Dark Souls

Dark Souls (ダークソウル Dāku Souru?) is an action-adventure / role-playing game video game developed and published for PlayStation 3 by From Software in Japan, and published for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 by Namco Bandai Games internationally. Previously referred to as Project Dark, Dark Souls is the spiritual successor to Demon's Souls. It was released in Japan on September 22, 2011, on October 4 in North America, and on October 7 in Europe of the same year.

The game consists of dungeon crawling in almost relentlessly hostile environments and exploits the tension instilled by risk vs. reward game mechanics and penalties upon player death. Dark Souls takes place in an open world environment, with the player able to travel to and from areas and explore various available paths. Dark Souls allows players to light Bonfires, which function as respawn locations. These bonfires also replenish health, magic, and special items like Estus flasks - limited vials that restore health, but also respawn all enemies previously defeated, except for bosses and certain special enemies. The player must fight their way through various locations and defeat bosses to progress.

Dark Souls features an elaborate online mode, very much like that of Demon's Souls, which is active whenever the console is connected to the internet (an Xbox Live Gold subscription is required on the Xbox 360 version). The online mode adds numerous dynamic interactions between the individual worlds players, including limited co-op and player versus player within certain conditions. Communication between players is deliberately limited.

Famitsu gave the game a highly positive review, scoring it 37 out of 40, based on four scores of 9, 9, 9, and 10. One of the reviewers for Dark Souls described it as "a very hardcore dark-fantasy RPG" that is "role-playing right down to the roots," and stated that the "massive field map and powerful enemies serve to rev up both your sense of adventure and your sense of dread." Another reviewer stated that "the sheer happiness you get after the trial-and-error pays off and you overcome the challenge is absolutely impossible to replicate."

Gamespot scored Dark Souls a 9.5/10, complimenting just about every aspect of it. Much praise was given to the online system, as well as the sense of jubilation felt when conquering boss fights after numerous failed attempts. They also suggested that casual gamers may struggle to progress, whereas RPG enthusiasts will thrive on the difficulty.

IGN gave Dark Souls a 9.0/10, praising the well-thought out level design, variety, strong emphasis on online features, excessively dark tone and atmosphere and deep gameplay. They also noted that it is not a game that one can simply jump into and play for plain enjoyment. They went as far to say that it is not a game for the timid and that the game requires both skill and strategy almost all the time. While praising the extremely high difficulty, they stated that "there's a difference between punishing, and downright unfair."

Eurogamer gave Dark Souls 9/10, saying "If adventure is to surprise and mystify you and invite you to uncover the secrets of a forgotten world, then Dark Souls is a great adventure game. If entertainment is fun without failure and progress without pain, you'll have to find it somewhere else. But you'll be missing out on one of the best games of the year."