Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition

 PC
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 2514 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,867 out of 2514
  2. Mixed: 224 out of 2514
  3. Negative: 423 out of 2514

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  1. ChrisPD
    Nov 25, 2012
    0
    Reading the critical reviews of this game you're led to believe that you're in for a challenging and rewarding game experience. However the only real challenge in this title comes from resisting the urge to turn it off when you're forced to repeat the journey to the 'Bosses' for the 20th time, wading through constantly respawning enemies that just stand there until being activated. That'sReading the critical reviews of this game you're led to believe that you're in for a challenging and rewarding game experience. However the only real challenge in this title comes from resisting the urge to turn it off when you're forced to repeat the journey to the 'Bosses' for the 20th time, wading through constantly respawning enemies that just stand there until being activated. That's the challenge. Not the ingenious game design or the (non existent) AI. Avoiding mistakes because you've repetitively completed this very journey 20 times before. Killing the exact same enemy exactly the same way for an hour.

    I could ignore the terrible repetitive gameplay if it there was a semblance of storyline propelling you through the game. Which is where we come to the second part of the 'appeal' of the game, how rewarding it is. Rewarding is seeing a story develop, overcoming a challenge and being rewarded with more exposition, more areas to explore and a change in challenge. The first 4 bosses require you to cycle around the same general area over and over killing the same enemies over and over, and the reward? Getting to do it again for the next boss, as everytime you save, all the enemies re spawn. Great idea, shall we spend time on story, enemy AI, environment design? Nah just respawn them all in the same place and get 'em to do it again. And again. And again, after all we've got their money right?

    Also the port is unplayable without an xbox controller.    … Expand
  2. roboticsun
    Sep 2, 2012
    3
    Overall this game is just a quick xbox360 build with optional key binds and additional content (they do not bother changing the on-screen key markers). To be frank, I played Demon's Souls as well as Dark Souls on PS3 and they both played and looked much better than this sloppy PC version. I know a lot of reviews here are biased because it is an amazing game, but it's really unfair to newOverall this game is just a quick xbox360 build with optional key binds and additional content (they do not bother changing the on-screen key markers). To be frank, I played Demon's Souls as well as Dark Souls on PS3 and they both played and looked much better than this sloppy PC version. I know a lot of reviews here are biased because it is an amazing game, but it's really unfair to new comers. If you are a new player who do not own a console then you need to buy a gamepad first to make the game playable and enjoyable, then hassle for a while with the third party fan-made patch to make it look as nice as console version. I do not think those hassles should be placed on an average gamer. If you want to try this beautiful game on pc then I'd say wait it on sale for $10.… Expand
  3. ayman03
    Aug 29, 2012
    3
    the worst pc port i have ever seen in my life
    locked resolution at 768?really
    stupid key mapping for keyboard and mouse
    tutorial with xbox controller keys
    frame rate issues
    menu is unfriendly unplayable
  4. Scrove
    Aug 30, 2012
    4
    This is an excellent game that is screwed over by a horribly executed console port. With the Resolution fix that was provide the same day as release by a user the game is playable and gets bumped up to a 6 or 7, but due to the massive amounts of technical problems, low fps, graphical issues and the sticking point of them not putting any effort at all into controlling the game with keyThis is an excellent game that is screwed over by a horribly executed console port. With the Resolution fix that was provide the same day as release by a user the game is playable and gets bumped up to a 6 or 7, but due to the massive amounts of technical problems, low fps, graphical issues and the sticking point of them not putting any effort at all into controlling the game with key board and mouse I can't rate it any higher than this, especially since they haven't bothered to announce fixes for anything.… Expand
  5. SleepingDog
    Aug 30, 2012
    0
    Just uninstalled it, this game is the worst port I've ever played. The controls are terribly clunky, and cause of that you will die many times, hence the name 'Prepare to Die'. Difficulty in any game should be caused by mechanics, not lousy and broken gameplay.
  6. Getterac7
    Aug 24, 2012
    0
    Dark Souls has been one of the worst PC game experiences I've had in years.

