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and concise directions on how to go from
Point A to Point B or the immediate weakness of Boss X, there has rarely
been a game that featured that same “fumbling in the darkness” feeling
of games from the bygone 8-bit era.
This is perhaps why Demon’s Souls captivated so many hardcore gamers
back in 2009, even before it was eventually localized one year after the
fact. Released by From Software with little fanfare, the Region
1-compatible PS3 game quickly gained infamy across the internet for its
unflinching difficulty and limitless amount of secrets, not to mention a
dark and often grotesque medieval setting that erred closer to Berserk
than Final Fantasy.
Much of the difficulty stemmed from developer From Software’s insistence
in providing only the bare minimum of explanations for the deep gameplay
mechanics (which only revealed to be deeper as gamers eventually
discovered) as well as an online messaging system where players can
leave visible messages that could be seen by everyone that could either
provide a helpful hint (such as a hidden path leading to treasure) or a
cruel joke (jumping off a cliff that results in nothing but death).
Now, through Namco Bandai’s publishing, From has released a spiritual
successor in the form of Dark Souls, though in truth the game could have
easily been called Demon’s Souls 2 without missing a beat. With a larger
audience ready to anticipate whatever sudden-death surprises From can
muster up, can Dark Souls keep its Wiki-editing fans on their toes with
new secrets and deadlier enemies?
Much like the rest of the series, the story of Dark Souls is delivered
with minimal narration; after an expositional opening CG movie, the game
drops your custom character into an asylum after shortly receiving the
means to escape. As a human afflicted with the Darksign, your character
starts off as an Undead Hollow, a rotted corpse that has somehow
retained its humanity. After defeating the massive demonic jailer, the
character ends up whisked away to a massive land filled with forests,
dungeons, castles and caves while tasked with the prophetic goal of
locating and ringing a pair of mystical bells. As for what happens when
both bells are rung, well…let’s just say you’ll be dying to find out.
Indeed, the game’s tagline “Prepare to Die” isn’t just a statement…it’s
a matter of fact. Don’t presume that because you start the game out as
an Undead, you can’t be killed. In fact, upon reaching your first boss,
you’ll be given nothing but a broken sword and the tattered clothes on
your back, signifying right away the lack of hand-holding Dark Souls
won’t give you; no matter how impossible the odds may seem, there’s
always a way out…it’s just up to you to figure out how.
The good news is that the messaging system
from Demon’s Souls makes a full return in this game, ready to help
and/or hinder players regardless of what region they’re playing online.
The bad news is the item required to write and rate messages is no
longer included automatically to new players, and must instead be
purchased from a vendor somewhere. The same goes for the item required
for co-op, which potentially reduces the amount of help you would hope
to receive in the game.
However, in what may be seen as From’s biggest act of mercy, Dark Souls
does now include checkpoints in the form of bonfires; Rather than drop
players off into a main hub every time they’re killed, activating a
bonfire lets them spawn back at that checkpoint either by death, an
item, or a teleportation spell. The bonfire also replenishes health and
magic, as well as refill your stock of Estus Flask (the primary item
used to heal injuries); While this new flask system is more limited
compared to the healing herbs found in Demon’s Souls, it does ensure
that you’ll never be left wanting for healing, as you can refill your
flask and health as many times as you want by touching the bonfire.
The catch (of which nearly everything in this game has one) is that each
time you activate the Bonfire, it respawns every enemy you defeated
along the way, regardless of area or direction. And with the Bonfires
spread out rather widely (with some even hidden from plain sight), it
becomes a serious gamble whether or not to push forward in the hopes of
discovering another Bonfire further ahead, or trekking back to the last
one activated and having to deal with the same waves of enemies again.
It also goes without saying that players who perish and are sent back to
their last Bonfires will have to deal with the newly respawned enemies
in addition to losing all their souls.
Just as in the previous game, souls act as the primary
currency/experience points for everything, from purchasing, upgrading,
and repairing equipment, as well as leveling up the stats on your
character. Souls are typically earned from every defeated enemy, but can
also be redeemed through itemized souls usually looted from treasure
chests or corpses, as well as bosses (who in turn drop rare boss souls
that can either be redeemed for a huge chunk of soul currency, or can be
used to upgrade rare weapons and items). The more effective weapons are
pricey on their own, but every time your character levels up or upgrades
their weapon further, the required amount of souls increases. In this
respect, the respawning feature of the Bonfires becomes useful as it
allows for farming, but one wrong move (and it usually only takes one)
and you can lose all your souls.
But just like in Demon’s Souls, there’s a chance to get back the lost
souls by reaching the point where you last died and touching your
glowing bloodstain. Should you perish before reaching the bloodstain,
however, the souls accumulated from it are gone for good, and a new
bloodstain that collects your current (and often meager in comparison)
soul count is left instead. While your character still retains all other
items and upgrades, the penalty for losing souls is often a harsh one,
and those who lose patience and try to reach their bloodstain in a hasty
fashion is likely going to experience more deaths as a result.
