My old friend convinced me to start playing Dark Souls — since I’ve mentioned numerous times my love and fascination with the Zelda series. To be honest, I shot him down several times. Why would I start this new game on a console that I don’t even own? 

But my curiosity got the best of me, so I created an account on my friend’s PlayStation and started my Dark Souls journey. My first impression of the game: what the hell am I supposed to do? For someone who is completely new to the Souls Series, choosing your character class is extremely daunting. You have so many options — a knight, cleric, sorcerer or a wanderer, to name a few. What do these builds even mean? 

Thankfully, I had a friend who could give me a rundown of these options. But for those who are starting, the Dark Souls Wiki page is a great resource for you. 

As I progressed through the walkthrough, I quickly shifted from confusion to utterly fed up. Who the hell puts a boss at the beginning of the game? I honestly have to give credit to the creators for their effort in making this game difficult; they really exceeded my expectations. 

To break it down: You’re given minimal instruction from the game itself, you lose all your souls (the main currency in the game) if you die, and there’s almost always a surprise when you’re fighting the bosses. But on the flip side — that satisfaction when you overcome those obstacles is addicting. 

It’s that satisfaction that fueled my motivation to continue playing the game. Growing up, you’re taught to keep trying no matter how many times you’ve failed. Dark Souls really takes that saying and puts it to the test. You’re going to fail. A lot. You’re going to have 100,000 souls and lose them because you died. I won’t even go into detail about fighting Dragon Slayer Ornstein and Executioner Smough for the very first time. 

All you need to know is the frustration is real, and it’s valid. But that feeling when you beat that challenge, the euphoria, it’s so worth it. 

On top of that, the storyline of Dark Souls is so intriguing — there’s always a deeper meaning to each character. For example, Solaire’s storyline is so interesting since he’s one of the only characters who are optimistic and innocent — he’s on his journey to find his very own sun. And when you look over the numerous theories of who Solaire is and his purpose, it’s entertaining and intriguing. 

Since I started playing Dark Souls, I’ve tried to convince my other friends to start playing the game. I’m starting to understand why my old friend wanted me to play this game — it’s that insatiable desire for more. You don’t need to be a “gamer” to enjoy Dark Souls; you just need to have perseverance.