Month: May 2018

The 2011 From Software and Bandai Namco legend Dark Souls is back to terrorize you once again on Xbox One, PS4, and PC with a brand-spanking new coat of paint. Dark Souls Remastered is out now, as are its reviews.

While we are waiting for the Switch version of the remastered title to release this summer before our review, you can check out what we said about the original game in our Dark Souls review. Back in 2011, Kevin VanOrd gave the game a 9.5 stating “Any game can deliver a few cheap scares. It takes a special one to terrify you. Dark Souls is such a game. It’s a thoughtful, atmospheric, and mysterious role-playing adventure that challenges your mind and your mettle.”

Keep on reading for other voices around the industry and their thoughts. Or, head on over to GameSpot’s sister website Metacritic to get a more general perspective of the title.

• Game: Dark Souls Remastered
• Developer / Publisher: From Software / Bandai Namco
• Platforms: Xbox One, PS4, and PC
• Release date: Out Now
• Price: US $40 / £28 / AU $56

Destructoid — 9, Superb

“Dark Souls Remastered speaks for itself just in terms of the raw mysteries it offers beyond its new coat of paint. The feeling of zoning into Firelink Shrine is just as special the 100th time as it is the first, and the open-ended nature of the world is just as fresh. Sometimes needlessly so, From Software has packed so much into Dark Souls that I’m finding new items or experimenting with strategies I’ve never seen before — a testament to the longevity of this particular entry, and a more than justified remaster.” — Chris Carter [Full review]

IGN — 9, Amazing

“Dark Souls Remastered does a fair job of bringing the brutal but fair essence of the original Dark Souls up to the standards of current-generation consoles, including running an almost locked 60 frames per second and the option to play at 4K resolution. A few muddy textures and some slowdown in the most intense and fiery moments are noticeable, but still a vast improvement. Now that Dark Souls Remastered exists, there’s no reason to play any other version, whether this is your first run through or your 100th.” — Filip Miucin [Full review]

USGamer — 4.5/5

“While bare-bones on the surface, Dark Souls Remastered is one of the best games of the last 20 years running better than it ever was. New players will find all of the mood, challenge, and tension of the original, and returning vets are given beefier online options and minor tweaks to small details. More importantly, it keeps one of the medium’s best games easily accessible and readily available.” — John Learned [Full review]

Push Square — 9/10

“Dark Souls Remastered is an excellent remaster of a standout entry in the Souls franchise. Those who played the original will feel right at home, and will really appreciate the visual and technical improvements – particularly to Blight Town, which now runs at a butter smooth 60 frames-per-second. However, those that weren’t there at the beginning may not appreciate the inferior visuals and general jankiness that later entries have all but ironed out.” — Glen Fox [Full review]

Attack of the Fanboy — 4.5/5

“So if you’ve been there and done that do you need to go back and play Dark Souls again in Dark Souls Remastered? It’s a game that definitely laid the roadmap for the Souls games to come. The level designs, boss designs, art style, and gameplay certainly hold up. It’s the Dark Souls of Dark Souls games, and the issues that plagued the console versions that released in 2011 have been remedied… what else needs to be said here.” — William Schwartz [Full review]

GameInformer — 8.75/10

“All improvements aside, Dark Souls does feel its age in the face of From Software’s recent contributions to the genre. The drop off in quality in the second half of the game, bosses like Bed of Chaos and incomprehensible zones like Lost Izalith remain curious blemishes on an otherwise incredible experience.” — Daniel Tack [Full review]

When you’re taking on horde, after horde, after horde of zombies, sometimes numbers are your only way to survive. In just two days after its global launch on Xbox One and PC, State of Decay 2 racked up over one million players.

It should be noted that the number of players doesn’t necessarily account for the number of sales. State of Decay 2 is currently available on Xbox Games Pass, Xbox One’s game streaming service. Members of the service can play the game in its entirety without having to have purchased it.

That’s not the only impressive number Undead Labs and Microsoft have shared either. From May 18 to 22, players have collectively played over 6 million hours and streamed 3.5 million hours on Mixer, Twitch, and YouTube with 41,000 broadcasts.

Within the game, players have slaughtered over 675 million zombies, thrown 6 million firecrackers and fireworks, munched on 6 million bags of snacks, read 2 million textbooks, and on average have survived for three in-game days.

State of Decay 2 had a bit of a rough launch, earning mostly mediocre and OK reviews due to the amount of bugs. In our State of Decay 2 review, Alessandro Barbosa gave it a 5/10, stating “Often though, it’s the game itself that will do its best to deter you from playing rather than its lack of depth. State of Decay 2 runs extremely poorly, even on Xbox One X.”