Dark Souls - game that takes risks

Where am I coming from: haven't played the Demon's Souls - but wanted badly. So when Dark Souls was released - it wasn't even a question.

Unfortunately my XBOX broke at that time and by the time I got it fixed the PC version was released.... Long story short i got to play the PC version.

I used a gamepad - due to the bad keyboard + mouse controls, and I still recommend using a gamepad for games like these. I also haven't

experienced performance dips - like the framedrops that Xbox and PS3 version were plagued from. And after fanmade patch I had Hi-Res textures... and the game was bundled with the DLC "Artorias of the Abyss"... profit.

The game wasn't holding my hand in any way, I knew it was hard - and it was. I died a million times but never felt that the game was bad. At some moments I really hated it - but continued to play. The game was atmospheric, and despite its difficulty - it always held me interested in what other landscapes, enemies, weapons or bosses I will encounter next.

First and foremost the game doesn't have a story that pushes the narrative, you have one and only one mission - understand what is going on and why you are stranded in this strange and creepy place. Of course you are given some directions - but after that you are left in a hub area from which you can explore this beautiful open world in any way you like. You can go almost everywhere from the start. The only things that will stop you are the enemies - that withhold you from advancing through certain paths, meaning - come back later with an upgraded character.

The game is an Action game with RPG elements. You can upgrade your characters Vitality, Strength, Dexterity etc. The most important part in surviving through the game are the weapons and not your characters level.

There are a lot of weapons suited for almost every player out there: fists, Swords, axes, spears, bows, shields etc. There are also rare, special weapons that are obtained from bosses or dropped by some enemies.

The weapons can be upgraded in a lot of different ways: you can apply magic, lightning, fire to the weapons or upgrade their raw power without any additional effects. Almost all the weapons are scaled with some character stats, be it with Strength or Agility or any other. So make sure you chose a favorite type of weapon and upgrade your character accordingly ;)

Also you have Magic at your disposal. Everyone can use magic if you invest in the necessary character stats.

The landscapes are big and diverse, ranging from plains, forests, castle ruins, snowy mountains. You save your progress through the means of firelink shrines. You die - you start from the last shrine. But this doesn't feel tedious - every death teaches you something.

There is a big diversity in enemies - every enemy has it's tactics. And even the weakest of the enemies can kill you in a couple of blows.

The bosses range from small to ginormous. And there are a ton of bosses, minibosses, secret bosses. Every boss battle is something special and unique.

There are also deranged NPC's which sometimes can help and sometimes can get you into trouble.

About halfway through the game I started analizing my experience. I started to draw similarities to certain games that I really loved back in the day. And it struck me - it's a lot like Castlevania SoTN. It has character leveling, great weapon variety, a ton of memorable bosses, backtracking (in a good way), secrets. So I was glad when I found that I am not the only one that thinks this way.

In the end it is a 3D Castlevania game done right. And it's good that developers are still risking their careers and create games like these.

P.S. at one point in game... I got so mad... that if I would see the person, that thought that putting 2 Sniper Knights on a parapet, while you were trying to cross a roof (for people in the know)... this would happen youtube.com/…