

Dark Souls: Prepare to Die is the PC release of the critically-acclaimed and challenging role-playing adventure out on consoles last year. The port adds in additional content which will also be available on Xbox 360 and PS3 as DLC later this year. We spent two hours with the bonus content and the PC build to find out we can expect.



As well as the complete, original version of Dark Souls, the PC edition introduces new content in the form of the 'Artorias of the Abyss' DLC, offering new areas, monsters, bosses, items and a PvP arena. It's said to add around ten hours of play time, which, knowing how Dark Souls is, could be closer to double depending on player skill and how difficult it ends up being.

And our short time with the new DLC proves it to be particularly devious indeed. Located from within the Darkroot Basin - specifically, at the corner behind the Hydra lake - a mysterious portal transports you 300 years back in time, with a mysterious forest, ruins and a deserted city ready to greet players, all amongst the familiar towering cliffs that hide Anor Londo.

Accessing the new content comes with a catch

In typical Dark Souls fashion, don't expect access to be quite as simple as finding the portal (or when it comes to consoles, coughing up some cash). It's guarded by a new boss - a testy griffin bested with a mid-range strategy of avoiding its poisonous tail and electric blasts - before you gain access to the sanctity of a bonfire and a new ally in the form of a talking mushroom.

Tasked with rescuing a princess, the realm of the Royal Wood is a sparse and vast woodland not unlike Darkroot Basin, and an area heavily populated with possessed trees holding sheers. The new enemies are manageable enough one-on-one, but in groups their triple attacks can easily and quickly rob you of your health.

A pleasant reminder of what made Dark Souls so special

There are multiple paths and routes dotted around the fringes of the forest, and it's here where the exhilarating and daunting thrill of exploring unknown locations that Dark Souls is so well known for rears its head once more.

A dragon taunts you as it swoops along canyons, there are deserted buildings with one-way lifts, towering knights with powerful and unblockable hammer swings, and there's the titular abyss itself, appearing as large cracks in the earth with a terrifying rumble that'll unnerve your travels.

There are naturally a few traps, too, with a possessed tree seemingly fleeing at one point, making you give chase and leading you into an ambush, while a water-logged basin holding bodies and a few tantalising items has a surprise visitor in store.

How does the PC port of Dark Souls perform?

The new content comes free with the PC version out later this month, providing those on the platform who have patiently waited a nice period of exclusivity before it arrives on console later in the year.

The PC version is best described as a straight port, with minimal flexibility when it comes to visual customisation. Instead, you'll have to make do with tweaking resolution, refresh, anti-aliasing and motion blur options in the menu, as well as customisable keyboard and mouse commands.

Don't expect staggering performance either. While we sampled unfinished code, it was played mere weeks before release, and the core i7 Alienware laptops running the build occasionally struggled to maintain a consistent, smooth frame rate.

It was, however, easily comparable to the console version in performance and looks, meaning its stunning art style and careful, calculated gameplay remains intact. Just don't expect Blighttown's stuttering frame rate issues to be a thing of the past.

'Artorias of the Abyss' is essentially more of the same, and acts as the perfect antidote for those who want an excuse to return to the fascinating and intoxicating world of Dark Souls. PC gamers, meanwhile, get a little added extra in a safe and familiar port, as well as the chance to finally delve into one of the most daunting but rewarding adventures of recent memory.

> Read our interview with Namco Bandai on Dark Souls: Prepare to Die

> Read our Xbox 360 review of Dark Souls



Dark Souls: Prepare to Die is available on PC on August 28. The 'Artorias of the Abyss' DLC will be released on consoles by the end of the year.

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