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. SuperSourSauce
    Nov 1, 2017
    10
    Remember Castlevania? It was like Dark Souls! Because it was so difficult for its time.

    And Battletoads? Ghosts 'n Goblins? Zelda 2? All those games were like Dark Souls! Because lord knows we can't have a conversation about ANY challenging game/game with swords and shields these days, without it somehow being compared to Dark Souls! Ocarina of Time may go down in history as    Remember Castlevania? It was like Dark Souls! Because it was so difficult for its time.

    And Battletoads? Ghosts 'n Goblins? Zelda 2? All those games were like Dark Souls!

    Because lord knows we can't have a conversation about ANY challenging game/game with swords and shields these days, without it somehow being compared to Dark Souls!

    Ocarina of Time may go down in history as being the best Dark Souls game, but all work and no Dark Souls makes Souls a Souls Souls.    … Expand
  2. Rangaman
    Aug 21, 2017
    10
    Quite simply, a masterpiece in game design and atmosphere that may have its flaws, but those flaws are more than made up for by the rest of the game. A game that mixes great ARPG combat with seamless Castlevania-esque design and an overwhelmingly melancholic and depressing tone. Also, it's rather difficult.

    It's worth mentioning that this isn't a great PC port. A 30 FPS cap and 360    Quite simply, a masterpiece in game design and atmosphere that may have its flaws, but those flaws are more than made up for by the rest of the game. A game that mixes great ARPG combat with seamless Castlevania-esque design and an overwhelmingly melancholic and depressing tone. Also, it's rather difficult.

    It's worth mentioning that this isn't a great PC port. A 30 FPS cap and 360 controller prompts suggest the port was rushed, and the options for graphics are "you can change the resolution and the anti-aliasing I guess". It's nothing mods can't fix, but it is annoying. I'm also told the KB+M controls are crap, but I prefer controllers for...basically any game that isn't a Tactical RPG or FPS, so I wouldn't know about that.    … Expand
  3. 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
  4. Vandark
    Jun 18, 2017
    1
    It's one of the best action rpgs I've ever played, but i do not recommend playing this game on PC.

    PC port of this game is some kind of joke - almost unplayable.
  5. Cech
    May 16, 2017
    8
    Главная фишка dark`а: НЕопциональный хардкор и я это одобряю, но есть множество игр сложнее геймплейно, чем эта: как слешер тот же ведьмак даст больше челленджа. Дарк Соулс на фоне других игр в плане сложности слабоват.

    Чем ещё игра у меня не в почёте? Так это тем, что если убрать карту из любой игры - она станет хардкорной, да и во многом более хардкорной, чем ДС Боссы 40% боссов    Главная фишка dark`а: НЕопциональный хардкор и я это одобряю, но есть множество игр сложнее геймплейно, чем эта: как слешер тот же ведьмак даст больше челленджа. Дарк Соулс на фоне других игр в плане сложности слабоват.

    Чем ещё игра у меня не в почёте? Так это тем, что если убрать карту из любой игры - она станет хардкорной, да и во многом более хардкорной, чем ДС

    Боссы
    40% боссов убил с первой попытки, на одного босса ушло 11-18 попыток, на "шикарное" "Ложе", что не является боссом ушло около 10 попыток, на остальных ушло до 5 траев, чаще всего вторая и третья были удачными (Оргазм от победы испытал за всё прохождение 1 раз, в остальном было "каменное лицо")

    Локации
    Мне больше всего понравился лес, а меньше всего анусы подземелий в которых ничего не видно. Проще говоря, неплохо, но можно и лучше

    Персонажи
    Колоритные NPC и забавные враги, я влюблён в людей-грибочков, из-за которых я когда-то купил эту игру

    Игра меня научила
    Многих эта игра чему-то научила, точнее научила не совершать ошибки. Бред. Все ваши ошибки в этой игре можно пофиксить фармом. Уверен, что никто не выполнил "фёрст левел ран". Игра учит основам "Защиты древних" выфарми - победи

    Графика
    Каки мамонта, особенно для 2012 года, а сейчас то - УХ!

    Сюжет
    Его нет, просто забейте. Если вы уверены в том, что он есть - вы ретард

    Отмечу слова своего коллеги о том, что многие путают термины хардкорность и нудность, да, нудности тут больше, чем нужно, а появление телепорта между кострами в последней трети игры (и то не на все костры) - абсурд, телепорт должен был быть изначально.

