TLDR: A perfect journey to an outstanding world of dark souls. A game that excels at every level and never disappoints a RPG fan. I would say 9.5/10. Half point just for a few minor technical issues. But apart from that superb action, extraordinary design and fitting lore to make this a masterpiece to seek out for.


Background: Before starting dark souls, what my background on video games was. I had played darksiders, both 1st and 2nd and I loved them. I had played dota 2 which after putting ♥♥♥♥-ton of hours in I rediscovered my love for darksiders franchise. I was always into fantasy world things and these two games really helped me satisfy my hunger. But after getting almost everything of those games I was searching for new one and came across tomb raider. Another solid game but was shorter than I expected, with not so much of replayability. Then after doing a lot of research, I decided to give dark souls a chance, to see what all the fuss is about. And what I experienced changed my perspective of looking at a video game and I am glad to say, in a good way.

Early Experience: I spent more than half an hour at character creation. And not for tweaking character body and facials but for choosing a class. It may sound dumb for experienced players who had already seen loads of games with character creation but it was a new experience for me. I wasted another half an hour after coming to firelink shrine trying to access area that you can’t. Once I found out about the actual-intended area, I was stunned by the fact that even low tier enemies can kill you easily if you are careless. I have died more number of times just to get to the first boss of the game than to dying to the boss itself. The beauty about the game is it will kill you a lot but will never let you give up. Every time I died I was like ‘oh, I should have done this’ and never have I said ‘c’mon, this is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥’ or ‘I didn’t get a chance to fight back or survive’. Bel gargoyles literally made me cry. I almost quit dark souls when I could not defeat that boss no matter how many times I tried. But the next day, there was urge in me to play it again despite my rage quit. And on the second try that day I killed the boss and that feeling can’t be described in words.

Areas: The beauty of dark souls does not only lies in its bosses but also in the vast expanse that Lordran is. Every area gives you different experience. New level design, new feels, new enemies while keeping the difficulty intact. Let it be scary platforms of Blighttown, intimidating traps of Sen’s Fortress, beautiful cathedrals of Anor Londo or lifeless feel environments of The Catacombs and New Londo Ruins, the sense of accomplishment that you get after completing an area is astounding.

Bosses and Enemies: Brutal bosses and equally punishing enemies are the highlight of dark souls. Apart from a couple of reskinned versions of the tutorial boss, all the bosses have unique design that is intrinsically appealing as well as merciless. Whatever you learn after defeating last boss won’t be enough to take down the next one. The thing that has been said about dark souls over and over again that it is difficult but fair is so true. Each or at least most of the bosses will make you realize you are not good enough. Every boss fight will make you raise your game. And this is true for other non-boss enemies as well. Every time you are in a new area, within first few moments you will be force to change your approach and if you don’t your death count increases. Dark souls has many impressive boss fights. Also you cannot just spam attacks and dodges until enemies are dead. Your movements are restricted by your stamina. Stamina management makes the battles even more challenging and unique from most of the other games.

Memorable Moments: There are many unforgettable moments dark souls gave me – Test of patience with Bel Gargoyles, Traversal through hell that is Blighttown, First time arriving at Anor Londo, Facing dynamic duo Ornstein and Smough, encounter with Artorias, saving Onion bro, to name a few.

Conclusion: Dark souls is a perfect example of how a challenge can be entertaining. Level design is very good, boss battles are epic, fitting soundtrack to support the themes of the fights and well-thought, thorough weapon mechanics makes this game a must have for any hard core gamer.