Dark Souls 3

[Gravoth_iii]

I ended up summoning a phantom to find it, because I thought the first one I extinguished was the first one coming from the first bonfire. Turned out that I passed it and then found the second one first. Third one I found on accident, while rolling out of the way and through those crosses.
I don't like the area, especially how it flows. ___H___. They basically put a tower in the middle and then a few islands and that's it. Not impressed.

Im surprised it could be missed, i had a really easy time navigating the swamp in general. Try the demons souls swamp if you want some contrast.
I sort of like the area, the Faun monsters are really cool. Extinguishing the fires is pretty basic but at least it adds somewhat of an objective. Theres the massive bridge above, i was looking up and hoping you could get there, and you did from the middle tower so that was sweet.

[Oberyn]

The swamp is by far the least enjoyable area, filled with annoying gimmicks like nonstop poisoning and movement penalty while being hounded by groups of enemies, but that's also practically a Dark Souls tradition. You see a swamp type area, you know you're gonna have a bad time.
Seeing some let's plays the best way to approach exploration in that area is to make sure you have a dagger with quickstep as its skill, deals with the movement penalty pretty well.

[Armpit_Sweat]

Swamp was a nightmare for my first char, and I ended up summoning a "guide" to help me through, my second run was much easier, as I stacked up on moss and knew about the three lights. But yes, swamps are hellish in all of DS games - never wanted to stay there more than needed there is never any PvP in there either, as well as very few willing to help / be summoned.
Cathedral is probably my favorite area so far, both because of level art/design and good PvP activity. That whole Anor area is fine too - lots of space, places to ambush, and the enemies are not as annoying as in many later levels.

[Overdriven]

The swamp is by far the least enjoyable area, filled with annoying gimmicks like nonstop poisoning and movement penalty while being hounded by groups of enemies, but that's also practically a Dark Souls tradition. You see a swamp type area, you know you're gonna have a bad time.
Seeing some let's plays the best way to approach exploration in that area is to make sure you have a dagger with quickstep as its skill, deals with the movement penalty pretty well.

That and pretty much carry fuck all souls as you know you are going to die at some point. Dagger method makes that area 10x easier though. Used it on my second playthrough.

First playthrough I just went naked and ran through each section picking everything up and rushing the fires to put them out as you can't be attacked whilst you activate them.

[Falka]

Lore, finding secrets, dealing with traps and ambushes, dealing with risk, rewards and progression. The true quality of this franchise is not the combat system itself but in level design. A huge majority of the difficulties that most players trip on are not resolved through a better mastery of the combat system but rather by approaching each problem in the correct way, which depends on your knowledge of the game universe, not really of its combat mechanics.

This risk, rewards and progression part didn't quite work I think. Didn't really feel a pressure to get back to lost souls. Partially because I couldn't be bothered to travel to shrine to level up anyway (why you can not lvl up at bonfires...). Partially because game wasn't that challanging, at least since I gave up on being honourable, took a bow and found out a few simple tactics against mobs. In DS1 wasn't able to kill a lot of bosses without some tips from online guides, here so far killed all bosses without any help (apart from this huge cursed tree, but it's optional I think). The fact that the game encourages silly ways of killing bosses is bad design btw.

PS. "transforms you into a genuine explorer". Most of the time didn't feel that way. So yeah, probably I have bought wrong game. But I really wanted to like this game. It has medieval settings, melee combat, variation of items and builds, all things I like in games. But it just doesn't click for me.

But the chimneys clearly showed the locations, with some vantage points to get clear views on them.

Tbh didn't think about getting at high point to look around and from the ground coudn't find the last light. It was awful anyway.

[Banok]

actually the farron keep area was designed for people to spam "may the flames guide ye" messages until people took them literally.

I mean I didn;t realise it until it was pointed out to me, but if you follow the fires it really does takes you on a straight path of where you need to go.

but yeah I agree its an anoying area but they are kinda of souls staple by now, got nothin on blightown imo.

[Golem]

actually the farron keep area was designed for people to spam "may the flames guide ye" messages until people took them literally.

I mean I didn;t realise it until it was pointed out to me, but if you follow the fires it really does takes you on a straight path of where you need to go.

but yeah I agree its an anoying area but they are kinda of souls staple by now, got nothin on blightown imo.

It was called the catacombs, yet it was the size of a small basement. Also, that skel-rolling stone was lame, I thought it would follow you everywhere, once you activated the shortcut or something. Well, not everywhere since the area was small, but if it was bigger then it could be cool for it to switch paths like in Sen's.

[Overdriven]

Irithyll Dungeons are the worst area in my opinion. Like 1 bonfire and you just have to steadily open up the shortcuts to make it easier. It's such a grind and an uninteresting area to boot.

[Banok]

Irithyll Dungeons are the worst area in my opinion. Like 1 bonfire and you just have to steadily open up the shortcuts to make it easier. It's such a grind and an uninteresting area to boot.

its a homage to jail area in demon souls I think, which was even worse :S

[Gravoth_iii]

Irithyll Dungeons are the worst area in my opinion. Like 1 bonfire and you just have to steadily open up the shortcuts to make it easier. It's such a grind and an uninteresting area to boot.

I thought it was one of the better areas, because its linked together so well, shortcuts are all basically leading back to the bonfire. The enemies were fun too, and the design as a homage to demons souls was sick, because everyone loves tower of latria.

[Overdriven]

I thought it was one of the better areas, because its linked together so well, shortcuts are all basically leading back to the bonfire. The enemies were fun too, and the design as a homage to demons souls was sick, because everyone loves tower of latria.

Meh I didn't like the guys with the iron brands. Not particularly hard to kill but the fact they suck your health just makes the area take so much longer.

Especially in that room with like 10 of them.

[Gravoth_iii]

Meh I didn't like the guys with the iron brands. Not particularly hard to kill but the fact they suck your health just makes the area take so much longer.

Especially in that room with like 10 of them.

Hehehe, i liked em, such a scummy design. Got triggered a couple of times when they branded me and kept sucking me down to 5% hp.

[Vexus]

Just like the first time a mimic ate you.

Scummy but afterwards made you scared from opening a chest without hitting it.

[Kafein]

Just like the first time a mimic ate you.

Scummy but afterwards made you scared from opening a chest without hitting it.

Mimic spoiler ahead (not a mimic location)

(click to show/hide)

You can see mimic chests breathing.

because everyone loves tower of latria.

This. The dungeon area is a nostalgia trip to Prison of Hope for me, and if anything Latria was harder because the illithid dudes are fucking bitches. The reduced MAX HP mechanic is sort of similar to the frenzy thing in Bloodborne in that its most notable appearance is in line of sight attacks. What I like about it is that it breaks the rules that the game sort of comfortably set up for you until that point. Much like the poison areas do.

Besides, from a pure design perspective, the dungeon is a well thought-out place in the Demon's Souls tradition of offering one bonfire and many shortcuts (the Cathedral does this ridiculously well), that I personally vastly prefer over the DS2 "bonfires everywhere" approach.

[Overdriven]

Mimic spoiler ahead (not a mimic location)

(click to show/hide)

You can see mimic chests breathing.

Pssht there's a much easier way to tell.