I never beat Dark Souls. I like it, I respect it in the same way I respect tigers and other things I fear, but I know my limits. Unlike some quitters, I try my best to finish the games I start, but I reached that maddening Ornstein & Smough boss fight, got my ass handed to me a few dozen times, quit the game, and I haven’t played it since.
That’s why a Dark Souls player who goes by the online handle Lobo Jr, who’s currently trying to beat the game upside down, is so impressive—and personally shaming to me.
Videos by VICE
To be clear, he isn’t sitting upside down on the couch, blood slowly filling his head, though that would be an interesting challenge too. He’s using a mod to flip the image on the screen, which makes the game incredibly confusing not only visually, but especially in movement controls, which Lobo Jr has to flip in his head.
I can’t beat Ornstein & Smough at all, and here, at the 1:16:40 mark, Lobo Jr beats them upside down, on his second attempt. Goddamit.
There’s a whole community of crazy people dedicated players who are making Dark Souls much more challenging, as if it wasn’t hard enough as it is. Beyond your typical speedruns, there’s a player named Berazly who’s played the game with a Guitar Hero guitar and Donkey Kong bongos. Lobo Jr even previously played the game blindfolded (!).
All these stunt playthroughs are worth checking out if you want to feel really inadequate.
