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Dark Souls
Cover art used outside of Japan
Developer(s)	FromSoftware[b]
Publisher(s)	Namco Bandai Games JP: FromSoftware
Director(s)	Hidetaka Miyazaki
Producer(s)	Hidetaka Miyazaki Daisuke Uchiyama Kei Hirono
Programmer(s)	Jun Ito
Composer(s)	Motoi Sakuraba
Series	Dark Souls
Platform(s)	PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 Windows PlayStation 4 Xbox One Nintendo Switch
Release	September 22, 2011 PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 JP: September 22, 2011[a] NA: October 4, 2011 AU: October 6, 2011 EU: October 7, 2011 Windows AU: August 23, 2012 NA: August 24, 2012 EU: August 24, 2012 JP: October 25, 2012 Remastered PS4, Windows, Xbox One JP: May 24, 2018 WW: May 25, 2018 Nintendo Switch WW: October 19, 2018
Genre(s)	Action role-playing
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Dark Souls^[c] is a 2011 action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware and published by Namco Bandai Games. A spiritual successor to FromSoftware’s Demon’s Souls, the game is the first in the Dark Souls series. The game takes place in the kingdom of Lordran, where players assume the role of a cursed undead character who begins a pilgrimage to discover the fate of their kind. A port for Windows featuring additional content, known as the Prepare to Die Edition, was released in August 2012. It was also released for consoles under the subtitle Artorias of the Abyss in October 2012.

Dark Souls has been cited as one of the greatest video games ever made. Critics praised the depth of its combat, intricate level design, and use of flavor text. However, the game’s difficulty received mixed reviews, with some criticizing it for being too unforgiving. The original Windows version of the game was less well-received, with criticism directed at several technical issues. By April 2013, the game had sold over two million copies worldwide. Its success led to the development of two sequels—Dark Souls II (2014) and Dark Souls III (2016)—while a remastered version was released in 2018.

Gameplay[edit]

Dark Souls is a third-person action role-playing game. A core mechanic of the game is exploration. Players are encouraged to proceed with caution, learn from past mistakes, or find alternative areas to explore. Dark Souls takes place in a large and continuous, interconnected environment, connected through a central hub area. The player character can travel between areas and explore various paths at will, although prerequisites must be met to unlock certain areas.^[1][2][3][4]

A central element to the gameplay of Dark Souls is the bonfire. Bonfires are scattered throughout the world and serve as checkpoints for each level. By resting at a bonfire, the player character is healed to full and regains all of the healing charges of their «Estus Flask.» They can also level up and perform other functions, such as attuning magic and repairing and upgrading equipment. However, resting at a bonfire respawns all of the world’s enemies, except for bosses, mini-bosses, and friendly non-playable characters.

The player character’s interaction with the world of Dark Souls includes a great deal of combat. Combat includes melee attacks, various forms of defensive maneuvering, and magical abilities. For melee attacks, player characters have access to a wide array of high fantasy, medieval-style weaponry—including swords, spears, maces, and fantastical weaponry such as magical swords, huge greatswords, and immense clubs. For defence, player characters have access to shields, armour, dodge rolling, backstepping, and parrying. For magic, which includes a wide variety of offensive and defensive abilities known as sorceries, miracles, and pyromancies, player characters do not use any form of mana as in most other fantasy RPGs. Instead, they gain a discrete number of uses for each attuned spell when resting at a bonfire. These various forms of combat all have tradeoffs, variations, and in-game costs associated with them. They can all be buffed or altered in some fashion through levelling, smithing, consumable items, magical rings, and new equipment.

Multiplayer[edit]

Another aspect of Dark Souls is the «humanity» system. There are two forms the player character can be in during the game, human form or hollow form. Whenever the player character dies in human form, they are returned to hollow form and can only return to human by consuming the humanity item and issuing the command at the bonfire to restore humanity. While in human form, the player character may summon other players and non-player characters (NPCs) to assist them, but they may also be subjected to invasions by other players and NPCs who seek to kill the player to restore their humanity, harvest souls, or achieve some other goal. Humanity can be acquired in many ways, and if no humanity is available, players can still progress in hollow form. Death results in the loss of all carried souls and humanity, but players revive as hollows at their most recent bonfire with one chance at returning to where they died to recover all lost souls and humanity. If the player dies before reaching their «bloodstain», their previously accrued souls and humanity are permanently lost. Carrying humanity grants bonuses and resistances, incentivizing players to hold onto their humanity.

Communication and interaction between players are deliberately restricted. Outside of some character gestures, the only communication players have with one another comes through orange soapstones, which allow players to write preset phrases that others can read in the same area. Also, players can enter cooperative or player versus player combat with each other.^[5][6] Throughout the game, there are multiple NPCs that the player may encounter on their journey. These characters add to the plot of the game but are not essential. If the player chooses to engage with them, some of the characters can assist the player by being summoned for certain boss fights when the player character is in human form.

The multiplayer component for the PC version of Dark Souls was disabled in February 2022, in response to a security threat within the matchmaking system found that same month.^[7] In October 2022, Namco Bandai announced that the online multiplayer for the «Prepare to Die» version of the game would be permanently removed due to aging hardware and dwindling fanbase but plan to restore the online multiplayer for the Remastered version sometime in the future. ^[8]

Synopsis[edit]

Dark Souls employs minimalist storytelling to convey its plot and lore. Historical events in the world and their significance are often implicit or left to player interpretation rather than fully shown or explained. Most of the story is given to the player through dialogue from non-player characters, flavor text from items, and world design.

Plot[edit]

The opening cutscene establishes the premise of the game. Dragons once ruled the world during the «Age of Ancients.» A primordial fire known as the First Flame manifests in the world, establishing a distinction between life and death, and light and dark. Four beings find «Lord Souls» near the First Flame, granting immense power: Gwyn: the Lord of Sunlight, Nito: the First of the Dead, the Witch of Izalith, and the Furtive Pygmy. Gwyn, Nito, and the Witch use their new power to destroy the dragons and take control over the world, while the Furtive Pygmy is said to be forgotten, and thus begins the «Age of Fire.» Over time, as the First Flame begins to fade while humans rise in power, Gwyn sacrifices himself to prolong the Age of Fire. The main story takes place towards the end of this second Age of Fire, at which point humanity is said to be afflicted with an undead curse related to a circular, flaming symbol on their bodies known as the Darksign. Those humans afflicted with the undead curse perpetually resurrect after death until they eventually lose their minds, a process referred to as «hollowing.»

The player character is a cursed undead, locked away in an undead asylum. After escaping the asylum, the player travels to Lordran to ring the Bells of Awakening. The bells awaken Kingseeker Frampt, who tells the player to ascend to Anor Londo, the home of the Gods. In Anor Londo, Gwynevere instructs the player to succeed Lord Gwyn and fulfil the prophecy. To accomplish this, the player must acquire the Lord Souls of the Witch of Izalith, Nito, and shards of Gwyn’s own Lord Soul given to the Four Kings, and to the dragon Seath the Scaleless. Optionally, the player may encounter Darkstalker Kaathe, who encourages the player not to link the fire, but to let it die out and usher in the Age of Dark instead, due to humanity being created from the Furtive Pygmy’s own Dark Soul. Once the player acquires the Lord Souls, they travel to the Kiln of the First Flame to battle Gwyn. Once Gwyn has been defeated, the player has the choice of linking the flame to preserve the Age of Fire or letting it die out to instigate the Age of Dark.

Artorias of the Abyss[edit]

In the Artorias of the Abyss expansion, the player is dragged into the past by Manus, Father of the Abyss, to the land of Oolacile, which is being corrupted by Manus after the people awoke and angered him. Artorias, one of Lord Gwyn’s four knights, goes to defeat Manus and rescue Princess Dusk. However, Artorias is defeated and corrupted by the abyss, and the player must defeat him. The player then goes on to defeat Manus, although the victory is later attributed to Artorias.

Development[edit]

Dark Souls was developed by FromSoftware, with series creator Hidetaka Miyazaki directing and producing. Dark Souls is a spiritual successor to FromSoftware’s 2009 game Demon’s Souls, published and owned by Sony Computer Entertainment.^[9][10] Bandai Namco Entertainment was chosen to publish Dark Souls as they had the ability to release on more platforms.^[11][12][13]

The design and development process itself involved a guided freeform approach, with Miyazaki steering designers while allowing them latitude for creativity:

The design ordering process for Dark Souls can be divided into two main categories. The first involves providing the designers with simple keywords we brainstormed during the early stages of project development and allowing them to design freely. We take the images they produce and provide feedback, make adjustments as necessary, or incorporate their ideas into our plans. […] The second process comes into play once we’ve settled on the basic details of the game world. At that point we are able to make more detailed design requests. These requests usually include information like how the design will be used, where in the game the design will be used, and the specific purpose of the design in terms of what it will represent in the game. […] Either way, I am the one who hands out the orders and I work directly with each designer instead of having a middleman between us.^[14]

Miyazaki stated that the game draws direct inspiration from earlier works of fantasy and dark fantasy, especially the manga series Berserk.^[14][15] He has described the driving aesthetic principle of the game as being «a certain kind of refinement, elegance, and dignity».^[14] He also described the themes which guided the design of the game in the following way: «I put three major guidelines in place: Gods and knights centered around Anor Londo, demonic chaos and flames centered around Lost Izalith, and the theme of death centered around Gravelord Nito. To these themes we added the special concept of ancient dragons that predate all life, and this formed the basis for Dark Souls«.^[14] Many of the game’s locations were inspired by the real-world, such as the Château de Chambord in France and Milan Cathedral in Italy.^[14][16]

