Dark Souls Remastered

 Switch
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 381 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 302 out of 381
  2. Mixed: 28 out of 381
  3. Negative: 51 out of 381
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  1. Lolster
    Oct 21, 2018
    9
    As a person who has never played the first Dark Souls, this was a very satisfying port. The frame rate is consistent and the graphical downgrade is perfectly acceptable (especially after the flack the remaster got on other consoles). There are a few nitpicks though, there is a noticeable compression in the audio and the button mapping in the menus is weird and can't be changed for someAs a person who has never played the first Dark Souls, this was a very satisfying port. The frame rate is consistent and the graphical downgrade is perfectly acceptable (especially after the flack the remaster got on other consoles). There are a few nitpicks though, there is a noticeable compression in the audio and the button mapping in the menus is weird and can't be changed for some reason, but I got used to the compression very quickly and the the B and A buttons don't ruin the experience. Also, fantastic game.… Expand
  2. SocietyEarth
    Oct 23, 2018
    8
    This release seems to have more in common with the original release, rather than the current-gen remasters, and that's okay! Especially whilst playing handheld, the game performs well and I found myself only becoming frustrated due to my own lack of patience. I never feel like I am battling poor controls, hitboxes, or poor game design. Easily a quality title for the Nintendo Switch.
  3. VSiDV177
    Nov 2, 2018
    10
    I never liked Soul's games despite that tried It several times. But this port changed my attitude completely. And now I love this game. Quality of port is very high and deliver the best portable souls experience.
  4. Bobtheconqueror
    Dec 19, 2019
    10
    Amazing game and currently the only way to play dark on the go I don’t know if they should have called it dark souls remastered because it’s not that much better than Xbox 360 and ps3
  5. VaeylanStarsong
    May 20, 2020
    10
    Stop thinking. Get this. Experience it. Let it destroy you and rebuild you into a gamer masterpiece. The game of the decade. Hands down. Inspired more games than any other by far. From salt and sanctuary. Hollowknight and deadcells, to starwars fallen order, surge, remnant of ashes and so many more that flat out ripped it off.. Literally made a genre "souls-like" and a meme where anythingStop thinking. Get this. Experience it. Let it destroy you and rebuild you into a gamer masterpiece. The game of the decade. Hands down. Inspired more games than any other by far. From salt and sanctuary. Hollowknight and deadcells, to starwars fallen order, surge, remnant of ashes and so many more that flat out ripped it off.. Literally made a genre "souls-like" and a meme where anything difficult is the "dark souls of " Also arguably among the best games ever made. Takes a sec to get into I wont lie. Take ur time. Play smart. You'll get into itm plays perfect on switch. So darksouls handheld? I will take it all. Cannot WAIT for a darksouls 3 port.… Expand
  6. Dudraug
    Apr 14, 2019
    10
    Dark souls is probably one of the best games ever. It is excellent that I can play in this game in any places.
  7. juanlobo
    Jan 25, 2020
    8
    my first souls game, maybe is not the same remaster the other platforms have. But the game runs nice on switch, and I had a lot of fun with it.

