Dark Souls

Dark Souls will suck you in, literally and figuratively.

When creating a new character players have the option to choose between ten different classes; that may sound like a lot – and it is – but the important thing to remember is that outside of affecting what starting equipment and stats a character has, the class you choose really has little significance on the overall character. Dark Souls has a very, very open character system such that players can develop their characters as they play and aren't really locked into any particular role. Did you choose a pyromancer but you want him to also wear heavy armor and use a great sword? Go for it. Sorcery slinging cleric sound good? The number of useable options for character builds is near limitless.

The way characters level is they choose one individual stat to upgrade by one point. This means that each particular level up is a small upgrade overall, but since you can individually pick which stat to level up you can easily chart the course of your characters growth. The main stats to level up are vitality, attunement, endurance, strength, dexterity, resistance, intelligence, and faith. It all works in pretty classic RPG fashion - vitality increases total health, endurance increases stamina, intelligence boosts the power of sorcery and so on. Since equipment has only stat based requirements instead of class based ones, any character can use any item, provided they have the statistics to do so. To get those statistics is really just a matter of time; as long as you are willing to improve your character he or she can usually find some way to get better. Worth noting is that there is pretty much no real level cap in Dark Souls - players are free to grow their characters as far or as little as they want to. Keep in mind leveling is no easy feat, and certainly not the only way to upgrade your character.

Mo Souls Mo Problems 

Souls are the primary currency and the de facto experience points of Dark Souls. Players of Demon Souls may be familiar with this mechanic, and it remains virtually the same in its return to Dark Souls. In order to level up players must spend souls to purchase a new level. Souls can also be spent to buy spells, equipment, and all sorts of other odds and ends from the various merchants, trainers and blacksmiths scattered about. Souls are acquired by defeating enemies – in general the bigger the enemy the more souls you get.

Unlike money in other video games, you cannot simply horde souls – well, you can, it just isn't a very good idea. Every time you die in Dark Souls you drop all of the souls you are currently holding. Keep in mind that you will die in Dark Souls, and you will die often. You can recover the souls you dropped if you can get to the spot where you died, however if you die on the way back those souls are gone forever. This makes holding on to too many souls a risky proposition. It is also one of main reasons to push forward, as there are always more souls the farther explored.

Home Is Where Your Bonfire Is

Throughout the game there are unlit bonfires scattered in all the explorable areas waiting for the player to come light them. Bonfires act as hub for players to rest, recharge, and level among a multitude of other options. Reaching the next bonfire is almost always a journey, so each bonfire often acts as home for a long while. Bonfires are also the reason progress in Dark Souls is so slow. Every time you rest at a bonfire almost every enemy and monster respawns; exceptions include bosses and sub-bosses, they fortunately stay dead. Every time you die you wake up at the last bonfire you rested at – and every monster respawns. In general you will end up fighting the same enemies many, many times before you unlock a shortcut, find the next bonfire or defeat a boss.

The only place you will be truely safe.

Humanity plays a big role in Dark Souls. Unfortunately humanity isn't something your character always has. When you die with humanity in Dark Souls you become hollow, which is a fancy term for gross undead guy. Luckily when you die as a hollow you don't become any deader - you just stay hollow. To regain humanity you must have humanity points to use. In the world of Dark Souls humanity is a useable item you can carry with you. If you use humanity you gain a humanity point. Humanity points can be used to regain humanity at a bonfire, but you will also drop any humanity points along with your souls upon death. Regaining humanity has a number of bonuses with the big one being a more unlocked multiplayer experience.

Ghost Hunters

Dark Souls has an unusual form of multiplayer. It isn't a game where you can just pick up and play with your friends – in fact it is nearly impossible to actually play with your friends. Every character is assigned to a random server when they start Dark Souls, it will only ever be pure luck if you can find a friend online. This is a serious issue for anyone who is interested in playing with their friends; those who are okay playing with Mr. Anonymous may not care so much. Eventually the player will get the ability to put down a white summoning stone that allows them to be summoned into another characters world as a phantom. Characters with humanity can find those summoning spots, and if they choose, summon someone into their universe as a phantom. Hollowed characters can be always be summoned, but can never summon anyone themselves. The goal of these summoned partners is to give help during the ever daunting boss fights.

The other option for multiplayer is invasions. Characters with humanity and a certain item can invade the worlds of other human characters. For invaders the goal is to ambush and kill the invaded – for those being invaded they must fight off and kill the invader. The winner usually gains a number of humanity and souls. Certain joinable covenants have a multitude of rewards for characters that do venture into and are successful in the multiplayer world.