The characters and world of Dark Souls contain many philosophical and folkloric parallels among Greek mythology,^[17][18] Japanese mythology,^[19] French existentialism,^[20] and the work of proto-existentialist philosophers like Friedrich Nietzsche.^[20] Dark Souls‘ description of natural cycles that the world experiences, and the designs of some individual characters, parallel Japanese and Greek myths.^[17][19] The game’s presentation of a universe defined by the inevitable burning out of a flame and the tragic stories of the individuals in that meaningless world, parallel ideas in schools of philosophy concerning existentialism, absurdity, meaninglessness, and the end of the universe.^[20]

Marketing and release[edit]

The game was first released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in Japan on September 22, 2011, and in Western regions in October 2011. Following the game’s success, many expressed their hope for a PC version.^[21] In early 2012, fans started a petition to bring Dark Souls to PC, with over 93,000 people signing it.^[22] A PC version of the game was confirmed in April 2012 via German magazine PC Action.^[23] It had been reported during the development process that FromSoftware had been having difficulty with the port due to inexperience with PC as a platform and were focusing on new content rather than optimization.^[24] Re-branded as the Prepare To Die Edition, it came out in August 2012 and featured new content, including bosses, enemies, equipment, and NPCs.^[25] The new content, subtitled Artorias of the Abyss, was also released for consoles in October 2012 as downloadable content (DLC).^[26] Soon after, it was announced that Dark Souls for PC would use Games for Windows – Live for online play and DRM, spurring fan backlash.^[27]

The PC version was released on August 23, 2012. A user-created mod to circumvent the resolution cap, named «DSFix», was created shortly after release.^[28] DSFix was later extended to become an unofficial fan-made patch that also allowed graphical improvements, raising the framerate cap to 60, and installing custom texture mods.^[29] On December 15, 2014, Games for Windows – Live was removed from the Steam version and replaced by Steamworks. The ability to transfer both achievements and save data was provided.^[30] In April 2016, Dark Souls became available on Xbox One via backward compatibility.^[31]

A remastered version of the game, titled Dark Souls: Remastered, was released worldwide for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows in May 2018, and for the Nintendo Switch on October 19, 2018.^[32][33] The remaster was ported by the Polish studio QLOC, whereas the Switch version was ported by the Singaporean studio Virtuos. The game runs at a native 60 frames per second on all platforms except the Nintendo Switch and supports a 4K resolution on the PlayStation 4 Pro, Xbox One X, and Windows.^[34] Several changes were made to the online multiplayer, including adding dedicated servers, increasing the maximum number of players online from four to six, and password matchmaking.^[35][36][37]

Reception[edit]

Original release[edit]

Dark Souls received positive reviews from critics upon its release. One of the reviewers for Dark Souls described it as «a very hardcore dark-fantasy [role-playing game]» that is «role-playing right down to the roots», and stated that the «massive field map and powerful enemies serve to rev up both your sense of adventure and your sense of dread.» Another reviewer said that «the sheer happiness you get after the trial-and-error pays off and you overcome the challenge is absolutely impossible to replicate.»^[53]

GameSpot praised the online system and the sense of jubilation when conquering boss fights after numerous failed attempts. They also suggested that casual gamers may struggle to progress, whereas role-playing game enthusiasts will thrive on the difficulty.^[44] IGN complimented the level design, variety, strong emphasis on online features, excessively dark tone and atmosphere, and deep gameplay. While praising the extreme difficulty, they stated that «there’s a difference between punishing, and downright unfair.»^[54] Eurogamer also applauded the level design and atmosphere while noting that the game’s difficulty might not appeal to casual gamers.^[41]

Jason Killingsworth wrote a response to Thomsen’s review for Edge, arguing that the game’s «vertigo-inducing breadth makes it the gaming equivalent of a marathon.»^[55] Killingsworth praised the game’s length and addictive nature.^[55] Edge later retroactively awarded the game 10 out of 10 in their October 2013 20th anniversary issue, stating that the breadth and quality of the game’s design had overruled complaints about its difficulty.^[39]

Ben «Yahtzee» Croshaw of Zero Punctuation praised Dark Souls for its deep gameplay and immersive atmosphere, but was «disappointed» with the late-game bosses and criticized the difficulty of getting into the game, saying that it would be a critical factor in turning new players off.^[56] He later named it the most historically significant game of the 2010s «now that every other game seeks to ape it, and the media calls every milk float with a slightly stiff brake pedal ‘the Dark Souls of commercial transportation'». Croshaw praised it for «remind[ing] us that games are games» as opposed to «cinematic experiences» like Uncharted, with «their own strengths: depth of exploration and discovery, the satisfaction of overcoming meaty challenges».^[57]

Game Informer Phil Kollar opined that «the frustration in Dark Souls arises from how [late ’00s and early 2010s] games have conditioned us. Gamers are used to handholding tutorials that walk you through every aspect of a game’s mechanics.» While complimenting the game’s notoriously steep difficulty curve, Kollar was less favourable toward its «overall lack of direction».^[47]

Namco Bandai’s yearly financial report stated that the game sold 1.19 million units in the United States and Europe by March 2012.^[58] FromSoftware announced in April 2013 that the game had sold 2.37 million units worldwide.^[59][60]

Later releases[edit]

In GameSpy‘s review, the original Windows port was referred to as «shabby», citing the game’s limit of 30 frames per second, poor mouse and keyboard controls, and nonadjustable resolution. However, the expanded content was praised, giving the game an overall favourable review.^[61] Eurogamer also commented on the quality of the port, stating: «Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition does not come with the technical options you would expect from a well-engineered PC game, because it’s a port of a console game, and that’s all FromSoftware ever promised to deliver. Anyone who passes up Dark Souls for this reason is cutting off their nose to spite their neckbeard of a face.»^[62] One of the producers of Dark Souls II, Takeshi Miyazoe, responded to the criticism of the PC version by saying:^[63]

This is going to sound bad but our main priority was to get the game onto the PC as fast as possible, because people wanted it on the PC. The PC market in Japan is so minimal that originally there were no plans to make it on the PC, but with the strong petition from the North American and European fans, even with the lack of experience of working on a PC platform we still did our best to try to get it out as fast as possible. [The problems] were expected to a certain extent.
We did know there were PC-specific features like key-mapping and use of the mouse and keyboard, high resolution and higher frame rate, stuff like that, but… It’s not that we ignored it, but it would have taken too much time for us to implement it, test it and get it up to the level people expected. It was more of a publisher (Namco Bandai) decision to say, «Guys, don’t worry about this – let’s just get it out and see how this works on PC.»

Dark Souls: Remastered received «generally favorable» reviews from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic.^[65] Critics praised the improved visuals and performance, while criticism was directed towards the lack of an effective anti-cheat system^[71][72] and the PC version’s price despite few significant changes.^[73] It sold 71,739 copies in Japan during the week of its release, making it the best-selling game in the country at the time.^[74]

Awards[edit]

Game Revolution gave Dark Souls the Community Choice Game of the Year award.^[75] IncGamers also gave it the «Game of the Year» award.^[76] Q-Games’ Dylan Cuthbert and Double Fine Productions’ Brad Muir chose Dark Souls as Game of the Year.^[77] Electronic Gaming Monthly‘s Eric L. Patterson chose it as Game of the Year.^[78] GameTrailers gave it the «Best Role-Playing Game» award^[79] while also nominating it for the «Best Multiplayer Game», «Best Trailer», and «Game of the Year» awards.^[80] GameZone gave the game the «Best Action/Adventure» award and chose it as the runner-up for the «Best RPG» award.^[81]

The Daily Telegraph gave the game the «Best Integration of Online Features» award and nominated it for the awards of «Best Director» (Hidetaka Miyazaki), «Best Level Design», «Best Sound Design», «Best Original Score» (Motoi Sakuraba), «Best Developer» (FromSoftware), and «Game of the Year».^[82] TeamXbox gave it an honourable mention as the runner-up for the «Best RPG» award.^[83] 1UP.com gave it the «Most Rewarding Game» award.^[84] Game Informer gave it the award for «Best Boss Fight» (Sif).^[85] It also received the «Best Boss Fights» awards from GameSpot, including the Editors’ Choice and Readers’ Choice awards.^[86] Famitsu gave it an Award of Excellence in its 2012 awards ceremony.^[87]

At the 15th annual Interactive Achievement Awards (now known as the D.I.C.E. Awards), Dark Souls was nominated for «Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year».^[88] In 2013, Digital Spy named Dark Souls the best game of the seventh console generation.^[89] In 2014, Edge magazine named Dark Souls the best game of the seventh generation of game consoles, noting that while some may initially tire of it, «We’ve yet to meet a single player for whom persistence has not been enough to transform apathy into all-consuming love.»^[90] In September 2015, Dark Souls topped the Edge‘s special issue The 100 Greatest Videogames.^[91] In 2015, the game placed first on GamesRadar+‘s «The 100 best games ever» list.^[92] The game was also put first on USgamer‘s The 15 Best Games Since 2000 list.^[93] The game was titled the «Best RPG on PC» by Rock, Paper, Shotgun.^[94] In 2016, Dark Souls placed fifth on PC Gamer‘s «Best RPGs of all time» list.^[95] In 2021, the game was voted the Ultimate Game of All Time at the Golden Joystick Awards.^[96]

