I'll start off by stating the most obvious of obvious - video games are not substitutes for medical advice. If you're feeling like this, talk to your doctor!

Second, yes, this video does talk about suicide, in a pretty matter-of-fact way (although sparing any gory details) - if you find that uncomfortable, please feel free to turn the video off. Last thing I want to do is cause any hurt to people. This video's message is ultimately meant to be very positive (at least from my perspective).

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Patreon:   / writingongames  

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It's a new year, so what better way to start than by immediately talking about my brushes with severe mental illness! In this slightly different, far more personal episode of Writing On Games, I attempt to break down how From Software's Dark Souls helped me get to grips and cope with my struggles regarding major depression and suicidal tendencies - analysing how every element of the game's design, from the difficulty, to the world, to the combat, all contribute to subverting the expectation that Dark Souls wallows in death and sadism. In fact, I go as far as to argue that Dark Souls is a celebration of life, and how this had a very positive impact on me as an individual.

Footage borrowed from Bandai Namco, Boss Battle Database and Co-Optimus. Thank you very much for this - I don't yet have the means to capture my own gameplay, and so I hope you understand how grateful I am that you produce videos of such high quality that I'm able to use them in these videos. All footage is credited to the people who created/own it.

If you like the video, if you'd consider hitting subscribe you'd really be helping the channel to grow, and if you think someone else might appreciate the content then please feel free to share the video with them! Thank you so much!