I think - beside the DLC - the two things that are most hidden and most likely to be missed by a natural first playthrough are The Great Hollow and the Painted World of Ariamis, so feel free to look those up if you haven't found them after you're satisfied poking around on your own. But yeah as you've noticed the game is absolutely chock full of secrets.

Do make sure you get to the DLC too, it's got some great content, as well as the most fun bosses in DS1 - with one of them being an absolute icon. Still won't be very challenging compared to Elden Ring, but a step up from the base game.

For another indie game you might not have heard about Skald: Against the Black Priory was a surprise hit with me when I played it earlier this year. Cool story and world building, very concise and conscious of its budget limits so smaller in scope, probably a 16-20h game with no filler and no grinding. I liked it a lot, and it should play great on the Steam Deck too. Sort of a tribute to retro CRPGs but without the clunk of those old games. Combat was simple but fun, not overly complex. Beautiful pixel art, especially the splash screens.

I am way less high on Ghost of Tsushima than most people. I would never even consider a second playthrough. The game is way too long for what it is, which is essentially just a more polished garden variety Ubisoft open world game. There is not enough variety in it to sustain a what - 60h playthrough? The quest design isn't interesting or varied enough and most importantly: the writing isn't varied enough. You can't have 60 hours of dialogue delivered in only a stoic, dour monotone. 15 minutes of Kenji spread over a handful of moments isn't enough to break it up. Anyway, rant over.

Okay what else... Well, Blue Prince came out this year and is a contender for Indie of the Year - maybe even a potential Game of the Year nomination. I liked it a lot, a puzzle roguelite is an interesting concept and if you like note taking and screenshotting and escape room type puzzles you'll have a good time with I think.

Otherwise I won't be the first you see of this if you've been scouring these threads, but Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is almost a shoe-in for game of the year and the hype is most certainly deserved. Any gamer should do themselves a favour and experience it, not least to be able to participate in the zeitgeist.

I agree, but it's what usually gets dredged up when this topic resurfaces every now and then.

I'm glad you're having a blast with it, DS1 might still be my favourite From game even though I realise nostalgia plays a huge part of course.

Just a warning for when you get closer to the end: Dark Souls 1 has a ton of hidden content that you're extremely unlikely to find on your own. You might want to look some of it up, because it does in fact include the DLC. Yes that's right, From sold you a paid DLC and hid the entry to it in a way most people would never stumble upon on their own.

Oh, I haven't played PoE in about that long too, I think. I used to play the temporary Hardcore leagues back when it was new, but eventually the feature creep started to get to me. Which also meant that getting back into it later felt like such a daunting task I never did. And then by the time PoE2 came out last year I was kind of over the Diablo-style ARPGs

I gave up on the game after a few days since without a proper story, the grind got boring very quickly.

Yeah, I couldn't tell you what the story was either beyond being exiled on an island. I also have felt that in my older age I'm gravitating more towards medium-length games with a proper story that you can finish and put away, as opposed to the endless MMOs and grindy ARPGs I enjoyed in my youth.

They are one of the most frequent and active posters around here. Not surprised they have a million notifications.

It really felt like they were pressured into making it open world or something. I've said before that it's a really good, cinematic action game that is stapled to an average open world backdrop, and the two halves work more against eachother than they work together.

If you can stomach the ludonarrative dissonance and maintain your suspension of disbelief though it's a really good game at this point.

Few things are as satisfying as unlocking shortcuts during your first blind playthrough of Dark Souls. Kicking that ladder the first time, all those moments of "...wait this goes there?", climbing back up into Firelink from the depths of Blighttown, having your buddy tell you about The Great Hollow and having your mind blown... It's just a magical experience.

I get why people start with Elden Ring, but I wish more would just do DS1 first. If this is your first soulslike even the bosses will feel epic, but they really aren't much compared to what the later games offer. Even the DLC bosses aren't too bad, though one of them is truly iconic.

"So I think the sport, as we're now in the budget cap era, has moved on to where we're trying to have 10 independent teams from a sporting, from a political, from a technical point of view.

"I think they [Red Bull] are very much playing by the rules. I have an issue with the rules - and believe the FIA needs to address this."

I mean, I agree with Zak. It's a weird situation since I guess you can't legally force Red Bull to sell Racing Bulls, but them having two teams on the grid is really not a great look for the sport regardless of how you slice it, unless you think they deserve it for saving the Faenza operations.

I played F.E.A.R. just a few months ago and it's so good man. Holds up so well. Still looks great too. Are you using the EchoPatch? I found it to be just a super solid timeless FPS that can stand on its own purely based on gameplay. Apart from the bizarrely anemic assault rifle all the weapons are so satisfying to use, and the AI still feels surprisingly good even in 2025.

Also, make sure you play the first expansion Extraction Point, it's imo even better than the base game. Don't play the second expansion though.

Dark Souls 1 still holds a special place in my heart, but be warned that the bosses are going to feel very underwhelming after Elden Ring. It's a weird thing where the areas themselves are still fairly challenging even compared to ER - maybe even harder - but the bosses are much easier.

The level design of the first 2/3rds of DS1 is to this day the best level design From ever did, I think.

Is it your first soulslike? The first blind playthrough of Darks Souls 1 was a magical experience for me.