Dark Souls

 PlayStation 3
User Score
8.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 2451 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,188 out of 2451
  2. Mixed: 103 out of 2451
  3. Negative: 160 out of 2451
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  1. Wendigo2064
    Oct 18, 2011
    6
    Like my poor wanderer after the hundredth death at the hands of undead, I'm split in two over Dark Souls. On one hand, it is challenging, beautiful, complex, and a worthy sequel to Demon's Souls. On the other hand, the game's glitchy hit mechanics, dropped frame rates, and broken targeting system make a near perfect challenge feel like a mistake. Don't get me wrong - I'm about 60 hours in,Like my poor wanderer after the hundredth death at the hands of undead, I'm split in two over Dark Souls. On one hand, it is challenging, beautiful, complex, and a worthy sequel to Demon's Souls. On the other hand, the game's glitchy hit mechanics, dropped frame rates, and broken targeting system make a near perfect challenge feel like a mistake. Don't get me wrong - I'm about 60 hours in, and enjoying every minute of the fight. Even the cursed frogs in the game's depths, growing in their infamy with every angry gamer on the web, only felt like a welcome side adventure to explore an underwater city filled with previously impervious ghosts. But when an AI skeleton suddenly falls through a wall, a self-healing dragon miniboss glitches to its death with one arrow, and I can't see how close that poison blowdart is to my skull because the frames have dropped yet again, the challenge feels lopsided. Dark Souls is purposeful in every unfair death, up to the point where my PS3 seems incapable of handing the evil and freezes yet again.

    I almost want to make the argument these glitches are part of the gaming experience, that the designers of From Software wanted to throw us abused players a bone with every enemy who doesn't notice the archer shooting from out of their AI radius. This is probably not the case, but one can hope. All the programming mistakes aside, I could say Dark Souls is the most involved action RPG since Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, with every corner hiding a secret and a battle system that has no end to its variety. There is no perfect weapon combination or stat build for your character, only a giant field of possibility to get you through the next seemingly impossibly area. A poisonous swamp? I be there's some poison resistant shadow clothes somewhere. A lava field? Hmm, how can I walk through fire...

    The storytelling, though scarce in dialogue, comes mainly from your own actions, making a hero's journey that other games can't match. Most games borrow heavily from other mediums, like film, to tug at your heartstrings or amp up the excitement. Most of Dark Souls' quests are self chosen - try to infiltrate the dark forest or delve into dangerous caverns first? Should you join this NPC's covenant and define how the next 8 hours will be spent, changing the outcome of a drastically long game? "Heavy Rain" tried, somewhat successfully, to force your empathy for predefined characters by giving you loose control of an 8 hour film, pushing the player onwards no matter what mistakes they made. Dark Souls makes you py for those mistakes, making them feel like real consequences. The adventure is imposing and up to you - and its excellent battle system keeps it exciting every deadly step of the way.

    Almost. In a game this unforgiving, every moment must be calculated, and it's hard to do that when you can kill difficult enemies from afar or glitch out their AI. It's cheating a great system. Conversely, if my sword is nowhere near that wall yet still bounces back, I'm being cheated. I'm giving this game a mixed review, with the acknowledgment of my love for it. I'll plow on, mistakes aside, through my second quest, because I know it has more depths than the mariana trench (or a certain new elder scrolls game with a placid difficulty curve and blandly familiar game experiences). If you can see past the problems, through the dropped frames, you'll find the greatest game of this year.    … Expand
  2. Avadon
    Nov 21, 2011
    7
    Having solo'd my way through Demon's Souls and NG+ several times in the past, I find the experience presented by Dark Souls rather disappointing. The game seems to be much more co-op dependent this time around, and I wouldn't recommend going through it alone to those who don't like ruining a game's atmosphere by facerolling through it with 4 people or don't like facing the danger ofHaving solo'd my way through Demon's Souls and NG+ several times in the past, I find the experience presented by Dark Souls rather disappointing. The game seems to be much more co-op dependent this time around, and I wouldn't recommend going through it alone to those who don't like ruining a game's atmosphere by facerolling through it with 4 people or don't like facing the danger of disconnecting or lagging. Unfortunately, you will be pretty much forced to do that.

    There also seems to be much more emphasis on what is known as "bullshit deaths" in Dark Souls, which wasn't so in Demon's Souls. Stuff that you can't possibly notice on your first go will instakill you many, many times and cause you a lot of frustration. The solution again is to be online and read help notes. If you don't do that, expect to take 3 times as long to finish the game. There are also fundamental design faults early in the game. For example, if you get poisoned by the first pack of rats after Taurus (and they pretty much instapoison you unless you get really lucky), you might as well reload, you are practically dead and have not yet had access to anything that cures poison with most of the classes.

    They also have done absolutely nothing to improve the cryptic nature of the first game, in fact they made it even worse. Reading hours and hours of wiki articles just so I can understand the basics of the new things they introduced is not something that is fun for anyone. Not explaining your mechanics to the player is not challenge, it's laziness. Having to start 3 new characters before reading up that you absolutely must get the Master Key gift if you are a sane person, and then having to delete them all and start over is not good.

    The game is also really glitchy, especially the pathfinding is pathetic, and people who claim this is a "feature" to be abused to increase your odds are just being idiotic fanboys. Enemies teleport everywhere, leap up winding flights of stairs in one animation and backstab you, and even bosses may leap to their own deaths and leave you standing there and facepalming. As for the new combat mechanics, kick doesn't break enemy shielding so it's kinda pointless and the leap attack is too stamina intensive and 99% of the time will hit the air and leave you open to an instakill.

