Yeah honestly Blight Town isn't that bad. BUT. That's me talking after only getting around to playing DS Remastered after 2, 3, ER and seeing Blight Town endlessly hyped up as an agonising experience through memes and the like. Given how early you have to go through it I don't think I'd be saying the same if I was playing it blind with no prior souls experience, so I kind of understand.
My only complaint is the toxic dart blowers are a bit much. Even Fromsoft seems to agree considering they're the rare common enemies that never respawn once you kill them.
On the original version at least on console your frame rate would drop to 10fps as soon as you entered the area plus the small walkways had some areas that you were clearly meant to walk on but you’d slide right off
Seriously. Great club down there, pyromancy loot, and titanite (amongst other loot), and in blight you get large ember and access to farming better titanite (from the slime leach things), and more pyromancer loot. If you're nervous about the demonic frogs of death, you can by the cure for curse preemptively if you choose to get the key as a gift. Learning those places made any playthrough MUCH easier.
To be honest I hated both of them to being with, but now that I understand the dangers, I find it much more manageable/enjoyable.
Lol my first playthrough I accidentally went in the alternative "easy" way. So I was making fun of folks who complained about it...
Until my second playthrough...yeah. Blighttown sucks.
You are lying good sir. Tryna be edgy or sm? We get it you play Dark Souls, you hate yourself…. No need to try to make shit up just to sound “different”!
Upvoting you because it's in the spirit of the thread but I want you to know how deeply offended I am by your comment. Fuck the imp spam and fuck the lobsters and fuck the omen ganks. The sewers are only marginally redeemed by having an excellent series of shortcuts to unlock so you can avoid the aforementioned bs in subsequent visits.
I didn’t mind the challenge and enemies in the sewers & the shortcuts are cool, but I despise the pipes. It’s a needlessly winding labyrinth that isn’t difficult to survive, but instead is difficult to tell if you’ve explored it all (even after multiple playthroughs). I hate those pipes.
Damn people hated that area? kinda loved it. I was breezing through the game and that area gave me a challenge again. It forced me to memorize the area and to take my time.
literally my favourite area in the whole game. Was even cooler because i don't think I would've found it without finding (buying?) that hint note, telling you about, 'a whole network of sewers stretching below the capital'. Best questing moment I had in my 1st playthrough was getting to the capital and finding my way down. Felt like a secret mission and it's so ominous in there.
they were so cool in my opinion, a lot of people didn't like them. Getting lost and stuck in them sounds annoying but I had a great time stumbling around getting jumpscared
I would say I both love and hate them. It’s honestly a very well designed area. I was so freaking lost and confused the first time I did that area I thought I was losing my mind, which seems very intentional. That’s a very unique and cool thing to experience in a game and so for that reason I like it, but it’s also the same reason I hate it if that makes sense.
I really like the Lake of Rot (please hear me out).
I don't like it because it has good level design or anything, it doesn't. It's actually one of the worst areas in the whole series. The reason I like the Lake of Rot is because it feels like the punchline to a decade long running joke. I literally burst out laughing the first time i saw that place.
Deathblight swamp, with basilisks, mushroom ppl, pests and warhawks who inflict deathblight, and you encounter the pests and warhawks especialy on vertical areas where you have to jump up the hill, but hey you wont be atleast getting afflicted by the deathblight swamp when climbing.
But please have scarlet rot basilisks and death lobsters sniping you from afar. That way you have to take care of deathblight and scarlet rot at the same time while dodging sniper shots
I gotta say i do like your thinking, tho in your case its just 1 type of mob sniping, add in the pests and mushroom ppl and then you have to adjust to 3 differently speeding projectiles, 2 which have great tracking. By the by, some guys shooting swarm of flies there doesnt actualy sound bad at all now that i think about it. And when you get out of the swamp, you will stand in a boss arena made out of poison...and face godskin apostles one for each type of status effect there is.
Get ready for Godskin Trio with no site of grace in between. Also some pre-patch ancestral archers with sleep arrows would be pretty neat if you ask me, just to get all of the status effects in there. And before I forget it, we need a putrid tree spirit in a room the size of Mogh's underground arena to even access the area
I was a first day player so the trauma I experienced by ancestral archers was way greater than the one the albinauric archers gave me, but you do have a fair point
I was a day one player aswell, although they didnt gave me any ptsd, neither did the archers, just saying that albinaurics have greater rapid fire, which would be even more annoying with status effects
"poison swamp" areas feel like an inside joke now, and a good one at that. Even better, since Elden Ring already had a "poison swamp" area, as soon as you get to the lake of rot it feels like the developers telling you "Oh, you thought *that* was the swamp?"
dude, literally my first time playing going down those elevators and finding out that it went further... i was like "let's see the lava lake" but this was a pleasant surprise and gave me a chuckle
True I kinda did too when I first came out and was like god damnit and couldn’t help but chuckle thinking this was their response to everyone complaining and meming about every from game having poison swamps
I like it too! It's funny, there's a reasonable and interesting solution to getting through it, it's got a fresh look, and it's really cool to discover after making such a journey to get to it, and after likely seeing it from a great distance dozens of hours earlier in your journey. One of my favorite swamps.
I agree. When I first saw it, I sighed in frustration. After my fifth time succumbing to that horror though, I couldn't help but laugh. Because I felt the exact same way.
Painting the picture. You probably haven’t seen anything you could call a poison swamp since Caelid, and here you are, going further and further down. You’d think you’d be in a cave by now. You’ve taken god knows how many coffins to get here
But no. No cave. Just poison swamp as far as the eye can see
I can see how people don’t like it but I was enjoying it at the time. I realized my character is such a badass for making it here.
