Dark Souls: Remastered

Prepare to die once again, this time with better framerates and quality-of-life improvements with Dark Souls: Remastered. The insane difficulty of DS series makes a glorious comeback as we revisit the first game in this now legendary series. Including some much-needed improvements and extra content, this is the definitive way to play the game.

Remastered by QLOC, the game retains many of the aspects that turned it into a modern classic. However, the Remastered edition is very faithful to the original game, for better or for worse. That said, there are still some surprises left in this version of the game, just what veterans and newcomers need to hear to give this one a chance.

The world of Dark Souls

When it first came out, Dark Souls redefined the world of action RPGs. Its unique approach to difficulty and storytelling made it stand out among some other contemporary titles. If there’s one thing that Dark Souls has always been popular for, that would be its punishing difficulty.

Remastered retains the difficulty of the original game, providing players with an unparalleled feeling of accomplishment each time they manage to defeat a boss. Additionally, the dark fantasy world of Dark Souls is one of the most fascinating settings to explore and discover.

The game’s world feels like a modern Castlevania title, particularly those in the Metroidvania genre. Each area is connected to another, forcing the player to discover new ways to move through the map. There are no unlockable skills like there were in games like Super Metroid, but there are tons of shortcuts that make traversing the map more bearable.

It’s worth mentioning that not every area is as well designed as the other. Places like Anor Londo feel way more developed than, say, Lost Izalith. The game’s overall design quality nosedives after the midpoint, with locations becoming increasingly more uninspired.

Minor changes

Being released after Dark Souls 3, Remastered had to include some improvements to update the game to the franchise’s standards. While most of the game has stayed faithful to the original version, some changes, like how Covenants work and improved multiplayer servers, are welcome upgrades to an aging game.

First off, Covenants now can be easily changed at each Bonfire. While this makes this process easier, it also removes some of the originality of the classic Dark Souls. The revamped multiplayer is also leagues better than it was in the past, thanks to the addition of dedicated servers. In the original game, P2P connections made invasions feel like a chore, and the co-op play would be riddled with disconnections and lag.

Online multiplayer has also been expanded: while the original game allowed only 4 players at most, it can now host up to 6 players at a time.

Visual improvements

As is to be expected, Dark Souls: Remastered includes a slew of visual improvements over the original game. First off, the framerate has been doubled in most consoles (except on Nintendo Switch): now, the game runs at a stable 60fps, even in the most demanding areas.

Additionally, the resolution has also been upgraded, featuring a crisp native 4K on PC. These improvements won’t make the game look like Bloodborne, but they’re a nice upgrade to the aging classic that is the first Darks Souls.

Pros:

• Challenging gameplay
• Tons of character customization
• Intriguing lore and characters

Cons:

• Some areas are less interesting than others