Completed : Dark Souls - Prepare To Die Edition (7th Platinum)

My second souls game after the original Demon's Souls ..

The Tagline Prepare to Die although very fitting but one can actually never be prepared to Die in this game

given its harsh consequences thus living in constant fear and anxiety in a bid to survive and yet you will Die,

Yes,

Again and Again until you lose count often affecting your sanity . (the platinum surely does)

A decision to embark on this undead journey with grim and false hopes of finding Light through the eternal Darkness is always worth a second thought.

The sheer uniqueness, dreadful setting and epic boss fights with equally matching arenas as well as soundtrack have made the souls games redefine the fantasy role playing genre qualifying as one of a kind.

Arguably, the better game with clearer concepts and more variety and depth in most aspects but wasn't always a step forward from Demon's Souls.

The true definition of lore with a story so vague and deep at the same time left completely open for the player.

Even with the less punishing and much more manageable new humanity and bonfire system with replenishing health consumables, the game still expands on its predecessors difficulty with a huge, confusing and even more mysterious open world. The true beauty of the game lies in its intense diverse world yet so well interconnected always feeling whole. Frustratingly rather than the combat its world (routes) turned out to be the real enemy - unbearable and even unfair at times easily getting lost or cheaply falling to your death at least without help or until figuring out the much needed smartly devised shortcuts.

Most part of the game can be described by this reference from Ser Bronn of the Blackwater :

I'd be a bloody fool if he didn't frighten me.He's freakish big and freakish strong, and quicker than you'd expect for a man of that size.Maybe I could take him, dance around until he's so tired from hacking at me he dropped his sword, get him off his feet somehow...but one misstep and I'm dead.

Messed up the first playthrough on several occasions which was inevitable given its nature including unable to save Solaire ,the warrior of sunlight and by far the most memorable and heartfelt npc among a few others.

With too much left to do in ng+ near the very end was greeted by a selfless soul dropping a couple of unique weapons seemingly spared me from a 3rd playthrough.

With each passing hour you begin to question your spirit cursing to soon escape the world you are trapped in

but as the end draws closer you realise you are not ready for either.

Finally a hollow feeling takes over you but ends up giving the most immersive, absorbing and rewarding experience a game could give...