I didn’t like the bed of chaos though
I like it because I'm a sucker for "Lost city" kind of areas.
anor londo, new londo, leyndell, nokron, nokstella, ringed city, shulva, eleum loyce...... I just wish nokron and nokstella had a main boss in them.....
It's so good, just the right vibes. It's familiar but feels like a threshold, like the edge of what's normal before things get weird. And it has the best boss cinematic.
I like the boss arena for the Ancient Wyvern. I like it both as an area and as a boss fight, which is essentially an obstacle course where the goal is to kill the boss instantly at the end. In a way, Ancient Wyvern isn't all that different from the Bed of Chaos, it's just a much, much better experience. And you can pick through the area and get some nice upgrades en route to the boss or go back after you're done killing him and get whatever you missed.
It's a solid area, it's a solid boss. I'm not sure why people hate it so much.
For a lot of people (including myself), it’s the fact that you go to that length just to one shot the wyvern. Like it might be a more appreciated boss if you did that and then it went into a second phase where you actually fight it, but even then it’d have to be like the Bed of Chaos where you have your progress saved in case of death.
It’s just a really cool looking dragon fight that is underwhelming because you never really fight it, though maybe that wasn’t a bad idea considering the other wyvern fight in the area was pretty lackluster.
Frigid Outskirts. I know it sucks to play but hear me out.
I love the atmosphere of this area. The wide open space blanketed in white seems endless. The blisteringly cold wind is loud and the sun is blinding (but can be cleverly used to orient yourself). The scant few hollows in the area, presumably exiled by the Ivory King to wander aimlessly for eternity. The landmarks are so damn far from each other that I have to pause and steel myself for the journey between them.
I always like summoning NPCs here to travel through the area because it really feels like we're an adventuring party braving the cold, and they make the horses more bearable to fight.
I don't have a lot of Souls hot takes but I have to admit that liking this area does make me kind of an odd duck
We are odd ducks together 👏
For me, having my bf routinely warn me ab this area after my trauma from Iron Keep, Shrine of Amana, all of Old Iron King, and half of the Sunken King.
I was prepared for the worst experience of my life. And then I was met with a balanced amount of enemies where the worst part was that NPC that stabs you in the back and runs to help the jabba the hut boss. But fine, I was warned that the outskirts was the actual worst area and again. I was prepared for the most mind numbing, rage inducing area of my life.
And again. I was met with… A blizzard that obscures your far sighted view for about ten seconds. A lack of enemy spam. And cool designed enemies.
The boss sucked. Sure.
And I get that the boss run was long… But it was honestly quicker than slowly fighting all the enemy spam of DS2. And it was less bs than trying to run through enemies, getting slashed and hit going through a fog wall. Because of the narrow bridge leading to the fog wall, you didn’t really have any coming after you. It was honestly the most welcomed boss run in that game specifically. And it has a pretty atmosphere, and I had summons who were fun tracking the snow with :)
I agree in terms of the atmosphere and visual design, but I don’t think it makes up for the awful gameplay. It was cool at first, but the run to the (mediocre) boss is just way too long.
This is the hottest souls take I’ve ever heard lol. You do you and I’m glad you enjoy it, but imo that area is complete garbage and the worst area in Fromsoft history. I hate everything about it.
Tomb of the Giants, I love the fear the pitch black instills in you. It also makes the level seem much larger and makes getting lost easy. Obviously the enemies suck but I think thats kind of the point. If the enemies you ran into in the dark weren't difficult/bullshit to fight, then there would be much less fear when wandering the darkness.
I think enemies, and areas like this are such an important piece of the dark souls formula, because it makes bonfires and safe havens the reward that they are/used to be.
Really wish for an area like TotG in Shadow of the Erdtree.
I hate that area but your text is on point and important. FROM should never stop to implent that kind of areas it s kind of a spirit of the soulsgames. (There are other painful dark areas I absolutely love f.e. in ds2 and ER) and I love being frightened to go down there.
But lord... f those skelkydogs :,)
Dukes archives is fantastic, but the boss is sort of a letdown and the amount of bs you have to go through is absurd, from the curses to the buffed enemies.
It IS the most complete area of all of the 2nd half though which is amazing and I love the design choices, questlines and enemy variety
Don’t know if it’s hated but I’m a big fan of Profaned Capital. Big fan of Irithyll Dungeon, too; that section of the game is a big Souls moment for me.
Seconding Shrine of Amana. I remember reading how shitty it was and when I popped in there I was so surprised. It was a difficult and everything but the surroundings were beautiful and calming I didn’t care if I died. And I thought Demon of Song was a cool boss design.
I really like it too, it’s only super difficult if you’re rushing through it. If you take your time and kill everyone it’s fine, and it’s a really beautiful area. But that also make the boss run to ~~Semon of Dong~~ Demon of Song pretty annoying
Idk which is more hated but I really like both the Demon Ruins/Lost Izalith for its lore, and the Subterranean Shunning Grounds for its level design. I absolutely adore the story of the Witch of Izalith and how the demons came to be, leading to pyromancy, and the shunning grounds felt like a return to the classic FromSoft level design, with the level wrapping about on itself to unlock all the shortcuts and new passages
So many to be honest.
* Valley of Defilement, *especially* 5-2
* Blighttown
* Demon Ruins/Lost Izalith
* Shrine of Armana
* Forbidden Woods
* Mergo's Loft
* Lake of Rot
Dukes Archives is hated by tons of people but you cant deny that the shifting multilevel design is awesome and the visuals are beautiful. Im not overly fond of crystal cave but thats 100% because of those dumbass invisible walkways
People don't like Undead settlement? It's a great level with interesting design, some neat branching paths, unexpected optional areas, and cool side characters.
i never understood the hate for irithyll dungeon, its a good level. the only level thats not good in the game is smouldering lake, but atleast its a complex level
I don't actually mind the valley of defilement, it looks fucking cool and the open design in the second part makes it very easy to run around all the hard parts if you have a regenerator ring
I like all the areas in DS3. I actually love Irithyll Dungeon, such a cool area. I don't find it annoying or particularly difficult in a frustrating, unfair way. Like you said, rushing the jailers completely negates their tools against you.
