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| This is the future I'm excited for |
Tight,
controlled and expertly balanced; Dark Souls blends astounding gameplay,
merciless mechanics and intense atmosphere. With ferocious difficulty and a
world of disturbing mystique, From Software has given us a game to obsess over.
Invest the time and you will be rewarded with an experience hard to forget.
Uncompromising in design, the game oozes
menace as you tread carefully, shield up, round the next empty corner in
anticipation. In an almost empty setting, players are forced to creep round the
gothic environments straining to notice any clue about what might be coming.
Didn’t notice that raised flagstone? You’re now dead thanks to an Indiana Jones
trap. What about the crate by the wall? Well, it contains giant rats capable of
inflicting severe damage and status ailments instantly that jump out when your
back is presented. The process by which Dark Souls players have to think is
nearing paranoia: “anything can be deadly anytime” quickly becomes “everything
is deadly all of the time”. This lends to truly unnerving experiences, a
constant feeling of disquiet. Even friendly NPCs only add to the isolation as
they are presented in surreally stylistic ways, making you feel the alien.
With very
little in the way of story, what there is must be teased from Dark Souls over
the course of a 50+ hour playthrough. Set in a world where the undead are
gathered together in an asylum to await the end of the world, you escape and
are set on a path of discovering the world. There is not a lot in the way of
“do this because...”, rather one must tread forward to try and understand the
inexplicable. Nuggets are revealed in sparse dialogue with NPCs, item
descriptions and loading screens after death. As such, you will finish the game
and only understand the barest outline of what you have achieved and the world
you’ve invested so heavily in. A lot can be said for this narrative technique,
namely that it always leaves the player wanting more, whereas the downside is
the player needs more. A full 2 months after completing Dark Souls for the
first time I still ask myself what the story of the game was, why the world was
as it was and how I can learn more about it. Perhaps another playthrough will
explain more...
Presentation
in Dark Souls is split into three categories: music, visuals and art direction.
So, to music first – it’s terrific. The orchestral score is sharp and exciting,
always tense. During fast paced action, the music and choir pick up the tone to
almost a screech, setting nerves on edge and sending adrenaline pumping. When
dealing with more ethereal enemies, the music has a haunted quality to coincide
with the beautifully seductive aesthetic.
The visuals
are superb, particularly the lighting which reflects from surfaces as it
should. This is especially noticeable in wet areas like the Depths, where the
walls glisten. Beyond lighting, the textures also hold up, though can appear a
little muddy in places (mainly Blightown) where predominate use of blown blends
objects into unidentifiable blurs. Apart from the rare instance, the world is
clean, and crisp with gorgeous lighting effects, most noticeable in Anor Londo.
The architecture screams of a once vibrant world fallen into decay, depression
and despair: while not a vibtrant environment, nont-the-less there is a certain
joy to be had, imagining the history involved in the fictitious buildings The
biggest downside is the framerate, which while normally fine, can really
struggle in some places (Blightown again), and even in boss fights. This can be
an issue on occasion but happens with rarity.
The style
of Dark Souls is all important; setting it above its competitor RPGs. The
character design is as bleak as everything else, with the player picking up
various bits of armour as they go, each incredibly outlandish. Want to dress as
a samurai made of rock, or a Nazgul, a golden robed god, or a mix of different
types? That’s great, because that’s what you’ll have to look like to get the
best (and certainly most fun) armour. Monsters are equally as impressive,
exuding alien and unrelatable qualities as they slither, skip and rampage
towards you. From golems made of crystal, to stone demons without heads, the
variety of enemy is impressive enough alone, not considering that they are all so
gorgeous and weird. Bosses come in many shapes and sizes, but everyone is
stunning. I shan’t spoil their deigns, sufficed to say that upon encountering
any single one you will simultaneously be entranced, enthralled, terrified and
disgusted.
The real meat of Dark Souls, gameplay elevates
this twisted RPG to a level of genius. Unlike many other RPGs, you know, you feel, how each weapon and armour affects
your combat. Every weapon has a very unique play style, from heavy swings to
sharp ripostes, combing in weapon length, time to swing and stamina drained.
This makes for an almost inexhaustible amount of variables in using different
weapons. Apart from a good sword, you’ll also need a shield – try to survive
Dark Souls without one and you’ll soon learn why I say more fool you. Almost
every attack can be blocked, though the power of the attack and shield rating
determines how much stamina is consumed, and stamina is crucial. You need it
for almost all actions, running, rolling, attacking and blocking. If you have no
stamina, attacks will bypass your shield as your stance is open, resulting in devastating
damage: manage this bar as carefully as your health. While I could go into more
detail on the combat and save system, I shan’t ruin too much as Dark Souls is a
game for exploration and discovery and half the challenge in unearthing the
mechanics.
All of
these different elements blend together and support one another superbly. Is
this is a perfect game? Of course not, but it is the most pure experience in
gaming I’ve ever had. As playing, sinister claws are sunk into the imagination,
dreams are dreamt, wikis read and re-read: Dark Souls does not lightly give up
its hold. To summarise, it’s a damnably fine game and deserves to be played
repeatedly.
