The Official Review thread!

So before we get threads on this forum called ''Third review'' and ''Fourth review'' etc, I thought I would bundle them all together in this thread! Here are the reviews so far!

Dengeki Playstation - 90/90/95/95

Famitsu - 37/40.

IGN - 9/10

Guardian - 4/5

Eurogamer - 9/10

EDGE - 9/10

Gamespot - 9.5/10

PSU - 9.5/10

Joystiq - 4.5/5

Any new reviews will be added into this thread, be sure to post any you find!

Hey man, can you put in a link?

@GloriousDinosaur said:

Hey man, can you put in a link?

I can put in a link to the threads these scores originated from but they are from magazines so I can't exactly link the reviews.

@NekuSakuraba said:

Also, just to derail my own topic for a second, you don't need to play the first game since it's a spiritual successor, right?

......yes

Um... aren't these usually only done for US/EU reviews? Game is still 2 weeks away...

All good man :)

@Doctorchimp said:

@NekuSakuraba said:

Also, just to derail my own topic for a second, you don't need to play the first game since it's a spiritual successor, right?

......yes

Thanks. :P

@Enigma777 said:

Um... aren't these usually only done for US/EU reviews? Game is still 2 weeks away...

Well, I'm sure more Japanese reviews will pop up soon and when the US/EU ones come in, this thread will be here!

I cannot take Famitsu reviews seriously. They've lost all credibility the last years.

So thanks to @Slaker117 in this thread, he found that Rorie will at least be doing something with Dark Souls, as mentioned on this weeks BtSD podcast (@1:06:48).

Rorie: "I don't know if we can talk about... we might do something with Dark Souls."

Alex: "Oh you've been green-lit. You're good."

Rorie: "Well, I don't even know if we're supposed to talk about it yet, so that, like we... we... I don't even know if we have it yet or not is basically what I'm saying!"

Alex: "Yeah."

Rorie: "So... we'll see. We'll see what happens! You might see me on Giant Bomb a little bit."

That sounds like at least a Quick Look to me, and that last sentence might even... imply... an... nah we're getting ahead of ourselves here.

@Timing said:

That sounds like at least a Quick Look to me, and that last sentence might even... imply... an... nah we're getting ahead of ourselves here.

I think they wouldn't do the "thing" with a brand new game, or would they?

I really, really hope that the Giantbomb crew pays proper attention to this game. I don't believe Ryan, Jeff or Brad even touched Demon's Souls for more than 15 minutes, and I would be quite pissed off if they get tasked to review the sequel. It's well-known that these games need a few hours to sink their teeth into you, and I would hate to see people dismiss it outright because they got frustrated in the first hour.

Dengeki Playstation - 90/90/95/95

I get it but it still makes no sense when you first read it. It's like prozzer hustlin' slang.

@Buckfitches said:

I really, really hope that the Giantbomb crew pays proper attention to this game. I don't believe Ryan, Jeff or Brad even touched Demon's Souls for more than 15 minutes, and I would be quite pissed off if they get tasked to review the sequel. It's well-known that these games need a few hours to sink their teeth into you, and I would hate to see people dismiss it outright because they got frustrated in the first hour.

Yeah, it really sucked to see almost every media outlet dismiss the first as some super hardcore insanely unfair masochistic game because they didn't take the time to learn that it isn't supposed to be played like God of War.

@Three0neFive said:

@Buckfitches said:

I really, really hope that the Giantbomb crew pays proper attention to this game. I don't believe Ryan, Jeff or Brad even touched Demon's Souls for more than 15 minutes, and I would be quite pissed off if they get tasked to review the sequel. It's well-known that these games need a few hours to sink their teeth into you, and I would hate to see people dismiss it outright because they got frustrated in the first hour.

Yeah, it really sucked to see almost every media outlet dismiss the first as some super hardcore insanely unfair masochistic game because they didn't take the time to learn that it isn't supposed to be played like God of War.

To be fair it is a super hardcore insanely unfair masochistic game. The first few hours of that game can feel really, really horrific. It's just the issue was most reviewers, rather than sticking it out and actually learning the game decided to just call it trash and move on. Game reviewers are very busy people so when they get presented with a game like this it is hard to put in the time and effort required.

If anybody were to review this game it should be Vinny, he doesn't review other games on the site and when he sinks his teeth into something, he goes all out (see: The Witcher). So he is the most likely to give a fair review.

@Jimi said:

@Three0neFive said:

@Buckfitches said:

I really, really hope that the Giantbomb crew pays proper attention to this game. I don't believe Ryan, Jeff or Brad even touched Demon's Souls for more than 15 minutes, and I would be quite pissed off if they get tasked to review the sequel. It's well-known that these games need a few hours to sink their teeth into you, and I would hate to see people dismiss it outright because they got frustrated in the first hour.

