This review is divided into the following sections:
1) Lore
2) Thoughts, comparisons, pros and cons
3) Final words

In the Age of Ancients... the world was unformed, shrouded by fog. A land of gray crags, ancient trees, and everlasting dragons. But then, fire appeared. And with fire came disparity: heat and cold, life and death, and of course, light and dark. Then, from the dark, they came — and within the flame, they found the Souls of Lords. (Who are they? The ancient Lords destined to shape the world.)
Nito, the first of the dead. The Witch of Izalith and her Daughters of Chaos. Gwyn, the Lord of Sunlight, and his loyal knights. And the easily forgotten Furtive Pygmy (the one who birthed the Dark Soul and became the ancestor of humankind).

With the power of the Lords, they challenged the dragons. Gwyn's mighty lightning bolts shattered their stone scales. The Witches conjured great firestorms. Nito unleashed death and disease. The scaleless albino dragon Seath betrayed his own kin. And thus, the age of dragons came to an end.

And so began the Age of Fire. But soon, the flames would fade, and only darkness would remain. Even now, only embers are left, and humanity sees not light, but endless nights. Among the living, bearers of the cursed Darksign have begun to appear.

Yes, without a doubt. The Darksign brought forth the curse of immortality. And in this land, the undead were corralled and led north — imprisoned, left to await the end of the world.
This is your fate.

If this part caught your interest, click here to find something even better

Now, I’ll expand on this for clarity. If you’re not interested in the lore and more focused on gameplay, feel free to skip ahead.

The fire fades. Lord Gwyn reaches the First Flame, but no matter how long he contemplates, he cannot find a solution. So, he makes a choice — to link the fire with his own soul and keep the Age of Fire going for just a while longer. The task is now his alone. Before setting out, he entrusts his kingdom to his four most loyal knights. The Age of Fire must endure... Gwyn travels to the Kiln of the First Flame — the birthplace of fire. There, he fearlessly offers his soul to the flame and loses his sanity. In return for this sacrifice, he becomes known as the Lord of Cinder. (The part I’ll talk about now takes place before this event.)

Let’s rewind to the great war between dragons and mankind and clarify some confusing bits. The dragons ruled the world unchallenged, thanks to one thing: their immortality. This was granted by the stone scales that covered their bodies. As the Lords and mankind wondered how to defeat them, one dragon stepped forward — and revealed a truth that would change the fate of the world. The dragons' immortality came from their scales. Without them, they could die. Seath the Scaleless, a pale-skinned albino dragon, had no such scales and was therefore mortal. Shunned by his kin, tired of his isolation, he betrayed his kind. He became Gwyn’s ally and was given the title of Duke. With this knowledge, Gwyn began his plans, united with the Lords, and allowed the age of dragons to fall.

Now onto the subject of fire. When the fire fades, the worst thing that occurs is the Age of Dark. This era brings ruin to both humanity and the world. Some undead attempt to rekindle the flame and stop it, but they fail. The Age of Dark gives rise to the Darksign, the curse that plagues mankind. All they see is an eternal night. According to legend, an undead shall one day rise from the north, descend into the city of the ancient Lords — Lordran — and perhaps, if this chosen soul links the fire, the Age of Fire might continue for a little while longer.

Alright folks, this is a cult classic — but I’m not gonna throw around fanboy-level "orgasmic" praise.

To those who have never played a Souls game before and won’t be starting with Dark Souls 3, let me say this: this game is very different from anything you've played. Prepare yourselves. Forget what you know about dying being a minor setback in video games. You're going to die. A lot. That’s the whole deal — you learn enemy moves by dying over and over. Like I said in my Dark Souls 3 review:
Dark Souls is an RPG where you travel from bonfire to bonfire, defeating enemies using a variety of weapons and items in both hands.

Also, this needs to be said:

Run too much? You die.
Run too little? You die.
Attack too much? You die.
Attack too little? You die.
Use up your Estus Flask? You die.
Got a short fuse? Don’t buy it.
Love your PC too much to see it harmed? Don’t buy it.
Want a simple, easy game? Don’t buy it.

First off — let me talk about the visuals, which don't cater to either old or new-gen gamers and yet are absolutely stunning. I swear, in the last ten years, I haven't seen a game with this kind of graphic design — ancient, arcane, just dripping with atmosphere. Show me another game that feels this timeless.

The world is interconnected. Every zone connects somehow, and when you realize it, it’s mind-blowing. You’ll catch yourself daydreaming about strategies, eager to get back and try them out.

The soundtrack? Some orchestral, some instrumental — all beautifully composed by Motoi Sakuraba. The areas? Incredibly well designed. The characters? Surprisingly warm and memorable for such a dark world. The lore? Deep and fascinating. Gameplay? Satisfying, with subtle details that make a difference.
I will praise this game. I want to praise it. It deserves praise, damn it. This is one of the few games I’ll go all in for. Every single detail — I’m praising it.

Okay, I fought the same damn boss three times. I mean seriously, THREE. You hardcore players know exactly who I’m talking about.

The graphical downgrade hurt me too, not gonna lie. Can’t even run it properly above 25-30 FPS. I get it — old game. But damn, the textures are muddy as hell now. It used to look so good...

Oh, and we haven’t even talked about Bed of Chaos — the worst boss fight you’ll ever experience. Why couldn’t we just fight Izalith herself? Why did we get stuck with this awful excuse of a boss? ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, getting one-shot by that sweeping branch... screw that.

To wrap it all up — Dark Souls is a masterpiece that’s left a massive impact over the past decade. From the moment it launched, it reshaped the gaming world and earned every bit of its reputation.

Even though it didn’t cater to its generation, that didn’t stop it from affecting its players on a deep level. In a world full of lazy, cash-grabby, mass-produced games that even five-year-olds can beat — this one stands tall, a true labor of love.

My score: 9/10 — a true craftsman’s work.