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The Iron Golem – one of the enemies from the Dark Souls announcement trailer – was the main event of a recent Namco Bandai presentation in Dubai. One swing of his huge sword sent the player character flying off the roof of a castle, where gravity quickly finished him off. We didn’t get to see the Iron Golem slain. Nobody has. “We haven’t beaten this boss yet,” said publishing producer Kei Hirono, who told us moments earlier that they had given Richie – the poor guy playing the demo – maximum character stats in order to survive this long.
The developers, with max stats, can’t beat an enemy they designed themselves. You’ve got to laugh.
Basically, From Software is evil. Not only does the studio take great pleasure in designing fatal traps and abominable monsters, it glorifies death and revels in the pain and suffering of others. That said, it did make for a horrendously entertaining presentation.
Dark Souls is hard, to reiterate, and even before getting splattered by the Iron Giant poor Richie regularly came a cropper. He triggered floor-traps and became a magnet for a slew of arrows; he got squashed by runaway boulders; he was skewered by spikes and lacerated by swinging axe-pendulums – all to a soundtrack of maniacal cackling from Hirono.
As I say, From Software is evil.
And yet their enjoyment and love for the game was infectious. Of the numerous presentations I sat through at Namco Bandai’s Level Up event in Dubai, Dark Souls was the most entertaining. The ridiculous difficulty levels have become the game’s defining characteristic, and death is never more than a few wrong steps away. As a spectator, this made for great fun.
The demo took place in a castle; affectionately referred to as a ‘trap theme park’. Just a few minutes inside revealed why; you can’t walk five steps without being peppered with arrows or chased by boulders. On top of this, there are vicious snake-headed enemies vying for your blood. Even when you think you’re safe, you’re not. In any other game, a treasure chest in an empty room would signify a brief respite from danger, the chest containing a lovely treasure of some description. In Dark Souls, that chest turns into a foul monster with gangly arms and jagged teeth.
If the game is being nice to you, it’s probably a trick.
Survival is a case of reacting to subtle clues about the environment. Blood on the floor of an elevator, for example, might deter you from using it. Not Richie. He jumped in and ascended into a roof of bloody spikes – thankfully his health bar was of sufficient length to survive the ordeal. “You always need to be cautious” urged Hirono, who had managed to stop laughing long enough to offer the advice.
The end of the demo saw Richie squaring up against a ten-foot troll. The fight was over after the monster was knocked to its knees with a few swings of his sword – it seemed a little too easy, if I’m honest. But, peering over the edge of the castle wall, an even bigger enemy loomed. “That wasn’t even a boss!” joked Hirono, knowing that in any other game it would be. Then the Iron Golem showed up and, well, you know the rest.
Demon Souls was notoriously difficult, and From Software is boasting that the sequel is even harder. At the same time, however, they say it’s fairer – more ‘conquerable’. Quite how remains to be seen, but – as with its predecessor – you’ll be relying on other players to point you in the right direction. The online innovation seen in the original is of course returning, but I wasn’t able to see any of this side of the game during the presentation.
During E3, this will be one of the first things I’d like to check out.
Dark Souls is due for release on Xbox 360 and PS3 in October.