Yeah, it really sucked to see almost every media outlet dismiss the first as some super hardcore insanely unfair masochistic game because they didn't take the time to learn that it isn't supposed to be played like God of War.

To be fair it is a super hardcore insanely unfair masochistic game. The first few hours of that game can feel really, really horrific. It's just the issue was most reviewers, rather than sticking it out and actually learning the game decided to just call it trash and move on. Game reviewers are very busy people so when they get presented with a game like this it is hard to put in the time and effort required.

If anybody were to review this game it should be Vinny, he doesn't review other games on the site and when he sinks his teeth into something, he goes all out (see: The Witcher). So he is the most likely to give a fair review.

It wasn't quite AS hard and masochistic as some people say. It just required patience and perseverance.

This shows a problem with game reviewers in general: they tend to favor low difficulty and short length in games because it makes their job easier.

Sometimes I think game reviewers unfortunately function as a vocal minority that convey a wrong or at least distorted message to game developers that doesn't really reflect the whole range of players' opinions about a game. And in return developers/publishers aim to please this minority because these are the guys who score their games.

@Buckfitches said:

I really, really hope that the Giantbomb crew pays proper attention to this game. I don't believe Ryan, Jeff or Brad even touched Demon's Souls for more than 15 minutes, and I would be quite pissed off if they get tasked to review the sequel. It's well-known that these games need a few hours to sink their teeth into you, and I would hate to see people dismiss it outright because they got frustrated in the first hour.

I disagree with some of what you are implying here. While I would love to see a review from Giant Bomb, I don't blame them for not reviewing Demon's Souls and I won't be surprised if they don't review Dark Souls. Giant Bomb is a small crew that simply doesn't (and can't) review every game. Demon's Souls was not a major release, and happened to fall at the beginning of a very busy holiday season. They just don't review every game, even some big blockbusters (Red Dead Redemption, for example). Also, I think that Ryan, Jeff, or Brad would be able to be fair about reviewing this game if it fell to them. These guys are professionals and if they were tasked with reviewing it, I've seen enough of their work to trust them to put aside their personal pet peeves and try to be objective. If they gave it a mediocre review score, well that's honestly the way some people felt about Demon's Souls too, and that segment of the population should have some representation among reviewers. Demon's Souls was not for everyone. Also, I really disagree that having played and enjoyed the first game is a pre-cursor for reviewing Dark Souls. There's no story continuity here, and this game seems like it will be able to stand on it's own.

@Jimi:

To be fair it is a super hardcore insanely unfair masochistic game.

That's not even remotely true. I personally cannot stand really hard games, but Demon's Souls was one of my favorite games of the current gen.

People just have to un-learn their button-mashing tendencies from games like God of War, and the idea that enemies are just mindless fodder you can plow through without thinking. Once you approach the game from the way it is meant to be played, it's not hard, incredibly rewarding, and never unfair. Every single death in these games lies by your own hand.

@Buckfitches said:

@Jimi:

To be fair it is a super hardcore insanely unfair masochistic game.

That's not even remotely true. I personally cannot stand really hard games, but Demon's Souls was one of my favorite games of the current gen.

People just have to un-learn their button-mashing tendencies from games like God of War, and the idea that enemies are just mindless fodder you can plow through without thinking. Once you approach the game from the way it is meant to be played, it's not hard, incredibly rewarding, and never unfair. Every single death in these games lies by your own hand.

It's unfair plenty of times but a lot of people tend to cling on to this "only your fault lala-la" mindset. Great game, super atmosphere - definitely not fair plenty of times. Flamelurker is probably the worst balanced boss in the history of bosses - double so if you're just a pure melee character.

@Humanity: I found Flamelurker to be surprisingly easy. I killed him on the second try.

Purple Flame Shield, Ring of Fire Resistance (which you get literally 5 minutes before meeting the boss), and dodge out of the way of his attacks.

I practically never got hit the entire sequence. I had way more trouble with other bosses.

Man Eaters on new game plus was the only time I felt like Demon's Souls was ridiculously unfair. 

@Humanity said:

@Buckfitches said:

@Jimi:

To be fair it is a super hardcore insanely unfair masochistic game.

That's not even remotely true. I personally cannot stand really hard games, but Demon's Souls was one of my favorite games of the current gen.

People just have to un-learn their button-mashing tendencies from games like God of War, and the idea that enemies are just mindless fodder you can plow through without thinking. Once you approach the game from the way it is meant to be played, it's not hard, incredibly rewarding, and never unfair. Every single death in these games lies by your own hand.