    First off: all help messages are given for the Xbox360 controller, even though I don't have a controller plugged in. I spent 5 minutes mashing every key on the keyboard trying to figure out how to get to the options menu before finally hitting "End" to open the options. What the hell? End? Really? Couldn't    Dark Souls has been one of the worst PC game experiences I've had in years.

    First off: all help messages are given for the Xbox360 controller, even though I don't have a controller plugged in. I spent 5 minutes mashing every key on the keyboard trying to figure out how to get to the options menu before finally hitting "End" to open the options. What the hell? End? Really? Couldn't use the Escape key like EVERY OTHER GAME?

    So I find out the D-pad corresponds to the arrow keys, then when I pick up my sword and shield, it tells me to use the left and right on the D-pad to switch to my sword, so I hit left and right arrow keys a few times and nothing happens. I have to dig through some inventory menus to equip my sword first I guess. Why not tell me that?

    While we are on the topic of controls: I use a non-QWERTY keyboard, so where the W key should be, is actually a comma. I tried to remap the move forward key and it would not let me set the W key (which is the comma character). Why on Earth would it not accept the comma character is beyond me. This is the first game I have EVER encountered (of the hundreds and hundreds I have played) that wouldn't let me do that.

    Let's get to the menus. They are absolutely not friendly to a mouse pointer at all. Some widgets you can click, some you can't; you never know what's going to happen when you try to click on something. The only reliable way to use the menus are with the arrow keys.

    Playing through the first area I noticed the camera felt pretty difficult to control and then it hit me: the camera is not moving based on how far I move my mouse! Moving the mouse simply makes the camera move at a fixed speed. Excuse me? I feel like I'm trying to play Doom 1 over here. While we're talking about the mouse: I constantly see my Windows mouse cursor over top of the game and it is incredibly distracting.

    Sound: I have a 5.1 sound system, but I play using headphones at night out of respect for my neighbors and roommates. There are no audio options to switch to stereo mode, so with headphones I could not hear any voices in the game, even while subtitles were playing.

    Graphics: I can accept the 30 fps cap and I can accept the 720p upscaling, but come on, this is 2012. At least try.

    So all in all I rate this 0/10 because, although it may have a cool story and fun gameplay, I couldn't experience it because of the shoddy nature of the port.    … Expand
  7. cryocore
    Aug 26, 2012
    3
    Game is great, brilliant in fact. Port is appalling. Crashes, stutters, drop frame rate, no control options outside of a controller (that may or may not work), no graphics settings, and a locked frame rate make it impossible for me to enjoy this. No one should support a developer who releases sub par dross like this.
  8. Donkaban
    Aug 24, 2012
    2
    Bad port. No bindings for mouse, bugs and graphics flickers. From console developers to console boys.
    Resolution is capped, FPS are capped, keyboard and mouse controls are a nightmare, video options are inexistant ... I think is damn timemachine from Skyrim to dark 2005 ages
  9. voathun
    Aug 25, 2012
    3
    I don't mind that there are no PC exclusive high res texture options. Dark Souls isn't about graphics.
    I don't mind GFWL. Annoying, but whatever.
    I don't mind the 30 fps frame lock. The gameplay experience is smooth enough. I don't mind the limited resolution. On the first day someone already provided a fix for that. .. but what I do mind is the fact how insulting the implementation    I don't mind that there are no PC exclusive high res texture options. Dark Souls isn't about graphics.
    I don't mind GFWL. Annoying, but whatever.
    I don't mind the 30 fps frame lock. The gameplay experience is smooth enough.
    I don't mind the limited resolution. On the first day someone already provided a fix for that.

    .. but what I do mind is the fact how insulting the implementation of the controls are. Wake up. This PC version isn't a love-letter from the developer to the PC community. No, the management looked at the 100'000+ petition and thought... wow, easy money. Lets do a port with the least effort possible!

    The result is, that they didn't even bother do remove the windows mouse cursor from the screen while in game! The ingame hints are based on the xbox controller layout and cannot be changed. The keyboard / mouse control method is next to useless. You need to play it in order to see how abysmal the controls actually are.