Make no mistake, Dark Souls is as legitimately difficult as a game can
get, but many of the deaths (and there will be many) can also be
attributed to the players themselves; at their core, each enemy has a
simplistic pattern that can easily be read as well as specific
weaknesses. The big problem stems from having to fight these enemies
repeatedly again and again, as well as the fact that no matter how
leveled up you are or what kind of expensive piece of armor you’re
wearing, even the most basic of opponents can cause significant damage
if you aren’t always on your toes or playing to the fullest extent of
your ability. Choosing a fighting style and weapon that suits your needs
is the best strategy, as well as learning the stat requirements for each
ability; wearing a heavy suit of armor offers more protection, but can
also slow down movement due to increased Encumbrance; Wielding a shield
while using a long-ranged spear can keep most enemies at a distance, but
low Endurance can cause staggering, leaving you wide-opened for attacks;
Several magic spells can heal injuries as well as deliver devastating
damage, but low Faith and Intelligence limits the number of slots needed
to equip each spell.
Knowing how stats work is just one of many mechanics in Dark Souls that
the game never outright explains. Another strategic element is using
Humanity to restore your Undead status (and the potential bonuses for
doing so) or to Kindle a Bonfire (which offers an increased number of
flasks). The more Humanity you accumulate, the bigger the chance of
acquiring rarer items, but again, this bonus comes with a price; Players
who are in a revived human state can be invaded by Black Phantoms,
online players tasked with eliminating you for Humanity as a reward (or
just “for the lulz”); while players are matched up by similar levels,
the sheer dedication and farming that many hardcore gamers go
through(particularly the Japanese, who can invade American players and
vice-versa) may result in all sorts of ridiculously powerful equipment
and abilities you didn’t even know existed. As frustrating as this can
be, revived human characters can also aid one another by being summoned
for co-operative monster slaying; defeating a boss in a group benefits
everyone involved, with summoned players earning Humanity while the main
player gets to progress further and reap the same rewards as if they
were playing solo.
From the lowliest grunt to the massive, multi-storied bosses, Dark Souls
features a very large variety of enemies to kill and be killed by, and
all of them are as dangerous as they are ugly…and boy are they ugly.
Players with a fear of insects and vermin should especially be
forewarned…every monster animates with grotesque detail and features
their own methods of attacking, and are usually more cunning than you
may imagine. Even enemies that you spend hours fighting over and over
again may come up with something new that you haven’t seen before. Many
aren’t afraid to fight in a group either and can chase you for miles, so
don’t always presume that running is the best option. The terrain is
every bit as treacherous, with low visibility in dark areas (such as
dark forests or deep caves) and many pitfalls that can lead to instant
death (or hidden treasure…if you’re willing to trust the player
messages), along with terrain that actually changes depending on the
order you visit them. There are also numerous NPC characters who may
offer their services (for a price) such as spells, items, and equipment
repair, as well as those who may invite you to join their Covenant,
offering exclusive spells and items but also a set of strict (and
naturally cryptic) rules to follow. And should you disobey said
rules….well, you don’t really want the game punishing you any further,
do you?
In case you haven’t gotten the message by now, Dark Souls is an
incredibly difficult game, and certainly not for everyone…but it can
also be an incredibly rewarding one. Discovering locations and
strategies and using that knowledge to assist other players through
messages, obtaining powerful weapons and spells from fallen enemies, or
taking down that massive multi-toothed boss after the thirtieth attempt
can lead to many exhilarating moments in addition to frustrating ones.
The fear of the unknown also plays an incredibly vital part in the
experience, with players constantly looking in all directions for a
sudden sneak attack, booby-trap, or even holes in the ground…this
constant unnerving tension coupled with the nasty monster designs makes
Dark Souls a premiere candidate for Most Frightening Game of the Year.
That said, there are a few factors where the game could have eased up a
little; When players are plopped down into the first starting area, they
are given several branching paths they can take. While this technically
creates an illusion of open-endedness, it soon becomes painfully clear
that there’s only one area within your beginning levels, and all others
will quickly chew you up and spit you out for intruding. Characters no
longer have a weight limit to the number of items they collect, but
there is still no real advantage to hoarding all those repeating pieces
of equipment (a new drop box allows permanent storage, but still serves
little purpose beyond dropping all of the useless items anyway). Even
the translation inadvertently feeds you false information; in the
beginning, you are given a choice to add an extra weapon to your
starting character, one of the choices being a ring that “regenerates
lost HP”; Upon starting the game, however, the item’s description
changes to merely “raising max HP”. While the game features many
deceiving moments, this was most likely not one of them.
To sum it up, Dark Souls and its predecessor may be the most definitive
example of what makes a videogame “Hardcore.” There will be many deaths
and many flaring tempers that may require a day or two of meditation to
attempt jumping back in, but like an abusive lover, Dark Souls wins you
back every time just before it delivers another bitch-slap to your
face…and you just may learn to love it.
- Jorge Fernandez
(October 24, 2011) |
