Dark Souls for Xbox 360 Reviews by Gamers

It's dark, creepy dungeon crawling, with excellent graphics and an awesome challenge. It's NOT challenging in the way you expect a poorly designed game would be, one riddled with bugs and just pushed out the door.

THIS GAME IS A MASTERPIECE OF HARD DIFFICULTY!!!

It tells you right from the "tutorial boss fight", that you should expect to die. But unlike Demon souls, it doesn't let you go after it fades to black.

I love this game, and hate this game. It's the kind of game you know you will enjoy the frustration. Honestly, every battle is just a very challenging 4D puzzle consisting of: Skill, Luck, Timing, and Determination.

Definitely not for the feignt of heart. If you say this game sucks, it's because it tested your will, and broke you.

Only thing missing is the music, I think Craddle fo Filth would probably be a good fit, that sound is enough to make you welcome death after endless death :-)

This game by by far the best game I have ever played. It actually made me rethink some of the game I played after because they simply couldn't compare to this game.

Lots of people will give this game bad reviews because it is insanely hard but that is the point of the game. If this were an easy game it would be just like any other RPG that used swords, bows and magic. But this game is so difficult that you get such a surge of pride and excitement whenever you beat a particularly hard boss or get past that one spot that has killed you 20 times.

When I heard about this game I was told that it was the hardest game out there and me being the gamer that I am took that as a personal challenge. This game is the feather in any true gamer's cap. If you can work your way through this game you can beat anything.

Not for the faint of heart. Dark Souls, like Demon's Souls before it (PS3), is a dark, moody masterpiece. It's not the smoothest, sexiest RPG out there, but the gameplay is amazing if you take the time to master it.

Dark Souls is not the least bit interested in holding you by the hand, which will be off-putting for a lot of modern gamers who didn't grow up on the 'Three strikes and you're out' arcade games of old.

This is a game where playing smart matters, and a moment's carelessness is punished by the undoing of hours of work. A game where the money that can repair and upgrade your gear is the same currency you spend on upgrading stats and abilities. A game of consequences and rewards.

Personally, I love a game where the lowliest grunt can and will kill you if you let your guard down. A game where you will dodge yourself right off a bridge or a narrow ledge if you're not careful. A game where you have to be conscious of your surroundings at all times.

You will die. You will curse the game. You will swear vengeance upon those who created it. But when you finally come up with a strategy to take down the Black Knight, or finally hunt a dragon or slay the monster guarding the bridge you need to cross, it's the kind of fist-pumping, truly thrilling victory that not many games today can match.

A game this punishing and unforgiving is not for everyone, but if you are a bit masochistic and want to play a game that is as intent on beating YOU as you are on beating IT, you can't do better than this.

First of all this game is not for people who get easily mad at games or hate to lose. You will die a lot, the people who rate this game six and below most likely lost there nerve or never manged to even get past the tutorial level. This game is seriously down rated if you want an actual review read critic reviews from IGN or something. in my opinion this game is a diamond, it is fun if you know what your doing yes it gets confusing but if you use your head you can most likely figure it out. it is defiantly worth a rent heck it is worth a buy.

With the plethora of button mashing games, one must wade through these days I had all but resigned myself to settle for these toddler games....Then Dark Souls arrived! Never have I loved a game and been so frustrated at the same time. Yes I have died many times but never once did I consider putting my controller down. I've owned this game since day one and still play it. The graphics are great, the gameplay kept me on the edge of my seat. I would recommend this to anyone who is tired of mashing A all the way through a game. Rent this game!!

To people saying this game is extremely difficult (especially the ones bashing it), it really isn't. It requires more patience and thinking (wow what a concept, I can't just blitz through something because I'm invincible) then most games. But even then, this concept is lost more and more as you progress. The game becomes EASY later, until you do NG+ and even then you can pretty much break the game with certain things.
A lot of the stuff in this game is experimental and that may bother some people because it breaks the mold and that's fine, people like what they are comfortable with but this game tried new stuff and succeeded and when people bash this game not because of it's problems (it has a lot) but because they are terrible at games and can't roll then they should find another hobby because we need more games like this.

I was introduced to Dark Souls by a friend of mine and I took the difficulty of the game to be a personal challenge. It is hard, very hard. The "tutorial" boss killed me quite a few times before I managed to fell him, then I had to move on to the rest of it. It took me a while to beat the game and not once did I want to stop.

