Dark Souls (PS3) Review

Posted by Mark Salmela on 10.21.2011

Think games are too easy now days? Well Dark Souls is here to punch you in the face.



Title: Dark Souls
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Developer: From Software
Genre: Action RPG
Players: 1 - 4
Rated: M for Mature


Dark Souls harkens back to a simpler time. In the olden days video games were designed around the arcade concept. Developers intentionally made games difficult so you would keep pumping quarters into arcade cabinets to continue playing. The arcade concept no longer exists in today’s games. Now days games are about trying to imitate cinematic experiences, and in an attempt to appeal to the mass market games are much easier than they used to be. Games aren’t about pattern recognition and developing your skills anymore, which is a shame. Well Dark Souls thrives on its difficulty. It’s brutal, it’s punishing, and most importantly, it’s rewarding.

Video games can do things other forms of media can’t do. It’s what makes video games special. You don’t get a real sense of accomplishment from watching a movie, and a book will never be as interactive as a video game. Dark Souls thrives on these aspects by creating one of the best atmospheres I’ve ever seen in a video game, and by providing gamers with a real sense of accomplishment. Dark Souls is so brutally difficult that you’ll cherish even the smallest victories, and praise the sun every time you defeat a boss.



Dark Souls is a spiritual sequel to the 2009 cult hit Demon’s Souls. Like its predecessor Dark Souls is a third-person action RPG set in medieval times. Dark Souls is an open world that you’re free to explore, although venture into the wrong area and you’ll be slaughtered by enemies tougher than you. Dark Souls has incredible level design. For such a large world the game is connected very well, and you’ll be surprised just how quickly you can travel between locations in a world that’s seemingly endless. From Software should be applauded for their superior level design.

The first thing you’ll do in Dark Souls is create your character. There are several classes, but you can change the abilities of your character as the game progresses, and you can basically become any class you want to at any time. Want to be a tank? Put on a bunch of heavy armor and carry your biggest sword. Want to be a wizard? Take off your armor, put on some clothes that have high resistance to magic, and pull out your magic catalyst. You can learn any spell or any miracle with any class, and you can upgrade any stat that you want to. You choose what you want your character to be. Your class becomes meaningless after the first few hours.

The currency in Dark Souls is called souls. Everything in the game revolves around souls. You can level up your character at any time as long as you’re resting at a checkpoint, provided you have enough souls. But spending your souls on leveling up means you won’t have the souls to do anything else, like repair your weapons, buy new weapons, upgrade your equipment, buy armor, buy new spells, buy new miracles, and so on. Everything revolves around souls, which you gain by defeating enemies and finding them hidden around the massive world.



As I mentioned before Dark Souls will frustrate you. Dark Soul’s difficulty is often the first thing people talk about when they bring the game up, and for good reason. It’s absolutely torturous at times. When you die you lose all your souls and your humanity. You’re sent back to the last fireplace you rested at, which serves as the game’s checkpoints and every enemy you’ve killed with the exceptions of mini-bosses and bosses respawn. You have the opportunity to get your souls and humanity back if you make it back to the spot you died at, but that means you’ll have to face everything you just fought, and more importantly, what just killed you. If you die again before reaching your previous souls and humanity, they’re gone forever.

Resting at fireplaces is in itself a risk since the enemies respawn. Simply running past enemies is not an effective option since most of them will slash at you as you walk by and most enemies will follow you for an extremely long distance. Also, you have a stamina bar that limits your running ability, while enemies do not. They can run forever. This means you’ll have to fight enemies each time you rest at a fireplace. One thing that’s absolutely crucial in Dark Souls is learning attack patterns. There are a lot of enemies in Dark Souls, and each enemy has several different attacks. Knowing when to block and when to parry attacks is absolutely crucial to survival in Dark Souls.

