DARK SOULS™: REMASTERED Review Summary

Masterful map and level design: The game's map and level design are highly praised for being intricate, interconnected, and well-crafted. Players appreciate the seamless and detailed design that encourages exploration and offers a sense of discovery.

Unique and immersive experience: Players highlight the game's unique charm and immersive experience. The game offers a sense of discovery and a challenging yet rewarding experience that stands out.

Rich lore and atmosphere: The game features a rich and engaging lore, complemented by a compelling atmosphere. The story and world design are praised for their depth and immersion.

Memorable boss fights: Boss fights are a highlight, with players appreciating the unique designs, challenging nature, and the tension they create. The bosses are well-balanced and enjoyable.

Enjoyable exploration: Exploration is a key aspect of the game, with players finding it enjoyable and rewarding. The game encourages exploration without the need for guides, making discovery a fun and integral part of the experience.

Poor boss design: Many players find the boss design in the game to be poorly executed, with some bosses being frustrating, clunky, and disappointing. Specific mentions include bosses being troublesome, irritating, and even described as a 'sin against game design itself.'

Long distances between bonfires: Players often have to travel long distances between bonfires and bosses, which can be frustrating and time-consuming. This design choice is criticized for adding unnecessary difficulty.

Confusing and janky gameplay: The gameplay is often described as confusing, with strange design decisions and clunky mechanics. Players find the map design and world layout confusing, leading to an unpredictable and unintuitive experience.

High difficulty and frustration: The game is noted for its challenging and punishing nature, especially for beginners. Certain areas and bosses, particularly in the DLC and New Game Plus (NG+), are found to be frustrating and difficult.

Inconsistent boss difficulty: Boss fights are criticized for being either too easy or too challenging, leading to a lack of consistent difficulty. Some players find boss fights disappointing due to this inconsistency.

Interconnected level design: The game features a highly interconnected level design with shortcuts, hidden paths, and intricate layouts that reward exploration. The seamless and masterful design of the maps enhances the overall gameplay experience.

Challenging but rewarding gameplay: The game is known for its challenging and punishing gameplay, which requires players to learn and adapt. Despite the difficulty, players find the experience rewarding and enjoyable.

Deep and complex combat: The combat system is deep, complex, and tactical, offering a variety of strategies and challenges. Players find the combat rewarding and engaging, with a high level of variety and tactical depth.

Co-op and multiplayer experience: The game offers a robust multiplayer experience, including cooperative multiplayer modes with up to six players and competitive multiplayer options. The co-op modification and single-player mode provide additional variety.

Complex enemies and traps: The game features complex enemies with unique movesets and strategic placement. Traps and enemies add to the challenge and require players to be observant and persistent.

Frame rate improvements noted: Many reviews highlight improvements in frame rate and stable performance, though some mention issues with frame rate and a 60 FPS limit.

Mixed graphics feedback: Players have varying opinions on the graphics, with some praising the remastered graphics and improvements while others criticize low graphics and minor graphical oddities.

Performance on different platforms: The game runs well on various platforms, including Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck, with reports of smooth gameplay and optimized performance.

Technical bugs and issues: Players have encountered various technical issues, including physics bugs, hitbox issues, weird animations, and network latency.

Camera and control issues: Several players report problems with camera movement and controls, including poor lock-on performance and bad controls.

Challenging and rewarding gameplay: The game is praised for its challenging gameplay, which is rewarding and engaging. It is recommended for those who enjoy a challenge and deep lore.

Recommended for new Souls players: This game is frequently recommended for those new to the Souls series or Souls-like games. It is seen as a good starting point for beginners.

Consider other Souls games: Some reviewers suggest starting with other games in the series, such as Dark Souls 3, Elden Ring, or Sekiro, especially for newer fans.

Play with friends or offline: Suggestions include playing with friends or playing offline to avoid hackers and cheaters, enhancing the overall experience.

Worth the price on sale: The game is considered worth buying, especially on sale, despite its flaws and challenges.

Community fair range: $10.00 - $20.00.

Game completion: 42.0h.

Story completion: 40.0h.

The game has a steep initial learning curve and early frustrations with controls and mechanics, but it becomes significantly more enjoyable and rewarding once players overcome these challenges and gain proficiency in key skills.

Reported time to anchor: 1h.

Friction: Steep learning curve; Initial frustration with controls, camera, and hitboxes; Lack of explanation for mechanics; Hidden progression items and areas; Slow movement speed at the start.

Unlock drivers: Gaining knowledge and skills; Mastering rolling and parrying; Using guides and community knowledge; Unlocking shortcuts and secret paths.

Nostalgic Veteran: Patient and reflective, focusing on the game's historical impact and personal memories. Motivation: Nostalgia and appreciation for the game's legacy. Stance: buy.

Critical Mechanic: Analytical and critical, focusing on the game's mechanics and controls. Motivation: Improvement and modernization of game mechanics. Stance: sale.

Story-Driven Explorer: Explorative and immersive, focusing on the game's story and atmosphere. Motivation: Emotional engagement and narrative depth. Stance: buy.

The game generally performs well on higher-end hardware with 8GB or more VRAM, while lower-end systems experience more frequent issues such as crashes and performance drops.

Windows <8GB VRAM / <16GB RAM: mixed. Performance is reported as decent on some lower-end systems, but crashes and technical issues are also noted.

Windows 8-11GB VRAM: positive. The game runs well, maintaining 60 FPS even on modest hardware.

Windows 12-15GB VRAM: positive. Mostly positive performance with solid 60 FPS, though some users report crashes.

Steam Deck: The analysis of user feedback for the Steam Deck experience of the game reveals several key themes. Performance and compatibility are generally positive, with many users reporting that the game runs well on the Steam Deck and works fine with Proton. However, there are significant issues with controls, which are described as clunky, rigid, and difficult to get used to. Online play is also problematic, with multiple users recommending offline mode to avoid hackers. Graphics are noted to be outdated and not up to the standards of newer games. Overall, while the game has strengths in performance and compatibility, the negative aspects of controls and online play are notable barriers to a seamless experience.

Linux and Proton: The game generally works well on Linux with Proton, with some users reporting minor performance issues that can be resolved with specific tweaks. Overall, the compatibility and performance on Linux are positive.

Monetization: The reviews indicate significant dissatisfaction with the monetization of the remastered version, with multiple users describing it as a 'cash grab.' There are also mentions of perceived pay-to-win elements and frustrations with game design and DLC integration. However, the evidence of predatory monetization is not strong enough to push the score beyond the medium range.

External guides: The primary user complaints revolve around the necessity of using external guides or wikis to progress through the game. The intricate map design and the complexity of understanding game mechanics without external resources are significant barriers. Additionally, while boss battles are considered simpler, the overall difficulty and lack of in-game guidance make it a challenging experience for new players.

Controller support available: The game offers controller support, enhancing the gaming experience for players who prefer using controllers over other input devices.

Pricing concerns for older game: Some players have expressed concerns about the pricing of the game, particularly noting that it might be overpriced considering its age.