What is there to say about Dark Souls that hasn't already been said? It's an incredibly well designed game with an emphasis on exploration and overcoming challenges. It's difficult, but usually takes great strides to remain fair. The challenges and old-school design elements make it one of the most satisfying games to play as a result. Plus, contrary to popular belief, you don't really need to be that good at video games or even Dark Souls itself to beat it. You just need patience.
It's also a game heavy on lore, but short on narrative. You can look up quite a lot about the world of Lordran to get a dark fantasy tale. Items also have descriptions in the menus that reveal insights into this place and its history as well. Other than that, though, the game isn't itself that interested in telling a story. In fact, Namco was at one point offering a $10,000 reward to anyone who could actually explain the story. It's not that there isn't one; it just isn't specifically clear or given much attention. Narration at the beginning and at some key points throughout are often pretty vague, and really it all just serves to point the player in a direction. "You must ring the Bells of Awakening," they'll say. Why, exactly? And where exactly? Who knows? You'll figure it out.
That's essentially the beauty of the game: you'll figure it out. This doesn't just apply to the story. The tutorial level gives you the basic controls, but there are some mechanics that don't really get explained. You figure it out, though. Lordran itself is built up of a lot of pathways and corridors, so it isn't exactly an "open world" game, but the developers also give you a ton of different directions you can go at any time. Some areas are blocked off until you defeat a particular boss, but more or less you are free to wander wherever you want. There isn't much in the way of direction there, either. Odds are, you'll inevitably wind up exploring one path, only to find yourself in an area filled with devastating enemies that you don't have a chance against! Some might find this lack of direction frustrating, but at the same time, it isn't really that difficult to note where the game actually wants you to go. You figure it out. (Should be noted that this is on the most part. There are some sections here and there where the odds are even greater that you will just look up where to go or what to do online.)
That all pertains especially to bosses. For a first time player, there aren't too many bosses that you are likely to beat upon your first encounter. Instead, it's a lot of trial and error. See, as the "Prepare to Die" tagline suggests, you will die - a lot! When you walk through a fog wall and find a giant, terrifying monster ready to decimate you, it's hard for your body to not tense up out of anxiety! These creatures are unknown to you, which makes it tough to get an idea of how to approach killing it. But you eventually figure it out.
Figuring it out is arguably the core of the game, and the source of the greatest satisfaction derived from it. Overcoming challenges does require solid execution and skill, but that itself stems from "figuring out" a particular strategy to deal with an opponent. Most of the time, dying feels productive. Yes, there's an inherent frustration to having to start over from the last bonfire, but generally, dying feels like an educational experience. When facing a boss over and over again, you often do feel like you learned something, like what animation indicates which attack and how to compensate for it.
There are lots of little things too that add to its greatness. Taking from some older RPGs, for example, Dark Souls brings two early bosses back as common enemies later in the game. This stuff is brilliant, and I always love when developers do that. At the point you face those bosses early on, you're still new and learning the basics of the game. That's a big part of why those bosses are difficult. When you see them later on as common enemies, you're likely to think back to those fights. It's probably unlikely that you'll remember much in the ways of specifics. Instead, you'll just remember that it was tough, so you momentarily panic. However, those bosses-turned-common enemy aren't that hard later. It's a great visual affirmation to your improvement as a player. Beating bosses will always be satisfying, but some of the best moments are when you realize you just breezed through a section of the level that was giving you fits just a couple of hours earlier. There's a lot here that lets players recognize their own improvement.
There's really no shortage of things to gush over with this game. Much of it has been said and praised elsewhere online. Having gotten the basics of why I love Dark Souls, I do just want to address a couple of things that feel a little...less than great. It should be noted that these do not mean the game is bad or poorly designed overall. Nor are these anywhere near game-breaking problems. Even a game as amazing as Dark Souls is still not perfect, and it's worth at least touching upon some of them.
First off, I'm not entirely sure I subscribe to the idea that the game is "always fair." In terms of the mechanics, it generally is. However, there are a couple of bosses and stretches of a level that are specifically challenging because they kind of aren't fair. Two-on-one boss fights will never feel fair to me, just the same as having borderline unblockable arrows shot at you while you sprint up a tiny, super narrow beam doesn't either. Those are examples of the challenges being directly related to design elements that feel kind of more on the "cheap" side. In the case of the two-on-one fights, they at least offer the opportunity to summon NPCs (or even other players online) to help. Some fans chastise players who use summons as being lesser players, but that kind of is the reason the developers designed summons to be a part of the game.
But a boss like Capra Demon never felt anything other than cheap to me. This was a boss that on its own would have been really tough. He's big, has two giant swords, good range, and could cover a distance with jumping. His blows were quite powerful and would likely take most of your stamina to block. The designers decided that wasn't enough, so they had you face him in a very small room, without much room to maneuver. Plus, there were little alcove arches that you could easily get stuck in if you weren't careful. Ok, that addition makes an already tough enemy even tougher, but they weren't done. Additionally, they threw in two dog enemies that were also fast and agile and could inflict Bleed status to you. All of these things together made an already tough fight just feel stacked against you. Obviously, it's doable, but that was one boss that felt challenging specifically because it felt kind of cheap, made worse by the fact that this is one of the earlier bosses you face, so you're still new. (The common opinion is that Capra Demon is probably the biggest obstacle to new players continuing with the game. Admittedly, I spent three days trying to beat him. This was easily the closest I came to quitting.)
