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. Camparini
    Jan 11, 2020
    9
    Dark Souls 1 é, antes de qualquer coisa, revolucionário. Criou um novo de gênero de jogo (o dos ''Soulslike"), e não apela pra dificuldades pífias para atrair todo tipo de público pra sua obra. Não, Dark Souls é uma obra onde você se adapta ao jogo, e não o jogo a você, e isso por si só já o faz distante de vários outros grandes jogos que, apesar de grandes obras, não inovam, apenasDark Souls 1 é, antes de qualquer coisa, revolucionário. Criou um novo de gênero de jogo (o dos ''Soulslike"), e não apela pra dificuldades pífias para atrair todo tipo de público pra sua obra. Não, Dark Souls é uma obra onde você se adapta ao jogo, e não o jogo a você, e isso por si só já o faz distante de vários outros grandes jogos que, apesar de grandes obras, não inovam, apenas expandem, não desafiam e não testam seus limites. A arte é incrível e a história é contada nas entrelinhas, mas a lore é rica e é bem explorada ao longo da franquia. É um dos 3 jogos da década passada, ao meu ver, pelo seu caráter inovador e pela bravura de testar os limites dos seus jogadores.… Expand
  2. John-Doe
    May 1, 2016
    9
    The first in the dark souls series and arguably the best one because of its amazing visuals, fantastic soundtrack, amazing areas, great NPCs and heart beating mind blasting kicking your ass gameplay. The wide, expansive and interconnected world will cause you to explore every nook and cranny, and take note: what ever you look at in the world, most likely you can go there. Weapons lists andThe first in the dark souls series and arguably the best one because of its amazing visuals, fantastic soundtrack, amazing areas, great NPCs and heart beating mind blasting kicking your ass gameplay. The wide, expansive and interconnected world will cause you to explore every nook and cranny, and take note: what ever you look at in the world, most likely you can go there. Weapons lists and design are great although demon souls had a better line up. Boss fights are 5 times harder than demon souls and you will most likely break your controllers but gain 5 times the satisfaction for when you beat that piece of s***! If you have problems beating a boss you can call for backup, other people playing the game can be called to help you to beat the boss to lay the ultimate beatdown on the boss or vice versa. If this is your first souls game then you are in for a treat but be warned that in order to truly enjoy what this game has to offer you must first get past the learning curve. CASUAL GAMERS BEWARE… Expand
  3. nsroehl
    Feb 15, 2019
    9
    Loved the game. Like all the Dark Souls games, this has an amazing world to explore with plenty of fun and challenging bosses. Some technical glitches and certain areas hold this game back from getting a 10 in my opinion. Everyone complains about Blight Town, but they are right to complain about it. That area can be incredibly frustrating.
  4. XxJoseManuelxX
    Aug 25, 2016
    9
    Dark Souls is an action role-playing video game developed by FromSoftware and published by Namco Bandai. A spiritual successor to FromSoftware's Demon's Souls.

    + Good Gameplay
    + Epic Bosses Fights
    + Online
  5. OneLifeLeft
    Mar 23, 2017
    9
    Few games have tested my patience, focus, and willpower, to the point of psychological despair.

    Fewer games have done all this, only then to unexpectedly reward me with far more elation, than I had ever anticipated. Dark Souls did not simply entertain me in my idle time. It forced me to examine my human potential for perseverance. And it gave me the strength to rise above my    Few games have tested my patience, focus, and willpower, to the point of psychological despair.

    Fewer games have done all this, only then to unexpectedly reward me with far more elation, than I had ever anticipated.

    Dark Souls did not simply entertain me in my idle time.

    It forced me to examine my human potential for perseverance.
    And it gave me the strength to rise above my mental limitations.    … Expand
  6. Zerox_Undead
    Jun 25, 2017
    9
    I absolutely adore this game, It is hands down one of the most thrilling games to experience. So If you haven't played this gem of a game, I implore you to go out and buy a copy of this game.

    That being said although I enjoy this game to the ends of the earth. I cannot give it a 10/10 that is just lying to myself and to everyone else. This game has its fair share of problems for    I absolutely adore this game, It is hands down one of the most thrilling games to experience. So If you haven't played this gem of a game, I implore you to go out and buy a copy of this game.

    That being said although I enjoy this game to the ends of the earth. I cannot give it a 10/10 that is just lying to myself and to everyone else. This game has its fair share of problems for example.

    - Blighttown/ Lower Anor Londo frame rate issues
    - The constant clipping of enemies through pillars and or walls
    - Some gimmicky fights that really have no place being in this game (ie. Bed of Chaos)
    - And trying to connect to other people online is practically impossible.

    But it being one of my favorite games with all these issues should show you why this game is a must have. So when you do go pick up a copy all I can say is, "Prepare to Die."    … Expand
  7. HaterOfHaters
    Mar 21, 2018
    9
    I had never broken a game with my own hands, there is always a first time :)
    Wonderful hateful game that will pass to history
  8. Alex_Pilgrim008
    Apr 26, 2020
    9
    This spinoff of the PS3 exclusive "Demon's Souls" is a hardcore RPG that will kill you 1000 + times. It's certainly not for the casual gamer, but for those who like a serious challenge. The game rewards patience and practice. Each enemy poses a serious threat as they can eviscerate the player in just a few seconds. Your guard must always be up as combat is based on defensive stances. YouThis spinoff of the PS3 exclusive "Demon's Souls" is a hardcore RPG that will kill you 1000 + times. It's certainly not for the casual gamer, but for those who like a serious challenge. The game rewards patience and practice. Each enemy poses a serious threat as they can eviscerate the player in just a few seconds. Your guard must always be up as combat is based on defensive stances. You must learn enemy attack patterns and time your own moves just right. There are several strategies to memorize and upgrades you must make before you get into the groove. Presentation-wise, the game is solid with superb level design and good graphics. The game opens with a "Lord of the Rings"-esque cutscene before setting you on a long tough journey without much story. "Dark Souls" is not for the easily frustrated. Repetition is what this game is about. You'll have to learn again and again, but once you get into the groove, things will seem possible. It may not be for everyone, but if you like dungeon crawlers or high fantasy novels, you'll love this. I would rate it with a 9.1 out of 10.… Expand
  9. UncleEd
    Nov 30, 2017
    9
    OK, this one took a very long time to beat. But not necessarily gameplay time wise (about 105 hours). It took a long time (more than 6 months) because it was too depressing to keep playing for long hours. Before writing about my impressions, I want to make it clear that I am a Demon's Souls fan. Demon's Souls is in my opinion, the best PS3 game ever made. It took me to a different world,OK, this one took a very long time to beat. But not necessarily gameplay time wise (about 105 hours). It took a long time (more than 6 months) because it was too depressing to keep playing for long hours. Before writing about my impressions, I want to make it clear that I am a Demon's Souls fan. Demon's Souls is in my opinion, the best PS3 game ever made. It took me to a different world, gave me a unique gameplay experience, made me feel very awkward emotions. It was fantastic. So according to almost everyone's opinion, Dark Souls is the better game in every sense. Not for me, it is not. Let me tell you why...

    First of all Demon's Souls was the amazing game that no one played. Dark Souls is the amazing game that everyone played. So it is perfectly understandable that the newcomers had a unique experience with Dark Souls which they simply cannot forget. I think it is like how everyone's favorite MMORPG tends to be the first one they have played. So Demon's Souls/Dark Souls series gives you that feeling. It punches you in the face and tells you there is nothing like it out there. True.

    My main problem with Dark Souls -in comparison to the first game- was the photographic memory requirement. The level designs are genius and are all connected to each other in a remarkable open world labyrinthine fashion. Imagine something like ICO but much more complex. However, if you don't have a photographic memory, you will forget. You will not remember the shortcut to a specific level. You will try to get there using the 10 times longer route just because you totally forgot about the shortcut. To overcome this, you will consult walkthroughs and gameplay videos (there are basically 1000s of videos on youtube showing how to get from X to Y. Talking about walkthroughs, this is not a game where they are supplementary. Walkthroughs are absolutely necessary to beat Dark Souls. In order to understand how to benefit from your weapon, you will have to check the different upgrade path outcomes of many different players... And how they worked/did not work on a specific boss.

    The second thing I liked less was the emotional perfection of the bosses. The game is really improved in the sense of boss combats since cheating your way out of a boss fight is usually not very possible in Dark Souls. However, in Demon's Souls, I remember fighting bosses with a lot of empathy. Demon's Souls made me feel I am a horrible person for swinging my sword. Whereas in Dark Souls, I was more aware that this was a video game and did not really care about who I am killing.

    I am not going to talk about all the good things about Dark Souls, which you can find in any review you read. But you should at least know that there are things this series simply perfected. It is the only game series in which backstabbing an enemy makes you feel like you are holding the knife in your hand and really stuck it into someone's back. There is a great deal of realism in terms of how you move and fight. You are really holding the shield on your left hand and the sword on the right. The game lore is pretty good, if you pay attention to details. Everything is designed to make you feel in that hopeless depressing environment. All the NPCs are hopeless. You are hopeless. The environment, NPCs, player, music are all in perfect harmony of enormous hopelessness.

