Praise the sun! Dark Souls is coming back as Dark Souls: Remastered ! But wait… why are we celebrating? I mean, I know why. But do you? This is a seven year old game reappearing again. What’s the hubbub? Well, it may be a little difficult for people to understand why this punishingly difficult action-RPG could generate so much attention if people have never played this particular entry in the series before. But it is easy to explain why Dark Souls and Dark Souls: Remastered is such a big deal.
Part of it is because Dark Souls was most people’s first Souls -like game. Demon’s Souls was a PlayStation 3 exclusive and rather niche release from Atlus, which somewhat limited its reach. Dark Souls dropped a bomb on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC players when it debuted in 2011. Many people had never played a game quite like it, and it stuck with them. In the years since, it has remained a popular beckon. Folks still flock to it. PC players have created a connectivity mod and, if you check the Steam PVP and Co-Op Group , you will see it is still quite active. Of course people are going to be excited when a current generation port with the Artorias of the Abyss DLC included and 4K resolution and 60 FPS on the PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X is announced.
The multiplayer announcement is another big reason for all the excitement around Dark Souls . Dark Souls: Remastered is going to have dedicated servers. This is huge, because it should mean little to no lag for people playing. After all, games where it relies upon the player with the best connection to automatically be the host can lead to trouble. If that person’s connection flickers or fails, the experience is ruined for everyone. Dedicated servers are far better and more reliable. Combine that with up to six player multiplayer in a game where the co-op previously only allowed you to summon two friendly phantoms to fight alongside you, and it is a huge deal.
For Switch owners, the reason for the hype is even more obvious. There are multiple reasons to be so excited. The first is the fact that Dark Souls: Remastered is even going to be on a Nintendo platform. There was a lack of mature games on the company’s consoles for years, with systems like the Wii and Wii U rarely getting anything serious. We have already seen Nintendo committing to gamers with more mature tastes by getting games like Skyrim, DOOM, and L.A. Noire on the console. Having Dark Souls: Remastered on the horizon reinforces that.
It also makes a dream come true for Dark Souls fans. Imagine being able to play the game absolutely anywhere at any time. Dark Souls: Remastered does that when it is on the Switch, and without taking too much of a visual hit. The resolution does drop to 720p and framerate to 30FPS in Handheld mode, compared to the normal 1080p resolution offered on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Switch in TV mode, but that isn’t all that unthinkable. After all, we survived and loved Demon’s Souls on the PlayStation 3 even when it wasn’t completely gorgeous. The idea that it can and will work on the go is more than enough reason to be psyched.
Yes, Dark Souls is a game that really isn’t that old. And sure, there have been two more games in the series released since then. But Dark Souls: Remastered is a big deal. The dedicated servers are great. So is the increased multiplayer cap. Not to mention how huge both playing it on a Nintendo console and on the go are. People are excited because this is a landmark occasion that deserves to be celebrated.