90%PC

A mythical game that managed to be the namesake of a whole genre.
It's tough, dark and ruthless, but also very fair, rewarding and epic.
A design masterpiece even with the flaws, I can't recommend this game enough.

80%PC

Me gusta sufrir

85%PC

Gameplay: 3
Story: 2
Visuals & Audio: 2
Replayability & Longevity: 4
Stability & Polish: 4
Personal Modifier: +2

50%PC

Okay

90%PC

there's a dip in quality after the first half, but this was a REALLY enjoyable experience
even though i died and alt-f4 sometimes i always came back

removed 5% because Crystal Cave sucks

95%Nintendo Switch

premier soulike, c'est fou, le sentiment d'accomplissement est incroyable, la DA est géniale, la BO aussi, tout semble dangereux, on s'immerge énormément

80%PlayStation 4

This game is the epitome of a dark medieval fantasy world. Even the large open worlds of the current era is surpassed by its incredible setting and an interconnected world. The combat although not on par with today's standards is still amazing and is a great start for newcomers to the franchise. The bosses on the other hand, were quite bad there are only a select few that is still considered great to this day and don't get me even started with the final boss.

85%PC

Legendarna gra, miałem do niej 3 podejścia, ale nie ze względu na poziom trudności tylko traciłem wenę do tej gry. Pierwsze podejście 7h, drugie podejście 4h i trzecie podejście czyli 24 godziny okazało się ostatecznym w którym przeszedłem grę jak i całe dlc. Jak to soulsy od from software, świat jest bardzo dobrze zaprojektowany, czasami byłem w kropce i nie wiedziałem gdzie iść, ale sam world design jest świetny. Walki z bossami, pamiętam że podczas pierwszego przejścia gargulców, walczyłem z nimi między 30min a 1 godzinę, natomiast za trzecim podejściem przeszedłem je za 1 czy 2 podejściem. I tak było również z dużą ilością bossów, całą grę przechodziłem grająć z "Wielką Pałką" kiedy tylko ją znalazłem i grałem pod siłe (dokładnie 60 siły, 35 wytrzymałości i około 25-30 witalności), większość bossów "zamykałem" w około 5 podejść, więc nie było to zbytnie wyzwanie. Najcięższym bossem był Manus czyli końcowy boss z dodatku Dużo różnorodności, dużo znajdziek co zachęca gracza do ekspolracji. Soundtracki na bossach nie były jakies wybitne, żaden prócz legendarnego z final bossa nie zapadł mi w pamięć. Na pewno polecam te soulsy, i poleciłbym je do zagrania jako pierwsze dla nowego gracza w tego typu gatunku jeżeli na bok wzięlibyśmy demon soulsy. Polecam

80%PC

Genuinely thought I'd be underwhelmed coming to ds1 after finishing elden ring
but holy shit this lived up to the hype
great atmosphere as always
great visuals for a game that old
lore is class as well
now the bosses,
great bosses fosho, but coming from elden ring, man they are janky.
the hitboxes are insanely ridiculous and boss placements are a pain in the ass as well.
not being able to warp from bonfire to bonfire at the start was annoying asf
but ig it all adds up to what this game is all about
a lot of people say the latter part was rushed, honestly didn't feel like that for me, except for Tomb of the Giants, ofc.
pathetic fucking area where you can't see shit and get ur ass fisted by skeletons more powerful than the final boss of that area.
the final boss was a little lame, ik its lore accurate but still, super easy for a souls final boss.
bed of chaos was lowkey fun btw
all in all another fromsoft masterpiece.

95%PC

One of my favorites

90%PC

I am playing this game almost 15 years late, but it was still incredible. I played Elden Ring as my first souls-borne game and I definitely think FromSoftware has improved. The characters are very memorable, the combat is punishing but fair. Here's the parts I didn't like, some of the gimmick bosses like Bed of Chaos were annoying to fight. I personally really dislike any multi-boss fights (where there's more than one boss attacking you at once) and there's a few of them here. The most annoying thing though to me was how far I had to run back to the damn boss door on each attempt, I mean some of them felt like 5 minutes of running just to give the boss one more try. I really appreciate the stake of marika system Elden Ring added which alleviates some of that frustration and lets you get right back into the action quickly. Putting that aside, the game is just incredible to play, and the feeling of finally beating a boss after 10+ attempts is just one that is rarely matched by any other game. 9/10.

50%PC

No.
Just no.

