Dark Souls
Dark Souls is a crushingly difficult third-person action game developed by FromSoftware and is a spiritual successor to their popular title, Demon's Souls. Taking place in the dreary yet evocative world of Lordran, players must navigate a deadly world full of horrifying monsters and seemingly unbeatable bosses. As you explore the twisting paths that lay before you, you'll gain a clearer understanding of the plight of Lordran and what you can do to save it. The game offers little in the way of guidance or navigation, leaving players to go on a personal adventure of discovery and exploration. With incredibly punishing combat, a beautiful but dark world, and some seriously impressive boss designs, Dark Souls has earned the right to be called one of the best RPGs ever made. While it might be a bit tough for some players, Dark Souls offers a combat experience unlike any other.
Main Game Features
- Dark, evocative scenery
- Challenging combat with risk/reward mechanics
- Over 20 unique bosses to defeat
Story
Dark Souls is a game that's rich with lore, world-building, and story, but it's not told in the traditional way. Apart from an opening cutscene that sets the stage, most of Dark Souls' story must be gathered from investigating the environment, talking to various NPCs, and reading item descriptions. This lack of clarity adds another element of surprise and suspense to the experience, as you're rarely sure what will come next. In short, Dark Souls takes place in a fantasy world once ruled by dragons, but at the start of the game, the dragons have been destroyed and the world has been overtaken by four legendary creatures.
Fueled by icons of power known as the “Lord Souls”, these four ancient beings have begun to lose their hold on the world, as humans begin to rise in rank. Our story begins with humanity struggling from a mysterious disease that resurrects them upon death and slowing begins to rot their mind. Playing as an unnamed hero afflicted with the disease, you must explore Lordran while searching for the truth behind their humanity.
Gameplay
Dark Souls blends together RPG leveling mechanics and brutally tough third-person combat for an addictive yet incredibly punishing gameplay experience. You start the game locked away in an asylum, and after learning the ropes, escape into the sprawling open-world map of Lordran. As you avoid environmental perils and defeat enemies, you'll earn “souls” which can be used to level up your character. If you happen to die with souls still on your player, you'll lose them all and must travel back to your point of death to reclaim them. If you die on the way, all the souls will be gone for good, forcing you to rack up more kills to balance things out. There are a wide range of weapons to use against the various creatures you'll fight, including axes, swords, shields, and a slew of magic spells. Players can experiment with different weapons and find what works best for them, as each weapon-type has varying strengths and weaknesses.
There's a fun multiplayer mechanic available in Dark Souls as well, which lets you summon another player to help you during times of need. However, you are unable to chat with these random players, and can only leave helpful messages via pre-arranged phrases in the form of readable bloodstains on the ground. This helps you warn other players of upcoming dangers or especially hard combat encounters, allowing them to stock up on items or imbue themselves with more power. You can also meet a handful of NPCs that can be summoned during a battle, but you're more likely to succeed with another human player at your side.
Conclusion
Dark Souls can be very frustrating and will continuously test your gaming skills. Similar to the Devil May Cry series (played on the hardest difficulty), Dark Souls is designed to be almost unfairly tough, but the fantastic atmosphere and awesome boss designs help make up for this annoying difficulty. There's an admirable amount of freedom granted to players, allowing them to explore freely, upgrade their character as they see fit, and battle with the weapons they want.
Ultimately, Dark Souls is a game that truly puts your abilities at the forefront and rarely gives you an easy way out. If you've got the mental patience to deal with dozens upon dozens of deaths, Dark Souls will reward you with unbelievable amounts of satisfaction. Simply put, although it can be infuriating to play at times, Dark Souls is easily one of the best action-RPGs of the generation.
Pros
- Grotesque and huge bosses
- Lots of player freedom
- Cool multiplayer functionality
Cons
- Incredibly frustrating at times
- Deaths can feel unfair
- Lack of objective guidance
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