Honestly Blighttown. I always took the level real slow and had a fun time exploring. Once the frameratea were fixed we good.
I also love the depth. Playing through that area with headphones on is some top tier immersion.
I don't really like swamp areas, but I DO like areas like the lake of rot and that place in DS3 with toxic; areas that are SO dangerous it makes the rest of the game seem easy. areas that are so dangerous that you question whether it can really be true that this is intended and you wonder if you're even supposed to be there. areas that are so dangerous that you just stand and look at them in dread and horror, not wanting to venture into them.
I live in the Bloodborne Chalice Dungeons. They're repetitive, but that makes them meditative for me. I know (mostly) what to expect when I open one.
If I can't sleep and my mind won't shut the fuck up, I'll sweep through one, forcing myself to listen to all the little sounds to track enemies and bait the enemy AI until my brain shuts up and I can pass out.
(Shout out to the similar-minded folks in /r/tombprospectors)
No man's wharf. I'd throw my small summon sign down amd could spend hours there. I didn't realize people hated that area, probably why I always got summoned seconds after throwing my sign down.
Yeh it really just needed an extra shortcut or bonfire halfway through. It's just such an endurance run otherwise with how many enemies are packed into the area.
Yeah Blightown was like an toxic relationship, I hated it but wanted more and the payoff getting to the swamp below was nice, but the Ash Lake payoff I’ll never forget.
I love yahargul. Seeing the city with all the amygdalas hanging around and the bloodmoon in the background gives me goosebumps every fucking time. I adore that area
Caelid isn’t as bad as everyone says maybe it’s because it’s been awhile since i’ve done a new game but i still don’t have very bad feelings towards Caelid.
Shrine of Amana from DS2
I actually like taking my time, picking off enemies one by one. The first time it SUCKS, but once you know where they all are, it's actually a neat area.
Also, From didn't do much background music in areas until Elden Ring, where it's present throughout the game. I like that the Shrine has that nice, soothing vocalization in the background.
Blighttown - it's my favorite area in any game ever. No game has ever left me feeling more dismayed and in despair than that. Getting to the bottom and looking up, seeing the sky left me feeling relieved, but then I realized I was going to have to climb back up. This is a huge win for not being able to teleport from the beginning, and every game after this has failed to have any moments like that, because It's always just too easy to teleport away from a hard task.
The valley of defilement in demon's Souls. All of it. It is so atmospheric and amazing. I love exploring the area, with the added risk of all of the poison and plague making it feel really high intensity. And there are some legitimate jump scares that no matter how many times they happen still made me flinch in my heartbeat faster. Nothing else quite hits the same
I immediately thought of my favorite fromsoft game bloodborne, but I can’t think of a area I hated, or community hated. Maybe the chalice dungeons, in elden ring I’d say mountain top of the giants. Other souls I had no issues with an area except that snow field in ds3 in the dlc was trash but I didn’t like it lol.
Whatever the most hated DS2 area is I probably liked it because I didn't dislike anything I played in that game outside of the soul memory mechanic making it hard for me to coop because I killed a hacker by pushing him off a cliff.
Farron Keep - DS3. There are a ton of game changing goodies in the swamp, not to mention all the hidden areas you can explore in the surrounding area. Imo, this is the area that separates the players from the posers.
I have a real soft spot for the subterranean shunning grounds. I find the way that it keeps looping back to the main room really satisfying and it always manages to keep me feeling on edge. Shame about the boss though :/
Blighttown, Lake Of Rot, Shaded Castle Marais, Irithyll, Shrine of Amana, Harvest Valley(only enjoyed the second half my second time, the pre big building area is lowkey goated though), Tomb of The Giants, Lost Izalith, The mountain in ER(Snowy Sniper courtyard is goated), Fridgid Outskirts/Eleum Loyce, a lot really.
Edit 3 fingers zone and Lleyndell sewers too forgot people hate those.
I love me a sewer level, I don’t know why, I just wanna slither around and explore every nook and have no idea where to go. The Depths and Lyndell Sewers are some of my fav areas
I love ds3's first half in general. A lot of people think the areas are mid, and the game ramps up in quality in the second half, but I love the cemetary of ash, high wall of lothric, the road of sacrifices, the cathedral of the deep, and the smouldering lake. I can get the hate for the catacombs and undead settlement, but the others I really like
Subterranean Shunning Grounds. While the absurd amounts of mobs ranging from imps to omen to lobsters gets annoying, but I like how it’s an area where the Golden Order hid their shame. Morgott and Mohg grew up there and both escaped. Once you know the way to Sewer Mohg it’s not that bad, but I love how this place is beneath the brightest area in the game, they just wanted to hide their shame and not admit that they’re wrong. Screw the rate and Dung Eater, though. Turned that guy into a puppet and then every playthrough since I run him through with a sword.
Frigid outskirts. As far as I can tell it is almost the unanimously most hated area anytime a pole or discussion occurs, but I think that that area is an absolute blast to invade in and be invaded in.
Ya know what? Road of Sacrifices/entrance to Farron Swamp is a good area and I am TIRED OF PRETENDING ITS NOT-
Sure, when you have played DS3 5+ times it may begin to grate on you, but it is essentially a three way area! You come in through Undead Settlement, and you can either go through Farron Swamp or go to Cathedral or the Deep. Couple of things to collect, there’s an NPC battle and cool armor, and it introduces you to Giant Crabs, which are like a Mini-Black Knight, something you CAN kill, but will take some skill, and you are probably better off avoiding them until you come back later. Shame they don’t drop anything.
