Dark Souls Review/News

[Rennn]

Dark Souls: Prepare To Die Edition has been slated for a PC release for a while now, but until recently, as far as anybody knew, the game was to be shackled with Games For Windows Live, a semi-legal piece of malware that refuses access to purchased games, causes online lag, and deletes your saves at random. Fortunately, due to yet another online petition, it has been confirmed by FROM Software that Dark Souls, easily the best dark fantasy online rpg of the decade, will release on Steam. This makes FROM simultaneously the only company in gaming to ever respond to a large-scale petition, and the first one to do it twice.

 

For anyone unfamiliar, Dark Souls has won so many awards I can't count them, inlcuding most valuable game of E3, multiple game of the year awards, multiple rpg of the year awards, multiple online game of the year awards, and a few developer of the year awards for FROM. Featuring easily the best open-world graphics of any console game, with almost no load times after you start up the game, and a dark, gritty, and consistently morbid, gothic style, Dark Soul's graphics and technological accomplishments are worthy of praise alone. Throw in what many reviewers have called the most responsive rpg controls ever devised, creative boss fights, and a truly unique levelling system that virtually eliminates level grinding in favor of a risk versus reward format, and you have a game that can't easily be matched.

 

Add on to that the fact that the game auto-saves every second, even during integral decisions, and each action acquires a sense of importance that nothing else on the shelves today can match. You can't restore a save, and you can't take back a choice (though you have another chance with new game+). Even death is a lore-friendly part of the world, for you return as a shrivelled, basically dead version of yourself.

 

Most of you are probably familiar with Dark Soul's renowned online play by now, but in case you're not, here's the short version. As a player in your own world, you can touch "soul signs" left on the ground by other players to summon them into your world to assist you. However, other players, after your souls (cash and xp rolled into one item), can forcibly break into your world and try to kill you at almost any time. Naturally, you'll want other people to give you an edge in these fights.

 

Clocked at an average of 80 hours without even touching new game+, the game is quite long, and every bit of it oozes morbid atmosphere and attention to detail. If you try to find all the secrets (and you'll fail, because there are too many secrets to describe), you can expect to put 140 hours into a single playthrough. The game does not hold your hand. Ever. You get a rhyme in the beginning of the game, and that's your only hint. There is no quest log, no radar, no compass, and no objective marker. You must listen to everything you hear, and observe all that you can if you hope to survive. If you pour your heart into this game, you will almost certainly be left scared and alone, running from something that actually scared you. It's not surprising that a few sites list Dark Souls as a horror game.

 

In Dark Souls, the world is big, dangerous, and hungry. You play as a frail, pathetic person adrift in a land of demons and ancient secrets. Enemies can often 1-hit you, or literally eat your throat out. This is made far more bearable by the responsive controls, which allow for precise blocking, impressive character weight, and rampant dodging and backstepping. Some people despise Dark Souls for its brutality, while others revel in it. Every time I thought I was finally finding a rhythm, Dark Souls opened up in a new direction and amazed me again. Often overlooked are the other features of the game; the smithing, the covenants you can join, the dark secrets and deceptively deep lore, the in-depth character customization which allows you to even change your character's build, the haunting soundtrack, and Snuggly the Crow (don't ask).

 

When it re-releases this August, I can't recommend a better game to get for your PC, and I commend FROM Software for risking such a unique game in the stagnant, shooter dominated market. Praise the sun!

 

 

Edited June 2, 2012 by Rennn

[yoba333]

Just because it's on Steam doesn't mean there won't be GFWL attached to it. Other games have done this.

[Dan3345]

Just because it's on Steam doesn't mean there won't be GFWL attached to it. Other games have done this.

Yoba its been specifically said by the developer the steam version (excluding retail copies) will use steamworks.

 

OP I love you, I'm so excited for this game G4WL or not.

[hoofhearted4]

i just have to mention, that while Dark Souls has very good graphics, i no longer believe it has the best open world graphics. i do believe Dragons Dogma has the beat open world graphics that ive seen on console...however, DkS does beat it on the whole loading thing, which is a great feature of DS and DkS.

 

also, for anyone who played or plans on playing it on console, any new features that are coming with the PC version, are also coming out on console as DLC. its unknown if itll be at he same time or not. they have only said, "new DLC in the winter" which could be the same time or even a last as early 2013, but im willing to bet roughly around the same time as the PC version is released.