    Do I recommend Dark Souls? Hell yes! But it is not a perfect game. I did not enjoy the entire over a 100 hours I have spent on it with a mixed feeling of depression, masochism and satisfaction. I did not enjoy playing it simultaneously checking a youtube gameplay video. But it is a great game nonetheless and highly recommended.    … Expand
  10. XxAlbertoBuzzxX
    Jun 2, 2020
    9
    Dark souls
    ................................................................
  11. TARKUSironBLACK
    Mar 22, 2018
    9
    dark souls tem sido por anos o game que mais joguei ele me traz 1 misto de frustaçao e sentimentos de satisfaçao e a consepçao maxima do faça por merecer e aprenda com seus erros qualquer jogo tenta nos pássar a sensaçao de que e nos que estamos jogando e nao assistindo poren em dark souls vc simplesmente nao avança se nao nao aprender da forma mais bruta e crua que vc nao e 1 deus nao edark souls tem sido por anos o game que mais joguei ele me traz 1 misto de frustaçao e sentimentos de satisfaçao e a consepçao maxima do faça por merecer e aprenda com seus erros qualquer jogo tenta nos pássar a sensaçao de que e nos que estamos jogando e nao assistindo poren em dark souls vc simplesmente nao avança se nao nao aprender da forma mais bruta e crua que vc nao e 1 deus nao e invencia que vc nunca estara a salvo que vc deve andar com cuidado e evoluir vc e nao seu personagem pois mesmo no lv maximo 1 discuido e vc vera die na sua tela enfim e 1 jogo que desafia sua perseverança e vontade de chegar ao fim so os forte sobreviven e os casuais jamais saberao o sabor de vencer 1 artorias ou 1 manus com 10 de hp apos 30 mortes seguidas.… Expand
  12. okayokay
    Oct 10, 2018
    9
    rrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaadddddddddddiiiiiiiiiiicccccccccccaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllll
  13. 6oni
    Oct 14, 2018
    9
    dr r a lots of agresiv creturs but u r d unic who steal nd dstroy d scenario nd dis autorepairs making u out of d game xprienc, u r inmortal nd can farm infnitly so d game s no hard s tedious nd boring,artificial dficulty nd duration etc.. but wiz al dis s stil one of best games wiz personality gud dsign nd moments dat u dont forget
  14. Underscore--
    Nov 2, 2018
    9
    Amaizing combant and in game mechanisims plus a deep a rich story and wolrld but has multipul broken section in game
  15. Mogoalex
    Nov 15, 2018
    9
    Aparte de ser el mejor juego para iniciarse en la saga, no por el lore, si no por la curva de dificultad progresiva. Este es un juego que te hará ver el mundo de forma distinta una vez acabado.
  16. MurphyBrandon
    Sep 18, 2019
    9
    Over 100 hours of playtime in Dark Souls. The level design and map design still amaze me when I think about it. The boss battles will always be iconic. So many aspects of this game are classic. Firelink Shrine, O&S, the music, Gwyn, Artorias. I'm not giving this game a perfect score because the hit detection is broken. Arrows hit invisible walls where there shouldn't be anything. EnemiesOver 100 hours of playtime in Dark Souls. The level design and map design still amaze me when I think about it. The boss battles will always be iconic. So many aspects of this game are classic. Firelink Shrine, O&S, the music, Gwyn, Artorias. I'm not giving this game a perfect score because the hit detection is broken. Arrows hit invisible walls where there shouldn't be anything. Enemies hit you through solid walls. That part is just broken.… Expand
  17. loserkid182
    Dec 11, 2019
    9
    Es una autentica maravilla hecha videojuego. Todo lo que pueda decir es poco, el juego envejece super bien, tiene una construcción de escenarios espectacular, unos personajes muy carismáticos y bien construidos, un Lore a libre interpretación brutal y la jugabilidad un 10.
  18. Stolow
    May 25, 2020
    9
    Dark Souls is a truly iconic game that needs no introduction. Apart from one... IT'S HARD, IT'S REALLY REALLY HARD. Now, I played Bloodborne and Sekiro before I bought this one so I did not think it could be too difficult, just a fun challenge. Nope, it kicked my ass but that does lead into the single criticism I have.

    Accessibility is extremely important for getting more people to    Dark Souls is a truly iconic game that needs no introduction. Apart from one... IT'S HARD, IT'S REALLY REALLY HARD. Now, I played Bloodborne and Sekiro before I bought this one so I did not think it could be too difficult, just a fun challenge. Nope, it kicked my ass but that does lead into the single criticism I have.

    Accessibility is extremely important for getting more people to experience the game. I adore difficult games, that's the main reason I bought it. But, the game does seem to blur the line between: Actual Difficulty that is possible on the first go if your reflexes are quick, (those parts include Ornstein and Smough, Priscilla and Sen's Fortress.) and random crap you couldn't see coming from a mile away, (those parts being Tomb of the giants, Bed of Chaos and Gravelord Nito). It does make the game quite frustrating at times and it isn't always your fault. But, overtime you accept this and end up surviving anything the game throws at you. But what's good about Dark Souls? EVERYTHING ELSE!

    The music is almost non-existent and only in a few areas which makes those moments with it way more effective. The final boss has my favourite music in a video game at the moment.

    The visuals are mysterious and have a really dis-heartening atmosphere which stirs up a lot of emotion within the player. The character designs are mostly great but it does have some moments when the visuals do not look pretty at all like in the Centipede Demon fight and some characters have some odd lighting in certain areas but I shall pass it over as the game is almost a decade old.

    The lore of the game is something I don't really go out of my way to find, but I have done research on each of the character's story lines and it is unbelievable that they achieved this all with game play. Just like in Bloodborne.

    The level and boss design is a mixed bag. It is awful at worst but perfect at its best. There isn't a lot I think I can say about this section. I find it a very difficult to talk about them without spoiling what's in them.

    Finally, the game play itself. It's really fun. The combat is solid with some nice little tweaks such as being able to parry and use magic. It can be really fun with invading other people's worlds ,which is okay, to practice before fighting a boss.

    An RPG focuses on story but finds it hard to not sacrifice the game in play. Dark Souls beats this by a long shot and really should be experienced by anyone looking for a good challenge. Just be prepared and praise the sun.    … Expand
  19. Zankyouo
    Sep 3, 2019
    9
    Dark souls es fantástico tanto a nivel mecánico como narrativo. Con un combate exquisito y profundo a la par que difícil, haciendo que una vez logres el desafío impuesto, la sensación de victoria sea inigualable.

    Es un videojuego en el que la inmersión la jamás se perderá gracias a su diseño de mecánicas, haciendo que hasta la muerte, sea diegetico dentro del mundo en el que se    Dark souls es fantástico tanto a nivel mecánico como narrativo. Con un combate exquisito y profundo a la par que difícil, haciendo que una vez logres el desafío impuesto, la sensación de victoria sea inigualable.

    Es un videojuego en el que la inmersión la jamás se perderá gracias a su diseño de mecánicas, haciendo que hasta la muerte, sea diegetico dentro del mundo en el que se desarrolla.

    Sí tenéis la oportunidad de comprarlo, hacerlo, ya que se que con un poquito de paciencia, os enamororara    … Expand
  20. Driuk
    May 5, 2021
    9
    El juego que mas disfruté sin multijugador de Xbox 360. Lo terminaba una y otra vez intentando sacar todos los logros... y lo consegui !
  21. tantotonto
    Jun 20, 2020
    9
    Decidí jugar sabiendo que seria un reto, pero no pensé que cambiaria mi manera de ver los juegos y por consiguiente mi vida. Simplemente Excepcional.
  22. LiirThropp
    Jul 30, 2020
    9
    I keep coming back to it. Kind of clunky mechanics when compared to the third installment, but retains a huge replayability value.
  23. Sus1216
    Jul 16, 2020
    9
    Uno de los descubrimientos más importantes para mi en los videojuegos. El primer Dark Souls es una joya. A pesar de que la historia no se cuenta de una forma narrativa, la vas descubriendo a través de diálogos con los personajes del mundo y los diferentes objetos. La idea básica la sabes, eres un hueco que tiene una misión: avivar la llama del mundo que se está apagando, si no el mundo seUno de los descubrimientos más importantes para mi en los videojuegos. El primer Dark Souls es una joya. A pesar de que la historia no se cuenta de una forma narrativa, la vas descubriendo a través de diálogos con los personajes del mundo y los diferentes objetos. La idea básica la sabes, eres un hueco que tiene una misión: avivar la llama del mundo que se está apagando, si no el mundo se sumirá en la oscuridad. Podemos personalizar a nuestro personaje con un editor sencillo y elegir una clase. A partir de aquí es avanzar por los escenarios eliminando enemigos y consiguiendo sus almas para así subir de nivel. Conforme vayamos subiendo de nivel, podremos llevar ciertas magias o armas más potentes y pesadas. Los enemigos te pueden aniquilar en un par de golpes si no tenemos cuidado. A esto hay que sumarle el plataformeo en algunas zonas y, por supuesto, los jefes que ponen al jugador en un aprieto por su exigencia. Dark Souls es un juego exigente que requiere habilidad por parte del jugador. Dado que es el primero de los tres Souls, se nota lo lento y ortopédico que es manejar a nuestro personaje. A nivel visual y artístico, los personajes, enemigos y escenarios son muy buenos y a día de hoy, recuerdo perfectamente los escenarios. Se te quedan en la mente. Son inolvidables. A nivel gráfico es un juego de la anterior generación por lo que no es nada del otro mundo. Si te gustan los desafíos, no lo dudes. Juégalo.… Expand
  24. storygamer
    Sep 1, 2020
    9
    Dark Souls stands for rock-heavy gameplay with fascinating visuals. Sure, it`s difficult but after some hours into the game, you`ll realize it`s always fair. Besides you get one of the most intense gaming experiences of the last decade! I recommend the Prepare To Die Edition.
  25. TheNotoriusBenG
    Nov 27, 2020
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Dark souls es de mis favoritos y la verdad no sabría de donde empezar ya que casi todo en este juego esta rozando la perfección pero preferiría empezar por los escenarios por que los escenarios escenarios de la saga Dark Souls son realmente hermosos y únicos que cada uno de ellos son realmente únicos y destacan por si mismos, y mas aun destacan sus armaduras que realmente son mas que únicos y hasta algunas como las de ornstein o la de artorias, el diseño de las armas en un videojuego es importante eso esta claro, y este juego sobresalta en ello con armas que tienen movimientos y diseños mas que excelente, jefes con diseños sobresalientes que para algunos son mas difíciles o mas fáciles para algunos por que alfin y al cavo Dark Souls es un juego que depende de tu habilidad, algunos se pasan Dark Souls con la espada rota o con nv1 y es que si algo me gusta de este juego es que es puramente habilidad y eso que no eh contado ni la mitad de sus virtudes,pero le doy un 9...... Dark souls es difícil y no por eso le bajo la nota si no por que aveces puede ser injusto y eso puede llegar a joder y bastante, me ah pasado mas de una vez el que un arma haga hit a la pared cuando si o si debería tocar el enemigo y el apuntado de los arcos es nefasto pero la abalanza de las cosas buenas y las cosas malas es 99-1 y es que las cosas malas casi ni se notan y las cosas buenas brillan por su ausencia de verdad vale muchísimo la pena por que no eh dicho ni la mitad de las cosas buenas de este video juego que para mi es el mejor se su saga y de los mejores de la década pero veran.... Dark Souls es de esos juegos que te gustan o los odias, en juegos como Dark Souls no hay punto intermedio, si eres de esos que juega para relajarse pues obviamente puede que Dark Souls no sea para ti y de eso estoy un 99,37% seguro pero si eres de esos que quiere algo distinto, algo que no se sienta igual a lo demás, querer algo mas fresco para jugar en vez de jugar los shooters o battleroyals que salen cada 10 horas, puede que te guste si eres de esos que no les importa mucho la dificultad pues no pierdas tu tiempo y agrégalo al maldito carro YA YA YA! o te parto las jodidas piernas! de verdad vale muchísimo la pena… Expand
  26. RTCWFAN
    Jun 13, 2023
    9
    The beginning of a legend! Since the first part, I'm hooked to the series. Played the Prepare To Die Edition. Overall rating: 9.3.
  27. tharikleo
    Apr 19, 2021
    9
    Um aprimoramento e polimento do que já conhecíamos em Demon's Souls, oferece um desafio elevado e tem muitos chefes marcantes.
  28. Superbolonio
    May 20, 2021
    9
    Mi juego favorito, el que hizo que me enamorase de los juegos de rol. Gameplay muy bien hecho y muy entretenido, zonas impresionantes, enemigos y bosses icónicos y una gran historia, aunque seguramente tengas que ver vídeos y leer mil descripciones para enterarte de esta. Tiene sus defectos como la segunda mitad del juego que baja un poco la calidad o los gráficos que creo que hanMi juego favorito, el que hizo que me enamorase de los juegos de rol. Gameplay muy bien hecho y muy entretenido, zonas impresionantes, enemigos y bosses icónicos y una gran historia, aunque seguramente tengas que ver vídeos y leer mil descripciones para enterarte de esta. Tiene sus defectos como la segunda mitad del juego que baja un poco la calidad o los gráficos que creo que han envejecido bastante mal. Aún así es un juego que le recomiendo a todo el mundo.… Expand
  29. Empidonax
    Apr 2, 2022
    9
    This is the first souls game that I played, and my second favorite after dark souls 3. There are certain aspects of this game that are very good, and that I wish they kept in the later souls games, such as the perfect level design. The interconnectedness was much more prevalent here than the later souls games, and it felt very special. There are other factors that cause me to rate DarkThis is the first souls game that I played, and my second favorite after dark souls 3. There are certain aspects of this game that are very good, and that I wish they kept in the later souls games, such as the perfect level design. The interconnectedness was much more prevalent here than the later souls games, and it felt very special. There are other factors that cause me to rate Dark Souls 3 higher, but in my opinion, there are several superior features in this game that are lost in the later games.… Expand
  30. MortalShaw
    Aug 9, 2021
    9
    juegazo 20/10 y god, ya en serio, el juego tiene varios jefes muy zzzz y armas muy zzzz, pero los que son los buenos jefes estan geniales y son de los mejores de la saga, decente banda sonora, armaduras bien, lore espectacular, yo le pondria un 9/10
  31. SolaireMengao
    Sep 16, 2021
    9
    It's brilliant how they got the "die and try again" formula to be one of the most fun (and frustrating) experiences ever. The gameplay, the lore, almost everything in this game is awesome.
  32. WPB
    Sep 21, 2021
    9
    Amazing game, but too easy, very atmospheric and calming, didn't get stressed once while playing, very chill vibes, put me to sleep at night. Reminded me of games like animal crossing and Minecraft with its relaxing aura.
  33. Ygs
    Jul 14, 2022
    9
    Undoubtedly, it was one of the most memorable experiences that I had in my whole life, special boss fights with great designs, great music, but without a story, unfortunately, there are bugs and Ai problems.
  34. 3ls0ul
    Mar 7, 2023
    9
    Este juego aún no lo eh jugado o completado, así que pondré una reseña y nota diferentes cuando lo haga.
  35. Pmstz
    Jan 31, 2023
    9
    masterpiece

