Dark Souls Preview

OXM UK is delivering a hands-on preview of Dark Souls this week, during which they describe why the action RPG follow-up is "incredible" and will therefore make us "hate it".
In a genre oversaturated with green hills and moody dwarves, Dark Souls is a delightfully bleak alternative. Rooms are dark, everything is deadly, and everyone is out to get you. You're going to die. Repeatedly.

Eventually, though, you'll scrape through and beat the cruel odds unfairly stacked against you - and it's going to feel absolutely amazing. Punching the air just isn't going to cut it. You're going to need an industrial-strength high five, immediately.

Elation like this doesn't come without a price though, and you'll often go through hell to get there. It's not just giant dragons causing you grief in Dark Souls - almost every room and corridor is loaded with deeply unpleasant surprises. Caution is vital, which means you spend most of the game edging into the unknown - hoping that your shield will be enough to protect you from mysteries lurking in the dark.

Our first death in Dark Souls is foolish: we're backed into a corner by several undead soldiers, and quickly lose the stamina required to block their barrage of attacks. Our second death sets a precedent for the remainder: biting off more than we can chew, we retreat in search of a place to safely use healing magic. Unfortunately, we didn't have the luxury of choosing our preferred escape route - so now we're running up a staircase into uncharted territory. It's a bad idea, and we quickly attract more attention than we can handle. Frantically evading a spear attack, we roll backwards into the unknown. Unfortunately for us, the unknown turns out to be a cliff.
Looking forward to this one.