One thing I have yet to mention is the actual combat system. Dark Souls has a very intricate combat system, and while it may seem cumbersome at first it’s actually very rewarding once you learn it. There are an enormous amount of weapons, ranging from swords, axes, clubs, bows, and spears. Each type of weapon has its strengths and weaknesses, and eventually you’ll find weapons with various effects on them, such as shocking your enemies with each hit. There’s also a whole magic system which you’ll want to make use of. Unlike bows and arrows which do not regenerate, your magic attacks will regenerate when you rest at a fireplace. This is different from Demon’s Souls and most other RPGs where you have a magic meter that regenerates. Dark Souls got rid of the magic meter on purpose so you didn’t rely on ranged combat. Whether you like it or not you’re going to have to fight some enemies with melee, so you better learn the system.



The hardest part of Dark Souls is easily the boss battles. The bosses are often a ways away from your last fireplace, and you better be ready to fight for your life unless you want to have to fight your way all the way back to the boss. Bosses themselves are extremely difficult, and can become the only time where the game can actually become unfair. Bosses aren’t impossible, but they can be so daunting and induce such rage that you’ll often want to give up. But if the bosses weren’t this hard you wouldn’t feel so good when you finally defeat them. Part of feeling gratification is knowing that accomplished something, and taking down a boss in Dark Souls is one of the most rewarding experiences you can have in gaming.

Dark Souls also has one of the most unique online systems in all of gaming. There’s no chat, and there’s no invite system. Players are united by summoning each other into their games, leaving messages on the floor for others to see, and seeing ghosts of other players wandering the same area. Dark Souls is such a depressing and grimacing world that seeing other players going through the same experience you are often provides the motivation you need to keep chugging along. Summoning other players into your world is a risk, since they can kill you in your own world, but Dark Souls discourages it. Often times you’ll summon another player into your world and be amazed by the beauty of a complete stranger helping you conquer what you thought was an impossible foe, only to see that player disappear forever once you succeed. Players helping other players is one of the true beauties of Dark Souls.



Dark Souls is a well detailed environment, but it is not without its flaws. Dark Souls has a tendency to experience slowdown. There are a couple of times in particular where I thought I was looking at a slideshow rather than playing a game, which is so sad when the game world looks so beautiful. It also brings up the question of why From Software couldn’t fix this issue, since it was a problem in Demon’s Souls and the game isn’t doing anything overly complex.



Pros

- One of the most rewarding experiences in gaming.
- An incredible atmosphere.
- A unique and impressive online experience.
- A deep combat system, with an even more impressive leveling up system.
- A rich open-world environment with excellent level design.


Cons

- The game can seem unfair in a few instances.
- Dark Souls is definitely not for everyone, and will turn several players off with its difficulty.
- The framerate can slow to a crawl at times.


The 411


His dentist must make a fortune.


Dark Souls is not for everyone. Most casual gamers will be frustrated by its punishing difficulty. There are times where Dark Souls isn’t even fun, it’s a chore. But it’s because the game is so difficult, so punishing, that you’ll savage each victory and find yourself absolutely addicted to this truly sadistic world. Dark Souls is a well-designed game with deep and engaging combat. It has its flaws, and I’m a little disappointed in how the game makes no attempt to explain the menu and stats system, but you get out of Dark Souls what you put into it. If you invest yourself as a gamer into the world of Dark Souls you’ll be rewarded with one of the most satisfying experiences in gaming.

Graphics	7.5	The game’s graphics are awesome, too bad the framerate is terribly inconsistent. It constantly takes you out of the experience.
Gameplay	9.5	A well-designed and deep combat system.
Sound	8.0	Dark and grimacing, just how the game should be.
Lasting Appeal	9.5	The average first playthrough is anywhere from 40 to 60 hours. Don’t be surprised if you want to go back for seconds.
Fun Factor	8.0	Don’t give up on Dark Souls. It’s borderline maddening at times, but the euphoria from beating it is unmatched.
Overall	9.0   [  Amazing ]