Chapter 462: No Time to Explain! Kindle the Flame!!! |
“I w-what the... huh?
Is this... phase two?
‘No... what the hell... wait... this...?
This is the stage one BOSS?’
What the hell is that thing?
I can't even...
“It just flipped the entire arena?!’
Is this even human? I'm literally stunned...
This is... absurd...
Outrageous!
Until the streamer collapsed, the viewers still found it hard to believe what they had just seen!
No doubt about it!
Gudda’s boss design not only far exceeded players’ expectations for a boss, it was, for the entire industry, a textbook-level first boss!
Because under normal logic!
A boss in a game should have its own unique style and signature traits.
Those unique traits are usually singular,
but Gudda was different.
In phase one, his image was fierce and righteous.
Even as a boss, every move carried tremendous weight, precise and deliberate.
Whether swinging, charging, throwing, or stomping, everything felt like a heavily armored medieval general—unyielding, fearless, awe-inspiring.
But in phase two, with the emergence of human pus,
Gudda’s entire behavioral logic twisted into something warped!
Not only did his desire to attack intensify, his attack motions and methods became ferociously distorted!
And!
This distortion still originated from the behavioral logic of phase one!
Take the “swing” for example—
In phase one, Gudda would heft his great axe, take a heavy forward step and execute a powerful sweeping strike, then pause briefly before retracting the axe for a second sweep.
Heavy, forceful! Brutally fierce!
But in phase two, human pus controls the great axe.
The forward sweeping motion remains, but now, under the pus’s control, the axe lashes out at blistering speed and, after the sweep, immediately shifts into a three-strike frenzy of hacking chops!
Mad, reckless brutality! A chilling malevolence!
Same move! Different effect!
The cleverness of that design makes you want to applaud!
Most crucially!
Such a boss design, combined with Golden Wind’s physical destruction and Phoenix’s technical visual support!
.....
“Too terrifying....”
Heart rate 135!
Octane hadn’t felt his pulse race like this in a long time!
The pressure was maxed out!
Even after rising to his feet, the lingering force hadn’t dissipated, causing a slight tremor he couldn’t suppress!
And right now!
Octane’s livestream chat had already exploded—
‘Big tip—crab!!!’
Too insane! This boss design deserved to go down in history!?
“Brilliant! Just watching gives me goosebumps! I can’t imagine how intense the real experience must be! I have to try it later!”
'Sam never disappoints! He could have just kept milking Sekiro 2 for easy money, but he didn’t!’
From the look of it, Sekiro seems more like a trial run for this type of game.
Right, right! I feel the same! Dark Souls is the true expression of what Sam envisions for this genre!’
“Maybe 'wolf' was just a temporary name; games like this should be called Soul-like.”
No wonder GW was invited as the main guest. This game exceeded imagination."
A perfect marriage of imagination and technical skill, pure madness...
......
Magnificent and bizarre!
Just like the chat said!
With near-perfect technical alignment, Gu Sheng’s Dark Souls, a project he’d yearned for four full years, delivered an unparalleled feast for fans of the Soul-like genre!
And such a shocking, even terrifying boss!
Besides shocking and frightening players, it stoked them even more!
God knows how insane the sense of accomplishment would be for beating such a boss!
I admit it! You're strong!
But soon, I'll be stronger than you!
This is the creed of Soul-like players!
Countless rises.
Countless falls.
Failure, retry.
Fail again, retry!
Failure after failure yields experience after experience!
Although in repeated fights players still trembled, terrified of Gudda’s great axe and the horrific human pus serpent,
after all, its performance effects were unprecedentedly perfect.
But!
Players’ fighting spirit never died!
"...Smash down! Roll!!!"
Boom!
Dust rose in clouds!
Octane launched into a roll.
He had lost count of how many attempts this was.
Now he could reliably predict most of phase-two Gudda’s attacks.
He nimbly dodged Gudda’s heavy stomp in phase two!
Octane didn’t stand up to steal the axe like last time; he rolled away without looking back!
And at the same time!
Slash—!!!
Gudda’s great axe stabbed through the air, missing by inches!
Now!!!
Hearing the great axe strike air, Octane knew he had firmly caught an opening!
Rolling up, Octane didn’t pause; he raised the chicken leg in his hand and swung it backhand at Gudda!
