Dark Souls II–Son of A…

The first time you die in Dark Souls II, you unlock an achievement/trophy called “Welcome to Dark Souls.” I got a good chuckle out of that, because of course it’s a nod to the fact that in the Souls series, you die–a lot. For me though, the moment when I achieve the true Souls experience is the first time I want to quit in frustration. That moment happened to me today, at roughly my 60-hour mark into the game, when I face the boss called The Rotten.

The Rotten is a pretty much a giant corpse golem, who attacks you with a giant meat cleaver in an arena filled with burning pools of oil. He’s slow, but extremely powerful, and all it takes is one good swing of that meat cleaver to take me out.

I have died trying to beat this boss three times now, and that’s including when I’ve summoned in help. But what turned my frustration into controller-throwing rage was the way I’ve died the past two times. On each occasion, I had The Rotten down to a last sliver of health, and I’ve died before being able to land the killing blow. I’ve never been so close to beating a boss twice in a row, only to die both times.

I’m actually writing this as I take a break, because I had to walk away from the game. I’ll be diving back in momentarily, but I had to mark this occasion, as it’s the moment in Dark Souls II where the game became a true Souls experience for me.