    Возможно обзор будет дополняться мыслями, на момент релиза игра могла тянуть на 7/10, сейчас это твёрдая 5

    Жаль, что игра отказывалась работать тогда, когда я её купил из-за гейсфорвиндовса и не только. Игра не хотела работать как на вин7, так и на вин8.1, и как здорово, что вышла 10ка, на которой всё работает

    Всеми руками рекомендую в этом жанре не следующую часть соулс, а Lords of the Fallen

    UPD. Через нескоько месяцев я понимаю, что от игры осталось очень хорошее послевкусие, так что повышу оценку до 6.5/10

    UPD2. Без стороннего вмешательства в файлы игры и скачивания оных - неиграбельный кусок кала

    7.5/10    … Expand
  6. LifeHistory
    Apr 19, 2017
    10
    This was my first Souls game. I had really hard time at first and kind of hated it a bit because of the difficulty and the new mechanics that I had to learn. From Software brought a whole new genre to us and it was very refreshing and satisfying. It has nice world design and the fun of exploring is made in a right way and the feeling when you slaughter you enemies is fantastic

    If you    This was my first Souls game. I had really hard time at first and kind of hated it a bit because of the difficulty and the new mechanics that I had to learn. From Software brought a whole new genre to us and it was very refreshing and satisfying. It has nice world design and the fun of exploring is made in a right way and the feeling when you slaughter you enemies is fantastic

    If you don't have the discipline of dying too many times at a game then move on because this is nothing for you. You will get angry and you will scream and swear at some point but that's also whats makes it fun.

    Good idea with cool gameplay and once you play it you will remember it for the rest of your life. I've played every soul game and even bloodborne. DS2 has more place in my heart than any other soul game for some mystic reason...    … Expand
  7. DariushL
    Apr 17, 2017
    10
    The 10/10 doesnt mean is a perfect game. It means it's PURE. It doesnt pretend to be what its not and i love that.

    A lot of atmosphere, a fascinating artstyle and lore, tons of personalization options and trial and error with no hand-holding; plus, the combat system is gold and the storytelling is unique in his cryptic fashion. The multyplayer invasion system is simply genious and    The 10/10 doesnt mean is a perfect game. It means it's PURE. It doesnt pretend to be what its not and i love that.

    A lot of atmosphere, a fascinating artstyle and lore, tons of personalization options and trial and error with no hand-holding; plus, the combat system is gold and the storytelling is unique in his cryptic fashion.
    The multyplayer invasion system is simply genious and offer even more thrills, mixing sp with mp for a one of a kind experience.
    NewGame+ Mode makes DS even harder to drop, and leveling up to NG+7 will be an amazing achievement!

    Dark Souls is as addictive as it gets, simply amazing.

    I'm playing with the 360 controller and while i could not play it properly with mouse+kb, many manage to...(my first hour with no gamepad...i was about to write for a refund)

    I was reluctant to try this PC port, but DS is now in my all time top-5.
    A MUST PLAY.

    10/10

    *OST is simply amazing.!!!    … Expand
  8. angelss_13
    Apr 12, 2017
    10
    Una obra de arte. El primer videojuego que me hizo apreciar al videojuego como un arte. Su atmósfera, su jugabilidad, su historia, su banda sonora, su apartado artístico, todo es grandioso. Transmite emociones variadas e intensas a pesar de tener una narrativa no lineal y hasta cierto punto críptica (o más bien, quizás precisamente por eso). Las batallas contra ciertos jefes son algunasUna obra de arte. El primer videojuego que me hizo apreciar al videojuego como un arte. Su atmósfera, su jugabilidad, su historia, su banda sonora, su apartado artístico, todo es grandioso. Transmite emociones variadas e intensas a pesar de tener una narrativa no lineal y hasta cierto punto críptica (o más bien, quizás precisamente por eso). Las batallas contra ciertos jefes son algunas de las mejores experiencias que he tenido en un videojuego.

