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. EarlGray
    Sep 10, 2023
    7
    This review focuses primarily on boss fights, combat, and leveling. The game has 26 bosses, including 4 from the DLC.

    Great boss design encompasses the following: easily learnable mechanics, counter-able bosses, most if not all setups will be viable against them. Dark Souls does very well in the easily learnable mechanics realm, is moderate in the counter realm and does terrible with    This review focuses primarily on boss fights, combat, and leveling. The game has 26 bosses, including 4 from the DLC.

    Great boss design encompasses the following: easily learnable mechanics, counter-able bosses, most if not all setups will be viable against them. Dark Souls does very well in the easily learnable mechanics realm, is moderate in the counter realm and does terrible with build viability for bosses, there are some setups that will just NEVER work against certain bosses. My favorite boss is still Artorias, my least favorite Black Dragon Kalameet.

    Dark Souls could have been a 9/10 game if the game had focused on making fights more interesting rather than just punishing. A fight should never feel impossible and can still be challenging to overcome.    … Expand
  2. Tintler
    Jun 26, 2023
    6
    Çok kötü bir PC portuydu. Topluluk patchleri olmadan imklansızdı. Fakat oyun olarak, oyuncuya başarma duygusunu veren en iyi oyunlardan.
  3. Izoeros
    Apr 26, 2022
    6
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  4. undamoth
    Mar 11, 2022
    7
    Frustrating, challenging, and a nightmarish pc port. Bad controls, framerate, and a camera/lockon mechanic that betrays you oh so much and the primary antagonist in this game. That is.... It's still dark souls man. There is still fun to be had with its outstanding combat.

    It can be fun. Probably best enjoyed in its other iterations though
  5. yasean
    Feb 21, 2022
    7
    I love this game, this game opened another world of story and gameplay to me along with its challenges, of course, this version had a terrible quality in terms of FPS and some technical areas, at least on my laptop, of course For thick skin like me, it was enough to be a part of this game :)
  6. f0rdragon
    Dec 23, 2021
    7
    very good game with a lot of potential but poorly executed.low fps,terrible pc port and don't even bother to even test it without controller.some of the port problems can be fixed by dsfix but this isn't an excuse for these major problems.
  7. FRIST_008
    Jun 14, 2021
    5
    После бладика проходится очень уныло. Никогда бы не подумал, что дарк соулс, это вот это...
  8. danbut110
    Apr 25, 2021
    6
    Игра хорошая, но реализовать управление для ПК забыли.
  9. bancandrei
    May 12, 2020
    7
    Hard? yes. Fair? barely. Obscure? hell yeah. God tier level design? You have got to be kidding me.
    It does have nice moments and it envigorated the RPG genre. A lot (and I mean vast majority) is derivative of Demon's Souls though, so I guess credit is misplaced.
    It is still a worth experiencing, especially the first "half" until getting the lord vessel.
  10. MadnessisRising
    Dec 30, 2019
    7
    I'm a huge fan of the artworks that's why i played this game. But it turned out as a nightmare. Not because of the difficulty (ok maybe a little) it's more the fact that this game is not that friendly to new players like the second or the third (which I played multiple times). Also the fact that you can't travel around, till the half game is "over" is really annoying.
  11. Wivers
    Apr 28, 2019
    7
    Je suis assez déçu, au vu de sa notoriété je m’attendais à mieux. En deux mots : certain combats peuvent être difficile mais surtout le jeu est TRES laborieux.

    Alors y’a des trucs cool bien sur : l’ambiance, les combats exigeants, le design des ennemis… la violence ! C’est toujours cool de découvrir les environnements pour la première fois. Mais malgré toutes ses qualités, c’est trop    Je suis assez déçu, au vu de sa notoriété je m’attendais à mieux. En deux mots : certain combats peuvent être difficile mais surtout le jeu est TRES laborieux.

    Alors y’a des trucs cool bien sur : l’ambiance, les combats exigeants, le design des ennemis… la violence ! C’est toujours cool de découvrir les environnements pour la première fois. Mais malgré toutes ses qualités, c’est trop long : la duré de vie est rallongée artificiellement par la « difficulté » et autres choix douteux (voir merdique) de game design.

