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Dark Souls Preview for PlayStation 3 (PS3)

Dark Souls Preview for PlayStation 3 (PS3)

Making the Impossible… Still Impossible.

Demon’s Souls was a hard game. Very few have actually beaten it, though I’m sure there are amazing people out there who have been able to conquer all of its ridiculously difficult levels. While you might think a game that has a reputation for being one of the most difficult games around might turn off regular gamers, Demon’s Souls has earned scores of fans, becoming something of a cult hit since its release in 2009.

We recently got some hands-on time with Dark Souls, and our impressions are pretty simple: if you liked the first game, you’ll like this one. Though Dark Souls isn’t technically a sequel to Demon’s Souls, it feels exactly the same as its “spiritual” predecessor. You play as an unnamed hero who faces impossibly difficult foes that range from skeletal foot soldiers to devastating Wyverns.

Dark Souls Screenshot

We started off by picking one of the game’s many classes, and then soldiered off to what would be the first of many deaths. Like Demon’s Souls, every enemy is on equal or better footing than you, so you can count on plenty of deaths. Your success in the game will be measured by your ability to ration things like magic and predict enemy movements.

After beating a few small bad guys and climbing through a staircase area, we had to fight a giant boar that had a rhino horn and a penchant for ramming us against a wall. This creature easily killed us five or six times before we gave up trying to kill him and made for a door on the side of the level. Such is the experience of playing Dark Souls—when you can’t beat them, run. Of course, our victory was short-lived, as the door only led to some more small bad guys. Once we made our way back up to the giant boar, we were able to figure out that we needed to get him to charge us through a fire pit in order to defeat him.

Dark Souls Screenshot

There was a little more to the demo than this, but at this point we had been playing for 20 minutes and needed to hand over the controller. Did we die a bazillion times? Yes. Is this game lovingly reminiscent of Demon’s Souls? Absolutely. The challenge here is brutal, but in a bizarrely fair way. Nothing about the game feels like a cheap boss fight (I’m looking at you, Sephiroth), and having enemies that are on equal or slightly better footing than you feels natural in a game like this. Dark Souls gives you the score early on, and the difficulty remains constant throughout instead of arbitrarily wavering like it does in more traditionally formatted games.

Dark Souls will have essentially the same format as Demon’s Souls, which means that if you want to take the game online, you will absolutely be able to. In the final version, you’ll be able to download bloodstains for clues, invade other players’ games, and take on the challenge with a buddy. Of course, if you want to go at it alone—an extreme challenge, as I don’t know how anyone could get through even the first level of Demon’s Souls without at least using bloodstains—Dark Souls has got you covered there too. Dark Souls will be one of those games that has flexible enough gameplay that it will appeal to both solo and multiplayer enthusiasts.

Dark Souls Screenshot

Aside from setting and plot, there won’t be a whole lot of deviation from the formula of the first game. However, Demon’s Souls had a winning formula, and if they want to stick with it, I don’t see a problem with it. And with small tweaks like new classes and enemies rounding out the game, I think this will be one that fans of Demon’s Souls will lap right up. So if you are ready to die so much that the death screen burns into your brain forever, you can look forward to checking out Dark Souls when it comes out this October. Just don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Game Features:

  • Extremely Deep, Dark, and Difficult – Unforgiving in its punishment, yet rewarding for the determined—learn to strategize freely and conquer seemingly impossible challenges. You will organically design your own gameplay style by developing your character and continuously trying different strategies to finally achieve successful progression.
  • Fully Seamless World – Explore a completely integrated world of dark fantasy where dungeons are seamlessly intertwined, with great height.
  • Mastery Earns Progression – Contains 60 hours of gameplay, with nearly 100 uniquely despair-inducing monsters and an incredibly nuanced weaponry and magic spells system, the effectiveness of which is determined by combat situation, fighting style, and character attributes. Player success depends on their eventual mastery of how and when to use the magic spells, choice of armor, the number of weapons, the types of weapons, and the moves attached to the weapons.
  • Network Play – Players may cross paths with one another, interacting with each other throughout the game even as each player plays their own game. Networked play allows users to cross paths with one another to enhance the single-player gameplay experience without destroying it.
  • Flexible Character Development and Role Playing – As the player progresses, they must carefully choose which of their character’s abilities to enhance as this will determine their progression style. Players can choose to play as a sword master and a wizard, for example.