    Ahora bien, su adaptación a PC es realmente deficiente. Sin un control de Xbox simplemente no lo disfrutarás como se debe. Pero incluye uno de los mejores DLC's de la historia, así que se compensa.    … Expand
  9. JeromeLey
    Mar 28, 2017
    10
    Hands down the best game i've ever played. No sentence could describe the combination of dread, excitement, and awe that I felt every time I go through a fog gate and see a boss for the first time.
  10. vitucovigo
    Mar 22, 2017
    10
    This game is a masterpiece. PC port is bad, but with DSFIX is perfect. Controller highly recommended.
    The world is beautiful and really well connected. That connexions between areas are just crazy. It's awesome. The combat system is fantastic, the lore is dark and hard to find out without reading object descriptions. The bosses are incredible. The difficulty is well implemented. You must    This game is a masterpiece. PC port is bad, but with DSFIX is perfect. Controller highly recommended.
    The world is beautiful and really well connected. That connexions between areas are just crazy. It's awesome. The combat system is fantastic, the lore is dark and hard to find out without reading object descriptions. The bosses are incredible. The difficulty is well implemented. You must try this game out.    … Expand
  11. marcelus
    Mar 17, 2017
    9
    I made this review back in 2013 when the game wasn't available on my region (so I had the game but couldn't make the formal review):

    This is my humble review of "Dark Souls: Prepare To Die Edition". Souls games are between us since a while. I found them a few years after but not too late. Usually people make complaints and jokes about Souls difficulty but I think those games are fair    I made this review back in 2013 when the game wasn't available on my region (so I had the game but couldn't make the formal review):

    This is my humble review of "Dark Souls: Prepare To Die Edition". Souls games are between us since a while. I found them a few years after but not too late. Usually people make complaints and jokes about Souls difficulty but I think those games are fair and they're not randomly designed.

    The Gameplay: is an action RPG. You collect souls to level up and buy things...you have bonfires (like save points / check points) where you can spend those souls and capitalize your progress. What I mean with capitalize?

    If you die between those bonfires you loose all your souls and something called humanity wich gives you a lot of advantage. But here's the catch! you can go through the whole area again and find your souls and humanity in a bloodstain.

    It's a game about pacing, learning patterns and patience. If you played any tradition RPG you must know there's some areas you can't afford without an specific skill, weapon or stat. Here it's the same but simpler.

    At first you can feel confused by the key binding. You use triggers and buttons from the upper part of your controller to use each hand and the items equipped there. It feels great and natural.

    Something great and distinctive about Dark Souls is the feeling of weapons. Some are lighter some are heavier but they infringe more damage. Each area, each boss you'll have a long arsenal to make a different aproach.

    Graphics: Is a 2011 game. It wasn't the best graphical experience at it's release but the art style is one of the best one of its generation. Level design is not linear, it usually gives you different paths for different areas. Usually you're heavier with your armor. Gravity and environments imperfections are always something to use to your favor. Exploration in Souls games is the best part of the experience.

    Sound design: It's great, each weapon each foley is characteristic. The things outise camera are present too. The quiet areas are sometimes the most interesting with little details.

    The OST of Dark Souls is one of the best ones in a game. Period. Haha! its sometimes lugubrious illustrating the tone of the kingdom and the crazy NPC's. Talking about them. The voice acting hast not great quality the sound kind of low fi or with too much reverb (wich is planned think I guess) but they're in the right mood to me you feel hopeless or strange in that world. An important thing is that there's tons and tons of dialog with information about the lore. Wich makes me comment about one the Dark Souls strengths.

    Storytelling: Dark Souls puts you in this lugubrious world with an amazing intro, some important characters for the plot presented and you just a humble undead wich has the luck of receive a humanity and begin your path to be again non-hollow....and maybe...maybe...became something important ;)

    The world you meet is the result of the intro years events. Years has passed you're watching the aftermath of some big deals between human, gods and other beigns (I'm not gonna spoil anything).

    The souls experience makes me remind sometimes to Castlevania SOTN revealing things between the NPC's and sometimes with Tomb Raider (the classic ones) revealing things between the objects and each discover you make...(Other non-related games I see in Souls at times: Die By the Sword, Soul Reaver and Crusaders of Might & Magic).

    I got away from the story telling thing sorry (I'm not an experienced writer). Returning and to close this aspect. I think Dark Souls way to make you understand the plot is very indirect and for some people it could be annoying. But this makes you want to replay the game more than twice, more than 3 o 4 and 5 times even. And nothing is randomly delivered. It's poetic and one the best stories I've experienced :') (tear)

    Finally The Boss Fights...They're the most epic battles ever. Bosses are stylish different and has a lot of lore baggage. You can reach some of the hardest boss in game history. A very little amount of them are beyond your luck. But they're not impossible. And they are the ♥♥♥♥♥♥ of this expience haha yes you read it right. The feel of defeating a boss not only means the boss. It means you improve yourself. No only in stats, your skills, your mental strenght and you overcome that area behind him. It feels similar to Shadow of the Colossus with each win ;)

