Now Playing: Dark Souls

I’m hesitant to talk about Dark Souls because despite completing it, there’s still a lot of things about it I just don’t yet know or understand. This is mostly a good thing. Mostly. But we’ll get into that later. Dark Souls is a third person open world RPG with a heavy focus on combat - melee, ranged and magic. I focused primarily on melee (heavy armour + weapons in this case) for this playthrough, so I’ll be talking about my experience with that in mind.

Graphically, it has to be said the game can look rather rough around the edges, and technically this PC version stutters along occasionally, but not to any degree that I found it unplayable. And whilst visually it may be a little muddy, stylistically the game is excellent in terms of environments, gear and especially enemy design and variety.

The story of DS is incredibly subtle in the way it is presented to the player. There is no long winded dialogue exposition, no heavy handed cut scenes. In fact, how much or how little the player chooses to delve into the lore of the world is left in their own hands. And DS is a world full of interesting lore and hidden stories. Hidden, sadly, being the operative word. Because there’s effective, subtle storytelling (which DS does do very well at times) and then there’s a complete vacuum of information, which Dark Souls is unfortunately also guilty of.

The things I loved about DS was the sense of exploration and adventure. Risk and reward. Danger and accomplishment. It was an incredibly refreshing game to play. This is all enhanced by this subtle approach to story and player information. The problem is that there are times when a little more player direction and information would be welcome, and certainly wouldn’t detract from the experience.

I tried to play DS ‘blind’ by not reading any guides and avoiding spoilers, but I couldn’t help but look at a few wikis throughout as the game failed to adequately explain certain features (the Covenants spring to mind) and how they work. There’s only so much I can learn through experimentation, and in a game like DS, experimentation is often risky because loss can be permanent. I understand that this risk vs reward is an appeal to some, and even to me to a degree, but including a few more in depth explanations of some of the features and mechanics would have been welcome.

This lack of info sometimes also applies to story elements and locations, and it’s very easy to miss entire areas because you didn’t expect a new area to be hidden behind two ‘fake’ walls for example. I know I wouldn’t have found some areas at all without a wiki to guide me. Hidden content is fine. Hidden areas are fine, and rewarding exploration is most certainly welcome. But Dark Souls takes it just a tad too far at times and as a result, players may be left unsure of where to go, exactly what’s going on or why.

I’d also have really liked something like a ‘lore journal' in the game which is built up over the course of your journey, filling you in on the interesting back story of many of the areas, creatures and NPCs. I’m sure someone, somewhere, hates the very idea, but I just think it’s a shame that there’s so much richness to this world, yet most of it is completely inaccessible to the player unless they venture online.

Returning to the story – it’s compelling and interesting enough, but it’s really the world itself that takes centre stage. It’s bleak, yet beautiful. Frightening, yet uplifting. DS is definitely not going to be a game for everyone, but for those it sinks its hooks into, I can see why people fall in love with it.

You can build your character pretty much however you see fit. Just about any weapon is viable with the right upgrades. I can’t speak much about magic or ranged because I didn’t really use them, but the melee combat is great. Kick & jump attacks. Parries, ripostes, backstabs, blocking and dodges. Light & heavy attacks. Thrusting weapons, swinging, heavy, light, two hand, one hand plus shield…so many ways to fight, and easy to switch in and out gear on the fly, even in the middle of a battle.

Yes, it does largely boil down to memorising enemy attack patterns and knowing when and how best to strike, but with the regular introduction of new enemy types you’re always kept on your toes. Always wary, watching a new opponent’s moves, figuring out the most effective way to strike. There are also different state conditions to contend with such as bleeding, poison and toxic. Also, curses. Bloody curses. You can build resistance via stats (not worth it though to be honest) and by certain gear. There are also consumables and temporary enhancements, not to mention different weapon upgrade paths – magic, lightning, fire etc.

So the combat system is certainly addictive and enjoyable, but is it perfect? Well, no. It’s irritating when enemies somehow strike you through walls, yet your own weapons just bounce off. It’s even more irritating when your attacks don’t seem to register or hit. This is a noticeable problem against some of the larger bosses (and there are some large bosses in DS) with certain weapon types, as you spring forward to attack, yet your weapon just sails through a leg without inflicting any damage. Some fights also feel a little cheap in terms of ‘difficulty’ because there’s a greater degree of luck than skill involved. A certain section involving two archers on a narrow ledge springs to mind...

Dark Souls is a challenging game (and the good kind of challenging, for the most part) but also an extremely rewarding one. It pushes the player to improve, and although there are a few frustrating moments when you die due to bad camera issues or getting stuck on scenery, they are rare enough that when you do die, it’s largely your own fault. Your tactics were wrong. You were impatient. You need to go somewhere else, level and upgrade. DS wasn’t a game I can say I particularly relaxed with. You need to focus and concentrate as the smallest misstep may kill you in an instant.

It feels like a long time since I played a game that gave me so much satisfaction at clearing an area, or beating a boss. Or hell, even beating some of the mini-bosses you encounter. So many games recently feel like it’s impossible to fail. Like it’s a bad thing to punish the player. DS doesn’t take this view and it can punish you hard. The first time you lose thousands of souls is extremely infuriating, but it only pushes you on to do better.

It has to be said though that the game does feel like it gets a lot easier as it goes on. Once you learn the mechanics, perfect your timing, learn to be patient and watch attack patterns, you grow more confident and progress more quickly. By the end of the game you really do feel like your character has grown into a total badass who can deal with anything. However, the downside to this is that as you approach endgame, the last few bosses, including the final boss, are pretty much complete pushovers, and this does unfortunately result in the game having a rather anticlimactic (not to mention abrupt) ending.

The lack of hand holding in DS is both welcome, yet at times a drawback to the experience. But it’s certainly one of, if not the most refreshing game experience I’ve had in a long while. Overall, Dark Souls is an excellent game that’s fun, engaging and rewarding to play. It’s not for everyone, so I’d recommend it with caution. But personally, I rather fell in love with it, and aside from the technical faults and a few gameplay flaws, it’s a game I see myself sinking even more time into as I slowly unlock its dark secrets.

9/10