Even the aforementioned Guardian Knight was a fun and challenging fight.

I particularly enjoyed fighting Azikel, the God of Light and Eos, the God of Unity. Some fights however worked really well, and felt very intense. In a game already trying to partially copy something else, having the attacks I faced not be unique seemed like a step too far. As a veteran Souls player it is definitely nice to be able to notice these references, though I do think that designing some of the attacks and cadence of the bosses based on the fights that inspired them was a mistake. Many of the bosses were clearly inspired by those faced in Souls games, such as the Guardian Knight, inspired by the Tower Knight in DemonвЂ™s Souls. You wonвЂ™t have the same variety you do in a game that has you fighting weaker enemies and a boss at the end of each level or section, so the fights you do have need to be very well designed and executed.Д®ldest Souls has a total of eight boss fights across nine bosses (one fight is two back-to-back), and while I wouldnвЂ™t say theyвЂ™re all poorly designed, some are very clearly better than others. Game development isnвЂ™t easy to begin with, and though I know nothing about it, a part of me figures a boss rush game is a special kind of challenge. This opening image of you on a lone boat approaching the beginning of your journey works very well to set up the mystery of the narrative and the world ahead. It was in those moments that I truly found myself enjoying the game the most, intrigued by the lore of the world and trying to fit the narrative together. Overall, the setting and visual design of Eldest Souls is a welcome relief from the intense boss battles, since I thankfully didnвЂ™t have to worry about any enemies on my way back to the boss each time I died. The NPCвЂ™s you meet are also wonderful additions to the world, further grounding the setting and also bringing some of the classic Souls NPC quirkiness into the mix. Your charactersвЂ™ slow pace isnвЂ™t at all welcome in combat, but calmly walking through the desolated Citadel, discovering hordes of citizens frozen in place, or finding soldiers scattered and bloody across an abandoned battlefield made everything around me sink in to greater effect. It felt familiar and totally new at the same time, which is exactly how I want to feel when IвЂ™m playing something inspired by another game or franchise I love. Exploring the world in between the boss fights was always intriguing, and felt very Soulslike as the environmental storytelling is well executed. Lastly, the player will encounter The Rotten Crown, the selfish King Otto who would sacrifice anything for his kingdom's salvation.The pixel art on display in the world of Eldest Souls is one of my favourite aspects of this game. A fierce warrior whose abilities matched those of the gods, he was eventually imprisoned in the depths for believing he was above the gods themselves. Zylad, Lord of Steel, is the second boss players will encounter. However, instead of being killed, she was locked away in the depths for the rest of her existence. She is the result of an attempt to mix human and god genes together, a failed experiment that created a monster. The Rejected Daughter is the first boss the player will encounter in the depths. They will be greeted by three new bosses and a new NPC, and they'll come across some never-before-seen weapons.

The door behind the enchanted forest is now open, and the player can use the elevator found within to take them to the Depths of the Forgotten. Like the expansions found in Dark Souls, it does not occur after the ending, nor does it affect the ending - instead, it's a side story that adds to the game's lore. Released on May 2, Depths of the Forgotten offers more to the story of Eldest Souls.

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