Top Ten Scariest Dark Souls Monsters
These monsters will tear out your heart and eat it in front of your face… then they’ll start killing you.
Dark Souls
Players: 1 Offline Player
Publisher: Namco Bandai Games
Genres: Action, Adventure, RPG
Publisher: Namco Bandai Games
Genres: Action, Adventure, RPG
Release Date: October 4, 2011
Developer: From Software
MSRP: $59.99
Developer: From Software
MSRP: $59.99
Dark Souls is an upcoming action role-playing game from the developers who brought you Demon’s Souls, From Software. Dark Souls will have many familiar features: A dark fantasy universe, tense dungeon crawling, fearsome enemy encounters and unique online interactions. Dark Souls is a spiritual successor to Demon’s, not a sequel. Prepare for a new, despair-inducing world, with a vast, fully-explorable horizon and vertically-oriented landforms. Prepare for a new, mysterious story, centered around the King’s Crowns and the original, now dying flame at the center of the world. But most of all, prepare to die.
Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition Review – ZGR
Posted By ZGRDaniel about 8 months, 3 weeks ago
We all know that Daniel from ZGR LOVES Dark Souls, so can you guess how his review of the new Prepare to Die Edition goes?
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PC Used:
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1920×1080 – Maxed Graphics – Vsync On – 30fps Constant
Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition Review
More games need a factual "prepare to" subtitle. DOA5: Prepare to Jiggle. MGS5: Prepare to Watch. Lighting returns: Prepare to Not Care. While your thinking up your own and getting ready to put them in the comments, why not read this review?
Dark Souls Review
Dark Souls is like a really big bottle of fine whiskey. Your're loving it at the beginning, angry as hell in the middle, and by the end you'll probably pass out. Why? Find out by reading this review.
Dark Souls Review - ZGR
Daniel is clearly very excited to talk about Dark Souls! - Dark Souls Review - ZGR
Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition Review - ZGR
We all know that Daniel from ZGR LOVES Dark Souls, so can you guess how his review of the new Prepare to Die Edition goes? 
Dark Souls: Artorias of the Abyss DLC has a Release Date
It’s time to go back to the past to find out the secret of the Abyss.
Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition Review
More games need a factual “prepare to” subtitle. DOA5: Prepare to Jiggle. MGS5: Prepare to Watch. Lighting returns: Prepare to Not Care. While your thinking up your own and getting ready to put them in the comments, why not read this review?
Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition Review - ZGR
We all know that Daniel from ZGR LOVES Dark Souls, so can you guess how his review of the new Prepare to Die Edition goes?
Dark Souls Apparently Coming to PC
Good news for those interested in dying a lot, in a variety of ways, while using a mouse and a keyboard. German gaming magazine PC Action spills the beans (and my drink): Dark Souls is headed to the PC.
Rumor: Dark Souls PC Petition
Excited PC players, unite! Encouraging statements from a Namco Bandai Forum Administrator have PC gamers up in arms about the possibility of getting their arms up in a PC version of Dark Souls. Warning: this game is so hard that reading this article might kill your character before a PC version even exists.
FAQ YOU - Dark Souls
If you’re helpless and distraught in the depressing realm of Dark Souls, rejoice ! Because Benzaie is here to FAQ YOU !
Dark Souls Review - ZGR
Daniel is clearly very excited to talk about Dark Souls! – Dark Souls Review – ZGR
Dark Souls: Artorias of the Abyss DLC has a Release Date
It’s time to go back to the past to find out the secret of the Abyss.
Dark Souls Apparently Coming to PC
Good news for those interested in dying a lot, in a variety of ways, while using a mouse and a keyboard. German gaming magazine PC Action spills the beans (and my drink): Dark Souls is headed to the PC.
Rumor: Dark Souls PC Petition
Excited PC players, unite! Encouraging statements from a Namco Bandai Forum Administrator have PC gamers up in arms about the possibility of getting their arms up in a PC version of Dark Souls. Warning: this game is so hard that reading this article might kill your character before a PC version even exists.
Dark Souls Review - ZGR
Daniel is clearly very excited to talk about Dark Souls! – Dark Souls Review – ZGR
Angry Joe Plays Dark Souls
Angry Joe Plays the Sequel to one of the hardest games on PS3, Dark Souls.
Dark Souls Review
Dark Souls is like a really big bottle of fine whiskey. Your’re loving it at the beginning, angry as hell in the middle, and by the end you’ll probably pass out. Why? Find out by reading this review.
Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition Review
Posted By Yousif A. about 8 months, 2 weeks ago
Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition Review
When Dark Souls came out on console, I had the task of reviewing it. I ended up scoring the game a 7, citing several reasons why not everyone is going to get behind the title. While Blistered Thumbs and I consider a 7 a high score, a large amount of people did not. Some got angry. Others said words that, if said in person, they probably would regret at a later date. So when Austin asked me to review the PC version, I prepared myself not to die, but to get barraged with dissent once again.
| PROS | Same Great game, Majority of new content is brilliant, There is a fix out for the resolution problem |
| CONS | Terrible port, Fixed resolution, Awful new PvP area, Keyboard and Mouse controllers an abomination |
| WTF?! | They let me review the game again! |
So imagine my surprise when I found myself enjoying Dark Souls more than I did the first time out. The sheer concept of finding those opening hours tricky now seemed like a ridiculous notion. I was past the Bell Tower gargoyles well within 4 hours and only came to a halt when facing the boss of the undercity. I may not have thought Dark Souls was the greatest thing since sliced bread, but I always accepted that the game could become addictive and suddenly I was hooked.
This reaction to Dark Souls on PC was even more surprising considering the quality of the PC version. That is to say, there is a distinct lack of it.
When console ports come to PC it is always a worry, but with almost a year since the original release of Dark Souls, it wasn’t unreasonable to hope that this new “Prepare to Die” edition would be optimized for PCs. From Software obviously decided reason was for losers and PC users can enjoy the game in 1024×720, without HD textures, and required Windows Live support. Additionally the keyboard and mouse configuration was so confusing that rather than attempt to remap the catastrophe that was the key bindings, I plugged in my trusty Xbox controller.
So there I was, playing the game in a poor resolution, signed into Windows live, playing on an Xbox controller… with the 360 version of the game sitting behind me. The irony was not lost on me.
Hey, weren't you in the Dragon’s Dogma tutorial?
Thankfully, a lovely man on the interwebs has created a small file for Dark Souls which fixes the locked resolution and can be found here. It’s no HD texture pack and the game will still look several years old, with the original version of the game hardly being the peak of graphical quality, but it will alleviate some of the disappointment.
Now, I have to say despite these few issues Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition does run better than the console version in some regards. The draw distance has definitely been increased and (at least on my PC) the loading times have decreased considerably. However, most importantly of all, the frame rate for Dark Souls didn’t even consider dipping below 30fps, which is quite the improvement on the constantly jerky console release.
Considering all the problems with the PC release of Dark Souls, my enjoyment of the title may make little sense. However, anyone who has played the game can tell you the reason. Accomplishment is a rare feeling in Dark Souls, but when it does rear its head, it is a pure gaming high. It punishes mistakes, therefore the tension is always high. Facing a boss gives you no escape from this tension, so the relief and joy that washes over you on completion is something else, only matched by the pure frustration and disappointment that accompanies failure.
Nothing is more frustrating in Dark Souls than an invasion. When another player steps into your world with the express intention of killing you, your concentration and focus is shattered. Dark Souls players know with careful steps and knowledge of an area, any player can overcome the foes ahead. When that foe is a player, all bets are off. Survival of the fittest becomes survival of the least petrified. Invasion helps knock the tension up to 11, but the feeling of elation upon victory is so much sweeter than a pre-programmed opponent.
Like kicking a grizzly bear in the nuts, this is not going to end well.
Dark Souls is still not for everyone. I personally know only a small minority of my friends would actually enjoy it. The controls are hardly perfect, the combat system feels clunky, the targeting system leaves something to be desired, and I still feel players can be subjected to unfair death at times. Above all this, Dark Souls is a hard game. You will have to grind XP to succeed and even then failure is a distinct possibility if you lose concentration. Worse is the fact that all that experience earned can be lost permanently through repeated mistakes. Not everyone is going to go for that kind of punishment.
However, some of you may be coming back for a second helping of pain, or perhaps reading this to discover what awaits console players when the DLC hit later this year. Well, if you thought that the DLC would contain new areas, probably contain new enemies and bosses, inevitably kicking your ass and making you cry like a little girl all over again, “that” would be a great guess.
