Platform: PlayStation 3 (also on Xbox 360)

Developer: From Software

Publisher: Namco Bandai

# of Players: 1 (Online: 1 – 4)

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Official Site

Score: A (90%)

If Dark Souls doesn’t scare you silly at some point, you’re either fearless, slightly to moderately insane or so jaded that nothing can faze you. Like 2009’s PS3 smash sleeper, Demon Souls, what’s here is a purely terrifying blend of old school difficulty and current gen tech that’s beautiful yet brutal and definitely not for those looking for an easy ride. From Software has created one of the most compelling game experiences to date (and if you’ve been a fan of the developer as long as I have, you could see this coming) that’s an absolute essential for any gamer willing to take the plunge. While the lengthy solo campaign is superb, it’s in the innovative online mode where many will see the game’s full range. That said, the dev team has wisely made sure that folks who can’t play online can still complete the game. It’ll just be a bit harder at times thanks to the punishing difficulty and intentionally vague storytelling that requires a bit of thought (and a lot more exploration and combat) to fully comprehend.

Before I get to the rest of the review, a note to those ultra hardcore expert Demon’s Souls players out there flooding message boards about how they beat THAT game multiple times and based on their knowledge, have blown through this game with little effort. Good for you, now shut up and let the rest of us play the game. Sure, Dark Souls may not be hard at ALL to you elites, but not everyone coming into EITHER game is going to nail things as well as you. Let the new guys and gals have a fresh experience and knock it off with the “Oh, the game isn’t all that tough!” crap.  Yeah, yeah, you also gargle with ghost chili hot sauce, shave everywhere with a rusty straight razor and can pull out a rampaging tiger’s intestines mid-leap with your left toenail. Outstanding. Now, let those of us normal gamer types with merely average skills play games like this and experience them as the developers want us to.

If you’re new to the experience, Prepare To Die frequently until you grasp the game’s mechanics… and Prepare To Die a tiny bit less as you make your way to the ending. There’s no straightforward narrative here, but pay attention and you’ll discover a wealth of information as you make your way through the game.Once you create your avatar, you’re treated to an amazing cinema that throws a lot at you, but the end result, your undead character cooling his or her heels in a dank dungeon is what’s really important. The opening portion is an excellent tutorial that shows you the basics of movement, combat, and defensive actions while giving you a small taste of things to come. The sense of dread the game soaks in is impossible to ignore and should you fail to look where you’re going, listen for telltale sounds or pay heed to the help messages scrawled in the ground, you’ll be dead before you’ve reached the first boss battle.

Once you take down that first beast, you’re swept up and taken to a new area where the game world opens up considerably. However (and this is especially true if you’ve selected a certain item as a starting bonus) running about aimlessly unlocking doors is the worst thing you can do. Death is everywhere and dying needlessly isn’t  recommended. With the exception of a handful of NPC’s and helpful characters (some of whom aren’t obvious at first glance), everything in the game wants you deader than Lindsay Lohan’s career. The sheer variety of monsters here is staggering and in the case of bosses, there are some that will frighten you from a distance because they’re so darn huge. Progress is measured in not only dispatching enemies, but in surviving long enough to see any initial frustration turn into determination as you grow accustomed to each area and its hazards.

Controls and combat are excellent, but this isn’t God of War or some faster-paced game with near-godlike characters leaping off walls and chaining together 1000-hit attacks. You’ll need to manage weight, learn to observes enemies and territory and basically do all you can outside prayer to avoid dying. Even still, you’ll see the end of someone or something’s blade, club, spell, swing or whatever more times that you’d care to imagine. What makes the game so compelling is it always makes you want to press onward just to see what’s around that bend, in the eerie mist or up that winding flight of steps with the steep drop-off.

Collecting souls as you slog forward to the next bonfire can be harrowing if you’ve been saving up souls to afford some new armor, upgrade or other helpful trinket. There’s nothing worse that getting killed close to a bonfire, but after a hellish map packed with bum-rushing nasties and a mid-boss that too some hard work to put down for good. While the auto-save feature takes away the “holy crap, I forgot to save!” stress found in many RPG’s, like Demon’s Souls, there’s no pause feature so you can plot out a strategy. Bonfires are safe zones free from enemies where your healing flasks are refilled and   Going from undead Hollow to Human is an initially wonderful thing, as it affords you some additional bonuses. But it also allows your game to be invaded by other live players who want to take your humanity for their own by killing you. This risk/reward thing makes the game tense, especially in new areas where you’re taking a few exploratory steps and you end up facing an enemy or four PLUS some live player looking to take your humanity for his or her own.

Death comes quickly in many forms during the game. You’ll be stabbed, crushed, knocked off of ledges and cliffs, burned, impaled and otherwise mutilated. Far worse than these rapid demises are the slow, draining ones by poisoning, curses that sap your health down by half, or suddenly being blinded before something you can barely make out does you in. The game rewards persistence through deadly areas with some excellent gear, found in well guarded chests, so it’s worth the trouble to explore if you’re up to it. On the other hand, you’re duly punished for not thinking ahead or talking with a character you encounter to find out what may be lurking ahead. When everything is going good, playing online is extremely helpful most of the time as fellow travelers can leave messages about hazards or hellish monsters lying in wait. Or, you can touch a bloodstain left on the ground to see the final few seconds of a player’s life.Learning from your mistakes and making it from the beginning to end of an area after multiple tries really gives you a sense of victory here. Then you realize that you’re about to do it all over again, but in a new area that’s three times as deadly and filled with traps, creatures and unstable real estate.

From a presentation standpoint, From has outdone themselves here and with the exception of some frame rate issues once in a while and a target lock that sometimes goes wacky, the game is a triumph. Visually, the massive, seamless world of Lordran is a sight to behold (even if you’re freaked out by much of what you see). The developer’s experience with the genre since the King’s Field days has made them one of the best in the business. Everything, whether it be based on reality or torn from nightmares looks and feels as real as can be. Armor and gear has weight and momentum, swinging a weapon in an area not quite wide enough for it will have it clanging off a wall (which can alert other monsters), and yes, things do break if smashed hard enough. There are some of the usual Havok physics wonks, but overall, the game looks spectacular. Sound and music are equally amazing and the voice acting is excellent. While the amount of humor in the game is pretty small, it’s quirky and somewhat fitting when you find it.

If you’re getting this game (and you should), spring for the Limited Edition that comes in the steel case with an art book and some cool download bonuses. As the price is exactly the same as the standard edition, it makes sense to grab the extras while they’re still available. I have no idea what sort of follow up they have planned, but I’m hoping From doesn’t decide to crank out yearly installments with Souls in the title just because two other games sold extremely well (and introduced some great innovations to online gaming). I’d actually LOVE to see them revisit King’s Field one more time, perhaps using this game engine to recreate the first four games on one disc, as what’s here is bigger than all of those games combined. Of course, no matter what they do, I’ll be there to sink many hours in and play with my hands gripped around a controller as I struggle to stay awake one more hour, yet too freaked out to taker another step…