If they are in possession of the right item player can leave messages for others to see all over the world. These messages can be helpful hints on enemy weaknesses, warnings of traps or locations of hidden treasure; be wary as messages can also contain lies. These messages build a sense of community in an incredibly solitary game. Getting that extra piece of advice can be the difference between life and death, and since there are so many hidden nooks and crannies throughout Dark Souls it really pays to pay attention.

Ready to Rumble

The combat system of Dark Souls works tremendously well. Players must use a mixture of precise timing, careful blocking, weapon selection, and strategy to win battles. If you get hit in Dark Souls it hurts a whole lot, so precision and perfection is incredibly important to even the most minor skirmishes. Learning to guard and defend properly is just as important as learning how to attack. Every attack and every blocked hit drain stamina; a careful balance of blocking and attacking is a must for every fight. Certain attacks are powerful enough to kill players in one hit so it is vital that enemy moves are learned so they can be predicted and mastered. The combat system has a steep learning curve to master, but once learned it functions extremely well. Everything feels fluid and right; the occasional awkward camera angle may pop up but it isn't anything particularly terrible.

Dark Souls encourages players to think tactically about each fight. Certain weapons work better in certain situations – a massive club is likely to bounce off the walls in a narrow hallway where as a spear might work a bit better. It is easy to become outnumbered and swarmed, so when progressing through the world each new fight becomes a meaningful encounter. There is no rushing through the unfamiliar in Dark Souls. Knowing what an enemy is attacking with, what they are weak to, and what they are resistant to can be the difference in life or death. That said: there is no one 'right' or 'optimal' way to play Dark Souls, every play style will have its strengths and weaknesses but they are all capable of progressing through the game with enough hard work and effort.

The enemies of Dark Souls range from puny skeletons and zombies to giant demons, dragons and everything in between. Keep in mind puny is a relative term here; early in the game those puny skeletons might give you a serious run for your money. As you level you may breeze through parts of the game that gave you trouble, but there is always troublesome creatures looming in the distance. The fact that every enemy presents a real challenge adds to Dark Souls charm. When each battle is a struggle achieving victory feels more meaningful and rewarding.

Boss angry, boss smash!

Magnificent boss fights are aplenty and wonderfully brutal, this is where Dark Souls truly shines. For those looking for a real challenge look no further than any of the wonderfully designed boss fights. From undead dragons to giant sword wielding wolves, Dark Souls simply has a gluttonous approach to harrowing boss fights. Often frustratingly tough, to put it mildly, these bosses represent massive challenges. Luckily with risk comes reward. Players can score massive amounts of souls, unique boss souls and rare items from boss fights. Finally conquering a boss and reaching victory feels worthwhile and well earned; almost no boss goes down easily.

Picture Perfect

The level design of Dark Souls is incredibly well done. The world seamlessly flows from area to area, and each location has its own unique and beautiful artistic style. Places like Blightown and the Darkroot Basin have tremendous character. One of the best parts of the world is that when you see something in the distance there is a good chance you will be exploring that area later on. That far off castle may be one you end up exploring later in the game. Each level seems to have a variety of unlockable shortcuts that make the entire world flow together. Each section is so masterfully designed that progression through them feels natural – rarely do you feel lost in the game despite the open world and lack of any in-game map.

Dark Souls will never be accused of not putting in enough bottomless pits and narrow ledges of oblivion; it is all too easy to accidentally kill yourself if you don't pay attention. The good news is what can kill you can also defeat your enemy. Constantly scouting the environment for advantages or impending doom is a vital part of the game. Using the environment to your advantage is fair game; with spells like force that knock back opponents, it is strongly encouraged to use the world to your advantage. Naturally ledges aren't the only hazard, danger and traps lie around almost every corner in some of the more sinister locations.

Final Verdict: Find Your Soul

This is not a game for the faint of heart – Dark Souls is a brutally hard video game that may be too much for some people to handle. For every ounce of toughness packed into Dark Souls, it makes up for it in ten times the amount of excitement. There is certainly a tough outer shell to crack to truly enjoy Dark Souls; chances are you will spend hours retrying the same boss fights over and over again. Those who take the plunge into Dark Souls will be rewarded with an incredibly rich and breathtaking world full of hours upon hours of content and fun.