The controls worked well, though I often had trouble with some of the targeting and after a while I just stopped using the targeting altogether and aimed my attacks manually except for the bosses. Absolutely loved the combat though! This is not the standard hack-n-slash game that modern developers have conditioned gamers to expect. This game requires a patience like none I've ever played and you definitely have to plan and take every advantage you can, for every fight. The fighting itself is calculating and often cruel. You don't simply "pop" a health potion while running around. You stop, drink it, then you move again, and the whole time enemies can have at you.

The bosses are not the only dangerous things in this game. Every enemy you face can potentially undo hours of gameplay, losing you a lot of souls and sometimes a controller or two. But, as you learn from mistakes in life, so you do also in Dark Souls. When you die you are not simply met with a game over screen that asks if you want to try again. You are taken back to the last bonfire you visited and lose every soul you had, and every enemy has been revived, ready to kill you again. If you happen to make it back to where you died you do get to retrieve the souls you had before you died, but die again before you get there and they are gone forever.

The story is not obvious. Dark Souls doesn't just spit out words and mindless cut scenes to tell you what is going on. They give you a fraction at a time and if you look hard enough you can piece it together as you go. I really appreciate this approach to storytelling because personally, I'm tired of being spoon-fed every aspect of a

It will take a great deal of patience, and good considerable amount of time to master also it will help a great deal if you call in a friend to help you. But make sure you do not try to start or join a party while in multiplayer or it will kick you. Instead use private chat.

I just beat this game. For the first time, beating a game was actually exciting.

No game has ever pushed me to quite this level. Aside from the amazing boss battles (and superior musical scores that accompanied them), discovering the way the realms were connected was an experience in and of itself. Discovering the ladder that connects the bridge (Taurus Demon fight) to the Undead Burg, the elevator that connects the Undead Parish to the Firelink Shrine, and the cages that shortcut you through Sen's Fortress, felt nearly as fulfilling as defeating a boss.

As for criticisms, I'd tighten up the environment a bit. On a few occasions, enemies could hit you through a pillar or rock. On the flip side, sometimes it worked to your benefit (enemy on higher plane can't hit you, enemies get stuck on ledge and can be arrowed to death).

For those of you who gave this game a low rating because of its difficulty or because you played it for just a couple hours, your opinion is meaningless (and no, the 1st Amendment has nothing to do with that, so don't bring it up). You didn't give it a chance, and either through a lack of skill, intelligence, flexibility, and/or determination, you failed. Not Dark Soul's problem.

For those of you who constantly assured the rest of us that your low rating was for another reason, be honest with yourselves.

Absent the difficulty level, you'd be all over how great this game is, and at the very least, you'd give it above-average scores. You just don't want to admit that you couldn't do it, so you nitpicked other issues to appear impartial.

And no, I wasn't paid to promote Dark Souls. But here's a final thought.

Other games that have a 6.9+ GF rating:

Need for Speed the Run, Top Spin 4 (tennis), Green Day: Rock Band, Twister Mania, UFC Trainer, Disney Universe, Happy Feet Two, Mercenaries 2, etc.

Enough said.

Seriously, beat the game first. Then we can talk.

This game is hard! Yet it is rewarding when you spend the time to level up. Other than dying ALOT!!! This game would benefit alot with a in-game map. Over all if you have the time, and a high threshold for frustration this game is worth a check out.

I only own an XBox 360, so I missed out on Demon's Souls apart from watching a buddy of mine play it. So, when I heard that Dark Souls was coming to 360, I was all over it.

Dark Souls is not a game for the inpatient, it will test your frustration on a frequent basis, but in the end the result is a rewarding experience. The world is beautiful, the character designs are fantastic, and the gameplay is one that continues to develop as your character does.

The game is tough, there is no way around that. It will make you want to throw your controller through your TV on multiple occasions. But, when you finally succeed against that boss that has handed you your butt on multiple occasions, you can't help but be excited. The mechanics of the game are brilliant, and the way that each enemy you face has something different to challenge you makes you realize how in-depth this game really is.

Did you enjoy play the original NES Mario Brothers? Having to memorize each goomba, each bullet bill, and each Koopa Troopa? How angry did you get when you slipped and fell off a cliff? Or when a lowly enemy took your height? How awesome was it when you ran out of lives and had to start ALL OVER AGAIN!

