Review for Dark Souls: Remastered. Game for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 25/05/2018 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 19/10/2018
Whenever we approach a remastering job we must be clear about what we are about to have in our hands. Being satisfied or unhappy with the product is very often more related to our expectations than to the actual final result. Obviously, the new qualitative level reached by the work must be considered, but with videogames not older than a generation we can hardly expect significant changes. Dark Souls: Remastered fits in quite well with this, although some clarifications need to be made.
Telling the birth and success of Dark Souls, of its nature as a spiritual sequel to Demon's Souls, of how it led to the definition "souls-like" or its "evolutions" Bloodborne and Dark Souls III, would be quite redundant. What interests us is that Dark Souls: Remastered arrives on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One with a decent load of technical differences. On PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, Dark Souls: Remastered runs at 1080p resolution and 60 frames per second. On PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X, FromSoftware's work reaches 4K upscaled. To get the native 4K, as well as 60 fps, we have to throw ourselves on the PC version. Online has also received an upgrade: the number of players who can fight at the same time is in fact increased from four to six, with the possibility of setting a password for matchmaking. In addition, the game now has dedicated servers.
Trying to go a little deeper, however, let's define what has changed since 2011, the release year of the original version of Dark Souls: the lighting system and various effects. The polygonal patterns and textures are mostly the same as seven years ago, but the lighting has changed dramatically. It is also immediately evident that the game is more saturated: that "foggy" aspect of the original version has disappeared. More precisely, the fires and souls have completely changed: now they are similar to those of Dark Souls III, more realistic and therefore alive and believable.
These differences make Dark Souls: Remastered slightly better, but not surprisingly. Simply, this version will look different but more horizontally than vertically: the same cannot be said of the gameplay. Controller in hand, we find ourselves living the same experience as seven years ago, or almost. Among the main game differences we have: the possibility of using multiple objects (such as souls or humanity) at the same time, the management of the Pacts directly from the bonfire (we can change the Pact, but not donate objects), the mapping of the controls that indirectly allows us to perform the jump with L3 instead of with circle and the possibility to change the size of the HUD (very welcome option, to be completely honest). Additionally, a bonfire has been added in the vicinity of Vamos and the Artorias of the Abyss DLC is included (but no dedicated trophies have been added). Lots of small changes that are welcome, but that don't revolutionize the game in any way.
For the rest we will find the same enemies, the same menus and all the beloved gameplay of the first Dark Souls. If this remastered proves anything, it is that the videogame created by Hideta Miyazaki is able to entertain again after seven years. The 60 fps makes the experience truly smooth and makes us wonder how it was possible to face The Infamous City in the past. Dark Souls: Remastered will allow us to (re) experience that fantastic mix of discovery, learning and ultimate satisfaction that the work has always boasted of.
Even knowing it perfectly, everything still works today and you don't feel like you're playing a "minor" version of Dark Souls 3. Dark Souls was and is, quite simply, different. It has its own rhythms, its own rules, and Dark Souls: Remastered is the perfect opportunity, for those who have never experienced the original work, to discover another style of play. Veteran or novice, fun is guaranteed.
If we can all easily agree on this, the more complex is the question linked to the age-old problem: is the amount requested worth? Does it make sense, if I have already explored the old version, to buy this remaster?
The answer is within you. It is not a catchphrase but, as never before, it all depends on what you are looking for and where you are looking for it. If on PC the high resolution and 60 fps seem obvious (thanks to DSFix and mods), on consoles the story is different. The real strong point of the package will prove to be online for many: this new version will lead to the birth of a new community that will allow you to play again and again for many hours as has happened in the past.
Thanks to the presence of the DLC, all players will have access to an arena for group battles: an official place to always find someone ready for battle will help the online to stay alive. Unfortunately, we have not been able to fully test the multiplayer features due to the limited number of pre-D1 players, so we cannot comment on the stability of matchmaking.
Dark Souls: Remastered is exactly what it sounds like: a trimmed version of the original game, an opportunity to relive the same experience without any particular differences. If you don't get confused between “remake” and “remaster”, you will have in your hands an adequate product that doesn't want, and therefore doesn't even try, to be something it isn't. Do you want to explore the land of the gods and do you think the price is right? Then easily buy Dark Souls: Remastered: these seven years have not done him any harm, you can be sure.
► Dark Souls: Remastered is an Action-RPG type game developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 25/05/2018 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 19/10/2018
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