    Cote Technique :
    - faut faire des manipulations sous windows pour avoir du 60 fps. Et en plus on est obligé d’enlever l’antialiasing pour ca… wtf ? Ce n’est pas un petit détail ! Je vois beaucoup d’évaluations qui parlent de portage raté, et ca doit être une des raisons. Mais heureusement que y’a la communauté qui fait le boulot a la place du studio…

    - Ce jeu n’a PAS DE PAUSE. WOW, alors ca c’est du design de merde ! Votre femme vous appelle pour quelque chose ? Mieux vaut pas qu’il y ait d’ennemis dans les parages, ou c’est elle qui va devenir le votre ! Coup de téléphone ? Envie de pisser ? On sonne à la porte ? Le chat a vomi sur vos genoux ? Le bébé pleur ? Imaginez un jeune parent jouer a ce jeu… la galère que ce serait!

    - Interface menu perfectible.

    -Les contrôles aussi

    - système de sauvegarde qui fait chier plus qu’autres chose.

    - la camera qui fait chier régulièrement

    - Le jeu n’est pas clair sur beaucoup de mécaniques et le manuel n’apporte pas assez d’indications. Quand on joue pour la première fois on bite rien. Obligé d’aller voir un wiki bordel. storytelling quasi-inexistant. Combien de joueurs ont tout pigé seulement en jouant au jeu ?

    - le perso reste parfois bloqué dans les montés (escaliers/rampe) et cours sur place, c’est TRES pénible.

    LE point noir pour moi : Ce n’est pas si difficile, c’est surtout laborieux ! . Ma principale critique porte sur la façon dont le jeu vous fait parcourir de NOMBREUSES fois le même chemin, notamment celui entre le bonfire et un boss balèze. . Pour un combat de 2-3 min qui vous intéresse, vous devez perdre 5-10 min par tentative… Difficile de faire moins intéressant.
    Pourquoi ne pas avoir mis un point de sauvegarde juste avant le bosse ? Pas même un bonfire, juste une quicksave ?
    Ca ne créer pas de la difficulté mais seulement de la frustration et beaucoup de temps perdu.
    Et donc, la solution ? Tu cours ! Puisque ces combats sont inutiles, mieux vaut les éviter. Tu zigzags entre les monstres jusqu’au bosse comme si tu faisais un speedrun. Ca transforme ces 5-10 min en 3. Ces 3 min sont toujours aussi chiantes mais au moins c’est un peu plus court. Paradoxe du golf : le but est de jouer le moins possible.
    Heureusement que j’ai un deuxième écran ou je pouvais regarder netflix pendant ces périodes de sprint… Parce qu’on s’y fait bien chier !

    Le jeu n’est pas du tout débutant-friendly. De manière générale on ne sait pas toujours ou on doit aller. J’ai facilement perdu plusieurs heures à cause de ca, et ca participe au problème du rythme.

    aspect multijoueur: bofbof (pas assez de caractères pour élaborer )

    Deuxième point noir : un problème conceptuel que j’ai avec d’autres jeux : l’expérience infinie.
    contre la difficulté : farmer ! Le dilemme que pose le jeu est le suivant : est-ce que vous préférer perdre du temps à parcourir plusieurs fois le chemin entre un challenge bien corsé et un bonfire, ou vaut-il mieux perdre du temps à farmer d’abord?
    Et comme on le sait tous, « farmer » c’est le cancer du rpg. xp infini = challenge déséquilibré. +