Dark Souls takes you back to those times. When games were incredibly hard, progression was all or nothing and each mistake cost you.... dearly.

Did that original Mario Brothers have a story? Not really. Did you play your butt off until you beat it? Heck yeah! By that point did the story even matter? Nope.

Well Dark Souls unfolds similarly. You are on a quest in a strange world. Youre not really sure what your working towards, but the challenge is all you need.

Now that ive painted a picture for you, lets get into the mechanics.

Combat in Dark Souls, is a chess game. You learn your enemies pattern, and exploit their weakness. This game is not a hack and slash, its a methodical dismantling of even the LOWLIEST enemy. Believe me, if you grow complacent, or overconfident, a group of rats will take you DOWN. There is no rush in Dark Souls, take your time and progress slowly. Even if you have your eyes and ears open ALL the time, you WILL perish.

So you just spent two hours fighting through rooms of enemies, each step earned in blood. You bask in the glory of your success. As you enter the next room and climb a flight of stairs, a boulder rolls down towards you knocking you off a cliff. You are dead and all the EXP you earned lies in a puddle of blood.

You have 1 chance to get it back but in your eagerness to reclaim your progress, an enemy you forgot about stabs you in the back. You died again. Say goodbye to those TWO HOURS of gameplay.

All in all, Dark Souls is EXTREMELY challenging. Each individual enemy you kill is an acomplishment. Expect to die hundreds of times.

If you like a challenge, this game is for you. If you dont like a challenge dont play this game

Oh, Dark Souls, how confused you have me. It is a punishing game, and that is an understatement. You, die, and you die A LOT, causing unending frustration and somehow, a motive to keep going forward against all odds.

The gameplay is well-done, with tight controls and good systems. It is, however, up to you to use that correctly. The game is incredibly difficult, throwing many overly powerful enemies at you and leaving you with only your wits and skill. Even the weakest enemy can kill you, and fast, if you let down your guard. Every death is only your fault (well, almost), and you get by however you can. You progress by going through different paths fighting different enemies, with campfires, which function as checkpoints and health refills, scattered throughout the world, although they are difficult to reach and risky to use. Everything you obtain in one life is lost when you die, and you get only one chance to recover it, until you die again, which just means you can say goodbye to your 3 hours of hard work.

Dark Souls takes place in a strange world, with an unique back story and beautifully depressing environments. In it, you are an Undead, as you are called, in a quest working towards an unknown goal, which you have no choice but which to follow.

A well made game, Dark Souls is both extremely frustrating and addicting, with incredible difficulty and unforgiving design, while using tight controls and fun gameplay to balance it out. These features can become a problem, since if you die too much, the game could become repetitive. They are the reason why, as soon as I hit the one hour mark in this game and was still in one of the very first areas, I simply said: "Screw this" and returned it.

If you think you can stand a challenge and may enjoy this game, the only way to find out is to try it.

This is a tough game to review. It's one of a kind. Original and unique and worth at least 2 playthroughs. Boss fights are tough and put your gamer mettle to the test. The controls and fighting system are tight. Graphically the game is beautiful. Technique and patience is a must. Rushing in without thinking or planning will result in many lost souls, and hours of gameplay down the drain. There's a lot of great things to say about Dark Souls. I played through 2 and a half times, so that should speak for itself.

I can't give the game a perfect score for a few reasons. Lack of cutscenes seemed lazy; they're almost non existent. A few more cutscenes in the game would've really changed my view. Story is told through item descriptions instead. Camera is sometimes obscured by things like plants, pillars, boards, which is a minor annoyance but it does exist. There's a lot of running, to the point where your fingers get tired. If you fail a boss fight you're sent all the way back to the bonfire, where you have to redo everything up until the boss, fighting the same enemies in the same positions. This is when it's really hard to say it's fun. I could easily fight the same boss over and over again, but making it to the boss over and over again is a real pain. You're going to lose many hours of gameplay because you died twice in a row before reaching all the souls you gained in the last few hours. So, despite the fact that you played for hours, you literally have nothing to show for it. But honestly this is just part of the fun and frustration that keeps you playing.

