Ranting about the Demon’s Souls Remake Trailer

Woke up to the sound of idiots racing down the streets. Normally after a few minutes, it follows a blasting sound coming from the cop siren, but not this time. I hope no homeless person camping out on the side of the street got hit. We live in a strange time and I know I’m overdue for a post. I hope my introduction didn’t leave you perplexed. It’s kind of hard not to feel on the edge when chaos is slowly taking control over the world. But I feel like I have prepared myself for this insanity a few years ago. What better way to prepare it by sharpening your mental agility by playing Demon’s Souls, a game praised for its difficulty, released in 2009 for the PlayStation 3? It’s good for brain exercise and will make you feel alive if you are the type who like a fair challenge.

Quite frankly, I am not too hasty about playing the remake as I’m not in the rush to purchase PS5 and it may be a year down the road that I might pick it up. But what really turns me off is how bright the game is. I originally played the game for its dark dreamy, fairytale-like atmosphere but the remake just looks too sharp and polished. There’s also too much noise coming from the character’s footsteps and his clunky armor. It’s too loud. In the original Demon’s Souls it’s more quiet and subtle and the more you die, it becomes more quiet as quiet as the sound of a feather falling down.

The only reason why I would only consider picking up the remake it’s because it’s one of the few co-op games that I actually enjoyed. Unless the remake has the ability to use mic–then that will surely destroy the atmosphere. From what I remember, the game is immersive and fun. It feels as if I was transported into a different world–thanks to the soundtrack and it’s beautiful world creation. If I can recall, players can rate people as well on their gameplay’s performance. Some people are nice and will give you a good score, some are just plain assholes. Nonetheless, there aren’t many games that made me feel so attached to a world. It’s one hellish adventure, but a strange one that I can’t pinpoint. I guess that’s the power of immersion.

This is one of the games I am proud to say I own the Deluxe Edition. It comes with the original soundtrack, artbook and official guide. It’s my treasure and I am not going to sell it unless I’m desperate for money or I am on my deathbed and I need to pass it on to a passionate gamer so my soul will depart the earth peacefully without care. Okay I am dramatic. I know. That’s how much I love the game and that’s why I am wary of the remake.

Blog Update # 2

Four years ago, I had a very bad headache. Four years fast forward, I still have a bad headache. It’s close to election day and the news make my brain dizzy. I am going to take a break from blogging. I guess I am suffering from writer’s block or it’s just am awfully tired. I thought I was doing well by being consistent and I really had fun doing it because I have become an expert at making myself laugh. Right now I just want to focus on Resident Evil 2 Remake, do some housecleaning, eat properly so I don’t completely disappear from this planet. I’ll come back with analysis of Resident Evil 2 Remake because I am enjoying it so far. Surely as I have a lot to say.

It’s so funny that a few years ago I created a blog to connect with the world and here I am still existing because I need to connect with people. Social distancing is not new to me as I have been doing this for years now. Strangely I feel less lonely even though I am isolated from the rest of the world. I just want to focus on my games and take it easy. I will still be here to read people’s posts.

See you guys when I am done with Resident Evil 2 Remake. It might not make it back on Halloween, but you can always follow me on twitter @beriwink 😀 And if you are here for the first time, hi hello, we can be blogging friends, but bye for now!

P.S

I promise I am not ditching my readers for a game. It’s really for health reason. 😀

The $$$ I Flushed Down the Toilet (Video Games Purchase)

Well I am back with my 3 list of recommendations, but this time I don’t recommend them. I called this The $$$ I Flushed Down the Toilet Edition post. If there is a game that looks promising and you are tempted to buy on launch day, tell yourself to halt! The price of the game will eventually drop. Don’t flush your money down the toilet especially during these hard economic times. There is a possibility you would feel ripped off. Plus, I’m pretty sure your backlogs huge. The games ain’t going to run away so you don’t need to buy on launch day.

