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Elden Ring is, deservedly, widely considered to be the peak of developer From Software's creative output—featuring the most fluid combat and the most densely packed, deeply interconnected world yet. This got me thinking—with these obvious refinements, wouldn't it be fairly difficult to go back to the early days of this franchise, with all the clunkiness (both technical and inherent to the game's design) that comes with it? Well, I decided to go back to 2011's Dark Souls—analysing boss and world design, levelling, combat mechanics, etc.—to find out. Interestingly, it turns out that while both games share obvious visual and mechanical DNA, they could not feel more different from one another—a revelation that has further complicated my views on both an old favourite, and a new classic.

0:00 - Intro
0:22 - Context
1:50 - Why I went back to Dark Souls
4:51 - The evolution of speed and aggression
7:43 - Stamina
9:57 - Tactical play and i-frames
11:33 - Boss battles
13:28 - "Playing the right way" and exploits
16:31 - My problems with Elden Ring's bosses
20:17 - The problem with more options
22:11 - Elden Ring's late game
23:48 - Gaming the numbers
27:11 - Exploration, world design and purpose
34:50 - Bonfires and Lost Grace
36:48 - Elden Ring is shockingly streamlined
37:51 - Conclusion
39:25 - Outro

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Thumbnail by hotcyder -   / hotcyder  
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Intro text animation by Isaac Holland -   / drazgames