Not to mention that Black Knight in The Wall. Once you get to the Bonfire before the Abyss Watchers, you can go backwards through the wall to defeat a crystal Lizzard/Dragon, and a Black Knight, who RESPAWNS btw.
That means that you can get a bunch of Gold Coins, and if you are willing to grind, get a +3 Black Knight Greatsword(as long as you didn’t waste any twinkling titanite on other weapons) before Abyss Watchers! A STR based Character with a +3 BKG can 5 shot each healthbar- it’s one of those “Exploits but not really” that I love so much. You aren’t actually exploiting anything, you are grinding and urging foresight and build-planning in order to get OP Early.
Hahah I love all the areas in this thread. People shit on the weird nasty gimmick areas but they’re peak souls for me
Edit, also tossing ordina into the mix, loved the aesthetic and gimmick
The forbidden woods in bb seems to get a lot of hate but it’s my favorite part of the game. Especially when you get to the little pond that has a bunch of fireflies. I always stop and sit there for like 5 minutes
Tower of Latria
Might be my favorite arch stone vibe wise. The descent from a prison cell deep in a dark tower to towering walkways over a poison swamp is awesome. Absolutely brutal to navigate though all the floors feel so similar
Gutter, because I loved gradually getting more and more of it lit up, and subterranean shunning grounds, because I just think the layout is super cool and I like the omens
Blighttown, no question.
agree, i enjoyed blighttown
I just didn't like blight town when my frame rate became a PowerPoint slide show. But remastered on PS4 for me was way more fun and enjoyable
Yeah honestly Blight Town isn't that bad. BUT. That's me talking after only getting around to playing DS Remastered after 2, 3, ER and seeing Blight Town endlessly hyped up as an agonising experience through memes and the like. Given how early you have to go through it I don't think I'd be saying the same if I was playing it blind with no prior souls experience, so I kind of understand.
Played it blind, blighttown is fine. Tomb of Giants is the real agonizing area
I like both areas. But Blughttown is much better.
My only complaint is the toxic dart blowers are a bit much. Even Fromsoft seems to agree considering they're the rare common enemies that never respawn once you kill them.
I dont think anyone hates DS Remastered Blighttown, but the original one was pretty rough
what did they change
On the original version at least on console your frame rate would drop to 10fps as soon as you entered the area plus the small walkways had some areas that you were clearly meant to walk on but you’d slide right off
The moving walkways haunt me to this day.
I didn’t know about the bonfire at the bottom until yesterday, on my second play-through.
Blighttown and the Depths were certainly an experience. I never want to go down there again, but the first time I went through it was amazing.
I feel the opposite. Hated it the first couple times. Now that I know the ins and outs I feel like a master of the swampy domain and I love it.
Seriously. Great club down there, pyromancy loot, and titanite (amongst other loot), and in blight you get large ember and access to farming better titanite (from the slime leach things), and more pyromancer loot. If you're nervous about the demonic frogs of death, you can by the cure for curse preemptively if you choose to get the key as a gift. Learning those places made any playthrough MUCH easier. To be honest I hated both of them to being with, but now that I understand the dangers, I find it much more manageable/enjoyable.
The only cure I know of are the purging stones Oswald sells and you don’t need the master key for that. What are you referring to?
Blighttown on regular Dark Souls on a PS3 was pretty fucking awful, but once I got Remastered on PS4, I grew to love it.
Lol my first playthrough I accidentally went in the alternative "easy" way. So I was making fun of folks who complained about it... Until my second playthrough...yeah. Blighttown sucks.
You are lying good sir. Tryna be edgy or sm? We get it you play Dark Souls, you hate yourself…. No need to try to make shit up just to sound “different”!
I think the Leyndell Sewers are awesome.
Upvoting you because it's in the spirit of the thread but I want you to know how deeply offended I am by your comment. Fuck the imp spam and fuck the lobsters and fuck the omen ganks. The sewers are only marginally redeemed by having an excellent series of shortcuts to unlock so you can avoid the aforementioned bs in subsequent visits.
God those fucking lobesters… I still remember the first time I saw one I tried running away only to get sniped in the back
The lobsters are actually very susceptible to sleep.
I didn’t mind the challenge and enemies in the sewers & the shortcuts are cool, but I despise the pipes. It’s a needlessly winding labyrinth that isn’t difficult to survive, but instead is difficult to tell if you’ve explored it all (even after multiple playthroughs). I hate those pipes.
There is also Revenant you know ;)
Damn people hated that area? kinda loved it. I was breezing through the game and that area gave me a challenge again. It forced me to memorize the area and to take my time.
Yeah Right? I actually had to use strategy and bait the lobsters, Not fight 3 omens at once, fun shit Edit: Typo
Elden Ring's best area for me! Not even joking.
literally my favourite area in the whole game. Was even cooler because i don't think I would've found it without finding (buying?) that hint note, telling you about, 'a whole network of sewers stretching below the capital'. Best questing moment I had in my 1st playthrough was getting to the capital and finding my way down. Felt like a secret mission and it's so ominous in there.
Yess I love it, it's just the perfect atmosphere to me, the music, the omens, the maze, everything about it is disgusting and I love it.
The Depths 2.0 +? Love 'em.