Overall, it's a great game worth the challenge. Not for the casual gamer. It takes gaming to a whole new level. Though sometimes you wonder if you're having fun or just playing for the sake of playing.

This is just a time-line NO SPOILERS
1 Day-Played 25 minutes then stopped.

2 Day-Played for an hour but got no where.

3 Day-Played for an hour and got a BIT better.

1 Week-Knew the basic commands and attack patterns.

2 Weeks-Advancing VERY slowly through the game.

3 Weeks-Im what you consider a mediocre.

Now.... This is where the game contains a gap

2 Months-Im about halfway through the game.

3 Months- About 75-85% done.

4 Months-I beat the game.

Now. After i beat the game i felt good. But you know what i had to do now? I had a friend who was getting it and he wanted me to help him. So i had to make a new character with him. We beat the game in under a 1-2 weeks.

This game is fun,dark,creepy, and it makes you keep coming back. The PvE action is amazing when dealing with intelligent enemies and boss's. The PvP is a bit cruel when your about to get some where that took you an hour and have some one invade you and kill you.

So get off Battle Field 3 and Modern Warfare 3 and actually do some thing NEW and challenge your self.

If you simply quit because you give up. Then you dont need to play this game. Anyone who wants to go to a world where statues come to life and hellish demons try to kill you from front to back. Then this game will enthrall you. I suggest it to every one. But if you are not patient...You may consider.

This game is pure cruelty. It is expertly crafted and addicting as an MMO but ultimately, I kind of hate it. The reason is quite simple. I die too much. I love that the stakes are high and dying is a game play mechanic but after spending two hours repeating an area over and over I grew so sick of the repetition. I eventually admitted defeat and ventured off into the real world with nothing to show for it. In frustration, I had forsaken the game, sending it back to gamefly and out of my life. I miss it but at least we parted ways before my controller got destroyed. Sure, the reward for victory may be great but the punishment for defeat was greater. Its like throwing pennies into a fountain and making a wish, except the pennies are hours of my life and the wishes still never come true.

My wife doesn't understand why I like this game because I am constantly yelling at the TV in frustration. It's hard, which I'm sure every review says, and you die so often it is comical when it is not maddening. The combat system is a blast and the game constantly keeps you thinking. Each enemy has his own style and requires a slightly different approach. It's very addicting and a lot of fun to play.

This isn't a game where you can expect to throw it in and "have some fun" for an hour or two. This game is a bleak, dangerous adventure and the gameplay is tailored to slow you down and get you playing cautiously and methodically. Once you've accepted that your character isn't some all-powerful demigod and death lurks around every corner, you will start to appreciate how hard the game is, but also how fair it is. My only complaints about this game is the lack of explanation about many of the game mechanics. I understand that plot, level design, items and monsters are meant to have a trial and error nature, but too many times I've had to jump on the web to find out control and UI mechanics (how do I aim and zoom with a bow? what's the difference between the humanity stat and humanity item? will increasing this stat do anything besides meet a prerequisite? do I need more than one guidance soapstone?). Maybe some of these questions are answered in the manual, but I rented it from GameFly so I didn't have that available. To sum up, in my opinion Dark Souls is difficult, but fair. The game really only punishes you is when you get sloppy or impatient. The times I've ever been unable to recover my spirit was when I underestimated an easy enemy trying hurry past them to get back to where I died.

I don't get what the deal is with people bashing this game, it is a slow paced dungeon crawler. If you expect to play some easy RPG where you can just go around hack slash and whatever this isn't your game. It is a true dungeon crawler testing your skill and makes you use strategy. You are tested within the first 20 minutes. The story is well i have not beaten it yet but that is the only down side. For those who complain of clunky controls, learn to adapt? They are a bit odd for maybe ten minutes then it's fluid and works well. This game is meant to be a challenge. I feel for those who rate this game low are not up to the difficulty of this game. If you want to experience a true dungeon crawler, have an actual challenge while playing video games, which is something the seventh generation systems have been lacking, this is it.

yeah you actualy have to think while playing and it doesn't cut breaks or give you an overpowered player. What it gives is a sense of discovery in a grim world. Even though it's tricky (more then hard, hard feels cheap tricky feels like discovery) you always feel like you can figure something out or maybe get a new weapon that will make the diffrence. I love this game, for me it's been more fun the skyrim.

