Dark Souls

This review is spoiler-free!

This game isn't made for the masses, that much is certain. Although its marketing and public identity revolves around its difficulty, there's so much more to this experience than you could ever grasp without playing it for yourself. Difficulty is there pretty much just as a key storytelling device, and it's put to good use, too.

Dark Souls is mysterious, lonely, atmospheric, interconnected and difficult. That's how I'd sum it up in one sentence.

The few friendly encounters with NPC's will quickly imbed themselves in your memory. Names such as Siegmeyer and Lautrec give me goosebumps every time I speak them, simply because of how masterful the storytelling and character archs are in this game. Each of them are only given around 15/20 minutes of screen time, total. But the whole world around you and them help tell their stories in ways no movie could ever do.

Places like Darkroot Garden, Anor Londo, Firelink Shrine and Ash Lake (and practically everywhere else, too) will stay with me forever, as their individually unique and unmatched atmosphere, mystery, and lore is proof video games is an art form.

The music, aaah! There's FOUR places where music is played, apart from during boss fights. Four. It's nothing, I know! Other games have music playing through every tiny battle and inside every single tavern, but Dark Souls spends it sparingly, thus making it feel that much more impactful.

Dark Souls is such a fantastic metaphor for depression and loneliness. It doesn't welcome you with open arms in the form of a super easy tutorial, helpful ways of learning its mechanics or hour-long cutscenes explaining what you're even supposed to do. You best it as best you can, as is with the real world around us. The people and characters you share your place in the world with travel about, trying their best at carving out a meaning of it all, same as yourself.

Dark Souls is just so damn good, and there's no way of understanding it without actually playing it for yourself, and finding the many fantastically written storylines and lore within it.

I was not sure that I would like this game very much, because of its reputation for being extremely difficult. But I decided to go ahead and buy it anyway. I am so glad that I did! The game starts by vaguely introducing you to the world of Dark Souls, and does a very good job at setting the mood for the game. As you move your character around, you get a feel that the whole world is gloomy and in despair. The world and the graphics by the way are beautiful. I'll admit that they are not the best I've ever seen in gaming, but they are still stunning. There are many "Wow, that's crazy!" moments in this game. The difficulty: If you are even looking into buying Dark Souls, you probably already know that it is difficult. However I think the difficulty is one of the games strengths. It almost makes the game. At first, you will feel like "Why is this so hard?!! Did they seriously have to put that guy there?!" But after a while, you almost get used to dying. And there is nothing like getting killed by a hidden enemy, then going back after re-spawning and knowing exactly where he and everything else is. The combat is at first a bit hard to grasp, as there is no real tutorial, but as you learn, it becomes pretty routine and comfortable. This game is very fun, brutally difficult, and rewarding if you stick to it. Don't give up!

It is certainly a factor in my opinion of Dark Souls that I'm not the type of person who easily gets angry at games. If you are easily frustrated or simply not willing to put in the attention this game deserves, just stop playing. This game has flaws, yes, but they are not the ones pointed out by so many of the negative reviews. THOSE flaws are non-existent and these people just quit the game before they even saw any real issues. It is perfectly fine to admit you are simply not compatible with this game, it is not fine to fault the game for this. Dark Souls is enchanting, it has kept my mind captive from the moment I picked it up. It is difficult but there are only a few specific moments I consider unfair. Blighttown's framerate has been fixed in the remaster and it honestly is not the hell I was led to believe, that had me full of dread as I descended through dark root. The world excites my curiosity and has me digging for information as desperately as a heroin addict, the combat is methodical, frantic, and tense and above all else no other game has matched the sense of wonder and accomplishment Dark Souls has given me. I pity the millions who will never play this game. I pity how they could never know how empty life is until Dark Souls comes along.

Dark Souls is known as punishing, unforgiving and very challenging game. But it is also very rewarding and satisfying. It is tough, but fair (mostly). The game design, the level design, the inter connectivity of the world, is outstanding in every possible way. The story, yet very vague and cryptic, is more deep and emotional that you would have thought. Hidetaka Miyazaki's masterpiece is an unforgettable, memorable experience that every serious gamer should look for. For example, you pass hours, hours, trying to kill a certain boss, getting more and more frustrated. But the moment you land the final blow on this boss, you'll feel so happy, satisfied, proud of yourself, and the game will reward you for that. It has flaws for sure, but this is a complete, and unique gameplay experience. Try it someday. Or now, if you haven't already. It is a must-have for every gamer looking for a brilliant, unique experience, that you won't find anywhere else.

Dark Souls. Unforgiving. Impossible. Brutal. Hardest video game ever made. Until you learn how to play ...

Before i attempted to play Dark Souls, i first finished its spiritual predecessor Demon's Souls. From this experience i learned not only the mechanics of the combat system but i learned how one should approach and play the game itself. You die. Often. And you cannot load some previously saved state just before you died. You "reincarnate" as do the minor enemies and you have to march back up that hill one more time. The trick is to learn how to gain from dying, and more importantly, how to spend your currency before you do die (and potentially fail to retrieve your blood stain). You literally can make suicide runs and pick up some great booty in the process, although you won't know to do so on your first run with your first character.

Dark Souls is controversial, no doubt about it. You either love it or you hate and i happen to love it (and my Chaos Scythe +5). While playing Dark Souls, i was distinctly reminded of many classic arcade, console and computer games that stood out: Atari 2600's Adventure and Dolphin, NES's Castlevania, Contra and Rygar, the Mario series, the Grand Theft Auto series, the Diablo and Baldur's Gate series and even the Sonic the Hedgehog series (mini speed-runs). Dark Souls is now one of my top games, along with GTA Vice City, Morrowind, Half Life, Thief 2, Might & Magic 5, Ultima 4, Super Mario World, Zelda (Ocarina of Time), Jade Empire, Assassin's Creed, Fallout 3 and Mass Effect. And i haven't even had the time to sign on and participate in online Player VS Player ... just do a Youtube search to see what i mean.

I think what makes Dark Souls so special and deserving of praise is in its replay value and the reward you gain for accomplishing what most would consider impossible. Every adversity is an opportunity to learn new combat styles and to adjust your strategy. If you get stuck in Blighttown and decide to backtrack it out of there for more supplies (because you were too impatient to get down there in the first place), you feel the relief when you see daylight again. You learn from this game. It just doesn't spoon feed you like most games do these days.

Patience is not a virtue in this game, it's a requirement for survival.

(p.s. I think the current speed run is around 55 minutes to solve the game, but you can expect to put in nearly 200 HOURS before triggering the end scene.)