  • Time to Die Again… and Again… and Again!

    Before I get ahead of myself, let me clarify one thing. Dark Souls is not a sequel, but rather a spiritual successor to the 2009 critically acclaimed Demon’s Souls. Codenamed Project Dark, Dark Souls was recently announced as the official title by developers From Software and Namco Bandai Games. Aside from some gameplay upgrades, the main reason Dark Souls is not being called a sequel is that it takes place on a new world with a new storyline.

    Dark Souls Screenshot

    How you explore this new world will also be a new experience. In Demon’s Souls, you travelled to the different locales from the “hub” world, Nexus. This is also where you would purchase new equipment. In Dark Souls, all the locations are connected and transitioning between them is seamless. Although Dark Souls is in a different “universe,” the setting remains a dark medieval backdrop, with eerie forests, temples, underground areas surrounded by lava, and plenty of ruined castles to explore. Nothing is set in the world just for looks either. If you see a tower in the distance, you will be able to travel there and explore it. The game looks gorgeous, but every inch presents possible danger. If you were worried about what fiend lay in wait around the corner in Demon’s Souls, you’ll probably want an extra pair of underwear close by for this one. Also, because of the more open environment, expect surprise attacks from all angles and distances.

    Many gamers, even über-skillful ones, would easily claim the harsh difficulty of Demon’s Souls is unmatched. Well, if you hoped that developers would take that critique into consideration, prepare to be sorely disappointed. Dark Souls will be just as hard, if not harder than its predecessor. Learning from mistakes made in battle and adjusting strategy through memorization of your surroundings and how each monster attacks, will remain a strong focus. Expect to die (a lot), but take each death as a learning experience. With patience and persistence, every battle can be won, and the rewards will be well worth the time, effort, and many deaths. The ways to die are so vast and varied, you may even yearn to discover all the different methods. Deadly arrows, slicing pendulums, and gigantic beasts will send you back to try your luck time and time again.

    Dark Souls Screenshot

    To help, many different weapons and armor can be acquired, each with a unique combat style. With light and heavy sword, daggers, maces, axes, shields, and many other choices, there are over 100 different combat combinations to test. While you may become attached to a particular weapon set, remember that this is highly strategic combat, and certain combinations may work better against certain monsters. Spells will also bolster your combat capabilities, with many different variations to explore. Fireballs, spells that turn your skin to iron to make you tougher (but slower), and even spells that turn you into a vase to evade detection, all help round out your tactics.

    The developers have taken great care to keep the online network system from Demon’s Souls intact, which arguably remains one of the more clever utilizations of multiplayer in any game. You’ll still be able to check out the bloodstains of other players, watch how they died and learn from it, as well as leave hint messages for others to find. There will be no dedicated servers this time, instead a more “mutual role-playing” experience can be expected. From Software hasn’t revealed any specifics about new online features, but my best guess (and hope) is that co-op will not be limited to a party of three, and that it will be playable in a more concrete fashion than the soul forms from Demon’s Souls. Another big hope is that voice chat will available in Dark Souls. Although the emote system worked well for Demon’s Souls, being able to verbally strategize with other players before launching into a tough boss battle is something I’m crossing my fingers for.

    Dark Souls Screenshot

    Finally, Xbox 360 owners will not be left in the dark (no pun intended) for Dark Souls, as this one will be released for both the Xbox 360 and the PS3. While the PS3 will probably have an edge in with the visuals, I expect the gameplay to be equal on both consoles, with a quick response time for the complex controls.

    No official release date is been confirmed, but developers are hinting at fall 2011. With the core gameplay intact from Demon’s Souls, and upgrades in difficulty, exploration, equipment, and online features, Dark Souls aims to be a worthy successor.

    Game Features:

  • A seamlessly connected world with countless paths to discover, each with their own rewards and obstacles.
  • No class choices at the start, but a customizable system throughout the game to tailor your character to your style.
  • Loads of weapons, armor, and spells to help you advance through the unforgiving difficulty level of the battles.
  • A groundbreaking online experience, built from the great foundation of its predecessor, Demon’s Souls.

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