80%Nintendo Switch

I haven't played Elden Ring yet so this is my second favourite FromSoft game after Sekiro. I can't really say anything about how good it is that hasn't already been said.

75%PlayStation 4

7.5/10

90%PC

Done the 100% percent, kind a struggle but still an amazing game, one of my favorites <3

85%PC

Amazing game. Super fun to experience the whole game. Would be fun to replay again with a different build. Dex build with fire perhaps?

100%PC

GOAT

95%PC

There are already more than enough video essays about this game and it's importance in peoples' lives. All of them hold true. This really is an experience everyone should have atleast once in their life.

90%PlayStation 4

Gameplay 9/10
Storia e Personaggi 9/10
Audio Design e Musiche 8/10
Direzione artistica e Level Design 9/10

Complessivo: 9

95%Nintendo Switch

It's not perfect from start to end, but the level design is on a different level. One of the most influential games in history, and appart from the movement, which isn't exactly like butter, it aged fantastically.

90%PC

It’s Dark Souls, what more is there to say? I don’t really need to explain how it looks or plays – everyone knows what they're getting into here.

That being said, I came to it without any nostalgia, because I played it in 2020 for the first time so the charm didn’t hit as hard, and honestly, without some guidance on where to go next, I probably would’ve lost motivation early on. The game’s structure is brutal if you're not used to it with no hints on where to go etc.

It actually took me three tries to get through it – but I finally did it, and even did all achievements. And yeah… of course it was fun in the end. It’s a Souls game. You suffer for three hours, hate everything, then finally beat the boss and suddenly love the game again. That cycle is weirdly addictive.

Still, Elden Ring was way more my thing personally – I connected with it more overall. But I’m glad I stuck with Dark Souls Remastered, because despite everything, I genuinely enjoyed the journey. (Also you kinda fall in love with the map layout, that everything is connected in some way, thats pretty cool) - 9/10

100%Nintendo Switch

Incredible game once you get over the learning curve. Amazing atmosphere really brought to life with the sound design. Super stressful throughout. Interesting, distinct areas with beautiful art.

100%PC

shit went crazy with ornstein and smough

100%PC

THE GOAT

80%PC

Finishing out my dark souls games, I found this one while still really good, to be my least favorite of the bunch. This is probably due to just how much clunkier the controls have gotten when going from 3 to 2 to 1. Still a very good game

85%PC

8.5/10

70%PC

The first half of this game is pure genius. The interconnected map is nothing short of brilliance. However, the second half is where this game falls apart. The interconnectivity is absent, areas seem unfinished, enemies are randomly placed and bosses are rushed.

90%PlayStation 5

Beautiful game, absolutely stunning. I loved almost every minute of it. The beginning of the game is like nothing else, the sprawling world, the intriguing story. It’s practically perfect. The gameplay has a clunk to it, but for the most part it feels like a choice, it works out until you get to the larger bosses or the latter quarter of the game. The tracking was a little bit lacking but the gameplay easily made up for that small issue. The DLC might be the best part.
My main gripe is the last couple sections. While mostly visually stunning the areas were lackluster and left me feeling slightly disappointed after the first 3/4ths of the game.
Still one of the best games I have played!
87/100
Goodbye then. Be safe, friend. Don't you dare go hollow.

80%PC

edgy ico

70%PlayStation 5

Story: 6
The game has a lot of lore and context about the world, but the actual story you play through is pretty barebones. You wake up as an Undead, get told to ring the Bells, ring them, and then make your way to Gwyn to take his place and decide what to do with the Fire. You get bits of info about Gwyn and other lords from before, but your actions during the game don’t have visible consequences. The endings don’t show the aftermath of your decision, so it feels a bit lacking in terms of a narrative payoff. The lore is well done, though, and adds depth to the world.

Gameplay: 6
The gameplay is quite clunky and slow. You move very sluggishly, even without fat rolling, and it often feels like there’s a slight delay in responding to inputs. Running feels like moving through thick water. Not being able to fast travel between bonfires until later in the game, and then also only between selected few, is an unnecessary mechanic which only adds more runbacks. On the plus side, the level design and interconnectivity are phenomenal (at least in the first half of the game). It’s really cool discovering how many areas connect to Firelink Shrine. The areas are well designed in terms of difficulty and mob placement, providing a good challenge on your first run and easier navigation on subsequent runs. The second half of the game is a bit weaker in that regard.

