Like its predecessor, Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls is twisted in its cruelty and sheer defiance. On each and every turn, some enormity is waiting to execute you mercilessly. With different types of weapons, you must navigate an unforgiving universe of evil creatures willing to kill you and make you feel extremely annoying all the time. Just when you feel that you have become quite skilled at the game, using pyromancy, sorcery or brute force; one of the game’s epic bosses arrives to completely crush any confidence you may have gained. Sure enough, checking in at 60 hours is a huge challenge that you just can’t seem to give up.

We should clarify one thing right away; you’re ready to bite the dust a lot in Dark Souls. You will perish by smaller opponents, good-sized animals, falling off cliffs, falling through gaps, and monstrous and powerful bosses. Plus, if that wasn’t enough, you’ll be kicking the bucket with different players invading your game as red spawns. Yes, there are people whose sole motivation for playing this game is to attack an alternate player’s world and finish him off. However, what Dark Souls does so well is that with every death, there is a lesson to be learned. You take enemy patterns, alternate routes, boss strengths and weaknesses, and so on. When you gain experience from your defeats (and there will be a large number of them), you will soon become an expert and can overcome the severity of this brutal game. It will take persistence and an extraordinary amount of time, but it can be done. When you actually beat a boss, a specific dungeon, or your first red ghost, it’s quite possibly the most satisfying gaming experience you’ve ever encountered. It’s that challenging, yet satisfying, in a sick, twisted kind of way.

As fierce as Dark Souls can be, its gigantic setting can also be overwhelming, yet charming in a grotesque way. Your deadly journey begins in an undead haven; However, you’ll also traverse lower forests, sumptuous fortresses, unforgiving bucklers, volcanic wastelands, and grim depths, to name a few. In fact, from time to time the setup could be as insecure, if not more so, than the adversaries themselves. Case in point: the Tomb of the Giants may be the most unfair death trap in gaming, which really isn’t even reasonable for the player. This tomb is completely dark, which requires some kind of light, which you may or may not have. As well as being totally bleak, there are several areas where you can and will fall off a huge cliff. Granted. you can hand over a weapon or a shield to carry a lantern (if you can find it in this black tomb); or you can cast a light spell, if you have learned one. Either way, you’re delivering security for the light you urgently need. To add insult to injury, you’re ready to battle mega-skeletons, oversized arrows shooting at you, Silver Knights, and satanic skeleton pups as you try to survive in this grim prison. Fundamentally, and according to various gaming threads, the Tomb of the Giants ranks as the best option of all as his least favorite setting within the Dark Soul universe.

An additional barbaric twist offered by the game’s developers is the problem of being cursed. When you receive a curse (which it will), your health bar is halved. Believe me when I tell you that you need every inch of that gorgeous red health bar that you can get. In the gloomy depths area, there are basilisks (irritating frog-like animals) that shoot a mist of death directly at you. The main way to recover is to locate the healer who is far away, or discover the merchant who keeps the anecdote. You will most likely have a long adventure to accomplish on a shortened health bar, while dodging death at every turn.

Therefore, when everything goes wrong, where can you grab your wits? Actually, in this game, there is no solace to run. What you get are bonfires that are deliberately lit as far away and wide as possible. These act as your control points. Bonfires are where the player can refresh health, repair or strengthen weapons, level up, or just yell. Remember, once you’ve rested at a bonfire, everything you’ve defeated up to that point (with the exception of bosses) respawns, requiring you to survive each slice one more time.

As noted, you will die frequently in Dark Souls. When you do that, you empty yourself. This is both a gift and a damnation. The giveaway is that you can’t be attacked by red ghosts while empty. The downside is that you can’t summon the help of an alternate player while you’re empty. This is hard, as there are numerous occasions when one’s help is a magnificent thing; especially if you are lucky enough to summon a powerful ghost that can help you on your adventures. There are some decent NPCs who are on hand to help out, but they’re by no means as helpful as a real player would be, recognizing what he’s doing. In the event that you are empty, you can use a sprite to become human again. These, however, are rare and should be used judiciously as they do not appear often. To be sure, there are a couple of territories where the humanities tend to fall; the rats you’ll experience seem to drop them from time to time, so remember that when you end up needing some.

As a combative RPG, the battle is of paramount importance. In Dark Souls, you will be able to choose between techniques and fusions. The great nature of this game is that you can change them as often as you like (at bonfires) to suit the current situation you find yourself in. You can attempt to navigate an area as a heavily clad chained brute; or you can try a light and defeated approach with ninja clothes. You can wield a titan ax or try your hand at power swings with a set of blades. You can use a talisman to cast enchantments, or you can run around shooting with the pyromancy upgrade. While both enchantments and pyromancy can be convenient, it’s not the little trick you could use to get through much of Demon’s Souls. Sorcery and pyromancy will help, but they won’t let you hide in a corner and take out a demon boss with shoddy moves.

Regardless of how you approach this difficult challenge, Dark Souls is an amazing game. It is more than difficult, but I could not detract from it. Of course, you will have to take some breaks, because this game will crush your desire to play. It’s that intense. For every moment of despair, you can be offered a brief respite in a beautiful landscape. For each successful defeat, you gain much-needed confidence to move forward. While it’s uneven on particular points, its relentless quest to crush your will is exactly what draws you in to bring this brutal, crushing world to its breaking point.