Be prepared to die … a lot. “Dark Souls” isn’t for the faint of heart or those who like to play games on the easy setting. The action role-playing game — a spiritual sequel to 2009’s “Demon’s Souls” — sticks to the dark-fantasy theme, but improves on nearly every aspect from graphics to gameplay.
If you get frustrated by failure, this may not be your cup of tea. “Sadistic challenge” barely begins to describe the difficulty — it’s a true return to hard-core gaming. The simplest enemies can easily kill you if you don’t time attacks and blocks perfectly, and there are tons of hidden traps that enemies spring without warning. All of this comes packaged with minimal directions on what to do and where to go.
The journey starts in a prison for damned souls. Your character is freed and tasked with completing a prophesy to ring a mystical bell. Along the way, you’ll face off against demons, the undead, dragons and more, all in a quest to reclaim your humanity.
| ‘Dark Souls’ |
| » Systems: Xbox 360, PS3 |
| » Price: $59.99 |
| » Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars |
Death is treated as a given in “Dark Souls.” Dying causes no real penalty other than making your character drop all the souls that have been harvested from enemies. These souls can be re-collected if you make it back to where you died without dying again. Souls are the game’s currency for buying items and improving attributes.
Tiny bonfires are interspersed throughout the world to function as checkpoints and healing stations. Using these may revitalize your adventurer, but it also respawns all the enemies that have been slain. It’s a great way to grind levels, but makes it feel like very little is being accomplished.
The single-player campaign adds in unique multiplayer aspects. Players can leave messages for each other on where items are hidden or tips on how to slay bad guys. But be careful, not all tips are truthful.
“Dark Souls” fulfills the niche for true hard-core games. But if you can’t handle the pain, don’t even bother with this one.