    "So what? Get a gamepad!" some may cry. The default PC peripherals are mouse and keyboard last time I checked and if you own a gamepad then the chances are pretty decent, that you also own a console. So whats the point of a PC version in the first place? The Dark Souls DLC is coming to consoles later this year anyway.

    But if you already own a gamepad or you're willing to invest into one, then ignore the user ratings, because with a gamepad the gameplay experience is as it should be. Read the official critic reviews, hype yourself up and enjoy one of the best mature RPG experiences that there is out there.    … Expand
  10. Carrot556
    Aug 24, 2012
    2
    There is no excuse for this port. Not a one. At first glance it seems like something someone at Namco ported this during a lunch break. There are bad PC ports where the game menus are keyboard only and are rough around the edges, and then there is this. In my first minutes of playing the game I ran into several problems. Right off the bat there is the FPS lock, the 720p resolution, theThere is no excuse for this port. Not a one. At first glance it seems like something someone at Namco ported this during a lunch break. There are bad PC ports where the game menus are keyboard only and are rough around the edges, and then there is this. In my first minutes of playing the game I ran into several problems. Right off the bat there is the FPS lock, the 720p resolution, the lack of options in to "options" menu. The options menu has a grand total of five options. Resolution, refresh rate, full screen, AA, and motion blur. What about texture quality or MXAA or particle effects? Jumping into the game there is a prompt to "press 'a' to pick up dungeon key". Now unless the use key is actually bound to the "a" key there is no reason to have the xbox key prompts instead of actual keys. "Press 'Start' to open menu and arms icon". After impotently face rolling my keyboard, I discovered "end" was the start key. Not escape. End. People claiming that this was meant for a game pad are delusional plain and simple. The majority of people who play on PCs use a keyboard and mouse and expect to have indicators that can be easily understood. That isn't entitlement, that is a fundamental right for a gamer. It would be just as surprising to me if an imported game was still in the native language and considering this port I'm surprised it isn't , in fact, in Japanese. There was no excuse to pay for a port as poor as this. After seeing how well crafted and great Dark souls was, I patiently waited for this port. It is such a shame such a beautiful gem was weighed down by such abysmal work in a port rendered this game frustratingly bad.… Expand
  11. alien5
    Aug 25, 2012
    2
    Worst port I've seen this gen by far. You don't release a game on a new system without supporting the controller. This is bonkers, and more insulting given From KNEW they had a market before doing the port. Ugly, entirely unoptimized, and terribly KB&M controls. Going to have to wait for people who actually care about quality to fix this mess.
  12. dopehat
    Aug 25, 2012
    0
    This is the worst port I have ever played in my entire life - Yeah, I am not kidding. They didn't even bother changing the ingame hints from keybinds from the Xbox controller to PC keyboard, so every time the game asks you to press a key to loot, open a door or whatever, its showed as if you were using an Xbox controller, and lets you sit and guess which botton that was again. - CameraThis is the worst port I have ever played in my entire life - Yeah, I am not kidding. They didn't even bother changing the ingame hints from keybinds from the Xbox controller to PC keyboard, so every time the game asks you to press a key to loot, open a door or whatever, its showed as if you were using an Xbox controller, and lets you sit and guess which botton that was again. - Camera swings around horribly annoying when using the mouse. I cant believe this game was ever, and I mean ever released for the PC, I would feel ashamed as a developer here. I can't believe people are poking this to a anywhere near positive rating, it's unacceptable to release a game that cant run with decent controls unless gamers invest in an xbox or playstation controller, - if players wants to use that, they would have gotten the game for their consoles. Wake up people, this is not acceptable. - I was stuck at some point trying to figure out how to open the main menu to check my controls, but I never found it after pressing every damn key on my keyboard. - Don't support this - Don't buy this game...… Expand