Legacy[edit]

Dark Souls has been cited as one of the greatest video games of all time.^{[97][98][99][100][101]} Due to its design and philosophy, it is often cited as an essential instance of video games as an art form.^{[20][102][103]} It is also considered one of the most influential video games of its generation.^[104][105] It was voted the Ultimate Game of All Time at the 2021 Golden Joystick Awards.^[106]

Games cited to have been influenced by Dark Souls include Destiny,^[107] Alienation,^[108] Lords of the Fallen,^[109] The Surge,^[110] Salt and Sanctuary,^[111] Shovel Knight,^[112][113] Titan Souls,^[112][114] Enter the Gungeon,^[115] The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt,^[116][117] Nioh,^[118] and God of War,^[119][120] as well as features used on the PlayStation 4 console.^[121] Dark Souls was also cited as an inspiration for the television show Stranger Things.^[122]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Official website
• Official website for Dark Souls: Remastered
• Dark Souls at MobyGames

Dark Souls
Cover art used outside of Japan
Developer(s)	FromSoftware[b]
Publisher(s)	Namco Bandai Games JP: FromSoftware
Director(s)	Hidetaka Miyazaki
Producer(s)	Hidetaka Miyazaki Daisuke Uchiyama Kei Hirono
Programmer(s)	Jun Ito
Composer(s)	Motoi Sakuraba
Series	Dark Souls
Platform(s)	PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 Windows PlayStation 4 Xbox One Nintendo Switch
Release	September 22, 2011 PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 JP: September 22, 2011[a] NA: October 4, 2011 AU: October 6, 2011 EU: October 7, 2011 Windows AU: August 23, 2012 NA: August 24, 2012 EU: August 24, 2012 JP: October 25, 2012 Remastered PS4, Windows, Xbox One JP: May 24, 2018 WW: May 25, 2018 Nintendo Switch WW: October 19, 2018
Genre(s)	Action role-playing
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Dark Souls^[c] is a 2011 action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware and published by Namco Bandai Games. A spiritual successor to FromSoftware’s Demon’s Souls, the game is the first in the Dark Souls series. The game takes place in the kingdom of Lordran, where players assume the role of a cursed undead character who begins a pilgrimage to discover the fate of their kind. A port for Windows featuring additional content, known as the Prepare to Die Edition, was released in August 2012. It was also released for consoles under the subtitle Artorias of the Abyss in October 2012.

Dark Souls has been cited as one of the greatest video games ever made. Critics praised the depth of its combat, intricate level design, and use of flavor text. However, the game’s difficulty received mixed reviews, with some criticizing it for being too unforgiving. The original Windows version of the game was less well-received, with criticism directed at several technical issues. By April 2013, the game had sold over two million copies worldwide. Its success led to the development of two sequels—Dark Souls II (2014) and Dark Souls III (2016)—while a remastered version was released in 2018.

Gameplay[edit]

Dark Souls is a third-person action role-playing game. A core mechanic of the game is exploration. Players are encouraged to proceed with caution, learn from past mistakes, or find alternative areas to explore. Dark Souls takes place in a large and continuous, interconnected environment, connected through a central hub area. The player character can travel between areas and explore various paths at will, although prerequisites must be met to unlock certain areas.^[1][2][3][4]

A central element to the gameplay of Dark Souls is the bonfire. Bonfires are scattered throughout the world and serve as checkpoints for each level. By resting at a bonfire, the player character is healed to full and regains all of the healing charges of their «Estus Flask.» They can also level up and perform other functions, such as attuning magic and repairing and upgrading equipment. However, resting at a bonfire respawns all of the world’s enemies, except for bosses, mini-bosses, and friendly non-playable characters.

The player character’s interaction with the world of Dark Souls includes a great deal of combat. Combat includes melee attacks, various forms of defensive maneuvering, and magical abilities. For melee attacks, player characters have access to a wide array of high fantasy, medieval-style weaponry—including swords, spears, maces, and fantastical weaponry such as magical swords, huge greatswords, and immense clubs. For defence, player characters have access to shields, armour, dodge rolling, backstepping, and parrying. For magic, which includes a wide variety of offensive and defensive abilities known as sorceries, miracles, and pyromancies, player characters do not use any form of mana as in most other fantasy RPGs. Instead, they gain a discrete number of uses for each attuned spell when resting at a bonfire. These various forms of combat all have tradeoffs, variations, and in-game costs associated with them. They can all be buffed or altered in some fashion through levelling, smithing, consumable items, magical rings, and new equipment.

Multiplayer[edit]

Another aspect of Dark Souls is the «humanity» system. There are two forms the player character can be in during the game, human form or hollow form. Whenever the player character dies in human form, they are returned to hollow form and can only return to human by consuming the humanity item and issuing the command at the bonfire to restore humanity. While in human form, the player character may summon other players and non-player characters (NPCs) to assist them, but they may also be subjected to invasions by other players and NPCs who seek to kill the player to restore their humanity, harvest souls, or achieve some other goal. Humanity can be acquired in many ways, and if no humanity is available, players can still progress in hollow form. Death results in the loss of all carried souls and humanity, but players revive as hollows at their most recent bonfire with one chance at returning to where they died to recover all lost souls and humanity. If the player dies before reaching their «bloodstain», their previously accrued souls and humanity are permanently lost. Carrying humanity grants bonuses and resistances, incentivizing players to hold onto their humanity.

Communication and interaction between players are deliberately restricted. Outside of some character gestures, the only communication players have with one another comes through orange soapstones, which allow players to write preset phrases that others can read in the same area. Also, players can enter cooperative or player versus player combat with each other.^[5][6] Throughout the game, there are multiple NPCs that the player may encounter on their journey. These characters add to the plot of the game but are not essential. If the player chooses to engage with them, some of the characters can assist the player by being summoned for certain boss fights when the player character is in human form.

The multiplayer component for the PC version of Dark Souls was disabled in February 2022, in response to a security threat within the matchmaking system found that same month.^[7] In October 2022, Namco Bandai announced that the online multiplayer for the «Prepare to Die» version of the game would be permanently removed due to aging hardware and dwindling fanbase but plan to restore the online multiplayer for the Remastered version sometime in the future. ^[8]

Synopsis[edit]

Dark Souls employs minimalist storytelling to convey its plot and lore. Historical events in the world and their significance are often implicit or left to player interpretation rather than fully shown or explained. Most of the story is given to the player through dialogue from non-player characters, flavor text from items, and world design.

Plot[edit]

The opening cutscene establishes the premise of the game. Dragons once ruled the world during the «Age of Ancients.» A primordial fire known as the First Flame manifests in the world, establishing a distinction between life and death, and light and dark. Four beings find «Lord Souls» near the First Flame, granting immense power: Gwyn: the Lord of Sunlight, Nito: the First of the Dead, the Witch of Izalith, and the Furtive Pygmy. Gwyn, Nito, and the Witch use their new power to destroy the dragons and take control over the world, while the Furtive Pygmy is said to be forgotten, and thus begins the «Age of Fire.» Over time, as the First Flame begins to fade while humans rise in power, Gwyn sacrifices himself to prolong the Age of Fire. The main story takes place towards the end of this second Age of Fire, at which point humanity is said to be afflicted with an undead curse related to a circular, flaming symbol on their bodies known as the Darksign. Those humans afflicted with the undead curse perpetually resurrect after death until they eventually lose their minds, a process referred to as «hollowing.»

The player character is a cursed undead, locked away in an undead asylum. After escaping the asylum, the player travels to Lordran to ring the Bells of Awakening. The bells awaken Kingseeker Frampt, who tells the player to ascend to Anor Londo, the home of the Gods. In Anor Londo, Gwynevere instructs the player to succeed Lord Gwyn and fulfil the prophecy. To accomplish this, the player must acquire the Lord Souls of the Witch of Izalith, Nito, and shards of Gwyn’s own Lord Soul given to the Four Kings, and to the dragon Seath the Scaleless. Optionally, the player may encounter Darkstalker Kaathe, who encourages the player not to link the fire, but to let it die out and usher in the Age of Dark instead, due to humanity being created from the Furtive Pygmy’s own Dark Soul. Once the player acquires the Lord Souls, they travel to the Kiln of the First Flame to battle Gwyn. Once Gwyn has been defeated, the player has the choice of linking the flame to preserve the Age of Fire or letting it die out to instigate the Age of Dark.

Artorias of the Abyss[edit]

In the Artorias of the Abyss expansion, the player is dragged into the past by Manus, Father of the Abyss, to the land of Oolacile, which is being corrupted by Manus after the people awoke and angered him. Artorias, one of Lord Gwyn’s four knights, goes to defeat Manus and rescue Princess Dusk. However, Artorias is defeated and corrupted by the abyss, and the player must defeat him. The player then goes on to defeat Manus, although the victory is later attributed to Artorias.

