Anyone who has me on PSN may have noticed that I've been online a lot lately. More specifically, I've been playing Dark Souls. That one game (other then Persona 4) that seems to get a lot of attention on these forums so one would hope that you're not sick of reading about it. Of all the people, it should've been me considering the fact that I've just Platinum-ed it the other day. It's also the only game to date which I've bothered to get all the achievements in and perhaps the last one in which I will. Long story short, I really enjoyed it.

More Than A Game

To put things into perspective I have played it's predecessor, Demon's Souls. Conceptually, it sounded really interesting it me given the strong contrast of linearity and hand-holding in most video games developed today but on the other hand it's almost like walking on a tight rope. How much is too much and how little is too little? Some of the more intriguing parts of Demon's Souls was the little nuggets of information you'd pick up from item descriptions to the sparse dialogue but it was also a little frustrating when certain game mechanics are poorly explained (or not explained at all for one matter). Either way, it always felt that you inhabited a world which felt like it had history to it. It's sequel, Dark Souls not only does this a little better but it also retains what made Demon's Souls great whilst improving other key aspects of gameplay and production.

On a subconscious level I must've found Dark Souls to be incredibly attractive since it echoes a lot of sentiments to the classic PS1 title, Castlevania: Symphony of The Night (one of my all time favourites). A realisation that only clicked to me during my first playthrough. They both tick the same boxes more or less, a dark, Gothic art style, varied monster designs, distinguishable environments, and fun combat mechanics. But what really defines the Soul series from just about any game is the element of death. Quite fitting for a game whose tagline is "PREPARE TO DIE". Quite frankly, it's a little scary how upfront From Software are about it. But I just don't mind because nearly everything about Dark Souls is an absolute pleasure to take in. On a visual, audio and conceptual level.

At it's core, Dark Souls is very game-y. It knows it's a game and it doesn't hide that fact. They are challenges to overcome, bosses to defeat and stats to comb over. Despite the high level of challenge it always tries to be fair. Apart from the odd event or two, every death is meaningful in some way or another. Get too cocky? You'll die. Too impatient? You'll die. Again and again. But death itself is a learning experience. It sucks since you lose all your souls but at the very least you'll understand the why you died and when you'll run into the problem next time, you'll know better. Stats are still important but skill is even better, as an hour and half speed run of it will tell you and that's one thing Dark Souls does well. It trains you be a better player. Moving into new areas is always a slow, cautious process but given enough experience, you'll fly right through them. Dodging traps, dispatching enemies and generally playing well. It makes you feel smart. Sure, it wasn't exactly an easy process but the difficulty makes the rewards all the sweeter.

The combat is simple but oh so satisfying to use. Even more so when you come across the special weapons from boss encounters and the such. The animations are fairly deliberate and fun to watch but it's also designed to be balanced. Every weapon has it's strong/weak points but no one weapon/spell is perfect which is an essential part to the multiplayer so it really comes down to user experience with each individual weapon. Fighting monsters is one thing (given the A.I.'s odd behaviour) but fighting another player is another. Some are trained murderers who knows how to kill their quarry while others are as green as grass and would prefer to spend their time running away from you (which is always amusing). But the odd one will occasionally do some of the more bizarre things, like running up to a tower and wave to you for an hour or start attacking you...using just shields.

The multiplayer aspect is perhaps one of the most interesting mechanics to come out of a game in a long, long time. It's a little ambiguous but it can be divided into two sides. PvP and Co-Op. The objectives and perquisites for invading/being invaded are performing co-op varies depending on the covenants you join (which can greatly influence your online experience). It's all very unique and somewhat overwhelming for beginners but very engaging once you've gotten a good grasp on how it works. The community is what really makes it stand out however. Not only are they responsible for filling in the massively helpful wikis but everyone to some degree, follow a set of unwritten rules. Summoning two other players into my world was met with all parties greeting each other by a simple act of bowing. There's no voice chat in game but for the most part it seems to work better without it. Actions do speak louder then words. It's not often you come across a game whose players engage in such quirks. It's also the small attention to detail that really makes it for me. Characters who suffer from the horrible form of petrification are transformed into stone and they'll appear in your world as statues frozen in the last remaining seconds of their life. It's a rather ominous and creepy ass way of reminding of what could possibly happen to you if you're not careful. It's these concepts that make Dark Souls feel not only like a game but an interesting experience like no other.