    I always recommend Dark Souls to all kind of gamers. Even non-hardcore. Is not a hardcore game (play Japanese shooters xD). It's on my top 10 of all time. Again...Really recommended and deep in my gaming heart ;)

    EDIT:
    - "Artorias of the Abyss" DLC worth every second! ;)
    - GFWL migrated to SteamWorks Yaaaaay!! (and DS Fix works again)    … Expand
  12. vzlaDavid
    Mar 4, 2017
    8
    To start this review, I must say that I have not played the console versions, so unlie probably many reviews I will not judge it by comparing it to the console versions. Well, to begin with the actual review, this game is beautiful in almost all aspects. The difficulty curve the game has is nice and feels very natural once you learn the basics of the game, giving my example, I tried reallyTo start this review, I must say that I have not played the console versions, so unlie probably many reviews I will not judge it by comparing it to the console versions. Well, to begin with the actual review, this game is beautiful in almost all aspects. The difficulty curve the game has is nice and feels very natural once you learn the basics of the game, giving my example, I tried really hard to beat the Taurus Demon my first time playing since I did not even get any time to get used to the game; then the Gargoyles didn't take as much tries, and the rest of the game, while difficult, was not as difficult as those two fights, so once you get used to the game, it becomes easier and much more enjoyable. You just have to persist! Anyways, the boss fights for the most part of it are really well thought-out and are difficult enough such as to not feeling overpowered against most bosses no matter your gear (especially Ornstein and Smough) (f**k bed of chaos though), not to mention their AMAZING soundtracks that will definitely help make the atmospheres for their battles. The level design is also made in a way that your first time playing you will most probably miss a couple of secrets, which is good, since the game really rewards for exploring the world. Not to mention that the world really feels natural and alive. Now, on the technicals ide of things, the optimization and controls with keyboards are a commonly criticized point of this port, but luckily they can be fixed with the mods DSFix and KB+M mods in general. I have never tried to play with a controller but it sure felt nice to play with a keyboard with those mods installed, but I still felt some issues with the controls that were more the fault of the game rather than the mods. The graphics are not outstanding but the game really stands out on some parts (specifically Lost Izalith and Anor Londo), and there are also a couple of bugs out there, but the game is very good nonetheless. 8/10: it's not perfect but it doesn't need to be to give hours ands hours of playtime though.… Expand
  13. AndreRLZ
    Mar 3, 2017
    9
    Un gioco che ormai si puó dire sia diventato "un classico". Tutti i giocatori dovrebbero provare almeno una volta nella vita Dark Souls, per poter capire di cosa si tratta veramente. É di piú di un gioco, é un'esperienza che va oltre il semplice videogioco standard fatto di comandi semplici, tutorial e percorsi predefiniti. Qui dipende tutto dal giocatore, proprio tutto. Bisogna sempreUn gioco che ormai si puó dire sia diventato "un classico". Tutti i giocatori dovrebbero provare almeno una volta nella vita Dark Souls, per poter capire di cosa si tratta veramente. É di piú di un gioco, é un'esperienza che va oltre il semplice videogioco standard fatto di comandi semplici, tutorial e percorsi predefiniti. Qui dipende tutto dal giocatore, proprio tutto. Bisogna sempre stare attenti a dove si mettono i piedi, a come si usa la spada, occorrono riflessi. É come se il mondo di gioco non fosse stato "creato" da qualcuno perché tu ci possa scorazzare allegramente, é come se avesse una sua anima, come se ci fosse sempre stato , fuori dal gioco, indipendentemente dal giocatore. É un mondo interconnesso, liberamente esplorabile (anche se non del tutto da subito) e sempre affascinante e misterioso. Il senso di sfida superiore a qualsiasi RPG, il senso di ansia superiore a molti horror, il livello artistico e la scelta dei personaggi e delle voci, é tutto cosí ben messo assieme che non é possibile non rimanerne affascinati. Poche musiche buone, tantissime armi meravigliose (ognuna diversa dalle altre) , nemici sempre ben disegnati, boss memorabili e una lore vastissima fanno di questo gioco un capolavoro. Purtroppo il porting su PC fa schifo, letteralmente , e la parte finale del gioco si vede che é stata "fatta in fretta" (alcuni boss poco ispirati), ma rimane un giocone.… Expand
  14. Hostani
    Mar 1, 2017
    8
    Отличная игра и, наверное, моя лучшая покупка за 6 рублей. Отбилась по эмоциям за каждую копеечку. Жаль, что хреновая оптимизация, обилие багов и мыльные текстурки в 480p не позволяют поставить оценку выше.
  15. SolidCenturio
    Jan 27, 2017
    9
    Dark Souls is a very difficult game, yet my experience with it can only be described as gratifying. It consistently challenged me and appropriately rewarded my efforts for taking risks, never treating me like a child that requires constant hand-holding, but as an adult who can assess and adapt to the situation at hand. The game forced me to be patient and calculating, testing my limits,Dark Souls is a very difficult game, yet my experience with it can only be described as gratifying. It consistently challenged me and appropriately rewarded my efforts for taking risks, never treating me like a child that requires constant hand-holding, but as an adult who can assess and adapt to the situation at hand. The game forced me to be patient and calculating, testing my limits, and mocking everything that I knew about games, but all of the challenges that I came across were worth it in the end because it gave me that satisfying sigh that one gets after overcoming an obstacle which kept you in place for minutes - even hours - on end. It will be jarring at first, but if you're prepared to die (a lot) and willing to take challenges which the modern gamer would quickly deem intolerable, I'm sure you'll be rewarded with the same satisfaction that Dark Souls gave its players.