    Finalement je ne sais pas si c’était vraiment utile que le jeu soit aussi punitif. Qu’on retire juste l’humanité a la mort, ca me semble être une motivation suffisante pour retourner la chercher. Mais toute l’xp ? C’est vraiment juste pour faire chier et ralentir la progression du joueur. C’est un système à la con. Ils auraient pu faire perdre un pourcentage, et ca aurait évité aux joueurs d’aller farmer pour compenser. Le rythme du jeu en aurait été amélioré.    … Expand
  12. Vectis99
    Oct 24, 2018
    6
    Dark Souls is a deliberately clunky and frustrating fighting game. It is mostly linear aside from a few branches and tangents, so the player is usually provided with a clear sense of direction from the game's start to finish. The aesthetic of the game is very dark, gritty, and ugly; while this is sufficient to make an artistic point which is at the core of Dark Souls's appeal, the game'sDark Souls is a deliberately clunky and frustrating fighting game. It is mostly linear aside from a few branches and tangents, so the player is usually provided with a clear sense of direction from the game's start to finish. The aesthetic of the game is very dark, gritty, and ugly; while this is sufficient to make an artistic point which is at the core of Dark Souls's appeal, the game's egregious length makes this a touch overbearing. The main issue with Dark Souls is how its un-intuitive, poorly organized stats and progression are so lazily thrown together so as to be nigh incoherent. Keeping track of which stats correspond to what on items is tedious and pointless, coupled with the arbitrary and frustrating of repairs and upgrades. All manner of mechanics like this make Dark Souls feel like a bad RPG not artfully difficult. Overall, Dark Souls presents an interesting artistic concept executed in a mediocre fashion.… Expand
  13. MrSealclubber10
    Sep 13, 2018
    7
    Pretty good game with a few problems for me.
    In about 75% of the game it's a fair challenge to the player but the rest of the remaining 25%? A very unfair memory test (Those percentages are totally not made up btw)
    The first boss for example, a real thrill of a challenge that feels rewarding once you beat him. But in other cases creatures off screen will just sling a projectile or    Pretty good game with a few problems for me.
    In about 75% of the game it's a fair challenge to the player but the rest of the remaining 25%? A very unfair memory test (Those percentages are totally not made up btw)

    The first boss for example, a real thrill of a challenge that feels rewarding once you beat him.
    But
    in other cases creatures off screen will just sling a projectile or some gargantuan beast from nowhere will pounce and you're dead. No two ways about it, you're dead.
    The camera coupled with the level design can sometimes screw you over, where it'll clip behind a wall and block your complete view.
    I like a challenge, not a memory test of jump scares and OHKs.    … Expand
  14. VahNabooty
    Jul 29, 2018
    6
    Very nice atmosphere and concept, but the gameplay feels very broken, and even though the community may tell you to "get good" the truth is that the game has bad controls.
  15. PappyBakesCakes
    Jan 17, 2018
    7
    This is a great game where the environment tells half of the story. There are no quests (besides the main), only suggestions and everything from the gameplay to the audio design to the story oozes with this idea of stagnation with moments of brilliance and passion. I would rate this a 9 but there are two issues:

    1) There are lots of bugs and such on the PC release. This has been fixed    This is a great game where the environment tells half of the story. There are no quests (besides the main), only suggestions and everything from the gameplay to the audio design to the story oozes with this idea of stagnation with moments of brilliance and passion. I would rate this a 9 but there are two issues:

    1) There are lots of bugs and such on the PC release. This has been fixed by a community patch you can find on Google. It is not a laborious task to fix it but clearly the developer had better things to do so this should show as a mark against the score.

    2) There is a section of the game that was admitably unfinished and rushed. This has caused the area to have an off feeling from the rest of the game. It still looks great but enemy placement and design is just a bit... weird. Also, the last boss is one of the most frustrating boss fights in my time spent gaming.

