thePULSEBy Katey Khaos
Who’s ready from some psychologically damaging gaming?!
Like its predecessor, Demon Souls, Dark Souls is what I’d call a “good for you game.” You’re going to hate playing it, even to the point where you’re tempted to throw your console out the window. However, it’s the small triumphs of defeating a boss that will give you such satisfaction that you’ll continue playing.
The game begins by having you select from the usual array of character classes, each with their own advantages and disadvantages: cleric, hunter, pyromancer, warrior, etc. You’ll then go on your way to fend off the undead, skeletons, and ~ if you survive those guys ~ even some dragons. Sounds easy enough, right? Wrong. Anyone who expects to button-mash her (or his) way to victory in this game is going to be sadly disappointed.
I should mention one thing now: you’re going to die…a lot. To be fair, you kind of start off dead ~ “hollowed,” if you will. You can find humanity (a resource that allows you to revert from undead form back to human) in the game and use that to make yourself human again, but if (or should I say when) you die the next time, you’ll once again be hollowed. By the way, you’re actually going to want to be human since you can do a whole lot more in the game as a human… but you’re still going to die.
In short, Dark Souls throws you into a medieval world that you know little to nothing about ~ with no map ~ and it’s up to you to figure out how to navigate through it. Your job is to right the balance in the world and slay the four lords ~ who are corrupt, by the way ~ and save the future of man. You’ll find yourself inching your way through crumbling castles and through poorly lit passageways, battling creatures from Hell. At least the other players are kind enough to drop hints throughout the levels ~ but I wouldn’t believe everything you read. The world in Dark Souls is huge, but don’t worry, there are shortcuts that you’ll eventually find, which will make navigating this treacherous realm a bit easier.
If you can survive the 50-60+ hours of gameplay Dark Souls has to offer, I can assure you, the sense of accomplishment is like nothing you’ve ever felt upon beating a video game before.
Dark Souls is a wonderfully-awful game, and an experience not to be passed up.
