Spoiler Alert: You're going to die. A lot.
In 2009 From Software released the surprise hit Demon’s Souls on the PlayStation 3. Demon’s Souls achieved critical acclaim and quickly sold through its initial printing. In the end it won several Game of the Year awards, became a PlayStation 3 “Greatest Hit” and publisher Atlus has kept the game’s online servers up far longer then originally intended. This week From Software is teaming up with a new publisher, Namco Bandai, to release Demon’s Souls’ spiritual successor. This time around 360 owners will also get a chance to break controllers in frustration.
Dark Souls was made to appease the hardcore fan base of Demon’s Souls. The original game was notoriously difficult, and Dark Souls will be even harder. This dark fantasy game isn’t a direct sequel to Demon’s Souls, but it does retain many of that game’s core mechanics. You will still be able to write messages to other players, help them out in spirit form, or even invade their game and kill them…as if the game wasn’t hard enough. The rewards for being good and penalties for being a dirty bastard are more severe in Dark Souls, encouraging gamers to unite together against the game.
There are no story and no quests that drive Dark Souls. Instead, a series of bonfires exist from one end of the game to the other. These serve as check points that allow you to rest, but also respawn all of the monsters. Your goal is to march across the world, defeating bosses and pushing forward past hordes of horrifying monsters. Character stats don’t matter as much as equipment, so you will constantly be experimenting with your load-out to find the most effective gear and combat style to defeat the creatures in your path.
Dark Souls isn’t for the average gamer. It will cause all but the most dedicated gamers to rage quit. I mean that both literally and figuratively as Rage also hits stores this week, marking legendary developer id software’s first new IP since Quake. Rage is a solid choice for a gamer who is more interested in using their free time to actually have fun. It’s a little ironic that a post-apocalyptic first-person shooter named Rage is the more casual, carefree game coming out this week.
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