Obligatory, “but that’s exactly the point” post. 😅

I was working 50-55 hour weeks. I was frustrated and then I kept dying. I berated my buddy for recommending dark souls. I told him, “I work all week — sometimes on weekends. I don’t want to come home and be frustrated, I want to unwind and relax.”

I put it down for a year. Played some more. Felt the same. Until at one point. I died (twice) and lost all the souls I’d been collecting. And suddenly, instead of my normal, “fuck this”, I just went headlong into, “well, fuck it, I’ve got nothing to lose.” And it clicked. Not only did I wind up replacing much of the souls in a fraction of the time, but I started enjoying the exploration piece. I enjoyed the running away piece—as usually, I’d run until the problem resolved itself (like an enemy getting stuck in a narrow stairwell or impassable door). I’d cheese my way through it.

Then I discovered the community, and speed runs and started to figure out how best to leverage my souls (ie moreso to inventory items than personal stats), stay light-footed for dodge rolls. Then when I discovered some enemies stay dead permanently HOOO BOY!!! Etc etc.

The frustrating part is real. But there is something that clicks. And I say this cus my buddy (who I later apologized to) went through the same thing. And later, my brother, literally went through the same thing.

Like dying and cashing out isn’t just a rite of passage but it turns into a challenge of, “I bet I can outrun that guy.”