You should never judge a book by its cover, even if it's some skull-encrusted demon-tome that looks set to bite your hand off, as chances are if you prise it open and devour the pages therein you'll take away something very special indeed. Where Demon Souls was just that little bit too harsh with its balancing of animation priority over the bosses the game would throw at you, and latest iteration Dark Souls 2 lost the connected-world aspect many fans thought was one of the biggest draws to the series (among other problems), 2011's middle-child Dark Souls gets everything absolutely spot on. Yes it's incredibly unforgiving, but that's entirely the point; not all of the best examples of any art form are easily digestible. Some of the best things in life are acquired tastes, and in this case Dark Souls is one of the most volatile spirits known to man. It asks that you surrender everything you think you know about tackling a game; from rushing in head first to even expecting the game to explain certain items to you in depth. Information is purposefully withheld, with the specific intention being to force a community to emerge around the game's levels and secrets, banding everyone together around a common purpose and goal - as well as dipping in and out of each others gameworlds to offer a helping hand for a particularly arduous boss fight in a truly innovative multiplayer. Dark Souls takes some of the oldest "Instant fail? Back to the beginning!" mechanics in gaming and presents them in a way that would only work in the connected social media-regulated world we now live in. It's certainly a completely unique beast in this respect, but it's also the most rewarding experience you'll ever have as a gamer who prides themselves on overcoming a challenge.
