Dark Souls Remastered
BACK FROM THE DEAD AND TOUGH AS EVER. $60 | PC, PS4, XO | www.bandainamcoent.comt
DARK SOULS WILL draw you in effortlessly. Every step on the journey through the land of Lordran is a memorable one. This remaster isn’t a lavish makeover like Shadow Of The Colossus recently enjoyed. Some textures have been touched up, lighting improved and features tweaked here and there, but for the most part, this is exactly the same game that was released in 2011. It’s still a tough-as-nails dark fantasy action RPG, where you’re on a quest to rescue the world from the undead curse that plagues humanity and yourself. The series and its studio have become legendary since its initial release, and its influence has shaped the gaming landscape, so it’s a welcome surprise how well the original holds up. But both newcomers and veterans should be braced for a game that feels distinct from what followed.
Where later instalments brought swifter combat and made it easier to recover from your mistakes, Dark Souls can be unforgiving. Not as much as its reputation might make you think, but its weighty combat demands consideration and patience like few other games. Each swing of the blade is a commitment. Flail at your enemies and you’ll find “You Died” popping up on screen frequently. It’s not just combat, either; the overall design punishes mistakes.
This starts with the world. Huge and intricately crafted, it feels like clockwork in how expertly all its shortcuts and secrets come together to tell the story. Yet once you leave the tutorial, you’re dumped in it with almost no guidance, and choosing the wrong route from the starting area can see you stumbling into malevolent skeletons, ghosts you can’t harm and other nasties. Healing potions are replenished at checkpoints (bonfires), but every other resource you expend is gone for good. Waste it on a dead end and nothing will come to your rescue.
Perhaps its harshest twist is its levelling-up currency, souls, gained from defeating enemies. Souls are lost upon death. You get one chance to reach the point you died and recover them, but if you die again, all that experience is lost forever.
Dark Souls isn’t entirely cruel, though. With humanity, a resource scattered throughout, you can reverse the curse that plagues your character and access the online portion of the game. This enables you to summon other players for aid — keep your eyes peeled for their signs scrawled on the ground, as they can turn even the toughest fight into an approachable battle. You can also summon NPCs should you manage to befriend them. Just be wary, as becoming human also means you can be invaded by other players, who will enter your world to kill you. Nothing comes easy in Dark Souls.
That’s the charm, though, and what’s kept it engaging all these years later. An ambush by a swarm of rats leaves the same impression as the epic battle with Ornstein and Smough. Dark Souls keeps you on your toes and makes every moment an obstacle. Memorable events you’ll never forget, ones that demand your attention, your focus and your endurance.