Game Rant: Dark Souls

Developer: From Software
Publisher (US): Namco Bandai Games
Platforms and Release Dates (US): Playstation 3 (October 4, 2011), Xbox 360 (October 4, 2011), Microsoft Windows (August 24, 2012)
Genre: Action RPG

Dark Souls is the spiritual successor to Demon's Souls, and retains the notable difficulty.

The story is kinda thin, but it is enough to guide you along through dialogue and occasional cut-scenes. You start as an Undead locked in a cell, destined to die. A fellow Undead aids you in escaping. You travel to the land of Lordran, where you are told to ring the Bells of Awakening. After you do so, you are told you are the chosen Undead, and you must find and place the Lordvessel at the Kiln of the First Flame, defeat the Four Lords and get their Souls, and defeat Gwyn. When you defeat Gwyn, you are given a vague choice of 2 options which determines the end.

The Gameplay takes place in a constantly hostile Open World environment. Throughout the areas, you find Bonfires which serve as checkpoints when you die, and constitute the only "safe areas" in the game. When you rest at a Bonfire, all non-boss enemies respawn and you have to kill them again, but your Health, Flask, Miracles, Spells, and Pyromancies are all replenished. You start the game in Undead form, but you can also spend a Humanity to become Human. Being Human allows you to kindle at Bonfires to hold more uses in your flask, and engage in interactions with other players, by being invaded or summoning them as allies. Being Undead prevents invasion, but you can't kindle or summon allies. Dying reverts you to Undead form if you are Human, and you also drop all you Souls and Humanity as a Bloodstain. You are given one chance to retrieve your stuff, if you die again, they are lost forever. Souls and Humanity are the main currency. You gain Souls from defeating enemies, with tougher enemies generally yielding more Souls. Souls can be used at shops to buy things, to Level Up, to fix and smith weapons and armor, and other things. Humanity is a bit more rare. They are used to revert you back to Human, kindle at Bonfires, and they also oversee your Item Discovery rate, and improve certain stats and improve damage of certain weapons. The online interactions I mentioned earlier can happen at any time without warning. When you are Human, you can be Invaded by another player(s) at any time. This results in a duel to the death with the invaders. In Human form, you can also find special signs on the ground to summon other player(s) as allies to fight along side you against invaders or to make it through an area or boss. You can also Invade or leave a sign to be summoned at any time as well, and will be transported to the host's world when a matchup is found. These online interactions add an element of unpredictablity, as you never know when another player will be there to help or hinder you. The difficulty can be brutal, but a steady hand, patience, and strategy can lead you to success. The gameplay and the online interactions are entertaining and interesting and satisfying to overcome great tasks.

Bottom Line: Dark Souls provides healthy challenge and is never unfair, and the online interactions can provide hours if engagement. I say this is a Buy.