The ESRB deemed Dark Souls a game for players 17 years old and up. From Software’s title was rated "M" for blood and gore, partial nudity, and violence. For comparison’s sake, Demon’s Souls also received a "M" rating for blood and violence.
More interesting is the description, which lists some of the monsters and bosses waiting to send your character back to a bonfire.
This is an adventure role-playing game in which players must battle monsters and collect souls to lift an undead curse across the land. Players use swords, axes, and magic arrows to kill zombies, demons, giant spiders, and other fantasy creatures in both ranged attacks and melee-style combat. Players can also use stealth attacks (e.g., stabbing) to dispatch enemies at close range. Battles are accompanied by slashing sounds, cries of pain, and large splashes of blood. Blood pools may also appear on the ground, and some environments depict flaming bodies impaled on spikes. Boss battles include instances of dismemberment and decapitation (e.g., cutting off a gargoyle’s tail, slicing multiple heads off a dragon). During the course of the game, one female enemy’s breasts are barely obscured by strands of hair; some bird-like humanoids are also depicted with exposed buttocks.
Dark Souls will be available for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on October 4 in North America and October 7 in Japan.
If you didn’t see it during E3, here’s a look at the gargoyle boss fight.