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
  36. miguellopez99
    Jun 1, 2023
    9
    89/100 .
  37. Gefamao
    Sep 7, 2023
    9
    the classic but it has aged a lot

    words words words words words words words words words words words words
  38. Zarmi
    Oct 8, 2011
    8
    Dark Souls is generally a good game with very few flaws. If you liked Demon's Souls, you owe it to yourself to pick it up. However, there are a few minor concerns about Dark Souls as it stands right now. First of all, there's some wonky hit boxes, which means that if you try to fire an arrow from a tower, you will have no chance of success, because the walls got much larger hit boxes thanDark Souls is generally a good game with very few flaws. If you liked Demon's Souls, you owe it to yourself to pick it up. However, there are a few minor concerns about Dark Souls as it stands right now. First of all, there's some wonky hit boxes, which means that if you try to fire an arrow from a tower, you will have no chance of success, because the walls got much larger hit boxes than they actually show. I've personally had tons of arrows get stuck in the air because of this, and this counts for spells too.

    A second concern is that some enemies will randomly clip into walls and get stuck there, only to teleport back out again at a random time and completely wreck your face while you are unprepared. The game itself is not as punishing as Demon's Souls was, as there's more shortcuts to the checkpoint-bonfires, and when you die you aren't thrown as far back as you were in Demon's Souls, which is really excellent as it limits the frustration from the game. However, you will still die cheaply many times, either because of a stupid camera angle or simply because your character stumbled back after being poked by a rat, and then fell over a cliff. To top it off, the bosses feel repetitive and just.. not boring, but not as exciting and dangerous as they did in Demon's Souls. They will still onehit you, but they got very predictable patterns.

    If you go for a speed build, you can easily dodge everything they throw at you, which leads to the last problem with the game; frame rate. The frame rate will randomly take HUGE hits at the worst of times, simply because there sometimes will be too many polygons at the screen at once. An example is when any monster breathes fire, that will basically right down **** up the frame rate.

    Overall, a very good game that rewards a careful approach and smart mind, but there are some failures in the game that will put the really hardcore off. However, besides these small failures, the game is more or less perfect at what it tries to achieve, and being generally (in my opinion) more forgiving than Demon's Souls, it's easier for new players to get into as well.    … Expand
  39. MikeMaximus
    Nov 13, 2011
    8
    Dark Souls is an amazing game, but it is definitely not for everyone, especially those easily discouraged or frustrated. The older gamers who grew up during the 8 & 16-bit days will likely find the most appreciation for this title. Dark Souls throws you into an amazingly well crafted world with a very short tutorial, then leaves you to it. There is a lot of risky exploration and trial &Dark Souls is an amazing game, but it is definitely not for everyone, especially those easily discouraged or frustrated. The older gamers who grew up during the 8 & 16-bit days will likely find the most appreciation for this title. Dark Souls throws you into an amazingly well crafted world with a very short tutorial, then leaves you to it. There is a lot of risky exploration and trial & error learning that needs to be done. Bosses and even normal enemies are unforgivably brutal, so as you've probably heard already, you're going to be dying a lot. But nothing you've played for years will give you the feeling of accomplishment when you finally complete a goal. This is the first game for a long time where I actually danced a jig after defeating a particularly nasty boss that was killing me for over an hour.

    Combat controls are fluid and fairly easy to pick up, but difficult to master. There's a ton of different weapons to use and spells to learn. There are many different ways to build up your character, and a deep gear upgrade system, offering a lot of re-playability. The only problem here is that game doesn't offer you a lot of information regarding certain player stats or how certain game mechanics work. You will figure everything out eventually but it would be nice if they gave you just a little more information in the game itself, or in the woefully bad manual.

    Dark Souls is an extremely pretty game. Even after playing it for so many hours I can still marvel sometimes how great it looks. But the cost of this is sometimes the game is reduced to a horribly low frame rate, bad enough to affect gameplay and sometimes reduces it to an unplayable state. I've noticed however this may be more to do with bugs with the AI than anything else. When there are multiple enemies having trouble finding a path to your location, you'll notice your frame rate reduced to almost nothing. Hopefully this is patched.

