So this game is out this week. There's a review on IGN and yes, I've long been aware that it's supposed to be MOTHERFRAKKING difficult.

But it also sounds like it has some really cool ideas!

I'm really torn. On one hand I don't like the tediousness and the suspension of immersion that constant character death causes.

But on the other it sounds like it has some really cool ideas!

I'm in the same frame of mind as you.  There's a lot about it that I like.  But my playing schedule is more suited to 1/2 - 1&1/2 sessions not 3-4hr gaming.  I'm worried that this is one of those games that you need to be playing through to the next save/safe point or you are just wasting your time a lot of the time.   I understand that you have 1 save per character, which is fine.  But if you can't basically save whenever you want then it's fairly useless to me.

Where as I know Skyrim which is out in November does cater well to my gaming situation and I'm fairly certain of the quality of that game given past efforts.

Plus October has Batman, Rage and Rocksmith coming out as well.

It's on my list for picking up on friday, im gonna play it along side my brother and take turns working through it switching over every other death(since i think every death would result in to much switching lol).

How long after release tmw in the US before the xbl forum for the game implodes with rage and cries of "This Game is BROKEN!!!!" though?

I'd love to know just how difficult it is.

I wouldn't love to pay for it and then find out that i've paid for something that will turn me into a raving lunatic.

There are limits surely. But it's a japanese game, so...

From what I can gleam.  It's hard and unforgiving but not cheap (though there are a few exceptions).  The difficulty is manageable if you learn to run, look for other avenues and secret passages.  Don't expect that just because you've run into a monster that you are equipped to kill it etc...  It's old school difficulty in that sense.

The other difficulty comes from the fact that resting at a safe zone resets the monsters that you've just killed.  Apparently magic has been toned down from Demon Souls to make it less powerful.

There are also some nasty bits involving curses that can be brutally frustrating.  Overall it sounds like a hard Japanese game.  Of around the same difficulty to the DS games that Atlas put out.

All of that doesn't bother me.

The two issues I'm concerned of are how it saves the game as you progress.  And potentially a few people were complaining about the camera.

I think I may try renting this one first or waiting until some more non-fanboy reviews come out after the official launch.

Ah yes, the curse frogs.

TBH that just sounds ridiculous. IGN felt that crossed the line and made another example of a dragon whose bile completely corroded your equipment leaving you to fight in your birthday suit.

Then of course there's the lack of manual save.

It's the frustration aspect that's the problem. If character death is handled well it shouldn't be a problem, like with an MMO. But...

Apparently the game saves every 3 steps.  So you can't go back and undo a mistake. I'm perfectly fine with that.  What I didn't want was a situation where you had to play the game for an hour just to hit the next save point.  That pisses me off to no end.

I'm tempted to trade gears in for this, though I'm really hesitant about a game where I'm going to be fighting the same monster for hours on end.

Yeah I just finished Deus Ex and I'm not sure if I want to trade it in for this or Skyrim.  I really like the look of Skyrim but I have this concern that after I burned out on Morrowind and Burned out on Oblivion and Burned out on Fallout I'm already starting to feel a little Burned out on Bethesdas formats.  Plus there is Batman as well.  Sigh.  I'm hoping someone I know gets Dark Souls first.

I've just started playing. I hope the save system works as you can't actively save.

So far, not too bad. The first boss can be avoided temporarily in order to get an advantage with better equipment but that was found by luck.

The graphics aren't 'stunning', but they aren't bad. Framerate is an issue for sure. The textures are a little grainy and the lighting isn't great.

The controls are a bit odd and combat is quite complex. The tutorial aspect relies on messages found on the ground, some of which are not helpful (they aren't unhelpful they are just meaningless - such as 'illusory wall' where there isn't an illiusory wall, there's a real wall). The camera, when dealing with you locking on to big enemies, such as the first boss (the only one i've fought) isn't great. It can be hard to see where you are as it does it's thing. There's a real lack of explanation of certain things. I picked my character class without bothering to read loads of guides so I don't really know what all the stats mean and how to access things like, in my case, magic. Lack of explanation is never a positive trait.

