Dark Souls
Prepare to Die
A bonfire, one of the important gameplay elements scattered throughout Lordran, the world of Dark Souls.
One of The Greatest Games of the Modern Era
Dark Souls is a brutally difficult action-rpg created by developer From Software. Widely praised by both critics and gamers, Dark Souls re-introduced the concepts of extreme difficulty, exploration, and skill back into the modern gaming lexicon. Taking place in the cursed kingdome of Lordran, the player is the Chosen Undead, destined to link the fire and continue the cycle created by the ancients, or to extinguish the flame, thus ending the cycle.
- Dark Souls' combat rewards patience and learning the enemies movements and patterns.
- Upon death, the player is resurrected at the last bonfire they rested at. All enemies, save bosses, mini-bosses, and NPC's respawn - every time. Players may also use bonfires to level up.
- Slain enemies have a chance to drop items such as weapons or armor, but most importantly, always drop souls.
- Souls are the important currencty that allows the player to level up, repair and upgrade their armor, or to buy items from merchants.
- Upon death, the player also loses all of their souls. However, the souls can be reclaimed should the player make it back to their corpse. Items picked up remain in your inventory, even in the inevitable event of player death.
- Covenants are factions that players can join that offer different perks and dialogue options with various NPC's. Many NPC's will refuse to speak with the player if they are a part of certain factions.
- Players can summon NPC's or other players through the use of several summoning signs that can be placed throughout the world. Players can be summoned for assistance on bosses, or for PVP combat.
- Later in the game, bonfires also become waypoints for fast travel, but it is a perk that must be earned.
- Dark Souls takes place in the land of Lordran at the end of the Age of Fire, where an undead curse has ravaged humanity.
- As the Chosen Undead, it is up to the player to choose to rekindle the First Flame, extending the Age of Fire, or extinguishing the First Flame, ushering in the Age of Dark.
- Player death is often seen as a means of educating the player about gameplay mechanics, including combat and exploration. The game is rarely seen as being unfair, and encourages mastery.
"We are born into Dark, and warmed by Fire, but this Fire we cannot touch." ~ Laurentius