4. Dark Souls
The fanbase of Dark Souls/Demons Souls is fiercely loyal, condemning anyone who bad mouths either title as rat excrement and not worthy of breathing air. In light of this, we could probably say how Dark Souls proves gamers are unhinged without mentioning the details of the game at all, as any fan so madly in love with a product theyd threaten the life of those who dislike it is likely having tea with the Hatter on a regular basis. But, as I have another 100 words to fill, lets explore why these titles attract such a dedicated audience. Completing Dark Souls usually takes around 50-60 hours, yet thats only if you arent interested in exploring the hidden areas or collecting the rare armour/weapons, as doing that will likely get your playtime well past the 80 hour mark (as it did me). You may not see the issue with this, given that even games like the ever popular Skyrim can boast a similar life-consuming length, so let me enlighten you. Dark Souls has many sections that can only be completed by replaying them over and over again, with every attempt helping players understand a little more about their enemy, situation, and environment, until a strategy for success can finally be achieved. This can lead to players spending hours on the same two minute section, screaming at the television with rage, yet somehow unable to put the control down and walk away. During my own playthrough I got stuck on a boss called Sif, a giant wolf that holds a sword in its mouth and has one particular attack that could stun-lock my character and take down half its health. To get to a high enough level to beat Sif I had to travel to an area with 4 trolls that gave a fair amount of XP when killed and farm them. It took me around ten hours of farming to get to a high enough level. TEN HOURS! There was no fun involved, no enjoyment, just mechanical, determined psychopathy, going to and from the same checkpoint over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again, just so the same four enemies would respawn and I could get my precious XP. Those are not the actions of a sane man. Eventually I beat Sif, to my own great relief, and went on playing for forty more hours before completion. I even started a second playthrough, though thankfully it didnt last long, as once my eyes clocked the total time spent in game I was plunged into a deep sense of self-awareness and immediately turned off the game, never to be played again. Anyone willing to spent that much of their leisure time in gruelling irritation, mentally torturing themselves with a game less lenient than a German Headmistress, certainly cant be even the slightest bit hinged. I salute all you masochists out there who completed this game more than once, Hell those of you who platinumed it deserve a medal of solid Unobtanium. Now listen to the nice doctor, and get in the van.