We all know videogames can be expensive to begin with and some people like me enjoy browsing games, hoping to play the next big thing that will send our heads flying out of space because reality sucks. Oh I wonder how many times I have envisioned Nemesis from Resident Evil came crashing into my office building where I work or when I was a teenager, I used to pray for some little excitement like human combustion or something so I can get out of school. Only in videogames I can unleash my craziness!

There are times I made a bad gamble and purchased games I regret, so here are the following three (keep in mind everything I say is subjective. Please don’t take offense if I mention the games you like. We all know gamers can get really touchy with their games.):

#1 Silent Hill: Homecoming

As you probably know by now if you have been following this blog, I love survival horror games. Fell in love with the genre when my brother introduced me to Parasite Eve. Take that back, it was actually Friday the 13th on the NES that made me enjoyed the genre. There was a moment in time where I was separated from my family for awhile so I miss playing games with my brother. So when we do get the chance to play games together, we get excited and happy. We bought Silent Hill Homecoming which turned out to be a big fat disappointment. My brother and I thought we could relive our childhood memories playing this survival horror game, but when things got juicy in the game and we thought we were halfway, the credits started rolling and we were left baffled by what we just played. So yes I paid the full price. I believe it was 60 dollars excluding tax. So around 64 dollars down the toilet. Actually I trade it in for 11 dollars at some boutique game shop. I still got ripped off because it was that crappy.

#2 Extermination

I remember buying this game without knowing who was the game designer, so a couple years later when I found out SWERY designed this game, I was shocked because I enjoyed Deadly Premonition, which I played a few years later. Unlike Deadly Premonition, this game is booooooooooooooooooooooring. I tried so hard to enjoy it but it felt like a chore to beat, so I just gave up. There I go again. Money down the toilet because once upon a time, I thought all survival-horror games were created equally. Oh such a naïve little girl, I was.

#3 Nioh

I know some of you soulsborne lovers might be shock that I listed this game despite the fact I am a souls fan. Well no offense, this game is not a soul game and I never treated it as a soul game. I didn’t dislike this game because it didn’t meet the soul-like criteria, I just found the gaming mechanics and the level design a bit rather disappointing. It simply didn’t flow well to my liking. So I never finished the game because I got bored. It is such a shame because the demo was promising but not the final product.

So there you have it. Now it’s your turn. What are your regrets? I want to hear from you. I hope we still can be blogging friends after I just finished revealing the $$$ I flushed down the toilet purchases. Until next time, bye-bye for now.

Super Happy Love Award

Awhile ago, a young man by the name of Eggsandwich04 nominated me for this award. I feel like a school teacher. I’m flattered! I’m not the most social person online because blogging is the only platform where I do my quiet reflective time, but a little socializing can’t hurt, right? I didn’t have time to do the tag back then, but I did not forget.

1. Tell about a person you love.

Unfortunately this is a strange question to me. I don’t have anyone that I have romantic feelings towards. I guess I love video games because it is a great companion?

2. Write something about a fandom or franchise you love.

I have a few favorite video game franchise I love, but I would have to say Parasite Eve series. It’s the game that really got me into gaming. I dreamed of being a cop when I was young, but that never happened.

3. Tell us something about a character that you love.

Ginko from Mushi-shi, also my favorite anime. Like him, let’s just say, I never really had a stable life so I am always on the move. Maybe one day I can settle somewhere nice, maybe in the woods with a nice garden.

4) Tell us something about a piece of music that you love/ Show us why you love a piece of media so much!

Actually I really love music. I spend more time listening to music than watching movies, but I never mentioned that in this blog, hehe. If I have to pick a video game soundtrack that I absolutely adore that would be Nier Gestalt. One of the best summer of my life was playing this game. It was one of the most memorable experience. Despite its “terrible” gameplay, it has a superb storyline. I was fully immersed in the game.

5) Write something about yourself that you love!

I like that I can empathize with people easily, but it also has its drawback. It can get really difficult to distinguish good from evil.

As for the tagging, I don’t tag people because the people I follow are mainly video game sites. Thank you for tagging me Eggsandwich04. Sorry it took awhile.

