily kill you in one shot.
However, youre still playing the game, youre still learning and honing skills.
Nowhere does the game tell you hey, use a Divine weapon to prevent skeleton reanimation.
For an even easier time, using a blunt weapon will make the skeletons crumble with a hit.
No wonder clerics use maces!
The enemies you encounter during these dungeon delves are really where the games superb melee combat shines, too.
The intertwining environments and overlapping systems come together to make such an expertly crafted, cohesive whole.
Stripping out the grandstanding boss encounters and pointing to them as the apex of the experience feels almost profane.
