"Oh my God,
Please help me,
Knee deep in the river,
Tryin' to get clean

He says wash your hands,
Get out the stains,
But you best believe
Boy, there's hell to pay

Yeah you best believe boy, there's hell to pay."

A bit of cosplay art, featuring my deerbro in the flagship armor set from Dark Souls, fighting an unknown assailant in Ash Lake. Could be an invader. Could be the hydra. Whatever it is, it's probably beating the shit out of him.

If ever the question was asked of me what game was my favorite of all time, I'd be unable to answer. Several possibilities might come up; I'd drift between Final Fantasy VII, Morrowind, maybe GTA IV or Pokemon, I'd measure the amount of time spent in each of them and decide I couldn't hold any above the rest.
But if ever the question was asked of me what singular game has affected me the most profoundly, has tempered some of the worst parts of myself, while being the most satisfying experience a game could offer in it's first run?
The first time I played through the first Dark Souls tops the list, hands down.
During the worst time of my life, this game was there not to comfort or offer me hope. It was there to kick my ass for being so stupid as to think I couldn't overcome the things life threw at me. When work and finances broke my spirits, when all of my money was lost to junkies that didn't know me and to a college that didn't want me, when I didn't have a single person to talk to in my life when I was feeling low--I went home, booted up Dark Souls, and broke my controller over the back of the next boss. I didn't ever summon, I played alone; I killed Gwyn without ever parrying, I beat back Ornstein and Smough with an equip set that could best be described as "piteous", and I saw more death screens fighting Artorias than any other single video game enemy I've ever encountered since I got my first Gameboy.
When it finally ended, I immediately hit New Game Plus and never looked back. By the time I'd scoured every inch of the game world, discovered every secret I could without a guide, and scraped every tragic piece of history from the game's bones, it was time to ship out to basic training. I spent my time in boot camp occupying my thoughts with only a few things: the movies I'd get to see when I got out, the debts I would be erasing with the money I earned, and what kind of character I would make in my next Dark Souls playthrough.
Fuck yeah.


Art by ©  akitamonster who is one of the most dedicated and talented people on this site. I mean just look at this.
Wow.