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. CursedKnight
    Sep 7, 2023
    0
    Dark Souls: Prepare To Die Edition is a milestone in the history of video games. Its excellence shines through various aspects.

    Pros: Rewarding Challenge: Extreme difficulty is offset by the sense of accomplishment when overcoming obstacles. Intriguing World: Lordran is an interconnected world, full of secrets and submerged lore. Deep Combat: The combat system is precise and    Dark Souls: Prepare To Die Edition is a milestone in the history of video games. Its excellence shines through various aspects.

    Pros:

    Rewarding Challenge: Extreme difficulty is offset by the sense of accomplishment when overcoming obstacles.

    Intriguing World: Lordran is an interconnected world, full of secrets and submerged lore.

    Deep Combat: The combat system is precise and strategic, allowing for various approaches.

    Immersive Atmosphere: The dark ambiance and melancholic soundtrack create an immersive experience.

    Story in the Margins: The narrative is fragmented and requires exploration, enriching the experience.

    Cons:

    Technical Issues: Some bugs and optimization problems hinder gameplay at times.

    Steep Learning Curve: It can be intimidating for novice players, deterring some.

    Final Verdict:

    Dark Souls: Prepare To Die Edition, despite some technical issues, is unquestionably the greatest game of all time. Its complexity, challenge, and narrative depth create an experience that transcends any other title. This game is a masterpiece that will be remembered and cherished by generations of gamers.    … Expand
  3. BraidzMC
    Sep 7, 2023
    9
    It's the game that ruined Action RPG's for me forever.

    No world design in gaming has stacked up since.

    An imperfect buggy unfinished masterpiece
  4. Lazzakz
    Aug 21, 2023
    10
    Single-handedly the most ridiculously good level design in ages. Fantastic worldbuilding, unique and genre-defying gameplay. The ultimate experience for its generation of gaming.

