Dark Souls

I have a story tell. It features a bright-eyed adventurer, eager to embark on a magical quest. He has done this on many occasions, sometimes as a scantily clad elven vixen, a deified mortal, an eastern European immigrant or even as a late 1940s Los Angeles detective. "For fame, achievement points and fortune" he laughs, as he eagerly awaits the chance to control his avatar.

Our adventurer dusts off the remnants of cheese curls from his fingers and proceeds to create his character. Ten class options are presented, ranging from the obvious - warrior, sorcerer and thief - to the curious - the deprived class, which starts off with only a wooden club and a plank shield. Eager to channel his inner Gandalf (or Harry Potter), our adventurer chooses the sorcerer class. He makes a mental note that the options for customisation aren't nearly as broad as many other role playing or adventure games, but he believes that they are adequate. With a smile on his face, he gives his sorcerer purple hair and a large belly, and prepares himself for the task at hand. He sits back in his chair, as the opening cinematic washes over him. Our adventurer listens intently as it is explained that a new age was borne (of fire) after the lords of old rose victoriously against the dragons. Yet unbeknownst to all, a terrible curse had been unleashed upon mankind, and with it the age of fire was ending. Mankind and the world were dying.

It becomes clear that in this dark and gloomy world, those who were fortunate enough, died early, as the living are slowly turning into the undead. The truly unlucky saw their loved ones, friends and neighbours turn into even worse forms of the undead called Hollows. These miserable creatures have lost their minds and even their humanity, and there is no way to re-ignite their sparks.

The first level acts as a tutorial, and briefly informs our dreamy-eyed adventurer that he is an undead, imprisoned amongst other undead and Hollows. They are confined to await the inevitable end of the world. It's not all doom and gloom, since our adventurer can still reclaim his freedom and humanity (to presumably spend his last days on a beach, as the world fades to black). During the tutorial, our adventurer is taught how to use his broken sword. He even stumbles upon a shield, which he hastily equips. The first few Hollows he finds, are easily cut down, and our adventurer grins like a Cheshire cat. "This isn't so bad" he mockingly quips. However, no sooner had the words left his lips, when a Hollow armed with a shield and a longsword, parries one of his attacks, and delivers a devastating counter attack that instantly kills our Adventurer. The screen fades to black, and the words painted in bold red letters read "You Died". It wouldn't be the first time, our adventurer dies... but that's Dark Souls for you.

When a game releases, it's rare that you'll pay marketing slogans any attention, but in the case of From Software's latest release, the slogan "Prepare to Die" is far more prophetic than you could ever imagine. In fact, I've lost count of the times my character met his untimely and gruesome demise. Sometimes it was comical, like falling off a cliff, or an accidental combat roll on the edge of a staircase that left my character tumbling from a spire, and other times (seemingly) blatantly unfair like blissfully stumbling upon an overpowered monster or level boss (that literally hacks you to pieces in seconds), or even falling prey to a hidden trap or ambush. Fortunately, I had mentally prepared myself for Dark Souls, through Demon's Souls, and therefore had a fair idea of the mechanics of the game and what to expect. In case you're wondering, you really don't need to play Demon's Souls before Dark Souls. The two games are not connected by storyline in any way, but if you're a serious games collector I would wholeheartedly recommend playing it. However, even veteran Demon Soul players will find Dark Souls a challenging experience.

Dark Souls resembles a hack-and-slash action RPG, however any attempt to play it as such will result in soul crushing failure. It drives that point home from the beginning as it requires you to fine tune your tactics and think strategically. You have to be mindful of the tactics of your enemies (especially level bosses). Timing and good shield and stamina management help too. In other games, you can generally get away with levelling your character a couple times, by grinding easy-to-kill monsters, but don’t think for a second that a higher level will protect you in Dark Souls. Creatures that you faced near the starting area can still kill you (regardless of your higher level and shiny new armour). All it takes is an unlucky stab in the back, a lingering curse or a broken, battleworn shield.

One of the aspects that may come as a shock to many, is that unlike other action or RPG games, Dark Souls refrains from holding your hand. You're not going to find Fable-like breadcrumbs on the floor pointing to your next waypoint or a quest-giver marked on a map. Oh No! Not Dark Souls. "What map?" Dark Souls laughs. It wants you to explore and experience the world through trial and error, and that means that every excursion into the unknown will leave you anxious, stressed and on the edge of your seat. Impending doom awaits behind every door, down every corridor or can even from above, in the form of a fire breathing dragon. You never know when you'll die, but death is virtually assured.

I know what you're thinking: surely it can't be that stressful? After all, you'll just be revived at a waypoint (bonfire). Nothing is lost, right? Not exactly. Souls are gained by killing enemies, and it forms the basis of Dark Souls' economy. You can gain levels and buy new equipment, spells and other miscellaneous items through spending collected souls. Humanity points are another important collectable. Since your character is undead, humanity allows you to become mortal, which opens up additional gameplay options and benefits, like being able to kindle your bonfire to give you additional health pots, or having some resistance to specific curses. However, if your character is killed, you lose your humanity and potentially all your souls. Fortunately, it's not all dire, since you are given the opportunity to reclaim your souls, but there is a catch: you can only do so from the site where you originally died, provided you don't do something silly, like fall off the side of a cliff.

