According to the Golden Joystick Awards Dark Souls is the Ultimate Game of All Time

[Poppincaps]

What is your opinion on this? I personally wholeheartedly agree. It spawned a whole sub genre and despite that From Software has still not been outdone in the decade since Dark Souls came out. Some people may prefer Bloodborne, Dark Souls 3, or Sekiro, but the amount of freedom you get in Dark Souls is unmatched to this day. I'm really excited for Elden Ring since it seems to be bringing back that level of freedom.

Obviously it's just one awards show and it doesn't mean anything in the long run, but I wanted to see what you all thought of this award.

[ro9ue]

Clearly these folks haven't played Super Mario World.

[Lex Icon]

i'd say it's a bold claim.

never played any of the dark souls games or the "souls likes" so i dunno.

[Tech614]

It's up there but not the GOAT. Could of been if it was fully complete as envisioned but after anor londo the game falls off with a few half finished areas that aren't really fleshed out and you can tell Bandai Namco cracked the whip on From to wrap it up. It wasn't a guaranteed success at the time, had Bandai Namco knew what it would become they may have given From more time.

Bloodborne is the best game from FS by far. Dark Souls deserves credit for turning FS into a rockstar developer though, without it Bloodborne doesn't exist.

Still I hesitate to put Dark Souls up with juggernauts like OoT, MGS, RE2, GTA3, FFVI... Games that basically defined genres and created modern gaming as we know it today. Without OoT Dark Souls doesn't even exist if we're giving DS credit for Bloodborne then same is true going back further...

[Rendark]

Dark Souls is good but overrated. Bloodborne, Dark Souls 3 and even Demon's Souls (not the remake) are better games.

[korijenkins]

I don't really think any of these awards matter anymore after The Last of Us 2, definitively a shit game, won like every award. Game journalists and awards presenters literally just fucking pander to devs for access. Watching them run cover for TLOU2 trying to portray everyone that disliked it as sexist somehow was truly eye opening.

As for Dark Souls, I have no experience with it. I've heard good things, but "Ultimate Game of All Time" is truly a stupid title to bestow on any game. How does one definitively argue that a puzzle game is better than a horror game? Or an RTS better than an FPS? It might be the best game in its genre but to say "best game ever by far forever" which is what that award implies is just stupid.

[SinR]

and I say that Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards is the best game of all time.

I'm sorry... ULTIMATE GAME OF ALL TIME.

[Chilela]

I haven't taken game awards seriously for years. Either way, it's a very bold claim, and somewhat surprising, given that awards shows tend to be deeply intertwined with the types that hate difficult games.

Actually surprising that it hasn't made it to the Strong Museum Video Game Hall of Fame yet, now that I think of it.

[Shakzor]

Dark Souls may have spawned a sub genre, but that's kinda it. But so did Metroid and/or Castlevania and where are those on that list?
Meanwhile Doom defined first person shooters as a whole, Mario defined jump'n'runs in both 2D and 3D space and Tetris is probably the most intuitive puzzle game of all time, yet the game that was solely known for being "not easy" won "ultimate of all time"? Who voted that?
Not like Dark Souls is a bad game, but it is FAR from being one of the best games of all time.
From that list, imo Last of Us, Halo, GTA, Portal, BotW and CoD should not even be there, because they are just good games, but nothing that changed or influenced genres/gaming as a whole for generations and Dark Souls "just" showed devs (again) that there's still room for difficult games.

[PACOX]

Good game but I don't agree.

It spawned a niche subgenre that fans highly adore but everyone out of that bubble are luvkwarm towards or even avoids. Not exactly the 'ultimate' game. And of its subgenre, most people only recognize the games of this namesake. Other games of the genre begin to become obscure.

When you say 'name an action adventure game where the protagonists runs around a world killing large bosses", most people say Zelda before Dark Souls.

[Easo]

It is good, but it is way too "specific" to be THE game.

[Schmeebs]

Ive never enjoyed a single souls game so... I disagree

[Aeluron Lightsong]

A specific series that gets waaaay too much praise. Like geez.

[RaoBurning]

All time is a bit of a stretch maybe but it's impact on gaming can't be understated. Of the last few generations, well pre Bloodborne at least, sure I'd give it that any day even if I personally liked 2 better.

