Links to reviews here:
"If you take the time get into Dark Souls' mindset, to begin to understand the twisted way in which it operates and taste the rewards behind its cruellest challenges, this is one of the most thrilling, most fascinating and most completely absorbing experiences in gaming."
"If role-playing is to put you in the boots of an adventurer in a strange land and let you pick your path through it, then Dark Souls is a great role-playing game. If action is to test your skill in thrilling situations, then Dark Souls is a great action game. If adventure is to surprise and mystify you and invite you to uncover the secrets of a forgotten world, then Dark Souls is a great adventure game.
If entertainment is fun without failure and progress without pain, you'll have to find it somewhere else. But you'll be missing out on one of the best games of the year."
"Dark Souls will take you into a dark world filled with despair, where you must use your creativity to strategize, learn, and overcome unpredictable and unique challenges to determine your fate. Live through a million deaths and earn your legacy."
"Dark Souls revels in its abstruseness: it goes out of its way to make those who wouldn't say they were RPG veterans feel like they missed a crucial class at school. To prosper in it, you almost need to operate like a detective, seeking out hidden areas and objects, and mining its endless menus (in gloriously old-school fashion, they can only be traversed using the D-pad) for tiny little edges that eventually add up."
"An incredibly assured attempt to rewrite the rules of modern gaming, where even the smallest mistake can cost you dear but the tiniest victory seems like an epic achievement."
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Those of us who played Demon's Souls know that to have any realistic chance of surviving the game's perilous environments and merciless inhabitants one needs information, and knowledge which can only be gained by sharing with other players. The game itself will just throw you in at the deep end and leave you there to figure it out and fend for yourself. Hand-holding ... not a chance. The wiki page for Demon's Souls was used as a place to gather, list and sort all the relevant information relating to the game. From lists for weapons and armour and items. To spells and miracles. Maps, strategies etc. It really was all invaluable information and I know personally I couldn't have made it throught the game without it.
Dark Souls looks like it will be much the same. It almost feels like the very old days in arcades, when the older kids would tell you what you had to do to get through an impossible section of a game.
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Back! Baaaaaack vile evil game where I would die a lot.
bugsonglass said:Those of us who played Demon's Souls know that to have any realistic chance of surviving the game's perilous environments and merciless inhabitants one needs information, and knowledge which can only be gained by sharing with other players. The game itself will just throw you in at the deep end and leave you there to figure it out and fend for yourself. Hand-holding ... not a chance. The wiki page for Demon's Souls was used as a place to gather, list and sort all the relevant information relating to the game. From lists for weapons and armour and items. To spells and miracles. Maps, strategies etc. It really was all invaluable information and I know personally I couldn't have made it throught the game without it.
Dark Souls looks like it will be much the same. It almost feels like the very old days in arcades, when the older kids would tell you what you had to do to get through an impossible section of a game.
I don't understand this. I hate hand holding as much as everyone, but not communicating at all seems to be as bad as telling the player too much. Getting killed for stuff that you could not possibly have known seems very unfair to me. Especially if dead will cost you dearly. If you die and you start with all you progress intact okay no big deal, but if you have to do a part all over again or worse you lose like an armour you spend hours on to craft and collect, grrrrrrrrrrr.
I hated the trial and error gameplay in some of the levels of Donkey Kong Country Returns and most people criticize games when they do just that. What does Demon Souls and Dark Souls do differently to earn praise for that?
I can deal with deaths as long as it is my own fault, but I hate dying for stuff I could not possibly know. And the feature of reading player tips seems nice, but it also seems that players are explaining stuff that he developers failed to do.
^ Cause somehow it feels like its all part of this hellish journey you are on. With platformers its just pure gameplay that is pissing you off, something like not being able to make a jump, etc. But in this game its like the entire world is this thing trying to kill you. Its integrated into every aspect of the game to the point where the game is about death and when you triumph its a major moment. So basically the whole game is tailored toward making you miserable and in doing that its actually fun.
Besides, believe it or not, death is an integral part of the gameplay. It was true for Demon's Souls, and it will surely be true for Dark Souls as well. You are being expected to die in these games, a lot. A whole fucking lot. I'm in a rush right now, but maybe I can be assed into elaborating a bit later tonight.
But is Demon Souls really trial and error or can you if you pay attention not die? And what happens if you die?
It's not, really. Most people dying left and right die because of tackling the game carelessly or in a reckless fashion. They just bumble about dark corridors trying to hack and slash their way like in so many games. Most of them don't expect the game to snarl back at them from the darkness and punish them brutally. From there, they either get their shit together and start playing properly, or they give up. You can play to not die, and if you are careful enough you probably won't die (too much) but most of the game is actually designed for you to take advantage of the fact that you're dead (i.e. no invading players, bigger health, etc).
I guess what I'm really trying to say is that DS design (and surely Dark Souls as well) revolves around your death. In this case, death is not the kind of failure or drawback that you are used to see in other games. Death is common, and in many cases desirable.
When you die you enter soul form, a state where you have a bigger health bar, and in which no players can invade your world. Many items can only be used in soul form also.
What happens if you die in Soul form?
I thought you got less health as a ghost?
As Steel said you have to play careful and smart. If you see an enemy that looks like it could destroy you avoid him. Dont go into areas where you are clearly not ready for.
How do you know if an enemy is stronger than you? And if he is sronger than you, how do you know when you are strong enough to beat it?
Yeah, my bad. You do get less health, but the cling ring can only be used in soul form and grants you more health while wearing it.
Iga_Bobovic said:What happens if you die in Soul form?
You lose all progress you made and you have to return to the hub world and start the level again. Also when you die as a human you lose all your souls you collected and its left in the world as a bloodstain, you need to get back to it as a soul to reclaim it, if you die as a soul before collecting it you lose all those souls.
Iga_Bobovic said:How do you know if an enemy is stronger than you? And if he is sronger than you, how do you know when you are strong enough to beat it?
It looks really really evil. Best way is to try it out. If you see your damage does like nothing to it run, or if he hits you and you are almost dead, run! You can pretty much tell when you are in an area you probably shouldn't be. As for when you are ready, its all about getting better equipment and leveling up. You feel that your character is stronger and then you try out that hard area once more.
Running is for pussies! Actually I did that plenty of times in Xenoblade. The only difference there is that you can see what the level of the enemies are. Heck there are even level 76 killer bunnies. They look cute, but they will kill you.
Well everything you and Steel said, it seems that the game is not based on trail and error. I can respect that.
Added a few reviews I found in the updates. Thanks Leo and GG!
Also a number of us have both a PS3 and X360, which are you buying this for? I pre-ordered the PS3 version. I have three or four friends here (as in here in my town) who will all be buying the game, all for the PS3 and I would like to play with them.
Out of you guys, my friends here (the online realm) I think the only one without a PS3 (who has a X360) is GG who has so far been negative about the game. The rest of you guys if I'm not mistaken either have just a PS3 or the choice of the two. So which will it be?
I say let's all go with the PS3 version. If nothing else, you won't need a paid subscription to experience the online aspects of the game (which play a major part).
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I bought this for myself and another friend (who has a birthday in November). Just couldn't resist.
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Listen to Wu-Tang and watch Kung-Fu
It is just one week now until Dark Souls is unlished upon us. Those of us who have played its tremendous predecessor Demon's Souls have a pretty good idea of what to expect. Let's try and have a place where we can share news and reviews articles etc on the game, but also more importantly, our own personal experiences, discoveries, strategies, thoughts, feelings etc. Also we can use it to arrange our very own vgpress merry band of adventurers into the depths of the world of toil and suffering that From Software so lovingly prepared for us.
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