Prepare to Die is ridiculously apt when it comes to describing the abilities of the new opponents presented to you in this game. If it wasn’t for the lovely save file that was provided with the review copy (skipping to the new content) I probably would still be slogging through the hordes of foes found in the additional areas. While I do often berate Dark Souls for being an ugly game, the art direction and animation is always superb, and this new content is no different. The Artorias Knight and the enemies around him are probably my favorite looking creatures in Dark Souls, full stop.
How long the content will take you is completely down to your approach and skill level. The developers say around 20-40 hours, but honestly I feel that statistic is off. I know some superstars at the game that would probably fly through, while others wallow in the despair that is the 4 new bosses for what would feel like an eternity. There is one section that everyone will breeze through though, and that’s the new PvP arena, which not only has horrific matchmaking, but ultimately falls flat. The joy of fighting another human being is not the combat itself, but the risk versus reward system the game has for invasion. I expect this area of the game to be lifeless very quickly.
Capcom try and make up for the Dante re-design by unveiling their reboot of Okami.
Disappointingly, most of the new areas are comprised of assets from elsewhere in the game. There is very little new here in terms of aesthetic. Several of the new enemies and bosses also borrow animations and design from previous models, and I am pretty sure there is at least one in there that steals from a foe in Demons Souls! Failing to provide new backgrounds and animation doesn’t spoil the content of the Artorias of the Abyss, which for the most part is great, but much like the PC options, feels like very little effort was put in to please the hordes of fans that have got behind the series.
Ultimately, Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition is a great game treated to a poor PC port. If this is due to budgetary limitation or From Software’s inexperience with the PC platform, we’ll never know. What I do know is that despite the flaws, the game is well worth playing. Not only will it keep you playing for quite some time, but even when you have settled into the game and think you have it under control, another player invades your world and turns everything you know upside down. Someone once told me that they don’t consider Dark Souls an adventure game, they think it’s a survival horror. I’m starting to agree with them!
So, which version do I suggest you buy? Any is my honest answer. While the PC version may not be up the standard of most PC releases, it still has everything the console version has. In a few months the additional content will be available to all, so the PC version has nothing to brag about there. While I do think the modding community may keep going with Dark Souls, eventually releasing an HD texture pack, the game should only be reviewed as what it is right now. Therefore, I once again open myself up to the hordes of Dark Souls fans and score this version exactly the same as I did the console version.
This game was provided by the publisher on PC for review purposes. The game was played for around 30 hours and was not completed. The new content was played through and took the reviewer around 15 hours to complete. The reviewer also invaded and was invaded lots of time, which he did not experience before reviewing the console version. The game also requires a connection to Games for Windows Live at all times, even if you own a copy on Steam.
7/10
Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition Review
More games need a factual "prepare to" subtitle. DOA5: Prepare to Jiggle. MGS5: Prepare to Watch. Lighting returns: Prepare to Not Care. While your thinking up your own and getting ready to put them in the comments, why not read this review? Dark Souls Review
Dark Souls is like a really big bottle of fine whiskey. Your're loving it at the beginning, angry as hell in the middle, and by the end you'll probably pass out. Why? Find out by reading this review. Dark Souls Review - ZGR
Daniel is clearly very excited to talk about Dark Souls! - Dark Souls Review - ZGR Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition Review - ZGR
We all know that Daniel from ZGR LOVES Dark Souls, so can you guess how his review of the new Prepare to Die Edition goes?-
September 05, 2012 at 02:53am
This is a game I really wanted to like because I loved it seeing my friends play it on XBox. The port is so god awful though that you might as well not bother with it. You’re not going to get a positive PC experience with this anyways since you’ll need to plug in a controller to even really have a chance to play it, so it might as well be said that while this is not a bad game, buying it on PC is a complete waste of money.
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September 05, 2012 at 12:14pm
To be fair, it was developed by a team of people who had never developed anything for the PC before, so they at least got that going for them. They also admitted to a lot of the faults that it would have before it was even released. That being said however, it’s still a horrible port.
However, get a controller, hook it up to the computer, and this would actually be the best version of the game to play. There is absolutely no lag, and already people have and continue to develop new mods and fixes for the game.
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September 04, 2012 at 03:19pm
Worst PC port I’ve ever played. They really no-assed it. I could not even get my damn Steam copy to run. (I blame Games for Windows Live.) Eventually I gave up and got a pirate version just so I could play the game I had bought.I still don’t regret buying it though.
