Daniel (@dungeondive) closes out Blighttown in this instalment of A Normal Guy Plays Dark Souls, and it is a full one: Chaos Witch Quelaag, the second Bell of Awakening, a scripted boss death, and a homecoming.
Quelaag falls solo, without summoning Maneater Mildred to inflate her health pool, once he remembers the trick: stand in her face while she swings the sword, run when the spider head rears up for the lava burst. He rings the bell, recalling the run where he forgot to, walked all the way to Sen’s Fortress and found the gate still shut, then rolls through an illusory wall to meet Quelaag’s dying sister, whose covenant bonfire he leaves intact for the fast travel it will later provide.
Then the Demon Ruins, which he calls the worst part of the game: gorgeous to look at, plainly rushed, with Taurus and Capra demons recycled as ordinary enemies and one dull statue type filling Lost Izalith. Ceaseless Discharge, the boss with the most unfortunate name, dies to the run-back and a couple of hits on his hand. The climb out of Blighttown is where the episode gets honest: toxic dart snipers, a death to janky elevator geometry, a firekeeper soul retrieved from the dart room, and a normal guy getting properly lost. Then Firelink’s music, Estus to +3, level 40, 30 strength, and the Dragon Greatsword nearly within reach.
Daniel calls Demon Ruins and Lost Izalith the game’s one real disappointment. Is that a fair verdict, or does the recycled-boss gauntlet have its defenders?