Dark Souls makes bold claims of just how brutal it is, and with good reason as this comes from the same developer who made Demon’s Souls. Despite the insane claims of difficulty, there is a world here that will push players to explore every nook and cranny while learning all of the new game mechanics that are vital to beating this test of patience and skill. Get ready, this is going to be an awesome ride.

Game: Dark Souls
Publisher: Bandai Namco Games
Developer: From Software
Genre: Action RPG
?Price: $59.99
Pros: One of the only games that completing even the smallest of tasks feels monumental
Cons: The rag doll physics return and are just as distracting as ever. Insane difficulty will put some players off
Verdict: Worth every bit of frustration and broken controller
Acquired via Purchase

Let me just get this out of the way now, I loved Demon’s Souls. I dropped a good 80 – 100 hours into that game. I spent countless Saturdays traversing the wonderfully dark world, grinding monsters for items to upgrade weapons and armor, and learning every nuance that game had to offer. I foamed at the mouth when From Software announced a spiritual successor (This is not a sequel from Demon’s Souls but rather a thieving of mechanics). Dark Souls promised even more difficulty and a world even larger with more gear to find and more badass bosses to slay. This will be the blessing and damnation of this game.

If you listen to the EvilCast, you have already heard me ramble on about this game while Blake questions why one would even play something like this. Too many games these days will guide players through the world, giving them a golden ticket and pulling them through the mechanics like a GPS guiding drivers to their destination. Dark Souls throws the GPS out the window after it sets fire to it. This game provides no hand holding. In fact, anyone uninitiated to Demon’s Souls will find it even harder as there is nothing in the game, say for some text messages scribbled on the ground, to ease new players into the combat. Even worse is that a boss awaits within the first few minutes of the game, and it will crush a gamer’s soul in seconds.

There is more than just combat difficulty to consider as well. New elements like humanity (reverting from undead to living) and covenants (choosing a god to follow) are not detailed in what they do, how they affect the game, or why players would even want to utilize them during their stay in this world. Yet, this adds to the overall intrigue and mystery. Learning these nuances and then perfecting how to use them is part of the charm that makes Dark Souls so damn fun.

The most notable change is how Dark Souls is laid out. The world is absolutely massive, requiring people walk through the same areas over and over as they make their way deeper into the world. There are shortcuts to cut travel times, but they are not clearly marked and must be discovered, like kicking a ladder off a ledge to cut out ten minutes of walking a precarious path of death. Players can roam around completely lost for hours while looking for the correct path only to find some obscure ledge to fall down that will open up a new portion of the world. It is this kind of exploration that can make for complete frustration that yields to that “OH MY GOD, YES!” moment that fuels the enjoyment to keep playing.

Despite the lack of direction, an absolutely stunning world awaits players who power through and learn this game. There are no loading screens, just one seamless transition from a castle overlooking a serene valley before heading down into the dark depths of deadly catacombs. The world gleams with demonic creatures and a visual aesthetic that reeks of gothic medieval greatness. Bosses are grand spectacles that even some Colossi from Shadow of the Colossus would be afraid of, and beating these behemoths is just as exhilarating and unnerving. The eyes and ears are well taken care of here.

Before I finish this off with my gushing love, there are a few issues I have with this game. The rag doll physics return and that means kicking corpses around or having them attach to the objects in some funny ways. It may not seem distracting at first, but having a dead skeleton that will not get off your feet can mess up a vital dive out-of-the-way of an incoming axe thanks to attention being diverted to said corpse. I also found the difficulty in some spots unnecessarily tough. Enemies seem to have magnetic stares and they turn on a dime, which can make battles in tight areas more of a test of patience than skill. Also some scenarios throughout the game are heavily weighted in the favor of the AI versus the player. This is depressing as Demon’s Souls felt very fair in every death, yet Dark Souls tends to lose that in specific areas.

Regardless of my rag doll complaints or some areas departing from the brutal formula that makes this such a great game, I am still madly addicted to Dark Souls. Every challenge that I beat feels monumental, every new area I learn comes with a giant sense of accomplishment, and every new game mechanic I master only adds to deepening my engagement with this world. I have died more time than I can recount, thrown my controller in sheer rage, cursed an enemy to hell and back, and yet I keep coming back with new strategies and desire to play even more. Dark Souls is everything that Demon’s Souls was except bigger and better. Those who seek a game that will punch you in the face and then kick you when you’re crying like a baby on the ground, all while testing every fiber of gaming abilities while still providing a sense of mastery that no other game comes close to. Well, you seriously want to play this game. Simply put, you will die and you will love it!

GrE Grade: A

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