    And there you have it.    … Expand
  16. lolplayer117
    Jan 5, 2017
    9
    Great Game, Bad Port, Use Mods

    I recommend the better tree/foliage, lave, and ui/text mods. Also the one that allows high resolution and fullscreen borderless. I usually don't use controllers but it's absolutely necessary for Dark Souls. You will need to google. A lot. And you'll probably have to look at a guide at least a couple times. Maybe even watch some videos on how to beat    Great Game, Bad Port, Use Mods

    I recommend the better tree/foliage, lave, and ui/text mods. Also the one that allows high resolution and fullscreen borderless.

    I usually don't use controllers but it's absolutely necessary for Dark Souls.

    You will need to google. A lot. And you'll probably have to look at a guide at least a couple times. Maybe even watch some videos on how to beat the harder bosses. But it's worth it. This game will change how you view video games and kind of ruin less deep / mechanically interesting RPGs for you. Game has god-tier level design--everything, and I mean everything, is connected, yet each area has a very unique feel. Awesome monster designs. Terrifying music, although I wish it played more often than just boss fights.    … Expand
  17. 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
  18. 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.
  19. ozorxoron
    Oct 16, 2016
    10
    Years later and this is still the best Souls game, it has some balancing with weapons and paticular builds and lag issues but they don't hinder what is one of the best action RPG's ever made.
  20. loloppez
    Oct 1, 2016
    10
    this is simply the best game i have ever played, never before have i dedicated so uch time to wining a game and understanding its lore than with the souls series. this being the first one will remain in my memory, and in my drive, for ever.
  21. Kharon
    Sep 30, 2016
    10
    I only played it on PS3, and boy was it an experience. It is definitely one of the best games I've played, like ever. Gameplay is super fun (didn't try it with keyboard), story is really heart-touching and impressive, if you dig into it. Boss fights are designed beautifully (except a few :D) and are really rewarding. If you don't mind the challenge and have the patience for it, definitelyI only played it on PS3, and boy was it an experience. It is definitely one of the best games I've played, like ever. Gameplay is super fun (didn't try it with keyboard), story is really heart-touching and impressive, if you dig into it. Boss fights are designed beautifully (except a few :D) and are really rewarding. If you don't mind the challenge and have the patience for it, definitely give it a try.… Expand
  22. Odogreviews
    Sep 18, 2016
    4
    Intro:

    Dark Souls is one of the most critically acclaimed games of all time. The game sold very well and has created the current Souls series which includes Dark Souls, Dark Souls II, Bloodborne, and Dark Souls III. Dark Souls was created by Fromsoftware it was to be the spiritual successor Demon's Souls which was worked on by the same team. People praised the game for its difficulty    Intro:

    Dark Souls is one of the most critically acclaimed games of all time. The game sold very well and has created the current Souls series which includes Dark Souls, Dark Souls II, Bloodborne, and Dark Souls III. Dark Souls was created by Fromsoftware it was to be the spiritual successor Demon's Souls which was worked on by the same team. People praised the game for its difficulty and thick atmosphere. I have been told by many people to play this game. I finally played it and beat it in a few weeks. I frankly did not enjoy that much. If you are expecting a positive review you can look at another review now. I felt that Dark Souls was a flawed janky game that was hamstrung by its difficulty but had well designed levels and ambiance.