    The only other complaint I can make is that when you die on bosses, and you will die a lot. Sometimes you have to wade through a lot of content over and over to make it back to the boss to try again. This adds a lot of extra unnecessary frustration and boredom to a game that's otherwise full of excitement.    … Expand
  40. smellymetal
    Nov 23, 2012
    8
    (UPDATED REVIEW) This game immediately reminded me of the good old Fighting Fantasy roleplay gamebooks by Steve Jackson & Ian Livingstone. I've been hooked by the sound/music, the dusty/muddy dungeons and the atmospheric landscapes. Monsters (especially bosses) look awesome. Just too bad about the lag sometimes (yes this game looks like it could have benefit more development time - that's(UPDATED REVIEW) This game immediately reminded me of the good old Fighting Fantasy roleplay gamebooks by Steve Jackson & Ian Livingstone. I've been hooked by the sound/music, the dusty/muddy dungeons and the atmospheric landscapes. Monsters (especially bosses) look awesome. Just too bad about the lag sometimes (yes this game looks like it could have benefit more development time - that's why it's a 8/10 for me, too much technical issues take away from an otherwise perfect experience) however Dark Souls is about FEAR, it makes you feel like you have to fight to survive, and think about "strategy" too; just like real life situations - it may be a fantasy world, but the game succeeds to make you feel a real sense of DANGER. People who say this game is too hard probably didn't own systems in the 80's-90's. Dying 5-6 times an hour? Fine. Just try Contra III (SNES) on HARD for a change...You won't count the number of lives and 'continues' spent. No really, anybody can play Dark Souls and get used to it, but it's up to you to accept the challenge or not. I can guarantee you won't be disappointed. In fact I'm already going back to it... Wish me luck =)… Expand
  41. aspentitan
    Aug 10, 2014
    8
    Seriously, any game you have played over 100 hrs at least deserves an 8, 9 or 10 rating. I'm going to go with an 8 rating because up until a certain point I had a great time but then this game lost my interest. The reason I have a love-hate relationship with this game is because the more I play Dark Souls the more I realize how bad it is compared to its inspirational game, Demon Souls.Seriously, any game you have played over 100 hrs at least deserves an 8, 9 or 10 rating. I'm going to go with an 8 rating because up until a certain point I had a great time but then this game lost my interest. The reason I have a love-hate relationship with this game is because the more I play Dark Souls the more I realize how bad it is compared to its inspirational game, Demon Souls. Demon Souls was crafted as a very cruel but fair encounter and for that reason very enjoyable. A game which required you to get better and learn some moves and all the enemies. What was great about Demons Souls was you could wiggle your way through it eventually by varying your strategies and paying attention to detail.....I cannot say the same about Dark Souls. I do love love how they made this game more open world concept, this is far superior in that respect, and I love all the new enemies so kudos there. However, Dark Souls was crafted as super annoying and really very limited in your approach to enemies. This game for me was a grind as i felt so many of the stats were meaningless and there was only one super approach to most enemies and bosses. For me this made the game unbearably annoying and boring. Online was a joke as the game is based on fatique and speed and lag ruins all that....constant backstabs out of nowhere. Not only that but defensive damage taken seems quite similar at level 10 as at level 115 with better armor.....(hello stats??? wtf??). Every area had at least one developer cheese area even if you knew the trap by an initial suicide run you were doomed to repeat a cheap area over and over. I cant actually say much nice about Dark Souls except it seems similar to Demons Souls. I find the end result a turnoff. I put in 200 hrs and it was fun getting to the realization point that this game is not a better version of Demons Souls, it actually is a worse spinoff of platforming memorization and a grind more than rpg. I didn't find the controls and weapons responsive to the same subtle degree as Demons Souls and consequently I just ended up becoming bored of this game. Unlike Demons Souls I feel that Dark Souls makes you grind ahead of playing a patient style of your choice. True, you do have to be patient but my point is as you grind you improve far more as a character than your choice of upgrading. Offensive stats seem to matter, defensive stats do not. On top of this I felt the camera and false locks ons were annoyingly broken as much or even more than Demons Souls where it also needed a huge amount of fix, and screen tearing was an issue in many battles in tight areas. Overall, I really enjoyed this game until I uncovered how bad the repetition of the game was caused by cheapshots and lack of responsiveness towards character upgrades, then it dropped off like a rock into pure boredom. It just got so old grinding levels and getting stronger stats per level than actually learning better combat and feeling those loot runs pay out. I'm having a hard time describing my complaint but what I'm trying to get at is as you level up you automatically become better at the game rather than the effort you put into say finding and chosing better armor and putting skill points into strength for example. I just don't feel the upgrades, just the grind. For me the game is so close to my expectations of fantasy rpg but not so much that I don't feel the software and development is also lacking and could use some upgrading.… Expand
  42. darkmana
    Oct 21, 2011
    8
    So to start off, this game is amazing. It took me a very long time (about 3 months after i bought it) to get into Demon's Souls but once I got into it I REALLY got into it. There were a few flaws though that made me dislike the game, and there is where Dark Souls comes in. Dark Souls takes the issues that I had with Demon's Souls (the tutorial, general early-game flow, magic OP as balls,So to start off, this game is amazing. It took me a very long time (about 3 months after i bought it) to get into Demon's Souls but once I got into it I REALLY got into it. There were a few flaws though that made me dislike the game, and there is where Dark Souls comes in. Dark Souls takes the issues that I had with Demon's Souls (the tutorial, general early-game flow, magic OP as balls, difficulty gaining human form early on) is all fixed in Dark Souls. The gameplay is solid and refined since Demon's Souls. The boss fights are a lot of fun and generally less frustrating due to it being more straightforward as to how to defeat them. The bonfires mean that you generally aren't set as far back when you die and the covenants add a whole new level of additional depth to the game (such as revenge invasions, killing invaders of the forest and so on). But the one reason this game is not getting anywhere above an 8 is: the online. In Demon's Souls if you wanted to play with a friend all you had to do was put down a mark and then tell them where it is. In Dark Souls since the players are divided up into smaller servers it is near impossible to play with someone you know. The other issue that comes with this smaller servers is that sometimes you just end up on a near empty server. This can lead to no one responding to your summon sign or not being able to find anyone to summon for help. This can become very frustrating when you want to help people with a boss, or want help on one yourself.

    Overall the game is great, I really enjoy how the game all flows together (back to the Firelink Shrine) so it really feels like everything is linked. Some people may complain about random things killing them, but anyone who played Demon's Souls will know most of the tricks. Not to mention, if you know everything the game is going to try and kill you with, where's the fun in that? It's hilarious when I open a chest and it turns into a mimic that devours me XD. A must have for any hardcore gamer!    … Expand
  43. Glowguy
    Jul 11, 2013
    8
    While Dark souls is a great game there is nothing really revolutionary about it. All the major gameplay elements were already in place in the previous installment and I think Demon's Souls is the better game in terms of innovation and execution. I played Dark Souls first and I was shocked at how much of the game's content was outright lifted from Demon's when I went back and played itWhile Dark souls is a great game there is nothing really revolutionary about it. All the major gameplay elements were already in place in the previous installment and I think Demon's Souls is the better game in terms of innovation and execution. I played Dark Souls first and I was shocked at how much of the game's content was outright lifted from Demon's when I went back and played it (from bosses to level design to game mechanics and online play). I can certainly see why the retained the basic mechanics since that was such a strong point but transferring actual game content just seemed lazy to me. I'm not sure why the developers did this but it seems like maybe they rushed things a bit at the end. So while I was kind of blown away with Dark Souls at first the game seemed much less impressive after playing Demon's Souls.

    Dark Souls really shines in the two areas level design and monsters. I thought From did an awesome job creating an interconnected world with more variety and it was a blast getting lost in the world itself. I thought the bonfire dynamic was a nice touch and a slight improvement over the prior nexus design.    … Expand
  44. Rottencore
    Apr 8, 2012
    8
    I am a huge fan of Demon's souls but I even find this one is a tad bit sadistic. They are oushing a bit with this title. The difficulty will push a lot of newcomers away...The game is very similar to Demon's Souls in a lot of ways but the main flaw is that some of the rewarding aspects (such as the large amount of items to be gained) are a lot less in this title. This is a problem as youI am a huge fan of Demon's souls but I even find this one is a tad bit sadistic. They are oushing a bit with this title. The difficulty will push a lot of newcomers away...The game is very similar to Demon's Souls in a lot of ways but the main flaw is that some of the rewarding aspects (such as the large amount of items to be gained) are a lot less in this title. This is a problem as you will be stuck with the Drake sword for an unecessary amount of time with nothing (that I have found) replacing this weapon for a long part of the game. I actually went back and made a character that could use this sword really early and I found this game to be easy because of this; I hope they add more items to be gained for the players who are loyal to the Souls games. The difficulty is not impossible, just stick it out and be in for the long haul as most Souls fans are aware of. Other than that, enjoy this title.… Expand
  45. Maggeus
    Oct 10, 2011
    8
    I was waiting a lot for Dark Souls. And I'm not dissapointed, to say the least. Dark Souls retained all of its predecessor ambience, while increasing the difficulty even more. Then, is Dark Souls really that fun ? Isn't it too hard ?...
    If you want a challenge, this is a game you want. If you lived 10 years in a monastery, and you can only buy one video game, you should simply take it.    I was waiting a lot for Dark Souls. And I'm not dissapointed, to say the least. Dark Souls retained all of its predecessor ambience, while increasing the difficulty even more. Then, is Dark Souls really that fun ? Isn't it too hard ?...
    If you want a challenge, this is a game you want. If you lived 10 years in a monastery, and you can only buy one video game, you should simply take it. Because you will have enough experience to endure it.
    Trust me, there are three things that's gonna happen if you play this game : you will love it, you will hate it, or both at once. I hate it and love it.    … Expand
  46. juicejuice
    Feb 3, 2013
    8
    Pretty awesome but Demon's Souls level design is a touch better
  47. lionalio
    Feb 1, 2012
    8
    A very good game, actually in this year, you can hardly find such a game like this with an awesome gameplay, epic boss fights, tough enemies, and more over, just one mistake and you are dead man! If you don't care much about the storyline (which is ambiguity), only care about fighting and wander around, this game is your type. But another thing: If you are seeking for a casual game, thisA very good game, actually in this year, you can hardly find such a game like this with an awesome gameplay, epic boss fights, tough enemies, and more over, just one mistake and you are dead man! If you don't care much about the storyline (which is ambiguity), only care about fighting and wander around, this game is your type. But another thing: If you are seeking for a casual game, this is definitely NOT for you.… Expand
  48. Wayward_Demon
    Oct 5, 2011
    8
    Very similar to Demons Souls which is a little dissapointing. in some sense, i notice similar attack patterns and just a lot of the same thing. but there are new things too like the ability to leap from a sprint. but the world and story are brand new which i really like. bonfires act as checkpoints, tho there are few.
  49. xeis
    Oct 28, 2011
    8
    I dont often review games, but there are some outright incorrect statements being made about the negatives of Dark Souls. This is no harder than mario brothers, if you get to the end of the level in mario brothers you can move on, otherwise you start over. Now Dark Souls is an open world and there are lots of ways to go, but if you don't get to another bonfire, you start over. This isI dont often review games, but there are some outright incorrect statements being made about the negatives of Dark Souls. This is no harder than mario brothers, if you get to the end of the level in mario brothers you can move on, otherwise you start over. Now Dark Souls is an open world and there are lots of ways to go, but if you don't get to another bonfire, you start over. This is not hard, and anyone over the age of 25 should be used to this sort of game mechanic. However it is hard, and if you button mash you will die. If you run into an area and agro everything, you will die. If you use a two handed sword while balance precariously on a narrow ledge you will die, if when a boss appears you stand there and think wow he's kinda big I wonder if....you will die. But all of these things are easily countered by using weapons and tactics appropriate to the situation (although the bosses can take some working out). Now graphics, they are stunning anyone who says otherwise is being obtuse, Anor Londo takes your breath away and will stay with me forever. However there are negatives, there is a problem with frame rate, in one boss fight and at the start of one area the frame rate drops, enough to possibly cause you to die because the combat is challenging. But this is possibly for 30 minutes of gameplay over a 100 hour game. There is a more annoying bug which none of the negative reviews have pointed out, therefore I would question whether they were in full control of their characters. I am a turn based guy, I like time to think about what I am doing, I like to be meticulous, but I am not particularly patient person, but this game has bought on a certain level of stoicism. One of the reviewers said there is no explanation of the stats, this is factually incorrect pressing select and moving over the stats tells you what they do, pretty simple really. Also truth be told until you get a stat to over 40 you cant really make a mistake anyway (and that is at SL35+ if you just spent on one stat). I am over 50 hours in and never seen a teleporting skeleton (although I did *once* clip through the floor). BTW if you are starting and you are running into skeletons, turn around you are going the wrong way the catacombs is not the place to start, you will die and the skeletons wont (they resurrect when in catacombs, worse you get no souls for killing them). I spent maybe 2 hours at SL8 trying to get into the catacombs before I got it through my thick head there must be something easier to fight in this "open world". Doh! off to the undead burg, life was easier. Also you do not die out of nowhere, you go charging around a corner and there is someone stood there with a big axe, what do you expect? a gentle tap on the shoulder and a deceleration of intent to attack you! no, look where you are going for goodness sake! Not once have I had a trap come out of a wall and kill me dead. I have hit pressure plates that I had not seen and taken serious sums of damage, I have tried out running a giant rock wearing plate mail, I have rolled backwards off ledges, I have been picked up by a boss and thrown off a ledge, but none of these deaths came out of nowhere!
    This game is not for everyone, you will not become the best player just because you have the time to pump 100 hours into it. You are rewarded for success and punished for failure, if you keep fighting resurrecting skeletons for 10 hours you will remain where you are not progressing. But if you are attentive, thoughtful and stoic every minute you spend with the game will be a joy and you will find yourself dreaming of this flawed masterpiece.    … Expand
  50. AlienSpaceBats
    Mar 31, 2015
    8
    I can't think of a single other game (other than Demon's Souls) that's so purposely challenging, oldschool and meticulously crafted. Forget quest markers, dull NPCs spouting novellas full of dialogue and even duller codices crammed with useless information, Dark Souls throws that all out the window, and we're back to player driven exploration, the necessity of using your brain and yourI can't think of a single other game (other than Demon's Souls) that's so purposely challenging, oldschool and meticulously crafted. Forget quest markers, dull NPCs spouting novellas full of dialogue and even duller codices crammed with useless information, Dark Souls throws that all out the window, and we're back to player driven exploration, the necessity of using your brain and your eyes as well as the most devilish risk/reward system I've seen in a game for a long time. It's not for everyone though, and an unsuccessful first few hours will drive away everyone who isn't utterly compelled by the game.… Expand
  51. Rewiinded
    Oct 8, 2011
    8
    This game is a huge improvement over Demon's Souls. It has a lot more content and they removed the (in my opinion) annoying system of world tendency. In place is a humanity system which increases drop rates and affects various other things in the gameplay.