Development[edit]

Dark Souls was developed by FromSoftware, with series creator Hidetaka Miyazaki directing and producing. Dark Souls is a spiritual successor to FromSoftware’s 2009 game Demon’s Souls, published and owned by Sony Computer Entertainment.^[9][10] Bandai Namco Entertainment was chosen to publish Dark Souls as they had the ability to release on more platforms.^[11][12][13]

The design and development process itself involved a guided freeform approach, with Miyazaki steering designers while allowing them latitude for creativity:

The design ordering process for Dark Souls can be divided into two main categories. The first involves providing the designers with simple keywords we brainstormed during the early stages of project development and allowing them to design freely. We take the images they produce and provide feedback, make adjustments as necessary, or incorporate their ideas into our plans. […] The second process comes into play once we’ve settled on the basic details of the game world. At that point we are able to make more detailed design requests. These requests usually include information like how the design will be used, where in the game the design will be used, and the specific purpose of the design in terms of what it will represent in the game. […] Either way, I am the one who hands out the orders and I work directly with each designer instead of having a middleman between us.^[14]

Miyazaki stated that the game draws direct inspiration from earlier works of fantasy and dark fantasy, especially the manga series Berserk.^[14][15] He has described the driving aesthetic principle of the game as being «a certain kind of refinement, elegance, and dignity».^[14] He also described the themes which guided the design of the game in the following way: «I put three major guidelines in place: Gods and knights centered around Anor Londo, demonic chaos and flames centered around Lost Izalith, and the theme of death centered around Gravelord Nito. To these themes we added the special concept of ancient dragons that predate all life, and this formed the basis for Dark Souls«.^[14] Many of the game’s locations were inspired by the real-world, such as the Château de Chambord in France and Milan Cathedral in Italy.^[14][16]

The characters and world of Dark Souls contain many philosophical and folkloric parallels among Greek mythology,^[17][18] Japanese mythology,^[19] French existentialism,^[20] and the work of proto-existentialist philosophers like Friedrich Nietzsche.^[20] Dark Souls‘ description of natural cycles that the world experiences, and the designs of some individual characters, parallel Japanese and Greek myths.^[17][19] The game’s presentation of a universe defined by the inevitable burning out of a flame and the tragic stories of the individuals in that meaningless world, parallel ideas in schools of philosophy concerning existentialism, absurdity, meaninglessness, and the end of the universe.^[20]

Marketing and release[edit]

The game was first released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in Japan on September 22, 2011, and in Western regions in October 2011. Following the game’s success, many expressed their hope for a PC version.^[21] In early 2012, fans started a petition to bring Dark Souls to PC, with over 93,000 people signing it.^[22] A PC version of the game was confirmed in April 2012 via German magazine PC Action.^[23] It had been reported during the development process that FromSoftware had been having difficulty with the port due to inexperience with PC as a platform and were focusing on new content rather than optimization.^[24] Re-branded as the Prepare To Die Edition, it came out in August 2012 and featured new content, including bosses, enemies, equipment, and NPCs.^[25] The new content, subtitled Artorias of the Abyss, was also released for consoles in October 2012 as downloadable content (DLC).^[26] Soon after, it was announced that Dark Souls for PC would use Games for Windows – Live for online play and DRM, spurring fan backlash.^[27]

The PC version was released on August 23, 2012. A user-created mod to circumvent the resolution cap, named «DSFix», was created shortly after release.^[28] DSFix was later extended to become an unofficial fan-made patch that also allowed graphical improvements, raising the framerate cap to 60, and installing custom texture mods.^[29] On December 15, 2014, Games for Windows – Live was removed from the Steam version and replaced by Steamworks. The ability to transfer both achievements and save data was provided.^[30] In April 2016, Dark Souls became available on Xbox One via backward compatibility.^[31]

A remastered version of the game, titled Dark Souls: Remastered, was released worldwide for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows in May 2018, and for the Nintendo Switch on October 19, 2018.^[32][33] The remaster was ported by the Polish studio QLOC, whereas the Switch version was ported by the Singaporean studio Virtuos. The game runs at a native 60 frames per second on all platforms except the Nintendo Switch and supports a 4K resolution on the PlayStation 4 Pro, Xbox One X, and Windows.^[34] Several changes were made to the online multiplayer, including adding dedicated servers, increasing the maximum number of players online from four to six, and password matchmaking.^[35][36][37]

Reception[edit]

Original release[edit]

Dark Souls received positive reviews from critics upon its release. One of the reviewers for Dark Souls described it as «a very hardcore dark-fantasy [role-playing game]» that is «role-playing right down to the roots», and stated that the «massive field map and powerful enemies serve to rev up both your sense of adventure and your sense of dread.» Another reviewer said that «the sheer happiness you get after the trial-and-error pays off and you overcome the challenge is absolutely impossible to replicate.»^[53]

GameSpot praised the online system and the sense of jubilation when conquering boss fights after numerous failed attempts. They also suggested that casual gamers may struggle to progress, whereas role-playing game enthusiasts will thrive on the difficulty.^[44] IGN complimented the level design, variety, strong emphasis on online features, excessively dark tone and atmosphere, and deep gameplay. While praising the extreme difficulty, they stated that «there’s a difference between punishing, and downright unfair.»^[54] Eurogamer also applauded the level design and atmosphere while noting that the game’s difficulty might not appeal to casual gamers.^[41]

Jason Killingsworth wrote a response to Thomsen’s review for Edge, arguing that the game’s «vertigo-inducing breadth makes it the gaming equivalent of a marathon.»^[55] Killingsworth praised the game’s length and addictive nature.^[55] Edge later retroactively awarded the game 10 out of 10 in their October 2013 20th anniversary issue, stating that the breadth and quality of the game’s design had overruled complaints about its difficulty.^[39]

Ben «Yahtzee» Croshaw of Zero Punctuation praised Dark Souls for its deep gameplay and immersive atmosphere, but was «disappointed» with the late-game bosses and criticized the difficulty of getting into the game, saying that it would be a critical factor in turning new players off.^[56] He later named it the most historically significant game of the 2010s «now that every other game seeks to ape it, and the media calls every milk float with a slightly stiff brake pedal ‘the Dark Souls of commercial transportation'». Croshaw praised it for «remind[ing] us that games are games» as opposed to «cinematic experiences» like Uncharted, with «their own strengths: depth of exploration and discovery, the satisfaction of overcoming meaty challenges».^[57]

Game Informer Phil Kollar opined that «the frustration in Dark Souls arises from how [late ’00s and early 2010s] games have conditioned us. Gamers are used to handholding tutorials that walk you through every aspect of a game’s mechanics.» While complimenting the game’s notoriously steep difficulty curve, Kollar was less favourable toward its «overall lack of direction».^[47]

Namco Bandai’s yearly financial report stated that the game sold 1.19 million units in the United States and Europe by March 2012.^[58] FromSoftware announced in April 2013 that the game had sold 2.37 million units worldwide.^[59][60]

Later releases[edit]

In GameSpy‘s review, the original Windows port was referred to as «shabby», citing the game’s limit of 30 frames per second, poor mouse and keyboard controls, and nonadjustable resolution. However, the expanded content was praised, giving the game an overall favourable review.^[61] Eurogamer also commented on the quality of the port, stating: «Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition does not come with the technical options you would expect from a well-engineered PC game, because it’s a port of a console game, and that’s all FromSoftware ever promised to deliver. Anyone who passes up Dark Souls for this reason is cutting off their nose to spite their neckbeard of a face.»^[62] One of the producers of Dark Souls II, Takeshi Miyazoe, responded to the criticism of the PC version by saying:^[63]

This is going to sound bad but our main priority was to get the game onto the PC as fast as possible, because people wanted it on the PC. The PC market in Japan is so minimal that originally there were no plans to make it on the PC, but with the strong petition from the North American and European fans, even with the lack of experience of working on a PC platform we still did our best to try to get it out as fast as possible. [The problems] were expected to a certain extent.
We did know there were PC-specific features like key-mapping and use of the mouse and keyboard, high resolution and higher frame rate, stuff like that, but… It’s not that we ignored it, but it would have taken too much time for us to implement it, test it and get it up to the level people expected. It was more of a publisher (Namco Bandai) decision to say, «Guys, don’t worry about this – let’s just get it out and see how this works on PC.»

Dark Souls: Remastered received «generally favorable» reviews from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic.^[65] Critics praised the improved visuals and performance, while criticism was directed towards the lack of an effective anti-cheat system^[71][72] and the PC version’s price despite few significant changes.^[73] It sold 71,739 copies in Japan during the week of its release, making it the best-selling game in the country at the time.^[74]

Awards[edit]

Game Revolution gave Dark Souls the Community Choice Game of the Year award.^[75] IncGamers also gave it the «Game of the Year» award.^[76] Q-Games’ Dylan Cuthbert and Double Fine Productions’ Brad Muir chose Dark Souls as Game of the Year.^[77] Electronic Gaming Monthly‘s Eric L. Patterson chose it as Game of the Year.^[78] GameTrailers gave it the «Best Role-Playing Game» award^[79] while also nominating it for the «Best Multiplayer Game», «Best Trailer», and «Game of the Year» awards.^[80] GameZone gave the game the «Best Action/Adventure» award and chose it as the runner-up for the «Best RPG» award.^[81]

The Daily Telegraph gave the game the «Best Integration of Online Features» award and nominated it for the awards of «Best Director» (Hidetaka Miyazaki), «Best Level Design», «Best Sound Design», «Best Original Score» (Motoi Sakuraba), «Best Developer» (FromSoftware), and «Game of the Year».^[82] TeamXbox gave it an honourable mention as the runner-up for the «Best RPG» award.^[83] 1UP.com gave it the «Most Rewarding Game» award.^[84] Game Informer gave it the award for «Best Boss Fight» (Sif).^[85] It also received the «Best Boss Fights» awards from GameSpot, including the Editors’ Choice and Readers’ Choice awards.^[86] Famitsu gave it an Award of Excellence in its 2012 awards ceremony.^[87]

