dark souls (from software, 2011/PC release 2012)
In the Age of Ancients the world was unformed, shrouded by fog. A land of gray crags, Archtrees and Everlasting Dragons. But then there was Fire and with fire came disparity. Heat and cold, life and death, and of course, light and dark. Then from the dark, They came, and found the Souls of Lords within the flame. Nito, the First of the Dead, The Witch of Izalith and her Daughters of Chaos, Gwyn, the Lord of Sunlight, and his faithful knights. And the Furtive Pygmy, so easily forgotten.
With the strength of Lords, they challenged the Dragons. Gwyn's mighty bolts peeled apart their stone scales. The Witches weaved great firestorms. Nito unleashed a miasma of death and disease. And Seath the Scaleless betrayed his own, and the Dragons were no more.
Thus began the Age of Fire. But soon the flames will fade and only Dark will remain. Even now there are only embers, and man sees not light, but only endless nights. And amongst the living are seen, carriers of the accursed Darksign.
Yes, indeed. The Darksign brands the Undead. And in this land, the Undead are corralled and led to the north, where they are locked away, to await the end of the world... This is your fate.
Only, in the ancient legends it is stated, that one day an undead shall be chosen to leave the undead asylum, in pilgrimage, to the land of ancient lords, Lordran.
you’ve probably heard of this game by now. massively influential, brutally difficult, and a remarkably esoteric story. dark fantasy in the berserk mode, with a strongly western conceit and execution despite being japanese in origin. final fantasy this ain’t, moonlight butterfly notwithstanding. i’ve long held that while this game is very much in the vein of dungeon crawler RPGs, it hits all the hallmarks of a good solid survival horror game too. it has all the hallmarks of it -- resource management, overwhelming opposition, and a haunted, empty kingdom filled with monsters and the undead with very few people to talk to.
while technically a spiritual (if not outright) sequel to the ps3-only demon’s souls, it stands well on its own and is arguably superior to its predecessor as well as its sequel. however, all three games play more or less the same (as well as bloodborne on PS4, which i have unfortunately not played.) the game’s central gameplay premise is pretty simple: it’s a third person action RPG complete with stats and equipment and things to hit. you know the type. where things differ is its emphasis on slow, purposeful exploration (made all the more interesting by how interconnected lordran is.) it also steps away from its competitors by not being focused on aesthetics either -- while graphically it's on par with the likes of skyrim or slightly older games, and getting through sen's fortress funhouse rewards you with a breathtaking view of anor londo, any beauty is inherently incidental in relation to the game's overall statement.
the biggest difference, however, is how uncompromising the game is, and how death is part of the gameplay. there’s no loading a prior save if you fuck up. if you die (and you will die, a lot, and horribly), you get dumped back at the last bonfire you visited, sans any humanity points and souls you collected, though you might be able to rescue them if you can get back to your corpse without dying. the game also does not stop for you; talking to people or using a dialogue box or menu will not pause the game, so watch your back. that’s not to say the difficulty is unfair (most of the time.) generally speaking, while the game won't forcibly shove you off cliff it's certainly happy to let you fall off on your own. (unless you’re in tomb of the giants...)
one interesting feature of the game is the multiplayer, in that it only sort of exists. as long as you’re connected to the servers, you’ll see the ghosts of other players throughout; bloodstains can be touched to play back a ghostly rendition of the last few seconds of someone else’s life, notes can be written and read using a special item, and you can even summon aid... or get invaded by someone out to kill you. (these latter two can only be done if you’re in human form... if you suck, like me, it’s not really a concern because you’ll be spending most of the game looking like beef jerky.)
it’s clear that from, true to their roots in making more or less japanese analogues to western dungeon crawler RPGs in the 80s, prefer the minimalist approach. you're dumped into the world with some basic background and left to fend for yourself. while the game teaches you some basic mechanics in the opening dungeons, actually exploring the world (and discovering just how creepy and sad the story is) is entirely something you have to do on your own. it can be overwhelming at first -- especially since your starting class is somewhat important, though you can build your character into whatever you want. but if you persevere, getting that VICTORY ACHIEVED message upon killing a boss is almost orgasmic.
PS: i strongly advise you bring a controller if playing on PC.