Dark Souls Reviews

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Written by WorstUsernameEver on October 15th, 2011

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This kind of frustrating repetition was fine when I was a kid and would get home from school and just play for hours without a care for homework or chores, but now, I require just a little more motivation to keep me coming back - especially as an adult with a family and a busy schedule. Even playing a review copy (supplied by Namco) as a critic, Dark Souls was a chore. It's a wonderful game, but I also found it maddening to sit down with, and despite the many hardcore players that are very satisfied with the game and insist that it's worth it, Dark Souls is simply not for me. But if you're a masochist that enjoys tough, punishing games - or if you had pretty much any fun in Demon's Souls - then by all means, buy this latest, because it's a perfect successor. Me, I've done enough yelling and cussing at this game to last me through the end of the year.

There are two issues that can become an unintended source of difficulty and frustration though. Unlike Demons Souls, Dark Souls is simply one massive area to explore. This is generally awesome; if you see a castle off in the distance you'll eventually be fighting in and around it soon enough. Where it causes some problems though is with an occasional dive in your frame rate, which is especially frustrating if it causes you to slip off a ledge or die in combat. The other is the game's relatively arcane approach to information. There is certainly something to be said about letting you discover and piece things together yourself, but when more basic functions like how to go into first person mode with your bow, what certain button combinations do, the effects of certain items, or the explanation of in-game covenant factions are all lacking in detail from anywhere but player created wikis, it only hurts the experience. And this is a game that's otherwise excellent at incorporating elements into its world.

Early on in Dark Souls, you emerge onto a balcony. After an hour or so of shadowy dungeons and foreboding clouds, you suddenly see the radiant sun. It is an arresting sight, a welcome relief after the stifling darkness that preceded it. Success, in Dark Souls, elicits this same feeling. After hours and days spent in darkness and defeat, victory is that much sweeter, that much brighter. If you can get past everything the game throws at you, it will all feel worth it. Good luck.

In conclusion Dark Souls is a fair but truly challenging game that pushes any gamer to his/her limits but also heavily rewards the player for going that extra mile and pushing through. Dark Souls brings back a challenge unknown to the gaming community since the original classics like Mario and Donkey Kong. Dark Souls forces the player to slow down and learn that patterns of each enemy like in the older classics did. Dark Souls is a great and revolutionary game that anyone who calls themselves a hardcore game or who wants to push themselves to the limit should check out.

Are you bold enough to stick through it to the end? Do you have balls (or ovaries) of steel? NAY, Adamantium? If you answered yes than you might be able to handle Dark Souls, and if you survive I can guarantee you won't experience another game like this for the rest of your life (unless this becomes a trilogy).

Dying countless times might feel frustrating at first but it will be easy to forget it once a few bosses have been taken care of. Dark Souls is a tough beast to break but it's more than worth the many hours spent taming it.

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