.:Dark Souls Review:.

[Altergigo]

*So just as a note, I'd like to say that coming from 360 and being a member of one of the premier sites for 360 gamers, there is a review section that allows you to write your personal take on a game that you experienced. I would much like to see that here. Although there is not a dedicated section for reviews. I thought I'd add my review of this game that I wrote a while back for the 360 site.

 

I also would encourage anyone to write reviews as I would much rather read player opinions who spent the time with a game that it deserves and wrote a review about it. With that... Enjoy and I welcome all constructive criticism.

 

 

.:Dark Souls - The Review:.
Imagine your worst nightmare, multiply it by ten, have it last 150 to 200 hours and you will realize that you aren’t actually asleep but wide awake at 4 am playing Dark Souls while repeatedly dying just trying to progress to the next area to reach the level boss. That’s the punishment you are in for should you decide to invest your milk money in this game.

Once you dive into this madness, you will find that it will absolutely consume you especially while you are not playing. Dark Souls is a shining example of what Action RPG’s should be. It’s a dark, gritty, unforgiving environment with so much content that will keep you busy for a long time coming. The game in my opinion has the highest replay value of any game I have experienced. Add in the PVP aspect and you will find yourself enjoying this title for quite some time.

.:The Story:.
I am not going to summarize the story behind Dark Souls but talk about the story presentation instead. Most RPG’s have long, cutscenes with sometimes overdrawn dialogue. With Dark Souls, the developers have taken a different approach. They adopted a “less is more” attitude and it has paid off. Although there are several cutscenes at pivotal points in the game as you progress, they are short and the dialogue is non-existent. This adds to the games lonely feel. It really conveys the message of “you against the world” and does it magnificently. As an RPG fan, I too am a sucker for all the eye candy and drawn out cut scenes. However, I really enjoyed how the game keeps it short and sweet which allows you to stay engaged in real time.

Having said that, there is quite a bit of lore in the game and it’s cleverly displayed in certain treasure, armor and weapon descriptions which gives you incentive to collect all the items in the game so you can learn as much as possible about the story. Personally, I like this approach because once you collect the items, you can always go back and brush up on your lore within the game at any time.

As usual, with any game, there are set events you must complete to advance and reach the conclusion. However, this game delivers when it comes to “other content.” There are a plethora of optional bosses you can take on, as well as side quests you can complete that are not relevant to the main story. I think it shows much confidence in the creators to add so much optional content that you really don’t have to touch in order to finish the game. However, I strongly suggest you take advantage of all the optional content. You owe it to yourself to do so and take in the full experience of what Dark Souls has to offer.

.:Character Creation, Gameplay and PVP/Online:.
You've taken your first step on this long journey. You’re on the creation screen, and you decide on a melee build. You start the game, and after investing a few hours of gameplay, you think to yourself, I wish I tried a caster class. This is one area where Dark Souls shines. There are no class restrictions, you can start off as melee and end up as a caster as well as switch back and forth between classes. All you have to do is equip the right items for your build for maximum results, and you are in business. The game does not have a restricted character tree. It allows you to customize your character to your liking as you level up. In some cases, if you are an achievement junky, you will need to level up certain stats anyway if you want to complete all 41 achievements. The true beauty of this game however, although you don't need to create new characters to play different classes, you find yourself doing so anyways and reliving the experience.

The combat is set in real-time, not turn-based with time to decide what item to pick from your drop down menu while in a boss fight as the game conveniently pauses or slows down to a crawl to allow you to make a decision. In Dark Souls, all your preparations should be done beforehand and that weapon, shield and armor you chose to equip, it’s what you have to work with. You can still access the menu and make changes but you have to be very quick because any mob or boss you’re fighting will continue pounding on you in real time.

The gameplay requires patience, strategy and trial and error. If you try to fly through this game, three things will happen. First you will die a lot. Second, you will not get very far, and third...you will die a lot. Yes, it’s worth mentioning twice. The game will test you at every level and is very good at achieving what it set out to do...Kill you. It also makes it that much more rewarding once you reach and defeat the final boss. Should you also feel that you weren’t brutalized enough in your first walkthrough...Try it again with a NG+ where...you guessed it...The difficulty level is raised.