I've been a gamer for just about as long as I remember, starting first with Ty The Tasmanian Tiger II. That game made me excited just thinking about it. Now, nearly 15 years later, this game gives me a shiver up my spine, a nauseous excitement, and even a string of panic to just remember the name.

And I Love It.

I've had a wide and varied gaming career, all the way from Spider Man 2, to The Darkness 2. I've experienced a lot of great games, and regrettably a more horrible games. This game, is somewhere more than in between, and that's the best part about it.

The "Souls" series, so far only two in number, have quickly become two of my favorite games available on consoles, and for the serious of temperament, I'm betting It will be one of yours as well.

(Possible Spoilers Ahead)
Dark Souls takes place in the land of Lordran, and without any spoilers, it has some of my favorite story line, period. You'll likely see other people ranting about there is no story line to be seen, when in truth it is the exact opposite, you just have to look for it. Through clever use of Item description, subtly, and a hint of Community speculation, it has one the more expansive story lines I've seen in a game.

A few FAQ's: (Frequently Asked Questions)

Should I rent it, or is it not worth it?
No question, I believe everyone should at least try, and while it may not be for everyone, anyone it is for will have on their best experiences.

Is the game really that Hard?
No, actually, the game isn't incredibly difficult in the sense that the odds are stacked against you, It's challenging because the game incorporates very intelligent enemy programming, that react and instigate combat intelligently (most of the time). If you're a moron and run in expecting to defeat your enemies with a few mashes of a button, well...

You will die. And die. And die. And then throw away your controller. And then an hour later get it again, play the game. And die.

HAVE FUN!!!

This type of game happens to be one of my favorites, and within the genre, Dark Souls is the best, in my opinion. This game requires dedication... If you don't have hundreds of hours to whittle away, don't even think about beating the game. You could still have fun with it, but like I said, truly mastering this one takes time.

I never played Demon Souls, unfortunately, but I am stoked they brought this to 360.... They should port Demon Souls too..

But back to the review... This is just an incredibly well put together game world, with a focus on both RPG and
Action aspects almost equally. It is quite heavy on the RPG strategy and secret knowledge aspects. There are a ton of advantages to be used in this game, but it is finding them that is the difficult part sometimes.

This game is completely open ended, in a certain respect, and doesn't give a whole lot of direction to the player. This lends to a 'trial/error gameplay style that is both frustrating, and ultimately rewarding if you can find the right item/level techniques and combos.

Like the other reviews say, this IS a very diffiCult game...Emphasis on Cult... Those who enjoy this game have a certain combination of pain tolerance, and perseverance, and its not for the faint of heart. A game hasn't gotten my adrenaline pumping like this since Ninja Gaiden. The main difference between the two, though, is that Dark Souls is the 'anti button masher', and will ultimately punish you for doing so. This is yet another emphasis on meticulous strategy.

This game has no pause, will kick you offline if you use private chat or party, and will even let you die when your controller does.... It doesn't care about your feelings, and really just wants to eat your soul... Walk on Home, Boy...

I liked how IGN's review put it. "It's a direction gaming could have gone"

It's hard, it's challenging, it makes you focus and pay attention, it punishes you when you die. God I wish there where more games like this on the market.

I appreciated this game a lot more because I rented it and Dead Island at the same time, and Dead Island just came off as a joke in comparison because of broken mechanics and the fact that 90% of the time it was cheaper and easier for me to just die and respawn then use a healing item... It's like death isn't just nothing it's actually rewarding at some points of Dead Island? That's BS.

Though death in this game is punishing. that system also makes it very rewarding, when -ALL of your Money unspent experience and humanity is riding on the line it gives you a reason not to die. It gets the adrenaline pumping when your about to die, and makes you actually care if you do die.

Though if you want an -easy ride- avoid this game like a plague.

dark souls! its such an epic game! its got that oldschool game difficulty! its also one of those games that you got to persevere through it ! really fun dieing and loseing all your stuff is a pain but its okay! but the fact that you can level up multiple levels at once is great! the bosses are CRAZY HUGE and MASSIVELY HARD to fight but its one of those games that you cant stop playing cause its so good! its a buy simple as that , it will take a while to beat it but its always so fun to play no matter how many times you die! THIS GAME IS ASTOUNDING ONE OF THE BEST EVER TO COME OUT RECENTLY!