An epic adventure with intense and amazing moments, sprinkled with hooours of grinding.
But anyway, i'll break down the game...
Graphics: 8/10
The textures in this game are kind of a mixed bag. The shining armor on your knight, or the shredded robes of your mage shimmer against the warm glow of a bonfire, or reflect light blindingly against the sun, but all of the objects in the background seem like they're just there to be broken, and get stuck in the ground (especially in areas such as blighttown) and twitch, and can actually kill you if it causes you to lose your footing near a cliff. The frame rate is also very terrible. Very, VERY terrible. (ESPECIALLY IN BLIGHTTOWN). It can dip down as low as 5 fps when there are a lot of enemies on the screen, or destructable objects breaking. It dashes your hopes for a huuuge battle right away, as a few hours into the game, I came to a bridge with a mere 5 baddies on it, and the frame rate dipped a considerable amount.
Gameplay: 8.5/10
The gameplay in this game is really a mixed bag for me. I know, I know, I gave it a high score. But thats because the game goes from being extremely intense, with epic music playing in the background, and the threat of death staring you in the face, as you dodge a sword bigger than your body from a swooping gargoyle, tooooooo incredibly tedious and repetitive. Do NOT, I repeat, DO NOT get this game if you like instant gratification. I played the game on the default difficulty, and I had to grind in the first section of the game for atleast 5-6 hours before I could even get past the first boss. The game is INCREDIBLY boring at the beginning, as you only get a few cookie-cutter attacks or spells at the beginning of the game, and you're forced to just fight, and fight, and fight, and fight, untill you're around level 20 or so, and can get to the next checkpoint (bonfire) in the game. This grinding never ends, but atleast as you get farther into the game, you have more attacks, so the fighting is almost always interesting. The combat is incredibly simple, but it works, because every hit has weight, so you have to have near perfect timing, and you fluidly chain attacks and dodges together, and make that important decision to make one more strike, or save your stamina to block or dodge the next incoming blow.
Controls: 9.5/10
The controls in this game just feel good x). They can be very awkward at first, as there really isn't another game out there like it, but it feels perfect once you get it down. Every hit has a huuuge effect on the amount of stamina you have, so every attack matters. A mis-timed attack can leave you wide open to attack with no stamina, and could result in a quick death. Big weapons feel incredibly powerful, and smaller weapons feel quick and fluid. You really can play to your style. The only issue I have with it is how the specific type of roll you want to do isn't always clear, as it uses the same buttons, and is just a timing issue. 40 hours in I find myself still mixing up the two.
Music: 7/10
I can't remember a single song from this game haha...other than the main hug area backround "music". It really does the job in boss battles, and really ramps it up, but it's almost non-existant otherwise, and the world can get kind of dull when you're just walking around in silence. I think they were going for the realistic effect, but they kind of lost me on that when I was walking around a forest infested with giants and killer plants, with absolutely no music or sounds at all in the distance.
Overall: 8.5/10
This is a great game, but I would really only recommend it for those who are really looking for a challenge. It is as hard as they say, especially for the first 10 hours or so. If you can't beat a boss, you really just have to go and grind for a few hours, and that isn't always fun. I'd recommend this for a very specific hardcore-gamer type of audience.