    Overall this game is filled with so much going right that even with some blunders it is still one of my favorite and most recommended games.    … Expand
  16. llamayarmybar
    Jul 14, 2017
    7
    I'm not sure if their is a game on this planet as infamous as Dark Souls, that actually makes you feel as though you've cheated throughout its entirety as soon as the ending credits begin to roll. I always considered myself a casual player in regards to the series, having mainly spent several hundreds of hours playing through multiple builds, with different weapons, different armorI'm not sure if their is a game on this planet as infamous as Dark Souls, that actually makes you feel as though you've cheated throughout its entirety as soon as the ending credits begin to roll. I always considered myself a casual player in regards to the series, having mainly spent several hundreds of hours playing through multiple builds, with different weapons, different armor combinations and different approaches to more or less the same thing, over and over again. However, when I did finally finish it, I felt as if I had stumbled upon a glitch. Early on I had come into possession of the "Black Knight Halberd," a weapon that has a certain random number generator factor in terms of how often it drops in the game. Most people would prefer not to use this weapon, or it typically doesn't spawn often enough, whichever the reason, I took it all the way to the end. I spent all my souls and items to upgrade it as high as it could go, I wore armor that was far too heavy, but provided all the protection I'd ever need, I found a "Stone armor" shield and used that for the majority of major battles. I believe all I ever upgraded was "Strength" statistics in regards to my own character. I felt impervious, really the only times I didn't were sections of the game that purposefully slow you down, put you in terrible positions, or squares you off against two bosses at the same time. Otherwise, I felt like my victories were undeserved and while this was going on, I also felt as though the game was missing something. Huge vantage points showed a massive world built for giants! Enormous structures lay about almost everywhere, but it was so spread out that the rest of the world seemed almost dead, almost silent. Many might argue that it created a more foreboding atmosphere, but I would argue that developers who designed such large open spaces, had neglected to place anything in them. While I don't believe Dark Souls is a bad game, I believe it is an acquired taste in the genre, to be fair their isn't much out there like it, but it lacks a kind of polish, it lacks a dimension of real proper design. I admit, I'm am just a casual fan, but even after spending hundreds of hours playing, even as the hollowed figure rose up from his imprisonment, after those credits had rolled for the first time, after everything had been defeated, even I had to set the controller down and walk away. Dark Souls possesses a kind of charm, that we don't see in many things anymore, and I do believe it is special, but it seems a shame that its uniqueness doesn't quite cover up its many glaring flaws. I think to this day it was one of the few games that had me utterly transfixed on its own pointlessness by the end of it.… Expand
  17. Gormph
    Jun 23, 2016
    6
    its OK, wasn't as hard as people said really you just take your time and look for the exploit. I like the story if you take the time to look for it, the only thing that really let me down about this game was the forced pvp, i didnt know it was a part of the game and its a real pisser to get far, or be near a camp fire just for some **** to jump in while you are surrounded and now you haveits OK, wasn't as hard as people said really you just take your time and look for the exploit. I like the story if you take the time to look for it, the only thing that really let me down about this game was the forced pvp, i didnt know it was a part of the game and its a real pisser to get far, or be near a camp fire just for some **** to jump in while you are surrounded and now you have to go back all over again. in the end if the pvp is a main stay of the game i probably wont play the other titles and just have to accept this game isn't for me.… Expand
  18. gloriouspotato
    Jan 23, 2016
    7
    First thing to say is that DSfix and a controller are pretty much a necessity for this game considering how much of a shoddy port it is. Without this mod and with kb/m, I probably would've rated my Dark Souls experience a 5/10 at best. Even with the fix in place, there are a couple graphical issues such as screen tearing, and performance can become unbearably bad in some segments even withFirst thing to say is that DSfix and a controller are pretty much a necessity for this game considering how much of a shoddy port it is. Without this mod and with kb/m, I probably would've rated my Dark Souls experience a 5/10 at best. Even with the fix in place, there are a couple graphical issues such as screen tearing, and performance can become unbearably bad in some segments even with high-end hardware (Seath the Scaleless boss battle comes to mind). Fortunately, these instances aren't commonplace and I was able to maintain 60fps most of the time.

    With regards to the presentation of the game, I thought the visuals and sound quality were unremarkable, even by 2011 standards. The level design was for the most part quite good, and I did like how interconnected the various areas of the game were. Many reviewers seem to praise the hidden backstory of Dark Souls as if it's some superior form of storytelling. While I do find the idea innovative in a sense, I do wish that the overarching story could be a little more cohesive and less up to interpretation. At best, the player finds small, disconnected snippets of lore from which the wider Dark Souls community have made vast extrapolations in order to produce some semblance of a timeline of events. I'm willing to bet that for most players, had they not consulted a wiki or accessed an online synopsis, they would've been quite lost in terms of the story, and wouldn't know that areas such as the Great Hollow or Ash Lake existed. My point is, while the plot that is deemed 'correct' by online consensus is a decent one, its delivery is too inaccessible.