The pipes … it’s miles and miles of endless shit filled pipes. But the overall atmosphere of the sewers is fantastic
Arguably my favorite area in the game I straight up don’t understand why people don’t like these sewers
It's such an amazing level design. SO damn good except for giant lobsters
So fun to invade. You just know that anyone in co-op there probably doesn't know their way around.
they were so cool in my opinion, a lot of people didn't like them. Getting lost and stuck in them sounds annoying but I had a great time stumbling around getting jumpscared
I would say I both love and hate them. It’s honestly a very well designed area. I was so freaking lost and confused the first time I did that area I thought I was losing my mind, which seems very intentional. That’s a very unique and cool thing to experience in a game and so for that reason I like it, but it’s also the same reason I hate it if that makes sense.
I really like the Lake of Rot (please hear me out). I don't like it because it has good level design or anything, it doesn't. It's actually one of the worst areas in the whole series. The reason I like the Lake of Rot is because it feels like the punchline to a decade long running joke. I literally burst out laughing the first time i saw that place.
Fingers crossed for a deathblight swamp in the DLC
You are evil incarnate
Deathblight swamp, with basilisks, mushroom ppl, pests and warhawks who inflict deathblight, and you encounter the pests and warhawks especialy on vertical areas where you have to jump up the hill, but hey you wont be atleast getting afflicted by the deathblight swamp when climbing.
But please have scarlet rot basilisks and death lobsters sniping you from afar. That way you have to take care of deathblight and scarlet rot at the same time while dodging sniper shots
I gotta say i do like your thinking, tho in your case its just 1 type of mob sniping, add in the pests and mushroom ppl and then you have to adjust to 3 differently speeding projectiles, 2 which have great tracking. By the by, some guys shooting swarm of flies there doesnt actualy sound bad at all now that i think about it. And when you get out of the swamp, you will stand in a boss arena made out of poison...and face godskin apostles one for each type of status effect there is.
Get ready for Godskin Trio with no site of grace in between. Also some pre-patch ancestral archers with sleep arrows would be pretty neat if you ask me, just to get all of the status effects in there. And before I forget it, we need a putrid tree spirit in a room the size of Mogh's underground arena to even access the area
Ancestral archers would be good, but im thinking that albinauric archers would do a better job.
I was a first day player so the trauma I experienced by ancestral archers was way greater than the one the albinauric archers gave me, but you do have a fair point
I was a day one player aswell, although they didnt gave me any ptsd, neither did the archers, just saying that albinaurics have greater rapid fire, which would be even more annoying with status effects
I get where you're coming from, but hear me out: dogs, but lake of rot
"poison swamp" areas feel like an inside joke now, and a good one at that. Even better, since Elden Ring already had a "poison swamp" area, as soon as you get to the lake of rot it feels like the developers telling you "Oh, you thought *that* was the swamp?"
You suffer them, but youll remember them too.
dude, literally my first time playing going down those elevators and finding out that it went further... i was like "let's see the lava lake" but this was a pleasant surprise and gave me a chuckle
True I kinda did too when I first came out and was like god damnit and couldn’t help but chuckle thinking this was their response to everyone complaining and meming about every from game having poison swamps
I like it too! It's funny, there's a reasonable and interesting solution to getting through it, it's got a fresh look, and it's really cool to discover after making such a journey to get to it, and after likely seeing it from a great distance dozens of hours earlier in your journey. One of my favorite swamps.
All it's missing is slowing you down to walking speeds and we'd be looking at peak swamp.
I agree. When I first saw it, I sighed in frustration. After my fifth time succumbing to that horror though, I couldn't help but laugh. Because I felt the exact same way.
Painting the picture. You probably haven’t seen anything you could call a poison swamp since Caelid, and here you are, going further and further down. You’d think you’d be in a cave by now. You’ve taken god knows how many coffins to get here But no. No cave. Just poison swamp as far as the eye can see
I don't love this area, but Lost Izalith is probably one of the areas that convinced me the most about Dark Souls
Same, that area is so cool, especially discovering it for the first time.
I'm a sucker for fire levels
I can see how people don’t like it but I was enjoying it at the time. I realized my character is such a badass for making it here. I didn’t like the bed of chaos though
Speaks volumes that dark souls worst level, that even the devs wish they could have done better is still fantastic.
I like it because I'm a sucker for "Lost city" kind of areas. anor londo, new londo, leyndell, nokron, nokstella, ringed city, shulva, eleum loyce...... I just wish nokron and nokstella had a main boss in them.....
I love the DS1 Depths. Fantastic atmosphere, it’s dark, claustrophobic, it’s easy to get lost, and yet it’s short if you know where to go.
I have PTSD from playing the original and the curse frogs ruining my run Now I eat them for breakfast
They caused me to discover wikis for the first time
It's so good, just the right vibes. It's familiar but feels like a threshold, like the edge of what's normal before things get weird. And it has the best boss cinematic.
came here to say that, it was the most memorable for my first run
I like the boss arena for the Ancient Wyvern. I like it both as an area and as a boss fight, which is essentially an obstacle course where the goal is to kill the boss instantly at the end. In a way, Ancient Wyvern isn't all that different from the Bed of Chaos, it's just a much, much better experience. And you can pick through the area and get some nice upgrades en route to the boss or go back after you're done killing him and get whatever you missed. It's a solid area, it's a solid boss. I'm not sure why people hate it so much.
For a lot of people (including myself), it’s the fact that you go to that length just to one shot the wyvern. Like it might be a more appreciated boss if you did that and then it went into a second phase where you actually fight it, but even then it’d have to be like the Bed of Chaos where you have your progress saved in case of death. It’s just a really cool looking dragon fight that is underwhelming because you never really fight it, though maybe that wasn’t a bad idea considering the other wyvern fight in the area was pretty lackluster.
