''Dark Souls'' focuses on dungeon exploring and the tension and fear that arise when players encounter enemies in this setting. The game is a spiritual successor to ''Demon's Souls'', which in turn is considered a spiritual successor to the ''King's Field'' games. The game takes place in an open world environment and uses a third-person perspective. The player battles using various weapons and strategies to survive in a dark fantasy world. Online features allow players to share the play experience without need for direct communication.

With respect to ''Demon's Souls'', there are more weapons, spells, and new classes. Before release, it was also said to be "significantly harder", with more enemies and more difficult encounters. It includes leaving messages to other players, seeing others' deaths, and player versus player (as well as a new co-op system); similar to the online functions in ''Demon's Souls''. The items the player uses in these games are significantly different.

''Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition'' is the PC release, as well as the PS3 and Xbox 360 re-release, of ''Dark Souls''.

The game was released on August 24th, 2012 for PC and in October 2012 for PS3 and Xbox 360 and includes the ''Artorias of the Abyss'' expansion which introduced new bosses, weapons and locations. The ''Artorias of the Abyss'' DLC is also available as a separate download for Xbox 360 and PS3 owners.

Minimum system requirements

'''OS:''' Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 or newer
'''CPU:''' Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 GHz+ or AMD Phenom II X2 545 3.0 GHz+
'''RAM:''' 2 GB
'''HDD:''' 4 GB
'''VGA:''' GeForce 9800 GTX+ or ATI Radeon HD 4870+
'''DX:''' 9.0c
'''Sound:''' Direct Sound Compatible

In a surprise Nintendo Direct conference on January 11, 2018, it was announced that ''Dark Souls'' would be remastered and ported to the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. The remaster released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on May 24 and 25, 2018. <ref>[https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/gaming/903285/Dark-Souls-Remastered-Nintendo-Switch-Nintendo-Direct-2018-PS4-Xbox-One Dark Souls Remastered Nintendo Direct: Nintendo Switch release date, trailer REVEALED]</ref>

The Nintendo Switch release was originally planned for May 25 as well, but was delayed to summer 2018.<ref>[https://www.engadget.com/2018/04/17/dark-souls-switch-delayed-until-summer/ 'Dark Souls' on Switch delayed until summer]</ref> On August 14, 2018, it was announced that the Switch version would be releasing on October 19, 2018.<ref>[https://twitter.com/BandaiNamcoUS/status/1029367163562405888 Bandai Namco US on Twitter: "Praise The Sun! DARK SOULS: Remastered for #NintendoSwitch and the Solaire of Astora amiibo will launch on Oct. 19th!…"]</ref>

The remaster includes the ''Artorias of the Abyss'' expansion and improved graphics, lighting, shading, and sound effects, running at 60 frames per second on both consoles and PC.<ref>[https://youtu.be/JgKYSbrJL2w?t=57 Dark Souls: Remastered - Enhancements | BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment]</ref> The multiplayer component received dedicated servers for all four platforms, with up to 6 players.<ref>[https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2018/01/11/dark-souls-remastered-is-more-than-just-a-new-coat-of-paint/ Here's Everything You Need To Know About 'Dark Souls: Remastered' | Forbes]</ref>

The game has a retail price of $39.99 USD, but launched alongside a 50% discount for owners of the original ''Dark Souls'' on PC. As of October 2021 this offer was discontinued.<ref>[https://steamcommunity.com/games/570940/announcements/detail/1656641930059853475 Dark Souls: Remastered has arrived]</ref><ref>[https://steamcommunity.com/games/570940/announcements/detail/2967293880898571011 Discount program termination]</ref>

Minimum system requirements

'''OS:''' Windows 7 64-bit, Service Pack 1
'''CPU:''' Intel Core I5-2300 2.8 GHz / AMD FX-6300 3.5 GHz
'''RAM:''' 6 GB
'''GPU:''' GeForce GTX 460, 1 GB / Radeon HD 6870, 1 GB
'''DX:''' 11
'''STORAGE:''' 8 GB
'''SOUND CARD:''' DirectX 11 sound device

Recommended system requirements

'''OS:''' Windows 10 64-bit
'''CPU:''' Intel Core i5-4570 3.2 GHz / AMD FX-8350 4.2 GHz
'''RAM:''' 8 GB
'''GPU:''' GeForce GTX 660, 2 GB / Radeon HD 7870, 2 GB
'''DX:''' 11
'''STORAGE:''' 8 GB
'''SOUND CARD:''' DirectX 11 sound device

''Dark Souls'' received critical acclaim, earning an 89 on Metacritic. IGN gave the game a 9/10,<ref>[https://www.ign.com/articles/2011/09/30/dark-souls-review Dark Souls Review | IGN]</ref> whilst GameSpot gave the game a 9.5/10.<ref>[https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/dark-souls-review/1900-6337621/ Dark Souls Review | Gamespot]</ref>

David Houghton from Gamesradar rated it as the “greatest game of all time”, in an article about his top 100 games.<ref>[http://www.gamesradar.com/why-dark-souls-simply-greatest-game-all-time/ Top 100: Why Dark Souls is simply the greatest game of all time | GamesRadar+]</ref>

''Edge'' magazine named ''Dark Souls'' the best game of the seventh generation of game consoles. In September 2015, ''Dark Souls'' topped the magazine's special issue "The 100 Greatest Videogames".<ref>[http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1117812 Edge's top 100 list on Neogaf].</ref>

The success of ''Dark Souls'' soon spawned two sequels, with ''Dark Souls II'' released in 2014 (and ''Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin'' in 2015), and ''Dark Souls III'' released in 2016. An abundance of merchandise such as books and figures were also created under the brand. More notably, a ''Dark Souls'' comic series published by Titan Comics began publication in 2016, with several other comics subsequently being released in later years.

[https://steamforged.com/products/dark-souls-the-board-game Dark Souls™: The Board Game] (2017) is a combat-centric miniatures game for 1-4 players. From tabletop gaming publisher, [https://steamforged.com/ Steamforged Games], Dark Souls™: The Board Game emulates the video game in its challenging difficulty and has sold over 500,000 copies worldwide. Now (2022) two new core sets for Dark Souls™: The Board Game have been released, each visiting iconic locations from the video game - [https://steamforged.com/products/dark-souls%E2%84%A2-the-board-game-tomb-of-giants-core-sets Tomb of Giants] & [https://steamforged.com/products/dark-souls%E2%84%A2-the-board-game-the-painted-world-of-ariamis-core-sets The Painted World of Ariamis].

Promotional screenshots

<references />

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20111231103938/http://www.preparetodie.com/en/ Official English website] (archived)
• [https://www.darksouls.jp/ Official Japanese website]

Category:Dark Souls Category:Games Category:Browse