    10
  5. BioShip0706
    Aug 11, 2023
    8
    8.5 . Amazing game, i didn't really notice the downfall on the second half of the game cause i played it many years ago.
  6. agq
    Jul 28, 2023
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is the closest any game will ever come to in terms of true art. The story is told through rare bits of NPC dialogue, descriptions of items, and the world around you. The enemies, bosses and world design feel intricately designed in a way that makes the world feel real and lived in. This game-play can go from dreadful to fearless depending on where you are, the trip into the Depths and down to Blighttown always gives me a unique sense of dread that not even a horror game could give me. But you persist and move on through the game, unveiling the ending leaving you thinking that you have played the greatest game ever to be created.… Expand
  7. Naked_Snakee
    Jul 22, 2023
    8
    Just text (crutch) to save the game to the list. Such things. Maybe I'll do a review later.
  8. Magikcarp
    Jul 19, 2023
    10
    Gameplay - 10
    Plot & Characters - 5
    Storytelling - 8
    Pacing - 10
    Music & Sound - 9
    Replayability - 9
    Performance - 7
  9. Marcio_
    Jul 2, 2023
    10
    Those who gave low marks clearly did not know how to take advantage of the essence and its real message. Regarding the controls on the PC, there are no conditions to play a game of this size on the keyboard. Furthermore, this masterpiece still has an impact on games today. To those who complain, I hope you have a good reasoning to understand everything that happens in this work whileThose who gave low marks clearly did not know how to take advantage of the essence and its real message. Regarding the controls on the PC, there are no conditions to play a game of this size on the keyboard. Furthermore, this masterpiece still has an impact on games today. To those who complain, I hope you have a good reasoning to understand everything that happens in this work while resting at the fire. PRAISE THE SUN!… Expand
  10. Tintler
    Jun 26, 2023
    6
    Çok kötü bir PC portuydu. Topluluk patchleri olmadan imklansızdı. Fakat oyun olarak, oyuncuya başarma duygusunu veren en iyi oyunlardan.
  11. KOMC
    Feb 26, 2023
    9
    one of my favourite game of all time!!!
    insane world design, excellent boss design!!
    too much unforgettable memory!
    all the NPC are so interesting too!
    Ash lake is still most breathtaking area of souls series and one of the best in gaming history!
  12. smahlt
    Jan 20, 2023
    9
    This is a very good game. Fantastic beginning of the Dark Souls series, and the best of the three.
  13. Beeshu
    Dec 19, 2022
    9
    DS1 is an instant classic. The way the game presents challenge and storytelling is revolutionary for the whole games industry. Some might be scared off by the game's difficulty and lack of direction, but once you overcome that initial learning barrier, the game opens up as an incredible skill-based RPG with a fantastic underlying story and a mythical and hostile world waiting to be conquered.
  14. Chalkbrood
    Dec 11, 2022
    8
    this is my favourite game but I cannot in good conscience give this more than a 7.5/10
    It's beautiful in a sense that it's not actually as hard to learn as people make it out to be, it's just that applying the knowledge to new areas of the game manages to stay as punishing as the start of the game when you don't have that knowledge. that's a good learning curve my friends
    or it is a good    this is my favourite game but I cannot in good conscience give this more than a 7.5/10
    It's beautiful in a sense that it's not actually as hard to learn as people make it out to be, it's just that applying the knowledge to new areas of the game manages to stay as punishing as the start of the game when you don't have that knowledge. that's a good learning curve my friends
    or it is a good learning curve until the second half of the game, where it seems that they ran out of money, one area is cast entirely in darkness, it's almost like they didn't have to design a place
    one is a lava field filled with dragon asses (this is not hyperbole or a joke), it's basically just a stack of pointless reused assets, one area is a single room which would be clever if it were implemented properly but it rather unfortunately is quite a dull area. it doesn't help that by this part of the game your character should be somewhat overpowered in comparison to what should be the more interesting individual encounters.
    Furthermore the game is nigh impossible to penetrate the ideas of, while it's fine for the story to be obfuscated behind little details, a lot of quite important gameplay details are completely unclear. This paired with the fact that when buffs are most useful (early game) is when buffs are also completely non replenishable makes the barrier to entry quite high and not just because it's designed to be hard, but because it's pointlessly obscure what does what. One of the stats you can put points in is legitimately useless. Furthermore there are nearly gamebreaking weapons that have a 1 in 5 drop rate from enemies that don't respawn that there are only one of, so first timer success can be contingent on luck.
    So those are the negatives and ultimately they're not all that negative, this game is very enjoyable to get good at and a lot of enemy designs and environment designs are amazing fun to look at. So yeah, git gud, play dark souls, but do it with a strategy guide cause it's probably impossible without one    … Expand
  15. maluigario
    Dec 5, 2022
    9
    The beginning of a delicious series of games and creative brethren. The graphics and combat don't hold up as well post-Dark Souls 3/Sekiro/Bloodborne, but this game still holds a place of honor for being the birth of an absolute CRAZE in new gameplay design. It did for action/adventure games what FNAF did for horror; it changed the way everyone looks at the genre and forced the entire gameThe beginning of a delicious series of games and creative brethren. The graphics and combat don't hold up as well post-Dark Souls 3/Sekiro/Bloodborne, but this game still holds a place of honor for being the birth of an absolute CRAZE in new gameplay design. It did for action/adventure games what FNAF did for horror; it changed the way everyone looks at the genre and forced the entire game industry as a whole to shift, so much so that Steam now has a "Souls-like" category. That should speak for itself.… Expand
  16. Aidelweiss
    Dec 5, 2022
    8
    great game, you really wanna take it slow. the multiplayer meta is a bit dependent on a single build
  17. vip_leaf
    Nov 21, 2022
    10
    Truly one of the greatest games of all time. The pc version needs the dsfix mod though to be playable.
  18. CodaHensley
    Aug 27, 2022
    8
    Dark Souls, how I love you. Dark Souis, how I hate you. I know these days there isn't really a new take under the sun, but with the circle jerk it surrounding Dark Souls, I still feel as though it's blasphemy to say any part of Dark Souls isn't amazing. I personally think a lot of Dark Souls isn't amazing. The main foundation that manages to uphold the game is its feel, no other gameDark Souls, how I love you. Dark Souis, how I hate you. I know these days there isn't really a new take under the sun, but with the circle jerk it surrounding Dark Souls, I still feel as though it's blasphemy to say any part of Dark Souls isn't amazing. I personally think a lot of Dark Souls isn't amazing. The main foundation that manages to uphold the game is its feel, no other game captures the same atmosphere of Dark Souls. However, at the end of my most recent playthrough, I think I've become convinced that's all that's good about Dark Souls. Dark Souls has abysmal combat. A lot of people say that it's skill based, no it's absolutely not, each weapon has such limited implementation, trapped to only a few basic attacks each. Its more of a memory game, becoming comfortable with a specific weapons attack patterns and adding in the knowledge of enemy attack patterns in order to equate to being able to attack the number of times that the enemy's recovery time allows. This however, very often has you using the same weapon for the entire game, and this is not a short game. In a game that seems to throw variety at you, begging for experimentation, anytime I picked up any new armor or weapon and I was curious enough to test it, I would get stomped out while trying to essentially relearn the combat of timings of each weapon. And I'm specific about saying 'timing', because there is no variety from weapon to weapon, a weapon either thrusts or stabs, thats it. The only thing that changes is the animations that play when a characters swings. It makes the game feel stale very quickly, and the last few hours became a slog. I changed weapons all of one time to fight a boss that was easier to overcome with quick attacks rather than high damage ones, but that was one boss out of a plethora of big, slow moving tanks, and I'd argue that its one of the most unfair bossfights in the game anyways. Despite my issues, I can't bring myself to hate it. I've never gotten more angry at the **** a game pulls than playing this game, but the design of the world and its characters are so damn appealing to look at, even if they don't make any sense when you put the specifics of it under a microscope. That's one last gripe, item descriptions aren't a **** story dude, not one of the damn Dark Souls games has a good story, i'd be hard pressed to say any of them have any story at all. And no, I will not watch a cringe youtube video to explain to me the lore that he made up in his head because you didn't put enough in your game. A bit harsh, but it comes from a place of love. If I didn't like the game, the things im not a fan of wouldn't stick out so much in my mind.… Expand
  19. draemato
    Aug 14, 2022
    3
    5/10 game but absolutely terrible PC port. You can't play online with DSfix and controls customizer, which is why i rate it 3/10. Play Remastered version instead but even Remastered is not perfect.
  20. Artors
    Aug 10, 2022
    9
    Un juego que no llegaba a 5 euros y me dio muchas horas de juego.Recomendado.
  21. k1ra120
    Jun 26, 2022
    8
    Dark souls is beautiful at its core. Interesting game mechanics and combat system. However, the port itself is bad. 30 fps lmao
  22. demestros
    Jun 13, 2022
    10
    This game is the reference. It has technical limitations, it was not polished, but it was revolutionary. At a time, when games became more and more like movies and played themselves, this game singlehandedly changed the focus of game machanics in the mainstream. It was hard and not afraid to hide game elements, to reward the player at the end.