That is exactly what happened to me. At one point in the game, I had managed to collect close to 30,000 souls. I had my heart set on a new ring and a few more spells, but a slight lapse in concentration meant my character was killed by a lumbering stone giant. An honest mistake, I thought, and I didn't think much of it, because my character died fairly close to a bonfire. Of course, before I could reach my souls, I fell off the side of a cliff. That's Dark Souls for you!

By the way, if you're thinking that you'll just load up a previous save point, I have bad news. There is only an autosave function, the game literally screams at you in a Leonidas voice "This is Dark Souls. There is no going back. You better man-up, and tuck your shirt in". Dark Souls is unwavering in its assault on your nerves and mind. It encourages fine tuning of strategy (through repetition), and dare I say it, after a while it almost becomes therapeutic. You celebrate small victories, and when a level boss (finally) falls before your (majestic) short sword + 5 (after literally countless replays), you feel overjoyed. Euphoria floods your body, only for the realisation to eventually dawn that you desperately need to find a bonfire (waypoint). If there was ever a game that approximates an initiation, Dark Souls would be it.

Dark Souls can be a punishingly lonely experience, however you can take comfort in the fact that there are others struggling through game as well. It does this in an ingenious way, by allowing players to leave messages on the ground. These may be simple phrases like "Praise the Sun" or expressions of sheer dread, i.e. the very frequent "I can't take this", or even helpful hints or warnings. However, not all messages are helpful. One in particular encouraged me to kill a NPC by stabbing him in the back. Another piece of subversive graffiti told me to slide down a cliff, and a different one encouraged me to "be wary of Fatty". Fortunately I had the sense to ignore these evil internet succubi, after all "one must always be wary of internet folk".

Occasionally, you'll see the ghostly outline of another player as they carry on with their journey, but most likely, you'll find their bloodstains on the floors. The stains capture their last moments, and can usually act as an indicator that something dangerous might be hiding in the dark. A form of co-op is also supported by Dark Souls, which can prove helpful when faced with some of the more difficult level bosses. You can allow other players to join you, and in turn they're awarded souls and humanity points. You can also invade the game worlds of others, by being transformed into a menacing phantom. Your aim? To rain terror down upon your victim and to kill them for crucial humanity points. However, they may kill you or even report your crime. Fortunately, attacks and assassinations are rare, and for the most part everyone behaves themselves (so far).

I have immense praise for Dark Souls, however there are a few things that rubbed me the wrong way. It may sound counter-intuitive but even though I consider the steep learning curve (and difficulty) a boon, it's also a source of major criticism. Dark Souls can be unrelentingly difficult, almost to the point of being unfair. It's not a game meant for a lazy Sunday afternoon, and its difficulty will unfortunately leave a polarising effect on gamers. You're either going to love it or hate it, but on the other hand, it's a perfect measuring stick to see what kind of a gamer you are. I don't mean the silly arguments over who is a causal gamer or who is the most hardcore of the core gamers, but rather more introspectively. Can you recover from constant failure? Can you dust yourself off after you've lost 50,000 souls? Will you push on even after your shiny new armour was destroyed by an acid spitting boss, and what if your character is riddled with curses, and progress becomes almost unbearable? Are you prepared to die?

Dark Souls is an immensely beautiful game, with stunning visuals. From Software has gone above and beyond to make Dark Souls a very pretty game. It's one of the few RPG games where your shield doesn't just magically float above your arm. In this game, your character firmly grips the shield's handle. There are other tiny bits of detail that impressed me. For instance, if your character equips a quiver or a bolt bag, you can see them hanging on your character's belt. Additionally, if your sorcerer wears plate armour, he feels sluggish and slow, and struggles to perform a combat roll, but increase his strength and dexterity and you have an agile spellsword (swinging his battleaxe, while casting soul arrows at opportune times). The amount of detail is staggering. However, there are parts of the game that just feel cheap. The corpses of slain enemies will wrap themselves around your legs as the rag doll physics leaves you cringing. It's an issue that was also present in Demon's Souls, and one that I had hoped From Software would have addressed. It's a minor issue, but you will scratch your head when a 3 metre tall armoured giant's corpse jiggles and jives in front of you, as you run to the next monster.

But the biggest issue I have with Dark Souls is its targeting system, especially if you're a sorcerer or pyromancer. You only have a limited number of spells, and you can scarcely afford to waste them by battling the targeting system. It's incredibly fussy, and adds to the frustration, because every once in a while you'll die because it failed to lock on (or failed to disengage), or sometimes you just lose the lock altogether, only to find yourself dying a few seconds later because an enemy scored a critical hit to the back of your head. It's an annoying issue that will leave you grinding your teeth, and it puts a blight on an otherwise perfect game. I would like to add though, that where the targeting system fails to impress, the combat system is a feat to behold. Collision detection is absolutely perfect. When sword and shield meet, the impact is unmistakable.

I gladly recommend Dark Souls to any gamer who requires a challenge. Curious onlookers or those unsure whether it might be for them should at least give it a try. It's undoubtedly an extraordinary game, and one that requires all the attention you can muster. It's by no means a brainless button-mashing hack-and-slasher (or your typical dungeon crawler), and while it barely tries to tell a story, it does contain some hidden gems. It may leave you red-faced, fuming and screaming at your TV screen, or even contemplating using the game disk as a frisbee, but when you overcome those seemingly impossible obstacles, Dark Souls will leave you blissfully smiling at your accomplishments or even growing nostalgic for a bygone era of games, that were not in the least bit "accessible".

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