Dark Souls: Exploring Is An Achievement

Normally, I dislike traveling in games because it seems rather pointless, but Dark Souls knows exactly how to design stages and build the perfect momentum to control the pacing of the player. Exploration serves as a preparation for the next boss fight.

After I defeated the Gaping Dragon, I spoke to the NPC, bought a Crystal Straight Sword from him. That sword helped me clear the beginning of Blighttown, until it was on the risk of breaking. In that area, I slipped and fell several times, but it wasn’t all that bad. By mistake, I fell down with the creature onto a ledge; from there I found myself a whip. Although it didn’t do much damage, so I had no choice but to use the Drake Sword and hack my way down to the bottom of that treacherous town, built on steep cliff. Eventually, I fell into the poisonous swamp as the narrowed path made it hard for me to swing and attack the Cragspiders.

I don’t have the right stats so I was easily poisoned. I clumsily rolled on the sticky swamp, hacking my sword at every one of those giant-sucking mosquitoes that spit out a bucket of blood. They come in pairs. What a pest. Somehow, I managed to roll myself in that disgusting filth and found myself some good items, but at the expense of encountering scaly snake-like big leeches. They are so gross looking. I hurriedly found an escape from those leeches by stumbling into an opening of a tree trunk, which led me to The Great Hollow, one of my favorite areas in the game because I love trees!

Have you ever been on a tall slide in a shape of an “S”? When I was a kid, I used to beg my parents to take my brothers and me to the neighborhood’s slide. It’s a lot of fun going down the slide. The Great Hollow reminds me of that slide, except you don’t slide, you drop below onto each branch, until you hit the bottom. Certain branches have shiny items that appear attainable, but at the same time out of reach. Most of items are materials for weapon/armor upgrade. I died several times, slipping off the branches thinking that I am so close to grabbing one. When I looked at the time, I realized I was spending about an hour or two in the area, trying to collect all the items.

Apart from falling off the branch because I misplaced my foot, I also had to face the big yellowish, orange bulging-eyes basilisks. They are cute but ugly at the same time. It released black smoke which will curse you and reduce your life to half. So you got to be careful and stay out of the smoke. Once cursed, you’d need a purging stone to normalize yourself. I don’t bother killing them with my sword. Instead, I lured them so they will stupidly jump in the air and miss the ground and fall straight to the bottom.

As soon as I made my way near the bottom of The Great Hollow, I started to get hungry for pine mushroom soup as these little cute mushroom creatures toddled its way towards me. It’s not friendly as it appear because it attacked me. So I sliced it up with my sword. It squealed and died. Then appeared the mama and papa ( I assume because they were bigger in size). I should have known better to kill someone’s children. One punch from the giant mushroom was an instant death for me because my life bar was already halfway empty. It’s back to the bonfire. I had to make my way down again.

The more I think about the stages in the game, I had to climb down from that awful town and into the swamp to find an oasis. Out of this area is Ash Lake, a beautiful undersea-like world. Such a beautiful calming place. Exploring is a form of achievement. You never know what is at the end of that long, disgusting path that seem to never end. You will be rewarded greatly as soon you find a breath of fresh air. Likewise, I think of life the same way. There will be times you may feel uncomfortable and feel as if there is no end to your adversity, but there is. You just have to make the effort to get there. At least, this is the experience I got from Dark Souls.

Now I don’t want to climb back to the Firelink Shrine or face Chaos Witch Quelaag. I just want to stay low underground far from human civilization with the Everlasting Dragon in Ash Lake. I have gotten so used to the solitary lifestyle of a solo traveler and I am a bit tired. For now, I’m going to curl up next to the dragon and shut my eyes because tomorrow will come another battle. Certainly, I cannot stay here for too long. Eventually, I have to report back to Quelaag as I am actually her apprentice, training to become a smoking-hot sadist. I’m just kidding!

P.S

There will be more Dark Souls content to come as I find this game to be an enjoyable pastime and a pleasure to write for this blog.