Unveiled just a couple of months ago, Dark Souls Remastered has gotten a lot of fans very excited, and for good reason. It’s no secret that the console and PC versions of the game were pretty subpar, with the PC version being shockingly underwhelming without the handy DSFix mod, and the frame rate going straight to the toilet whenever you entered Blighttown. Early previews of the game went out earlier this week, and we’re here to break down everything new that’s coming to Dark Souls Remastered, as well as an overview of some elements that will remain the same.
It’s Prettier
This one’s pretty much a given. With Dark Souls Remastered, From Software’s beloved title is coming to current-gen consoles (including the Switch), and it’ll be playable in 60fps and 4K resolution. The graphical updates won’t be as pronounced in the Switch version, but even so, this is exciting news. Boosted by these visual upgrades, we can be sure that Dark Souls Remastered is going to look way better than the original did on PS3 and Xbox 360. In some ways, it might even look better than the PC version of the game with the DSFix mod on.
Souls lore enthusiast VaatiVidya posted some video footage of the game, highlighting the little visual changes that were included in Dark Souls Remastered. Environments are much more detailed and dynamic now, lending Lordran a heightened sense of realism and immersion. Bonfire sparks actually look much more realistic, wind effects are gorgeous, and the lighting definitely looks to be vastly improved over the original. As pretty as the DSFix PC version of the game could be, the little details that have been added to the Remastered version definitely help to enhance it greatly.
Quality of Life Changes
More importantly, however, Dark Souls Remastered also comes with a few important quality of life improvements that make the game feel more updated to cater to a modern audience. One of the key things is being able to hold down on the d-pad to immediately swap back to the first item in your equipped items slot, which is usually where your Estus Flasks are. This was a feature that was introduced in Dark Souls III, and it proved to come in very handy in hectic fights. Instead of scrolling through your items wildly, you’ll now be able to hold a button to quickly swap back to your Estus. We’re assuming that the quick items shortcut will apply to sorceries and blessings as well, as it did in Dark Souls III.
Another sorely missed feature in the original Dark Souls was the ability to consume multiple items at once. Nothing is more annoying than having to use your Large Souls of a Proud Knight one by one every time you wanted to buy a new weapon or Titanite Shard from Andre. This was another feature included in future Soulsborne games, and we’re definitely happy to see it added here as well.
Lastly, Dark Souls Remastered also comes with a wealth of UI and HUD customization options that should appeal to lots of fans. While it’s not clear whether the game will feature a dynamic HUD like in Dark Souls III, the game’s menu allows you to scale the HUD and UI size down or up to suit your preferences. There’s also the option to change your controls and key bindings, which should prove to be useful for players who prefer having the sprint function mapped to their X buttons on PS4. Very helpful stuff.
Improved PvP Conditions
During the game’s initial reveal, we learned that we’ll be getting dedicated servers for online multiplayer, which is always a good thing. While the early game previews didn’t seem to get into the co-op and PvP aspects much, dedicated servers simply mean that we should have a much smoother and more stable online experience overall.
Thankfully, there will also be the implementation of password-matching, which will make it so much more convenient for players who want to engage in jolly co-operation with their friends. The same goes for the PvP enthusiasts who just want to start dueling. Seriously, praise the sun for this inclusion.
The Bad: No New Content
There are, of course, a few downsides or complaints that we have about what we’ve seen of Dark Souls Remastered thus far. Unlike Scholar of the First Sin, which drastically changed the way many fans viewed Dark Souls II as a game, there’s nothing new to be found in Remastered, at least content-wise. The Artorias DLC pack will be included, but apart from that, there’s not much here that will draw in longtime fans of the series who have already played this game to death.
Dark Souls Remastered also doesn’t offer anything new in terms of combat adjustments or balancing issues, so you’ll be getting the pure DS experience here. No new weapons or armor, no new item placements, and pretty much everything is going to remain the same.
In addition to that, it’s also worth noting that there’s definitely going to be a larger split in the player base with the release of Dark Souls Remastered. With the introduction of new platforms and no cross-play, we’re a little skeptical about how long the online player base will last, and if it’ll thrive for as long as it has been on PC.
Despite those concerns, however, we’re still excited to see this classic game get remastered for the latest consoles. Dark Souls Remastered is set to release for the PS4, Xbox One, and Switch on May 25.
Published: Apr 6, 2018 09:09 am