    is a hard game, but in the end is an rpg, so you can level up and try again and again so is beatable and is not an unfair or cheap kind of hard. Some people say the audio is too compressed but to me it sounds just fine, the graphics are fine too.
  8. Dazan
    Sep 3, 2019
    10
    Es el mismo juego, pero para la Switch. Los que se quejan de la calidad de audio creo que solo repiten lo que han leído de otra gente, porque no he tenido ninguna queja. En portátil se ve y funciona estupendamente.
  9. LordOMO
    Apr 11, 2020
    7
    A fantastic game and a good port for the most part. Graphics and performance are significantly upgraded from the PS3 version. However there is one massive issue with this port that may very well completely ruin the experience for some players:
    THE AUDIO HAS BEEN COMPRESSED TO HELL AND BACK.
    Seriously, depending on the sound system you are using the game can sound absolutely dreadfull.    A fantastic game and a good port for the most part. Graphics and performance are significantly upgraded from the PS3 version. However there is one massive issue with this port that may very well completely ruin the experience for some players:
    THE AUDIO HAS BEEN COMPRESSED TO HELL AND BACK.
    Seriously, depending on the sound system you are using the game can sound absolutely dreadfull.
    It's fine if you use the internal speakers of the Switch, or maybe if you use cheap headphones.
    But try playing it on TV with a good sound system or try using good headphones: it will sound really really bad.
    I can only assume that this was done to fit the game on a cheap 4gb cartridge. But then they didn't even decide to make the proper audio files available as a download.
    All in all this really hurts the experience of playing an otherwise fantastic game.    … Expand
  10. Jtrapdoor1
    Oct 25, 2018
    9
    This version is just as enjoyable as the original Dark Souls and I feel that is a success. It handles well and gives me PTSD just thinking about it
  11. SwitchReview
    Jun 26, 2020
    9
    I initially gave this a harsh rating due to frame-rate issues during O&S (famously hard boss) and I was probably salty from dying. This made me nervous to play the DLC bosses, which are known to be some of the hardest bosses in the game. Surprisingly, I did not experience any issues during the DLC and the game ran pretty smooth for the most part. This is an excellent game to play whileI initially gave this a harsh rating due to frame-rate issues during O&S (famously hard boss) and I was probably salty from dying. This made me nervous to play the DLC bosses, which are known to be some of the hardest bosses in the game. Surprisingly, I did not experience any issues during the DLC and the game ran pretty smooth for the most part. This is an excellent game to play while traveling which makes me glad I bought it on the Switch. My main issue was frame-rate drops during certain bosses and areas. It also took me some time to get used to 30 FPS. If you're looking to play Dark Souls on the go, I would recommend picking this up. Newcomers should prepare to be frustrated, but stick around and this will be one of the most rewarding and enchanting gaming experiences of your life.… Expand
  12. jiorl
    Jul 5, 2019
    10
    One of my favourite games and series'of all time. The switch really made this game feel a lot more. intimate and personal through it's handheld capabilities. The game ran smoothly most of the time, and framerate drops were hardly noticable. A very underrated way to play the game. Not as graphically capable as the ps4, but looks good nonetheless.
  13. MatthewDavisMed
    Jul 28, 2020
    9
    A fantastic port for one of the most challenging yet rewarding games of all-time! (Just be careful if you decide to play it on handheld mode)
  14. VolkovichMaksim
    Nov 9, 2019
    9
    This is an example of well developed port for a Nintendo's console. In over 150 hrs I've never seen drops of framerate or unexpected bugs.
    -1 due to a little "scratchy" sound and inverted "ok" and "cancel" buttons
  15. Arfon
    Nov 30, 2020
    10
    I had never played a Souls game before, but thanks to this port I was able to play it anywhere at anytime. The game runs perfectly and I never had an issue while playing. But be ware, this is not your typical game, you need to think before you act. It isn't the most difficult game in the world, you just need to get used to the mechanics and that's it. One the other side, it is a veryI had never played a Souls game before, but thanks to this port I was able to play it anywhere at anytime. The game runs perfectly and I never had an issue while playing. But be ware, this is not your typical game, you need to think before you act. It isn't the most difficult game in the world, you just need to get used to the mechanics and that's it. One the other side, it is a very challenging game that will keep you on your toes while exploring the game's world. And that's just how you'd feel if you were travelling through a dangerous world in real life! This adds a lot to the immersion in the gameplay. You have to play this game, it's a life experience that you'll always keep close to your heart despite all of the suffering you had while playing.… Expand
  16. Steelstruck
    May 20, 2020
    9
    Great game for anyone who loved the original dark souls and would like to pick it up on switch to play portably, or anyone who has ever been remotely interested in dark souls, (it's better than it looks trust me.) obviously the combat is incredible, and will have you getting better and better to beat that challenging boss. One of the features non dark souls players might not know about isGreat game for anyone who loved the original dark souls and would like to pick it up on switch to play portably, or anyone who has ever been remotely interested in dark souls, (it's better than it looks trust me.) obviously the combat is incredible, and will have you getting better and better to beat that challenging boss. One of the features non dark souls players might not know about is how well designed at interconnected the world of lordran really is. Definitely deserves a buy.… Expand
  17. Guo56
    Jun 28, 2020
    10
    Yet another great way to play the game, and while blight town is back down to its original form, it’s still feels great to take this game out on the go.
  18. Clemew
    May 17, 2020
    7
    An excellent game, obviously. Being able to play it on a mobile device is great. And from a purely technical standpoint, this port is good : it takes the 360/PS3 version, increases the resolution and cleans up the original textures. The game runs at a rather steady 30fps, albeit with the typical framepacing issue found in all FromSoft games running at 30fps. Now, why 7? This game aloneAn excellent game, obviously. Being able to play it on a mobile device is great. And from a purely technical standpoint, this port is good : it takes the 360/PS3 version, increases the resolution and cleans up the original textures. The game runs at a rather steady 30fps, albeit with the typical framepacing issue found in all FromSoft games running at 30fps. Now, why 7? This game alone obviously deserves much more. But this port has two glaring issues that somehow were NEVER patched by Bandai Namco and Virtuos. The first one is the sound, which sounds definitely worst than it did in the original releases. Swing your weapon, and it will sound like someone is opening a bag of chips in a remote corner of Narnia. Launch a chorus-charged piece of music, and it'll sound like an army of mosquitoes is coming at you. Yes, it's THAT bad, and they have no excuse not to have made high quality sound available as a patch or download.