Music & Audio: 6
The music and audio are generally pretty average. There’s no music during exploration, and while there is music during boss fights, it didn't really stand out to me. It’s there, but it’s not particularly memorable or impactful. Only three music themes stood out to me: the one during character creation, in Ash Lake, and during the Gwyn fight. I wish similar music played more during the actual game, at least at some bonfires, to provide better atmosphere.

Design & Visuals: 6
The graphics range from fine to, unfortunately, downright ugly in some places. Some areas lack saturation, and places like Darkroot Basin/Garden are too dimly lit, making it hard to see; the biggest offender is of course the Catacombs, where you can barely see anything even with a light source. The Remastered version doesn’t seem to have improved the graphics much, which is disappointing. You can often notice so many low-resolution textures, which is really distracting. The visual design feels dated compared to other games of the same era that look much better.

Overall Score: 7/10
Dark Souls I is a bit hard to review because it’s a classic that paved the way for the Souls genre. However, playing it for the first time now, it definitely shows its age and has some flaws that spoil the experience. The gameplay is clunky, the graphics are dated, and the story feels lacking. Despite these issues, the phenomenal level design and interconnectivity, along with the strong replayability, make it worth at least checking out. It’s an average game on its own but holds a special place as a genre-defining classic.

100%Nintendo Switch

I really love Dark Souls 1. The game’s a bit old and that might turn some people off — the gameplay can feel clunky at times, and it’s kinda confusing when you’re like, “where do I go now?”
But anyway, the music is perfect, and I absolutely love how all the areas are interconnected — that’s what really amazed me. Plus, the NPC and boss designs are just awesome.

100%PC

dude, get this game. its so jank, gank, and everything in between, but it is such an incredible experience that I think everyone should try.

100%PC

One of the best games of all time.

85%PlayStation 4

Gameplay: (Good) ----- Graphics: (Good) ----- Story: (Great) ----- Progression: (Good) ----- Score: (Amazing)

100%Xbox Series X/S

In the year 2025 Dark Souls is still a masterpiece. The world is intricately designed, the mood and feeling of survival permeates your journey and the almost infinite amount of ways to build your character gives you ownership of your adventure. Its tough but fair and always feels captivating. Be safe friend, don't you dare go hollow.

90%PlayStation 4

Some of the best combat and level design and boss design in a game

85%PC

My First Souls game did not disappoint.

After years of sitting on the sidelines and seeing the name FromSoftware pop up over and over again as one of the most respected names in gaming, I finally decided to take the plunge. I finally decided to see what this mysterious, relatively new genre called “Soulslike” was all about. And what better place to start than at its origin?
I was not disappointed.

Dark Souls is difficult. There’s not getting around that. These Miyazaki games are known for their difficulty level and they absolutely deliver. What I didn’t expect is how good the difficulty feels.

Normally, if a game is too easy, you breeze through it and may feel unfulfilled. If it’s too difficult, you may struggle and give up. And even if it’s just right, you miss out on that struggle. What makes DS so interesting is that no matter how difficult the game got, I kept wanting to jump back in and conquer it. There’s something about Dark Souls that gives you the urge to just keep fighting until you succeed. That’s the special sauce that so many other games get wrong – a feeling that no matter how tough something is, you can work hard and overcome it.

I died. A lot. I got frustrated. I got angry. I even swore at the screen on occasion. But what I didn’t do was abandon the game. No matter how frustrating it got, it always felt fun and worthwhile.

Positives:

+ The lore is very cool. The story is virtually nonexistent, and anyone who says Dark Souls has some complex storyline is lying to you. But just the way the world is built, with its areas, enemies, and weapons – is incredibly creative. The influences are clear – the game feels to me like a cross between Zelda, Lord of the Rings, and Super Ghouls N Ghosts – but it handles them all with a great ambiance. World-building and level design are fantastic.
+ The music is very good, with some truly great moments – particularly the Gargoyles and Gwyn. Sound design is top notch across the board.
+ Despite this being a 2011 game with some minor 2018 updates, it looks quite good. It’s amazing how far art design and creativity will get you, even with an outdated game engine. The way you can see the interconnected world and distant areas of the game is beautiful. Anor Londo is a stunner.
+ The level design is fantastic. The Undead Parish elevator is truly one of the most memorable moments in gaming I’ve had in a while. Sadly, the level design suffers in the latter half (ie. Lost Izalith), but it’s just a really well-designed game. The interconnectivity gives the game a real sense of physicality, as though this is a real place you’re exploring and uncovering its secrets.
+There are some excellent boss fights (especially the Gargoyles, O & S, and Artorias, although there are also some bad ones, like the Capra Demon, and of course Bed of Chaos.

