The first time I died in Dark Souls, I was staring down at a large monster, wondering how I should go about fighting it. Then it jumped up and killed me with a single attack.

The second time I died in Dark Souls, I was able to fight the monster to within half its health before succumbing. Both of these moments happened within 20 minutes or so of beginning the game, and even these first few scenes were scary. I had been warned that death and desperation crouched behind every corner in this game, so I moved with my shield held out in front, afraid of every doorway. The basic skeleton that would have been nothing in any other game nearly destroyed me as I tried to figure out the mechanics of battle.

Let me assure you, I was having fun. But it's fun you have to earn.

Dark Souls is difficult and frustrating, but you can do great things in the game. This is the sequel to the PS3 exclusive Demon's Souls, which became a cult hit due to its dense third-person gameplay and punishing difficulty. Every battle can have dire circumstances, and if you rush through an environment, you may find things that end your life very quickly. Control your movements, make good decisions about where to engage in battle, and be aware of everything around you—and you may succeed. Imagine playing a game of Dungeons and Dragons where your Dungeon Master is plotting your death at every turn. He may hate you, but he still has to play by the rules, and the rules leave room for success.

When you kill enemies—battle is a measured, deliberate affair—you gain souls. These are used as currency, and are also used at bonfires to level up your character. If you die in the game, and you will die often, you lose all your souls. To get them back, you must travel to the place you fell and find your body. If you die before recovering your souls, they are gone forever. No matter how carefully you play, there will be situations where you lose souls, and it is demoralizing. During last night's session I fell to a pack of skeletons a step away from my own body.

There are different character classes to try, and when you create a character you can pick one item as a gift. Some gifts are immediately useful, while others remain a mystery to the game's community. You have to get used to Dark Souls' refusal to play by the normal videogame rules, and that's also true if you play online. You'll be able to access the bloodstains of other players and see where they die, and you can read messages left by past players. They may tell you where treasure is, or give you hints about what's in store for you. They may also lie to you.

It's very possible that later in the game other human characters will invade your game and try to kill you. You have to treat everything as if it wants you dead, and you will be right more often than not.

Everything savaged, everything burned

The game is difficult, but that difficulty brings with it satisfaction as you master each area and become more powerful. While death comes easily, once you master the combat and rhythm of the game you'll move ahead and see even more amazing things. The game's world is rich and filled with culture and oddities, but the game's framerate is inconsistent. The art direction is stronger than the graphics themselves, so it's hard to discern what seems to be making the hardware struggle so mightily.

Dark Souls is also inscrutable. Don't expect much help from the instruction manual or the tutorial. I stared at the character creation screen like a helpless child trying to make heads or tails out of the words, numbers, and symbols. You'll be able to adjust and change your character as you play the game—the class system is fluid—but my guess is your second character is going to be a much more powerful creation once you go back, having figured the game out to some extent. I was able to progress as far as I have due to the use of Game Informer's wonderful guide to starting out, and by tapping into the expertise of my friends who are veterans of Demon's Souls.

People love to lavish praise on games this hard, but the truth is there may not be a large audience for this sort of experience. We like to feel in control of the games we play, and Dark Souls loves to remind you that it can crush you like a bug whenever it would like, even if you have a slim chance of surviving every encounter. You may be prepared if you played Demon's Souls, but the rest of us must learn by doing. This is unlike any other series on the market, and it's sure to be polarizing. If you suffer from OCD or enjoy a pitched battle against the odds and sometimes common sense, you should at least give it a rent.