C184: Who Am I? Where Am I? 

After spending an entire afternoon immersed in Dark Souls: The Age of First Fire, the darkened sky outside the window was the time to work.

It's so exciting!

That's the only way to describe the experience.

The somewhat embarrassing incident at first can be set aside for now. The real story begins after overcoming countless hardships to finally arrive at the Undead berg outside the city.

The residents of this place are simply cheerful. Wielding swords and axes, they warmly greet every soul who comes to visit. And let's not forget the Black Knight, who offers a slash sleek death experience.

When I reached the prison tower, the Bulky mini boss didn't react with anger to my intrusion. Instead, he brought his iconic dragon weapon down and gave my soul the freedom.

Interestingly, some minor changes were made to the bully bulky knight mechanics by the devs team. In the original version, it could be defeated using several strategies: the Car men Technique, the Flame Throwing Method, or the infamously sneaky Staircase fall Method.

The easiest of these was the Staircase Method. Players could lure it to the top of the observation tower stairs and then jump down when he followed. While players would lose some health in the fall, it—due to his heavy armor—would suffer even greater damage. With the help of the estus, players could eventually take him down.

However, in this version, Chen Xu tweaked the mechanics slightly. It still takes fall damage, but it is reduced. His recovery speed has also been increased, making it harder for players to exploit the strategy. Additionally, the judgment for successfully jumping off the building without running down has been made more stringent. These changes subtly increase the challenge.

The situation worsens as the player proceed to the top. There, two corpse soldiers wield bows and arrows to welcome visitors with a fiery reception. Their welcome is topped off by a Tauren beast—a 9ft tall monstrosity.

And then, on the wide bridge beyond, the flying dragon swoops down from the sky, sparing no effort in putting on a fireworks display for the undead.

"I thought I was invincible in this world!" ???

I leaned back in my chair, opened the gaming chat group, and typed out my sentiment.

My message find immediate buyers. Replies poured in as players shared their own harrowing experiences in the game.

_____

"This Dark Souls: The Age of First Fire is full of bad blood"

"Yeah, the traps are insidious!"

"At the Fire link Shrine, I ended up falling down the ledge"

"That's nothing! I already lost blood facing that massive demon in the Undead Asylum!"

"I can't wait for the teleportation feature to unlock. It's so inconvenient without it!"

"Exactly! It's such a struggle!"

_____

The entire chat group was filled with sorrow and frustration, as players shared their painful experiences in the game.

It wasn't just the players in the chat group feeling this way. The same scenes played out across major forums and communities, where countless first-time players were lamenting their misfortunes.

For those who purchased Dark Souls: The Age of First Fire and dove straight in, the experience was anything but easy. Many, like Song Ren, were seasoned veterans of the Dark Souls series.

Before starting, confidence was high among these experienced players. After all, they were no strangers to the Dark Souls universe. Most had cleared the earlier games, not just once, but multiple times—on second, third, and even eighth walkthroughs.

These veterans saw themselves as accomplished fire passers, seasoned by countless trials. They had faced and defeated formidable foes like the Nameless King, the Soul of Cinder, and the Abyss Watchers. For them, those challenges were now little more than faint memories.

Some even treated Dark Souls as a fashion game in their later runs, focusing on appearance rather than survival.

So when they heard about this prequel, they thought it would be a walk in the park.

But the moment they stepped into the game, it hit them—they were wrong. Terribly wrong.

Chen Xu, the developer, opted to retain the combat system from the previous games, tweaking only minor aspects to enhance fluidity. For instance, the undead no longer had to stand still to drink an Estus.

But familiar combat didn't make the game any easier. After all, the hallmark of Dark Souls lies in its simplicity paired with relentless difficulty.

The combat system is straightforward: normal attacks, heavy attacks that rarely find utility, and combat skills that shine in select situations. Players rely on basic mechanics like parries, shield counters, and rolls to survive.

Yet, what truly elevates the difficulty is the intricate design of monsters and bosses. Each enemy comes with unique attack patterns that demand precise timing and strategy.

In The Age of First Fire, the brand-new monsters and bosses pushed even experienced players to their limits. Without prior knowledge of attack patterns or strategies, survival often felt impossible.

And then there was the map.

The true masterpiece of Dark Souls I aren't its combat, boss design, or even its plot—though none of these elements are lacking. The crowning achievement is the world design, which casts a shadow over everything else.

The level map design is truly remarkable. It is filled with puzzle elements, and traps are scattered everywhere. The entire map is a massive, intricately connected whole, divided into a three-dimensional, multi-layered structure. The relationships between the scenes resemble a Möbius strip.

At the heart lies the Fire link Shrine, extending outward in all directions towards many maps. This positioning necessitates setting the bonfire to go to the king's city first, there to obtain the king's weapon, and only then one can enable teleportation to each bonfire.

This design choice preserves the intricacies of the game map and the elegance of its arrangement. Allowing players to teleport freely between maps would diminish the experience of exploring these subtleties.

Unlike Soul III, which features a relatively linear map, Soul I offer a vastly different experience. Without teleportation, players in Soul III would spend significant time traveling between locations. In contrast, Soul I's map is filled with shortcuts that connect various places conveniently. Teleportation becomes available only after obtaining the king's weapon, which adds a rewarding milestone for players.

However, many players have yet to fully appreciate the intricate design of the map. For now, the most reaction is often, "Who am I? Where am I?"

On the release day, progress among players varied widely. The fastest individuals, aided by Sun Knight Solaire of Astora, managed to defeat the gargoyle and tolled the first bell. Skilled players reached this milestone quickly, while others, particularly beginners, found themselves warmly welcomed by the enthusiastic villagers in the undead town outside the city.

The brilliance of Soul I lie in its unique balance of challenge, exploration, and discovery—elements that keep players engaged in its meticulously crafted world.

So far, the fastest batch of progress, almost with the help of Sun Knight Solaire of Astora, defeated the first gargoyle and sounded the first bell.

Of course, these are players with relatively strong skills, while many are still camping in undead berg outside the city.