Developer: From Software
Publisher: Bandai Namco Games
Platform: Xbox One, PS4, PC
Tested on: PS4
Dark Souls Remastered – Review
It’s hard to imagine that Dark Souls came into our lives nearly seven years ago, becoming one of the most beloved, and hated, series by many because of its difficulty and crudeness towards players. The second iteration was also released on the previous generation of consoles, but eventually made its way to the next generation as well, together with part three. It was only natural with the many remasters and remakes out there, that the first game would also receive a similar treatment, the first in this scenario. Safe for a few minor adjustments, the main focus of this remaster were the graphics, and we were more than pleasantly surprised. That being said, you won’t be able to stroll leisurely through the lands of the first Dark Souls, as pretty much everything out there is out to get you.
Story
The Dark Souls series isn’t known for its exuberant lore, its great storytelling or a thick plot that hides behind the gameplay. It is however a series that sets a proper atmosphere and mood, due to its grim outward appearance, the brutal monsters you face, and the fact that your character has turned undead, losing a shred of his humanity every time he falls in combat. It’s clear that this plague is currently pestering the world, and it seems that you, a lowly undead, have to right the wrongs of the current world. Nothing more is given, but you get snippets of information when you progress, making it fun to drive forward.
Graphics
Compared to the last gen version of the game, a lot has been done, in terms of adding better textures and upscaling certain items. Granted, you character still looks ugly as fuck but the enemies, the sceneries and areas all look very close to what next gen games currently look like. You’ll notice nice textures, adding some extra layers to buildings, the fire effects, and other spell effects have also improved significantly and frame drops seem to be a thing of the past. Even with the additional graphical strengths in play, loading times have been reduced, which can certainly be appreciated if you aren’t really a survivor type in the world of Dark Souls. All in all, the game looks good, with a few dated visuals scattered throughout the ghoulish adventure.
Sound
Safe for during the boss battles, there is no real backdrop present in Dark Souls Remastered, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. You’ll get enough stress when you hear an enemy moving around, or when sword hits shield, or even worse, your poor body. The sounds of parrying, returning damage and many other actions are well presented in the game, and they do feel very lively.
Gameplay
Dark Souls Remastered is, like the original, an Action RPG, in which it’s all about progressing at a slow pace, learning attack patterns of enemies, becoming stronger and beat bosses that unlock new zones for you to wander in. You’ll have to do so by choosing a class, hopefully finding new weapons, and never giving up as you’ll die a lot when playing this title.
You’ll quickly notice that this rerelease of Dark Souls is not a game you can rush through easily, as the difficulty level is quite high, but it’s also a lot about learning the attack patterns of your enemies, knowing when to strike and of course, trying to survive when you encounter more than one foe. The boss battles themselves are rather difficult compared to the many smaller enemies that will come knocking at your doorstep. Overall this game will test your patience, but it truly feels like an achievement every time you make a little bit of progress. It’s easy to say that the game doesn’t hold you by the hand, making it sometimes hard to know where to go, what to do, and how certain things work. This can be experienced as positive by many, but also as a negative aspect for gamers who want a bit more guidance.
At first glance, things feel smoother and more streamlined than compared to the original release. You’ll have smooth mechanics, a reasonable amount of class options, that pretty much just scramble your base stats, a lot of options on which direction you can pick in the game, albeit that some don’t really allow for progress, but there are still some minor annoyances that were also present in the original release of the second Dark Souls. More than once your character will be stuck behind a small border, often only a few inches in height compared to your character, or you’ll encounter some poor hit detection, mainly during boss fights. The latter can be very annoying if you’re having a good run, but then get stunned because of a hit that didn’t really connect with your character.
Conclusion
Dark Souls Remastered is a qualitative remaster of the original Dark Souls game, with some extra tweaks along the way. If you missed the first game when it was on the last generation of consoles, now it’s a great time to pick up this difficult adventure if you’re fond of the rest of the series or Bloodborne. You’ll be treated to shorter loading times, graphics that come close to other next gen games and smooth gameplay, safe for a few bugs.
Dark Souls Remastered - Review,
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