    The second issue is button mapping. Somehow Virtuos decided to stick to the Western button mapping of the game, instead of the Japanese one. It could be nothing, except ALL other games on the Switch are mapped following Japanese custom, and so is the controller. Here, you'll press A to cancel, B to confirm. In other words: prepare to cancel A LOT. A lot a lot. And it can make a huge difference in a notoriously difficult game in which menus don't pause the game. The Switch now allows custom mapping of the button but it's a hassle, and worst offense: the option to switch those two buttons is shown in the parameters of the game... But greyed out!!!

    Feels, overall, like a half-baked port that could have been nearly perfect with just a little post-release support from Bandai Namco and Virtuos. Both this masterpiece and the Switch deserved better but well, for Switch-only owners or those who appreciate portability, it still does the job.    … Expand
  19. NoveyTP
    Aug 10, 2020
    10
    I like this game alot, thanks for porting it to the Nintendo switch console.
  20. 85558457
    Jul 20, 2020
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Очень хороший порт одной из моих любимых игр. Но если бы не было некоторых багов, к примеру в одном месте в длс когда я спускался на лифте мой персонаж провалился под текстуры и умер, правда это был единичный случий. А так всё хорошо.,стабильные 30 кадров без проседаний и 720п в портативе.… Expand
  21. Gabotj2
    Jul 6, 2020
    10
    This is without a doubt one of the best games ever made and this very well done port is a must have for every Nintendo Switch owner.
  22. alan2pc
    Oct 15, 2020
    5
    They say this game is hard. What they don’t say is even the menu to design your player is hard. The buttons were incredibly counterintuitive, it took me a frustrating long time to design my player, and I began the game with a bad taste in my mouth. Why couldn’t “A” be to confirm a selection and “B” be for going back, like every other switch game? Anyways, I began the game, which lookedThey say this game is hard. What they don’t say is even the menu to design your player is hard. The buttons were incredibly counterintuitive, it took me a frustrating long time to design my player, and I began the game with a bad taste in my mouth. Why couldn’t “A” be to confirm a selection and “B” be for going back, like every other switch game? Anyways, I began the game, which looked graphically dated, played up to the point where I needed to look on my phone to figure out what I had to do to get to the next thing in the game because it wasn’t clear, and then I listed the game on eBay for sale. This game was not for me. And I like hard games.… Expand
  23. TheAvikssWalker
    Jan 8, 2021
    8
    It is a very good game despite the fact that there is a lot of information that you need to search in the web, especially if it is your first time playing this kind of games.
  24. perro_loco
    Mar 5, 2021
    10
    One of the best games ever made. Awesome graphics, awesome music and the game runs perfectly on the switch.
  25. bcweyne
    Jan 26, 2022
    10
    I had a certain prejudice with the "souls-like" style, due to the common sense criticism that they are very difficult games and only serve to make you angry. However, after several hours, I can say that Dark Souls Remastered is one of the best games and rpgs I've played in my life. Excellent gameplay, enemies, music and ambiance. The story could be told in a more accessible way, but that'sI had a certain prejudice with the "souls-like" style, due to the common sense criticism that they are very difficult games and only serve to make you angry. However, after several hours, I can say that Dark Souls Remastered is one of the best games and rpgs I've played in my life. Excellent gameplay, enemies, music and ambiance. The story could be told in a more accessible way, but that's okay. If you haven't played it yet, play it and fall in love with the genre.… Expand
  26. datmofo
    Oct 23, 2018
    10
    great port. Very smooth 30fps, graphics are downscaled but that's fine. its on a switch bois
  27. evildoomfoot
    Oct 19, 2018
    10
    this is hands down one of my favorite games ever, and now i can play it on the go with better performance than the original! if your a souls fan and own an switch, this is a must have. this is one of those games that sucks you into its world and haunts you for days after playing. from the world building to the unforgiving but fair game play, Dark Souls is what gaming is all about.
  28. Archangel289
    Oct 21, 2018
    8
    I was very excited for the Switch port of Dark Souls when it got announced. Dark Souls has been a favorite of mine since the 360 version years back, so when the opportunity came up to play it on the go, I jumped at the chance. And overall, it’s a great experience! It plays smoothly, looks good (not quite up to par with the PS4/Xbox One remasters, but I had anticipated that. What the SwitchI was very excited for the Switch port of Dark Souls when it got announced. Dark Souls has been a favorite of mine since the 360 version years back, so when the opportunity came up to play it on the go, I jumped at the chance. And overall, it’s a great experience! It plays smoothly, looks good (not quite up to par with the PS4/Xbox One remasters, but I had anticipated that. What the Switch lacks in raw power it makes up for in adaptability), and overall has been a positive experience. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to get into the series, or having another option to play what has now become a classic in the genre (if not a genre builder itself).

