Dark Souls Remastered Review — Rekindling the Original Flame

For me, Demon’s Souls will still be ground zero. But I understand that for many, the original Dark Souls is what started it all. Now, the series has been able to cast its huge influence onto the world of modern gaming. Though surprising, It seems only fitting for Dark Souls to be remastered into the current generation. Unfortunately, it has left me with some very mixed feelings.

STORY

Nothing at all changes on this front, so for old-timers, you can just skip this part. Basically, your character is the ‘chosen undead’ who is destined to bring forth a new age. How you fulfill the prophecy is up to you, if you survive the journey, that is.

Dark Souls doesn’t provide a direct narrative. Much of it is left to your own interpretation, coupled with your willingness to learn more. The areas you visit, the items you collect, and the scarce encounters with NPCs give you but snippets of information. The devil in the details is where Dark Souls’ story shines. Taking the time to read up on lore from every item you pick up and observing the state of the areas you visit is how the narrative reveals itself to you. Immersing yourself in the lore gives better satisfaction than a linear narrative could ever.

GAMEPLAY

For those who are uninitiated: Dark Souls is a third-person action RPG. You can lock on to a target, block, dodge, and attack in real time. You can wield two weapons at a time with two others you can swap with. Each weapon has their own move-sets with some even having unique moves. Attacking with either arm is done via the shoulder and trigger buttons. Players are also able to equip items such as consumables and spells. The game possesses both roleplaying and roguelike elements. You collect ‘souls’ from defeated enemies which is used for pretty much everything. Dying in combat brings you back to your last checkpoint (bonfire) and causes you to drop all your souls near the area you died. There is no way to bank or store your accumulated souls and dying again before you are able to retrieve your souls means they’re lost forever.

The many areas and levels of Dark Souls are intelligently woven together to form a vast singular world with many interconnecting levels. In this world, players will encounter varying creatures that become increasingly more challenging as you progress. The role-playing elements allow you to craft your character around your preferred playstyle. You can be a hulking knight wielding a weapon twice your size, a lightweight who excels at dodging and counter-attacks, or a caster, who defeats his/her foes with through magic, miracles, or pyromancy.

One of the most interesting facets of Dark Souls lies in it’s multiplayer. You can summon other players into your world to help you progress, simultaneously, your world could also be “invaded” by other players. These invaders have one sole purpose: to strike you down. Invading or being invaded is perhaps the only thing that can be more intense than Dark Souls’ roster of big bad bosses.

The core gameplay is still mostly the same for better or worse, though mostly for better. The basic mechanics are identical but they’ve added quite a few convenient changes such as partial-button mapping that makes all the difference. Mostly, it’s the multiplayer aspect of the game that makes the bulk of the changes, such as boosting the maximum number of players in an instance from 4 to 6 as well as some optimizations that have been implemented in Dark Souls III.

VISUALS & PERFORMANCE

Blight town is finally 60 FPS. We did it, guys. No seriously, for a game where every single frame counts, having it run on 60 frames per second is incredible. The game now sports better resolutions and smoother edges, though some, if not most of the textures still feel a bit off at times. Despite these much-needed enhancements, the game still feels a bit dated and the better frames and textures only expose that further. Nevertheless, the level design is still top notch albeit more cramped compared to more recent titles.

If you’ve missed the original but have since been a fan of the series sequels, then this is the perfect opportunity for you to experience the original, performing better albeit without changing much of the original at all.

VERDICT

The saying goes “Don’t fix what ain’t broke”. That’s largely what I attribute to the treatment done on this remaster. Though subtle changes in mechanics were put in play, none disrupts or disrespects the build of the original. Unfortunately, that’s exactly why  I can’t recommend this game too much for practical series veterans. Visually, it’s great, but I can’t help but feel like it’s the same game ported to run on a better machine. No new meaningful graphical enhancements or gameplay updates to really warrant a price tag that’s almost as much as a new AAA game. If you’re new to the franchise and or have never played any of the games, this is the perfect entry point for you. For series veterans who aren’t after the nostalgia factor, you’re better off sticking to Dark Souls III until a new one comes out.