The PVP aspect of the game is truly ingenious. There are no lobbies to join or matches to start. As long as you are playing online, at any given time, another player can invade your world and attempt to take you down. This puts you at a disadvantage depending on what you are currently doing in the game as well as raise the level of difficulty and challenge which makes it that much more fun.

There is also a small element of co-op where players can be summoned to aid other players in boss battles, as well as a unique messaging system that allows you to leave messages for other players regarding treasure, caution alerts and if you are feeling evil, you can also leave misleading messages by guiding other players into traps.

.:The Environment:.
Dark Souls takes you from lush forests, to the depths of sewers, to swamps, to pitch black dungeons, under water ruins, crystal caves as well as a beautiful marble like city that seems to float timelessly. The environments are rich, dark, gritty, disturbing and quite amazing. The impressive aspect of all the zones is, however diverse, they are all connected and yet they flow quite seamlessly with each other. You can find yourself in one zone and you unlock a path that all of a sudden connects you to another zone in the game and it all makes sense. They interconnect and flow very naturally.

It is also worth noting that the game virtually has no soundtrack except in boss battles or certain events that may take place. It just adds to the lonely feel of the game and allows you to be that much more engaged in your surroundings and gameplay.

.:In Conclusion:.
Dark Souls is not for the faint at heart and I truly mean that. If you want to be repeatedly challenged and feel a true sense of gaming accomplishment, then this is the experience for you. It’s addictive, has a very high replay-ability value, offers a plethora of content, has an innovative PVP system, a wide range of weaponry and armors with a massive variety of upgrade paths, infinite NG+’s, difficult boss fights, diverse character creations, immersive environments and gameplay, and just an overall great gaming experience.

I only noticed two things that I thought could’ve been better yet they were so minor that in the end, they are not worth mentioning but I will nevertheless. In certain zones in the game, frame rate does tend to get a bit choppy. Enough to notice but not enough to deter from the overall gaming experience. Finally, the “storage” in the game is unorganized and could’ve been created to be a bit less time consuming to go through.

In conclusion, this is a title that is a must have in your game library, and if you are on a budget and must pick and choose what to buy, it is a definitive purchase. You will not be disappointed, and you will get your money’s worth over and over and well...You get where I’m going. Buy it, Play it, love it!

Edited August 18, 2013 by Altergigo

[Rowdi]

Nice review. I'm intrigued by other gamer's reviews and would like to see more of these on the PSNP forums.

There is one minor flaw that I'd like to point out and that is that we don't need gold memberships or any premium memberships to play online or at least not yet.

There are no lobbies to join or matches to start. As long as you are playing online with a gold membership, at any given time, another player can invade your world and attempt to take you down.

I totally agree with your review. Dark Souls was an engrossing game that is an awesome ride from start to finish, if you can finish. The frame rate problems in Blighttown weren't even an issue, imo. The only things that I could find to complain about is the copy protected save and that's really only a slight inconvenience.

Dark Souls is a keeper. Buy it, buy it now.

[Hamburger Helper]

Nice review. I'm intrigued by other gamer's reviews and would like to see more of these on the PSNP forums.

There is one minor flaw that I'd like to point out and that is that we don't need gold memberships or any premium memberships to play online or at least not yet.

I totally agree with your review. Dark Souls was an engrossing game that is an awesome ride from start to finish, if you can finish. The frame rate problems in Blighttown weren't even an issue, imo. The only things that I could find to complain about is the copy protected save and that's really only a slight inconvenience.

Dark Souls is a keeper. Buy it, buy it now.

 

He originally played this on the 360, just to let you know

[Rowdi]

He originally played this on the 360, just to let you know

Yeah, I saw.

[Altergigo]

thanks for the feedback and nice catch about the "gold memberships" lol... will edit that out. and yes this was originally written for a 360 forum.

[manyuhesp]

Nice review. I am starting this today. Wish me luck... 

[Altergigo]

Nice review. I am starting this today. Wish me luck... 

have fun with it, its a great experience