The other aspect of the game that feels a bit poor is the PVP aspect. Now, I'm sure not many people will agree with me on this, but PVP in a game largely built around a single player experience feels a bit off. It even feels a tad clunky in a game that otherwise does some awesome stuff to foster a community (more on that in a moment). In order to kindle bonfires or summon NPCs, a player must not be in Hollow form. However, in order to capitalize on those (rather huge) benefits, being in Human form exposes you to online invaders. Other people online could interrupt your game to attack you. I found this problematic to my playthrough for a variety of reasons.
First and primarily, the experience of other players invading my game to fight me ran counter to the core experience that I had come to love of the game. See, dying from bosses and common enemies all the time was fine. As I mentioned, it felt productive. I learned something about those opponents that I could then use the next time I face them. I was, in some sense, Edge of Tomorrow-ing. Slowly, but steadily figuring out how to get it right. Yet with other human players fighting me, it just felt like a waste of time. I was clearly good enough to beat the game, but I was also on my first playthrough. I could compete with the challenges in the game, but every player that invaded my game throughout was clearly superior in skill (perhaps in part because the game has been out for about five years, so new players are at an even bigger disadvantage to experienced veterans). These opponents made quick work of me, given the blatant difference in skill level.
Those deaths don't feel meaningful. All I learned was that I'm not as good as other people at Dark Souls. It taught me nothing substantial about how to play the game, and those players were enemies I was never going to see again. Every new invader would have a different style. Every player-caused death just felt annoying and pointless. Yes, I know that if you don't want to be invaded, then stay in Hollow form. However, given that the problems emerged from my status as a new player to the franchise, losing access to kindled bonfires and NPC summons in order to stay in Hollow form is essentially a death sentence. Without being able to do either of those things, there's no chance I would have beaten the game, and possibly not even bothered continuing. The other thing is that people can't invade your game if you beat the boss of that area, but that runs counter-intuitive, in my opinion. Shouldn't it be the other way around? If I'm a new player trying to figure out this map and boss, why add the trouble of human players coming in to wreck my game? Shouldn't it work the other way? That once I beat the boss, the game and other players would maybe see that I'm "worthy" of PVP play now?
Of course, I can see the appeal of invasions and PVP to many players. The game, for many, is about becoming as skilled as possible. At some point, code-generated enemies can only provide so much of a challenge. What is a greater challenge than other, more randomized and various human competitors? While I have virtually no interest in PVP in Dark Souls, it really isn't hard to see the appeal for many others.
Those things aside, I actually really like the way they developed a community otherwise. On the flip side to other players wrecking your game, they can also offer assistance. When in Human form, you actually can summon other people to your game, usually to help take out a boss. For the other players, humanity is given (an item valuable to kindling bonfires and healing). This temporary co-op play is a great way to build community, but it goes beyond that.
Players can also leave notes and messages throughout the levels. Things like, "Be Wary of Ambush," or "Try back-stabbing," or "Mimicry," are incredibly helpful notes to send to other players. Given the game is largely single player, this also helps make you feel like you're not truly in this crazy, dark, tough world alone. Other players are going through the same stuff you are! You also get this sense by touching Bloodstains - basically playback of another person's death - as well as things like the ringing of the Bells of Awakening. Throughout the first half of the game, you may hear bells ringing off in the distance. You don't think much about it until you ring it yourself after beating the particular bosses. That's when you realize that those bells you heard earlier were actually being done by other players who had also overcome the boss. This is perhaps my favorite element of the entire game. Dark Souls is not just about gaining satisfaction yourself by overcoming tough obstacles; it's about a sense of community too. You're all in this together. For a game as dark and dreary as Dark Souls, it's actually a really lovely and positive way to design a game.
I used to think that the lack of clear direction, mechanics, lore, and tactics that almost required you look it up online were indicative of bad design, but I've actually come to take a different stand on that. Given the notes, ghosts, co-op options, and other aspects of the single player experience that promote the idea of a community, I've realized that the complete lack of clarity at moments is actually great design. I'ts just that they're not designing only for the game. They're interested in the community as well. As annoying as some fans can be with their meaningless non-response of "get good," most fans are eager to share their experience and knowledge of the game. As a new player joining the fray five years after the fact, I was hesitant to look stuff up or ask anyone for help, but quickly found that most people seem to legitimately want to! There is a sort of "pay it forward" attitude within the community that is such a great thing to see. By leaving most things up to the players to figure out or discover, it is encouraged that players communicate with each other and share what they know or have found.
That is, perhaps, the most impressive thing about Dark Souls. At its core, it is entirely a single player experience. And yet, it somehow managed to create and cultivate a strong sense of community among those players. The game is not for everyone, and it's not hard to see why some players won't finish it. It's also not nearly as perfect as some would make it sound. Still, it's definitely one of the best games to emerge from the last generation, and being the big game that it is, there's no shortage of reasons it should regularly be examined for its great game design elements.
Reductive Rating: Incredible!
(Reductive Rating System: Terrible!, It's Pretty Bad, It's Fine, It's Pretty Good, Incredible!)
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