Praise the Sun!

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to experience something inexplicably horrifying, agonizing, frustrating, and utterly brutal? Probably not, because that would be incredibly masochistic. However, what if I told you that Dark Souls is all of those things, as well as breathtakingly beautiful, well rewarding, and – arguably - one of the best-designed games of all time? From Software’s masterpiece hits so many sweet-spots with their harsh-but-fair action RPG that players will find it a daunting yet irresistibly addictive nightmare that brings elation you will never feel anywhere else after defeating its final boss.

In this hellish adventure, you are not a hero or a villain – you are an Undead, whose destiny is to continue the Age of Fire, or end it and begin the Age of Darkness. However, Dark Souls does not explain its lore or most events taking place through cut scenes or an excessively long narrative – ultimately it is up to the player to discover these things on his or her own. Examining items and interacting with NPCs provide pieces of the puzzle, but the extremely hostile environment is sure to keep you from making story exposition a primary concern, at least before you make it to New Game Plus.

The greatest aspect of Dark Souls is that its gameplay is remarkably refined, and serves many purposes as well as being a means to an end; the lack of music (except during boss fights) sets an eerie atmosphere, and combining that with the toughness of enemies establishes a solid motif of horror that forces you to question what is an immediate threat. Often times you’ll approach a harmless NPC but mistake it for an enemy, and the actions you take because of those mistakes do have significant consequences.

Combat is weighty, responsive, and intuitive; three key elements that complement the soul-crushing difficulty perfectly. When I say Dark Souls is brutal, I mean it.  You will die, a lot. In most games, death is a minor inconvenience. Here, it is a teacher, and creates a great amount of risk for the player. When you die, you lose all of your souls  – currency that is used for everything in the game; buying and upgrading equipment, improving your stats – and you return to the last bonfire you rested at. The only way to get them back is to recover them from the spot you were at a few moments before your demise, and if you perish before recovering, they’re gone for good. This creates a situation that rewards not the impulsive warrior that throws caution to the wind, but the patient adventurer that carefully studies the environment before advancing. The landscape is quite varied and introduces hazards that contribute to many deaths as well, stressing the importance of spatial awareness. Strafing around or back peddling from a tough enemy can be ended abruptly by falling off a cliff you didn’t realize was there. Later, your journey will bring you to a fortress infested with traps. You’ll find yourself balancing across support beams while being assaulted by projectiles. You’ll even be navigating pitch-black caves and dark forests, and this only scratches the surface of dangerous terrains that you will face.

Does all of this sound overwhelming yet? Good; because if that isn’t enough for you, each time you rest at a bonfire most enemies you’ve defeated while exploring are revived, and, if you’re in human form, other players can invade your world in an attempt to kill you.  However, players can also be an aid to your survival because you sometimes see their silhouettes and messages that can help you guess what’s about to come your way, but be warned – nothing is going to stop a player from lying to you.

Dark Souls is by no means accessible. Along with such ruthless difficulty, it is also arbitrarily obtuse. Many parts of the game can be easily missed; illusory walls hide numerous secrets, parts of structures that seem impossible to reach actually can be through some kind of improvisation, and basic functions such as casting spells and shooting arrows can be a little confusing. But, judging from the overall nature of the game, how can you blame it? Everything is deliberately geared toward making your experience an inconvenient one, and it’s your job to overcome it all.

Thankfully, despite all of the obstacles in your path, Dark Souls allows a lot of flexibility by giving the player tons of options to choose from in order to step up to the challenge. There are dozens of different weapons and weapon types: straight swords, longswords, greatswords, daggers, rapiers, spears, axes, long bows, short bows, crossbows, and many others are available to you, along with an extensive catalogue of armor and sorcery. Moreover, the majority of weapons you find have different movesets; so one greatsword is by no means wielded like another. The sheer volume and diversity of weaponry and magic makes the game’s arsenal astounding, and allows easy experimentation to find what’s most comfortable for you.

Despite all of the stress that Dark Souls creates, it does know how to reward you for your efforts. After a lengthy session of exploring you begin to notice you’re low on healing Estus, and I can guarantee that reaching the next bonfire will have you exhale an unprecedented sigh of relief. Often times the gorgeous environment contrasts the burning frustration the game induces so well, so you will sometimes sit back and reflect on your toilsome endeavors before advancing to your next untimely death. You will try many, many times to defeat a boss that you feel is damn near impossible to beat, but when you do, the feeling of accomplishment is so empowering that it pushes you to keep moving forward; and that is the genius behind it all.