    I also really hate the new magic system with limited charges, magic is now to be used only in extreme emergencies and making a pure intelligence character is pretty much suicide. Why not have the option to play as a magic user normally, I don't understand. They limited their own game because clearly they thought that magic users are homos. Ridiculous.

    The level and monster design is much better than Demon's Souls, well done there.

    In the end, I feel that Dark Souls is unpolished and approaches challenge in the wrong ways sometimes. You also pretty much need to co-op it or you will go insane, but co-op destroys the difficulty entirely. What a glorious battle Allant was in Demon's Souls on NG+ if you were solo... I haven't found anything that great 60 hours into Dark Souls, only bugs and frustration. If you played and loved Demon's Souls, I recommend you rent this and check it out before buying.    … Expand
  3. mrnice
    Dec 1, 2014
    7
    Overall, a nearly great game to spend 50 hours on (which it takes to complete). But after the last boss fights, it felt as empty and meaningless as any of the game's fights. The big takeaway never came. It's about the journey, not the ending cutscene. And the journey often felt like a grind. When I triumphed, it was rarely because of devious thinking, but because of brute-force. Leaving anOverall, a nearly great game to spend 50 hours on (which it takes to complete). But after the last boss fights, it felt as empty and meaningless as any of the game's fights. The big takeaway never came. It's about the journey, not the ending cutscene. And the journey often felt like a grind. When I triumphed, it was rarely because of devious thinking, but because of brute-force. Leaving an impossible area to grind somewhere else, and after that the impossible area is as easy as any in the game. The only time where I felt like I finally outsmarted the game was when I put on some lightweight armor to keep up with a fast boss. The secrets and the solutions are often readily available as soon as you find the right location. And that's where Dark Souls could have been something more. Letting the player reach goals fast by solving a problem. Instead, it's a bunch of largely linear paths that you MUST 'brute force', you only get to pick more or less convenient routes out of the bunch. This goes for both choice between areas and choice between for example two corridors. No matter what corridor you choose in Dark Souls, you will probably have to come back and examine the other one.… Expand
  4. MrChristopher
    Nov 16, 2011
    7
    Are you ready to die? Are you ready to throw your controller across the room in nothing but pure frustration? Dark souls is the game for you! The game has a dark fantasy like setting and does good things for the general feel of the game. As I mentioned before, the game can be frustrating at times. Some enemies are quite hard to kill, and it only makes it harder when you're ganged up on byAre you ready to die? Are you ready to throw your controller across the room in nothing but pure frustration? Dark souls is the game for you! The game has a dark fantasy like setting and does good things for the general feel of the game. As I mentioned before, the game can be frustrating at times. Some enemies are quite hard to kill, and it only makes it harder when you're ganged up on by 4 or 5 of them you didn't even see coming. The game can feel cheap at times, the game can feel unfair and unforgiving too, but this is where it draws its sense of accomplishment from. Believe me when I say nothing feels better then FINALLY beating that boss you've been trying for the last hour, or figuring out how to bypass a group of enemies you can't kill on your own. The game has some cool online features too. If you're connected to the PSN while playing (or XBL for xbox) You'll see blood splatters on the floor, going up to these and pressing the action button will show you the last few moments of another persons death. These short moments can sometimes be the key to getting past an area you've never been to before. in addition to these blood spots, players can leave messages on the ground for other players to see. This again is also very very helpful, sometimes you'll be given a warning of a super tough enemy ahead, and other times you'll be told where a secrete passage is. But try and take them with a grain of salt, if a message says "jump off cliff" Chances are its somebody playing a joke on you. the third online feature is that players are able to invade and and be summoned to other players worlds. when a player invade you then fight them, the winner gets the other players souls and some humanity. You can also summon other players to help you with boss fights or difficult areas. You don't necessarily HAVE to be invaded, for these things to happen you have to be in human form, and you can play much of the game in non-human form to avoid being invaded. You'll still see the messages/blood on the floor when playing in non-human form too, so if you really don't want to deal with losing your souls and humanity, playing in non-human form is an option. Its overall a very fun game, I recommend it for anyone after a challenge but keep in mind it can mess with you at times.… Expand
  5. JudgeMathew
    Mar 31, 2014
    6
    While there may be a lot more content and more action involving online aspects compared to Demon's Souls, there's the feeling that Dark Souls is an incomplete game, and this is due to the fact that almost a third of the game is completely rushed due to time constraints. The hyped up difficulty also seems to vary from person to person. Dark Souls is essentially a more opened world Demon'sWhile there may be a lot more content and more action involving online aspects compared to Demon's Souls, there's the feeling that Dark Souls is an incomplete game, and this is due to the fact that almost a third of the game is completely rushed due to time constraints. The hyped up difficulty also seems to vary from person to person. Dark Souls is essentially a more opened world Demon's Souls with a lot more content, though there are many issues involving frame-rate and glitching throughout the game. Although Dark Souls is a good game, it does not hold a candle to Demon's Souls.… Expand
  6. JrDouble
    Dec 7, 2022
    5
    I really tried to enjoy Dark Souls and made some decent progress over the time I played it. Unfortunately, the more I played it the less and less appeal the game had to me. Gameplay and progress are painfully slow there was little to no story to keep me engaged. I'm glad I tried it though as now I'll be sure to steer clear of FromSoft and Souls-likes moving forward.
  7. EastonReviews
    Mar 12, 2012
    7
    A game that requires no skill, concentration, and very few tactics, just a lot of deaths and picking some right moves. You learn nothing over your 100s of deaths, but you keep trying 'till you get it right. So it's simple; this game is not for everyone. If you are someone that loves a challenge and something more like classic Castlevania, then this is for you. You will notice the beautifulA game that requires no skill, concentration, and very few tactics, just a lot of deaths and picking some right moves. You learn nothing over your 100s of deaths, but you keep trying 'till you get it right. So it's simple; this game is not for everyone. If you are someone that loves a challenge and something more like classic Castlevania, then this is for you. You will notice the beautiful graphics and creativitey. Aswell as some excellent settings. But, as pretty polished as it is, remember that it might not be worth your 40 bucks if your anticipation for a challenge and sheer diffculty runs down quickly. Also take notice that the game itself will not have a lot of time invested in it as there are very few great moments in the game.
    However this review is mostly positive, as I still enjoy the challenge and idea of the game. That takes us to the plot, which in some state, beats Skyrim's, which is a game I praised.
    So if your a big RPG fan or even a casual gamer looking for something new, this is for you. If someone how enjoys more Skyrim like RPGs, prepare to be dissapointed. But the majority of you will be satisfied with this clever, original game.    … Expand
  8. chrisjones914
    Apr 11, 2013
    7
    Pretty good game... but definitely not for everyone! Including me haha! but still there is no denying that this is a good game and i probably would have enjoyed it alot more if it were not for the crazy difficulty and frustrating save system
  9. disgruntlegame
    Jan 6, 2015
    6
    Not half as good as Demon Souls