Negatives:

- The Humanity system is pointless. The foreign invasions are a nuisance.
- The game needs more story and more cinematics. The best by far is Gough’s arrow in the DLC, but that kind of thing is very rare in DS. Even the endgame cutscenes are severely lacking.
-The NPC quests are poorly handled. They’re so easy to miss out on, and consequently, it’s so easy to miss out on significant game content. I never even encountered Kaathe. I never got egg infested. I never partook in Alvina’s summons. And without reading about them online, I never would have figured out how to access the DLC (one of the best parts of the game), how to fight Gwyndolin, or even how to reach the Four Kings. People call it “environmental storytelling” but I don’t think that’s accurate. It’s just bad design.
- Runbacks suck. ‘Nuff said.
- Is it just me or is the music from the character creation screen a complete knockoff of the Resident Evil save screen music?
- I found the RPG elements went too far, with too much stuff left unexplored. For example, there was so much loot that I never used or even learned about. I still don’t know what Miracles do or how to use spells or what to do with boss souls or what raw/divine/occult weapons are or what Gravelord Servant summons are or all the poses you learn or so many power ups boows, crossbows, etc… DS could have used an editor to remove some unnecessary elements.

All in all, this is a fantastic game. The only things holding it back from being a 90% or above are the excessive runbacks, a few bad bosses, a lack of a real story/narrative (lore is not a story), and the fact that the latter half of the game isn’t quite as good as the former half. But it’s still an excellent game that I won’t hesitate to recommend to anyone. This was one of the most memorable and unique gaming experiences I’ve had in years. I can’t wait to play DS2, DS3, and Elden Ring.

Visuals: 7.5/10
Sound: 8.5/10
Story & Lore: 8/10
Gameplay: 8/10
World & Level Design: 9/10

Overall: 8.7/10 (not an average)

100%PC

Sun boys

80%PlayStation 4

First and foremost, this game feels like a product of its time, mainly because of the sluggish movements and the awful enemy placements and hitboxes. The fact you can't fast travel around for the first half makes this worse, but it also helps to showcase the great world design, which is one of the best parts of this game. And speaking of best parts, the bosses: these are generally the highlight of these games, but in this one, many of them are very simple, with very basic and often highly telegraphed moves, which makes the fight disappointingly simple, but But, while some are considered some of the worst in the series, others are widly beloved bosses that show quality in many different aspects. Similar to the bosses, the music is kind of in the middle, it's cool how it is only present for bosses and certain specific locations and there are a lot of great tracks, but there are also some very bland ones, and let's not forget the ones shared between 2 (one time 3) bosses. What I'd say is the best part of FromSoft soulslikes is the way they tell their story, which is indirectly through character dialogues, item description and the environment around you. In conclusion, while I'm not the biggest fan of this game, I cannot ignore its legacy, without this game we wouldn't have the greatness that is the soulslike genre, with all the beautiful games that fall under its umbrella, including some of my favorites.

90%PC

Very strong first half, but the 2nd half is why I cannot rate this higher. It does not ruin the game for me because there is still some fun to be had with it, but it is significantly weaker than the absolutely stellar first half and the DLC more than makes up for it.

80%PC

Was expecting better results after playing DS3 and DS2, but it wasn't what I expected. The game pulled a lot of asshole design elements which for the most part felt completely unfair. The game while very much appreciated, had a strong first half and a weaker 2nd half. The experience was very frustrating after playing both DS2 and DS3, many people seem to praise this game so much yet overlook the flaws. This may be a very unpopular hot opinion but DS1 is probably my least favorite Dark Souls game, but still a great game after playing it many times over the years. 8/10

100%Xbox Series X/S

Olha, é Dark souls kkkk não tem o que dizer, é dificil, MUITO dificil no começo, depois fica bem mais facil e no final, eu matei o boss final com 4 hits, tudo bem que tava overleveled por que quis testar varias armas de chefes e tive que aumentar varios stats farmando, mas ainda assim, a atmosfera, a lore e o design, IMPECAVEL, cara a fromsoftware realmente merece todo a adoração que eles recebem, os jogos deles são os meus favoritos by far! JOGA ISSOOOO! por fim eu reforço demais, não ouve o que as pessoas falam sobre esse jogo, ele não é tão dificil como todo mundo faz parecer, é totalmente jogável, só tem que ter paciencia e PREPARE TO DIE, a lot! kkkkkkk

15%PC

Bullshit

80%PC

Bom jogo. Teve alguns bosses que achei muito estranho de matar, mas no geral o jogo é muito bem produzido.