It's unfair plenty of times but a lot of people tend to cling on to this "only your fault lala-la" mindset. Great game, super atmosphere - definitely not fair plenty of times. Flamelurker is probably the worst balanced boss in the history of bosses - double so if you're just a pure melee character.

Yeah, the fanboys always come out in defense whenever someone criticizes a boss battle. Just look at Dead Rising 2 and Deus Ex.

@Buckfitches said:

@Jimi:

To be fair it is a super hardcore insanely unfair masochistic game.

That's not even remotely true. I personally cannot stand really hard games, but Demon's Souls was one of my favorite games of the current gen.

People just have to un-learn their button-mashing tendencies from games like God of War, and the idea that enemies are just mindless fodder you can plow through without thinking. Once you approach the game from the way it is meant to be played, it's not hard, incredibly rewarding, and never unfair. Every single death in these games lies by your own hand.

It was unfair in plenty of spots, just look at flamelurker or the maneaters. It's just the fact that it was so unfair made it more rewarding when you finally complete it. The game is my favorite ps3 game for sure but it's hard to say it is fair, while not quite on the level of IWBTG unfairness.

@Buckfitches said:

@Jimi:

To be fair it is a super hardcore insanely unfair masochistic game.

That's not even remotely true. I personally cannot stand really hard games, but Demon's Souls was one of my favorite games of the current gen.

People just have to un-learn their button-mashing tendencies from games like God of War, and the idea that enemies are just mindless fodder you can plow through without thinking. Once you approach the game from the way it is meant to be played, it's not hard, incredibly rewarding, and never unfair. Every single death in these games lies by your own hand.

Actually they ARE incredibly mindless and easily exploited, the game just punishes you hard for not getting the shuffle dance right or missing the animation cues.

So yeah its a very challenging game in a fair way but its not because of some high class AI pulling strings behind the curtain

Thats one of the things i love about the game it does not rely on twitch reflexes but instead asks you to rely on acquired knowledge to interpret the information readily available to you on screen.

Hell i was still able to 1 life clear 3 consecutive worlds with a fresh character months after i last played it simply because knowledge >>>> "skill"

If you need a review to decide if you want this game, I don't think this game is for you.

@Jimi said:

@Buckfitches said:

@Jimi:

To be fair it is a super hardcore insanely unfair masochistic game.

That's not even remotely true. I personally cannot stand really hard games, but Demon's Souls was one of my favorite games of the current gen.

People just have to un-learn their button-mashing tendencies from games like God of War, and the idea that enemies are just mindless fodder you can plow through without thinking. Once you approach the game from the way it is meant to be played, it's not hard, incredibly rewarding, and never unfair. Every single death in these games lies by your own hand.

It was unfair in plenty of spots, just look at flamelurker or the maneaters. It's just the fact that it was so unfair made it more rewarding when you finally complete it. The game is my favorite ps3 game for sure but it's hard to say it is fair, while not quite on the level of IWBTG unfairness.

Flamelurker punishes you for running away and not bringing the right preparations.

Its very easy to kill him with a level 1-10 character as long as you bring the purple flame shield and water veil both available near the very start of the game

You just have to wait for his animation to leave him open get a few stabs in and move out again most importantly dont get greedy, when you are in close to medium range becomes very passive relying mostly on his melee swings and the ocasional AoE. just dance around him (never going long range as he wont like that) till he goes for his AoE, sprint into melee and use a fast weapon to stunlock him allowing you to drain youre entire stamina bar on his back and move back out again.

After a few fights you will learn just how far his melee and long range borders are that the save zone is also you can actually sprint through the AoE fire without taking damage as its visual lasts slightly longer than the actual damage and the outer 10-15% of his AoE damage wont even tickle you with the FR items so you can steal a few extra paces translating into more stamina left to attack with

Also if you ever mess up just remember that youre stamina recharges faster when you drop the shield so instead of clinging to that L1 button try to drop it as soon as you are save to ensure you have as much as possible stamina for the next blow

@kingzetta said:

If you need a review to decide if you want this game, I don't think this game is for you.

that doesn't make any sense.

The IGN review is live. They gave it a 9.0. A fitting conclusion to their 24 hour gameplay marathon.

IGN gave it a 9.0, and before anyone bitches about the fact that it's IGN, I suggest you read the review because it was actually a good one. Rather informative. Really got me excited for the game.

@NekuSakuraba: No idea if you intend on updating this thread, but IGN (9 / 10) and Guardian (4 / 5) posted their reviews.

Eurogamer9 / 10

@kingzetta said:

If you need a review to decide if you want this game, I don't think this game is for you.

@kingzetta said:

If you need a review to decide if you want this game, I don't think this game is for you.

