▷Dark Souls: Remastered, prepare to die on Switch

Dark Souls it's one of those games that certainly needs no introduction. The great work of the visionary game designer Hidetaka Miyazaki and the rest of the team of FromSoftware has now gone down in history as one of the greatest fantasy role-playing games, a title that was able to revolutionize an entire genre with original mechanics and, above all, a level of challenge to make even the most skilled veterans of the action genre pale / role.

Of course, we must remember that before Dark Souls there was a certain Demon's Souls, the first to have adopted the typical formula of the most famous 'soulslike'. Formula that today we can also welcome on Nintendo Switch, a console that has more than willingly lent itself to the relaunch of small and large titles of the last generation. What better opportunity, therefore, to propose again Dark Souls Remastered after the recent arrival on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One?

With the landing on the small hybrid of the Big N, the debut of Dark Souls on a portable platform is signed, an event that deserves an in-depth analysis in order to find out how such a complex title - from every possible point of view - behaves on a so 'different' car.

We thus ventured into the dark lands of Lordran to (re) experience the events that allowed us to explore one of the most fascinating videogame worlds ever conceived.

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Dark Souls Remastered: return to Lordran

For the less fortunate who have never had the opportunity to get close to the lore of Dark Souls, we are talking about an extremely stratified universe, in which powerful warriors and real demigods have shaped not only the legendary story that will be told to us, but also the same world in which we will find ourselves wandering aimlessly. Narration that is exposed here in a veiled way, through the dialogues that our protagonist will be able to entertain with the few characters he met along the way and through the discovery of objects (rare and not) found during the adventure.

Everything will start from the aforementioned hero, one of the bearers of the Dark Sign, a mark that will identify the undead affected by the related curse. Our alter ego will be highly customizable in the editor that will introduce us to the game and in which we will be able to choose, in addition to the somatic traits, the Class that we will deem best suited to our fighting style: here, therefore, the Warrior stands out for its high competence. in the use of weapons, while the mighty Knight will be able to count on a greater amount of health points; 10 Classes will be available, each of which will boast a certain amount of Skill Points and starting equipment.

When we are ready to dive into the dark game world, a series of indications left on the ground by some signs will illustrate the basic commands: it will be of fundamental importance to become immediately familiar with the controls, if we do not want to meet certain death and, therefore , restart from the last checkpoint. A few minutes later we will be weaned from Demon of Refuge, the first of the many bosses that we will have to face in order to continue our long journey.

It is on this occasion that we will approach for the first time (?) With theDark Souls 'punitive' experience. As you may have guessed by now, dying in this role-playing game is extremely simple and it will take a fair amount of combat skills - and a wise use of your resources - to get the best of Lordran's innumerable dangers. In this regard, i Bonfire they will become your greatest objects of desire: resting with them we will be able to save our progress, recover our entire health and filling the Estus Flasks that will allow us to regain HP; as a side effect, however, every single enemy downed a few seconds earlier will be brought back to life.

Dark Souls su Switch: Remastered o Porting?

So today's question could only be: how does all this good about Gwyn translate Nintendo Switch? In the case in question we speak, remember, of Dark Souls Remastered, re-edition landed - as we said - also on the latest generation home consoles, where FromSoftware was able to give solar and boxer gamers a convincing Full HD reinterpretation at 60 frames per second, introducing slightly updated effects.

The same re-edition that will be published tomorrow, October 19, on the Nintendo console presents substantial differences when compared with the two home counterparts. There is no upgrade regarding the graphic effects and, as expected, the 60 fps that make the game action extremely fluid, making life easier for many users. Nothing surprising, in short, but they are shortcomings that would seriously question the very title of this edition for Switch.

Put simply, the one for the hybrid car is the worst Remastered of the four planned by FromSoftware and Bandai Namco. On the other hand, let's talk about the best port ever for the original version of Dark Souls, the one launched in September 2011 in Japan exclusively for PS3 and only later on the Xbox 360 with the global launch in October of the same year. Having said that, the graphic assets of Dark Souls Remastered on Switch are exactly the same as those present in the aforementioned 'old-gen' versions, but a greater definition and some small upgrades immediately catch the eye.

With no little surprise, we therefore noticed that the Nintendo Switch version seems to offer a native resolution of 1080p (1920x1080p), moving away from the internal resolution of the first version (PS3, X360 and even PC) locked at 1024 × 720. Consequently, the pixel count also increases in handheld mode: disconnecting the console from the Dock base will go from 1080p to 720p, thus maintaining a clean graphics that will only have to deal with a slight aliasing.

