Dark Souls is a flawed game, very rough around the edges, but its core design and artistic vision stand so tall that flaws that might destroy another game come off as mere annoyances here.
It's naturally hard to understate how iconic this game is. The combat is generally excellent with a variety of builds to run and a weight to attacks bolstered by crunchy, impactful sound design. The sense of mystery woven into the world and exploration is compelling, and it (mostly) stays tough but fair, which makes beating its challenges feel both attainable and rewarding with patience and effort.
But... I did say the game was flawed, and it is! The most obvious thing is the second half being very blatantly unfinished. Anor Londo is incredible, possibly one of the most atmospheric locales in video games with a beautiful sunset reflecting the fall of the land to ruin. Everything after that, except the Duke's Archives (and New Londo, if you count that, since you can visit it early on) is by comparison a huge downgrade. Only the DLC really stands out at that point.
The Crystal Cave and Tomb of the Giants rely on annoying gimmicks, the Demon Ruins and Lost Izalith are just very very barebones and unfinished. Again, it's a testament to how good Dark Souls is that it can do this and remain an excellent game. Most games with rushed second halves would be completely panned for it.
The game's difficulty also sometimes veers into frustratingly unfair territory. The dogs and cramped arena in the Capra Demon fight being much harder to deal with than the boss itself. The snipers in Anor Londo were easily the low point of a fantastic level being that they seemed placed just to dick you over. Bed of Chaos is one of the worst boss fights I've ever played, just a complete travesty of design. When I finally beat it felt more like I'd just won a lottery instead of conquered a challenge.
Sometimes too, I think Dark Souls' greatest strength, its sense of mystery, can also be a weakness for it, as it leads to so much of the game obfuscating basic information that I would have missed were I not checking a wiki. I'm not entirely on board with this kind of game design though I can't deny the vision of having the game be discovered and documented by its community is definitely interesting.
Overall, though, Dark Souls deserves its reputation. It's just utterly compelling, hauntingly atmospheric, and generates some of the biggest highs I've had while gaming in a while.
It's naturally hard to understate how iconic this game is. The combat is generally excellent with a variety of builds to run and a weight to attacks bolstered by crunchy, impactful sound design. The sense of mystery woven into the world and exploration is compelling, and it (mostly) stays tough but fair, which makes beating its challenges feel both attainable and rewarding with patience and effort.
But... I did say the game was flawed, and it is! The most obvious thing is the second half being very blatantly unfinished. Anor Londo is incredible, possibly one of the most atmospheric locales in video games with a beautiful sunset reflecting the fall of the land to ruin. Everything after that, except the Duke's Archives (and New Londo, if you count that, since you can visit it early on) is by comparison a huge downgrade. Only the DLC really stands out at that point.
The Crystal Cave and Tomb of the Giants rely on annoying gimmicks, the Demon Ruins and Lost Izalith are just very very barebones and unfinished. Again, it's a testament to how good Dark Souls is that it can do this and remain an excellent game. Most games with rushed second halves would be completely panned for it.
The game's difficulty also sometimes veers into frustratingly unfair territory. The dogs and cramped arena in the Capra Demon fight being much harder to deal with than the boss itself. The snipers in Anor Londo were easily the low point of a fantastic level being that they seemed placed just to dick you over. Bed of Chaos is one of the worst boss fights I've ever played, just a complete travesty of design. When I finally beat it felt more like I'd just won a lottery instead of conquered a challenge.
Sometimes too, I think Dark Souls' greatest strength, its sense of mystery, can also be a weakness for it, as it leads to so much of the game obfuscating basic information that I would have missed were I not checking a wiki. I'm not entirely on board with this kind of game design though I can't deny the vision of having the game be discovered and documented by its community is definitely interesting.
Overall, though, Dark Souls deserves its reputation. It's just utterly compelling, hauntingly atmospheric, and generates some of the biggest highs I've had while gaming in a while.