    HOWEVER The multiplayer aspect of the game has become much, MUCH worse. You have to be in human form in order to see summoning    This game is a huge improvement over Demon's Souls. It has a lot more content and they removed the (in my opinion) annoying system of world tendency. In place is a humanity system which increases drop rates and affects various other things in the gameplay.

    HOWEVER
    The multiplayer aspect of the game has become much, MUCH worse. You have to be in human form in order to see summoning signs/get invaded. This already makes sure there is not a lot of online action, because there are no real benefits of playing in human form rather than in Hollow form. In 50 hours of playing I haven't been invaded once, and summoning often fails. Furthermore you rarely see summoning signs/blood stains from other players. Reason for this is the change from a server to P2P online. People are put in lobbies and can only interact with people from that lobby. Your lobby changes when you log out and in. This means that if you play for quite a long time at once chances are you are alone in your lobby which results in no multiplayer for you. Also, this makes grouping up with friends (like in Demon's Souls, putting down your soul sign in a certain place) near impossible. It is not strange for people to literally try HOURS before finally being able to group up.

    What a shame, From Software/Namco Bandai, the multiplayer mess up changes this grade from a 9.5 to an 8, since it is one of the biggest aspects of the game.    … Expand
  52. nongming
    Oct 11, 2011
    8
    Firstly I would like to say that I was very disappointed at how Dark Soul's multiplayer will now work in different servers. Which means, no coop with FRIENDS, and no more organized PVP...

    That aside; The open world worked much better than I expected. In this case, the term "Open World" used loosely as in essence, it is just going from one checkpoint to another on a linear-esque path    Firstly I would like to say that I was very disappointed at how Dark Soul's multiplayer will now work in different servers. Which means, no coop with FRIENDS, and no more organized PVP...

    That aside; The open world worked much better than I expected. In this case, the term "Open World" used loosely as in essence, it is just going from one checkpoint to another on a linear-esque path with a few stray areas to explore. The world however has been designed perfectly with shortcuts that end up with the reaction of; "ohh, so that's where it leads to". Combat is still second to none, each swing needs to be thought out. Whether you have enough stamina to block after your swing, whether your swing will leave you open for an attack, whether it would be more efficient to block a certain incoming attack or dodge it. All this will be second nature once you have played Dark Souls for a while. For all the low reviews complaining it's too hard; deaths are caused due to your OWN fault, the game is never unfair. Over-exertion will often be the reason for your demise. The game in no way demands perfection in your play but it takes no hesitation in punishing you for your mistakes. The "Souls" series is the epitomy of action RPG. It is a beautiful game without the big, flashy graphics. There is no dodge or block percentages. You are in control of every aspect of the combat. This game is not for everyone, but I do recommend atleast giving it a shot, because there hasn't been another game that has given me as much satisfaction as Dark Souls has.    … Expand
  53. Excedion
    Nov 4, 2011
    8
    Well, having never played Demon Souls the difficulty of Dark Soul's was initially a shock. However one of the main things I had heard about Demon Souls was that if you died it was through fault of your own, not thinking out something before you acted. There does seem to be quite a few times in Dark souls where this still holds true but there seems to be a bit of artificial difficulty inWell, having never played Demon Souls the difficulty of Dark Soul's was initially a shock. However one of the main things I had heard about Demon Souls was that if you died it was through fault of your own, not thinking out something before you acted. There does seem to be quite a few times in Dark souls where this still holds true but there seems to be a bit of artificial difficulty in this game such as One Hit AoE KOs purposely distancing bonfires far from certain points so the player will have to keep travelling things like that deliberately put in to frustrate the player and waste their time making the game longer and "harder". Overall though I found Dark soul's to be quite a fun game especially after killing a boss that has been kicking your ass over and over. There's something about Dark Soul's though, no matter how many times I got so angry and quit the game 10 minutes later I'd be back playing it determined it wasn't going to beat me. There are very very few games I've quit this much and came back to play. Aside from the odd moments in the game that seem to have been designed specifically to piss you off as much as possible dark souls is a great game with a lot of different play styles and great graphics. Although a lot of the story and dialogue seems to be lost unless you make an effort to patch it together yourself by talking to NPC's. I really enjoyed my time playing dark souls and will more than likely play it through several more times when i get the chance. A must buy for any one who likes a challenge.… Expand
  54. Andrewskyy
    Nov 10, 2011
    8
    Great game, it is very fun and challenging. I only gave it an 8 because the graphics engine is far from perfected. Water and stair steps significantly drop frame rates. There's also an infinite soul glitch that makes the game lose its value due to over powering your character. Luckily, the glitch is only possible if you KNOW what you're getting into. Another major turn off was that NewGreat game, it is very fun and challenging. I only gave it an 8 because the graphics engine is far from perfected. Water and stair steps significantly drop frame rates. There's also an infinite soul glitch that makes the game lose its value due to over powering your character. Luckily, the glitch is only possible if you KNOW what you're getting into. Another major turn off was that New Game+ lacked new items and souls. There are no "upgraded" loot, just the same loot as last play through. All and all its a GREAT game, but only worth about 100 hours of play.… Expand
  55. Crimson_Air
    Nov 12, 2011
    8
    An absolutely amazing game. Everything from Demon's Souls except done better....well almost everything. I can't agree with Bandai's decision to use a lobby based MP system, makes trying to play with friends near impossible to do, but nonetheless the game is incredibly, the story, while limited still leaves you with enough that it can leave it to your imagination to make it even moreAn absolutely amazing game. Everything from Demon's Souls except done better....well almost everything. I can't agree with Bandai's decision to use a lobby based MP system, makes trying to play with friends near impossible to do, but nonetheless the game is incredibly, the story, while limited still leaves you with enough that it can leave it to your imagination to make it even more compelling. 8/10, with MP being what I really wanted to play it for Dark Souls still delivered everything I wanted from it. Make more amazing games From Software, I look forward to Armored Core 5… Expand
  56. Benjii
    Nov 17, 2011
    8
    I completed this game and decided i should review it based on my opinion. having played demon souls i was aware of the level of difficulty prior and it did not let me down the fights were fun as you learn how enemies fight and the best tactic to counter them and take them down. The bosses were well designed apart from 3 the asylum boss stray demon and the fire version these seemed as theI completed this game and decided i should review it based on my opinion. having played demon souls i was aware of the level of difficulty prior and it did not let me down the fights were fun as you learn how enemies fight and the best tactic to counter them and take them down. The bosses were well designed apart from 3 the asylum boss stray demon and the fire version these seemed as the designers had run out of ideas and added the same boss with an increased difficulty and changed the design slightly. The gamepplay was brilliant i loved the feel of the different weapons and they felt like they had real weight to them and its the same with the armour which forced you to accomodate your gameplay to the choice of weapon and armour you used. another downside was i felt that some of the deaths that occur was cheap compared to demon souls, it was almost as if the game was making sure you perished. before people make the purcahse they should realise that some grinding is needed however it is possible to complete this game without leveling up it just takes alot of patience. After finishing this i tried to play skyrim which i cant get into as it just seems a little bit to easy and i am aware that you can raise difficulty levels, this game is currently my game of the year, and despite some flaws it is still a very good game, now just waiting for the patch to improve the co-op experience… Expand
  57. Theguyoffire
    Nov 18, 2012
    8
    Extremely hard and frustrating yet addictive and fun. It is a much better game then skyrim.
  58. TravisguyRedux
    Mar 11, 2012
    8
    (8.5 if I could)
    This game is a perfect example of what developers need to aim for:
    -A difficult game that requires thinking. -Actions that have consequences that effect the rest of your play through. -Suspense and a lingering unknown of what's behind the next corner. -A sequel that doesn't **** all over the predecessor Dark Souls took these three points and executed it almost perfectly. I    (8.5 if I could)
    This game is a perfect example of what developers need to aim for:
    -A difficult game that requires thinking.
    -Actions that have consequences that effect the rest of your play through.
    -Suspense and a lingering unknown of what's behind the next corner.
    -A sequel that doesn't **** all over the predecessor Dark Souls took these three points and executed it almost perfectly. I have a few problems with the game though:
    -Lack of dialogue
    -Lack of story telling elements
    -FPS drops pretty often

