MDCryptid

Just… wow. I have been playing “soulsborne” games since Demon’s souls which I had to sneak because I wasn't allowed to play “M” rated games at the time. I had just seen an advertisement for Dark Souls 1 in my game informer magazine subscription and I thought “this is my dream game”. When it came out, I was around 13-14 years old, and it was one of those rare moments that the game blew my biggest expectations out of the water. It was a truly magical experience. It is still my favorite game ever. I have played every single game Miyazaki has released since then at least 10 times each. Yet, when I searched for a “souls-like” to quench my thirst for more… they all paled in comparison. Yes, this included Lies of P! It was good, the closest, but I didn’t love it. I don’t know why, but I saw it had this DLC called “Overture” and I thought, “well if this is like Fromsoft DLC’s in that they learn from the base game and improve; well this might go from good to great.” I was wrong. It went from good to one of the best gaming experiences I’ve had, period. It rivalsthe best of Fromsoft, and as a die hard, long-term fan, that really is saying a lot. This may be heresy, but they out did the From Soft “Learn from base game and improve” DLC formula. It’s so good that improves the base game experience by a lot, despite it not changing. So why am I saying all this? — First, the “tie-in” lore. It’s similar in concept to Artorias of the Abyss, except it takes that idea and quintuples down on it. The puzzle pieces are complex, yet come together beautifully. Beautifully, epically, horrifyingly, and heartbreakingly. It gives you just enough to really piece it together, yet leaves room for community led discoveries, deeper and more complex lore similar to what you’d find in a fromsoft game. So you get both, an incredible, fleshed out story that goes into the base game in countless and substantial ways, and also deeper mysteries for videos to explore, for forum groups to chat about. — The environments are stunning, Full of character, wonder, beauty and horror.. This was the biggest improvement in my opinion,a sprawling city that once flourished, a crown jewel of engineering, the results of man and machine creating a brighter future. Now fallen into a blood soaked echo of its former self. The beauty of the city often makes it more impactful when it’s piled with corpses. — I’m running out of time to write this, but the bosses again are up there with the absolute peak of Fromsoft bosses. One of them, in my opinion surpasses all else. This boss is so terrifying, so hate-able (in a good way, he’s a villain), so well designed, it’s shocking. The build up to him really makes you scared to fight him, in a city of horrors he stands far above the rest. Then you do fight him, not only is it the best co-op fight, it’s the best difficulty to fairness ratio fight I’ve experienced. You have to try both solo and co-op, he’s harder than melania or consort to me (solo) yet I never felt he was cheap (looking at you waterfell). I could go on and on; the weapons, the quests, the enemies and more. Almost importantly though., is this dlc really brought back that feeling of magic I rarely get playing games as I age.