In a result that will no doubt please The Lone Steven, Dark Souls stormed to the top of yesterday’s poll and remained firmly at the top until the poll closed. This mean’s I’m left with the somewhat tricky task of introducing Dark Souls, a game I know little about aside from two facts: it’s long and you die a lot.
Unfortunately for me I found out that at least half of my knowledge of Dark Souls is wrong. Whilst looking for a few crumbs of information that would help me make sense of the point of Dark Souls, I stumbled across this news story from last year which proclaims that Dark Souls is beatable in under 90 minutes. The game may have a lot of content, but it would seem it doesn’t have to be all that long if you’re dedicated to the cause of playing it as fast as possible. To be fair to the game, that probably doesn’t apply to most people.
It does seem that the other half of my information about the game was correct though, you really do die a lot. Rather than a formal review of the game, Peter kept a brief diary of his experiences in the world of Dark Souls. In the first part of said diary he died three times and hadn’t even managed to kill the game’s first real enemy, the Asylum Demon.
In his second diary entry he revealed that it had taken him seven attempts to get past the Asylum Demon, and in doing so he learned a key piece of information – Dark Souls doesn’t like you. Whilst the almost death rate for the game might have made this obvious, the game’s disdain for the player goes much deeper than that. As Peter puts it, “Dark Souls keeps its secrets.”
The game simply isn’t going to explain core mechanics to you, leaving them for you to discover and work out. For example, it wasn’t clear to Peter that he could recover his accumulated power, the souls he had collected, after he’d died. Instead he was left to discover the ghostly entity that your death leaves for himself, something that seemingly took him quite a few attempts.
Peter’s second diary entry is his last one, and he admitted that he didn’t feel like he’d “…even scratched the surface yet.” There’s depth in Dark Souls, and the way it refuses to spoon feed you instructions or tips layers mystery on top of that depth.
However, if you’ve been playing the game for a while hopefully you’ll have explored some of that depth and can relay your thoughts on the game to us. If you feel like sharing how you feel about the game, or even what it’s done to you, then all you need to do is drop a comment below. Once you’ve managed to push past the emotional scarring and write your comment, remember to add a rating on the Buy It, Bargain Bin It, Rent It, Avoid It scale. Finally, you’ve got until Sunday afternoon to get your comment in if you feel like being part of Monday’s verdict article.
Louise
If you’ve not played Demon Souls, and you’re the kind of person who is used to hardly dying at all throughout your games, the i would definitely RENT IT first, as it will be a bit of a shock!
However, if you’re a hardcore badass who grew up with the Master System or Nintendo and are used to dying a million times just to learn from your mistakes, then definitely BUY IT.
Dark Souls, in my opinion, is a master piece of a game and just builds even further upon Demon’s Souls. The character creation is very in depth and you can create so many different builds, which will please RPG fans. However, it’s very easy to mess up your build, so be careful and think clearly before adding skill points.
One interesting feature i find of Dark Souls, is that you choose when to level up yourself by spending the souls you get from killing enemies. These souls basically equate to ‘experience points’. The problem, however is you can only level up at select ‘safe’ points which are fireplaces. And if you die before reaching these points, you lose all the souls you currently have on you! You then get one chance to reach the place you died to collect these souls, otherwise they’re lost forever and you have to gain them all again.
It sounds harsh… it is harsh… but Dark Souls has a rather large following. I can’t quite explain just how it feels when you see ‘YOU HAVE BEEN INVADED’ appear across the screen in red writing. Which means another player has invaded your world, with every intention to kill you! This feeling of terror is amplified if you are currently carrying quite a lot of souls, or have just got through a very hard bit but haven’t yet found a fireplace. There are only two outcomes when this happens. Either they die, or you die.
All in all, being a fan of the original Demon Souls, I got this game on release day. I absoloutly loved it. Yes, it’s unforgiving. Yes it’s a mean *****, but Dark Souls will stay with you long after you’ve stopped playing it.
fs
Thats something I forgot to mention actually – you compare Dark Souls to older generations of video gaming like the old Nintendo’s. I agree with this.
Its Hardcore gaming for the current gen.
fs
Buy it.
No game will give you greater satisfaction upon completion. You mention that Dark Souls doesn’t ‘spoon feed you’ I for one think thats one of its greatest assets – one of the main reasons it is so much more difficult than other games is that you really have to work out a strategy for every different enemy. Situations change alot in Dark Souls and you need to be prepared for that, it might mean you have to retreat and strengthen your character or re-focus your methods but by the end of it (much like Demons Souls) you’ll have a great sense of satisfaction. A feeling not shared when you complete many games these days. It’s not everybodies cup of tea to begin with, but its a game you must stick at, you cannot give up after dieing a few times. If you do, your missing out, not DarK Souls, Dark Souls doesn’t like you, after all.
OneShotWook
Big demons souls fan saying please try it first if possible.Theres a well documented and severe fps drop in alot of locations,the results of this makes it unplayable for alot of people,the drops often having a travel sickness effect on the player.
However it’s a great game,i bought both the xbox and ps3 versions at launch hoping i could play but no good.The pc edition overcomes the problem i had and looks stunning.
Rent it/bargain bin it to try it.
Origami Killer
Ahh finally Dark Souls. One of the best RPG’s I’ve played. The challenge is immense. There’s no doubt that you will die a lot. This isn’t really because the game is that hard but it will be down to the fact it was your fault. You probably lost patience or put your guard down for a minute. That’s the thing with Dark Souls you have to be constantly aware of the surroundings. Only yesterday was I killed whilst I was scrolling through my inventory as i thought I was safe.
The gameplay mechanics are perfect. The lock on system works well, as it did in demons souls. Make sure to dodge and block before you eventually attack. It’s best to learn the moves of an opponent first, otherwise you will probably die. There’s plenty of ways to play to; whether you like melee combat (my preferred way) , ranged combat or a bit of magic.
As for the enemies. There is a lot of variety to the ones you come across. From the small undead rat to a flying gargoyle that attacks you with a lightening sword. And then you have the bosses, of which there are plenty too, as you can expect they are big and the hardest enemies of the game.
As a whole it’s well designed. Clever level layouts, lots of enemies, big bosses, solid gameplay mechanics, extensive upgrading system (whether it be weapons or yourself) and lots of weapons and items to use.
So an intense and unforgiving RPG. BUY IT, and while your at it buy Demon’s Souls.
Origami Killer
Oh forgot to mention, frame rate issues are common. They wont effect you too much though, its best to just wait until it remains smooth again.
nightdc
I clocked up 110 hours on this bad boy and lost weeks of my life its a must buy and well you die and die and die and die can be frustrating but very rewarding awesome game.
hoping for a 3rd
seravok
If you like hard games: Buy it
If you have anger management issues: BUY IT! :D
ad456m
Without a shadow of a doubt Buy it.
frostface
Buy it. Buy it right now damn it.
LunaticSoul
The unbearable lag in Blighttown made me ask myself “why am I even playing such a flawed game?”. The fierce battle against Quelaag at the end of the level was the answer: tension, fear, anxiety and then the thrill of satisfaction: no other game makes you feel that good when you achieve something, no other PvP is as thrilling as Dark Souls’ ones. This game is pure magic. Try to play it without the internet, without other people’s help, without walkthrough.. It’s one of the hardest and most satisfactory challenge the videogame history has to offer.
Buy it!
Moshbag
Sadly can’t quite reach the heady heights of Demon’s Souls because of the originality factor, and personally I don’t think it was as hard which is a shame, but these are minor points: the game is a masterpiece. Just buy it already!
/Channeler’s trident dance