Soulsborne Let's Plays

June 8, 2019 5:42 PM

I would like to watch relatively thorough YouTube playthroughs of Dark Souls 2, Dark Souls 3, and Bloodborne, because I am an old and no longer have the patience or reflexes to get gud at these sorts of games, but think they're very cool aesthetically and from a game design standpoint. I would like to not hate the player, and my tolerance for bullshit is low.

I've never really watched any Let's Plays of any sort, and don't know how I would find someone I'd like to watch. I would like suggestions for playthroughs possessing at least one of the following characteristics, or the best combination thereof that you're aware of:

A) Minimal talking.
B) Cogent and engaging explanations/analysis of game mechanics and/or lore as part of the playthrough.
C) The closest thing the internet has to a playthrough by one or more of the McElroy brothers. People who are similarly charming and funny.
D) Female player(s).

I'm not interested in experiencing or supporting anyone expressing noticeable amounts of bigotry (sexism, racism, homo- or trans-phobia, otherwise making jokes that punch down).

To give you an idea of the sorts of people I don't hate, I don't watch Let's Plays, but I do like podcasts. Besides the McElroys, I also like the hosts of podcasts like Jordan Jesse Go!, Stop Podcasting Yourself, Still Buffering, Throwing Shade, Baby Geniuses, and the (defunct) Indoor Kids, and the various folks that have appeared on the Polygon YouTube channel since the milkshake duck left. The closest thing to a Let's Play I've enjoyed besides Polygon videos have been My Name Is Byf Destiny lore videos.

posted by Caduceus to Computers & Internet (5 answers total)

A blind playthrough with minimal talking, female player: 8 Bites.

A somewhat chatty but pleasant blind playthrough, male player: Christopher Odd. I find him funny and engaging, though pretty low key, much more so than the McElroys. Chris will read most notes, item descriptions, etc. His talking is mostly reaction to whatever's happening.

For a thorough playthrough PLUS detailed discussion of lore etc. I can only think of EpicNameBro, who was one of the guys who wrote the official guide and he has a lot of insight into the game, as he has actually met Hidetaka Miyazaki, the designed & president of FromSoftware. His playthrough was the first one I ever watched and while I don't find it as engaging upon rewatching, it's probably still a solid option.

Lore: it's cliche and they're not playthroughs, but for detailed discussion it's gotta be Vaati. He has a very soothing voice and he writes a nice script, good editing, interesting speculation etc.

There's also Jerk Sans Frontieres' Bloodborne Up Close series.
posted by automatic cabinet at 9:33 PM on June 8, 2019 [2 favorites]

I like Dan Floyd's Dark Souls blind LPs. He comes from a game design background and used to be involved on the Extra Credits youtube channel, and is generally a good guy from what I've seen. The LPs aren't 100% runs, and he's about averagely competent, but he goes through as much of the game as he can, and he edits out/fast-forwards through any tedious bits (mostly him fighting against bosses repeatedly or backtracking or whatever). He talks a fair bit, but he doesn't talk over story dialog/cutscenes, so you won't miss out on what's going on, and he's very into discovering and talking about the Dark Souls lore as he plays, even doing a lore retrospective at the end of each game. Only checkmark not checked is the female gamers part. Aside from a few episodes at the very beginning of his Dark Souls I game, he plays them alone.
posted by Aleyn at 11:40 PM on June 8, 2019 [1 favorite]

This is a great playthrough of dark souls 2 by a player who is hard to dislike. It's pretty long, though.
posted by Dumsnill at 4:49 AM on June 9, 2019 [1 favorite]

Genocyber's Bloodborne LP (SA thread, YouTube playlist).
posted by Bangaioh at 5:17 AM on June 9, 2019 [1 favorite]

Maybe take a look at Kay Plays (link to the first video in her Dark Souls run). She stepped into Dark Souls knowing nothing about it, but her playthroughs are interesting due to the way the she problem solves and thinks out loud. Knowing these games already, it was interesting to see the thought process as someone approaches them from scratch.

She eventually plays Dark Souls 2 and Dark Souls 3 with a similar approach.
posted by owls at 9:36 AM on June 9, 2019 [2 favorites]