    The gameplay mechanics are generally pretty solid. Combat system is decent, and there are some exploration and RPG elements. My complaints in this area include the lack of explanation of several mechanics such as rolling speeds, having longer/shorter parrying windows for particular shields, effect of humanity on item discovery and resistances etc. Enemy AI pathfinding also isn't very good, as seen when enemies roll off cliffs or get stuck walking up staircases. There are also a few enemies and bosses that felt 'cheap' in their design, usually due to forcing the camera into awkward angles in enclosed and narrow spaces (eg: Capra Demon, Centipede Demon). The difficulty is something that is often praised though I'm also not sure why this is so. While I don't object to hard games, it's not something I'll give free brownie points for. The game was challenging but not overly so. Like I said, some instances felt cheap, but otherwise with enough patience every obstacle in Dark Souls can be overcome.

    Overall rating - 7.1/10    … Expand
  19. Tylaris
    Dec 5, 2015
    6
    + Overall good melee combat mechanics with a strong emphasis on "impact" behind every action, every action carries a price and must be calculated, making it one of the most engaging combat systems
    + Good soundtrack
    + Great variety of enemies and their move sets + Excellent weapon (with their own animations) and armor variety, customization to your play style + Entire Player subculture    + Overall good melee combat mechanics with a strong emphasis on "impact" behind every action, every action carries a price and must be calculated, making it one of the most engaging combat systems
    + Good soundtrack
    + Great variety of enemies and their move sets
    + Excellent weapon (with their own animations) and armor variety, customization to your play style
    + Entire Player subculture through "covenants"
    +Good boss fights...some great, some are poor( Discharge, Butterfly, Bed of Chaos, summon exploitsm etc), but overall enjoyable
    + Well executed concept of learning about the world through subtle hints through dialogue, discovery, items
    / Atmosphere, Lore and sound design
    / Art style, environment design and visuals
    / Magic system, extensive but very unimaginative
    / Difficulty...challenging and rewarding, but trial and error also often cripples the fun factor
    - Controls with very noticeable lag, especially with jumping, dodging and rolling
    - Very poor combat UI
    - Abysmal dialogue and npc's, very poor voice acting...most of the time WITHOUT any lyp sinc
    - Poor Archery
    - TON of repetition and grinding
    - Poor and easily exploitable enemy AI that attacks through walls or shoots arrows relentlessly at them, or is simply unable to walk across ledges
    - Very "clunky" combat system with poor animation transition...very stiff, unsatisfying, with very poor or barely any decent combat coreography...it simply isn't fun
    - no tutorial of any kind
    - very poor pc port...fps drops, controls, UI

    Personal rant:

    Nothing of absolutely "legendary" quality that DS fanatical ( and somewhat rabid and insane, at times) community would have you believe. It combines elements from different games, improving on some, degrading others, while attracting the crowd with "Dark Souls is what turns boys into MEN" silly propaganda .
    It is a very limited title, with as many flaws as positives and one that requires more patience than anything else. I personally don't get a hard on from clicking a mouse and Dark Souls, most of the time simply comes across as being a tedious chore, than a fun and challenging experience.
    Still, I respect a vision behind this game and I can see that a lot of effort went into it, so I cannot judge it negatively despite my impression.    … Expand
  20. smilzoboboz
    Nov 11, 2015
    7
    The game is definitely good, challenging and with a nice and dark setting, but controls/bugs (only partially fixed with mods) kept me away from this title for a long time.

    When you release a game for PC, players expect to find 2 things, mostly: graphical options and working controls for mouse/keyboard (and eventually a controller too). This game actually lacks both (non-modded    The game is definitely good, challenging and with a nice and dark setting, but controls/bugs (only partially fixed with mods) kept me away from this title for a long time.

