[Playing…] Dark Souls

“Call a coffin company and buy a lot, because you are going to die many times… but you are going to have one of the best playable experiences in recent years.” This is what the Chinese man who sold me told me Dark Souls: Prepare to die Edition, that is, the kind gentleman also gave me the Artorias of the Abbyss DLC. He also offered me some spring rolls and… just kidding, I bought it on Steam during the summer sales at an unbeatable price.

Anyway, let's get a little more serious. What we have before us is the game that has hooked me the most for many years, and has even achieved something that very few manage to provoke me to do: replay it! But not in the dead moments, but really, as long as you go for everything (and this time without using a guide) and not leave a single enemy standing.

The company From Software previously made Demon's Souls, very similar to this title, exclusively for Playstation 3, which was released in 2009 in Japan and in 2010 in the rest of the world. It is still very similar, with the same combat, but correcting errors, which is always appreciated. We are facing an Action RPG very different from the others on the market. The reason? Its difficulty. Some will say that it is very difficult, others that it is demanding and some even allege that sometimes it is unfair... Who is right? In my opinion, each and every one of them, since these three adjectives are found within the video game.

The feeling of discovering that the map is not linear, but that everything is connected in some way allows you to create shortcuts to go faster and gives a very organic feeling to Lordran, land of the ancient gods in which it takes place Dark Souls. I was amazed when I realized this detail, since it adds a plus that, in my opinion, is priceless. And speaking of paying, here there is no currency as such, but souls, which we obtain by killing enemies and which are used to purchase and improve weapons, armor and other objects that will be useful throughout the adventure.

If there is something left over from the game, it is logic. Let me explain. You are facing an enemy whose armor is pitiful and who carries a sword that leaves something to be desired, but you are equipped with a beastly outfit and a greatsword. Result: you have it easy to win. On the other hand, three enemies with a spear and shield who are taking cover all the time until they see you lower your guard to attack you can melt you in a matter of seconds. The same thing happens with dragons or beasts that are three meters tall. They are difficult because the game has logic. A dragon is a winged beast that breathes fire and you are a puppet with a sword and shield (or whatever you choose) who tries to make a strategy to win and defeat it, although you have everything to lose due to the differences in size and strength. And with this I do not want to tarnish the reputation of sagas like The Legend of Zelda either The Elder Scrolls, far from it. Although the bosses in their titles are not as difficult as in Dark Souls, the gaming experience they want to give is not the same, but different, and they also know how to do it great.

Let's now go to another spectacular part of Dark Souls: the final bosses. All so different, with so much personality, with original, spectacular and diverse movements and with the possibility of summoning game specters, that is, NPCs or real players connected online, as long as they help you against them. Note that sometimes the game “loves us so much” that it even gives us two bosses at the same time. Highlight the battle against Ornstein and Smough, which was the most difficult for me in the entire game. I describe it to you like this: we have a fast guy with a spear that emits lightning and, at the same time, a huge obese guy who wants to kill us with hammer blows. Also, when you kill one, the other becomes stronger, bigger, and regains all of its life. You will understand that sometimes I want to burn down the From Software offices, no matter how much I like the title. Although the satisfaction of defeating a difficult boss or passing a difficult area... what a feeling!

Another thing I also have to highlight is the respect shown to the player. They will never take you by the hand (although other players leave clues to make it easier for you) or take you for a fool, but you will have to work hard to see what you have to do, what the best strategy is, or you will ask yourself, just like I did at the time, "Where the hell is the door that this key opens? It's where I have to go and I won't be able to move forward until I find it!"

Still, that lack of hand-holding reaches its limits when you realize that it's nearly impossible to kill all the optional bosses without a guide. And you can tell me who would know how to return to the tutorial refuge without a guide... I bet less than 10% of people would be so far-fetched.

I would like to highlight that the plot has been very interesting to me, but due to the detail of not explaining almost anything within the game directly, but rather through three pillars: the introductory cinematic, what the NPCs tell us and the description of some objects. Which in my case translates to: Saint Google, saint of information that is difficult to find by other means. You can imagine the theories that have come out regarding this game... you can also imagine that I am a gossip and that I have looked at many. What do you want me to tell you, sometimes I prefer this to having everything served to me on a platter and having the entire story pass before my eyes, although this is quite the opposite and almost nothing happens before your eyes with respect to the entire story.

Graphically we will not talk about a Crysis 3 that takes our system to the maximum, especially because on PC they have done the crappiest port I've ever seen. By default we cannot make it work at more than 720p and 30fps. You will understand that one does not spend the money one has on making a computer that matches this new generation for this... thank God that there are mods to make it work at 1080p and 60 fps. Artistically, things change and we are facing a video game whose world is spectacular. The sun rays, the architecture, the armor and weapons... all impressive. If I had to qualify it vaguely, I would do so by saying that in this aspect it is better than in Castlevania Lords of Shadow 2, but not as good as in Bioshock Infinite.

And I have nothing more to say, other than that the 74 hours I've spent in the game (and the ones I have left) have been worth it and I hope you dare to try it. It's an adventure, a test of courage for anyone who calls themselves a “gamer”. As a curious fact, I will tell you that Mr. Loulogio (creator of the advertising parody “La Batamanta” and other content on YouTube) has spent more than 200 hours in Dark Souls and I am sure that every minute has been for him, as well as for me, a delight and a constant challenge.