Dark Souls is a game that sells itself. Everyone’s heard of it, whether through the critical acclaim it’s been getting forever or the memes about how hard it is or the memes about the big nice knight who really likes orange juice. The beauty of it for me was just how little it was willing to compromise in its vision of a brutally challenging pilgrimage through a dying dark fantasy realm. The storytelling is my favourite part, and I’m going to have to get this out of the way quickly because for the entire 100+ hours I’ve been playing this game I’ve been trying to come up with ways to explain just how much I love the way this has been pulled off. An opening cutscene explains the basics and sets up a loose goal for the player, after which you’re more or less left to figure it out for yourself. A dying knight tasks you with travelling to an ancient divine kingdom and sacrifice your soul to prolong the rapidly ending age of fire and a growing undead affliction. From here it’s all about exploring and theorising. Item descriptions will give you little hints into how the world used to be, and every now and then an NPC will drop a little nugget of lore, but never again will you get a proper cutscene of events unfolding until the very end.
The storytelling is subtle, and things as little as the placement of an unassuming corpse or a specific weapon being in a certain place can lead to dozens of fan theories and extrapolations. The interconnectedness of the game’s world adds to this sense of mystery and just a strong feeling that you’re in a real place where big things happen. I can’t tell you the delight I felt every time a shortcut opened up and I realised I’d ended up looping back around to an area I had no idea I was even close to. It’s such an atmospheric, meticulously plotted world; one that only strengthens the emotional weight of some of the more fleshed-out boss fights. It all strings together as one of the most (if not the single most) believable and intelligently designed game worlds in the history of open world games.
Wrapped up in this world is a brutal but rewarding melee combat system where timing is key. Whether you’re a big tank in a stone suit or a skinny naked man, you can face down some of the toughest enemies in the game as long as you have the timing down. This, I’d guess, is where the game’s reputation as being extremely difficult comes from. Most bosses will kill you once at the very least, either because they have powerful moves that you have to learn to avoid or because they’re close to unkillable without knowing their weakness. It’s a game that you’re supposed to throw yourself at over and over, which at times feels arbitrarily frustrating, but in reality adds an unprecedented level of depth. Maybe certain bosses require you to know their every move perfectly, but once you’ve genuinely mastered it you can fight anything. It’s all about knowing the timing on your moves, observing and learning from enemy patterns, and choosing the right time to attack. This depth carries over into the various PVP scenarios, whether you’re defending against an invader here for your humanity or fighting off the players guarding a designated area, knowing the mechanics well is key.
Ultimately, I could go on about Dark Souls for days on end. I could praise every individual aspect of it. I could pick at certain bits of design or areas that aren’t quite the industry paragon that the rest are, but I think the best thing I can say about this game is that it skyrocketed to at least my top 3 favourite games the moment I got properly into it. It’s utterly unique and brilliantly realised and not a single part of the game feels undercooked or as though its not meeting its full potential. This may very well be the best game I’ve ever played and I don’t think anyone should do themselves the disservice of not playing it.
Dylan's Morsels 