    for me the pc version is the reference    This game is the reference. It has technical limitations, it was not polished, but it was revolutionary. At a time, when games became more and more like movies and played themselves, this game singlehandedly changed the focus of game machanics in the mainstream. It was hard and not afraid to hide game elements, to reward the player at the end.

    for me the pc version is the reference because of the modding scene and randomizers available.    … Expand
  23. Yukhta
    Jun 8, 2022
    9
    The game itself is awesome, but the PC port was horrible ( and still horrible).
  24. Senden_Wh
    Jun 1, 2022
    9
    Так, игра имеет много проблем с механиками и их исполнением. Если бы не они, игра было бы идеальна
  25. Desertstorm
    May 28, 2022
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Dark Souls was and still is an unmissable landmark unique title that arguably changed the gaming landscape. It spawned dozens of copycats and influenced hundreds of games, which makes it even crazier that there is still nothing like it. The closest are the other two Dark Souls games but each one has a different feel, the other two don't capture the originals' feel but have different strengths and weaknesses. Dark Souls 2 feels more "arcadey" while Dark Souls 3 leans more towards being an action adventure game.… Expand
  26. Izoeros
    Apr 26, 2022
    6
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  27. TheW4tchT0wer
    Apr 20, 2022
    1
    Gotta give it a point for the art style and atmosphere - they're the only things going for it. I think this game is for people suffering to the extreme from 'sunk cost' fallacy ('I wasted so much time on this garbage, it has to be good! I will troll other people to feel better about my poor choices!'). Most of the enemies, I had no problems defeating with my tactics. But basically toGotta give it a point for the art style and atmosphere - they're the only things going for it. I think this game is for people suffering to the extreme from 'sunk cost' fallacy ('I wasted so much time on this garbage, it has to be good! I will troll other people to feel better about my poor choices!'). Most of the enemies, I had no problems defeating with my tactics. But basically to progress, you are forced to grind - and it's the most boring slog of a grind I can think of. I'd honestly rather grind old NES JRPGs than a Souls game. The only thing that has routinely defeated my playing this or Demon's Souls has been overwhelming boredom by the third or fourth hour in. If it was a traditional action game, it'd likely be 100x better. As it is, it's just a bunch of poor game design decisions hidden beneath a nice coat of paint.… Expand
  28. BaldursThones
    Apr 14, 2022
    8
    I love this game more than the other entries in the series just from the world design. The combat might be clunky but the connection to fire link shrine is epic.
  29. prostopopez
    Mar 29, 2022
    10
    Simply put, a masterpiece.
    Great one-piece plot with lots of engraved details. At the same time, the presentation is unobtrusively woven into surroundings, for the realism and atmosphere of which game designers deserve special praise. The combat system is fair and balanced. The player chooses his difficulty, but not by clicking on the menu, but by making in-game decisions. Some of the    Simply put, a masterpiece.
    Great one-piece plot with lots of engraved details. At the same time, the presentation is unobtrusively woven into surroundings, for the realism and atmosphere of which game designers deserve special praise. The combat system is fair and balanced. The player chooses his difficulty, but not by clicking on the menu, but by making in-game decisions. Some of the songs are beautiful, the ending can bring you to tears. The motivation it gives is unimaginable. There are flaws, but this is one of the few games that I'm willing to give 10/10. So I do it.    … Expand
  30. dmcintire
    Mar 20, 2022
    9
    This port was a little buggy, but it was my introduction to the Souls series.

    DS1 has excellent level design, hard but fair gameplay, a ln intriguing approach to storytelling. I absolutely DS1.
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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.
    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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