I’ll give my example and I think I’m going to get a lot of hate for it. I DESPISE Dark Souls 3. It is such a mediocre game when it comes to the actual gameplay. There is like zero build diversity, the combat isn’t indepth and, while the other souls games have at least decent RPG mechanics and exploration can make things easier, DS3 just demands you rolly polly your way to victory. There is no weight to like anything, you feel so floaty and light, and you fold like a peice of paper when you get hit. And so many attacks don’t care about your positioning, and instead only if you mashed the dodge button at the correct time, something Elden Ring kind of does too, but it adds a jump button to retain some offense and I find that I’m able to out position bosses and enemies more often in it without actually dodging.
Dark Souls 3 is such a mindnumbingly boring game for me, I feel zero excitement playing it.
Love DS1, DS2, Bloodborne and Elden Ring though, great games all around.
And the music for DS3 is amazing and I do love the Pontiff Sullivan fight.
OMG, I just watched a streamer do an all bosses runs of DS3 yesterday and was reminded of how much I dislike that game. I played Demon Souls and DS1 right before it(also ER), and found my prefered build(magic) heavily nerfed to the point of having to min max my most mana efficient spells to even get through areas.
Also watching the playthrough I was reminded how there is not a single area in that game I looked at fondly or found beautiful or enjoyable to be in. I understand why thematically, but everything is so dead and drab and lifeless compared to even DS1 which has plenty of lush green areas or bold alien crystal caverns. It really feels like DS3 wants you to hate your time with the game, throwing enemies in locations that are as infuriating as possible for no reason(dlc is even worse about this somehow). The runs to get back to bosses are also infuriating and such a time waste(I am so glad Elden Ring mostly removed these)
Now I want to try DS2 to see if I actually like or dislike it more than DS3. Overall, it just feels like DS3 wants to make you suffer with no payoff or reason, just because its “hardcore” or “edgy” and in 2025 I don’t really care for that mindset anymore.