I had been following the hype behind ‘Dark Souls’ for quite a while and had tried repeatedly to make it work on the PC. The release of Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition for the PC fulfilled that desire. It took me back to the old days; the days when I used to sit in front of the Television set with my SNES, dying again and again on a single level of Contra. The last game in which I felt so out of place and confused was 'Resident Evil 3: Nemesis’, and that was only because I hadn't played any of the Resident Evil games before that. Moreover, it was one of the first games I had ever played. The beauty of Dark Souls does not lie in its gruelling difficulty, lack of large mistake thresholds, story (there is hardly any story to speak of) or graphics(the game look shitty on the PC and reaffirms my opinion that consoles are popular only because of the problem with pirates, and their looting, raping and pillaging activities). It's fascinating due to its basic structure. The game drops you off in a disconcerting world where death lurks around every corner and near every ledge. You get a vague idea of your purpose and a perplexing intro without much in the way of back-story; and soon you are facing the first boss in the game, which can kill you in two hits. The feeling of achievement and satisfaction when you kill a boss after dying continually is something I haven't felt in a game in a long time. The combat is like an exceptionally intricate dance, where every movement needs to be perfectly choreographed to progress unscathed. Every single weapon has a personality and gives you a completely different sense of control. It isn't about stats or overpowered enemies. It isn't about abnormally long life bars or abysmal damage. You can kill enemies as easily as they can kill you. Soon, you start to treat every single enemy like a boss (not in that sense) and getting hit by one makes it harder and harder to reach the next bonfire. The level of integration of the world is another remarkable feature. Following the tunnel behind a bonfire in the Darkroot Basin and unlocking the elevator to the Valley of Drakes was one of the most jaw-dropping experiences in my gaming career. But, unfortunately, this is valid only for the first half of the game. As the game progresses, it becomes cheaper and cheaper. Most of the deaths towards the end of the game resulted from bad footing mechanics (almost the entire game), invisible walkways (Crystal Caves), pitch blackness (Tomb of Giants) and other exasperating tactics like those. I had previously realized that even this game could be turned into a cakewalk like any other RPG by grinding incessantly, and I did. At a little over 60 hours and at level 113, I killed Gwyn, the Lord of Cinder, without chugging a single Estoc. I did not even parry or block since I was going the two-handed route. I tanked him with my health bar and killed him in five hits. Then, I sat down at the bonfire and found myself back at the bloody Undead Asylum after a roll of the credits. I had finished the game. Nevertheless, apparently, the game expected me to relive my bouts of frustration all over again, this time, thankfully, with an overpowered character. I refused. I refused because this game had given me an unparalleled sense of entitlement as a gamer. I also felt like a dick for consulting the walkthrough during the latter half of the game. But, I must blame my current state of time-starvation for making that decision. I wish this game was even harder and I hope that NAMCO BANDAI makes more games for the PC in the future. For the moment, however, I am going to stop gaming. I am sure that nothing I have downloaded recently will even mildly challenge the experiences I have had in these 60 or so hours. It is time to bid adieu to gaming. Farewell, gaming. May you rest in peace among my experiences of collecting stamps, coins, batteries, tazoes, G.I.Joe-s, Hot wheels cars, magnets, matchboxes, Pokémon cards, Duel Master cards, Yu-gi-oh cards, Harry Potter cards, Digimon cards, Dragonball Z pictures, WWE tattoos (the ones which came free with Big Bubble; I still have around 40 of those stuck on my room's door), creating backstories and character stats for games, drawing robots and other unsightly creatures, writing the lyrics of songs (usually misheard lyrics), writing poetry, beyblading, watching anime, reading manga, ranting, collecting scraps, spamming, debating, pwning and trolling on Orkut, playing shitty Facebook games (mainly Mafia Wars) and tasting different brands of beer in the deep recesses of my mind. I do expect you to return from time to time, overpowering me with a gratifying sense of nostalgia and compelling me to return to you. Until then, I need to reassign my priorities and move on.
Actual Score: 4/5