At the 15th annual Interactive Achievement Awards (now known as the D.I.C.E. Awards), Dark Souls was nominated for «Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year».^[88] In 2013, Digital Spy named Dark Souls the best game of the seventh console generation.^[89] In 2014, Edge magazine named Dark Souls the best game of the seventh generation of game consoles, noting that while some may initially tire of it, «We’ve yet to meet a single player for whom persistence has not been enough to transform apathy into all-consuming love.»^[90] In September 2015, Dark Souls topped the Edge‘s special issue The 100 Greatest Videogames.^[91] In 2015, the game placed first on GamesRadar+‘s «The 100 best games ever» list.^[92] The game was also put first on USgamer‘s The 15 Best Games Since 2000 list.^[93] The game was titled the «Best RPG on PC» by Rock, Paper, Shotgun.^[94] In 2016, Dark Souls placed fifth on PC Gamer‘s «Best RPGs of all time» list.^[95] In 2021, the game was voted the Ultimate Game of All Time at the Golden Joystick Awards.^[96]

Legacy[edit]

Dark Souls has been cited as one of the greatest video games of all time.^{[97][98][99][100][101]} Due to its design and philosophy, it is often cited as an essential instance of video games as an art form.^{[20][102][103]} It is also considered one of the most influential video games of its generation.^[104][105] It was voted the Ultimate Game of All Time at the 2021 Golden Joystick Awards.^[106]

Games cited to have been influenced by Dark Souls include Destiny,^[107] Alienation,^[108] Lords of the Fallen,^[109] The Surge,^[110] Salt and Sanctuary,^[111] Shovel Knight,^[112][113] Titan Souls,^[112][114] Enter the Gungeon,^[115] The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt,^[116][117] Nioh,^[118] and God of War,^[119][120] as well as features used on the PlayStation 4 console.^[121] Dark Souls was also cited as an inspiration for the television show Stranger Things.^[122]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Official website
• Official website for Dark Souls: Remastered
• Dark Souls at MobyGames

В Эру Древних мир был бесформенным, его окутывал туман. Это была земля серых утёсов, древних деревьев и присносущих драконов. Но затем был Огонь. И с приходом Огня всё распалось на две части. Жар и Холод, Жизнь и Смерть и конечно Свет и Тьма. И из Тьмы пришли Они, и Они нашли в пламени Души Повелителей: Нито — первый из мёртвых; Ведьма Изалита и её Дочери Хаоса; Гвин — Повелитель Света и его верные рыцари; и хитрый карлик, которого так легко забыть.

Воспользовавшись Силой Повелителей, они бросили вызов драконам. Молнии Гвина разрывали их каменную чешую. Ведьмы призывали огненные смерчи. Нито насылал смерть и болезни. А Нагой Сит предал свой род и драконы сгинули. Так началась Эра Огня.

Но вскоре пламя погаснет и останется только Тьма. Даже сейчас лишь тлеют угли и человек видит не свет, но бесконечную ночь, а среди живых ходят проклятые носители Знака Тьмы.

Да, воистину, нежить заклеймена Знаком Тьмы. И в этих краях нежить сгоняют и ведут на север, где они будут томиться в заключении до конца дней. Таков твой удел. Но древние легенды гласят, что однажды мертвец будет избран. Он покинет Прибежище Нежити и отправится в страну Древних Повелителей — Лордран.

— Пролог

Эра Древних

Задолго до событий игры бесформенным туманным миром правили бессмертные драконы. Такой порядок вещей сохранялся до появления огня, вместе с которым пришли Свет и Тьма. Из Тьмы появились Они, нашедшие в первом пламени души Лордов:

• Гвин, Лорд Солнечного света;
• Ведьма Изалита;
• Нито, первый из мертвых.

И только некий Пигмей, так скоро забытый, получил душу не такую как у всех — Тёмную Душу.

Со своей новообретённой силой Лордов, троица бросила вызов драконам: Гвин, поддерживаемый своими рыцарями; Ведьма Изалита и её Дочери Хаоса; Повелитель Могил Нито и его тёмные проклятия. Кроме этого среди драконов нашёлся предатель — Нагой Сит, он присоединился к восстанию Гвина и вместе со всеми практически погубил род драконов; единственный оставшийся в живых — Черный дракон Каламит.

В отличие от остальных, тот самый Пигмей разделил полученную душу среди всех неживых. Осколки той Тёмной души стали известны как Человечность. Так появились люди, а Пигмей стал Первым человеком.

После всех этих событий наступила Эпоха Огня.

Эпоха Огня

Гвин и его соратники после победы над драконами перебрались в Лордран — землю Богов. Новообразованный пантеон Богов поселился в месте под названием Анор Лондо. Нагому Ситу в качестве награды за помощь в восстании была дарована частица души Гвина, титул Герцога, а также удел возле Анор Лондо, который был назван Архивами Герцога. Там Сит начал свои исследования по поиску бессмертия, планируя создать чешую бессмертия с помощью Изначального кристалла, похищенного у Присносущих драконов.

Закладывается город Новый Лондо, правителями которого становятся Четыре Короля. Им также была дарована Гвином часть души.

Но даже в эту светлую эру имели место конфликты, угрожающие новому порядку. Некий орден оккультистов плёл заговор против Богов. Используя Уголь Тьмы для создания оружия, способного сокрушить Божество, они намеревались заполучить силу лорда Нито, и с её помощью захватить власть в мире Лордрана. Заговор был своевременно раскрыт, и Уголь Тьмы был спрятан в Нарисованном мире Ариамис. Специально для защиты содержимого был создан Орден Стражей Картины.

Лордран процветал довольно продолжительное время. Но со временем Пламя естественным образом начинает гаснуть, если оно совсем затухнет, то эра Богов закончится.

Падение Изалита

Ведьма Изалита решила воссоздать Первое пламя в попытке продлить Эпоху Огня, но потерпела неудачу. Вместо Пламени было создано Ложе Хаоса и сама Ведьма стала его частью. Извращающая сила Пламени Хаоса породила орды демонов и также вызвала необратимые мутации у подавляющего большинства жителей Изалита. В том числе у двух Дочерей Хаоса (Квилег и Прекрасная Госпожа) и сына Ведьмы Изалита (Неутомимый воин).

Демоны вырвались наружу и стали разрушать города Лордрана. На помощь пришли Серебряные рыцари. В противостоянии с врагами их доспехи исказились и почернели, превратив солдат в Черных рыцарей. Вооружившись особым оружием, им удалось одолеть большинство монстров, однако на поверхности ещё блуждают единицы тех демонов.

С падением Изалита волшебство огня было утрачено, вместо этого появилась Пиромантия. Создателем новой магической силы была одна из выживших Дочерей Хаоса, Квилана, которая смогла избежать мутации.

Поддержание пламени

Видя, что пламя тухнет, Гвин жертвует собой и остатками души, отправляясь в Горнило Первого Пламени и искусственно поддерживая его. Таким образом, он стал Повелителем Пепла и продлил Эпоху Огня еще на тысячу лет. К Горнилу за Гвином также последовали верные ему Черные рыцари, Первое пламя полностью сожгло их, сейчас они скитаются по миру в виде обычных духов.

Фактически лишившись своего предводителя, Боги начинают покидать Анор Лондо. Некогда светлый город погружается во мрак, единственным источником света в этом месте теперь является вечная луна. Однако, одно божество осталось, им был великий сын Гвина, Гвиндолин. Используя своё мастерство иллюзий, Гвиндолин создаёт видимость благополучия в Анор Лондо — тут по-прежнему светит солнце, гиганты охраняют залы обители богов, в башне находится сестра Гвиндолина — Гвиневер. Но всё это лишь иллюзии.

Одержимый поиском бессмертия, дракон Нагой Сит начинает похищать людей с помощью своих подручных «Похитителей», но все его изыскания приводят к сумасшествию.

Падение Нового Лондо

Впервые начинает себя проявлять Бездна — враг всего живого и сущего. Изначальный Змей Каас искушает Четырех Королей, пообещав им искусство высасывания жизни и как следствие — бессмертие, в обмен на человечность жителей Нового Лондо. Подвергшихся искушению Четырех Королей поглощает Тьма, и в результате они находят своё пристанище в Бездне.

Рыцари города становятся служителями ковенанта Темных Духов. Они добывают человечность и приносят её в дар Каасу. Один из Четырёх Рыцарей Гвина, сэр Арториас, начинает борьбу c порождениями Бездны. Позже трое волшебников были вынуждены запечатать Новый Лондо, затопив город.

Падение Олачиля

Искуситель Каас уговаривает жителей древнего города Олачиль раскопать могилу Мануса. В итоге потревоженный Манус возвращается к жизни, а вместе с ним происходит заражение Олачиля Бездной. Сэр Арториас вместе со своим соратником Волком Сифом отправляются на помощь жителям Олачиля. Будучи окруженными порождениями Бездны, Арториас спасает Сифа, оставляя ему свой щит, защищающий от Тьмы. В результате Тьма овладела Арториасом, а Олачиль окончательно пал под натиском Бездны.

Из аристократии Олачиля спасается лишь принцесса Заря. Будучи запертой в золотом големе, она освобождается Избранным мертвецом через несколько столетий, но Манус затягивает её обратно в прошлое.

