Gonna start out with this: depending on what you like Dark Souls for, this may or may not be for you.

The graphics are definitely improved. Some effects are very different, others are barely noticeable. You can probably find many areas that look almost indistinguishable from the base game with dsfix. However, spell effects, especially fire (and lava, such as the eyesore in Izalith) look MUCH better now. The rest of the game is more of an added bonus that does not stand out but gives a more pleasant experience. Armor details make your fashion much more noticeable.

Online changes are a bit controversial, so it is up to each individual to decide whether they are good or not. However, having more possibilities for playing together is generally a good thing.

60fps is a massive boost, at least for me. The base game is playable in 30fps, but it does feel choppy at times and can make it harder to control. Mods allow 60fps in the base game, but that leads to some problems like increased gravity and falling through certain ladders/elevators. It's nice to be able to have consistent smooth performance without any of those bugs.

The quality of life changes really help out making the game more enjoyable. For example, you can pop 30 humanity in one go, then give all 30 of it to the darkwraith/chaos servant covenant in a single animation. This would take 5-10 minutes of tedious mashing and prompts in the original.

Bug fixes are a mixed bag for this one. Some important ones like chain backstabs were left completely untouched, while other important ones like tumblebuffing/move swaps were fixed. Some minor bugs like a missing texture outside the map were fixed, while other minor things like a basilisk dying as soon as you enter the great hollow were not. There doesn't seem to be much reasoning behind it. While it is unfortunate, especially for new players not aware of bugs that can screw them over, it's still better than nothing, and honestly more than anybody could expect given that it was announced from the beginning no gameplay would be changed.

Ignoring anything else in the game, the community has been MASSIVELY revitalized thanks to this release. Even the original DS1 has more people online than it used to before the hype train. Unfortunately, this will go down over time and might possibly be worse than before because of the community being split between two games.

The community, sadly, is also as toxic as ever. Within a day of launch there is already a huge problem with cheaters ruining the game for others. Twinks and havelknights/giantdads are already preying on new or low level players. There's nothing this remaster could hope to do about that, though.

Overall, it's the same game we all love but improved. There is no doubt that this game by itself is worthy of a buy. Whether the price is right depends entirely on what role it serves you and how you value it; if you're fine with the performance you get from running the base game with dsfix, do not care for online play, and can live without the other changes this brings, it's probably not worth your money to upgrade from the original DS1. If you don't own the original, this is definitely worth even its full price tag. If you loved the original but also like what this brings, it's up to you to decide whether or not the upgrade is worth it.

If the original game was still available, whether or not this is worth it would be a different story. But in what is imo a rather scummy move, it was pulled off the Steam store, so anybody who is new to it at least on PC is forced to get this version. There are a limited amount of keys and gift copies still out there, but that isn't a dependable source.

Gonna start out with this: depending on what you like Dark Souls for, this may or may not be for you. The graphics are definitely improved. Some effects are very different, others are barely noticeable. You can probably find many areas that look almost indistinguishable from the base game with dsfix. However, spell effects, especially fire (and lava, such as the eyesore in Izalith) look MUCH better now. The rest of the game is more of an added bonus that does not stand out but gives a more pleasant experience. Armor details make your fashion much more noticeable. Online changes are a bit controversial, so it is up to each individual to decide whether they are good or not. However, having more possibilities for playing together is generally a good thing. 60fps is a massive boost, at least for me. The base game is playable in 30fps, but it does feel choppy at times and can make it harder to control. Mods allow 60fps in the base game, but that leads to some problems like increased gravity and falling through certain ladders/elevators. It's nice to be able to have consistent smooth performance without any of those bugs. The quality of life changes really help out making the game more enjoyable. For example, you can pop 30 humanity in one go, then give all 30 of it to the darkwraith/chaos servant covenant in a single animation. This would take 5-10 minutes of tedious mashing and prompts in the original. Bug fixes are a mixed bag for this one. Some important ones like chain backstabs were left completely untouched, while other important ones like tumblebuffing/move swaps were fixed. Some minor bugs like a missing texture outside the map were fixed, while other minor things like a basilisk dying as soon as you enter the great hollow were not. There doesn't seem to be much reasoning behind it. While it is unfortunate, especially for new players not aware of bugs that can screw them over, it's still better than nothing, and honestly more than anybody could expect given that it was announced from the beginning no gameplay would be changed. Ignoring anything else in the game, the community has been MASSIVELY revitalized thanks to this release. Even the original DS1 has more people online than it used to before the hype train. Unfortunately, this will go down over time and might possibly be worse than before because of the community being split between two games. The community, sadly, is also as toxic as ever. Within a day of launch there is already a huge problem with cheaters ruining the game for others. Twinks and havelknights/giantdads are already preying on new or low level players. There's nothing this remaster could hope to do about that, though. Overall, it's the same game we all love but improved. There is no doubt that this game by itself is worthy of a buy. Whether the price is right depends entirely on what role it serves you and how you value it; if you're fine with the performance you get from running the base game with dsfix, do not care for online play, and can live without the other changes this brings, it's probably not worth your money to upgrade from the original DS1. If you don't own the original, this is definitely worth even its full price tag. If you loved the original but also like what this brings, it's up to you to decide whether or not the upgrade is worth it. If the original game was still available, whether or not this is worth it would be a different story. But in what is imo a rather scummy move, it was pulled off the Steam store, so anybody who is new to it at least on PC is forced to get this version. There are a limited amount of keys and gift copies still out there, but that isn't a dependable source.