PC version of Dark Souls plagued by console problems

The soul-crushing Role Playing Game (RPG) by From Software, Dark Souls, is finally making its way to PCs this month. The game was originally a console-exclusive, and was released at the end of 2011 for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. Many gamers wished to play the game on a PC and signed a petition. A month after that, Namco Bandai announced that From Software will release a port for the PC and release it with extra content. The PC version is named Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition.

The bad news for PC gamers looking forward to Dark Souls is that the port doesn’t seem to be very good. The preview codes that many reviewers such as RockPaperShotgun have received confirm that the PC version of the anticipated RPG is locked at 30 frames per second. The resolution of the game is also locked at 1024 x 720. Trying to increase the game’s resolution simply causes the game to upscale the 720p textures. Another major drawback is that the game uses the dreaded and annoying Games for Windows Live service for its multiplayer mode.

Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition is plagued by console problems

Dark Souls is the sequel to the PlayStation 3-exclusive RPG, Demon’s Souls. The game is a notoriously difficult one, in which players can’t rush through a stage. Players are required to stop, observe and then assess the situation before moving on to avoid being brutally destroyed by a fifty feet tall Minotaur. Both the Souls games have severe punishment for death, such as resetting all the monsters in the world, including the ones you have killed, as you respawn. The games reward careful players, and whenever the player gets damaged, it’s almost always the player’s own fault.

Both the Souls games have interesting multiplayer modes as well. The games don’t follow the traditional matchmaking or lobby systems that most other games with multiplayer use. Instead, if your system is connected to the Internet while you’re playing, you are always online. Other players can see you fight monsters and die. And if they choose to, they can also join your world to help you out in killing a particularly tough enemy, or they can choose to kill you. There is no inherent voice or text chat in the game except for the messaging system, where players can leave messages for other players on the ground, such as warnings against foes up ahead, or requests for aid.

Dark Souls: Prepare To Die Edition is available for pre-order on Steam for $39.99 (roughly Rs. 2,200) and will be released on August 24.