    If you love tough and addicting game play with no true focus on story and characters, this is the game for you. Although, I would avoid this game if you are seeking a story telling adventure. Make sure to bookmark the Dark Souls Wiki, you're going to need it.    … Expand
  59. Muuvinki
    Mar 14, 2013
    8
    Good game but you better be prepared to die alot. This game has a huge difficulty right from the start and bosses and enemies are tough. You might feel huge frustration while playing this game but if you can overcome that, then this is easily one of the most best games to ps3.
  60. Morfiss
    Jan 29, 2013
    8
    This game is so awesome! I love how this game is so brutal to noobs and it punishes you for not strategizing before a boss fight. Almost all the bosses are really fun to fight (not the Bed of Chaos). Theres heaps of cool items to collect. Every boss you kill rewards you greatly. The Lore is great if you ever look up the lore on youtube. This game can be really unpredictable. The graphics,This game is so awesome! I love how this game is so brutal to noobs and it punishes you for not strategizing before a boss fight. Almost all the bosses are really fun to fight (not the Bed of Chaos). Theres heaps of cool items to collect. Every boss you kill rewards you greatly. The Lore is great if you ever look up the lore on youtube. This game can be really unpredictable. The graphics, landscape and detail is amazing. The NPCs have their own character and the decisions you make on how to approach things can effect the rest of your gameplay however the PVP is terrible. Most PVP in this game involves some sort of cheap tactic such as: Super OP Magic, Lagstabbing, Hacking and Ganking.… Expand
  61. PriceyPants
    Aug 28, 2013
    8
    Dark souls is a great game, it has a great rpg feel to it and a constant sense of danger when away from the bonfires. first off let me say this is no game for people without patients so many times i have heard "I cant beat this boss i quit" when all they have to do i level up a few times. dark souls is a hard game to start off with but after you get a certain quest item the game just getsDark souls is a great game, it has a great rpg feel to it and a constant sense of danger when away from the bonfires. first off let me say this is no game for people without patients so many times i have heard "I cant beat this boss i quit" when all they have to do i level up a few times. dark souls is a hard game to start off with but after you get a certain quest item the game just gets easier. Sure you still lose your souls when you die and PvP can be unfair but that is what Dark Souls is all about, you can't just go into this game expecting not to die trust me you will die Over and over. If you love games where you can fight giant bosses and have a huge amount of loot to find you will absolutely love dark souls, if on the other hand you play games like Call of Duty i recommend you don't even think about touching dark souls because all you will do is and cry.… Expand
  62. Jakallov3
    Aug 27, 2013
    8
    I am an absolute fan of the franchise, the game is challenging and brutal, teaching me something new every time I died. I loved experimenting with new builds, weapons and armors, making this game great for re-playability. PVP is brutal, especially if you do not know what to expect, and also gives the game a lot of uniqueness. However as much as I love this game, there are some issues, suchI am an absolute fan of the franchise, the game is challenging and brutal, teaching me something new every time I died. I loved experimenting with new builds, weapons and armors, making this game great for re-playability. PVP is brutal, especially if you do not know what to expect, and also gives the game a lot of uniqueness. However as much as I love this game, there are some issues, such as frame drops and some bugs and glitches, but you ignore it once it has consumed your soul.… Expand
  63. chrisse989
    Dec 30, 2013
    8
    First of all to be clear, I am a huge fan of the predecessor, Demon's Souls. It's for me the game that showed the power of the capabilities (not just graphically) of a PS3 versus a PS2.

    Dark Souls is wilder, more beautiful and more technically advanced (esp for the multiplayer part) than Demon's Souls, so it definitely improves on the formula. It's a great game, which has challenging    First of all to be clear, I am a huge fan of the predecessor, Demon's Souls. It's for me the game that showed the power of the capabilities (not just graphically) of a PS3 versus a PS2.

    Dark Souls is wilder, more beautiful and more technically advanced (esp for the multiplayer part) than Demon's Souls, so it definitely improves on the formula. It's a great game, which has challenging bosses, great customisation options and is overall a great adventure.

    There are for me however two issues which ruin the experience a bit:
    - There are a lot of secrets in the game, but they are hidden a bit too well. You will need to read up on internet to discover them, especially since they hide some of the more interesting items. If you want to survive the multiplayer aspect of the game (ie when invading or invaded) and you face someone with items/spells you don't know (other people do read up), you will most likely lose most of the time.
    - The damage you receive can be very arbitrary, which doesn't make sense for a game that wants you to learn from your mistakes. Example: I fight a boss. I see the boss is going to hit so I raise my (very strong) shield. As my stamina was low, the boss his hit breaks through my shield and deals 800 hit points and KO for me. On the next try on that boss, when attacking him, he also hits me three times consecutively dealing only 400 hit points together... Some balance is lost within the game versus Demon's Souls, which is a pity.

    Overall, still a fantastic experience though.    … Expand
  64. Iluvatar21
    May 22, 2014
    8
    HOW I RATE: 10-9 score: perfect or near-perfect don't exist; 8 score: one of the best games ever. Top score; 7-6 score: great but not one of the best; 5-below score: serious flaws.
    ===========
    Do you like finding new things? Do you fancy the idea of no hand-holding? But do you hate starting all over again if you made a fatal mistake? Also do you hate grinding & repetition? But not the    HOW I RATE: 10-9 score: perfect or near-perfect don't exist; 8 score: one of the best games ever. Top score; 7-6 score: great but not one of the best; 5-below score: serious flaws.
    ===========
    Do you like finding new things? Do you fancy the idea of no hand-holding? But do you hate starting all over again if you made a fatal mistake? Also do you hate grinding & repetition? But not the kind of grinding where you are furious of having to go through the same things again but the kind where you feel you are going somewhere & want to continue deeper?

    If you answered 'Yes' to all of these questions then this game is for you.    … Expand
  65. bigboss1964
    Oct 9, 2014
    8
    Dark Souls

    Game-play:The game play is slow and realistic with lot of different classes to play with i loved it.The game is very difficult so if you are not a hardcore gamer just stay away. Story:The story is the weak point of the game it is awuful. Graphics:The graphics fit the game perfectly. Notes:This RPG is very good and have lot of item and different enemy types a great    Dark Souls

    Game-play:The game play is slow and realistic with lot of different classes to play with i loved it.The game is very difficult so if you are not a hardcore gamer just stay away.

    Story:The story is the weak point of the game it is awuful.

    Graphics:The graphics fit the game perfectly.

    Notes:This RPG is very good and have lot of item and different enemy types a great game a full price buy.    … Expand
  66. krispintin
    Apr 7, 2015
    8
    the only reason the score I've given is an 8 is because some of the environments and late game areas are incredibly lazy, lame and unfinished. (lost Izalith, demon ruins.)

    That said, It is a very very good game, especially if you ignore the glaring flaws later that come later on. the world design is unmatched with mind blowing short cuts connecting the environments to each other.    the only reason the score I've given is an 8 is because some of the environments and late game areas are incredibly lazy, lame and unfinished. (lost Izalith, demon ruins.)

    That said, It is a very very good game, especially if you ignore the glaring flaws later that come later on. the world design is unmatched with mind blowing short cuts connecting the environments to each other.

    The combat is top notch and introduces mostly positive additions to the game from the past title demon's souls.

    The boss fights are dramatic and exciting, fresh and challenging. O&S is possibly the best boss fight they have ever made.
    Though some of the later game bosses are incredibly easy though and less exciting I'm not sure why this happens (maybe the game was rushed a little too much during development).
    I won't fault From Software on the fact that many bosses and areas are just basically different versions of the ones from demon's souls e.g because they do hold up on their own and are unique experiences.

    But the biggest critique I have that prevents me from seeing this as a perfect game like many of the fanboy reviews post is that some areas late into the game like lost izalith are terribly bare bones and unfinished. And then a place like demon's ruins is ruined (heh) by the lazy reposting of previous bosses and making them mobs. They just feel copy pasted into the environment for no reason other than they were lazy or out of time developing the game. Also wtf is up the repost of the asylum demon not once but twice into the game as later bosses, only adding a minor flame affect and/or making him larger in size. It is just lazy in these aspects which lowers the score.

    That said it is still a solid game, only that it dips hard towards the end.    … Expand
  67. Hackattaque
    Aug 23, 2017
    8
    Dark Souls is what you might get if you crossed Shadow of the Colossus with the very first 8-bit Legend of Zelda. It's a wilfully obscure, challenging game that explains nothing and throws you into a hostile adventure world populated with memorable bosses, unforgiving enemies and kooky allies. It's hard to really capture how crazy this approach seemed in 2011, even after predecessorDark Souls is what you might get if you crossed Shadow of the Colossus with the very first 8-bit Legend of Zelda. It's a wilfully obscure, challenging game that explains nothing and throws you into a hostile adventure world populated with memorable bosses, unforgiving enemies and kooky allies. It's hard to really capture how crazy this approach seemed in 2011, even after predecessor Demon's Souls. This game basically made it acceptable for big-budget titles to punish, alienate and confuse players.

    Once you get over the initial difficulty hump, Dark Souls gets two big things absolutely spot-on: Its world and its combat. The environments ooze with atmosphere, from medieval castles and churches to forests and swamps, and they all connect through clever shortcuts, ladders and secret passages. The combat is meaty, slow and highly strategic, forcing the player to make every sword swipe count and to carefully study the enemy's moves. This is not an open world game where you roam free with few consequences. It's terrifying.

    Where Dark Souls is less successful is pacing. With very little story or character interaction, it can be sometimes frustrating and boring to run through the same areas several times to level up or to try and beat a troublesome enemy. Some parts will feel exciting and challenging, others tedious and cheap. The final act of the game is a real low point, with the designers peppering overly big, sparse areas with duplicated enemies and bosses. The 75-hour campaign could have been easily cut to 50.

    it's the boss battles that ultimately steal the show. You'll fight giant gargoyles on the roof of a church; a sword-wielding wolf guarding a moonlit tomb; ghostly kings in a pitch-black abyss with no floor. When you finally beat such screen-filling baddies after several attempts, it's an intoxicating feeling. The peak of the whole game is the fight at the sumptuous and deadly sky palace of Anor Londo, which pits you against a giant hammer-wielding executioner and his lightning-quick companion. Nothing after that comes close.