    Presentation:

    Dark Souls has a passable presentation. The graphics are decent for a game that came out in 2011. The game's visuals as an overall package can look quite excellent in times and give you the feeling of hopelessness and oppression. The menus are design can be a bit clunky with your inventory filling up too much. The levels are designed with a high level of detail that greatly increases the immersion. Overall Dark Souls has a presents quite well.

    Story:

    Here is the part where I begin to not like Dark Souls. Dark Souls has a highly convoluted story that follows the theme of light and dark. Dark Souls has a minimalistic plot. Historical events in this world and their significance are often implicit and left to player interpretation rather than fully shown or explained. Most of the story is given to the player through dialogue from characters within the game, flavor text from items, and world design.The opening cutscene begins in primeval times, with a world shrouded by grey fog and ruled by Everlasting Dragons. In this world, Gwyn happens upon the First Flame and finds a Lord Soul, and with his allies, use their power to defeat the dragons beginning the Age of Fire. But all flames must fade, so after thousands of years, the Age of Fire was dwindling. With the dwindling flame, the undead curse appears, where certain humans become branded with the Dark Sign and continually resurrect upon death, losing a small piece of their humanity and sense of self with each death. The player begins as one of these cursed undead, locked away in an undead asylum "To the North". After escaping the asylum with the aid of the knight Oscar, the player ventures to Lordran attempting to follow a mysterious prophecy, given to them by Oscar. From there the story takes off. I feel that the game's story is too convoluted and minimalistic to tell a great story I understand that many will disagree with me on this.

    Gameplay:

    Dark Souls most lacking aspect is in the gameplay department. The game seems to be more focused on difficulty than eljouablbilty. Many deaths in the game can be unfair such as the games poor hit detection and physics which can cause your character to sometimes corrine off a cliff. I feel that Dark Souls has created a nasty tread in this area of creating difficulty as the center of the gameplay which can greatly take away from the experience. I believe that games should be enjoyable experiences and not frustrating ones. I believe that Dark Souls difficulty would be much more fair if it had a difficulty setting so players can choose how hard they want the game. The very well respected game critic Jim Sterling agrees with this and has wrote and said in the past that he wouldn’t mind Dark Souls having an easy mode so it would be acceptable to less experienced players. The game uses a basic action RPG combat. The game also uses a basic leveling system where you choose a class and build it from there. The game also features many frustrating level designs especially Sen’s Fortress which features many cheap and unfair traps that makes you often have to restart the area many times. The game also features some of the worst platforming in video game history even worse than the original Half-Life. Dark Souls combat I mostly found boring frustrating and repetitive and incompetent. Overall Dark Souls gameplay is far more frustrating than enjoyable.

    Technical:

    Dark Souls suffers from many technical problems and crashed on me many times in the middle of playing. The game also experienced many strange glitches as well. The game also had a terrible physics system which would glitch in and out and ruin the entire experience.

    Overall:

    Dark Souls is poorly made game. I don’t understand the praise this game gets. Maybe I am not the demographic for this game. I see Dark Souls has a bad influence the game industry. Bloodborne when it came out was praised for the same reason by critics but I hated it as well and they claimed it was a true survival horror game. As a survival horror fan I see it infest and ruin recent horror games to focus on difficulty to “scare” the player vs. genuinely trying to scare player in creative ways. I am greatly looking forward to Resident Evil 7. And so far from the trailer and demo it looks great but I hope that it takes influence from horror games like P.T. and SIlent Hill that focussed and real storytelling and scares over cheap difficulty to stress the player. I feel that games are made to be fun and Dark Souls is not that game. I give Dark Souls a very disappointing 4/10.    … Expand
  23. TemplarGR
    Sep 9, 2016
    1
    Well, to get this out of the way first, the port is somewhat decent now, it is playable, but you need a controller. This game is hell with keyboard and mouse. But i won't focus on that, because the main game is trash anyway.

    If you try to be objective for a moment, and look at this as a piece of software, comparing it with the competition, you can't help but wonder how can this pass as    Well, to get this out of the way first, the port is somewhat decent now, it is playable, but you need a controller. This game is hell with keyboard and mouse. But i won't focus on that, because the main game is trash anyway.

