Dark Souls is one of the rawest most intense games I've ever played. Dark Souls is the next step along that path. Death is everything in Dark Souls. Put as simply as possible, Dark Souls is Castlevania: Symphony of the Night to Demon Souls' Castlevania III. The distinct worlds that comprised Demon's Souls are gone, having been replaced by a massive, seamless world that can take upwards of 80 hours to explore. What makes Dark Souls so effective is the sense that death is always just around the corner. I imagine a large, imposing brick wall. It's the same mechanic that drove Demon's Souls, though Dark Souls adds a few new elements to the formula, the first being the new bonfire system.