What? I loved Demon's Souls, I think Dark Souls is for me, but I also need a review to see if it's what I'm hoping for. Or are you saying that it doesn't matter if the game is good or bad as long as it's called "Dark Souls"? You're aware that From Software could have messed up (although now, after the reviews, I'm pretty sure they didn't) and it still costs 60 bucks, right?

@kingzetta said:

If you need a review to decide if you want this game, I don't think this game is for you.

What? I loved Demon's Souls, I think Dark Souls is for me, but I also need a review to see if it's what I'm hoping for. Or are you saying that it doesn't matter if the game is good or bad as long as it's called "Dark Souls"? You're aware that From Software could have messed up (although now, after the reviews, I'm pretty sure they didn't) and it still costs 60 bucks, right?

@kingzetta: I don't know, I only started really loving Demon's Souls after at least ten hours in. Also, there's so may variables they could get wrong... A couple minutes can't possibly speak all there is to say about a 100+ hour game, can it?

But I guess it doesn't matter after all, the game seems awesome.

I'm so excited about this game. It reminds me of old school adventure games, like on the NES or something. Where you slowly and methodically go through a beautiful environment with tough enemies and tougher bosses, branching exploration paths, locked doors that not every player can open, secret areas, and just about everyone will have a different experience. It's a game where you learn by doing, not by hand holding, and determination is the only way through.

I could be wrong, but it's kinda like a proper 3D castlevania game.

EDGE review is in!

http://www.next-gen.biz/reviews/dark-souls-review

EDGE review was very well written, but sort of makes the game sound like the fixie bike of console RPGs...

@Buckfitches said:

EDGE review is in!

http://www.next-gen.biz/reviews/dark-souls-review

Wow, amazing review. Can't freaking wait till tomorrow.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-10-03-dark-souls-review

Eurogamer review is also up! Another great score.

@Buckfitches said:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-10-03-dark-souls-review

Eurogamer review is also up! Another great score.

" You're already dead, and so is everything else, and all of it hates you."

Possibly the best summation of the game I have seen.

not trying to be a dick Neku, but if youre gonna make official review threads...update them >_> Most of the major sites reviews are out now

http://www.psu.com/Dark-Souls-review--a013151-p0.php

They keep pouring in.

@Buckfitches said:

http://www.psu.com/Dark-Souls-review--a013151-p0.php

They keep pouring in.

And they all seem to be consistently glowing.

Flamelurker was "tough" not cheap, bring some fire res and don't let him get sequential hits on you without healing. Use magic based weapons like moon/blessed whatever or soul ray type spells. Maneaters are a joke. Warding, walk in, wait for him to attack me at the door. Firestorm 1.... Firestorm 2..... dead. Wait for maneater 2 to show, rinse wash repeat.

While I wont say much about Deus Ex HR I will just say it had a similar "problem". You had to approach it's fights like set pieces not normal encounters, federova and especially barret were jokes once you realized how to use the environment.

Some site called Gamereactor Sweden gave it a 7/10 citing that it had many hours of pure frustration.

How can you knock a game like Dark Souls for being frustrating?

Considering how long the game is, plus the famous difficulty, this game much be a BITCH to review. Assuming that the reviewer has to finish the game in order to meet a deadline.

@TekZero said:

Considering how long the game is, plus the famous difficulty, this game much be a BITCH to review. Assuming that the reviewer has to finish the game in order to meet a deadline.

just consider the fact that the reviewers all got their copies like, last week sometime

@Laketown said:

@TekZero said:

Considering how long the game is, plus the famous difficulty, this game much be a BITCH to review. Assuming that the reviewer has to finish the game in order to meet a deadline.

just consider the fact that the reviewers all got their copies like, last week sometime

Still, if the game is upwards of 60 hours, I can't imagine having to do that in a single week.

@TekZero said:

@Laketown said:

@TekZero said:

Considering how long the game is, plus the famous difficulty, this game much be a BITCH to review. Assuming that the reviewer has to finish the game in order to meet a deadline.

just consider the fact that the reviewers all got their copies like, last week sometime

Still, if the game is upwards of 60 hours, I can't imagine having to do that in a single week.

I haven't seen one reviewer claiming that they finished the game, and I am assuming they didn't. The IGN 24h stream made it clear that Keza (the reviewer for that site) "only" got through 60% of the content. It's understandable for this game, I am glad we don't get all the reviews 2 weeks after release. I do think however that they should mention it, because the game could have a terribly unbalanced or buggy last portion.

Bought the original Demon's Souls to see what the fuss was about and played a good chuck of it, but never finished it. Seeing the Quick Look for this game, however, has completely turned me off, as I don't really want to go through that abuse again.