    If you try to be objective for a moment, and look at this as a piece of software, comparing it with the competition, you can't help but wonder how can this pass as a PS3 era AAA game. Seriously. The graphics are borderline PS2 level. Animations and hitboxes are archaic, controls are literally trash. Sound is nothing special, music, what is music? Dialogs are few. The character system is bad and not explained, you can't design a good character without a guide. Enemy AI is non-existant, enemies just stand on their place and just hit you with swords/arrows/whatever. They are just hit point sponges. There are bugs. This game could have been created with 4-5 interns at best. This is no AAA.

    Then we have the supposed "difficulty". Make no mistake, this game is not difficult, it is cheap. Let no blinded fanboy and "hardcore gamer" tell you otherwise. There is nothing difficult with Dark Souls. If it had a proper save system and allowed proper difficulty settings (easy/medium/hard), it would have been much, much easier than other games, because there is literally no enemy AI on this game. If you play Skyrim on the hardest setting, enemies can become HP sponges too, and hit you harder. Same thing, on a far better video game.

    You don't have to be a good gamer to complete this game. I am all for a challenge, but i am 33 years old, and my time is limited. I don't have the time to die 500x times, lose all progress and have to travel all the way again, or grind endlessly in order to beat a boss. That sh1t should have died in the 80s/90s. This is not difficulty, this is tedium. Difficulty is trying to beat a hard AI in chess. Having to grind to win a boss or die repeatedly to learn its patterns, is just a way to waste hours of your life for no reason. It is just BAD DESIGN. A proper human being, that means not a basement dweller, has no time for this sh1t.

    Last but not least, there is no reward for suffering to complete this game. The story is trash, the lore is trash. You have nothing to gain by completing this, other than "bragging rights". For me, if anyone, and i mean, anyone, comes to me and tells me that "he is a hardcore gamer because he wasted hours of his life dying cheap deaths in order to finish a non AAA console port", it is a litmus test for being an idiot. "sure bra, you completed this abomination, what a life accomplishment you made!" All the while normal people play real games to relax for fun.

    I can't explain the high scores of this game by reviewers. Typically, the metacritic scores it has achieved are reserved for classincs and masterpieces, and this trash is not. Also, typically, Japanese games have becomes garbage in the PS3 generation and afterwards. Repetitive trash with low production values. From software was a small japanese developer never known for any good game prior to this. So how come they made it? I believe it is a combination of "marketing" (read:bribes), younger gamers' inexperience and vanity, and Stockholm syndrome. Sony and Japanese gamers/media, have every reason to attempt to push this cheap trash as a "masterpiece" in order to make a comeback in the industry. Professional reviewers don't want to score it lower to not be called "n00bs" and told to "git gud". They typically never finish their games, they almost always play on easy, but somehow they adore Dark Souls... Yeah right... Kids with no accomplishments in their real life, are eager to show off by finishing this turd, and then go online and tell everyone and their dog about it. And they call anyone who won't suffer this garbage "a casual". Most of those kids have completed this game by sheer repetition and grinding, or with guides and cheats. Yet they want to keep the appearence of having fun with it, because admitting this is trash, will make them having to admit they wasted their time and what they accomplished is nothing special. Probably the reason for the whole popularity.

    I have even seen a best game ever list on us gamer, putting Dark Souls on No1 spot. That is after the release of Witcher 3... Calling it a master piece and work of genius. My God, the emperor has no clothes. Are these clowns getting paid to write this?

    Waste no time with this game. Next time someone calls you a "casual" for it, just laugh at his face. This fad will be over soon.    … Expand
  24. JustSomeGamer
    Aug 22, 2016
    10
    This is one of my favorite games of all time. Because of how hard and punishing this atmospheric game can be it's also very rewarding when you finally (somehow) beat that boss. Dark Souls also has AMAZING lore, although you will have so search it up for the most part, as the game doesn't tell you much and because some of the quest lines are easily overlooked.

    The only reason why i    This is one of my favorite games of all time. Because of how hard and punishing this atmospheric game can be it's also very rewarding when you finally (somehow) beat that boss. Dark Souls also has AMAZING lore, although you will have so search it up for the most part, as the game doesn't tell you much and because some of the quest lines are easily overlooked.

