"You might make it boy, but by the skin of your teeth." Rarely has a lyric in a trailer ever described a game so perfectly. That line from The Silent Comedy's "Bartholomew" arguably sums up the Dark Souls experience more aptly (and certainly more succinctly) than the visuals it accompanied: visuals...

A genuine sense of achievement which few other games can match; Gorgeous and varied open world; A vast amount of game time - at least 60 hours

Sometimes tips the odds a little too far against you; Controls are occasionally unresponsive; Offers only a few significant improvements over its predecessor

Dark Souls is the debut Japanese-style RPG from Warfare Studios. It was created using RPG Maker XP and boasts an extensive amount of detailed custom sprite work and a cool anti-hero protagonist to complement its traditional music and gameplay.

20th October 2011 - Dark Souls is the spiritual successor to the cult sleeper Demon Souls (read our review ) which arrived on Aussie shores last year. Demon Souls was lauded around the world as a PS3 exclusive that broke the current trend by delivering a game truly designed for hard core gamers.

Kevin VanOrd braves life and death to bring you a video review of Dark Souls.

A gorgeous and frightening world you won't want to leave; Abundant; amazing bosses test your skill and determination; Superb combat in which every attack feels powerful and precise; Fantastic online aspect lets players both cooperate and compete; Covenant system and other features lead to constant...

Frame rate gets choppy in certain areas; Finicky target lock

By all rights, I ought to hate Dark Souls. I can't think of a single game that's responsible for causing me so much sleeplessness and stress, yet From Software's viciously difficult role-playing game is still something of a masterpiece.

Players who live Demon's Souls and are hunting for another challenge then look no further than Dark Souls, because it is one of those games that player will appreciate after successfully defeating the BOSS.

I have re-written this review so many times in my head and in so many different states of severe emotion. Elation, despair, frustration, pure exhilaration and exhaustion to name but a few, but I admit it; this game almost broke my spirit.

Intoxicating gameplay; Enormous open world environment.

The inability to play your online with friends

Dark Souls flies in the face of recent videogame conventions. Where most games these days pride themselves on accessibility, Dark Souls goes to great lengths to make its complex systems impenetrable. Gone is the obligatory lengthy tutorial intrinsic to most action/RPGs.

Gorgeous world to explore; Stellar combat system; Many secrets to discover; Online integration for community generated hints; co-op; and competitive multiplayer

Framerate is inconsistent; Persnickety lock-on

Dark Souls is one of the most challenging games we've seen this generation, and thanks to its dark and twisted environments it stands up as something different for 2011. If you can handle the brutal difficulty and you are prepared to die a lot, then Dark Souls could very well be the title you are...

I have been anticipating Dark Souls for quite some time now. It's the follow-up to my favourite game, the much lauded and notorious Demon's Souls, a game that took people by surprise for its uniqueness as much as its difficulty which interested people enough to make it a surprise success story.