  13. xXMETALxGEARXx
    Aug 25, 2012
    1
    Despite the provided community fix in a mere >23 minutes, Dark Souls on PC doesn't really add anything to the already successful console version of the game. The developers didn't bother to remap the k+m keybinds, no graphics options and on top of all it uses GFWL for the online play that consists of people invading you and leaving meaningless messages at key points. A certain waste ofDespite the provided community fix in a mere >23 minutes, Dark Souls on PC doesn't really add anything to the already successful console version of the game. The developers didn't bother to remap the k+m keybinds, no graphics options and on top of all it uses GFWL for the online play that consists of people invading you and leaving meaningless messages at key points. A certain waste of money for me.… Expand
  14. Stormcrow666
    Aug 24, 2012
    4
    This easily could have been made into one of the better computer games this year, instead it is a terrible port that need a lot of work. The graphics are just plain terrible. 30fps limiter with dips to 20fps is just atrocious. This game uses approximately 10% of my gpu power. The camera is shaky and annoying. The controls are obviously ported. I was smashing buttons trying to figure outThis easily could have been made into one of the better computer games this year, instead it is a terrible port that need a lot of work. The graphics are just plain terrible. 30fps limiter with dips to 20fps is just atrocious. This game uses approximately 10% of my gpu power. The camera is shaky and annoying. The controls are obviously ported. I was smashing buttons trying to figure out how to do simple things like access my inventory. It is a real shame since this game could have been something so much better than this poor port. I understand that the console version is great but sometimes ports are not meant to be ported unless there is additional work done to make it a better experience for the PC user.… Expand
  15. JMILTON
    Aug 24, 2012
    0
    This has got to be the worst PC port I ever had a displeasure to endure. The graphics are horrible, combat controls are clunky at best, non responsive at worst, there is no real story attached to this game and the game difficulty that has been heralded as the savior of the challenging gaming is nothing but an over inflated trial and error garbage. To make things even worse it's not evenThis has got to be the worst PC port I ever had a displeasure to endure. The graphics are horrible, combat controls are clunky at best, non responsive at worst, there is no real story attached to this game and the game difficulty that has been heralded as the savior of the challenging gaming is nothing but an over inflated trial and error garbage. To make things even worse it's not even that difficult. I killed the first boss by dying once, and the whole "combat" experience could be described as just being tedious. Avoid at all costs, watching plants grow is more fun than this overhyped trash of a game.… Expand
  16. drwebs
    Aug 25, 2012
    0
    This is the worst port ever, talk about a crap game that stacks on hype and a steaming pile of nasty ports. This game was supposed to kill diablo 3, what a joke. The developers failed at their life
  17. Chapa9dj
    Aug 24, 2012
    4
    Overrated, uninspiring and boring. So this is the game that my friends pictured to me as the ''Panacea of Gaming'' and turned out to be completely wrong. The gameplay is clunky as hell, especially when you engage in a boss fight.. The map design feels bland and very empty, not to mention that the graphics are downright terrible. Is this 2012 or 2004? Ok, continuing with this, its not openOverrated, uninspiring and boring. So this is the game that my friends pictured to me as the ''Panacea of Gaming'' and turned out to be completely wrong. The gameplay is clunky as hell, especially when you engage in a boss fight.. The map design feels bland and very empty, not to mention that the graphics are downright terrible. Is this 2012 or 2004? Ok, continuing with this, its not open world as some people told me, its completely linear and boring and the character lacks personality and charisma. Also, it has GFWL. That is enough for anyone to stay away. I don't even know why companies still use this. I'm glad i got it as a birthday gift, but sometimes i wish my friend didn't have to spend that amount of money. I'm not ungrateful, on the contrary, but this game is definitely not my cup of tea. Definitely one of the most disappointing games of 2012.… Expand
  18. Elsje
    Aug 24, 2012
    0
    Do not buy this game.