    - Introduced a retarded poise system making like light armor all but useless

    -Took out the manna bar and replaced it with a D&D system which takes away from pure magic users

    -Took out the stealth system (No Thief Ring) Yes there is a chameleon spell but you stick out like a sore thumb

    -The new healing system is idiotic for grouping.
  10. ThePizzaman100
    Oct 9, 2011
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. the combat is really fun and well done but the enemy AI almost ruined this game for me. They are hyper aggressive (which is the worst form of AI because they just stare at you while you point your bow at their face) but when you get near them they go apesh!t on you. The archery portion of the game sucks balls. like literally is terrible beyond belief for such a high end game combat game. you'll end up trying to snipe an enemy from atop a ledge and the arrow will get stuck in mid air. When entering the depths for the first time you'll be on the stairs leading down to the room with the butcher guys. well the first enemy you see is just staring at you as usual and wide open to a nice arrow in the face. well you shoot and the arrow gets stuck in mid air. and its not even close to any walls or ledges. there is a 10 foot gap of free space where your arrow will get stuck when you try to shoot someone. terrible terrible archery in this game. as for everything else its pretty refreshing. i like the swordplay alot and it is satisfying as hell when you get that parry kill because instead of just pressing a button after you've already weakened them they make you work for a killing move which is awesome. most of the AI when not staring at you is pretty good when in actual combat. you'll die cheap deaths and some are unavoidable when you're going through your first play through. the bosses are epic some of the best in any game i've ever played. over all a 7 is a fair score in my opinion i couldn't in any respect give a game with this many flaws higher than a 7. when you're making a game thats whole purpose is to challenge you its very important that all the combat aspects of the game are solid. sadly they are not. was a very fun game though.… Expand
  11. peite
    Nov 7, 2013
    6
    Dark Souls is over-rated IMO. Graphics: Very dark and boring character designs and animations. Dead monsters look hilariously like rag dolls. Doesn't look good compared to Dragon's Dogma which, like most PS3 games, installs on the hard drive and has fast loading-times thanks to my installed SSD but Dark Souls doesn't use the hard drive but when you are PLAYING and that's why you willDark Souls is over-rated IMO. Graphics: Very dark and boring character designs and animations. Dead monsters look hilariously like rag dolls. Doesn't look good compared to Dragon's Dogma which, like most PS3 games, installs on the hard drive and has fast loading-times thanks to my installed SSD but Dark Souls doesn't use the hard drive but when you are PLAYING and that's why you will encounter a lot of slow downs. Music is quiet boring and the scenery is claustrophobic, and full of meaningless crates which doesn't hold any items. I would prefer if it was less wannabe western fantasy and more crazy Japanese! It's crazy difficult though! Much of the dying is due to that the enemies shift from doing usual moves you can follow to start doing subtle Mortal Kombat-"finish him!"-looking-animations which are quite impossible to evade/parry. They suddenly jumps behind you and cuts your throat! The small areas also makes it hard to move and sway your weapon. I don't like the lock-on system with R3 clicking, since if you don't lock on it changes game play and the enemies becomes more difficult. Fighting with R1 and R2 and L1 L2 is nice but strange.
    The director Miyazaki says his next non-Souls game will be a brighter one he said that the Souls-series was a bit too dark! I approve!    … Expand
  12. Bossuk
    Feb 20, 2014
    5
    This game is a must have for those that like a challenge, and as has already been said, experienced player or not, you will die a lot.
    - It has great atmosphere, put the kids to bed, send the wife out for a night, lower the lights and crack on. It really does drag you in.
    - graphically, while not perfect, they are very dark and forboding, the lighting and character animations are cool.    This game is a must have for those that like a challenge, and as has already been said, experienced player or not, you will die a lot.
    - It has great atmosphere, put the kids to bed, send the wife out for a night, lower the lights and crack on. It really does drag you in.
    - graphically, while not perfect, they are very dark and forboding, the lighting and character animations are cool.
    - large range of character types to choose from
    - nice little things like the game sharing your frustration when you die a lot with glyphs/prompts like "i can't take this" and others like "I did it", when you finally kill a Boss are nice little touches

    However, despite the deluge of 10's that this game gets, it is not without it's faults.

