Hello there inmates!
Hope you’re all having a crazy day! I wanted to talk to you guys about another video game that is close to my heart. Video games are, as i said in my previous gaming post, my primary hobby. Oh, aside from writing of course! I’m going to talk a little bit about my 2nd favorite game. Its a bit more recent this time. Another role-playing game. In my opinion one of the best RPGs of recent years.
My 2nd favorite game is Dark souls. Developed by From software and published by Namco Bandai. It was released in my country (the UK) on October 30th, 2011.
Picture/logo belongs to From software and Namco Bandai, obviously.
Now, i’m no game reviewer. I’m not going to be telling you the positives and negatives about Dark Souls. I’m simply going to be splurging about this video game that i love. Alright, now that’s out in the open, i’ll continue. Hehe!
Dark Souls is an Action-RPG. This means it’s a hybrid between an action game (Think God of war or Devil May Cry) and an RPG. An action game with elements of RPGs in it. Chopping monsters to bits while leveling up your characters statistics. I doubt anyone reading this actually needs this explanation, but there you go.
You play as an undead man or woman, in a dark, dreary world. The world resembles a water painting, if it were painted by Marilyn Manson or Edgar Allen Poe. Moody tones permeate everything. The settings range from dank dungeons to forbidding forests, from depressing sacred sites to disease-ridden swamps. Light is fleeting at best and completely false at worst. In fact, the only area with any significant sunlight is an illusion. The setting suits me perfectly. It’s mad in a subtle way, like the world is already ended and ended in a slow, corrupting way.
Being undead, you can’t die. When you’re cut down, you simply return to life at Dark Souls version of a checkpoint: the Bonfires. Oh, and you shall die a lot! Anyone who has heard of Dark Souls or read about it has most likely heard about its difficulty. Even the most humble enemy has the ability to tear you a new one. The bosses, of which there are many, will make you into a bloody stain in no time flat. Colossal dragons, giant suits of armor, demons, zombies, killer plants and demigods. This game has it all when it comes to enemy variety. From software really hit it out of the park here. I picture a member of the development team coming into the office and telling everyone about a nightmare he had. His colleagues would then proceed to take this nightmare and make it real in the world of Dark Souls.
One of my personal favorites: the Gaping Dragon.
The difficulty of the game works in its favor. Every achievement, every victory (no matter how minor) feels like you’ve reached the summit of Everest. Defeating a new boss for the first time really feels like you’ve defeated an unstoppable killing machine. To be pretty blunt, you feel like a bad-ass when you kill each one. I remember literally jumping for joy the first time i killed Seath the Scaleless, a dragon boss that i personally had a lot of trouble with. Oh, i do love fighting monsters on this!
I think that i should give a special mention to the music of Dark souls. It’s one of the only soundtracks that has compared to Final Fantasy. Practically every piece of music feels me with dread and wonder in equal measure. My personal favorite has to be the theme song for the final boss. I won’t spoil his name, i’m not that cruel. It’s clearly a boss theme and yet it is so sad. The melancholic piano reminds you that this boss fight is effectively a mercy killing. You’re putting an old, crazed god out of his misery. Dark Souls has a habit of making you feel like a horrible person, through both its music and dialogue.
A very good example, i feel.
Right, i feel like i have kept you long enough. I’d be surprised if anyone has read on this long. You must be as mad as me! I’ve splurged enough. I’d recommend Dark Souls to anyone who enjoys a solid fantasy experience with a dark twist. The fighting is solid, the leveling is dynamic, the setting is refreshingly twisted, the music is more than solid and the character design is exemplary. I have only one thing left to say: Play this game! Oh, and play the sequel when it comes out in a weeks time or so!
Have a very crazy day my friends!
WorldofHarley 