    Dark Souls is a unique and unforgettable experience. It should be played. But it's not perfect. There are lows with the highs, so be prepared before you step into the fog.    … Expand
  68. flattyfour
    Sep 19, 2015
    8
    Understand the hype, the history, and the limitations before calling this game what it isn't. Play with patience or not at all. I play cause I'm bored.
  69. Markain
    Mar 6, 2017
    8
    Cool Game, but very hard and confusing. I often got lost in the mazelike castle. The story is very mystic and ittakes a while until you get behind it.
  70. DreamEaglr
    Mar 1, 2017
    8
    Одна из лучших игр, в которые я играл. На первое место тут отведён геймпей, и геймплей здесь просто шедеврален.
    Вся игра построена на том, чтобы игрок учился на своих ошибках, запоминал как двигаются и сражаются враги от обычных до боссов.
    Также невозможно не сказать про дизайн тех же врагов, боссов и локаций: Игра Японская, а они всегда делали самые великолепные и удивительные дизайны    Одна из лучших игр, в которые я играл. На первое место тут отведён геймпей, и геймплей здесь просто шедеврален.
    Вся игра построена на том, чтобы игрок учился на своих ошибках, запоминал как двигаются и сражаются враги от обычных до боссов.
    Также невозможно не сказать про дизайн тех же врагов, боссов и локаций:
    Игра Японская, а они всегда делали самые великолепные и удивительные дизайны в играх.
    Большинство локаций связаны между собой, пройдя немного по новой локации вы можете иногда видеть старые.
    Графика в игре отличная для 2011 года.
    Музыка выше всяких похвал, хотя до Demon's souls не дотягивает.    … Expand
  71. IAmPaperworkDan
    Apr 1, 2017
    8
    This review comes from someone who's first experience of a Souls game was Bloodborne and I'm sorry to all the purists out there but Dark Souls just doesn't hold up to the modern entries of the franchise. Controversial intros aside, this game is by no means bad, it's just not as refined it's successors. I absolutely loved Bloodborne and Dark Souls III, and I very quickly grew to love DarkThis review comes from someone who's first experience of a Souls game was Bloodborne and I'm sorry to all the purists out there but Dark Souls just doesn't hold up to the modern entries of the franchise. Controversial intros aside, this game is by no means bad, it's just not as refined it's successors. I absolutely loved Bloodborne and Dark Souls III, and I very quickly grew to love Dark Souls as well, but it did have some hurdles along the way.

    This may well come across as arrogant but I have never found the Souls franchise to be difficult. I picked up the GOTY edition of Bloodborne in a sale and within just one week had unlocked all the of the games trophies. Soon after I picked up Dark Souls III on release and similarly completed everything the game had to offer without much difficulty. With these two games under my belt I figured picking up Dark Souls would be a piece of cake, even after a few Souls-free months, and sure enough I walked all over the games opening without a problem. It's from here on that things started to change. A positive remark is the game opens up immediately. I spent at least an hour struggling through the Catacombs getting my arse handed to me by respawning skeletons, wondering why an enemy so early on in the game was such a huge threat. Eventually I figured I had probably missed something and headed back to Firelink Shrine to explore some more. Sure enough my initial route was just one of three possible choices and I was already impressed. From here on though is where I started to get annoyed with the combat. Everything is just a little bit clunky in comparison to the experience I'd fallen in love with through Bloodborne. Dodging often sends you in the wrong direction, enemy attacks hit when they quite clearly should've missed and getting stuck on the environment was all too common. I'm perfectly happy for the game to kill me over and over if my performance is to blame, but failing due to poor game design is just frustrating. At the time of writing this review however, I'm approaching the end of the game and I've completed adjusted. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have even commented on it had I not played any of the later games in the franchise.

    Overall, Dark Souls is fantastic. Some aspects of the game completely outshine it's successors and the rest are a solid basis that the later instalments have built upon over the years. I would personally recommend starting with Bloodborne and then returning to this game afterwards but no matter where you choose to start the franchise is utterly outstanding. Once you fall in love with any one of them you'll be hooked.    … Expand
  72. WardenofSilence
    Jul 3, 2017
    8
    I want to say I could not beat this game my first couple of runs. This changed when I played and beat Bloodborne, which presented a new outlook on how to approach the game. By now, many probably know about the difficulty of the series. While this is true, the other part of what makes this game good is how it teaches the player to handle that difficulty.

    Dark Souls, in most cases, has    I want to say I could not beat this game my first couple of runs. This changed when I played and beat Bloodborne, which presented a new outlook on how to approach the game. By now, many probably know about the difficulty of the series. While this is true, the other part of what makes this game good is how it teaches the player to handle that difficulty.

    Dark Souls, in most cases, has some excellent level design. Enemies are often placed in great spots to make the player think about the current situation. The areas often loop around each other to make a world that feels truly connected. Music fits perfectly with each are as well. Traps exist, but many times are placed where the player can notice them, have time to react, or don't outright kill you. The environment is one that clues the player in and provides them with tools to succeed in encounters. The environment also plays extremely well with the healing system in Dark Souls.

    Bonfires are placed throughout the world, and let you heal, as well as level up, and provides other things as you unlock them (enemies also re spawn after using them). You also return to Bonfires when you die, specifically the last Bonfire you rested at. Estus Flasks heal you by a certain amount, and refill every time you rest at a Bonfire. As you progress though an area, your Estus represents how long you can explore before needing to go back and refill. At first, you might lose a lot of health early on, but as you start to memorize attack patterns and the layout of the map, you can go further and further until your Estus remains at full.

    You have various weapons to pick from, along with powerful magical abilities. Each leads to different combat styles. Combat in this game is great. Your attacks have weight to them, so you have to plan out when it is best to attack, keeping in mind the slight delay in each attack. You have a stamina bar, which depletes with every attack you make, every attack you block, when you sprint, and when you roll. You need to look at you stamina wisely to make sure you have enough to block/dodge an enemy attack, but also need to make sure you don't exert yourself and end up being open to damage.

    Enemies are varied and are properly designed. Most of the time, you encounter enemies in a one on one environment, allowing you to learn attack patterns without worry of getting overwhelmed. You aren't usually put in a situation where you need to fight multiple enemies all at once. The Bosses of the series are quite famous. Bosses are non re spawning enemies that you usually fight one on one. They are often much larger than you and hit very hard. However, like all enemies, they have patterns that you can memorize and learn to exploit.

    The key to leveling up is Souls. You can collect souls by defeating enemies and using certain items. Souls allow you to level up your character, buy items, and improve your equipment (provided you have the required materials). Upon level up, the number of souls needed to level up again increase. Of course, the number of souls dropped by enemies also increases. When you die, you lose all of your souls, as well as any Humanity you have (more on this later). However, if you are able to reach the spot where you died, you can find your Souls again. Dying before collecting your souls will make them disappear forever, so players need to be careful.

    Humanity is a special type of item. Your character is an Undead, and typically in a hollowed state, but by using a Humanity, you are able to become Human. This changes things in a few ways. First, you are able to summon NPCs for some boss fights, as well as other players should you see their summon signs (you can also do this). At the same time, other player can invade, and attempt to kill you (which you can also do). If you die, you become hollow again.

    Most of this have been about how the game functions and not about the story or lore. Dark Souls is not filled with characters that drive the story. For the most part, you simply go to different areas and kill things. However, the lore of the world is surprisingly deep, just not on the forefront of the game.Listening to NPCs and reading item descriptions can tell you about the world.

    Now, this game does have faults. While the game typically has good level design, many of the later areas feel unfinished in some cases. People often say the game is always fair, which is not true. While the game is mostly fair, some cases are truly unfair and are just poorly designed. Hit boxes and awkward camera angels do exist. At one point, the game even breaks one of it's own rules (breaking lore and gameplay at the same time), and unless a player knows about a part before hand, they can lose out on all of their souls and humanity.

    In all, Dark Souls is an excellent game. It makes you think better as a gamer, and has one of the best combat systems I have every played, coupled with seller level design makes this game a real gem. 87/100    … Expand
  73. AlvaroK95
    Jan 2, 2020
    8
    Un esencial de ps3 y digno sucesor del padre de la saga "Souls", aunque se reciclen ciertas ideas y mecánicas.
  74. JimPickens
    Oct 7, 2021
    8
    Dark Souls is above all else in my mind, an experience.

    it's easy to start waxing poetic when talking about Soulsborne games because the concepts found within the lore are generally pretty philosophical, take the endings for example, is it better to let the flame die out and allow nature to take its natural course, ending one civilization and ushering in the next? Or to cling to the way    Dark Souls is above all else in my mind, an experience.

    it's easy to start waxing poetic when talking about Soulsborne games because the concepts found within the lore are generally pretty philosophical, take the endings for example, is it better to let the flame die out and allow nature to take its natural course, ending one civilization and ushering in the next? Or to cling to the way things are and try to preserve our current age? Embrace modernism or tradition? See what I mean?

    Anyway now to talk about the actual game itself. Dark Souls is a game made by Hidetaka Miyazaki and FromSoftware in 2011 as a spiritual successor to the Sony owned Demon's Souls, and yes, that is an incredibly annoying name to say out loud. Dark Souls takes many of the ideas found Demon's Souls and makes them better for lack of a better word. From a linear level structure to an interconnected world that, with a few exceptions, all exist in the same place, taking the elevator from the Undead Parish back down to Firelink Shrine is an unforgettable feeling. Dark Souls also went pretty hard on the pain when it came to boss design, where Demonses Soulsies has... Phalanx... Dark Souls has the Taurus Demon, which is... ya know... a real fight. Not to say Dark Souls bosses are objectively better or anything, there is pretty much every boss in Demon Ruins and Lost Izalith which all kinda suck, but hey, there was an attempt.

    Story wise Dark Souls is very basic; you're an undead and you're tasked with ringing two bells, one above, one below, which eventually leads you to find that you're special, you're the Chosen Undead, now tasked with making your way to the Kiln of The First Flame and kindling the First Flame to prolong the age of fire that's fading away, or if you do some sequence breaking, you can embrace the dark and become the Dark Lord, letting the flame die out and ushering the age of dark, or "The age of man" as man is said to thrive in the dark where Gods thrive in the light. But as for what you actually DO in Dark Souls, you run around cool looking places and kill bosses, and that's kinda it for like 40 hours. It's a simple gameplay loop but a very addictive and fun one.