    The game starts out with a terrible intro which reminds me of games from the 90's and from there everything gets progressively worse. The menu interface is bad and lacks mouse settings. Even on the lowest dpi-setting, my mouse moves too fast. When you start the game you get cues for which games to press.. on a gamepad. No idea what to press on my keyboard. The    Do not buy this game.

    The game starts out with a terrible intro which reminds me of games from the 90's and from there everything gets progressively worse. The menu interface is bad and lacks mouse settings. Even on the lowest dpi-setting, my mouse moves too fast. When you start the game you get cues for which games to press.. on a gamepad. No idea what to press on my keyboard. The graphics are really ugly and worst of all.. the game runs jittery on my core i7 980X w/ Geforce GTX 570. When I encountered the first enemy, I died because apparently the character hitbox extends beyond the visible body.    … Expand
  19. MrImmoli
    Aug 24, 2012
    0
    Wow. This game. FPS is locked at 30 (same as on console), which by itself isn't a HUGE problem, but throw in FPS drops due to the engine and suddenly you're looking at much lower framerate in two areas (maybe more if the new content adds any). Naitively the game does not support resolutions higher than 1024X720 (though that was somewhat fixed by some random guy in about...23 minutes.Wow. This game. FPS is locked at 30 (same as on console), which by itself isn't a HUGE problem, but throw in FPS drops due to the engine and suddenly you're looking at much lower framerate in two areas (maybe more if the new content adds any). Naitively the game does not support resolutions higher than 1024X720 (though that was somewhat fixed by some random guy in about...23 minutes. Apparently 23 minutes is just too much time for From to put into the game. Keep in mind he had no experience with the game nore a source code). And the controls. The windows mouse arrow is in the middle of the game screen. That is just pathetic. Oh and instead of the mouse controlling the camera (like, ya know, practically all other PC games with a moveable camera) the mouse only acts to control a virtual joystick, and this virtual joystick move the camera slower than it is moved on the PS3 or 360 version. Mouse accerlation (which is a bad thing already) was reveresed and as a result if you move the mouse quicker it actually slows down the camera. And then the game uses GFWL...