Another small improvement introduced by Virtuos - software house responsible for this Remastered for Switch - concerns the ambient occlusion, a shading technique that derives from 3D graphics and that is used in video games to make the models that we will see in-game more 'realistic'. This introduction is reflected in a rather visible way in different views, slightly altering its original appearance (PS3 and X360 versions), but without affecting too much the final technical result.

A very important aspect could only be the framerate, a term now feared by many fans of Dark Souls. Yes, because the original game had significant flaws on this front, to the point of making some parts of the adventure almost unplayable. With great relief we can tell you that the problem, on Switch, finds a solution: the Remastered is anchored to 30 fps, except for occasional drops in the most excited moments. This is the exemplary case of the Infamous City (Blighttown), a location that caused a real collapse of the framerate on PS3 and X360, but which on Switch manages to be definitely enjoyable.

We would like to focus briefly on differences between handheld and docked mode. Playing it on the screen of our TV, the aforementioned slowdowns in the framerate manifested themselves in a greater form than what happened on the smallest panel of the tablet; in docked, moreover, we have noticed a bizarre variation in brightness, sometimes annoying, in which some excessively 'dark' views of the interiors alternate with those that are too bright in the external environments.

Joy-Con, an undead's worst enemy

Given the premises, we could conclude that the best way to play Dark Souls Remastered on Nintendo Switch it's in handheld mode, but… i controls.

Just as we feared, facing the already demanding Dark Souls challenge with the two Joy-Con - and, therefore, with the Switch tablet - could put players in further difficulty, whether they are experts or not. Of course, the chance to play this timeless RPG ‘on-the-go’ represents the real added value of this Remastered, but it is equally true that the small controllers of the console do not lend themselves to the long gaming sessions foreseen by a soulslike.

After the first hour of play in handheld mode we felt a certain tiredness, probably due to the poor ergonomics of the Joy-Con, and - thanks to the low autonomy of the console - we were forced to reconnect the Switch to its Dock base to continue the ' adventure holding the Joy-Con Grip or, better yet, the most comfortable Pro Controller. We specify that the default command scheme is the same one adopted on the home console and therefore presents a confusing - at least for habitual users - assignment of the main maneuvers to the Switch buttons.

They may seem like insignificant tricks, but in a title like Dark Souls, which cruelly punishes the player's single death, the mastery of game controls becomes the aspiring adventurer's first priority. With a little practice, however, it will also be possible to get around this problem, but there are other defects that have made us turn up our noses, even in handheld mode.

During our test we have often seen noticeable drops in sound quality, the result of insufficient compression. At certain moments in our game we perceived distortions and other annoying artifices, accompanied even by some slight sound delay, but only rarely. A real shame, considering the high quality of the original sound sector.

Speaking of 'annoying', we would not find a more appropriate term to describe the use of theHD Rumble of Dark Souls Remastered on the Switch tablet. The feedback triggered by the collisions and clashes that take place within the game results in excessive vibrations, so strong that they caught us off guard during the first point of contact. In the long run you might get used to it, but we assure you that the effect will never be particularly pleasant.

Dear Dark Souls… how can I tell you no?

Summing up, a question materializes in the mind of the undersigned: what kind of player will be the one who wants to buy Dark Souls Remastered per Nintendo Switch?

The first figure that appears before me is that of a veteran of the franchise, that longtime fan who would grab the console just to be able to carry this unforgettable adventure wherever he wants. Then there is the neophyte, a Switch user who will find himself struggling for the first time with this experience, sometimes too severe. In both cases, the purchase is absolutely recommended: the aficionado will have in his hands the work he has always loved, improved in many respects, while the neophyte will be able to enjoy his first encounter with such a mammoth title, albeit with some difficulty. initial due to commands.

The flaws, as we have seen, are there and some are also quite annoying. It's hard to talk about a real Remastered treatment, but it is undoubtedly an excellent port which maintains a strong link with the original versions of the game analyzed here. However, it must be remembered that this edition of Dark Souls for Switch not only brings some improvements on a technical level, but also introduces a reinterpretation of the infamous multiplayer compartment, expanded to support a maximum of 6 players per session; Unfortunately for us, during our hands-on the servers were still closed and therefore we could not test the various features online.

Artorias fans will also have the pleasure of being able to (re) meet their favorite, since the DLC Artorias of the abyss is included in the game card. We remember that Dark Souls Remastered will be officially available from tomorrow, October 19th, in stores and on Nintendo eShop (digital).