Review: Dark Souls

Name: Dark Souls

Developers: From Software

Publishers: From Software, Namco Bandai Games

Genre: RPG

Release Dates: Out now!

Platforms: Xbox 360, Playstation 3

OK, imagine yourself this. You played From Software's ruthless game Demon's Souls, and you played it well. Hell, you might even have finished it, who knows, but the thing is, you finished it somehow, and the nightmare was over. You put the controller down, and that was it. You were done. Those enemies, those bosses (you know the ones I mean), will never come back to get you. You are safe. Well, think again asshole, you're in for another world of pain with From Software spiritual successor Dark Souls. Pick up that controller again, son, we're going back to tears and blood, though perhaps not in that order. And don't forget the lube this time.

Now for the ones of you who's never played Demon's Souls, you can read a review about it here, and get some more knowledge about it. Dark Souls is, as mentioned, a spiritual successor and while some resemblances in the storyline and some things may be discussed to be so, it is not a direct sequel and From has never stated that it is so. There are some similarities, but no official ones, so to speak. Yep. Anyway, let's get this show on the road and just let me tell you how much better Dark Souls is. Yes, I will be comparing it a lot to Demon's Souls, and if you do not like the way I roll then switch to your porn tab now.

Story:
We kick off immediatly into an intro cutscene where we are informed of the game's backstory. Long ago, the world was barren and inhibited only by dragons, and many many dragons. This was a time of no living things other than dragons, but that changed when fire became prominent, and things rose from the darkness and embraced the fire. These were the first lords, gods in essance, and consist of Nito, First of the Undead, Gwyn, the Lord of Sunlight, the Witch Izalith, and one guy who's easily forgotten, the Furtive Pygmy. Out from the fire arose these lords, and also, the human race as a whole. The lords, gods, took up arms against the dragons and slaughtered them, which marked the beginning of the Age of Fire, where gods ruled and humans dwelled. The fire that fuels the gods however, is running out, and humans start turning undead, which you might figure is not really a nice thing. This is where you fit in. You start off within the Undead Asylum, where all undead are brought to wait for the world to end, but that is not your fate, my friend, for you are the Chosen Undead, or at least one of a line of Chosen Undead, and it is your job to set things right. Yea, good luck with that. After (barely) escaping the asylum, you are brought to the Land of Lords, Lordran (Godly though they may be, they certainly were not great at naming things), where your quest begins.

The plot itself is amazing, if you can find it. OK, that might be a bit harsh actually. There is an overarching plot that is hard to miss as it is handed to you, but there are dozens of things happening all about you that will not stop just for someone such as you. People around you will continue with their own agendas, some you can follow, some you can stop, some you will help to succeed and others you will watch wither away into nothingness and eventually die, and all this is happening without you doing a damn thing, off somewhere hacking some rat or what have you.

I would tell you more about the plot overall, but uh, I'm not gonna, because the plot itself is what I'd call amazing, and much more consistent than the plot of Demon's Souls, at least in my own opinion.

Gameplay:If you played Demon's Souls already then you won't find much new in the gameplay department between the games, other than what the first lacked, the second added and made better. The health and mana system has been revamped, and mana is now none-existent, as spells instead are used in charges, similar to the old style of RPG like Baldur's Gate and its Dungeons & Dragons system. Health has changed in the way that the original concept of grass is gone, and you are instead presented to the concept of Estus flasks, which will act as your HP potions. You start off with only five of these, but over the course of the game you can gain more of them, and make them more potent, healing more health with each swig, effectively making them last longer. Which brings us to another concept.

In Demon's Souls you were always bound to the hub world “The Nexus”, where you traveled to, to select a new world to go to, where you went back to stock up on things, and whenever you went back, all the enemies (except for bosses) respawned in all areas. Now, there is no Nexus to find, instead you have a giant world you can roam around in almost entirely without bounds from the start of the game (which makes it hilariously simple to walk into mid-game territory and get tenderly loved by high-level mobs). There is still a way to make enemies respawn though, and that is through the new checkpoint system. The game introduces bonfires at which you will resupply your Estus flasks, repair your equipment, level up, set magics, the whole nine yards. In the case of death (who am I kidding, you will die) you will respawn at the last bonfire you rested at, so always make sure where you put your fires about.

Much like in Demon's Souls, there is still online cooperative and competative play, and now, better than before, you are able to summon allies to help you, or end up another victim for PvP-hungry phantoms there to ruin your day at the most ill-wanted opportunity. This, however, is affected by a new concept of “hollowing.” You start out as a hollow, an undead-looking creature, and by purchase, boss-fighting or lucky drop, you will be able to find Humanity, a precious item that boosts your item discovery rate, among other things. It alst makes you able to return to your human form (much like in Demon's Souls, except the whole 'cutting your total life in half' business) which makes you ripe for summoning allies, and also, to be invaded. So you can get help, but it will be risky to do so, and you should take heed when deciding if you really need that help or if you can take the boss yourself. In my opinion, taking on a boss yourself feels damn good, even if it beats you to the ground (sometimes literally) several times before you win.

Conclusion:So, the conclusion. What is my conclusion? Dark Souls is a horrible game. Horrible in the way that it is severely more ruthless in many cases than its predecessor, and it will torture you, and you will hate it for it. Believe me, I can honestly say I have rage-quit numerous times during loud swears and fits of pure, insane anger. But I always come back to it in the end, because Dark Souls is a great game. Demon's Souls was a good game, I will never say differently, but Dark Souls has a certain new touch to it, a new polish of things that could have been better in the previous game. It looks better, for one, has a better aesthetic, better controls, more interactivity (you could never jump off a heightened platform to drive your sword into a fat demon's face before, could you!?) and just a better feel to it all. It has many interesting areas such as the renown and architectual-nightmare city of Blighttown, the volcanic landscapes of the Demon Ruins, and grande cathedral-like buildings of Anor Londo. All this is topped off with an amazing soundtrack that will leave your adrenaline rushing, or your tears dropping, whenever you hear it. And who knows, if we're lucky we might even get a PC port. But we probably wont. Damn you From Software, why don't you want more of my money!?