    - Those glyphs are everywhere, and over 1/2 are useless things like "praise the sun". the problem is some are helpful, warning you of ambushes or bosses, so you have to click them all. but after a while, it does get tiresome.
    - Camera angles, especially when in enclosed spaces are annoying resulting in you looking at a brick wales when trying to move, especially if you are moving in a rush.
    - the targeting system sucks. If you click on an enemy but you are out of range, the camera centres instead of doing nothing, or at least it should target, but change the colour to show you are out of range. If you are running away/towards an enemy and targetting fails, the camera angles just flips to straight forward, which just becomes confusing, risking things like falling of edges and dying, or even running into an enemy you are trying to run away from.
    - As a sorcerer, you have only 1 spell..and then eventually you get a second spell but it looks exactly the same as the first..then a third..same again. Seriously, it's the most unimaginitive spellbook in the history of RPG's. Mages in RPGs make things go bang in wierd and wonderful ways.. DS just did not bother.
    - Risk of accidentally attacking NPC's. you rescue an NPC in a room, but the room has boxes you want to destroy. a swipe in the wrong direction and you end up in a fight with someone you don't want to fight.
    - This game is not caster friendly, at least in the early stages. Simply put, if you die or rest at a fireplace, all enemies respawn. If you are melee based then this is fine,as you can fight your way through to where you want with little cost in terms of resources. But as a sorcerer, your spells have a limited cast count, which means if you use your spells (which as a sorcerer you are supposed), you will run out of spells to cast very quickly. This means that you have no choice but to Melee as well, which as you have little strength and health, makes your job very difficult. Especially if there is a Boss at the end of Level you are getting to and need to save your casts for, you have to melee through a lot of enemies.
    - When you dies you drop all your souls. Ok, that's fine. but if you die again before collecting these souls, all the souls from the first kill are lost. This is especially tiresome if you have just killed a boss got 10k souls, but then continue on, die, then die again before getting to those souls, you've just lost over 10k souls, thats a lot.
    - Also, because you have died you have no souls, so you cannot restock on items or repair your armour so you are ready to face a boss again. It means you have farm some more enemies, then go back restock and eventually..try again. It is not hard..just annoying, boring and tiresome. Killing the same enemy 20 times so you can restock is boring..not hard.
    - Invaders. When in human form, a player can invade your game and kill you. If they are higher than you in level(despite the balancing) you are still in a weaker position, giving you a disadvantage. If you die you have to respawn but you have lost the humanity you used to turn human(which is rare). I'm playing a PVE game, not a PVP game so i should be able to play as such, especially when I have an obvious disadvantage when being invaded by a player 10 lvls above me, in much better armour/weapons.
    - No instructions on character creation on what the various things mean aka gifts. in the end i googled them and got to master key, but I should not have too.
    - Very little tuition for new players. i'm an experienced RPG player, so worked it out pretty quick, but no menu with controls. i mean WTF.
    - No pause button. Seriously???

    This is a good game, the atmosphere is great. i don't even have an issue with a difficult game, but the game should differentiate between difficulty, boredom and bad mechanics, and I do not think DS has got this quite right.    … Expand
  13. CHEESEDBEEF
    Dec 4, 2014
    6
    I have put about 5 - 6 hours in and am still not sure about it myself... I haven't got far at all but I have played enough to realise why it is liked. A good sense of achievement after tough fights pushes you to go on even further, and the combat is great too! Lots of classes to choose from but most are for experienced players and not recommended for newbies.
    My main problem with the game    I have put about 5 - 6 hours in and am still not sure about it myself... I haven't got far at all but I have played enough to realise why it is liked. A good sense of achievement after tough fights pushes you to go on even further, and the combat is great too! Lots of classes to choose from but most are for experienced players and not recommended for newbies.
    My main problem with the game is how unfair it is. I didn't just pick it up with no knowledge about it, I have many games for most consoles and consider myself an avid collector/ gamer. I knew the game would be hard, and its not that which puts me off... Enemies pushing you off cliffs, backstabbers and losing your souls every time you die is what grinded my gears. Honestly I was planning to play more but just wasn't interested in going back after I left It a few days. Most gamers will enjoy this for its sense of achievement and great combat system, but personally I didn't find it as enticing as you guys. 6/10 because it was good for the most part, but I probably wont play it again for a while.    … Expand
  14. Dionysus777
    Jan 30, 2015
    7
    Ill do pretty much the same thing i did for demons. I like it because of challenge and concept, and thats all i can reckon.People say it has good graphics. No not really at all. It has a good art style. Graphics suck, framerate sucks, hit boxes suck.But like i said the concept makes up for it. I believe it is improved over demons and theres more content and better bosses. Oh yea and youIll do pretty much the same thing i did for demons. I like it because of challenge and concept, and thats all i can reckon.People say it has good graphics. No not really at all. It has a good art style. Graphics suck, framerate sucks, hit boxes suck.But like i said the concept makes up for it. I believe it is improved over demons and theres more content and better bosses. Oh yea and you probably will only like it if your hardcore.… Expand
  15. RUST
    Jun 11, 2012
    7
    The unfortunate trend of sequel goes as follows; do exactly what you did in the first only do it in instalments and pad it out with features that will only serve to attract additional customers. Yes dear readers, the cold hard truth is that Dark Souls isn't anything near as gratifying or as enjoyable as its predecessor. Avoid the panic button however, since it is still quite easily one ofThe unfortunate trend of sequel goes as follows; do exactly what you did in the first only do it in instalments and pad it out with features that will only serve to attract additional customers. Yes dear readers, the cold hard truth is that Dark Souls isn't anything near as gratifying or as enjoyable as its predecessor. Avoid the panic button however, since it is still quite easily one of the best RPGs we will see for another few years. The co-op component has been tweaked unacceptability so, the difficultly of the previous game has been explored and then ultimately abandoned in favour of magical camp sites and replenish-able health potions and perhaps worse the developer has refused to take a single serious step forward with the core mechanics so beloved in the original. Still a great game, just a very unsatisfactory sequel.… Expand
  16. Willmoy
    Nov 5, 2017
    5
    Dark Souls is a good game. I won't even try to argue otherwise. However, unless you like repetitive grind and a very archaic plot, I cannot recommend the game. The game is very niche and beyond the average gamer's skill level, frankly. I played the game until level 40, and just became tired of trying to reach any coherent plot.