[Otaka]

It's up there but not the GOAT. Could of been if it was fully complete as envisioned but after anor londo the game falls off with a few half finished areas that aren't really fleshed out and you can tell Bandai Namco cracked the whip on From to wrap it up. It wasn't a guaranteed success at the time, had Bandai Namco knew what it would become they may have given From more time.

Bloodborne is the best game from FS by far. Dark Souls deserves credit for turning FS into a rockstar developer though, without it Bloodborne doesn't exist.

Still I hesitate to put Dark Souls up with juggernauts like OoT, MGS, RE2, GTA3, FFVI... Games that basically defined genres and created modern gaming as we know it today. Without OoT Dark Souls doesn't even exist if we're giving DS credit for Bloodborne then same is true going back further...

Without dark souls there wouldnt be bloodborne or any other souls-like game.

So DS literally defined a genre and created a new type of game genre we havent had before.

You hesitate to put a game in the same category that did exactly what you claimed those other games did? awkward.

[Tojara]

I don't think you can realistically put that on one single game and there are too many that are just amazing at singular categories.

When I think of ultimate games I think of games that essentially defined or revolutionized an entire genre. Super Mario World, Metroid, Pokemon, RE4, GTA3, FFVI, Star Craft, Diablo 2, LoL/DoTa and even Fortnite.

I haven't cared nor looked at game awards in decades but I don't think you can universally have a best game really. I missed a lot, but all of those games either created that genre (and are still successful today) or revolutionized that genre/style of play to which most games try to copy. For example I personally like RE2 more than RE4, but literally every fucking third person shooting style game takes heavy inspiration from that game. Think about all of those games (indie developers especially) that are spawned because of the original Metroid?

[Darknessvamp]

It's a great game but it's hard to say it's the ultimate game of all time. I mean it is designed significantly well, the story and world is interesting and developed and it's clear to see where people get entertainment from it and it did end up spawning and inspiring a bunch of other games, people can't stop referencing or discussing it in numerous contexts and it was the game that firmly made From Software stand out at last despite all it's others but it is as others said technically unfinished/cut corners and didn't reach the directors vision with the occasional mechanical hiccup, the 'just like dark souls' and soulslike games aren't for everyone and it is technically Demon Souls improved and expanded without Sony restrictions.
Oh also the Remastered version kinda sours it's existence after the removal of the Prepare to Die edition.

[ldev]

Wellll ultimate game, first of all, won't be a video game.

After 20 years I will still be playing Mage Knight or Spirit Island pretty regularly, and I haven't played Dark Souls in ages. Yea, graphics that do not age, no backwards compatibility issues, tons and tons of replayability, oh and you can play with your friends or solo. Will be there even when Steam or electricity will go out.

Not even fucking close lol.

[Jastall]

Good game but I don't agree.

It spawned a niche subgenre that fans highly adore but everyone out of that bubble are luvkwarm towards or even avoids. Not exactly the 'ultimate' game. And of its subgenre, most people only recognize the games of this namesake. Other games of the genre begin to become obscure.

When you say 'name an action adventure game where the protagonists runs around a world killing large bosses", most people say Zelda before Dark Souls.

That's what I think as well. Dark Souls is beloved among core gamers but the larger audience has hardly heard about it at all, it's not even the first game of its sub-genre which is also only enjoyed by zealous fans of Dark Souls in the first place. Most of my friends game but among us there's 2 who even played a Dark Souls game at all, and one that finished it. Meanwhile everyone has played a Zelda, a Mario, a Pokemon, an Elder Scrolls, a Warcraft, a Resident Evil, a GTA, so and so forth. Of course the best game of all time isn't a popularity contest, but still.

Anyway I very much disagree with the ranking. The first half of Dark Souls is good but the game falls off a sheer cliff after Anor Londo. No "ultimate game" has shit like the Bed of Chaos, Set's Fortress or Tomb of Giants if you ask me. It's not even my favorite Dark Souls title in the first place. To say nothing of the fact that trying to crown some sort of objective ultimate game is an exercise in pointless futility due to tastes, you know, existing.

[qwerty123456]

Not even in the top 100 games of all time imo.