Cursed Lordran, deaths by the hundreds, and a bonfire as your only comfort.

On gut feeling, the community reveres it, ahead of 98% of games. But the detail holds a real surprise. Attachment and the wish to rediscover it climb almost to the top, and its art style stays high. On the other hand, controller feel finishes at the very bottom of the ranking, on still few votes, and fun sits around average. The fairest reading: people revere Dark Souls for what it represents and the emotion of discovering it, more than for the comfort of its deliberately heavy, demanding controls, which have also aged since 2011.

Next to other role playing games, it founded a whole genre, the famous souls-like, and defined a school of difficulty and level design.

So, who is it for? For you if you like challenge, the feeling of progress earned through sweat, a world that explains nothing. Much less if rough handling or pitiless difficulty puts you out.