The latest DSfix mod made the game look considerably better than the console version, largely because it let me turn off the focus effect that scaled down the resolution for distant areas, and of course turn up the damn internal resolution.
I loved the new content. Particularly the intense boss fights, and how it extended the lore.
As I see it the port was no-assed, the game, (including the new stuff,) was not. Then again I am a big DS-mark. I didn’t buy the game again for no reason.
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September 04, 2012 at 01:26pm
What exactly is wrong with the pvp arena? A lot of players on the console had to set up areas for consistent pvp , so I’d think most would LOVE that kind of feature.
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September 04, 2012 at 11:28am
erm dark souls has a 30 fps limit on it and no fix for it has been made so when you talk about i not droping below 60 you meant 30
i still don’t get why we should not be harsh about bad ports. yes it is there first PC game that is why we should critize them so they can learn from there misstakes and down the line make a greater product for it.
also i am now going to ruin grafix on the 360 looking good to you take any 360 or PS3 game now look at small black outlines see how they flicker that is a low render resultion issue now got ontop a PC with the same game running at 1080p see how it no longer flickers with the small black outlines.
now that you see it is going to annoy the everlving crap out of you when you play games on a 360 or ps3 (that is also why borderlands is considerd a good looker since it has borad black outlines)
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September 04, 2012 at 11:03am
The recomendation changed from your last review from “For Fans Only” to “Try It Out”.
I consider this a step up.Also, Silent Hill: Book of Memories Prepare to Cry edition.
Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition Review - ZGR
We all know that Daniel from ZGR LOVES Dark Souls, so can you guess how his review of the new Prepare to Die Edition goes?
FAQ YOU - Dark Souls
If you’re helpless and distraught in the depressing realm of Dark Souls, rejoice ! Because Benzaie is here to FAQ YOU !
Dark Souls Review - ZGR
Daniel is clearly very excited to talk about Dark Souls! – Dark Souls Review – ZGR
Angry Joe Plays Dark Souls
Angry Joe Plays the Sequel to one of the hardest games on PS3, Dark Souls.
Top Ten Scariest Dark Souls Monsters
These monsters will tear out your heart and eat it in front of your face… then they’ll start killing you.
Dark Souls Apparently Coming to PC
Good news for those interested in dying a lot, in a variety of ways, while using a mouse and a keyboard. German gaming magazine PC Action spills the beans (and my drink): Dark Souls is headed to the PC.
Rumor: Dark Souls PC Petition
Excited PC players, unite! Encouraging statements from a Namco Bandai Forum Administrator have PC gamers up in arms about the possibility of getting their arms up in a PC version of Dark Souls. Warning: this game is so hard that reading this article might kill your character before a PC version even exists.
I’m more than a little surprised by this review. To say that the absolutely heinous keyboard and mouse controls are “understandable” is to ignore the outright laziness of the port.
More than dozen times online I’ve caught sight of someone claiming it’s the worst port to PC ever, and I can see why many would say that. I’ve waited ages for this game to become available on PC, since I prefer level of focus and control the PC gives – especially on a game like DARK SOULS!
But after the long wait, even if I only count the months since the PC version was announced, I have to wonder what the HELL the devs were doing in that time.
Here I have this incredible game, that is hard as all hell but keeps drawing me back despite my frustrations. And now I’m hobbled by controls that give you less focused control than on a game pad. To make matters worse, the instructions in game haven’t been edited for PC, leaving you confused as to how to do things if you aren’t using a controller and the menu is no help with that.
And on top of that, the screen size has had to be modded by someone outside of the developing company?! What DID the developers do in all the time since the PC version was announced?
I have to say, I’m horrified when elsewhere on the site, Tom is giving Konami guff about their silent hill re-release when this mess exists. And in a time when most people want things quickly, most will just watch this review and assume a little teething trouble with the PC, which isn’t right.
Honestly, it’ll be hard to get angry about any port-bugs in future games after this monstrosity. It’ll just come down to “well, at least it isn’t Dark Souls!”
IMO, they’ve done a huge disservice to the game itself and the fans. Requiring that we buy a wired controller for our rigs is ridiculous, we could have just played it on console if that was the case. Anyone thinking of buying this game on PC should seriously wait until the DLC becomes available on consoles to avoid major disappointment! And I say none of this lightly.