Знак Тьмы

Приблизительно за сто лет до событий Dark Souls мир уже был заражён проклятием, у многих людей начал проявляться Знак Тьмы. Клеймённые этим знаком обладали проклятием бессмертия. После смерти они становились Нежитью — ходячими мертвецами, постепенно теряющими разум и человечность, пока полностью не превращались в Опустошенных — бездумных обезображенных существ. Отмеченных Знаком Тьмы начали ссылать на север в последнее Прибежище Нежити — место, где они ожидали полного опустошения, место их последних дней.

Избранный мертвец

Отмеченные Знаком Тьмы являются потомками Первого Человека — Мануса, именно им под силу снова возжечь Первое Пламя и продлить таким образом Эпоху Огня. Только Избранный мертвец способен собрать Души Лордов и стать новым топливом для Первого Пламени. Во всяком случае, так утверждает один из Изначальных Змеев — Фрампт. Другой точки зрения о судьбе избранного придерживается Изначальный Змей Каас. Он считает, что нужно полностью погасить пламя и провозгласить новую эпоху — Эпоху Тьмы. Эпоха Тьмы — эпоха людей, мир, где вся власть будет принадлежать людям, а не Богам. И лишь Избранному мертвецу под силу предопределить дальнейшую судьбу этого мира, сделав свой выбор. Этот выбор за Вами.

Prepare To Die Edition Remastered ОС: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 Windows 7 SP1 64bit, Windows 8.1 64bit, Windows 10 64bit Процессор: Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 3.0 GHz, AMD Phenom II X2 545 3.0 GHz Intel Core i5-2300 2.8 GHz, AMD FX-6300 3.5 GHz Оперативная память: 2 GB ОЗУ 6 GB ОЗУ Видеокарта: GeForce 9800 GTX, ATI Radeon HD 4870 GeForce GTX 460, AMD Radeon HD 6870 Место на диске: 8 GB 8 GB DirectX: Версия 9.0c Версия 11

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the video game series by FromSoftware and Bandai Namco. For the first entry in this series, see Dark Souls (video game). For the 2011 Norwegian film, see Dark Souls (film). For the 2007 video game, see Bleach: Dark Souls.

Dark Souls
Genre(s)	Action role-playing
Developer(s)	FromSoftware
Publisher(s)	Bandai Namco Entertainment JP: FromSoftware
Creator(s)	Hidetaka Miyazaki
Composer(s)	Motoi Sakuraba Yuka Kitamura
Platform(s)	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
First release	Dark Souls September 22, 2011
Latest release	Dark Souls: Remastered May 24, 2018

Dark Souls^[a] is a series of action role-playing games created by Hidetaka Miyazaki of FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The series began with the release of Dark Souls (2011) and has seen two sequels, Dark Souls II (2014) and Dark Souls III (2016). Dark Souls has received critical acclaim, with the first title often cited as one of the greatest in video games, with the series as a whole being both praised and criticized for its high level of difficulty.

By 2022, the series had shipped over 33 million copies. Other FromSoftware games, including Demon’s Souls, King’s Field, Bloodborne, Sekiro, and Elden Ring, share several related concepts and are commonly grouped together as Soulsbornes.

Setting[edit]

The games take place within a dark, medieval fantasy setting, where the player’s character fights against knights, dragons, phantoms, demons, and other monstrous or supernatural entities. The accretion, loss, and recovery of souls are central to the narrative and gameplay of Dark Souls games. These games are linked through their setting and an overarching cyclic narrative centering around fire, and are linked through common themes and elements, including interactions with phantoms and battles with demons. At the end of each game, characters may reignite the «first flame» or allow it to fade, recurring a choice others have made before.

Gameplay[edit]

The Dark Souls games are played in a third-person perspective, and focus on exploring interconnected environments while fighting enemies with weapons and magic. Players battle bosses to progress through the story, while interacting with non-playable characters. The protagonist of each Dark Souls game can have a varying gender, appearance, name, and starting class via character creation. Players can choose between classes, including knights, barbarians, thieves, and mages. Each class has its own starting equipment and abilities that can be tailored to the player’s experience and choices as they progress. The player gains souls from gameplay battles which act as both experience points to level up and as currency to buy items. Souls gained are usually proportional to the difficulty of fighting certain enemies; the more difficult an enemy, the more souls the player will gain from defeating it.

One of the core mechanics of the series is that it uses death to teach players how to react in hostile environments, encouraging repetition, learning from past mistakes, and prior experience as a means of overcoming its difficulty. Upon losing all of their health points and dying, players lose their Souls and are teleported back to a bonfire where they last rested, which serves as a checkpoint. One chance is given for the player to recover their lost Souls in the form of a bloodstain, which is placed at or around where they last died.^[1] If the player dies again before reaching their bloodstain, the Souls are permanently gone.^[1] As most enemies are respawned following player death, or if the player should rest at a bonfire, the player has the opportunity to regain more Souls by repeated combat encounters. The bonfire is a type of campfire in the action role-playing game Dark Souls and its sequels that functions as a checkpoint for the player character’s progress, as well as reviving most enemies that the player previously killed. Later in the game, and in Dark Souls II and III, they function as warp points. Another core aspect of the series is its dependency on endurance in battle. Performing attacks, blocking, or dodging consume stamina, which otherwise quickly restores if the player stands still or just walks around. Certain moves cannot be executed if the player lacks a certain amount of stamina, making them vulnerable to attack. Players must balance their rate of attacks against defensive moves and brief periods of rest to survive more difficult encounters.

Online interaction in the Dark Souls is integrated into the single-player experience. Throughout levels, players can briefly see the actions of other players as ghosts in the same area that may show hidden passages or switches. When a player dies, a bloodstain can be left in other players’ game world that when activated can show a ghost playing out their final moments, indicating how that person died and potentially helping the player avoid the same fate in advance. Players can leave messages on the ground that can either help other players by providing hints and warnings or harm them by leaving false hints. Players can also engage in both player versus player combat and cooperative gameplay using invasion or summoning mechanics.^[2][3]

Games[edit]

Release timeline

2011	Dark Souls
2012
2013
2014	Dark Souls II
2015
2016	Dark Souls III
2017
2018	Dark Souls: Remastered

Dark Souls[edit]

Dark Souls is the first game in the series; it is considered a spiritual successor to Demon’s Souls (2009).^[4][5] FromSoftware wanted to develop a sequel to Demon’s Souls, but Sony’s ownership of the intellectual property prevented them from doing so on other platforms.^[6] It was released in 2011 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.^[7] In 2012, Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition was released for Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, featuring the base game and the Artorias of the Abyss downloadable content.^[8] The game takes place in the fictional kingdom of Lordran. Players assume the role of a cursed human character who sets out to discover the fate of undead humans like themselves. The plot of Dark Souls is primarily told through environmental details, in-game item flavor text, and dialogue with non-playable characters (NPCs). Players must piece together clues in order to understand the story, rather than being told the story through more traditional means, such as through cutscenes. Dark Souls and its predecessor Demon’s Souls garnered recognition due to the series’ high level of difficulty.^{[2][9][10][11]} A version featuring some graphical and gameplay enhancements, Dark Souls: Remastered, was released in May 2018.^[12]

Dark Souls II[edit]

Unlike the previous two games, director Hidetaka Miyazaki did not reprise his role as he was busy directing Bloodborne, although he was still involved in supervision.^[13][14] It was released in 2014 for Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.^[15] In 2015, an updated version featuring The Lost Crowns downloadable content was released for Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, under the title Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin^[16] — with the latter two platforms receiving retail releases.^[17] The game takes place in the kingdom of Drangleic, where the player must find a cure for the undead curse.^[3] Although set in the same universe as the previous game, there is no direct story connection to Dark Souls.^[18]

Dark Souls III[edit]

Dark Souls III was released in 2016 for Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.^[19] The gameplay is paced faster than previous Souls installments,^[20] which was attributed in part to the gameplay of Bloodborne.^[21] The game takes place in the kingdom of Lothric, where the player must end the cycle of linking the Flame. In 2017, the complete version containing the base game and both expansions (Ashes of Ariendel and The Ringed City) was released, under the title Dark Souls III: The Fire Fades Edition. Dark Souls III was both critically and commercially successful, with critics calling it a worthy and fitting conclusion to the series. It sold over 10 million copies by 2020, making it the fastest-selling game in Bandai Namco’s history at the time^[22][23] (until it was overtaken by Elden Ring).^[24] In 2015, Miyazaki said that Dark Souls III would likely be the last of the series, with FromSoftware choosing to move onto new games of unrelated IPs in the future.^[25]

Other media[edit]

A comic book by Titan Comics based on the series debuted alongside the release of Dark Souls III in 2016.^[26] A Kickstarter campaign for a licensed board game by Steamforged Games, Dark Souls – The Board Game, was also announced around the same time.^[27] The campaign was funded within the first three minutes of its launch and was released in April 2017.^[28][29]

Dark Souls – The Board Game (2017) is a combat-centric miniatures game for 1-4 players. From tabletop gaming publisher, Steamforged Games, Dark Souls™: The Board Game emulates the video game in its challenging difficulty and has sold over 500,000 copies worldwide. Now (2022) two new core sets for Dark Souls™: The Board Game have been released, each visiting iconic locations from the video game — Tomb of Giants & The Painted World of Ariamis. ^[30] [31]