    This port is just horrible. It is **** Do NOT buy it you would be wasting your money on a pile of **** and telling developers and publishers "Hey, I'm cool if you release broken **** I'll still eat it up nom nom nom!" The people giving it 10 stars or anything higher than a **** 5 are either fanboys or marketers being paid to do so. Hell, the two "professional reviewers" gave this **** an 92 and 89. I bet you almost anything they happened to get a little gift from Namco or FromSoft, that are the reviewers themselves are fanboys. Now, port aside. This game really is great, it is unfortunate that the port is such utter **** If you have a PS3 or 360 or if the PC version gets fixed then I do highly recommend you buy the game, but do not buy this port so long as it is a steaming pile of ****    … Expand
  20. necropsie
    Aug 24, 2012
    0
    This is the holy grail of all console ports to the PC: The worst of it all. Trust me, it is that bad. Default key mapping is a joke. Graphics are **** even 5-6 year old games look much nice. Sound effects are so simple and bad. And controls.. Oh, controls. They are.. stupid. Yep. Dont waste your time even with a pirated version, i think this gives an idea of how bad this game is. It isn'tThis is the holy grail of all console ports to the PC: The worst of it all. Trust me, it is that bad. Default key mapping is a joke. Graphics are **** even 5-6 year old games look much nice. Sound effects are so simple and bad. And controls.. Oh, controls. They are.. stupid. Yep. Dont waste your time even with a pirated version, i think this gives an idea of how bad this game is. It isn't even worth of pirated download..… Expand
  21. seuche
    Aug 25, 2012
    0
    im playing games since years and sometimes portations from the consoles to the pc are cheap and annoying, but this game.... this is the most terrible portation i have ever seen in my life! everything is just so cheap portated and without concideration of the requirements of the pc plattform, that it kills the whole game experience. everything there fails - the ui, the controlls, theim playing games since years and sometimes portations from the consoles to the pc are cheap and annoying, but this game.... this is the most terrible portation i have ever seen in my life! everything is just so cheap portated and without concideration of the requirements of the pc plattform, that it kills the whole game experience. everything there fails - the ui, the controlls, the graphics, the settings, everything. its so poorly done, that even a random guy from the street was needed to improve the graphics a bit. tl;dr
    ITS A PURE RIP-OFF!    … Expand
  22. johndoe0
    Aug 26, 2012
    3
    First of all why all these bad review with a 10 score??? Btw I had a really high expectations for this game. I love play games on hardnightmare, so this sounded like a good challenge for me. After few minutes bad graphic (late ps2 like), choppy frame rate(cheap console port style), bad pad mapping, made an hard game an impossible one! So im really disappointed. I don't suggest this even onFirst of all why all these bad review with a 10 score??? Btw I had a really high expectations for this game. I love play games on hardnightmare, so this sounded like a good challenge for me. After few minutes bad graphic (late ps2 like), choppy frame rate(cheap console port style), bad pad mapping, made an hard game an impossible one! So im really disappointed. I don't suggest this even on sale, too much frustration!… Expand
  23. Kriv
    Sep 7, 2012
    0
    I can believe that last week this game has a total of 400 hundred negative reviews and now there are only 145. The user score was in 3.0 or something like that. Come on be honest about this game. The game was not ready to be deliver to PC. Lack of graphics , terrible controls from mouse and keyboard and also using a controller. The story is not a big deal and the character classes lookI can believe that last week this game has a total of 400 hundred negative reviews and now there are only 145. The user score was in 3.0 or something like that. Come on be honest about this game. The game was not ready to be deliver to PC. Lack of graphics , terrible controls from mouse and keyboard and also using a controller. The story is not a big deal and the character classes look more like super Nes type. Most of the positive comments are from the developer… Expand
  24. Noolah
    Aug 24, 2012
    3
    I'm wishing I'd spent my money on Darksiders II instead. This game is just dire. The story is let down by graphics that wouldn't have looked out of place on my original Xbox. Yes, I can set the resolution to 1920 x 1080, but it's obviously still intended to be played on a big screen. Don't get me started on the control system; if I'd wanted to use a gamepad to play a game, I'd haveI'm wishing I'd spent my money on Darksiders II instead. This game is just dire. The story is let down by graphics that wouldn't have looked out of place on my original Xbox. Yes, I can set the resolution to 1920 x 1080, but it's obviously still intended to be played on a big screen. Don't get me started on the control system; if I'd wanted to use a gamepad to play a game, I'd have bought it for my 360 instead. You can customize the keyboard controls and even use a mouse (mouse support is just terrible), but all of the on-screen prompts assume you're using a game pad. So you're left either mashing keys until you get the right one, or having to look it up on the cheat-sheet you've probably had to print out to stand any chance of even being able to press the correct button. The camera controls are also extremely annoying. TL;DR - If you want this game, get the console version.… Expand
  25. Dimuscul
    Aug 24, 2012
    2
    Worst port ever. Resolution is capped, FPS are capped, keyboard and mouse controls are a nightmare, video options are inexistant ... in general it make me feel like I'm playing on a PS2 emulator.
  26. raidet
    Aug 24, 2012
    0
    Disgracefully blatant score-bumping from the developer/publisher here. As every other legitimate customer is saying - this port is dire. Given the enormous control issues, It's not in a playable state. I am not happy.
  27. fickett
    Aug 24, 2012
    0
    This has to be the worst pc port ever. The only reason they shelled this out is because pc gamers petitioned for it and they gave us a bad quality product. This is going to lead them to believe that if you make a pc port then pc gamers won't buy it but in reality pc gamers won't buy bad quality products.
  28. Neddy
    Dec 17, 2016
    2
    Why does everyone only criticise this game for being a bad port. The difficulty aspect of needs much more attention: Just don't buy it.

    One point for setting and concept. One point for atmosphere.
  29. Serio
    Mar 23, 2019
    3
    Dark Souls punishes you for not knowing things you have no way of knowing yet. Punishment is performed by excessively wasting your time.

    Things that you have no way of knowing yet but will punish you come in many variants: - walking in the wrong direction (wrong-level areas, missing a checkpoint (which are sometimes hidden)) - traps and ambushes along the way - spending exp/souls on    Dark Souls punishes you for not knowing things you have no way of knowing yet. Punishment is performed by excessively wasting your time.

