Dark Souls Remastered - PlayStation 4

I have always loved the Dark Souls series, and Dark souls 1 was the best by far. When this game was announced, I initially was not too excited for it, but then I started to reminisce. I remembered all of the good times I had with this game, and the many hours it robbed from me that I'll never want to get back. I decided to pre-order and pick up this Remastered version, very excited to put it in and play immediately when I got home. Let's say this: It is EXACTLY as good as the original version. That's the best review I can give, because this game is almost exactly like the first version in every way, including the graphics. Sadly, this game falls prey to the phenomenon that happens to ALL memories of video games from the past, in that you remember them looking so much better. The graphics are from an era where this was considered good but not great, and in this era, the are nearly so painstakingly bad that it just about ruins the immersion. However, after about 4 or 5 hours of gritting my teeth and sticking with the blobby, fuzzy, and smeared graphics of the scenery, I became desensitized to it's atrociousness, and I don't even think about it anymore. There are a few new features, but I haven't had a chance to explore them. I've played this game so many times, I basically know what I'm looking for and what I'll get out of it as an experience, so those aspects of the game are immediately what I made for. This game is DEFINITELY worth playing if you HAVE NOT played the very first Dark Souls, as it was a masterpiece of a game. However, if you've already played it, and nostalgia is not knocking on your front door, skip it. Leave those memories looking pretty and intact, lest you lose them to the original game's clunky mechanics and smudgy graphics. PRAISE THE SUN!

I loved this game when it was first released. The game is fun and not as difficult as the community makes it seem. There is a lot of pattern recognition and memorization of character and monster animations. If you have friends who play the game can be quite fun but if you are like me and solo most of it it may be best to turn off the online features. The games multiplayer is not to balanced, which I honestly forgot about jumping into this game. Starting a new game and progressing into the first area I kept getting invaded by people who can one shot kill. To picture a level 5 vs a level 40 (and higher judging by the armor and weapons/spells they used) who has spells will destroy the whole area where I stood. While I am sure as a whole the community is good there are individuals who will message and harass players out of the game, so be wary if you have a shared account or family members who may read messages. The music is nice and the graphics are okay, slightly better on the current gen system. But there are still some glitches and camera errors that can kill the player or allow them to bypass a chunk of the game.

Time to play the original! The game still plays exactly like the original but the graphics are only slightly better and frame rates are faster (could have done a better job with this Fromsoftware.) It's the full game with DLC and the price is okay for all the content. It's not a game that you can beat and put down. Tons of content plus the PVP aspect will have you playing for HOURS! When you think you've been there done that, you can switch up your character up and cast spells, miracles, pyro and take on the game a completely different way. I will say that I've built a character using the Black Knight Great Sword that tears it up but you need 32 Strength 18 Dex min to single hand the weapon but wow.... I am using a QUALITY BUILD of strength, endurance, dexterity. You can power through the toughest bosses solo early on including the dreaded duo. Those who have played know. I would highly recommend this game to anyone that likes 3rd person RPG's like Nioh.

This is an incredible game with a terrifying world to explore. Finding new pathways and collectibles feels highly rewarding, as does defeating a boss after countless tries. The game mechanics are well designed, death is punishing but in most cases feels fair as I know it's my fault and that I would have survived had I done things differently. The game is not much of a remaster however. It runs at a consistent 60fps but it looks about the same as ever otherwise, with some minor improvements to various things, however I don't have a well trained eye for those sorts of things (that being said, I don't think the average consumer necessarily does either). Finally, trying to connect to play with friends can be a huge hassle as the game gives no clear indication whether you're even doing what's necessary or if any connection is trying to be established.

This series is my favorite game series of all time. It's hard to explain without just regurgitating what every other review has said so I'll keep it simple. 1. This game is a remaster and it does that job well - not as well as the PC version with billions of mods - but well enough for a console. 2. The gameplay is not flashy - it is consistent. It is fair. The game is always trying to teach you to play it better and it does not accommodate players who refuse to learn. It does this by creating a set of rules and following them to the letter. 3. The world and atmosphere are beyond anything else. This world feels like something that could truly exist. The atmosphere makes it feel like a world that is dying. It has moments that offer an amazing experience for any player willing to experience them.

The original Dark Souls was released on last generation hardware (PS3 and XBOX 360) close to eight years ago. This remaster of the game improves on a number of features. First the textures have improved and are significantly higher quality. Secondly the game takes advantage of the modern hardware and the game plays at a smooth frame rate, and is even better on the premium consoles (Xbox One X and PS4 Pro.) If you haven't played Dark Souls and you're looking to play it, these remasters are a good way to go. They essentially took all of the features in the PC/Steam release and added it to the Xbox One and PS4. (I purchased this on both Xbox One and PS4, and am reusing the review I wrote for the Xbox One version.)

You will die, alot! There is no pause, you will repeat the same actions, over, over and over again. You will lose countless souls while trying to regain them, for if you die before getting them, thier gone baby gone. Once you achieve a combat rhythm you will start to feel more comfortable, just in time for the games so called low level enemies to hack you up and cost you thousands of souls. Keep at this game. I am a lv 30 warrior, and have yet to ring either of the bells from the beginning areas. However I enjoy this type of game and enjoy the difficulty. If you’re a fan of either, give this one a try. You’ll either love these types of games more, as i do or drive yourself nuts playing it until you do.

This is my first time playing a Dark Souls game and I'm really enjoying it. I knew what to expect with the brutal difficulty and the demands on your patience, and those parts of the game really appeal to me. I love improving my skills by trying again and again to take down a seemingly-invincible boss, to finally revel in my victory when I manage to take it down. I gather the big improvement in the remaster is the performance, since the PS3/Xbox360 original had bad framerate problems. Around 25 hours in I haven't had any issues like that. It's not the prettiest game on the market, but I think the $40 price tag reflects that. I'm having a great time so far and would definitely recommend to people interested in the series.