Hmm. Having played Dark Souls and spent a not inconsiderable amount of my time smashing myself against supposed illusory walls I’m not sure I agree with this.
From Software say the player-left messages in Dark Souls 1 and 2 are ”are helpful messages or messages reflecting on the game.”
Players in Dark Souls can drop messages composed of a few pre-selected phrases anywhere in the game’s levels. Speaking to Venturebeat, game director Yui Tanimura said: “The overall trend is for users to be helpful to one another and to share their thoughts and reflections about the game. Only a handful of messages are left to make other players slip-up.”
Judging from my experience that’s not quite true. For every helpful hint before a tricky boss fight there’s ten messages inviting me to “Jump Here” next to a bottomless abyss, or the ever-present “Nice Chest” next to a female NPC. It’s a cool system and concept, but people be people.
“From Software thought that it would be novel to have an online game that allows for more lax communication that players can enjoy at their own pace,” Tanimura explained.
Dark Souls spiritual sequel Bloodborne was revealed last month to be coming to PS4 in February 2015. No word on a PC version yet, but it would seem likely given that Dark Souls 1 and 2 both eventually made it to the platform. Might have to wait a while though.
