”But soon, the flames will fade, and only Dark will remain.”

What’s there to say about Dark Souls? It’s unlike anything I’ve ever played. It’s brutal, but rarely unfair. Oppressive, yet oddly encouraging. Terrifying, yet magical. Like the deceptive warmth of the First Flame and the unearthly chill of the Abyss, Dark Souls strikes a near-perfect balance of tension and reprieve.

Every death you experience feels like a proper punishment for screwing up. As soon respawn at the bonfire, the first thing on your mind is basically, “Alright, let’s do this one last time.” That’s what makes Dark Souls so addicting. The cycle of trying your best, dying, learning from your mistakes, and trying your best “one more time”. Because despite the punishment, you can tell that the game wants you to succeed, so it feels like every respawn is just another chance to get it right this time.

The combat is awesome and probably the best in any game I’ve played. It’s slow, but it’s deliberate, intuitive, and masterfully executed. There’s so much depth thanks to the different types of weapons and how they scale with your stats, allowing you to craft your fighting machine, your perfect undead warrior. Every successful encounter feels like a victory, whether it be one enemy or a room full of them.

The bosses. Oh man, the bosses. Not all of them are winners, but when they hit, they hit home fucking runs. The Asylum Demon is the perfect introductory boss. The Taurus Demon builds off of that. The Bell Gargoyles ramp up the challenge. Ornstein and Smough are the ultimate test to prove your worth as the Chosen Undead. Sif may not be difficult, but the whole fight is one hell of an emotional gut punch. The Four Kings are a mad dash to kill them before they kill you. Knight Artorias is a frantic sword duel against the greatest hero in Lordran’s history. Manus is darkness incarnate and holy shit does his fight feel like it. And Black Dragon Kalameet is the perfect optional superboss to prove that you have finally gotten gud.

The story takes the Metroid Prime route of “minimal, yet deep”. You’re basically just wandering across a kingdom killing whoever you’re told to, but the sheer level of detail present in the item descriptions, backgrounds, and NPC dialogue gradually expose the sheer tragedy of Lordran and its fallen leader, Lord Gwyn. I won’t go into details because it’s confusing as fuck, but it’s an appropriately dark and brooding tale that perfectly fits the game’s tone and leads to an inevitably bitter conclusion, regardless of what path you choose.

Oh, and the LEVEL DESIGN. The world of Dark Souls is intricately designed and takes a Metroidvania style approach by having the entire kingdom be interconnected. You gradually unlock shortcuts, keys to new areas, fast travel, and new powers to help you progress. Not to mention, there are tons of great individual areas, with Anor Londo, Sen’s Fortress, the Duke’s Archives, the Painted World of Ariamas, and basically everything in the Artorias of the Abyss DLC being some of my favorites. Hell, I even liked areas that most people hate. I thought all the ex-bosses littering the Demon Ruins were a great reminder of how far I’d come in my journey (also, the sight of an entire canyon full of Taurus Demons just standing there is incredibly funny to me). I also kinda liked the limited visibility of the Tomb of the Giants and how it forced me to manage my resources so I could keep my lantern in hand. I get why other people hate it, but I’m not other people, so I liked it.

However, Dark Souls, like any game, isn’t perfect, and it definitely suffered due to rushed development. The Crystal Cave and three of the Lord bosses feel undercooked. Lost Izalith is a boring as fuck area that I simply cannot defend. And don’t even get me fucking started on the fucking BED OF CHAOS!!!!

Nevertheless, the highs of Dark Souls are so high, so numerous, and so frequent that they completely drown out the lows. It’s just too much fun, and I’ll definitely be having even more fun playing it over and over in the future.