Dark Souls Remastered

Genre: Action-RPG

Players: 1-6 Co-Op / Competitive (Online), passive online interaction

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Review:

Dark Souls is a challenging Action-RPG that’s generally credited with kicking off a trend of a return to “tough but fair” videogames, and its release on the Nintendo Switch sees the game’s graphics improved over the original versions (though not up to par with other modern consoles), and the previously-released expansion for the game.

So before moving on, I’m going to level with you – I have tried multiple times to give this game a serious shot, and I simply cannot see what others fall in love with in this game. It’s not a matter of the game being too tough for me, I don’t have some problem with the idea of “git gud”, I just don’t think this game is very good. It has some very good elements, but those elements are built on some underwhelming gameplay.

I really did not want this review to be a “hot take”. Believe it or not, I don’t enjoy trashing something I know other people love. And if you’re the sort of person who loves Dark Souls, more power to you. However, I can only give this game a review based on my own experience, and my own experience was that this game is not great, not bad… but mediocre.

The game’s controls are clunky and awkward, and players new to the game on the Switch will find this baked right into the basic fundamentals of the game – even the “accept” and “go back” buttons in game menus are reversed from most Switch games, because screw you and your muscle memory. And while I appreciate that players are rewarded for being thoughtful and conservative with how they play instead of barging in, the combat itself feels stiff and not particularly enjoyable.

Also, while this game’s fans pride themselves on the game’s “tough but fair” nature, there are definitely occasions in this game where players are attacked without adequate time to respond… in the game’s tutorial, no less. True, much of this game’s main gameplay loop is replaying areas with the knowledge of what’s coming up, but when you’re basically doomed to fail the first time you approach an area without that knowledge, “git gud” rings a bit hollow.

That’s not to say that I don’t recognize places in the game where it does shine. The level design in this game is phenomenal, really making players think about the three dimensional space when watching for threats, and the game’s level layouts are almost Metroidvania-esque… although I do fault the game for not having any sort of map. Also inspired is this game’s passive multiplayer feature, that allows you to see notes from other players warning you of upcoming danger, or see ghosts of their deaths to hint at what’s to come.

Also, while I know there are fans out there who love to immerse themselves in this game’s lore, for a new player starting out you’re bombarded with a lot of that lore and not much in the way of strong characters or story. I get how many appreciated this game having a distinctly depressed and ominous tone, but the lack of any resonant story beats to latch onto here made it hard for me to feel invested.

As for the game’s graphics… this game wasn’t the prettiest game when it was released almost a decade ago, and even with things cleaned up for the Remastered release, it’s definitely not a looker by today’s standards.

I don’t hate Dark Souls. Like I said, I do not think this is a bad game. In fact, I respect some of the things this game does extraordinarily well. However, even for those who appreciate a challenging game, this is a game that has numerous problems and, I would argue, has not aged especially well. I know many fans will say, “if you like it, maybe it’s just not for you”, but I feel that a sizeable portion of players will fall into that category, including players that enjoy challenging action-focused RPGs. As such, while I try to give the benefit of the doubt to games I just don’t like, I cannot give this game the high recommendation that I know many others do.

tl;dr – Dark Souls Remastered is the graphically-updated port of the beloved challenging Action-RPG, and while series fans may be glad to play it on the Switch, I found the game to have numerous problems baked-in that made it hard for me to give it a recommendation. I do not feel that this is a game that has aged well, with clunky controls and awkward gameplay. It’s a game that definitely has its positive qualities, such as superb level design and inventive passive multiplayer features. However, while I know there are some very vocal fans of this game out there, I feel that most players are better off avoiding this game.

Grade: C+

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