    It's just not something I would recommend to the typical gamer.
  17. Snodog
    Apr 29, 2015
    5
    I'll be fair, this game has a truly amazing world, huge in scale and scope. Different paths can lead to different areas where you've never been and exploring and finding new things is amazing. The RPG element is solid, a solid level up system with your choice of stats and how you want to build your character. There are a staggering amount of items and some do hidden things that you mustI'll be fair, this game has a truly amazing world, huge in scale and scope. Different paths can lead to different areas where you've never been and exploring and finding new things is amazing. The RPG element is solid, a solid level up system with your choice of stats and how you want to build your character. There are a staggering amount of items and some do hidden things that you must discover by yourself. This game is hard. It takes me back to the SNES days of Super Ghosts n' Ghouls difficulty. The game and all of its bosses are very beatable, even if you're the worst possible build for it.

    However, that is also it's downfall. While the world is expansive, I've put upwards of 40 hours in this game and have only seen maybe a third of it. The co-op element is a joke, I couldn't find anyone to play with or help me out of those especially tough situations that maybe my build just wasn't right for. If you watch the speed runners of this game, you'll notice that they all have one thing in common, they skip the exploration, they skip massive amounts of game play and they all have the boss mechanics down to the letter. This game punishes you for trying to figure out its secrets and the rewards are very little to none. Amazing sets of armor are left just lying around with no one guarding them and the item behind the 15 boss clones are usually worthless. The story is tough to figure out too, you're spending so much time grinding souls and avoiding the harder areas of the game that you forget what your goal was in the first place. NPC's are scattered around and some seem to have little purpose until a very specific trigger is met.

