Dark Souls
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_ Demon's Souls was one of the most difficult games of this generation. It was an extremely polarizing game that relied heavily on grinding for experience and using clever exploits in order to overcome truly challenging enemies. Instead of making a more accessible game this time around, the developer behind Dark Souls has created a new world for their fans to romp through, making a few much-needed changes to the gameplay but leaving the frustration and difficulty of the first game largely untouched.
Dark Souls is not for the easily frustrated. Failure is a part of the experience. A large part. A new checkpoint system in the form of bonfires relieves you of restarting an entire level when you die, as you were forced to do in Demon's Souls, but Dark Souls' open world is split into zones so large that you'll lose significant chunks of progress nonetheless. As you slay enemies, you gain souls that allow you to upgrade your stats and buy equipment. The problem is, if you die, your souls remain with your dead body. If you can fight your way back to your body without dying again, you can reclaim your souls, but perish on the way, and you'll lose them for good. This mechanic plays a huge role in how you progress. You'll find yourself scoping out enemies from a distance, carefully planning your strategy, then luring them toward you so that if you die, you can reclaim your soul before you repeat the fight.
This slow, methodical pace drives the game. You'll frequently find yourself running into enemies that you cannot dispatch. The best chance you have is to kill the enemies you know you can, retreat to the bonfire to level up your stats, and repeat. Bonfires refill your health and allow you to save and level up, but touching one causes all the enemies in your area to regenerate.
Dark Souls is not for the easily frustrated. Failure is a part of the experience. A large part. A new checkpoint system in the form of bonfires relieves you of restarting an entire level when you die, as you were forced to do in Demon's Souls, but Dark Souls' open world is split into zones so large that you'll lose significant chunks of progress nonetheless. As you slay enemies, you gain souls that allow you to upgrade your stats and buy equipment. The problem is, if you die, your souls remain with your dead body. If you can fight your way back to your body without dying again, you can reclaim your souls, but perish on the way, and you'll lose them for good. This mechanic plays a huge role in how you progress. You'll find yourself scoping out enemies from a distance, carefully planning your strategy, then luring them toward you so that if you die, you can reclaim your soul before you repeat the fight.
This slow, methodical pace drives the game. You'll frequently find yourself running into enemies that you cannot dispatch. The best chance you have is to kill the enemies you know you can, retreat to the bonfire to level up your stats, and repeat. Bonfires refill your health and allow you to save and level up, but touching one causes all the enemies in your area to regenerate.
The world of Dark Souls is expansive and beautiful. For the most part, it's just you and the enemies. You'll find the occasional traveler or vendor, but otherwise, the world feels desolate, keeping you on edge. Demon's Souls had distinct levels, whereas Dark Souls takes an open-world approach. There are still distinct areas, but they are all linked. You'll often open up a shortcut after traversing an area and wading your way through the enemies to a boss. The world is full of Easter eggs and hidden enemies and equipment that make everyone's experience slightly different. For example, a talking bird early in the game transforms any item you drop in its nest.
Fighting and exploring in Dark Souls is an incredibly unique and rewarding experience, but it's definitely not for everyone. Beating an enemy can often mean standing back beyond it's range of detection and pumping it full of arrows or exploiting the level design and A.I. movement patterns to make it jump off a cliff. Whether you consider yourself good at the game or not, you will die and you'll most likely lose large amounts of souls and time before making it past a particularly tough enemy. This is the type of trial and error gameplay reminiscent of older games like Mega Man. You'll spend more time learning enemies' patterns and weaknesses than you will progressing farther in the world.
Dark Souls is a tough call. On one hand, it's an incredibly difficult game that is bound to frustrate you. Even the most die-hard fans will end up yelling at the screen as they die over and over again. The gameplay relies heavily on grinding and memorizing every step until you can overcome your foes. On the other hand, it's a beautiful game set in one of the most mysterious and immersive worlds in gaming. If you don't mind a challenge and a bit of repetition, you'll find a lot to like in Dark Souls. If you tend to get frustrated easily then you should probably steer clear.
Fighting and exploring in Dark Souls is an incredibly unique and rewarding experience, but it's definitely not for everyone. Beating an enemy can often mean standing back beyond it's range of detection and pumping it full of arrows or exploiting the level design and A.I. movement patterns to make it jump off a cliff. Whether you consider yourself good at the game or not, you will die and you'll most likely lose large amounts of souls and time before making it past a particularly tough enemy. This is the type of trial and error gameplay reminiscent of older games like Mega Man. You'll spend more time learning enemies' patterns and weaknesses than you will progressing farther in the world.
Dark Souls is a tough call. On one hand, it's an incredibly difficult game that is bound to frustrate you. Even the most die-hard fans will end up yelling at the screen as they die over and over again. The gameplay relies heavily on grinding and memorizing every step until you can overcome your foes. On the other hand, it's a beautiful game set in one of the most mysterious and immersive worlds in gaming. If you don't mind a challenge and a bit of repetition, you'll find a lot to like in Dark Souls. If you tend to get frustrated easily then you should probably steer clear.
