One of only two games I consider perfect games. X360 controller a must though.
Well, Dark Souls finally breaks that boring trend. Is a game that throws everything at you, just like that boxing trainer in 80s movies that teaches you that life is the best mentor, and who doesn't have any qualms with beating the living crap out of you to teach you a lesson. There is only a bare controls tutorial, nothing more. No map, no magic compass, no quest tracker, nothing. A rather minimalist HUD with your endurance and health on the upper left corner and your current items to the lower right. Then, you're off to discovering Lordran and your place in it.
The premise is laid out on the intro, where you learn that humanity is on the brink of extinction after the loss of Fire in the conflict between the gods and the dragons. This causes people to become undead, and after a while, Hollow, which is Dark Souls' term for mindless zombie. You, a recently undead (insert class here) wake up in the Undead Asylum, a prison of sorts for the undead, and after receiving help from a mysterious stranger, you start your path towards greatness.
But it won't be an easy path, not by a long run (see what I did there?). You are by no means a super hero with unnatural skills, regenerative health, and endless breath. You're an undead like all the rest, even worse at times, which means even the most basic enemy can kill you in two well placed strikes (you can do that too). Therefore, while you can find gear that makes you more resistant and powerful, most battles boil down (or up) to a display of skill and prowess on parry, dodge, strike and such. No combat is ever dull, thanks to superb animations which communicate very effectively both momentum and connection of the blow.
And if the common folk of Lordran weren't enough, bosses sure are sights to behold and foes to fear. They are all magnificent in their own right, perfectly paced and incredibly difficult to beat. Don't be surprised if it takes you more than 15 tries to beat some of them, but rest assured that none of them will crush your face unfairly: it is within you to overcome their challenges and emerge victorious. The balance of the game in terms of weapons and armor, as well as encumbrance derived from them, makes many play styles possible, from a strength-based shield tank to a slinky dex-ninja. You can pass the game with your initial gear, if you're good enough, which is the guarantee for fairness along the game.
This kind of appeal for skill makes beating a boss that has been consistently smearing your brains all over the floor one of the most rewarding experiences ever seen in a video game, with the adrenaline rush reaching peaks that might just tear a scream from you.
And that isn't all. While the port natively is crude at best, with Durante's fix and an X360 controller, everything is well in the world. Granted, the control scheme with keyboard and mouse is criminal, but the game is actually worth the controller. Graphically (with Durante's fix), you can tell it was born for the PC, with hi-res textures and incredible draw distances. Dark Souls is an open world game, where everything you can see (except mountain ranges) is an actual location. The creature design is second to none, and there is close to no recycling of in game models. Every location is magnificent in its own right, and the level design is mind-bogglingly good. The soundscapes that compose each area are well thought and moody, contributing evenmore to the oppresive atmosphere of an ending world. Music only occurs at certain points, like bosses, and when it does, is memorable, with great use of choirs and non-standard tonal scaling.
The game also boasts of a lore-based multiplayer mode, in which your soul can invade another person's world by use of certain items, or you can be invaded when certain conditions are met. Is a very tense duel of sorts, where the spoils are great for whoever wins. There is also a cooperative mode almost based purely on the goodness of your heart, since it involves placing a sign showing you're willing to help on certain areas. There are lots of NPC covenants (or guilds) that yield certain bonuses for multiplayer and other benefits.
To conclude, the amount of content in the game is almost ludicrous. A single playthrough might take you around the 50 hour mark, without going everywhere and doing everything, since there are several choices that branch paths in the game. And even when you're through, there is an infinite number of new game plus to challenge you even more, with no level cap.
Dark Souls is one of the best games ever to be made. Sure, it has some shortcomings, but perfection is not about not having any flaws, is about being so stupidly good that any flaws are hopeless in detracting absolute bliss from being obtained in a game.