    In short, if you're looking for a game to test you, this is it. If you're looking for a game to escape and relax, this is far from it. I do find the fact that you are not, by any means, powerful enough to kill everything by spamming the attack button like in a typical hack and slash refreshing. However, being the ant on the receiving end of a boot gets very old after a while as well. I, unfortunately, gave up on this game when I got to a point where one of the bosses has mini clones guarding absolutely nothing and got stuck behind them when I kindled the fire. I already killed this guy and he was tough enough, now I have to kill 5 for absolutely no reason? I gave it a fair shot, I farmed, I killed probably the first 1/3 of the bosses, and it just got old and boring after a while. I couldn't hoof the long haul but if you feel like you're up to the challenge, prepare for a time sink and grind fest.    … Expand
  18. Shoebox
    Mar 14, 2012
    5
    Dark Souls is a game that doesn't really make much sense, it has a lot of glaring problems and it's only advertised feature is that it will actively punish you for playing it. That alone speaks volumes about the game itself, which is both a nightmare to enjoy and wrap your head around. Playing the game is the same as playing any run of the mill MMORPG, with monsters running at you singleDark Souls is a game that doesn't really make much sense, it has a lot of glaring problems and it's only advertised feature is that it will actively punish you for playing it. That alone speaks volumes about the game itself, which is both a nightmare to enjoy and wrap your head around. Playing the game is the same as playing any run of the mill MMORPG, with monsters running at you single file when you approach them and flailing wildly whenever you're in attacking range. The ranged enemies don't try to get a better vantage point when you're behind a wall, instead choosing to fire at the wall that you're standing behind. Many of the trash monsters in the game have one hit kill attacks that they will use as often as possible and the bosses seemingly lack this feature, making them the easiest things in the game to fight. The last boss in particular is a walk in the park. All in all, the game does punish you for playing it and you will die a lot, but the difficulty of the game is really only in line with how much time you intend on investing in farming titanite or souls to advance your character. The online component of the game is peer to peer, meaning much of the things rife in other games, such as laggers, exploiters and hackers, run rampant here as well. Overall, if you're considering buying the game to bring back nostalgia from the games of old, this is the opposite of the game you're looking for. If you're looking for a game that punishes you at every turn, there are free games on the internet that are much more fun and challenging. If you're looking for a difficult role playing game, I'd advise you to get a guide, as there is absolutely no feature documentation in game or the manual. I'm giving the game a five if only for the fact the trophies are easy to acquire and it does tend to be interesting at certain points. However the online and core gameplay is just too tedious to enjoy and reviewing this as a single player experience with intermittent online, there's not enough here unless you want to platinum the game.… Expand
  19. nosebeagle
    Jun 2, 2015
    7
    I know I must be missing something, but I do not understand why a game that re-spawns the same enemies with the same moves after leaving an area and returning can get such epic reviews. This game is based on grinding (always reminds me of South Park when they have to kill boars in the woods for days to get to a high enough level to do anything). I realized I am not a real gamer afterI know I must be missing something, but I do not understand why a game that re-spawns the same enemies with the same moves after leaving an area and returning can get such epic reviews. This game is based on grinding (always reminds me of South Park when they have to kill boars in the woods for days to get to a high enough level to do anything). I realized I am not a real gamer after getting bored with this game after a few hours, and if being a real gamer means not having a life outside of gaming so you can kill the same enemies over and over again...then I am happy being a non-real gamer. If you game for a casual escape from reality, this game is not for you. If you haven't seen the sun in months or have forgotten what year it is in the real world, fire this game up and let the boar slaughter begin!… Expand
  20. kazmodan
    Nov 14, 2011
    6
    A below average sequel to Demon's Souls. The graphics quality is worse than Demon's Souls. Many jagged lines everywhere and the frame rate plummets considerably whenever there is combat on screen. If it weren't for the frame rate problems I would give this game an 8. The sound and controls are ok. The combat mechanics are superbly done and require thinking. This is not a buttonA below average sequel to Demon's Souls. The graphics quality is worse than Demon's Souls. Many jagged lines everywhere and the frame rate plummets considerably whenever there is combat on screen. If it weren't for the frame rate problems I would give this game an 8. The sound and controls are ok. The combat mechanics are superbly done and require thinking. This is not a button masher's game (which is good!). Enemy boss AI is especially intelligent and challenging (again, a good thing). ______However, the whole game has a "rushed release" feeling to it due to the poor framerate and pedestrian menu system. Maybe the publisher wanted to avoid the holiday rush and therefore ended up "rushing" the release.… Expand
  21. Jacktheripper99
    Jul 14, 2012
    5
    A game that demands a lot out of, but doesn't really give you this sense of reward people keep yapping on about. It's highly recommend that you play Demon Souls first, seeing how the tutorial isn't really that helpful or good here, which it should be, seeing how this isn't a game that suppose to hold your hand at all, and suppose to be hard, which it is. There are also a lot of cheap, andA game that demands a lot out of, but doesn't really give you this sense of reward people keep yapping on about. It's highly recommend that you play Demon Souls first, seeing how the tutorial isn't really that helpful or good here, which it should be, seeing how this isn't a game that suppose to hold your hand at all, and suppose to be hard, which it is. There are also a lot of cheap, and harder enemies across the board now, and you will die a lot, which is the point of the game (trial and error). And the boss battles can be incredibly hard, if you don't know the strategy behind defeating them, or you can simply keep dying, and running back until you get it right, and this is of coarse with enemies you previously kill respawning back, Fun! The graphics have improve a bit, but not to much. There still no worth while story, which isn't the selling point with these games. And the music is fantastic, and better than the first.

    Overall I did beat DS (without soul glitching), and just didn't really fun with this game. DS1 felt right, this DS is pushing you to the limit of frustration, which isn't for me. If you love intense challenges, and constantly getting beat down, with no advantages insight then this is for you. You'll get you money worth if this is your cup of tea.    … Expand
  22. Pivot1022
    Jan 4, 2012
    5
    Blighttown... Just **** blighttown. Oh god the problems start showing up there faster then i have ever seen in a game. Blighttown is one of the WORST areas i have ever seen in any video game. 1. When you first get to the first bonfire (on the bridge) You are never getting out of blighttown... all it is, is **** platform after platform after platform, with ladders that you have no clueBlighttown... Just **** blighttown. Oh god the problems start showing up there faster then i have ever seen in a game. Blighttown is one of the WORST areas i have ever seen in any video game. 1. When you first get to the first bonfire (on the bridge) You are never getting out of blighttown... all it is, is **** platform after platform after platform, with ladders that you have no clue where they go. And if you didn't bring enough **** for curing toxic, or poison, YOU ARE **** "Oh hey this might be the way out *Fall* FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU" 2. The camera becomes an enemy in this part as it will **** you up any chance it gets. 3. You will fall off tons of platforms when fighting. 4. One way this game try's to be harder then demon souls is by making you fight 2-3 guys at once, well here you're in very tight spaces, with little room to move, and you have to fight A gaint fat **** and some troll like thing. and you will fall off. 5. I get people like the whole "figure it out you'reself" but here I JUST WANT TO GET OUT TO BUY CURES FOR TOXIC! but i can't cause blighttown is so badly made.… Expand
  23. iOnlySam
    Apr 16, 2013
    5
    This game is NOT for a wide ranged audience. It is for loved true RPG fans. It has a detailed system of weapons spells and armour. Good graphics and a long winded campaign. It isn't a game for me, but for someone who likes RPGs and strategic massive open world games, it's a seller.
  24. DKR
    Jun 10, 2018
    5
    Since my review is cut in half and I have no fkn clue as to how, I'll keep it short.