75%PC

What a gem of a game. Very hard, nowhere near beginner-friendly (didn't understand where to go a lot of time), unforgiving af, but how lord was it good to play. The level design of this game is the best I've ever seen, everything is so much intertwined, it's just pure genius.
My first souls-like game, but not my last for sure. I had a blast, this game made me experience something new. A bit old, with slow mechanics, but still enjoyable,

50%PC

Dark Souls is an atmospheric masterpiece with some excellent boss fights strewn about.

You really do feel as though you're making a pilgrimage to a once sacred land that has fallen into that decay and corruption.

In the end, it feels like the first Divinity: Original Sin: an extremely charming and rewarding game that I ultimately cannot recommend anyone to play.
I get the appeal, looking forward to playing the rest of the series, just am at a loss that this series is as successful as it is.

Even after all of the franchise's success the developers did not take this opportunity to finish their game.

Instead of going the route of Knights of the Old Republic 2 and just amputating the cut content to the best of their ability, FromSoftware instead chose to vomit out what they could, and this vomit is almost the entirety of the second half of the game.

There are also so many boneheaded design decisions.

You can't pause...

So many optional NPC quests are nearly guaranteed to be missed without a guide, which I cannot think is intentional.

Another weird thing is that new players seem to be directed towards two of the endgame areas.

I (and others) spent the first several hours of our playthroughs in these end areas due to these being in the natural progression paths with the actual starting area after the tutorial being just a few steps the other way. Progression in these areas is painful, yet strangely feasible, which is weird as many areas after this will make it apparent that you shouldn't be there just yet by either stat checking the player so hard in order to ensure that you are using blacksmiths to upgrade your equipment, or the areas will be literally locked away.

There are many other weird gameplay misses such as some of the earliest bosses having messed up hitboxes, personally wound up spending a good amount of hours mistakenly thinking that Dark Souls did not provide any invincibility frames for its dodge rolls.

Further exacerbating all this are the traps and ambushes lying in wait even after boss areas. This pairs horrendously with the weird decision they made to make this an RPG with potentially lost progress on death mechanics where many save locations/checkpoints are well hidden. After struggling through mazes, traps, and so many enemies it seems weird that you are expected to return to your previous save location before making progress just so that you can level up in a game that does not make sense that you even get have to level up in.

Just so much struggling through an area, get a surprise death, struggle through an area again, eventually kill the boss, die looking for a nearby bonfire by an ambush or introduction to a new trap, die en-route to picking up your EXP = massive loss in progress; so stupid.

Level up system also forces players into very specific builds that all feel extremely different, which is strange as FromSoftware also made the legendary mecha series Armored Core where you are able to just change your playstyle on the fly without any pesky stat requirements and whatnot getting the way of your experimentation

50%PC

Very frustrating to jump to this game after dark souls 3

85%PC

While lacking as a "remaster" this still facilitated my first time playing DS1 due to the original game's poor performance. As such. this review is more-so of DS1 as opposed to the remaster. The passion of the lore and story speaks for itself and this game still maintains the best level design of all the souls games. Some amazing zones and easily the most immersive of all the souls games. Janky at parts and some bosses are dissapointing in execution. Still a masterpiece and a one of a kind experience.

100%PC

https://youtu.be/RGhkAw8M8IU
https://youtu.be/FARoCgUVYO0
https://youtu.be/oQNjt1boyAI
https://youtu.be/AAFkvLSjhnM
https://youtu.be/a_c8InehTMM
https://youtu.be/nNUk-kmJGEc
https://youtu.be/-u1KHv7dgBY
https://youtu.be/JtfgTyKHNpM
https://youtu.be/ZLz4a0kIgbg
https://youtu.be/SW9KOrjXODI

85%PlayStation 4

Good game, I thought it would be much better than DeS but so far it improves some things but makes several other things worse

Pros:
- Great controls and mechanics
- Great and mostly fair combat
- Great looks
- Cool that the map has multiple interconnections

Cons:
- No clear objective/destination/path to follow. I kill a boss and most often than not don't know where to go
- Very often I miss doors/rooms/NPC's, everything's so hidden
- Have to guess how to damage/kill certain enemies that aren't damaged/killed by my current weapons
- No hub you can teleport to/from (thus far) as in DeS or BB
- I hate Humanity being scarce and being lost upon death...
- Hollow character looks dull but damn Humanity is scarce (see above)