In February 2017, music from the series composed by Motoi Sakuraba was performed by a live orchestra at the Salle Pleyel concert hall in Paris.^[32] In September of that year, a limited edition vinyl box set containing the soundtracks of all three games was released in Europe.^[33] In Japan, a box set containing the enhanced versions of all three games for the PlayStation 4, the soundtracks for each, bookends, artwork prints, and dictionaries detailing every in-game item was released on May 24, 2018.^[34]

[edit]

Demon’s Souls[edit]

Released in 2009 for the PlayStation 3, Demon’s Souls is considered the spiritual predecessor to the Dark Souls series.^[35][36] It has also been described as a spiritual successor to the King’s Field series of games,^[4][37] while at the same time being described as a separate entity «guided by differing core game design concepts.»^[38] It also drew inspiration from video games such as Ico,^[39][40] The Legend of Zelda,^[38] and FromSoftware’s Otogi: Myth of Demons,^[41] as well as manga such as Berserk, Saint Seiya and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.^{[42][translation verification needed][43]}

Unlike its successors, Demon’s Souls uses a central hub system known as the «Nexus» where players can level up, repair equipment, or buy certain items, before venturing into one of the five connected worlds. The «World Tendency» feature is also exclusive to Demon’s Souls, where the difficulty of exploring a world is dependent on how many bosses have been killed, and how the player dies. The gameplay involves a character-creation system and emphasizes gathering loot through combat with enemies in a non-linear series of varied locations. It had an online multiplayer system integrated into single-player, in which players could leave messages and warnings for other players’ worlds, as well as join other players to assist and/or kill them. The multiplayer servers were shut down in early 2018 due to inactivity.^[35]

King’s Field[edit]

The King’s Field series, also developed by FromSoftware, is considered a spiritual predecessor to the series. It debuted in 1994 with King’s Field for the PlayStation and had three sequels.^[4][37]

Other[edit]

In February 2016, Bandai Namco Entertainment partnered with American retailer GameStop to release Slashy Souls, a free-to-play mobile endless runner, to promote Dark Souls III. The game was presented in a pixel art style, and shares the series’ level of difficulty.^[44] The game was met with highly negative critical reception,^[45] with reviewers such as Chris Carter of Destructoid and Jim Sterling both giving the game a 1/10.^[46][47]

Reception[edit]

The Dark Souls series has been met with critical acclaim. The first Dark Souls has been cited to be among the greatest video games of all time,^[61][62] Dark Souls II also received critical acclaim upon release.^{[citation needed]} Before release, Dark Souls III was one of the most anticipated games of 2016,^[63][64][65] and also received critical acclaim upon release.^[66][67]

The «bloodstain» gameplay mechanic has been given praise by critics. David Craddock of Shacknews called them one of the core tenets of the series.^[68] He stated that the harshest punishment one can receive in a Souls game is «not dying once, but twice.»^[68] GamesRadar+ called bloodstains, in combination with Demon Souls’s message system, «a graceful, elegant way of letting players guide each other without the need for words», and said that «rarely has the price of failure been balanced on such a precarious knife edge» as being forced to retrieve one’s bloodstain.^[69]

The bonfire concept was similarly praised. Matthew Elliott of GamesRadar+ called bonfires a powerful symbol of relief, and «a meaty cocktail of progress, exhaustion and joy»,^[70] and that, while other games evoke emotions with their save points, no other game does so as effectively.^[70] Vice called the Bonfire a «mark of genius» that «reinvented the save point» and allowed the player to reflect on their progress.^[71]

Sales and legacy[edit]

The Dark Souls series had shipped 33.4 million copies outside of Japan as of March 2022.^[72] Dark Souls III broke sales records upon release, selling over three million copies worldwide by May 2016 and was Bandai Namco’s fastest-selling game until being surpassed by Elden Ring in 2022.^[73][74]

The Soulslike genre was inspired by common features of the series, resulting in many games using similar mechanics. Other FromSoftware games directed by Miyazaki, such as Demon’s Souls, Bloodborne,^[75][76] Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice,^[77] and Elden Ring,^[78] share many of the same concepts of Souls and are often associated with the series and grouped under the «Soulsborne» label.^{[79][80][81][82]}

The series has also been cited as an influence on several PlayStation Network features, including asynchronous messaging, social networking, and video sharing,^[83] as well as for the television show Stranger Things.^[84]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

Dark Souls
Бокс-арт европейской версии
Разработчик	From Software
Издатели	From Software Namco Bandai Games Namco Bandai Games Namco Bandai Partners
Локализатор	1С-СофтКлаб
Создатели Руководитель Хидэтака Миядзаки Композитор Мотои Сакураба
Даты выпуска	PlayStation 3 и Xbox 360: 22 сентября 2011 (PS3) 4 октября 2011 6 октября 2011 7 октября 2011 Microsoft Windows: 24 августа 2012
Жанры	Action/RPG, открытый мир
Возрастные рейтинги	ACB: MA15+ CERO: D ESRB: M — Mature PEGI: 16+
Носители	Оптический диск, цифровая дистрибуция
Платформы	Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows
Игровой движок	PhyreEngine
Режимы игры	Одиночный режим, встроенный мультиплеер
Системные требования	ПК: операционная система Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 или новее процессор Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 GHz+ или AMD Phenom II X2 545 3.0 GHz+ 2 ГБ оперативной памяти 8 ГБ свободного места на жёстком диске видеокарта GeForce 9800 GTX+ или ATI Radeon HD 4870+ DirectX 9.0c Direct-совместимая звуковая карта
Управление	Клавиатура, мышь, геймпад
Сайт	Официальный сайт

Dark Souls (яп. ダークソウル Да:ку Соуру^?, рус. Тёмные души) — видеоигра в жанре action/RPG, разработанная компанией From Software для приставок PlayStation 3 и Xbox 360. На международном рынке игру издавала компания Namco Bandai Games. Первоначально анонсированная как Project Dark, является идейным наследником игры Demon’s Souls.^[1] Релиз состоялся 22 сентября 2011 в Японии, 4 октября в Северной Америке, 6 октября в Австралии и 7 октября в Европе.^[2] Игра известна своей большой сложностью, что вызвало к ней большой интерес и породило множество обсуждений.^[3] PC версия, расширенная по сравнению с консольными и названная Prepare To Die Edition, была выпущена 24 августа 2012. DLC с новым контентом был анонсирован и для обеих консолей и был выпущен в октябре 2012.

Рецензии
Зарубежные издания
Издание	Оценка
GameSpot	95/100[4]
IGN	90/100[5]
Российские издания
Издание	Оценка
Absolute Games	68/100[6]
PlayGround.ru	9,0/10 [7]

Геймплей

Основой геймплея служит исследование игрового мира в условиях почти постоянной опасности. Преодолевая различные трудности и решая головоломки, игрок находит различные вещи и награды и получает возможность продвигаться дальше, однако неудачи и смерть караются различными штрафами. Действие Dark Souls происходит в большом открытом мире, где игрок может путешествовать между уже открытыми локациями, постепенно обнаруживая пути в новые. Костры, разбросанные по все миру, служат местом отдыха и выполняют роль чекпоинтов. Хоть сохраняться в игре можно абсолютно в любом месте (находясь вне боя), костры являются немногими «безопасными островками» в игре. Отдых рядом с ними приводит к повторному появлению всех врагов (кроме боссов), но также восполняет флягу с эстусом (местная аптечка), перезаряжает колдовство (sorcery, разная боевая магия), чудеса (miracle, целительная магия) и пироманию (pyromancy, отдельный раздел боевой магии, основанный на огне). Игрок может находиться как в форме человека, так и в форме нежити, и смерть в человеческой форме ведет к переходу в форму нежити. Будучи нежитью, игроки не могут улучшать (возжигать) костры или призывать других игроков на помощь; в то же время, в мир игрока-нежити не могут вторгнуться враждебно настроенные игроки. Смерть в любой форме приводит к потере всех накопленных душ (местная игровая валюта) и человечности (нужна для различных игровых действий). У игрока есть только один шанс вернуть их, добравшись до места своей смерти и найдя свои останки; если это не выполняется или игрок повторно умирает, не подобрав их — вернуть потерянное уже не получится.

Души даются за убийство врагов, причем количество зависит от «мощности» врага. Человечность же попадается гораздо реже. Она требуется для перехода из нежить-формы в человеческую или для возжигания костров (что само по себе требует быть человеком). Человечность также имеет другое влияние на геймплей, например, увеличение шанса нахождения предметов на трупах врагов или увеличение сопротивляемости игрока разным негативным эффектам. Урон некоторого оружия также зависит от человечности.

Dark Souls имеет встроенный online-режим, который активируется автоматически при наличии доступа в интернет. Он добавляет различные взаимодействия между игроками, такие как co-op и PvP, если соблюдены некоторые условия. Общение между игроками очень ограничено. Например, если игрок общается в групповом чате Xbox 360, то игра автоматически включит offline-режим.

Online взаимодействия могут быть очень сильно направлены на PvP. При определенных условиях, один игрок может вторгнуться в мир другого с целью убить этого игрока. Некоторые локации были неофициально обозначены зонами PvP; в этих локациях вполне обычно найти сотни игроков, вторгающихся или ждущих вторжения с целью начать дуэли 1 на 1. Два аспекта игры оказывают сильное влияние на PvP: мастерство боя само по себе, зависящее от рефлексов и правильной оценки окружения, и направленное развитие персонажа, что означает аккуратное и вдумчивое развитие его характеристик для получения максимального преимущества от выбранной экипировки.