    Its like this: you spawn, fight enemies, instadeath. you spawn, fight enemies, boss 2 shots you. You spawn, fight enemies, ur R1 locks up, instadeath. You spawn, fight enemies, high lvl player invades and 1shots you. You spawn, fight enemies, instadeath. You spawn, fight enemies, get to boss, your    Since my review is cut in half and I have no fkn clue as to how, I'll keep it short.

    Its like this: you spawn, fight enemies, instadeath. you spawn, fight enemies, boss 2 shots you. You spawn, fight enemies, ur R1 locks up, instadeath. You spawn, fight enemies, high lvl player invades and 1shots you. You spawn, fight enemies, instadeath. You spawn, fight enemies, get to boss, your pixel-perfect-required roll/parry fails in the FPS drop, instadeath. You spawn, turn human hoping to invite some coop/NPC help, fight enemies, make it to summon, high lvl player invades and backstabs you...from 30ft away while you have him locked on, instadeath. You spawn, fight enemies, R1 locks up, instadeath. You spawn, fight enemies, make it to boss, abuse a cheap tactic, win boss, and next spawn point, and repeat. The game actively encourages you to abuse the ever living f* s* out of any exploit you can just to reverse the numerous unfair deaths. it's so tedious and time consuming your passion to finish it will fizzle out, and you'll grow weary of the tantalizing torture.

    ...mostly bc the ps3 port is dogsh. There's a reason streamers play the xbox version.    … Expand
  25. Glaceon_Hit
    Aug 5, 2020
    7
    I love this game. Great story that nobody understand but Vaatividya explains you very well. Choosing different classes and so many weapons and armors makes the game play over and over again. The bosses are uniques and brilliants. From Software is the best company in my opinion that could create these masterpiece by Miyazaki.
    But I must to talk about some bad things:
    -Start: When i    I love this game. Great story that nobody understand but Vaatividya explains you very well. Choosing different classes and so many weapons and armors makes the game play over and over again. The bosses are uniques and brilliants. From Software is the best company in my opinion that could create these masterpiece by Miyazaki.
    But I must to talk about some bad things:
    -Start: When i finished the tutorial (dying 50 times). You start in the Fire Shine where there are 2-4 npcs if you look around. One of them tells you where to go, but it is very difficult to understand it. So i went to the wrong way(New Londo) dying 30 times to understand that it was the wrong way. Ok so lets go to this way(catacombs). Again wrong. So much time wasted because there is not an arrow pointing where to go.
    -Dead game: First game i knew some secrets passages thanks to some guides. You need the guides to know where to go. So i went to Big Hole when i should went to the other direction (Quelaag). Then going down and down i though i was going to find Fire Shine somehow, wrong. Also damned by a disgusting frog i understand that i couldnt go back because there are not way to climb. And it is not the only time that happen. When i went to tomb of giants wihtout going to Anor Londo it happened again, the same problem. Horrible experience delete that games because of that dead game.
    -Infested city: I though wow my video card cant work with this zone. But that wasnt the problem. The zone has poor frames in the game. Everyone says this is the worst place of all the game.
    -PvP: It has more good things that bad things. For casuals summoning a phantom is the best way to beat a zone with more fun. But the thing that starting the game a Giant Dad can invade you is the worst thing you can experience.
    -Bosses: The tutorial Bosses is cool, but the thing that he is going to be a boss 2 more times with the same moves is very boring. And some bosses like chaos bed, Gwyn or Pinwheel are jokes. Disappointing.
    Anyway the game is good but the sequels are better.    … Expand
  26. QilBoy
    Oct 13, 2021
    7
    If one has the guts to try out Dark Souls, the game that has a "brutal" difficulty as one of its main selling points, they will be greeted with not only a game that is much more fair than it is made out to be online, but also an amazing work of art that goes very much beyond a simple "hard game".
    Firstly, yes, Dark Souls is challenging when compared to the rest of the gaming landscape    If one has the guts to try out Dark Souls, the game that has a "brutal" difficulty as one of its main selling points, they will be greeted with not only a game that is much more fair than it is made out to be online, but also an amazing work of art that goes very much beyond a simple "hard game".
    Firstly, yes, Dark Souls is challenging when compared to the rest of the gaming landscape today, but it is almost never unfair.
    Enemies are deadly and aggressive, often catching you by surprise, and your attacks might be quite slow (due to a mechanic related to the weight you're carrying), so you can die extremely fast and often. But with just a little time and the patience to study your enemies and your timings, eventually every scenario, every foe can be mastered and faced with confidence. In Dark Souls, you will find yourself in many apparently impossible situations that will make you want to give up, but if you find the willpower to try over and over again, soon you'll realize that your enemy is much more predictable than you initially thought, and you'll slowly learn how to efficiently deal with every attack they throw at you, all the way to that satisfying victory where you overcome the struggle. That feeling, that satisfaction when your skill gets you to victory is where Dark Souls shines the brightest: fights are so masterfully crafted that you're always challenged but never aggressively. There's never need to grind levels because the game is an Action first and an RPG second: your skill alone can take you anywhere, no matter the level. But if you're really stuck in one place, then you'll surely be of the appropriate level for another area of the world, which leads us to the other thing that Dark Souls excels at: the Level Design.
    Exploring in Dark Souls is a true delight.
    Firstly, there's immense variety in how areas are structured: some have huge open spaces while others are claustrofobic labyrinths of stairs and ladders, some develop horizontally while other vertically, some have traps so you need to watch your step while others might require you to fight enemies on extremely scarce footing, risking to fall to your death.
    This variety maintains the experience fun all the way, making it feel like a real odyssey. Protagonist is the player, given full control of the adventure because the story doesn't point you in any specific direction: you are free to explore Lordran however you desire and carve your own path, deciding which road to take on first.
    The mechanic of losing EXP upon death and having only one chance to retrieve it it's also an extremely smart idea, providing an harsh punishment that raises the stakes but still offers a chance to players who have learnt from their mistakes.
    So this is was what Dark Souls does tremendously well, and defined it as a classic of the seventh generation. But there's also a side of the game that is not as pretty, and definitely not as brilliant. The dirtier, rougher parts of it.
    Starting with the technical stuff: slow combos and the input lag are deliberate design choices, and they make sense within this combat system, but the input queue that can generate doesn't, and gets a tad ridiculous at times. You might mash a little the attack button and then dodge, but if you pressed the attack button even one time too much, your character will still do the attack animation after dodging, even if one full second passed, leading to awkward frustrating situations that punish mashing excessively. Secondly, the game is simply badly balanced in regards of Magic. There's no other way to put it. Any veteran player will admit that the Magic Build is basically the "easy mode" of the game, removing not all but most of the challenge, particularly with bosses.
    Speaking of bosses, they are the highlight of the game as a whole. So when they fail they fail hard, and it's not a rare occasion.
    Be it too small arenas, a horrible camera that just can't handle huge enemies or boring movesets: the game has almost as many bad/plain bosses as it has great bosses. And there's nothing worst than having to do a long run from the checkpoint back to a bad boss each time you die, which is another issue: there's no benefit in putting the player through the tedious ordeal of doing the same path over and over again. Checkpoints closer to the boss or bigger shortcuts would've helped immensely.
    Last, but definitely not least: your swings can't go through walls... obviously. But your enemy's attacks can. For some reason. Go figure. Or, in other words: Dark Souls is an incredible experience that will test your reflexes and learning abilities with a fair challenge in a world that it's a joy to explore, rich of secrets and lore. While most of the experience is of extremely good quality, we can't ignore a substantial amount of mediocre or bad boss encounters, some very poor balancing and a couple of technical issues that leave an unwashable stain on this beautiful experience.    … Expand
  27. JackFrostyG
    Sep 4, 2023
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. While I understand it's normal for people to like the first game of a series they play the most, I'll take my nostalgia goggles off and respectfully disagree, I find the original Dark Souls to be the weakest in the series.

