Dark Souls - Retrospective @ Upcoming Technology

Upcoming Technology takes a look back at Dark Souls and tells us why it's one of the best games ever made.

What is the best part about playing a video game? Is it the thrill of watching the visual effects of a plane crash through a building and the amazement of the graphical destruction caused by the building crashing down to pieces? Is it the Hollywood style action sequences which keep the adrenaline rush going till you eventually want to jump out from the window to try and catch that ledge? Is it the thrill of racing or playing in a football game which one might not be able to achieve in real life?​

All of these can qualify as perfectly valid reasons for playing video games. But for me, they’re a bit too superficial. My reasons for playing games are much more basic. For me, its all about failing and trying again to correct myself. The possibility of death and the chance of life after it really intrigue me. I love a challenge, and I love to be rewarded for playing well and punished for being stupid. And in that regard, I feel Dark Souls is the best game I’ve ever played.​

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Failing and retrying is a weird thing to like best about video games. I loved Dark Souls because of the wondrous world I could explore alone, slowly unveiling mystery after mystery. To me that is the pinnacle of video games; exploring amazing worlds your own way, at your own pace.

However, I must mention how poor the Dark Souls controls were...it was a great game, but the controls and other game mechanics were NOT good. Falling off ledges because of rigid attack animations and wacky camera movements is not good. Here's hoping DS2 corrects these issues.

Brumbek said:

Failing and retrying is a weird thing to like best about video games. I loved Dark Souls because of the wondrous world I could explore alone, slowly unveiling mystery after mystery. To me that is the pinnacle of video games; exploring amazing worlds your own way, at your own pace.

However, I must mention how poor the Dark Souls controls were…it was a great game, but the controls and other game mechanics were NOT good. Falling off ledges because of rigid attack animations and wacky camera movements is not good. Here's hoping DS2 corrects these issues.

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I thought the controls in Dark Souls were just fine - at least for the PS3 version. I didn't play much of the PC port.

I agree with eveything else you said though. It has a fantastic world (from what I've seen so far), and it drips with atmosphere.

Speaking as someone who completed the game with mouse and keyboard, I have to be honest and say that there was nothing really wrong with the movement or controls. If you fell off a ledge, that's due to your mistake or poor positioning during combat, something which only you can take responsibility for.

Personally I had much more difficulty with the control system in Witcher 2 than I did in Dark Souls.

Pessimeister said:

Speaking as someone who completed the game with mouse and keyboard, I have to be honest and say that there was nothing really wrong with the movement or controls. If you fell off a ledge, that's due to your mistake or poor positioning during combat, something which only you can take responsibility for.

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You're telling me you never fell off The Great Hallow area because the camera suddenly and violently rotated 90 degrees right as you were walking forward? I just really dislike games that force camera movements without warning.

Moreover, I disliked how you couldn't cancel attack animations. It made no sense for a precise fighting game. So many needless deaths occurred because you couldn't adapt your fighting if a new enemy jumped out at you at the last second. I note that the new Witcher 2 combat rebalance mod fixes the clunky combat issue in Witcher 2 apparently, but I haven't tried it.

Have you guys played the new Devil may Cry? That is the type of incredibly smooth combat controls I want in DS2. Quick, adaptive, and flexible instead of clunky uncancel-able attacks.

The combat in Kingdoms of Amalur was great

I installed Dark Souls but have yet to play it. It's a bit sad that fans had to come out with a patch (DSfix) to fix texture resolutions and other assorted issues that came with a lazy port.

But I hope to start playing it this weekend! Assuming, of course, I'm not hassled by my sister's kids to play CubeWorld with them