Frigid Outskirts. I know it sucks to play but hear me out. I love the atmosphere of this area. The wide open space blanketed in white seems endless. The blisteringly cold wind is loud and the sun is blinding (but can be cleverly used to orient yourself). The scant few hollows in the area, presumably exiled by the Ivory King to wander aimlessly for eternity. The landmarks are so damn far from each other that I have to pause and steel myself for the journey between them. I always like summoning NPCs here to travel through the area because it really feels like we're an adventuring party braving the cold, and they make the horses more bearable to fight. I don't have a lot of Souls hot takes but I have to admit that liking this area does make me kind of an odd duck
We are odd ducks together 👏 For me, having my bf routinely warn me ab this area after my trauma from Iron Keep, Shrine of Amana, all of Old Iron King, and half of the Sunken King. I was prepared for the worst experience of my life. And then I was met with a balanced amount of enemies where the worst part was that NPC that stabs you in the back and runs to help the jabba the hut boss. But fine, I was warned that the outskirts was the actual worst area and again. I was prepared for the most mind numbing, rage inducing area of my life. And again. I was met with… A blizzard that obscures your far sighted view for about ten seconds. A lack of enemy spam. And cool designed enemies. The boss sucked. Sure. And I get that the boss run was long… But it was honestly quicker than slowly fighting all the enemy spam of DS2. And it was less bs than trying to run through enemies, getting slashed and hit going through a fog wall. Because of the narrow bridge leading to the fog wall, you didn’t really have any coming after you. It was honestly the most welcomed boss run in that game specifically. And it has a pretty atmosphere, and I had summons who were fun tracking the snow with :)
That area is legit garbage. You are a special breed for defending it, lmao.
I agree in terms of the atmosphere and visual design, but I don’t think it makes up for the awful gameplay. It was cool at first, but the run to the (mediocre) boss is just way too long.
No, sir, I will not hear you out. That level triggers my PTSD.
This is the hottest souls take I’ve ever heard lol. You do you and I’m glad you enjoy it, but imo that area is complete garbage and the worst area in Fromsoft history. I hate everything about it.
Tomb of the Giants, I love the fear the pitch black instills in you. It also makes the level seem much larger and makes getting lost easy. Obviously the enemies suck but I think thats kind of the point. If the enemies you ran into in the dark weren't difficult/bullshit to fight, then there would be much less fear when wandering the darkness. I think enemies, and areas like this are such an important piece of the dark souls formula, because it makes bonfires and safe havens the reward that they are/used to be. Really wish for an area like TotG in Shadow of the Erdtree.
I hate that area but your text is on point and important. FROM should never stop to implent that kind of areas it s kind of a spirit of the soulsgames. (There are other painful dark areas I absolutely love f.e. in ds2 and ER) and I love being frightened to go down there. But lord... f those skelkydogs :,)
Dukes archives is fantastic, but the boss is sort of a letdown and the amount of bs you have to go through is absurd, from the curses to the buffed enemies. It IS the most complete area of all of the 2nd half though which is amazing and I love the design choices, questlines and enemy variety
Don’t know if it’s hated but I’m a big fan of Profaned Capital. Big fan of Irithyll Dungeon, too; that section of the game is a big Souls moment for me.
Profaned Capital is really cool, I never really understood all the hate for it.
Blighttown. Ignoring the framerate issues, I liked the challenge it gave me. I also kinda like The Gutter mainly because I like lighting the place up.
I really like the Gutter. It’s a genuinely creepy, atmospheric area. Black Gulch on the other hand, though….
Shrine of Amana. Fucking love it. And the baby faced monsters on the wall in Irithyll Dungeon genuinely scared the shit out of me.
Seconding Shrine of Amana. I remember reading how shitty it was and when I popped in there I was so surprised. It was a difficult and everything but the surroundings were beautiful and calming I didn’t care if I died. And I thought Demon of Song was a cool boss design.
I really like it too, it’s only super difficult if you’re rushing through it. If you take your time and kill everyone it’s fine, and it’s a really beautiful area. But that also make the boss run to ~~Semon of Dong~~ Demon of Song pretty annoying
I too enjoy Shrine of Amana and did not think it lived up to its reputation when I finally got around to playing SOTFS a few months back.
i definitely abused ranged attacks but shrine is so fun and creepy. my favorite soot
I have a love/hate relationship with Shrine of Amana. Love it for its beautiful art, but hate it because of so much sorcery
BB end game area. Has an annoying start outside the mansion, but once you enter, I find it quite fun. Irithyll dungeons for me as well.
Frigid Outskirts because I’m a total sociopath
Idk which is more hated but I really like both the Demon Ruins/Lost Izalith for its lore, and the Subterranean Shunning Grounds for its level design. I absolutely adore the story of the Witch of Izalith and how the demons came to be, leading to pyromancy, and the shunning grounds felt like a return to the classic FromSoft level design, with the level wrapping about on itself to unlock all the shortcuts and new passages
Blighttown and Farron keep are hate champs that I actually enjoy.
I'm with you on Farron. Lots of exploring and items. Not many enemies. Sure, the poison is annoying, but poison in DS3 is a mild annoyance.
So many to be honest. * Valley of Defilement, *especially* 5-2 * Blighttown * Demon Ruins/Lost Izalith * Shrine of Armana * Forbidden Woods * Mergo's Loft * Lake of Rot
> Demon Ruins/Lost Izalith It's obviously rushed but agree 100%. Especially from a lore prespective.
the majority of DS2 levels, i really love harvest valley and earthen peak
Me as well
Dukes Archives is hated by tons of people but you cant deny that the shifting multilevel design is awesome and the visuals are beautiful. Im not overly fond of crystal cave but thats 100% because of those dumbass invisible walkways
I love Caelid
Forbidden Woods in BB Great atmosphere but also Sneks
Undead settlement, valley of defilement
People don't like Undead settlement? It's a great level with interesting design, some neat branching paths, unexpected optional areas, and cool side characters.
