Dark Souls for Nintendo Switch: Everything you need to know!

Dark Souls: Remastered on the Nintendo Switch is the first portable way to experience the challenging adventure!

Lordaeron. A kingdom ravaged by the dead and withering in the feeble glow of a setting sun. You, the Chosen Undead, can change its fate, but it will take persistence and skill. The name of Dark Souls has become associated with incredible difficulty, and as a result, many have shied away from it over the years. But Dark Souls is coming to the Nintendo Switch, and with portability, refreshed visuals, and your best buddy Solaire of Astora in amiibo form, now is the perfect time to don your armor and dive in.

Don't be daunted by the challenges ahead. Here's everything you need to know about Dark Souls on Nintendo Switch.

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You, the Chosen Undead

At the start of Dark Souls, you wake up in a cell with nothing but the clothes on your back (maybe), a single item chosen during character creation, and a key to the outside. You'll carefully pick your way out of the Undead Asylum, facing Hollow and broken Humans and a gargantuan Asylum Demon, all who want to stop you from leaving. Why are you headed out? What is there to do once you reach Firelink Shrine? That's up for you to decide and learn as you play.

Dark Souls is notoriously vague about its storyline, with much of what's going on revealed through set pieces, item descriptions, and very occasional references in dialogue. That leaves you free to interpret what's going on as you wish. On the bright side, you won't have to guess at the controls. Your brief stint in the Undead Asylum at the start serves as a tutorial for the different types of moves you'll execute in this action RPG. Pay close attention, even if you've started as a spellcaster. Dark Souls is not just a game you can mash buttons through. You'll have to watch your enemies, learn their tells, and react accordingly. That's part of what makes Dark Souls both incredibly challenging, and incredibly rewarding.

Remastered, rekindled

The version of Dark Souls coming to the Switch isn't just any old Dark Souls. It's Dark Souls: Remastered. Veteran players might find great reasons to revisit Lordaeron even if they've already faced down Gwyn. For starters, the game looks a lot better, running in 1080p at 30 fps on the TV and 720p at 30 fps in handheld mode. Goodbye, Blighttown framerate woes!

In addition, many improvements have been made to online play. Now, up to six players can play online together (up from four), and password matchmaking has been made available (ala Dark Souls III) in addition to matchmaking with friends. Of course, even if you're only interested in solo play, you'll still be able to leave and read the memorable glowing messages on the ground for others playing the game around the world. Be careful about trusting anything that tells you a path is safe!

You may notice a few other tweaks here and there, such as the ability to switch Covenants at Bonfires and some convenient changes to how items are picked up and selected. None of these will drastically change the familiar Dark Souls experience. Rather they are quality of life adjustments that smooth a few rough edges of the original adventure.

Praise the Sun!

The Nintendo Switch version of Dark Souls: Remastered gets one extra bonus: an amiibo. A Solaire of Astora amiibo will launch alongside the game. By tapping it, your character will perform the iconic "Praise the Sun!" gesture. Yes, that's all it does.

Solaire may be tricky to track down, though. He's currently a sold-out GameStop exclusive, so there's no way to pre-order him anywhere. If you want to praise the sun with your favorite knight friend, you'll have to keep an eye out at GameStop on launch day and hope for plenty of stock.

When can I prepare to die?

Dark Souls: Remastered has been delayed on the Nintendo Switch from the release date on other platforms of May 25, 2018. No new release date has been specified yet, though you can still pre-order the game on Amazon. The Solaire of Astora amiibo will launch alongside the Switch version.

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Lordaeron is calling!

If you have more questions about Dark Souls: Remastered on Nintendo Switch, let me know in the comments!