    Things that you have no way of knowing yet but will punish you come in many variants:
    - walking in the wrong direction (wrong-level areas, missing a checkpoint (which are sometimes hidden))
    - traps and ambushes along the way
    - spending exp/souls on bad stats or weapons
    - basic rules of combat (invincibility frames, parrying, invasions, armour usefulness, enemy turn speed, some hitboxes)
    - behaviour of never before encountered enemies
    - enemy weaknesses
    - strategies that feel like they shouldn't be this effective in the first place
    - which enemies to better run past

    You'll get punished for not knowing this by either:
    - having to redo the last couple of minutes (this you will spend most of your time on)
    - wasting hours being in an area you have no business being in
    - having a weak character for the rest of the game
    - getting angry for having no way of having knowledge in advance how to circumvent the punishment
    - wondering if the designers of the game are actually trying to make your life worse
    - doubting if trying again is worth your time in the first place

    To fill the knowledge gaps needed to succeed you either use trial and error or one of the numerous guides which make most parts of the game easy and which most players seem to use. A big portion of the fun of exploration is destroyed by using guides but there is no fun in unfairly getting punished either so you have to pick your poison. In retrospect I regret not using a guide more willingly because it seems like a requirement to have insider knowledge about some aspects of the game (i.e. finding a certain door). If you look stuff up though then you miss out on probably the best part of the game which is the atmosphere of maneuvering through an unknown, grand and hostile world.

    Indeed the game world doesn't want the player to succeed which is surprisingly an interesting concept. It enforces a narrative of the player progressing against all odds by beating monstrous bosses and enduring senseless hardships by strength of will. This is funnily enough the beauty of Dark Souls.
    You will encounter a lot of reviews praising its difficulty from players who were captivated by this narrative and somehow didn't mind all those hours wasted by getting unfairly punished. But if you don't need a self-esteem boost or get one by enduring hardships and value your time then I can not recommend this game to you.
    Don't let your judgement be clouded by people telling you, you are bad for quitting. They might just be justifying having endured the punishments themselves. Most will quit this game and most will do so for good reasons.    … Expand
  30. ViperITB
    Dec 23, 2016
    1
    Fight with controls (why the LOCK function is on my Start button???). Fight with overpowered enemies. Die. Fight with controls. Fight with overpowered enemies. Die. Think what you did wrong. Fight with enemies. Fight with another group of enemies. Die. Fight with enemies. Fight with another group of enemies. Go to the third group of enemies. Die. (...) Time after time after time, the sameFight with controls (why the LOCK function is on my Start button???). Fight with overpowered enemies. Die. Fight with controls. Fight with overpowered enemies. Die. Think what you did wrong. Fight with enemies. Fight with another group of enemies. Die. Fight with enemies. Fight with another group of enemies. Go to the third group of enemies. Die. (...) Time after time after time, the same fights. Going 500 meters in the game world requires 5-6 deaths and beating the same groups of constantly respawning enemies. I thought games are supposed to be enjoyable. This one is infuriating. What a waste of money.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

22
#22 Best PC Game of 2012
10
#10 Most Discussed PC Game of 2012
20
#20 Most Shared PC Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
85

Generally favorable reviews - based on 42 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 36 out of 42
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 42
  3. Negative: 1 out of 42
  1. PC Master (Greece)
    Feb 6, 2013
    72
    The irony is that the PC version could have been much better than the PS3/360 ones, with higher resolutions to make the textures look better, a cornucopia of mods and/or an active (in theory at least) community. But FROM ruined it all (with the assistance of Games for Windows Live). It’s a shame really, if we at least had just a decent port (or a better infrastructure for a less appalling multiplayer mode), Dark Souls could have been one of the best RPG for the PC. [November 2012]
  2. GameFocus
    Nov 19, 2012
    80
    Not often do you see a game that is equally rewarding as it is frustrating; and it's not because the game is unfair.
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  3. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Oct 29, 2012
    80
    Dark Souls returns the hardcore elements back to action RPGs – heavy focus on uncompromising fight mechanics and absolute freedom in hero profiling. The price of this game is not for everyone. [Oct 2012]
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