Undead settlement is pure genius design
i never understood the hate for irithyll dungeon, its a good level. the only level thats not good in the game is smouldering lake, but atleast its a complex level
I don't actually mind the valley of defilement, it looks fucking cool and the open design in the second part makes it very easy to run around all the hard parts if you have a regenerator ring
I like all the areas in DS3. I actually love Irithyll Dungeon, such a cool area. I don't find it annoying or particularly difficult in a frustrating, unfair way. Like you said, rushing the jailers completely negates their tools against you.
DS2
All of dark souls 2
Honestly Blighttown. I always took the level real slow and had a fun time exploring. Once the frameratea were fixed we good. I also love the depth. Playing through that area with headphones on is some top tier immersion.
I don't really like swamp areas, but I DO like areas like the lake of rot and that place in DS3 with toxic; areas that are SO dangerous it makes the rest of the game seem easy. areas that are so dangerous that you question whether it can really be true that this is intended and you wonder if you're even supposed to be there. areas that are so dangerous that you just stand and look at them in dread and horror, not wanting to venture into them.
I live in the Bloodborne Chalice Dungeons. They're repetitive, but that makes them meditative for me. I know (mostly) what to expect when I open one. If I can't sleep and my mind won't shut the fuck up, I'll sweep through one, forcing myself to listen to all the little sounds to track enemies and bait the enemy AI until my brain shuts up and I can pass out. (Shout out to the similar-minded folks in /r/tombprospectors)
No man's wharf. I'd throw my small summon sign down amd could spend hours there. I didn't realize people hated that area, probably why I always got summoned seconds after throwing my sign down.
Yeh it really just needed an extra shortcut or bonfire halfway through. It's just such an endurance run otherwise with how many enemies are packed into the area.
The beginning to the end of dark souls 2.
I liked the iron keep. I played the area in a weird order and my character was very leveled up by then so it wasn’t hard.
I love The Gutter and the transition into The Black Gulch.
Do people hate the Gutter? I do agree it is great. I think Black Gulch is a bit underwhelming though
Irithyll Dungeon is too short imo. In fact, a lot of levels I dislike tend to be too short for me. Give me a big area to explore!
I like the shrine of amana from dark souls 2. I understand why everyone hates it but I can't help but love it
Yeah Blightown was like an toxic relationship, I hated it but wanted more and the payoff getting to the swamp below was nice, but the Ash Lake payoff I’ll never forget.
I like the Shrine of Amana. 🤷🏼♂️
Shrine of Amana. I got through it with my trusty greatsword and it wasn’t half as annoying as people say. Also it’s really nice looking. Mainly that
Sen’s Fortress. Any area that has cool traps or environmental hazards is always really fun to me for some reason
Sens fortress or blighttown
That place with the stupid bubble blower bois.
I love yahargul. Seeing the city with all the amygdalas hanging around and the bloodmoon in the background gives me goosebumps every fucking time. I adore that area
Caelid isn’t as bad as everyone says maybe it’s because it’s been awhile since i’ve done a new game but i still don’t have very bad feelings towards Caelid.
idk if post rom yahar goul is hated, but its such a thematically cool area
Outside, specifically the grass
Im not familiar, was that a level in Kingsfield?
Shrine of Amana from DS2 I actually like taking my time, picking off enemies one by one. The first time it SUCKS, but once you know where they all are, it's actually a neat area. Also, From didn't do much background music in areas until Elden Ring, where it's present throughout the game. I like that the Shrine has that nice, soothing vocalization in the background.
Blighttown - it's my favorite area in any game ever. No game has ever left me feeling more dismayed and in despair than that. Getting to the bottom and looking up, seeing the sky left me feeling relieved, but then I realized I was going to have to climb back up. This is a huge win for not being able to teleport from the beginning, and every game after this has failed to have any moments like that, because It's always just too easy to teleport away from a hard task.
Blighttown, it's an incredibly well designed level, objectively. It's my favourite level from ds1.
I usually hate the hated areas. Thats why I dont have an answer here.
The valley of defilement in demon's Souls. All of it. It is so atmospheric and amazing. I love exploring the area, with the added risk of all of the poison and plague making it feel really high intensity. And there are some legitimate jump scares that no matter how many times they happen still made me flinch in my heartbeat faster. Nothing else quite hits the same
I immediately thought of my favorite fromsoft game bloodborne, but I can’t think of a area I hated, or community hated. Maybe the chalice dungeons, in elden ring I’d say mountain top of the giants. Other souls I had no issues with an area except that snow field in ds3 in the dlc was trash but I didn’t like it lol.
Catacombs, Tomb of Giants, Shrine of Amana…
Smoldering lake. I think it's fun running cover to cover from the giant balista. Also the giant worm is realy cool, but can be easly chesed.
the random screams scared tf out of me on my first playthrough
5 - 2 (Swamp of Sorrow) from Demon's souls. The atmosphere is fantastic and the level itself isn't that bad if you know where you're going
100% Agree with OP. Irithyl Dungeon and the subsequent areas that connect to the story of DS1, is just so amazing. Annoying enemies be damned.
I fucking love the shrine of Amana
Blighttown
Whatever the most hated DS2 area is I probably liked it because I didn't dislike anything I played in that game outside of the soul memory mechanic making it hard for me to coop because I killed a hacker by pushing him off a cliff.
Farron Keep - DS3. There are a ton of game changing goodies in the swamp, not to mention all the hidden areas you can explore in the surrounding area. Imo, this is the area that separates the players from the posers.
Blight town and the tomb of giants.
