There isnt any game that will make me feel as connected to my character as much as the Soulsborne Series has. But specifically, Dark souls 1-3.

Now dont let my play time decieve you, ive easily played this 3-4x more than the playtime suggests (I also own it on PS4)
As such is has a special place in my heart, it might not be the best game the bosses not as hard as some but i made a character and that character i have never had a better representation of my self in any game and ill explain why.

In August 2012 i bought a copy of Dark Souls "Prepare to die" Edition. i was going through a hump and honestly retreated further back into video games than i did previously, I remember putting the game on my PC and dealing with the buggy Microsoft Windows Platform but i kept going, I made my character look like me like i always do after the back tingling sensation the opening cut scene gave me. The witches of izalith with thier chaotic flame, Gwyn smiting the dragons, Nito moving with his wrathful stance.

And the Pygmy, With his Dark Soul. Sharing it with others. Humanity.

From that moment i knew i was in for a hell of a good time. I was wrong obviously dark souls stomped me into the ground but eventually i got the hang of it, Buggy controls or not i had fun, Not just playing the game but reading desciptions of items trying to scrounge up what the lore ment and filling in the gaps that i missed. I wanted more and more, the story was great even if it wasnt offered up straight to you and you had to look for it, and i think thats probably why it was great.

Miyazaki once said in an interview that he made dark souls in a similar way to what he experienced as a child, Growing up he had a lot of time alone and he spent it reading, He loved it but his favorite books were those about the knight who goes on daring quests to save a princess or slay a dragon and find treasure, However these books were in english and so he didnt understand them completely, a lot of the information was missing and he filled in the blanks with his day dreams of how HE wanted the story to go. imagining the hardships the knight must have gone through to get to where he was, and he couldnt have done it in a better way than what he did with dark souls, He made a community of people who feverishly try to fill in the blanks of the story even so complex that it makes your head spin.

Then there was Dark Souls 2. I continued the fantasy and made my character look like me again, Making it a continuation of my characters story -

SPOILERS

In dark souls 1 i chose to not light the flame and walked out to start the age of men, its my favorite ending and if i have the option its the one i always take so to me the story of drangleic was someone else managed to get through and continue the age of fire while i went off and disappeared for an undisclosed amount of time with a dope hat and a ton of souls

To be fair Dark souls 2's story was lacking more than everyone expected but it was still a great game, the controls were more optimized so the game itself didnt seem as hard and the opening cutscene was great, i got goosebumps when the old firekeeper said "And like a moth to the flame your wings will burn in anguish, Time and Time again" and that was very true to the game we kept going for more even though you would get that angry sensation to just put it down and not pick it up. but you always do.

Then theres Dark Souls 3. To me the true Dark Souls 2 is the third, a perfect continuation of the story from the first, probably due to Miyazaki having more influence on this game and not being distracted with a different project (Bloodborne if i recall) and it continued the story for me perfectly, from beginning to end Dark Souls 3 has made me feel like a bad ass, I always ALWAYS start Deprived (recommend it to everyone even if you're just starting) because i enjoy the feeling of starting from scratch and tearing my way through challenges to distract me from my challenges in life, i enjoy the struggle and Dark souls 3 Gave me a good fight but like every challenge its there to be completed. and with the release of The Ringed City and Dark Souls 3 : The Fire Fades Edition the series will sadly be put to rest and to me it will go down in my history as the game that pulled me through depression because even though its hard when i felt like i couldnt accomplish anything in my life the Dark Souls franchise showed me that if i kept trying eventually i could pull through.

SPOILERS

As im writing this im sitting in the Ariandel Chapel, I just finished collecting everything from The Ringed City, I killed Dark Eater Midir After a struggle and i gave the Blood of the Dark Soul to the Painting Girl. She is naming the Painted world after me in this burning chapel of forlorn souls. the final road in my journey through Dark souls. I have slain Demons and Dragons and Men. I Conquered Gods and Giants. And ive arisen from the ashes to Usurp the flame a final time. And now it all burns away. The age of Fire might fade. But the age of men begins in a cold dark and gentle place.

Thank you Miyazaki And FromSoftware as a whole. For this trilogy, For the DLC. For the adventures and the times i spent jolly co-operating. For helping me pull through. For the Fantasy of Struggle. Thank you.

Thank you for the attention this review has gotten, i also editted it a bit so the Spoilers wouldnt be visible unless you hovered over them im sorry to the people who read them before i decided to use my brain and format it properly.