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Rock your way to Dark Souls victory

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RockSouls

Dark Souls, the strategic hack-and-slasher from FROM software is notoriously difficult. Truth is, it’s not really all that punishing once you understand it, and is so perfectly balanced that any of the inevitable deaths you face will all be entirely your fault. Of course, you could make it artificially difficult – which this guy has done… by playing through it with a Rock Band controller.

Fake plastic instruments were all the rage in the last generation, and many gamers – myself included – have a cupboard full of the things gathering dust. Instead of letting his Rock Band guitar for a thick layer of dead skin cells and dirt, Benjamin “Bearzly” Gwin has instead appropriated it for doing pretty silly things; like playing through the entirety of Dark Souls with one. That is the most metal thing I’ve ever heard.

guitar

He mapped the guitar controller’s fret buttons, whammy bar, effects switch and motion-controlled “star power” detector for use in the game. Naturally, this limited his control options making it far more difficult than it ought to be; character movement was restricted to forward, backward and right, and camera control was restricted to panning left. Using the guitar – which doesn’t have bumper or trigger buttons – means it was impossible to block or use heavy attacks.

And still, Gwin managed to beat the game in just over 11 hours. Of course, this meant naked runs for speed. According to Gwin, the toughest bits were Sen’s Fortress and bosses Ornstein and Smough – news that should come as no surprise at all to anyone who’s finished the game.

Here’s the Ornstein and Smough battle.

His next challenge will be tackling Dark Souls 2 with the same controller and setup – which I think will actually be quite a bit tougher, as that game has an artificial difficulty all of its own.

Last Updated: September 8, 2014

19 Comments

  1. Sk3tz0

    September 8, 2014 at 10:19

    Many Spelling Mistakes.. Some1 very eager for 2pm 😛

    Reply

  2. Sith JJ

    September 8, 2014 at 10:19

    I get an aneurysm every time I see a Guitar Hero guitar.
    That poor Strat, what did she ever do to deserve that?

    Reply

    • Mossel

      September 8, 2014 at 10:57

      It’s like putting some buttons on a rugby ball and telling your friends you can now play rugby.

      Reply

      • Sith JJ

        September 8, 2014 at 11:05

        Exactly.
        Being the best at Guitar Hero is like having the fastest Smart Car.

        Reply

        • Mossel

          September 8, 2014 at 11:09

          At least a smart car is still a car. Like a flute is still an instrument. A guitar hero “guitar” is nowhere near a guitar. It’s a pinball machine that makes sounds when you hit the buttons at the right time. Btw have you tried Rocksmith? It’s pretty cool, although I still prefer learning new songs by reading actual tabs, it just makes more sense to me.

          Reply

          • Sith JJ

            September 8, 2014 at 11:11

            I actually wanted to give Rocksmith a try sometime. Sad you have it.
            I actually have Guitar Pro installed on my work pc as well so I can check tabs quickly if need be.

          • Mossel

            September 8, 2014 at 11:13

            Guitar Pro is still awesome! Love that program.

  3. PERSONA 5!!!! (Umar)

    September 8, 2014 at 10:20

    LOOOOOL Ornstein just rushes in for that kill. Gwin ain’t even got time to riff

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      September 8, 2014 at 10:40

      Hahahaha

      Reply

  4. Hammersteyn

    September 8, 2014 at 10:38

    Next he should play it with an accordion

    Reply

    • Sith JJ

      September 8, 2014 at 10:42

      Easier than Dark Souls.

      Reply

  5. Martin du preez (D4RKL1NGza)

    September 8, 2014 at 10:40

    This is the work of satan

    Reply

  6. Zubayr Bhyat

    September 8, 2014 at 11:30

    I felt that Dark Souls 2 was easier than Dark Souls, he should do better imo.

    Reply

  7. Peet Luckhoff

    September 8, 2014 at 11:34

    Geez, he almost died there at the end! Much respect. Absolutely crazy, but much respect anyway.

    Reply

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