Why I Can’t Play Souls-like Games

My greatest gaming shame — that I’m slowly getting over

Photo courtesy of FromSoftware.

This is probably my biggest video game shame. I can’t play Souls-like Games. It’s not that I don’t have the speed or the dexterity, or even that I don’t understand the complicated dance of combat. So what’s my damage?

Let’s start with some background: The first Souls-like I played was Dark Souls 3. My good friend Omar insisted that I try it, and I couldn’t think of a good reason not to. After all, I was aware of the pedestal that these games lived on. They were universally and critically praised by everyone. I’d been meaning to try and fit them into my gaming schedule, and I had a free night. I got my hands on a copy and started it up…

Dear readers: I hated it. Correction: I loathed it. I liked the general look and sound design, but the gameplay turned me off completely. I bounced off the first boss over and over again: I even resorted to reading a gameplay tutorial! It helped a little, but not by much. I grew frustrated and annoyed. Frustration violently morphed into anger. So I just moved on.

Photo courtsey of FromSoftware.

But that’s fine! Not all games are for all folks. You may love first person shooters, but hate Battle-Royale games. You can love Animal Crossing, but find games like Death Stranding or Red Dead Redemption 2 to slow (do those comparisons work?). That’s the beauty of gaming. There is always something else to play.

My Bloodborne Problem

But then we come to what I’ve coined as ‘My Bloodborne Problem’. I’m a horror writer. I love the Gothic, the Lovecraftian, the grotesque. Bloodborne should be 1000% my bag. But every time I fire it up and play through the first area, I realize how little fun I’m having. There is so much to love in Bloodborne. But I just don’t think I can get there. I even borrowed Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice just to give it the old college try. I beat the first boss and got quickly annoyed at what lay after.

So there it is. I can’t play Souls-like games. Every fiber of my being craves the worlds and atmosphere, but the minute to minute gameplay is just not what I’m looking for. I’ll likely try again with Bloodborne 2 (stupid Bloodborne Problem) but I don’t have a lot of hope.