For reasons that aren't entirely its own fault, Dark Souls doesn't hold up superbly as a game. It's been studied to death, every secret is known, messages have been rated to some semblance of perfection - leaving little mystery about where secrets are and which messages are most misleading, the PvP/co-op is sparse, and if you've played a later From Software game, you will be woefully disappointed by the AI throwing its back to your sword whenever you feel even a little bit like a backstab. You can win the whole game by circle-strafing normal mobs and staying close to the feet of larger enemies. If you come to this from Elden Ring, you might wonder how this game (or more accurately, how the even rougher Demon's Souls/King's Field) started such a phenomenon.

But if you try - if you close off your experiences with Dark Souls 3, Sekiro, Elden Ring, etc. - this game still has a lot to offer. Without the keen polish of everything Bloodborne forward, the features of level design, passive storytelling, artistic influence, etc. that made Miyazaki so famous are easier to pick out from the (quite literally) unfinished backdrop, and if you have any interest in game design as an academic or professional exercise, you will still find a lot to learn and love here.

For reasons that aren't entirely its own fault, Dark Souls doesn't hold up superbly as a game. It's been studied to death, every secret is known, messages have been rated to some semblance of perfection - leaving little mystery about where secrets are and which messages are most misleading, the PvP/co-op is sparse, and if you've played a later From Software game, you will be woefully disappointed by the AI throwing its back to your sword whenever you feel even a little bit like a backstab. You can win the whole game by circle-strafing normal mobs and staying close to the feet of larger enemies. If you come to this from Elden Ring, you might wonder how this game (or more accurately, how the even rougher Demon's Souls/King's Field) started such a phenomenon. But if you try - if you close off your experiences with Dark Souls 3, Sekiro, Elden Ring, etc. - this game still has a lot to offer. Without the keen polish of everything Bloodborne forward, the features of level design, passive storytelling, artistic influence, etc. that made Miyazaki so famous are easier to pick out from the (quite literally) unfinished backdrop, and if you have any interest in game design as an academic or professional exercise, you will still find a lot to learn and love here.