    Pros:

    - First half of the game for the most part is great. While some of the bosses are fairly terrible, the enemy and zone design is still S tier.

    - The graphics and detail of environments is crazy for a 2011 game.

    - There's plenty of enemy variance and for the most part each biome contains enemies which feel suitable to the location.

    - Some of the music slaps.

    - The DLC is S tier

    Cons:

    - The back end of the game is clearly unfinished and much less effort was put into it. E.g. Firesage demon is a 2nd reskin of the tutorial boss, Demon ruins and Lost Izalith have insanely lazily placed re-used enemies. 9 Taurus demons just plopped into a corner of the zone, 5-6 capra demons strewn across the other side , 9 bounding demons placed anywhere in the lava before bed of chaos.

    - None of the 4 intro cutscene bosses feel as good as Ornstein and Smough or even Quelaag. Bed of chaos the gimmick of gimmick bosses. Nito moves like a slug and his attacks are just as slow. His entire boss fight is the adds. Seith is the most boring dragon fight in any RPG hit a sword behind him and attack him while moving back when he summons spikes, otherwise hug him. He doesn't fly or move. 4 Kings feel like bosses designed for the early game with laughable damage.

    - Some of the other bosses are poorly designed. Capra demon's entire gimmick is the 2 dogs with him. Taurus demon's entire gimmick is to drop attack, Ceaseless Discharge entire gimmick is run to entrance and attack. Iron Golem entire gimmick is to wait for him to exhaust himself, attack or wait for him to attack and fall off the platform. Gaping Dragon's entire gimmick is to bait a charge and attack over and over. Pinwheel is far too easy for the difficulty of the mobs prior to fighting him. Seems anti-intuitive to make Gwyn, the final boss so easy to parry. Like pinwheel, Priscilla is far too easy in comparison to the zone she resides in.

    - I understand it's popular for people to gatekeep the story of the game by saying that the story is amazing but you need to look into it more to be able to interpret it. I could not disagree more. Making the story a compilation of 100+ item descriptions is not a good story.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

16
#16 Best PS3 Game of 2011
6
#6 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2011
4
#4 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2011

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
89

Generally favorable reviews - based on 54 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 52 out of 54
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 54
  3. Negative: 0 out of 54
  1. Playstation Official Magazine Australia
    Mar 6, 2012
    80
    It would be foolish of us to pretend that Dark Souls is a game for everyone. It's perfect at what it does, but a big part of what it does is make you suffer for your mistakes. It is a harsh, uncompromising task master and you will have to work to win its approval, because it certainly won't work to win yours. [Dec 2011, p74]
  2. RPGamer
    Jan 5, 2012
    90
    At the end of the day Dark Souls succeeds in producing a game that is both incredibly challenging and fair.
    Read full review
  3. Gamer Limit
    Nov 29, 2011
    85
    All in all, Dark Souls is a more difficult, but less enjoyable (and less accessible) Demon's Souls.
    Read full review
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