It’s obvious you were also controlled by that dark parasite, Unkindled Ash.
Although you’re stronger now, I still admire that phase-one you, so fierce and righteous in your strikes.
Thud!
Three consecutive hits, and Gudda’s health was already near zero!
Octane’s stamina bar had only a sliver left!
Opposite him, Gudda’s hand was already raised!
If that throw move grabbed him, with that tiny sliver of health he would be dead for sure!
In that lightning-fast instant!
Goodbye, Master Gudda!
Buzz—!!!
Step forward!
Octane’s chicken leg was still faster by a hair, smashing solidly into Gudda!
Stamina drained, Octane collapsed from exhaustion!
And the next second!
[ROAR—!!!]
Human pus twisted its body, its howl tearing into the sky!
A shockwave!
Gudda’s body fell to its knees.
Accompanied by a grand symphony, his body rapidly calcified, finally turning to a wisp of dust in the air.
Silence—
At the same time, Octane felt warmth spread through his body!
Huff—!!!
In his vision, a cluster of kindling-like fire effects flared up!
Like lit wood, his body transformed!
Under the skin, faint flowing crimson indicated the embers’ reignition!
Sparks drifted around his body,
Ember State unlocked!
Grayburst Conqueror Gudda—cleared!!!
The path of Kindling recognized his ability.
In the distance, a massive ring-shaped structure seemed to open its arms to him!
Whoosh—!!!
The livestream chat erupted into cheers!
Octane whooped loudly, screaming with exhilaration!
So good!
As said before!
In Soul-like games, boss difficulty is always proportional to player achievement!
The scarier the boss, the more explosive the sense of triumph after victory!
On that point, Dark Souls’ opening thunderclap of a boss design was enough to send players into ecstatic screams!
Indeed!
The motion design removed third-person perspective and convenient remote controls.
But what it brought was unrivaled immersion and that huge sense of accomplishment after conquering the challenge!
“No time to explain, brothers—!!!”
......
“Kindle the flame!!!”
With Pew’s rousing shout!
After absorbing the souls dropped by Master Gudda, he strode toward the nearby ringed structure with head held high!
Along the way were those gaunt, cloaked, skeletal-like monsters.
After clearing those trash mobs, Pew reached the huge ringed building.
Gothic in style, cathedral-like beauty, breathtaking.
It emitted an ancient, mysterious aura.
Before him was a door carved with ornate medieval reliefs.
The Unused One in Ember State placed a hand on the heavenly gate, then pushed forward hard!
Rumble—
The door opened.
[Bonfire Ritual Grounds]
A huge circular ritual ground surrounded by tiered steps, stacked like the seats of an opera house.
Opposite him were five massive pedestals.
Each pedestal held a throne of different shape; under the somber glow of wax candles they looked utterly enigmatic.
Notably, four of the five thrones were empty; only one held a gaunt, tiny old man whose proportions were wholly mismatched with the throne.
Looking down, at the center of the ritual ground stood a girl with a mysterious metal eyepatch, white hair down to her waist, wearing a black robe, standing beside a circle of extinguished kindling.
The lighting in the ritual ground was dim.
But because of that, it felt even more weathered and mysterious.
‘My god—this art is perfect—’
The instant the door opened, Pew’s livestream chat burst into exclamations—
“I finally understand why GW partnered with Phoenix for tech...
Indeed, Golden Engine’s scene shaping plus Phoenix’s visual detail is astounding!”
This ruined grandeur gives you goosebumps.
“It even feels like the end of an era.”
No doubt, Golden Wind’s art is indispensable to the game’s success.
Come on, this Dark Souls was made by Steel Chain Fingers studio, Sekiro’s original team, of course they can craft this era-spanning atmosphere like second nature.
This feeling is amazing..
“You can even feel the chilly stillness in the air?”
Nonstop shock, this game is terrifying...
And while viewers discussed the Bonfire Ritual Grounds!
Suddenly, the girl at the center—with the mysterious metal eyepatch, waist-length white hair, and black robe—seemed to sense the bonfire-kindler’s arrival, and softly spoke.
Her gentle, delicate, ethereal voice slowly echoed across the vast ritual ground:
"Welcome to the campfire, Grayburst Lord....
"I am the Fireguard Maiden, tasked with tending the bonfire and serving you..."