    My one complaint, and I actually wanted to write this review to do my part to get it out there as best I could, is that the audio is...bad. I can’t make any assumptions about what the cause is, but the audio sounds horribly compressed for most sounds (voices sound mostly okay, but they do lose some of the resonance they had in the original). The sound effects still sound appropriate (though a few have been cut, I’ve noticed), but the audio actually kinda messed with my ears because it sounded so low-quality. It’s nothing that ruins the game for me, and it’s still one of my favorite iterations of the game because of the portability, but it is something that could really use a fix to make the game essentially a 9-10 in my book. Nothing is broken, but if you want a good example of what it sounds like, think of watching a stream of the game (feel free to actually watch videos of this version, too) with low stream quality—it just sounds off, and makes you second-guess whether something’s wrong with your speakers.

    Overall, I’d still highly recommend this game, and think that it’s a faithful port with some much upgrades. Just note that if you’re a fan of the series already, or an audio fanatic, you may want to double check that the audio isn’t going to ruin your experience before dropping $40.

    Edit: I forgot to mention that the audio sounds significantly better in handheld mode vs. docked. My one speculation for this review is that the audio was designed to maintain decent quality on the handheld speakers, but wasn’t optimized for TVs—and especially not for good home sound systems.    … Expand
  29. Danthereddevil
    Oct 19, 2018
    9
    Great game only thing to spoil it is a mix up with buttons and a little on the (dark) side lol not a major issue but when playing handheld can cauae battery to drain rather quick but other than that a classic game
  30. JonnyNormus
    Oct 29, 2018
    10
    I played the original Dark Souls (& expansions) back in 2011 when they first came out on PS3, then again on PC. Luckily for me, I haven't played DS1 for at least 6 years so when I heard it was coming to Switch I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to revisit the game. The game is simply a masterpiece. I've read other user reviews complaining that this isn't actually "Remastered" andI played the original Dark Souls (& expansions) back in 2011 when they first came out on PS3, then again on PC. Luckily for me, I haven't played DS1 for at least 6 years so when I heard it was coming to Switch I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to revisit the game. The game is simply a masterpiece. I've read other user reviews complaining that this isn't actually "Remastered" and I've seen pictures that support that theory. My response? WHO CARES?! I was not actually expecting to see the same graphical fidelity as the PC or PS4 version because I'm realistic... Switch is a portable machine whose graphic limits are naturally not going to rival a PS4.

    The fact that this runs as well as it does and looks as good as it does on a Switch are, quite frankly, surprising. The performance is solid and has not once dipped below 30 FPS. I was also worried that the precise control needed for this type of game would be awkward playing in handheld mode, but that's simply not the case. After only 20 minutes it felt perfectly natural!

    If you have recently played the game on PC or PS4 and have no need for portability then this is simply not for you. You're not going to be wow'd by graphical improvements.

    But if you've never played the game (or haven't played in a while) buy this game! You won't be disappointed!    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

55
#55 Best Switch Game of 2018
14
#14 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2018
4
#4 Most Shared Switch Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 51 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 43 out of 51
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 51
  3. Negative: 0 out of 51
  1. CD-Action
    Nov 14, 2019
    50
    It’s another edition of the same old thing. One that has nothing to offer apart from what should be offered in the least – and still doesn’t accomplish it well enough to be worthy of any praise. [13/2018, p.76]
  2. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Feb 26, 2019
    80
    There are technical limitations inherent with the Switch version of Dark Souls, but if you're from a time where you can fight through it, you should be OK. [Issue #37 – January/February 2019, p. 73]
  3. DualShockers
    Dec 10, 2018
    80
    Dark Souls Remastered on the Nintendo Switch brings a new kind of revelry to the moment-to-moment victories like finding a bonfire or killing a boss.
    Read full review
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