Сюжет

Влияние сюжета на игру в Dark Souls минимально. События и их значение часто подразумеваются, а не объясняются и показываются напрямую, и игроку приходится самому интерпретировать и домысливать происходящее. Большая часть сюжета и информации о мире подается через диалоги с различными персонажами, через описания предметов или в коротких кат-сценах. Игрок должен сам найти и обработать всю необходимую ему информацию.

Эпоха Древних.

За несколько тысячелетий до событий игры в несформированном окутанным туманом мире власть принадлежала бессмертным драконам. Такой порядок вещей сохранялся до появления огня, вместе с которым пришли тепло и холод, жизнь и смерть, Свет и Тьма. Из Тьмы появились Они, нашедшие в первом пламени души Лордов: Гвин — Лорд Солнечного света; Ведьма Изалита и её Дочери Хаоса; Нито — первый из мертвых. И только некий Пигмей, так легко забытый, получил душу не такую как у всех — Темную Душу. Со своей новообретенной силой Лордов они во главе с Гвином бросили вызов драконам. Гвин, поддерживаемый своими рыцарями, молниями разрывал их каменную кожу. Ведьма Изалита и её Дочери Хаоса сплетали огненные бури. Нито развязал миазмы смерти и болезней. Кроме этого среди драконов нашёлся предатель: Сит Бесчешуйчатый присоединился к восстанию Гвина и вместе со всеми погубил свой род. В отличие от остальных некий Пигмей разделил полученную душу среди всех неживых, осколки Темной Души стали известны как человечность. Так появились люди, а Пигмей стал Первым Человеком, известным как Манус. И наступила Эпоха Огня.

Расцвет эпохи Огня.

Гвин и его соратники после победы над драконами перебрались в Лордран, землю Богов. Новообразованный пантеон Богов поселился в месте под названием Анор Лондо. Нагому Ситу в качестве награды за помощь в восстании была дарована частица души Лорда, титул Герцога, а также удел возле Анор Лондо, который был назван Архивами Герцога. Там Сит начал свои исследования по поиску бессмертия, планируя создать чешую бессмертия с помощью похищенного у Вечных Драконов Изначального Кристалла.Основывается город Новый Лондо, властителями которого становятся четверо достойных людей, обладающих даром предвидения, — Четыре Короля. Им также была дарована часть души Лорда от Гвина. Но даже в то время имели место конфликты, угрожающие новому порядку. Некий орден оккультистов плёл заговор против Богов. Используя Темный Уголь для создания оружия, способного повергнуть Божеств, они намеревались заполучить силу Лорда Нито, и с её помощью захватить власть в мире Лордрана. Заговор был своевременно раскрыт, и Темный Уголь был изолирован в Нарисованном Мире Ариамис. Специально для защиты содержимого был создан Орден Стражей Картины.

Падение Изалит.

Лордран процветал довольно продолжительное время. Но со временем Пламя естественным образом начинает гаснуть, если оно совсем затухнет, то эра Богов закончится. Ведьма Изалита решила воссоздать Первое Пламя в попытке продлить Эпоху Огня, но потерпела неудачу. Вместо Пламени было создано Ложе Хаоса (его частью стала сама Ведьма). Извращающая сила Пламени Хаоса породила орды демонов, а также вызвала необратимые мутации у подавляющего большинства жителей Изалита, в том числе у двух Дочерей Хаоса (Квилаг и Прекрасная Госпожа) и сына Ведьмы Изалита (Неутомимый Воин). С падением Изалита волшебство огня было утрачено, вместо этого появилась пиромантия, создателем которой была одна из выживших Дочерей Хаоса Квилана (она избежала мутации).

Падение Нового Лондо.

Впервые начинает себя проявлять Бездна — враг всего живого. Изначальный Змей Каас искушает Четырех Королей, пообещав им технику высасывания жизни (что приведет к бессмертию), в обмен на человечности жителей Нового Лондо. Слабых сердцем Четырех Королей поглощает тьма, они находят свой дом в Бездне. Рыцари города становятся служителями ковенанта Darkwraith, они добывают человечности и приносят их в дар Каасу. Один из Четырёх Рыцарей Гвина — сэр Арториас, начинает борьбу против порождений Бездны. Он получает способность хождения по Бездне. Гвин дает поручение трём волшебникам Вильхельма запечатать Новое Лондо, не найдя никакого другого выхода кроме как затопить город, они выполняют приказ.

Поддержание пламени. Боги покидают Анор Лондо.

Видя, что пламя тухнет, Гвин жертвует собой (отдает разум и остатки души), отправляясь в Горнило Первого Пламени и поддерживая его искусственно. Таким образом, он стал Лордом Пепла и продлил Эпоху Огня еще на тысячу лет. С тех пор поддержка пламени осуществляется с помощью разжигания костров в Лордране посредством жертвы человечности. К Горнилу за Гвином также последовали его верные рыцари, Первое Пламя опалило их броню, сделав её полностью чёрной. После этого они отправились в скитания по всему Лордрану. Фактически лишившись своего предводителя, Боги начинают покидать Анор Лондо. Некогда светлый город погружается во тьму, единственным источником света в этом месте теперь является вечная луна. Однако, одно божество осталось, им был Гвиндолин. Используя своё мастерство иллюзий, он создаёт видимость благополучия в Анор Лондо — тут по-прежнему светит солнце, Серебряные Рыцари охраняют залы обители богов, в башне находится сестра Гвиндолина — Гвиневра. Но всё это лишь иллюзии. Одержимый поиском бессмертия Сит начинает похищать людей с помощью своих подручных «Похитителей», но все его изыскания приводят его к сумасшествию.

Падение Олачиля.

Каас уговаривает жителей древнего королевства Олачиль раскопать могилу Мануса. В итоге потревожанный Манус возвращается к жизни, а вместе с ним приходит Бездна. Сэр Арториас вместе со своим соратником Великим Волком Сифом отправляются на помощь жителям Олачиля. Будучи окруженными порождениями Бездны, Арториас спасает Сифа, оставляя ему свой щит, защищающий от искушения тьмы. Тьма завладевает Арториасом, а Олачиль окончательно пал под натиском Бездны. Из высших слоёв Олачиля спасается лишь принцесса Даск. Запертая в золотом големе, она освобождается игроком через несколько столетий, но Манус затягивает её в прошлое, чтобы создать себе потомство.

Проявление знака тьмы. Эпидемия.

За сто лет до событий игры в мире разразилась эпидемия, у многих людей начал проявляться Знак Тьмы. Клеймённые этим знаком обладали проклятием бессмертия. После смерти они становились Немёртвыми — ходячими мертвецами, постепенно теряющими разум и человечность, пока полностью не превращались в Пустых — бездумных обезображенных существ. Отмеченных Знаком Тьмы начали ссылать в Лечебницу Нежити — место их последних дней.

Появление Избранного Немёртвого.

Отмеченные Знаком Тьмы являются потомками Первого Человека – Мануса, именно им под силу снова возжечь Первое Пламя и продолжить Эпоху Огня. К таким действиям подталкивает один из Изначальных змеев – Фрампт. Избранный Немертвый способен собрать Души Лордов и стать новым топливом для Первого Пламени. Другой точки зрения придерживается Изначальный змей Каас. Он считает, что нужно погасить пламя и провозгласить Эпоху Тьмы. Эпоха Тьмы – это Эпоха людей, мир, где вся власть будет принадлежать людям, а не Богам. Только Избранный Немертвый может предопределить судьбу этого мира.

Игровой персонаж — живой мертвец, который еще не стал Пустым (местный аналог зомби). Протагонист сбегает из северного Убежища Нежити с помощью незнакомца и узнает от него о пророчестве, что Избранный покинет Убежище, отправится в странствия и позвонит в Колокола Пробуждения, которые находятся в землях древних Лордов, Лордране, что поможет ему узнать «судьбу нежити».

Сиквел

На церемонии Video Game Awards 2012 была анонсирована компьютерная игра Dark Souls 2, также были обявлены платформы на которых выйдет игра: PC, PlayStation 3 , Xbox 360.

Оценки и критика

Игра Dark Souls Prepare to Die edition — «Приготовьтесь умирать вечно!». Обзор | www.tenstars.ru

Примечания

Ссылки

• Официальный сайт игры (яп.)
• Официальный сайт игры (англ.)
• Dark Souls (рус.) на сайте Absolute Games

Dark Souls — идейный продолжатель дела мрачной и сложной ролевой игры Demon Souls  для PlayStation 3, события которого разворачиваются в мрачном мире под названием Лордран. Главный герой — один из носителей Метки Тьмы, которая медленно, но верно превращает его в безумного Полого — вынужден покинуть стены обветшалого Пристанища нежити, дабы отправиться в путешествие, цель которого — вернуть миру затухающий огонь и остановить надвигающуюся Эпоху Тьмы.

Dark Souls — это ролевой экшен, в котором львиная доля времени уделена не прокачке персонажа или заданиям, а сражениям с врагами и боссами. Игроки обмениваются ударами с противниками, стараясь блокировать их удары или уворачиваться от них, чтобы не погибнуть. Каждая смерть в Dark Souls возвращает игроков в костру, «сбрасывая» человеческую форму и лишая всего накопленного и не потраченного опыта, который можно вернуть, посетив место своей гибели. Кроме обычных врагов, в игре присутствуют и разнообразные боссы, каждый из которых имеет набор уникальных атак, и способен противостоять даже крайне сильным игрокам.