[Rennn]

Just because it's on Steam doesn't mean there won't be GFWL attached to it. Other games have done this.

 

Yeah, like Bulletstorm or Arkham City. I remembered that myself, about three hours ago. :(

 

I'm just scared that DKS will release on GFWL, and then GFWL will die, and then nobody will ever be able to play any games they bought on GFWL ever again. I wouldn't put it past them...

 

I love Demon's Souls, I put more hours into that game than I've put into Skyrim! As amazing as Demon's Souls is, I liked Dark Souls more for the PS3. It's so beautiful and flawless. :dance:

 

I don't even care that the graphics are the exact same as the console versions, and I don't care that it's designed for a gamepad, and I don't care that the fps will probably be locked at 30. 30 fps is easily playable, and won't detract imo. I was planning on using a gamepad for DKS anyway, because it was just plainly designed for one.

Edited June 23, 2012 by Rennn

[Rennn]

Just because it's on Steam doesn't mean there won't be GFWL attached to it. Other games have done this.

Yoba its been specifically said by the developer the steam version (excluding retail copies) will use steamworks.

 

I'd be ecstatic if this is true, do you have a link? I know digital versions are supposed to be on Steam (and only Steam) which would imply that GFWL is not present, but idk. It's too painful to speculate about. I know there have already been a lot of misunderstandings.

[Rennn]

i do believe Dragons Dogma has the beat open world graphics that ive seen on console...

 

Dragon's Dogma has great actor graphics, but the landscapes are so... meh. For example, the npcs are pristine, but they use awful speedtrees in the terrain.

 

http://blogs-images.forbes.com/erikkain/files/2012/05/dragons-dogma.jpg

 

http://gay-nerds.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/DarkSouls2.jpg

Edited June 3, 2012 by Rennn

[aruless]

Plus DD is not coming for the pc(?) i dont have a console so i take what ever comes(that is great and no a lame work like d3) to the pc world, so if they wanna ginve me DS i will take it gladly :thumbsup: Edited June 3, 2012 by aruless

[Dan3345]

Just because it's on Steam doesn't mean there won't be GFWL attached to it. Other games have done this.

Yoba its been specifically said by the developer the steam version (excluding retail copies) will use steamworks.

 

I'd be ecstatic if this is true, do you have a link? I know digital versions are supposed to be on Steam (and only Steam) which would imply that GFWL is not present, but idk. It's too painful to speculate about. I know there have already been a lot of misunderstandings.

I do, I'll go find it and report back.

 

Ok here are some links. Now I suppose you have to take these with a little bit of salt as they aren't too specific. But EuroGamer says that retail copies get G4WL and steam copies use steamworks.

 

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-05-31-dark-souls-pc-for-steam-extra-content-for-console

 

http://bubu-online.blogspot.com/2012/05/dark-souls-pc-will-use-steamworks.html

 

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/dark-souls-prepare-to-die-edition-coming-to-steam/097146 - - This link here worries me, it acknowledges that it is unconfirmed whether or not the steam copies will be integrated with steamworks.

 

Cross your fingers.

Edited June 3, 2012 by Dan3345

[hoofhearted4]

I love Demon's Souls, I put more hours into that game than I've put into Skyrim! As amazing as Demon's Souls is, I liked Dark Souls more in every way for the PS3. It's so beautiful and flawless. :dance:

 

im so stubborn on this lol. im a proud original fan of Demons Souls. i had it pre ordered when only like 5 people even knew about it lol. ive put hundreds upon hundreds of hours into it. more then any other game ive ever played. and all that without ever touching PvP (ok i did for like 2 nights. then got bored) Dark Souls, ive put maybe a couple hundred into it. ive only played through i think 3 or 4 times as opposed to the literally 50 or so times ive beaten demons souls. ive made i think 3 toons in DkS as opposed to the 30 or so toons ive made for DS. ive platinumed both games (both Ps3 obv) and while i liked DkS, idk. i just didnt enjoy it as much. maybe its the fact im anti popular. the more popular something is the less i like it lol. trollolol. idk. but to this day, DS is my personal favorite of the two. im sure ill go back to DkS eventually. probably even before the DLC hits console. but i just cannot say i enjoyed it more then i enjoyed DS.

 

also a small note, DS servers have been extended once again, so there is still reason to pick it up! if you do, lmk i would gladly hop back in to coop with someone!! :D