The World And It's Oddities

From Software have crafted themselves quite world to get constantly murdered in. Like Symphony of the Night, it is open-world but it's designed in such a way that it feels fairly focused and linear but at the same time it feels fairly spacious. You'll move from area to area and find yourself unable to progress until you've done something or another but it never feels like you're funnelled down a specific path. The geography itself is probably the most bizarre but it somehow believable as the paths between them makes logical sense. To some degree anyway. Considering how the starting area, Firelink Shrine is just a small outcrop by a ruined church but just underneath that is an entire flooded city. If go up you'll find yourself in a city, go further up and look down and you'll find that the entire face of the mountain is covered in more cities and it goes for miles. Go even further up and there's Anor Londo. An extravagant city with it's tall, Gothic architecture and it looks absolutely gorgeous.

Contrary, when you go down there's Blighttown which is the equivalent of the slums. It's wretched and frankly rather gruelling and unpleasant to be around (to the point that even the framerate can't keep up). At the same time I can't help but admire how well it manages to evoke that atmosphere of dread within me. At the bottom lies a disease-ridden swamp whilst it's (violent and deformed) inhabitants make do with their rickety make-shift huts that hugs the wall of the cities underground foundation. Nearby, there's the Catacombs. A dark and dangerous tomb. Keep going down and there's Demon Ruins which is essentially Hell. Go deeper and you'll find another city full of dangerous creatures. But if back up a little you'll find a large tree in Blighttown and with a little exploration you'll find yourself traversing down it's massive, hollow core. Reach the bottom and you'll be greeted by...a beach?

It doesn't make much sense but in a way I just don't care. It looks too good to make a major fuss over this Yggdrasil-like environment. The thought of the entire surface being held by a forest of giant trees standing in an endless ocean just feel plain awesome. I stood for a while before being pummelled to death by an equally massive hydra. That's another thing that I love about the series. They can really make monsters that are worth being called monsters. More often then not I find new enemies to be rather unnerving at first. "Just what are you?!" is the first thought that comes to mind. Identifying most enemies in games as simple goblins or skeletons is easy enough but when it comes a legion of spear wielding masses of flesh it evokes various emotions of stress, disgust and fear. Though having another player invade your world with full intention of murdering you never gets dull.

There's no plot to Dark Souls. Or at least that's the impression you get early on in the game when you're simply told to ring two bells. Instead, From Software relies on non-traditional methods of story telling. Just about every nugget of information is scavenged from item descriptions and the sparse (but excellently delivered) dialogue. Once you sit back and dwell on it a bit more things begin to make a lot of sense. But they don't you everything. It's up to the player to put the pieces together. You may not be right or wrong but it makes for great discussion and thought which is admirable considering how little they're willing to tell you upfront. The characters you'll come across share one thing though, despair. Conversations with just about anyone display a shade of dark humour but as the story progresses so do their grasp on reality. There's a constant element of exhaustion. They don't say much but I've always found myself to be very attached to the characters. But there's no hope for them. Only despair. And there's nothing I can do to help them.

Dark Souls is by far one of the most innovative games in recent years. In a time where sequels like CoD are constant anomaly I can only appreciate it a lot more. It's just pure fun to play despite how much it hates you but most of all it does what it does extremely well. Demon's Souls was excellent but Dark Souls really refines what made it so good. The multiplayer being one the more interesting aspects of any game. Wheter it's indirectly or directly, you're constantly interacting with the people around you. For your benefit or theirs. Moreover, the series feels incredibly unique. There's just nothing quite like it in the industry. The audio, visual and conceptual elements come together so wonderfully it's no wonder why Dark Souls is one of my favourite games of all time. And that's no title I tend to give away quite easily.

The Future

Mechanically speaking, Dark Souls is almost perfect. With a bit more balance tweaks and a better camera it would've been better. Naturally, everything can be improved one way or another but realistically it's probably impossible. So what would I want from a sequel? It's hard to tell. For now, I would be more then happy to consume more content. New environments, new enemies, new loot are good enough for me. The online mechanics are interesting and complex but I can't think of any way of improving it. But for a game that's so innovative and experimental, a straight sequel would satisfy me for the time being. Better yet, I want it released on PC. Better graphics and no framerate issues. Surely it can't be asking too much?