Dark Souls

I've been playing this game for months and I'm still not bored of it. When I came to this page I was very disappointed by the sheer stupidity of some of the reviews.

One of these reviews said: "I was supposed to go to random places and kill as many demons as I can find, there is no specific quest or storyline to follow. I killed a few of the bosses and gained nothing, just another dead end."

There are so many things wrong with this. First of all, you aren't supposed to go to just random places, believe it or not. You have to figure out where you are supposed to be going by reading the description of items you pick up along the way such as keys, weapons, armor etc. That will tell you a bit about the story and characters, and the descriptions for keys will usually literally tell you which door they open.

Secondly, there is a storyline, and a fantastic one at that. What did you think the large cut-scene was at the start of the game? Just some irrelevant garbage? You need to actually pay attention and use your senses to find out more and more of the story as you progress. And if you are still really struggling that much, you could always just look it up online.

And finally, you don't gain nothing from killing bosses and enemies. You earn keys, unlock new areas to the game, find weapons and more equipment that will help you put together pieces of the story and find your way around- and you gain significant amounts of souls which you can use to level up.

So to sum this up, don't bother reading the reviews on this page. I'd recommend maybe watching a little bit of gameplay on YouTube (but not so much that it will spoil your experience) and deciding whether or not to buy it from there.

Absolutely phenomenal game. 99/100.

This is a truly inspired game, it brings a breath of fresh air into a stale market and gives us something truly wonderful.

From start to finish it is simply riveting and it's challenging combat has you between fits of rage and despair to an ecstatic state of joy that no video game has done before (even it's predecessor Demon's Souls). The story, although perhaps not the most obvious nor linear is amazing if you can be bothered to look into it, and that is another point about the game, it requires your unwavering attention. If you play this game with the right mindset, it can be truly breathtaking.

And to people who say that it is 'overrated' or has 'artificial difficulty' all I can simply say is, you just went full retard.

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!

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.

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.