I'll share my favorite memory from my first time through Dark Souls.
I had just beaten the Capra Demon and was heading into Blighttown for the very first time. Standing on the bridge high above the poisonous water, I waded through the fire dogs and the marsh giants. I had 3 estus flask left when all was said and done, and I set the controller down for a moment to get up (I don't remember why) because I thought I had dealt with all of the threats in the area.
When I came back, sure enough, I had been hit by the toxic dart guys enough to have my health ticking down. I was at about a quarter life and I had no idea where anything was. After topping off my health, I started ignoring enemies and just making a mad dash for a bonfire I hoped to find. I saw a note on the ground which said a bonfire was near, so with about 4 enemies chasing me I ran around the bog floor, trying to find the supposed bonfire.When the bog poisoned me I gave up - I decided to take the elevator in the corner, hoping the bonfire was up there.
I had killed a couple of sets of the pesky bugs at that point, but I didn't know they would respawn continuously. As a melee character they were quite annoying to deal with, and now that the toxicity had taken me down to my final health bar with no estus left, they were going to be a major problem when combined with the poison. While my health was ticking down, I got a surprise from behind while I was riding the elevator to the top level. The bug knocked me off with its attack, fortunately for me just onto the level below and not all the way down. I quickly realized I couldn't deal with them on such narrow platforms with absolutely no spare health, so I dodged their attacks while on the tiny elevator platform.
Ignoring the other fire breathing bugs on the way up, I made it to the top level. At this point I was at about 60% hp with poison damage still ticking. I saw the long tunnel leading to the Valley of the Drakes, and decided to run for it. Running past the marsh giants, across the bridge, into the locked gate, up to the New Londo Ruins (an area I had never visited). I saw the guys hitting their heads on the wall and assumed they were hostile, sprinted past them as well, and finally found the elevator. I was at 20% hp at this point, no estus, carrying all of the souls I had gotten from the Capra Demon and many enemies in Blighttown. The poison had worn off, so I was just hoping the elevator would take me somewhere...anywhere friendly.
At the top of the elevator, after running up the stairs outside, I found myself in the Firelink Shrine. The sense of relief I felt at that moment is something that a video game had never done for me before and hasn't since. I was so invested in that moment that I let out an audible sigh of relief. I sat down at that bonfire, dumped all of my souls into strength (while I was using the drake sword as my main weapon... I was so naive), and continued on with my Dark Souls experience.
It's been about 2.5 years since I played that game, but I find myself thinking about it more often than any other. I'm so glad that many others have had similar experiences that will stick with them like this one will always stick with me, and I can't wait to have more with Dark Souls 2!
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