It's that far down, and so you feel more cut off than ever before as you plunge further in. Where did that dragon crawl up from in the cutscene back in the Depths? Well, there's the big room behind the bonfire at the bottom of Blighttown's swamps. Once you've defeated the Gaping Dragon in the Depths and acquired the key, you can go even further down into Blighttown which can be seen from Firelink Shrine itself below the cliff on the edge of the graveyard. It's especially evident in the aforementioned Blighttown, at least in the way you're supposed to go there. This design ethos permeates through the entire game. It makes the Depths much more frightening because the further you plunge, the further from the safety of the central hub you get - if you aren't prepared, you have to make the climb back up to remedy that.

Given the lack of fast-travel, FromSoftware had to accommodate, making everything circle back in on itself, whether it's reaching the lower Undead Berg, defeating the Taurus Demon, and before venturing into the Depths, being able to access more of the aqueduct that was previously blocked off, connecting you directly to the hub once more.

That level of choice and intricacy in the way that the world connects is possible because of how tight-knit everything is. Or, past New Londo, there's also another route to Blighttown which, when accessed right off the bat, cuts out the Undead Burg and the Depths altogether. Circling through Darkroot Garden lets you skip the first area, putting you smack bang in the Undead Parish which has an elevator leading right back down to Firelink Shrine. Failing that, you can take the lift down to New Londo and, if you picked the Master Key as your starting gift, you can open a door that leads to the Darkroot Garden or Blighttown. Or, if you so choose, you can brave the Catacombs by pushing through Firelink Shrine's graveyard and reach Pinwheel, a necromancer boss akin to the Fool’s Idol of Demon’s Souls, who drops a random unique mask. You can listen to the Crestfallen Warrior and take the intended path that level design cues lead you down - the easy road. RELATED: Dark Souls Remastered: How Does Poise Work? There, you meet the Crestfallen Warrior, a staple in any Souls game barring Bloodborne, and he puts you on the path to the aqueduct that leads to the Undead Burg, which leads directly into the Parish where the Gargoyles reside. After you slaughter the Asylum Demon, beating the tutorial, you are plucked by Velka's crow and brought to the safety of Firelink Shrine.

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