Our Game of the Year 2011

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.