Written by: Alex

 

 

 

Let me come clean with this from the start, I have not finished "Dark Souls". Indeed, I suspect this will be a disclaimer that will (or should) precede most reviews of the game. It isn’t that the game is hard per say; this isn’t Super Meat Boy, you are never going to hit a wall from which you can no longer progress due to a lack of skill. But you do have to grind out levels to obtain necessary abilities to bridge the gap between you own dexterity, your characters power and the environment you are fighting.

 

Certainly my familiarity with the games spiritual father Demon’s Souls prepared me more for this new outing, but even with the same (almost entirely) mechanics it is not a game that can be rushed.

 

 

From Software’s commitment to their vision of the ‘Souls’ tile’s mechanic is quite surprising. In an age were accessibility is prized Demon’s and Dark Souls have been a throw back to an almost extinct age of exploratory gaming; challenging, methodical play that requires players to explore for themselves to discover exactly what is on offer.

 

With its contrary-to-the-mainstream nature it came as a shock to all when PS3 exclusive Demon’s Souls gained a huge cult following in 2009. None seemed more surprised than From Software, and the game’s various publishers, as they quickly sold through first production runs.

 

With its popularity established (among a certain group at least) it was only natural for From to try to broaden its market. Cue Dark Souls, without the Demon’s Souls brand it found itself able to appear on both 360 and PS3 allowing a whole new audience to experience its novel delights.

 

 

Bar a few brief cut scenes and the odd conversation with in game characters, most of the fiction behind Dark Souls’ fictional land of Lordran was left for me to piece together. I have been trying to discover all I could, but even with the help of wikis the story seems to be an obtuse and convoluted tale of an age long war between light and dark that has resulted in the dead walking the earth.

 

 

Its lack of concrete narrative is no bad thing as Dark Souls’ focus is its desolate atmosphere. The cold grim world is populated by all manner of monstrosities intent up on stealing your soul and everything, from lowliest of shambling corpses (known as Hollows) to great demons, is able to beat the unfocused traveller.

 

As I begin my own character is hard to distinguish from Lordran’s other decaying inhabitants, being clearly dead, yet while similar in appearance he lacks their thirst for souls. Still with his mind he awakens in the dead asylum, segregated from the world of the living, far in the north. Many horrors lie in wait, but the first task is to escape the walls that incarcerate him.

 

With limited weapons at my disposal I set about fighting the mindless dead that surround. Without guidance or any clear direction it is relief when I finally meet a character in the world that doesn't want me dead, an injured knight lying in rubble. Knowing his own demise is not long off he tells me of the world, offering some advice for my escape before sending me away, fearing for what kind of madness will grip him as his life fades. 

 

 

Following the knights advice I defeated the prison’s huge demonic jailor and escape the tutorial’s/asylum’s confinement. Taking my few first tentative steps in to the sprawling lands before me it was clear that while mechanically the game felt like Demon’s Souls, much had changed. Lordran was vast and, lacking the structured hub world, communicated an implicit sense of freedom. This feeling was reinforced as a huge crow swooped down on me, lifting me from the precipice from which I surveyed the world, carrying me to a new area where I was deposited by a bonfire.

 

Around this fire stood numerous NPCs who were able to offer me some small guidance through the start of the game, and no matter how Spartan their help it was to be appreciated as there was truly no indication at to be best way forward. Various paths led me in a multitude of directions, each spelling death of one form or another. Only through trail and error was it was possible to divine the least deadly (and therefore probably best) way to proceed.

 

 

At least that is how it should have worked, because in my wisdom I thought it would be funny to ‘have at’ one of this area’s helpful characters. Angered, this would-have-been friend unceremoniously chased me down and killed me. As I respawned at the bonfire he did it again, and again, until I realised that my only chance was to flee him the moment I materialised into the world. Thus I found myself without the luxury of slowly feeling my way forward, instead forced to dash onward in hope of chancing upon another bonfire to allow me to begin the game properly from a new checkpoint.

 

Yes, killing him was stupid but I was free to do it, and while at times this can prove hugely problematic if the wrong choice is made, few games embrace the idea of making you live with your actions in ways that so completely affects play.

 

 

The previously mentioned bonfires are another of Dark Souls’ additions to the Demon’s Souls mechanic. These mark the games save points, replacing the hub world sanctum, known as the Nexus.

 

Each fire provides safety, and the opportunity to save, a small havens of comparative calm, amongst the world’s horrors. These beacons act in much the same way as their real world counterparts, forming a gathering point where a range of tasks can be performed in safety. At the fire it is possible to level up using souls that have been collected or (with the right equipment) upgraded and repaired weapons, but most importantly they are a place to rest.