I been debating weather to get this version or wait for the DLC which is going to be like $15 from what i hear. I think I’m going to go that route since I don’t find much point in owning 2 versions of the same game and I would rather just spend the money for the extra content over $40 or whatever it’s going to be in a couple months. Really, I’ll just go for the cheaper price.
Looks good, but don’t want to dump another 500+++ bucks into computer..
Way too expensive for that lazy-ass imitation of a port. Waiting for the price to go down and the customisationlevel to go up.
People who bitch about the controls…obviously have never played Demon’s/Dark Souls on consoles..Possibly how could an Action RPG would play well on M&KB?? We all knew this would be a game for controllers in mind..anyone who bothered to research the game would have known that.
A more legit beef would be with the high falures of summoning,framerate issues and the need to use Games for fucking Windows.It’s a flawed port but to label this the worst PC port of all time is completely retarded.Play Resident Evil 4 on PC and you will know.
First of all, you CAN port a game that is primarely designed for controllers to mouse and keyboard just fine. Darksiders 2 works perfectly, so did Kingdoms of Amalur. This whole argument of “It can’t be done so cut them some slack” is just absolutely wrong.
Also there are plenty of PC games that work like Darksouls. Darksouls is not the first third person RPG to ever appear on the PC so it’s not like they couldn’t have looked up how the control scheme is supposed to work for this exact type of game.
But OK, there are bad ports that are clunky to play on mouse and keyboard. Some games are simply better with certain input devices. However, that still in absolutely no way excuses not even bothering to replace the tooltips, or making it impossible to shut down the game without forcing a shutdown through the task manager unless you have a controller plugged in. I mean there is “Works better with a controller” and there is “Doesn’t work without a controller”.
Darksiders 2 is a bloody mess. Many people can’t even get it to work at all and the ones that do are still subjected to random problems like user interface elements being random nonsense. Yup, perfect sure was a good choice of words, there.
DO NOT BUY THIS!
This is the worst PC port ever made. It’s utterly unplayable without a controller, so there is just absolutely no reason to play this on the PC.
It’s a great game on XBox, play it on XBox.
Get over the fact that you don’t want to buy a controller and stop spamming this review.
Seriously someone give him a controller or something.
Yes, buying a $200 Xbox sure is a great alternative to a $20 controller.
I’d heard this PC port was bad but from what you described this sounds like the laziest port I’ve heard about in recent years (besides ones that don’t work at all of course). Not even allowing players to turn up the default resolution to 1080p without a mod? WTF! That’s beyond unacceptable even the laziest cash in ports I’ve seen over the last few years had THAT. No graphics options is no surprise (most quick ports don’t bother) but no resolution scaling AND a 30 fps lock…shameful. Even the force unleashed 2 (worst functional port I’ve ever played) had basic resolution options and few graphics options. This is a great game that I enjoyed but even 40 bucks sounds like a slap in the face. Just when you think console ports couldn’t get lazier I hear about stuff like this. Seriously no in game option to change resolutions…REALLY? lol Seriously this boggles my mind for a AAA title. Never seen/heard of that before on a PC game.
You put graphics above quality?
Please dont insult the Ps3 and Xbox users that got the game at 60 dollars a year ago, the Ps3 community is not a mayority of trolls or gankers that hack the infinite HP or stamina, some would if they could
This port only came to be after PC gamers petitioned for it. Namco and the developers admitted that they had no experience with the PC platform and it was pretty clear that the port wouldn’t turn out all that great. It is mostly for people who do not want to get a console just for one game. I’m not saying that it isn’t disappointing but I’m hoping that with the good amount of sales it’s seeing that they will develop a PC version of their next version in parallel and make sure it’s better integrated.
What Daniel didn’t mention at all is that the PC version requires Games for Windows Live which a lot of people reported issues with. Sadly it’s the only service that provides the kind of always connected gameplay Dark Souls needs for it’s online features.
Actually he did mention it and he said it blows. Quite succinct I thought.
The game does have the resolution option and the textures are already in the game’s resources. The mod is nothing but a .dll file and a config file, totaling at 200KB, fixing the higher res models. It’s a glitch yes, but it’s not like it’s the first port to muck this up. Hell even some straight to PC games have managed something similar, even going as far as to forget to even include the high res textures.
The only case where I wouldn’t recommend this over the console version is if the person doesn’t have access to a controller, but since both the xbox and the ps3 pads work for the pc, that goes out the window.
If I have one beef, it’s that there’s no toggle to go offline.