    The gameplay of Dark Souls is equally simple, you attack with R1 and R2, block and parry with L1 and L2 if you have a shield, dodge with O and drink your Sunny D with Square. In writing, Dark Souls combat is very... boring, it's basic, simple and not very flashy, compared to other action games like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta, what makes Dark Souls standout however, is not YOUR attacks, but your enemies. There are a variety of foes in Dark Souls, some are giant, axe wielding Bull demons, others are tiny Lizards that will inflict horrific status effects on you, and others are f*cking dogs... god I hate the dogs in Dark Souls. All these enemies have different attacks and different solutions to fighting them, some are best fought defensively, waiting for your time to strike, while others require speed and precision, kicking away an enemies shield and cutting him down before he can regain his composure. The game makes you think on your feet and doesn't let up until you make it to one of few safe spaces like Firelink, or another area with a Bonfire.

    The way I've described it makes Dark Souls seem like a harsh and cruel world full of big as*hole dogs, lizards and men, but it's not all bad. Where there's dark there's light, and you'll meet many a friend in Dark Souls, be it a friendly Blacksmith who will upgrade your gear for the coming threat, a happy man with a bucket helmet who just wants to find his own sun and partake in some jolly co-operation, or a Onion Armoured adventure, ready for anything the world throws at him, you're not alone, you never really are in Lordran, especially in Online. There'll always be a Summon Sign, always be a Phantom walking by or resting at a bonfire, always a friend to watch your back.

    Not all is good with Dark Souls however, like I said, with dark comes light and with light must come dark. Dark Souls is home to some of the most infuriating, BS, asinine design I have ever witnessed. From The Bed of Chaos and her horrifically unfinished design, to Ceaseless Discharge and his unreadable hitboxes, and Blighttown... ugh. A lot of the latter half of the game is pretty bad, Lost Izalith is notoriously bad and frankly I recommend joining the Chaos Covenant to skip it completely. They reuse the first boss two more goddamn times, and Sens Fortress... just don't even bother unless you have Fast Roll. The latter half falls into unfairness bit which is a shame to say for a game that otherwise encompasses "hard but fair". Stuff like falling down and losing 40% for the Gravelord Nito fight, before it can even begin comes to mind.

    It's hard for me to say I don't love Dark Souls, because it's brilliant but it's also heavily flawed. But nonetheless I recommend it wholeheartedly.

    Stay safe friend, and don't you dare go Hollow    … Expand
  75. Merces
    Feb 22, 2021
    8
    Positive
    - Overall Graphics
    - Pre-Rendered Citscene
    - Good Challenge
    - Battle System
    - Lore
    - Environment Design
    - Amazing Atmosphere
    - Creature Design
    - Level Design
    - Build Costumization
    - Script

    Negative
    - Empty Protagonist
    - Unacceptable Lore
    - Level Curve
    - Item UI & Storage
    - Anemic Ending
  76. daikengo
    Sep 16, 2020
    8
    일본 게임 역사에 남길 가치가 있는 문화유산. 만능열쇠가 있으면 게임이 너무 쉬워지는게 흠이긴 한데, 그 자유도가 이 게임의 매력이기도 하다. 수많은 유저들이 스테이지1을 넘기지 못했던 데몬즈 소울과 비교하면 많은 면에서 진화한 작품.
  77. Yiordanu
    Sep 9, 2023
    8
    A video game that sets a before and after in terms of world-building and level design, its unique and immersive storytelling, along with its well-crafted atmosphere, make it a game full of personality.

    Its level design is something I had never seen in another video game. Every corner of the environments, every enemy and their placement leads you to devise ways to overcome each obstacle.    A video game that sets a before and after in terms of world-building and level design, its unique and immersive storytelling, along with its well-crafted atmosphere, make it a game full of personality.

    Its level design is something I had never seen in another video game. Every corner of the environments, every enemy and their placement leads you to devise ways to overcome each obstacle. All of this makes it an incredibly fun video game.

    Its only negative point is the poor performance in certain areas where it is not stable at all and can be a bit frustrating, especially in the Infested City, as it's a rather challenging area in combination with its poor performance.    … Expand
  78. GlacebrousFrost
    Nov 16, 2020
    8
    es muy divertido jugarlo graficos buenos para la epoca historia un tanto profunda si hablamos con los personajes y vemos que historia hay detras y lo mismo va con los objetos que obtenemos dificultad desafiante no obtante esa dificultad la generamos nosotros si suben de nivel elegen su arma armadura ideal podran comvertirse en un paseo eso sin mencionar que se puede jugar comperativo aunes muy divertido jugarlo graficos buenos para la epoca historia un tanto profunda si hablamos con los personajes y vemos que historia hay detras y lo mismo va con los objetos que obtenemos dificultad desafiante no obtante esa dificultad la generamos nosotros si suben de nivel elegen su arma armadura ideal podran comvertirse en un paseo eso sin mencionar que se puede jugar comperativo aun mas facil todavia , por si se los preguntan tiene un modo facil es tu forma de jugar que lo crea su difucultad es un pincel en blanco nosotros lo hacemos, mi puntuacion final es un 8 de 10.… Expand
  79. Davidnotavailab
    Feb 18, 2022
    8
    Honestly got so bored after 4 hours. It s just grinding, the combat is pretty simplistic. The exploration is **** because ur only swarmed with enemies. I m not gonna give it a 0 as some people might like challening themselves but its definitely nothing for everyone and some might find it unplayable
    EDIT: IT S STILL EZ AND MOSTLY GRINDING BUT OPEN WORLD PRETTY WELL DONE I JUST FINISHED IT    Honestly got so bored after 4 hours. It s just grinding, the combat is pretty simplistic. The exploration is **** because ur only swarmed with enemies. I m not gonna give it a 0 as some people might like challening themselves but its definitely nothing for everyone and some might find it unplayable
    EDIT: IT S STILL EZ AND MOSTLY GRINDING BUT OPEN WORLD PRETTY WELL DONE I JUST FINISHED IT **** FOUR KINGS AND GWYN FIRST TIME    … Expand
  80. Fortinbras14
    Mar 13, 2022
    8
    the game that started it all, although not perfect, but that is just enough to be listed as a must play
  81. FrigisFaba
    Mar 1, 2022
    8
    The first half is pure gold, the second half not as good, this game has bosses, enemies, and complex levels baked into the interconnected world. You figure out the lore and the story through the item descriptions and the interesting characters you meet along the way. I find the main reason I like this game as much as I do is because of the atmosphere generated by the lack of options, andThe first half is pure gold, the second half not as good, this game has bosses, enemies, and complex levels baked into the interconnected world. You figure out the lore and the story through the item descriptions and the interesting characters you meet along the way. I find the main reason I like this game as much as I do is because of the atmosphere generated by the lack of options, and how unforgiving the world is. This gives the game a personality of it's own, and I find this personality enthralling. The reason I don't think that this is a 10/10 game is because of a few levels, enemies, and bosses feeling boring, rushed, and lazy. 8/10… Expand
  82. ZangBang
    Oct 24, 2022
    8
    85/100
    Dark Souls is undoubtably the best game of the seventh console generation. The fallen kingdom of Lordran is a both terrifying and beautiful corpse that perpetually enchants with its twisted, atmospheric ruined landscapes. The journey through its dilapidated castles, mystical forests and infernal caves constantly surprises and keeps you on your toes challenging in constantly    85/100
    Dark Souls is undoubtably the best game of the seventh console generation. The fallen kingdom of Lordran is a both terrifying and beautiful corpse that perpetually enchants with its twisted, atmospheric ruined landscapes. The journey through its dilapidated castles, mystical forests and infernal caves constantly surprises and keeps you on your toes challenging in constantly shifting ways your sense of direction, observational skills and combat prowess, with a ruthless challenge that only on rare occasions becomes truly unmanageable. The bedazzling, sheer variety of locations, with everchanging ambience, level structure, environmental hazards and enemies, makes the experience delightfully heterogeneous as the player finds its own way in the masterfully constructed map of Lordran, beautifully interconnected as it intricately branches and twists around itself with superb level design as exploration is constantly rewarded with branching pathways, countless shortcuts to unlock, secret pathways to open and hidden areas to discover. Many NPCs throughout the map can also be found and befriended, as their storylines provide a nice, moody narrative breather to exploration while also providing insight to the game's hidden lore. Sadly, the beauty of the level design doesn't last the entirety of the experience as it dwindles in the second half of the game, where the map structure isn't as brilliant and often lacks that same depth. Combat, on the other hand, mantains the same level of quality all the way throghout, with amazing enemy variety and depth of systems all the way throghout, as the player is provided with a plethora of different weapons, armors, tools and mechanics to suit their playstyle or experiment, and enemies continuously change their attack patterns challenging quick reflexes and adaptability, while progression demands thoughtful healing resource management, but even upon failure the game gives you the chance to learn from your mistakes offering you the possibility to reclaim your lost EXP if reaching your place of death, making for an extremely rewarding, gratifying experience. Bosses are the ultimate test of skill of the game, and their quality is somewhat fluctuating. The majority are amazing, beautifully stimulating duels with varied attacks and interesting twists that demand quick thinking and mindful positioning, while the others are less polished, with simple repeated, dull attack patterns and/or a faulty technical side, namely claustrophobic arenas or a confusing camera. The greatest flaw of the game is a decisively lacking balancing, as the overpowered magic build makes the majority of the game dramatically easier.    … Expand
  83. Strifefair600
    Jan 15, 2023
    8
    This is a great game with a great difficulty it says on the back prepare to die and which I was prepared I don’t how I beat this game 10 years ago unfortunately I lost my copy but about 2 weeks ago I went to a video game store and said to myself I should get dark souls again it was pretty easy to find because I found it after 2 minutes and I wasn’t even looking for it at that time overallThis is a great game with a great difficulty it says on the back prepare to die and which I was prepared I don’t how I beat this game 10 years ago unfortunately I lost my copy but about 2 weeks ago I went to a video game store and said to myself I should get dark souls again it was pretty easy to find because I found it after 2 minutes and I wasn’t even looking for it at that time overall I think you should get the remastered version I only got the PS3 version for nostalgia both are pretty good but if you’re looking for an elden ring experience get Dark Souls 3 or stick with Elden ring… Expand
  84. DemonsSouls
    Aug 5, 2023
    8
    Really good game, but the second half is dog water. It's a damn shame they didn't have enough time to flesh out the later areas of the game, but the first half and DLC more than make up for it.
  85. 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
  86. 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
  87. 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
  88. 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
  89. 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
  90. 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
  91. 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
  92. 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
  93. 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
  94. 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
  95. 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
  96. 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
  97. 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
  98. 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
  99. 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
  100. 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
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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.
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  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.
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