Dark Souls

Dark Souls is a video game developed by From Software. The game has been published on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 by Namco Bandai Games.

It was previously developed under the codename Project Dark and is the spiritual successor to Demon's Souls. It also uses an updated variant of said game's engine.

Dark Souls was released in Japan for the PlayStation 3, on September 15, 2011; it was released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on October 4 in North America and on October 7 in Europe.

Gameplay
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.

Prepare to Die Edition
Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition is the PC re-release of the game that was, until its release, solely available on the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360.

The game released on August 24th, 2012 and includes the Artorias of the Abyss mini-expansion that includes 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
CPU: AMD Phenom II X2 545 3.0 GHz - Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 3.0 GHz

RAM: 2 GB

VGA: ATI Radeon HD 4870 - GeForce 9800 GTX+

DX: 9.0c

OS: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 or newer

HDD: 4 GB

Sound: Direct Sound Compatible

Network: Online play requires software installation of and log-in to Games For Windows - LIVE (online play is not required to play the game but is recommended)

Dark Souls Remastered
In a surprise Nintendo Direct conference on January 11, 2018, it was announced 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.

The Nintendo Switch release was originally planned for May 25 as well, and was delayed to summer 2018. On August 14, 2018, it was announced that the Switch version would be releasing on October 19, 2018.

☀also comes with improved shadow and music effects

The remaster would include the Artorias of the Abyss DLC as well and improved frame-rate and graphics, and will run at 60 frames per second on both consoles and PC. The multiplayer component would receive dedicated servers for all four platforms, with up to 6 players.

The game will cost $39.99 US but offers a 50% discount for owners of the original Dark Souls on PC.

Reception
Dark Souls received critical acclaim, earning an 89 on Metacritic. IGN gave the game a 9/10, whilst GameSpot gave the game a 9.5/10. Many players had divided opinions, saying that the game was too hard, too boring, and uninteresting: others claimed Dark Souls to be one of the best RPGs of all time.

David Houghton from Gamesradar rated it as the greatest game of all time out of 100 games.

Edge magazine named Dark Souls the best game of the seventh generation of games consoles. In September 2015, Dark Souls topped the magazine's special issue The 100 Greatest Videogames.

Sequels and other media
The success of Dark Souls soon spawned two sequels, Dark Souls II released in 2014 (and later 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.