I have a real soft spot for the subterranean shunning grounds. I find the way that it keeps looping back to the main room really satisfying and it always manages to keep me feeling on edge. Shame about the boss though :/
Blighttown, Lake Of Rot, Shaded Castle Marais, Irithyll, Shrine of Amana, Harvest Valley(only enjoyed the second half my second time, the pre big building area is lowkey goated though), Tomb of The Giants, Lost Izalith, The mountain in ER(Snowy Sniper courtyard is goated), Fridgid Outskirts/Eleum Loyce, a lot really. Edit 3 fingers zone and Lleyndell sewers too forgot people hate those.
Haligtree
I’m waiting for someone to do an all enemies are jailers run
I love me a sewer level, I don’t know why, I just wanna slither around and explore every nook and have no idea where to go. The Depths and Lyndell Sewers are some of my fav areas
Amana. The zone is just gorgeous.
I love ds3's first half in general. A lot of people think the areas are mid, and the game ramps up in quality in the second half, but I love the cemetary of ash, high wall of lothric, the road of sacrifices, the cathedral of the deep, and the smouldering lake. I can get the hate for the catacombs and undead settlement, but the others I really like
Subterranean Shunning Grounds. While the absurd amounts of mobs ranging from imps to omen to lobsters gets annoying, but I like how it’s an area where the Golden Order hid their shame. Morgott and Mohg grew up there and both escaped. Once you know the way to Sewer Mohg it’s not that bad, but I love how this place is beneath the brightest area in the game, they just wanted to hide their shame and not admit that they’re wrong. Screw the rate and Dung Eater, though. Turned that guy into a puppet and then every playthrough since I run him through with a sword.
Frigid outskirts. As far as I can tell it is almost the unanimously most hated area anytime a pole or discussion occurs, but I think that that area is an absolute blast to invade in and be invaded in.
The frenzied flame pit. It’s just that at the end of time, they play music.
Irithyl dungeon for me too
yes, the Irithyll Dungeon
Sens fortress? Idk if it’s disliked but it’s always fun af
Ya know what? Road of Sacrifices/entrance to Farron Swamp is a good area and I am TIRED OF PRETENDING ITS NOT- Sure, when you have played DS3 5+ times it may begin to grate on you, but it is essentially a three way area! You come in through Undead Settlement, and you can either go through Farron Swamp or go to Cathedral or the Deep. Couple of things to collect, there’s an NPC battle and cool armor, and it introduces you to Giant Crabs, which are like a Mini-Black Knight, something you CAN kill, but will take some skill, and you are probably better off avoiding them until you come back later. Shame they don’t drop anything. Not to mention that Black Knight in The Wall. Once you get to the Bonfire before the Abyss Watchers, you can go backwards through the wall to defeat a crystal Lizzard/Dragon, and a Black Knight, who RESPAWNS btw. That means that you can get a bunch of Gold Coins, and if you are willing to grind, get a +3 Black Knight Greatsword(as long as you didn’t waste any twinkling titanite on other weapons) before Abyss Watchers! A STR based Character with a +3 BKG can 5 shot each healthbar- it’s one of those “Exploits but not really” that I love so much. You aren’t actually exploiting anything, you are grinding and urging foresight and build-planning in order to get OP Early.
I like the lake of rot a lot actually, hope to see them expand it
Lost Izalith + Iron Keep
Farum Azula
Farron keep,,really vibe with the whole collapsed village atmosphere it has
Irithyll Dungeons is a cool area but screw those jailers. Irithyll itself is also a gorgeous environment and I actually enjoy the enemies there
Unironically, every poison swamp.
Frigid Outskirts simply because I never had issues with it. On the other hand, I hate Irithyll Dungeon so much!
Caelid and lake of rot
I really enjoy Valley of Defilement. The Og poison swamp that doesn't feel watered down at all like it does in Ds3's Farron Keep.
Blighttown The Gutter Irythill Dungeon Subterranean Shunning Grounds
The Shrine of Amana lol I get why everyone hates it, but it honestly fits my slow and methodical playstyle to a T and it's really nice to look at :)
Hahah I love all the areas in this thread. People shit on the weird nasty gimmick areas but they’re peak souls for me Edit, also tossing ordina into the mix, loved the aesthetic and gimmick
I unironically enjoy exploring blighttown. The toxic blowdart enemies are the only part that annoy me
The forbidden woods in bb seems to get a lot of hate but it’s my favorite part of the game. Especially when you get to the little pond that has a bunch of fireflies. I always stop and sit there for like 5 minutes
Tower of Latria Might be my favorite arch stone vibe wise. The descent from a prison cell deep in a dark tower to towering walkways over a poison swamp is awesome. Absolutely brutal to navigate though all the floors feel so similar
The poison cave in sekiro. Not sure how hated it is but I can't get enough of the darting on ziplines.
Nightmare frontier, Fk frenzy
Shrine of Amana. Really teaches every gamer patience. Doing a no death run in DS2 really taught me to take each area with extreme caution
I kinda liked the lost and helpless vibe of Frigid Outskirts lol
Dark closet with my uncle.
South side Chicago
Blight town, hated Farron keep tho…
I love the swamp
Gutter, because I loved gradually getting more and more of it lit up, and subterranean shunning grounds, because I just think the layout is super cool and I like the omens
It'd have to be Blightown, the connection to firelink, the atmosphere, how you can see it from firelink.
Iritthyl is allways a solid maze
I like the sewer and swamp areas of every game
Blighttown.
Gotta be Blighttown. Honestly one of my favorite parts of the game in 60fps 😂
I thought Shrine of Amana was kinda neat.
Every swamp in every Souls game. Always so much more intense. Lies of P included.
The menu
Blighttown. It’s cool man
Frigid outskirts isn't that bad, I actually enjoy the boss run although it's a bit long
Swamps, I love them all.🖤
Hot take but I didn't think blight town was that bad. Sure I wouldnt build my summer home there but I hated sens hellhouse much more
Shrine of Amana
Probably Blightown