    When you release a game for PC, players expect to find 2 things, mostly: graphical options and working controls for mouse/keyboard (and eventually a controller too).
    This game actually lacks both (non-modded mouse-look makes you puke hard after few minutes of gameplay).
    After I switched to v2.0-beta, installed DSFix, DSMfix, KB+M icons and hi-res fonts it still isn't good: I can change graphical options and the mouse-look works "better" but it's definitely not enough to make me enjoy this game with KB+M.
    I know it is clearly stated that an xbox controller is strongly recommended, but again I think that for any PC game, working keyboard + mouse support is mandatory (along with basic graphical quality options). It's a pity we have to get what developers were supposed to do through unofficial mods.

    So, this PC port is still one of the worst ports I have ever played, but after you manage to get it playable modding/tuning graphic and control settings, I can easily say it's a gem, one of the 10 out of 10 that keep yourself playing hours and hours, amazed by atmosphere, story-telling and gameplay.

    In the end I'd say I totally recommend this game to hardcore action-rpg lovers but think twice before buying if you don't have a controller.
    Also, to my linux fellas: the game runs stable with staging wine, no framedrops.    … Expand
  21. styku91
    May 19, 2015
    7
    First of all, if not the quality of the port, the game would get a strong 8 or even 9/10.
    There is practically no storytelling in the game, you are figuring out the plot out of the events and very laconic conversations. However, I find the lore of the Dark Souls world very appealing, even if not being proper cRPG (story-wise).
    On PC, the legendary difficulty of this game is mostly caused    First of all, if not the quality of the port, the game would get a strong 8 or even 9/10.
    There is practically no storytelling in the game, you are figuring out the plot out of the events and very laconic conversations. However, I find the lore of the Dark Souls world very appealing, even if not being proper cRPG (story-wise).
    On PC, the legendary difficulty of this game is mostly caused by a very poor port. The game is practically unplayable with keyboard and mouse. Don't even start it without proper controller. Things like constantly displaying windows cursor or capped frame rate are minor issues, but the keyboard/mouse support is ridiculous.
    However the game still managed to rip 40 hours of my life.    … Expand
  22. PessimisticMan
    Mar 20, 2015
    7
    My favorite game of all time gets a 7. The reason for this is, while it is my personal soul-mate, it is definitely not for everyone, and plenty of flawed game design is in it.
    PROS:
    + The art direction is so incredible! This is one of the main reasons my love for Dark Souls is so enormous. If you decide not to get this game - at least pick-up an art book. + 90% of the bosses are    My favorite game of all time gets a 7. The reason for this is, while it is my personal soul-mate, it is definitely not for everyone, and plenty of flawed game design is in it.
    PROS:
    + The art direction is so incredible! This is one of the main reasons my love for Dark Souls is so enormous. If you decide not to get this game - at least pick-up an art book.
    + 90% of the bosses are challenging but fair (most of them). They can be amazing, brilliant, beautiful, and sometimes (if you know the lore) tear-jerking.
    + The lore is so deep; every character has an incredible back-story, no matter how small their role. A prime example of this is Knight Lautrec of Carim, who has more story than screen-time.
    + While some levels are hot smelly trash (*cough* Blighttown *cough*), some levels are amazing, for example, the Painted World of Ariamas.
    + So many weapons, so many spells, so many upgrades, so many classes; your character is a slate for you to do what every you want with.
    CONS:
