RPG game, which is a combination of western and eastern ideas including one of the best combat systems in my subjective opinion with interesting story and mediocre world and character design.

Startin' off, you begin as a poor fisherman in a little coastal town, which after a short while is attacked by a title dragon with who you stand against and obviously loose. Dragon however doesn't kill you right away, but steals your heart turning you into being called "the Arisen", which begins you adventure to slay the dragon and reclaim your heart.

Let me start off with positives, which is the combat system. While playing the game you encounter various monsters that needs to be taken care off with a specific method. At start, the system doesn't seem to differ from other games of the genre that concludes of light and heavy attacks, however even at the start it has some depth due to the climbing system that perfectly completes combat. Apart from being able to climb any structure, stone or hill, you can also climb onto bigger monsters, which gives you a possibility to deal damage to desirable parts (ex. you can take out a cyclops' weapon by hitting its hand or blind it by hitting it's eye). As the game progresses you'll encounter different and more dangerous creatures ranging from small goblins through cyclopses and chimeras to drakes and cockatrices, but your own arsenal of attacks and spells will enhance as well.

As for character development, you and your main pawn, which are you companions thoughout the game earn 3 types of experience: vocation (class) experience, dyscipline and normal experience. Vocation experience is used to lvl up your vocation of which there are 9 in the game each with different set of skills that unlock at certain vocation levels and are bought using discipline. The last type that is normal experience determines your overall level that affects only your stats and pawn level that you can summon( more on that later).

Next topic: Pawns, pawns are companions, who you summon via Riftstones in various locations. At the first hours of the game you are to desing your one and only main pawn, who will accompany you to the end. You will be able to develop him/her just as you develop your own character throughout the game. The rest of your team is chosen from wide range of pawns and if you are connected to online network you can also choose pawns that belong to other people including your friends'. Apart from having their own stats and gear, pawns also acquire knowledge of quests, locations and beasts, so choosing a right pawn to summon for a specific quest may turn out really helpful.

Coming back to the story, the story itself being quite mediocre isn't that bad, however it is strictly character driven. There are hardly any plot related items or environmental relations. The plot being character driven should consist of well-written and voiced characters, however none of those features are here. Characters are dull and melancholic and the voice acting (english in this regard) is an absolute garbage. I just coudn't stand actors trying to immitate the medieval speech failing so miserably.

Concluding the above, Dragon's Dogma is a solid RPG title with one of the best combat systems featured in the genre, but with mediocre plot and terrible exposition. I recommend the game to RPG fans, but also warn fof lack of well-developed plot and high learning curve.

Tips:
1.Don't mind the "slay" quests, take all of them and they'll resolve themselves in time.
2.After defeating the dragon there is a time called "Post-Game", don't rush off beating the game and enjoy the rest of the content like WitchWood and Bitterblack Isle.

Ah, Dark Souls...my guilty pleasure...how wonderful of a game you are...how should I gather words for such a miserable and unforgiving yet absolutely worth the effort experience. Let me start from the beginning.

What is Dark Souls? I wouldn't dare to believe that there is a gamer who doesn't know and fear the title of this game. Most know it for its hellish difficulty level, some for its story, the climate and scenery or splendid character development. In my case it is everything listed equally. It is a story located in a grim dark fantasy world. It is filled with all sorts of things and creatures one may expect from the fantasy setting, but the darkest versions of them imaginable. At first it seems like yet another third person fantasy RPG, but the more you play the more immersed in the world you are.

Let's kickstart with gameplay which Souls-like games are famous for. It is a first chalenge you face due to combat and overall control of the character being clunky, but it has its charm, because it adds up to the chalenge which is mastering them (proverbially: "git gud"). If one is not familiar with Souls-like games it may be suprising to see that even the simpliest of enemies can put up a fight, but after some time it occurs that this game requires one to concentrate on the game at all times. It might seem simple but with every other weapon type discovery it gets a deeper and more interesting. All you get is 4 types of attacks: light, heavy, charging and rolling, but which attack combos into another or which is horizontal or vertical is up to one to discover for himself.

This leads to another great aspect of the game that is item variety. There are hundreds of different weapons, armors, rings, talismans and many more with different perks, stats and usage. One can identify said things only by reading its description. Of course, weapons and armor have their respective stat line, but to decipher their special effects it is mandatory for one to read descriptions thoroughly, which engages you even more with the lore of the dark land one's in. This amount of various items leads to such a great variety in character development. There is abysmal amount of builds and paths to take while creating your own way of experiencing the game. Heavy armored knight using a scythe, light armored rouge with claws or a pyromancer of chaos, these and many, many more are for you to experience just by choosing what you like the most while selecting gear.

While talking about items, I can't forget about the story and exposition. There are rarely cutscenes or long dialogues. Rather than that, Dark Souls wants you to pay a closer attention to your surroundings and what you collect throughout your journey. The lore of this dark fantasy world is not given to you on a silver platter through long talks. To grasp the plot one need to pay attention to the enemies faced, items collected and buildings looted.

The most recognizable aspect of Dark Souls I can think of are the bosses and I absolutely cannot disagree with that. Every boss fight is an interesting yet gruesome experience. Bosses are well designed to have intriguing mechanics and give a pefect chalenge for the player. This chalenge is almost frightening, but all of them are absolutely beatable with the right mind and streategy.

At last, audio and visuals, Dark Souls is definitely an old game, however with its remastered version the graphics are not only bearable, but mostly highly specific. Music is almost nonexistent (it occurs 2-3 times during the whole game), which doesn't mean that audio is bad, on the contrary the only sounds that accompany you on you journey are the sounds of environment and the clanking of one's armor. This extersion makes the atmosphere tense and overwhelming and it's amazing. For a dark fantasy setting that kind of usage of audiovisuals adds up to already dark climate. As the example, when I was crossing "The Abyss" which is almost pitch black at 1am and the only sounds I heard was my character walking and quiet rambling of creatures lurking in the shadows I was scared to the bone. It was and incredible experience for a game to make me that much sucked into the scenery.

As for the flaws, there aren't many, but some mechanics were too clunky to my liking. That mechanic was parkour. In a game where, most focus was put on combat and exploration standing hard on the ground there certainly was too much of it and it is also linked with questionable map desings, where one may fall to death by standing firmly in a place looking like steady ground.

Summarizing, Dark Souls is a masterpiece of a game. I'd like to reccomend this work of art to anyone that seeks chalenge and want to dive head on into a well developed melancholic dark fantasy world. I reccomend it from the bottom of my heart.