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Combat all revolves around strategically positioning your character and stamina management. You have a stamina gauge that lowers when you run, swing your weapon, dodge roll, and block attacks with your shield. If your stamina is depleted, your attacks do less damage, and your blocks will be broken. The gauge will slowly fill up when not doing anything, and lowering your shield will replenish the gauge faster.
There are a few upgrades to the combat from Demon’s Souls. You can still perform a devastating back stab to enemies if you get in position, as well as parries for a powerful counter attack. The new additions are the kick, jump attack, and long jump. Kicking will throw some enemies off balance and allow for you to attack while their guard is down. Jump attacks will do more damage but leave you vulnerable to counter attacks if you miss. The long jump will help you jump some small gaps as well as get out of the way of large enemies’ attacks.
Another new aspect to Dark Souls is covenants. Joining certain covenants will grant you new NPC interactions, new items and online interactions with other players. There are many different covenants in the game that you must find and join on your own accord, but in Dark Souls keep in mind that everything that you do has outcomes and consequences to them. Breaking covenants without leaving them can result in disastrous outcomes. Saving an NPC may help you out later in the game, but some will begin killing off other helpful vendors and other NPCs if you’re not careful.
Besides the co-op multiplayer, there is also another aspect to the online multiplayer. You and other players will gain special items to allow you to invade another player’s game, doing this will spawn you as a black phantom, and you are tasked with assassinating the player you invaded. Doing this will result in you gaining Humanity as well as any souls the player had on them. Of course, there are consequences to all of your actions. Doing this can effect covenants and NPC interactions.
Of course, I have been talking about the mechanics of the game so far in this review. Let’s talk about the more personal stuff. Of course, if you have heard of Demon’s Souls or Dark Souls, you know about the high difficulty level. Yes, Dark Souls is one of the most difficult and unforgiving games I have ever played. It’s even more difficult than Demon’s Souls in most aspects. One small thing can make or break your progress in the land of Lordran. The smallest of enemies can be the death of you, and the boss fights can become a 2 hour challenge for some players. Even with the brutal difficulty, I can’t fault the game for that. It tells you straight up “Prepare to Die” in the ads. The difficulty can become frustrating, but when you take your time and become methodical, the game begins to click for most players. You have to play the game the way it wants you to play it, and when you do, and things go your way, it can become one of the most rewarding experiences for players. It feels good to finally take down that big boss demon that has been killing you for the past hour.
The atmosphere and sound design are spectacular and really give off a medieval/gothic vibe with tales of dark magic, curses, and ancient kingdoms. The lighting is fantastic and the overall aesthetic really suits the game very well.
Now, that’s not to say there is nothing wrong with the game. There are a few problems I had through my 20+ hours of play time. The camera is an unwieldy hot mess at times. It will constantly clip through walls and pieces of the environment. Some bosses and enemies will walk right in front of it so you can’t see what you’re doing at all. This can become very infuriating since knowing your position is a crucial part of the combat.
The other problem that was also present in Demon’s Souls is the fact that enemies can do things that you can not. When you’re in a narrow corridor, for instance, if you swing your weapon, it will bounce off walls and objects slowing down the attack as well as reducing your attack power to the enemy. The enemy, on the other hand, can attack and not hit any walls. Their attacks can clip through walls and obstacles allowing them to hit you in some ways that makes the game feel off balanced at times. It’s like the enemies follow a different set of rules in the game than you do.
For the most part, Dark Souls is a fantastic successor to Demon’s Souls. If you allow it to suck you in with its difficulty and charming multiplayer components, Dark Souls can easily last you over 40 hours of exploration and death. I recommend it fully, but only to the hardcore players. This game will beat you to a pulp and not apologize for it, and then it will beat you again for bleeding too much. The small touches and attention to detail really make this game shine as one of the most difficult, rewarding, and unique experiences I have ever had while playing a game. It is not a game for the impatient or casual RPG players, but for those who love a good challenge and rewarding feelings, this game is for you.
Review copy provided by publisher. Primary play on Xbox 360
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