    - Some bosses (the 10%, if you will), are just stupid. Bed of Chaos is one of the most frustrating bosses ever, Priscilla can be irritating your first few playthroughs, Gwyndolin decides if you live or not. But including maybe a few others, there aren't many.
    - Some levels are dumb - just designed to make you angry: Blighttown, The Depths, The Great Hollow, Ash Lake, and the route to Manus (if you have the DLC) is another awful one. But keep in mind, again, there are some AMAZING levels in this game.
    - Invasions, they aren't fair. But at least they don't pretend to be fair.
    - The biggest learning curve in any game every. You'll be frustrated when on your first playthrough you find out you've screwed yourself by wasting humanity and leveling the wrong stats 10 hours ago.
    If you're skeptical about a purchase of this game (unfortunately there isn't a demo I can recommend), just watch a Let's Play of the game on YouTube, and decide from there. But it is my favorite game of all time, and I would recommend picking it up on sale.    … Expand
  23. gracjanski
    Mar 15, 2015
    5
    5/10
    I am so dissapointed by this game. I thought it would be one of the best console game, maybe it is, but is this great?
    1st: I am not complaining about the ridiculous port from console to PC: with some mods this is technically not bad. Ok, there are some things, that is normal and great in PC games: free saving for example: I dont want to go through all the same enemies all over    5/10
    I am so dissapointed by this game. I thought it would be one of the best console game, maybe it is, but is this great?
    1st: I am not complaining about the ridiculous port from console to PC: with some mods this is technically not bad. Ok, there are some things, that is normal and great in PC games: free saving for example: I dont want to go through all the same enemies all over again, because I am killed by a boss, what is normal until you know the strategie.
    Now the game itself: Storytelling is so bad, I needed to search in internet to understand, that the story is... this never happened to me before. Gameplay...Hack n slay can be fun, but not here: you re doing the same little things million of time just to be perfect and not be killed... so often. Graphic + Sound: perfect. After about 15 hours I had enough and installed a PC game from 1997, that is better in my eyes: Fallout 1.    … Expand
  24. ghost2512
    Jun 12, 2014
    7
    an awful pc port.. but this is to be expected communing from the developer who has never done a PC port . but regarding the game its pretty good. the one thing i love about a dark souls game is its difficulty. this could be by far one of the best RPGs ever made if they made provided if the port was decent..
  25. ChunkySaurus
    May 24, 2014
    7
    I reviewed this poorly before but after seeing footage for Dark Souls 2, i decided to give this another try. If you press beyond the PC port issues there is some rewarding content later on. As long as you go the right way and have a walkthrough open most of the time.
  26. thederekman
    May 23, 2014
    7
    Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty.
  27. mrtbonesteak
    Apr 1, 2014
    7
    It's a horrible port and a game specifically made for the restrictions of a console. That being said, in hindsight it was worth all the headaches. It took me a few hours to get this game working properly on a PC with an azerty keyboard. After all that, the controls were still subpar and every gameplay tip was displayed with the controller keys in mind. I still wanted to experience thisIt's a horrible port and a game specifically made for the restrictions of a console. That being said, in hindsight it was worth all the headaches. It took me a few hours to get this game working properly on a PC with an azerty keyboard. After all that, the controls were still subpar and every gameplay tip was displayed with the controller keys in mind. I still wanted to experience this game because of all the good things I heard about it.