    The only reason why i didn't rate this game a 10 is because some aspects and mechanics of the game are very unpolished and not thought out very well. for example, if you accidentally hit a blacksmith once he will be hostile for the entire playthrough. another example would be how quite a big chunk of the content is practially impossible to know about unless you follow a guide or look this up on the internet. This includes things like optional bosses, npc, weapons and armor, and basically the entire story.    … Expand
  25. lolnomansskylol
    Aug 12, 2016
    8
    Great game with a great atmosphere. Though I wish it was worked on more to be a proper port. Luckily they were at least honest with it unlike other developers.
  26. Smilingcookie
    Jul 29, 2016
    9
    Not perfect, but still a masterpiece. Dark Souls offers a unique experience. Great exploration, the best combat available at the time of it's release and an amazing atmosphere. This one is a bit of a different beastie than it's sequels in the way that it's more geared towards exploration than only towards combat. You need to walk long distances between bonfires (checkpoints) and thoseNot perfect, but still a masterpiece. Dark Souls offers a unique experience. Great exploration, the best combat available at the time of it's release and an amazing atmosphere. This one is a bit of a different beastie than it's sequels in the way that it's more geared towards exploration than only towards combat. You need to walk long distances between bonfires (checkpoints) and those paths can be hard to find and perilious. When you need an item you could only get in one place, you need to track back a long way to go and get it. Dark Souls has great world connectivity though, and this makes up for the lack of fast travel in the first half of the game. The levels interconnect beautifully once you unlock certain shortcuts. What you see in the distance are places you can actually get to later in the game. The individual levels are imaginative and varying, though at times a bit empty. Great weapon, armor and enemy variety. Armors are not just for show, but give a very different feeling to your movement. I.e. the Elite Knight Armor gives a truly heavy and clunky feeling, but gives you high momentum and defense which is an enormously satisfying combination. Some interesting NPC's to meet along the way and a world that tries it best to kill you again and again. A classic that offers some real beauty if you persist and master it!

    Sidenote: Highly recommended to play with an xbox 360 or Xone controller and to install DS fix to get the framerate at 60 fps.    … Expand
  27. ultrasoft
    Jul 28, 2016
    10
    Love it. Might be my favourite game ever.

    Yeah, the port is dodgy. Download the mods, get a controller, and prepare to give a few hundred hours to this amazing game. It's such a unique experience, with a strange world crammed with character, atmosphere, and creativity. What's very interesting to me, and I don't think I've experienced this with a game before, is how the    Love it. Might be my favourite game ever.

    Yeah, the port is dodgy. Download the mods, get a controller, and prepare to give a few hundred hours to this amazing game.

    It's such a unique experience, with a strange world crammed with character, atmosphere, and creativity.

    What's very interesting to me, and I don't think I've experienced this with a game before, is how the consciousness that you develop when playing Dark Souls leaks into the rest of your life, and you find yourself examining reality with a different mindset. That's pretty amazing. I guess YMMV

    A challenging, magical, life changing game for me.    … Expand
  28. DeyvsonCaliman
    Jul 25, 2016
    10
    Dark Souls is able to make the player feel a great sense of achievement. I remember struggling to kill the first bosses and thinking about giving up, but then, as I progressed, I felt like I just had to end this game. The boss fights are sublime, they really make us fear them and be happy when we finally win. The game have this European dark medieval aesthetic that is very appealing, withDark Souls is able to make the player feel a great sense of achievement. I remember struggling to kill the first bosses and thinking about giving up, but then, as I progressed, I felt like I just had to end this game. The boss fights are sublime, they really make us fear them and be happy when we finally win. The game have this European dark medieval aesthetic that is very appealing, with great armors and weapons that look realistic, except for the big size of some. The story turns into mere background noise, although it has it's poetry, but what is really appealing about the game is it's sense of challenge against very strong enemies that you fear before you defeat them, and respect after.… Expand
  29. ugi_b
    Jun 26, 2016
    0
    The worst game experience I've ever had. It might be better on console, but it is obvious that no real effort has been made to make it even mildly enjoyable on PC. Unbelievable that it is still available as a PC version, as it can only give the game a bad name. Keyboard and mouse need elaborate mods and fixes (and even then it's not much better), messages for key presses come up withThe worst game experience I've ever had. It might be better on console, but it is obvious that no real effort has been made to make it even mildly enjoyable on PC. Unbelievable that it is still available as a PC version, as it can only give the game a bad name. Keyboard and mouse need elaborate mods and fixes (and even then it's not much better), messages for key presses come up with console buttons and not PC key bindings, menu system is awkward, movement feels clunky and awkward, directional aim is clunky, camera view is slow.… Expand
  30. 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
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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.
    Read full review
  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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