Don't believe the hype; this is a badly made game. It plays like a pc port struggling, given the dreadful framerate.
The difficulty is the result of programmed (and pointless) frustration due to repetition of task, cheap and lazy mob placement and awful level design. Having massive bosses appear right in your face as soon as you enter the room is beyond stupid. Most of the environments are far too small.
Having to constantly retrace your steps and fight the exact same mobs in the exact same way over and over because you died (or levelled up, the outcome is the same) is just piss poor game design.
The bosses are often enormous and inexplicable. If you die you have fuck all chance figuring how given they can act unpredictably and have a variety of attacks you need to anticipate. Almost all the boss fights are in cramped quarters against huge opponents who will succeed in interrupting your attacks constantly no matter what. You will be knocked down and stunned leaving you massively vulnerable, and you can fall off edges and die. That might sound realistic and reasonable, but this isn't real life. It's a game.
The lock on system is fussy and awkward and very short ranged. When fighting groups it becomes a huge burden, but without it you must be 100% precisely placed or you will be left wide open. The camera is equally useless when facing giant bosses in cramped quarters.
The inventory system is bizarre and arcane, as is the entire menu/stat system. Nothing in the game is explained beyond the very basic controls. You have no idea who you are, where you are or what's going on, at all. The voice acting is terrible most of it is painfully quiet. In order to complete conversations you need to talk to people multiple times with no clue as to this. Resource merchants are placed in the most bizarre locations. The checkpoints, bonfires, are far too poorly placed and few between. The autosave system is dire (the game will quit if your live cuts out) and when you quit you have to go through a tedious save process for some reason.

How this game even got past playtesting I will never know. It looks pretty ropey and plays like an old fashioned game using conventions that have long been (and with good reason) abandoned. This may appeal to some, but after a while the whole affair just becomes a giant chore. Respawn, fight the same mobs over and over, get to giant boss...die.

How these people ever got a publishing deal is beyond me. There are some very blinkered gamers out there and this has brought out the worst in them. The snobbery surrounding this turd of a game is extraordinary. The online is hokey at best. The messaging system is broken: leaving negative feedback is impossible since it is processed as positive feedback. Coop requires a resource called humanity which is next to impossible to come by. The whole game is so arcane that noone is using all these cool sounding ideas such as covenants or summoning.

The whole thing trips over itself.

This game is definitely not for you.  I just started playing it as well.  I enjoy the environments.  You need to proceed with caution and not a bull in a china shop.  The bosses are defeatable but you can't just assume that because you've encountered something you are equipped to deal with it.  The menu system is definitely old school but has lots of information, it is easy to navigate and if you just spend 5 minutes to read makes perfect sense.

The game does require grinding at times.  But then again that really depends on how smart you play, the more you die the more you grind.

It's definitely not a game for everyone.   But it will appeal to certain types of gamers and those people are loving it.

Are you assuming i am rushing in? That's not the case at all.

The game needs patching in many ways. The loot mechanism is broken as well. If you choose to loot you have to pick up the item, even though it's vendor trash nine tmes out of ten (stuf you can't sell either), or the info panel remains on screen permanently.

The coop mechanism makes no sense: if i want help, i have to wait until another undead player offers it. But only the summoner counts the progress if they all succeed. As a result few people use this. I've spent ages waiting outside the gargoyle area to get help....nada.

So you pick up rubble then you can always drop it from your inventory after the fax.  That's easily done.   Once you pick it up you just have to remember to hit 'ok' to clear the message.  I've never had any issue where the message didn't go away unless I was in the middle of it and forgot to click on it.  But honestly given the way the game works, looting bodies in the thick of combat is probably not the best idea.

The online community is definitely a mixed bag.  But then again I haven't played an online game yet that wasn't a mixed bag.  It's no better or worse in that regard.  The limiting factor in a game like this is that there are only so many people online at a time.  So the system works, just that people may not want to help you out.  

But I do agree that if you help out someone you should get more out of it then some minor reward.

Overall though I'm loving this game.  I enjoy the pacing, I enjoy the constant threat of death and the tensity that creates.  The level design is awesome.  I'm so tired of most rpg's even Oblivion and Fallout that just feel like a whole lot of open rooms.  This game is like surviving in the maze.  It's so much more interesting with bridges, drop offs ladders pits etc...

The combat so far works well.  Pick your weapons based on the conditions and choose your tactics.  Pull the mobs apart avoid archers use cover etc...  

My only and biggest complaint is that you can't jump.  Being able to jump up even a couple feet that would change the scope of the game dramatically.   I accept that you can't but wish that you could.

All of which is fine.

But for the crap respawn system.

Having to retrace your steps every time from an arbitrarily placed bonfire is just a huge fucking chore. Whichever way you look at it.

All the mobs (except bosses) respawn, in the same palces, doing the same things, every time.

And it's just really really tedious.

I can cope with difficult mobs, losing souls, even being cursed.

But for the lack of a sensible, practical, save system.

I think i've reached my limit with the game; i got to the darkroot garden and gave up. The fuck awful camera and lock on system and layout of the environments (too. many. trees) are working against me. That shouldn't be happening. If you make a deliberately difficult game, then you make doubly sure all the tools that the player needs are 100% on the ball. They are not.

And that's why the game's difficult, that and some cheap gameplay.