    After playing it for a few days, I can safely say that not just the port but also the difficulty of the entire game is vastly overrated. A lot of the difficulty comes down to quirks and limitations of the game mechanics and controls. Weapons hitting walls but no option to stab instead of swing, extremely bad hitboxes especially in some Boss battles, horrible camera angles and so on. Worst of all was the horrific targeting system. No self respecting PC gamer should be forced to use something as dumb and simplifying as an auto targeting system. If I played careful and focused, I rarely died more than once to a Boss mechanic or even a certain area. Atleast for me, a lot of the difficulty was artificial and it all came down to game and console limitations. I would have prefered if they would have added save points right before Boss battles, it's not a challenge to walk back to a Boss everytime you died, it's a waste of time. I have played RPG's that were, with the right difficulty settings, just as hard as this game but didn't have these annoying limitations.

    All these annoying quirks aside, the game is actually pretty solid. Engaging combat mechanics (despite the hitboxes on Bosses), great atmosphere, a very mysterious and hostile environment and some fun RPG elements. If you can ignore all those annoying things and persist till you can atleast manage the crappy controls, it's an addictive game. It can indeed be a frustrating experience, especially with the controls, but it wasn't the (partially artificial) difficulty that stood out to me. It was the engaging world, fun combat and the appeal of slow but steady progress.    … Expand
  28. JE5U5INCOGNITO
    Mar 30, 2014
    7
    I actually admire a game that challenges its players but Dark Souls goes too far. It often feels like you are not fighting the characters in the game but the game itself. The Controls are sloppy, even on a 360 controller, and many times you wind up doing something you didn't want to do. Beware of any form of combat on a precarious position, for you may end up performing an attack onI actually admire a game that challenges its players but Dark Souls goes too far. It often feels like you are not fighting the characters in the game but the game itself. The Controls are sloppy, even on a 360 controller, and many times you wind up doing something you didn't want to do. Beware of any form of combat on a precarious position, for you may end up performing an attack on accident that will cause you to fall to your death (this happens A LOT). There is no guidance in the game, so besides hacking bad guy after bad guy, I have no idea what I am doing. All enemies (except bosses) re spawn whenever you rest at a bonfire, removing any satisfaction from killing them. The comment system with which other players can leave warnings/adivce in your world is either useless or hurtful because they are so limited that you have no idea what they are talking about until after you have encountered the enemy ( some jerks put a "try jumping" hint near a cliff just to make you fall). Upon death, your re spawn at your bonfire, meaning that you lose all your souls AND enemies re spawn too, which could lead to an infinite loop of death...besides all this, it is still a fun game, just frustrating and difficult. The difficulty wouldn't be so bad if you could fight it, but since half of the problem is with the game itself you cant.… Expand
  29. limelikegreen
    Mar 11, 2014
    7
    You're going to die, you're going to want to throw things across the room and that's the point of buying this game. I love challenge, but I love challenge that comes from the game itself.

    The poor porting to the PC version leaves much to be desired. Controls are non-intuitive and difficult to understand. I got it on sale over Steam so it was a great deal for the playtime that I got    You're going to die, you're going to want to throw things across the room and that's the point of buying this game. I love challenge, but I love challenge that comes from the game itself.

    The poor porting to the PC version leaves much to be desired. Controls are non-intuitive and difficult to understand. I got it on sale over Steam so it was a great deal for the playtime that I got out of it, I just wish I wasn't fighting the controls and interface as much as the impossible monsters and bosses in the game.    … Expand
  30. IcecreamSnowman
    Mar 11, 2014
    7
    I had lots of fun with Dark Souls but I also got very frustrated at times. It has everything a good RPG should have. It also has some annoying repetition and grinding.

    The world is fun to explore, the enemies and environments interesting and varied enough to encourage you to go on just to see what's next. The world is progressively unlocked just by building your character until they    I had lots of fun with Dark Souls but I also got very frustrated at times. It has everything a good RPG should have. It also has some annoying repetition and grinding.

    The world is fun to explore, the enemies and environments interesting and varied enough to encourage you to go on just to see what's next. The world is progressively unlocked just by building your character until they can triumph where once they had been beaten to a pulp. I found it very satisfying to beat an area which had been much to hard for me a day ago.

    There's always something on the horizon goading you on - a boss you couldn't kill, a weapon you can't quite use properly, an item you can see off in the distance but can't reach. This all works very nicely to keep you playing without getting bored.

    Some more good points: there are no endless conversation trees, there's actually very little dialogue at all; enemies don't speak, so no repeated one liners; the difficulty curve keeps you challenged but not stuck (generally).

    BUT, and this is a big stinky but(t), I didn't like having to trek back through the same area with the same enemies every sodding time a boss killed me. I'd often spend longer getting to a boss than actually fighting it. This game could benefit immeasurably from a simple "Restart Boss?" button. This isn't a gripe at the difficulty, I like that the bosses are big and tough and can crush you with their pinky finger, because then I feel I've earned their XP etc. when I finally beat them. I just don't see why I need to fight the same small enemies ad nauseam just to get another round. "OK," I said "time to go grind some levels."

    I don't like grinding: a game should be fun, not work, and I don't buy into the thinking that if you haven't spent long enough murdering the same helpless group of enemies then you don't deserve to see the rest of the game you paid good money for. In this game you'll have to grind for XP and materials to improve weapons and armour. All that stuff should stay in the realms of MMORPGs where I don't have to go anywhere near it.

    These points fit with the lore but the lore shouldn't detract from game play - that's just pretentious and poor design.

    Overall a very good RPG which suffers from two very prominent annoyances.    … 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

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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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