Dark Souls is an action role-playing game released in 2011. It was created by FromSoftware and published by Namco Bandai Games. The game is inspired by FromSoftware's earlier game, Demon's Souls, and is the first in the Dark Souls series. The story takes place in the kingdom of Lordran, where players control a cursed undead character who escapes from the Northern Undead Asylum and begins a journey to learn about their people's fate. A Windows version with extra content, called the Prepare to Die Edition, was released in August 2012. A console version with the subtitle Artorias of the Abyss was released in October 2012.
Dark Souls is often considered one of the greatest video games ever made. Critics praised its complex combat system, detailed level design, and use of descriptive text. However, some critics found the game very difficult. The original Windows version had some technical problems and was not as well received. By April 2013, the game had sold more than two million copies worldwide. Its success led to the creation of two follow-up games: Dark Souls II (2014) and Dark Souls III (2016). A remastered version of the game was released in 2018.
Gameplay
Dark Souls is a game where you control a character from a side view, and you can choose your character's actions and story. A key part of the game is exploring. Players are encouraged to move carefully, learn from mistakes, and try different paths. The game takes place in a large world made up of many connected areas, linked through a central hub. Players can travel between areas and choose their paths freely, but some areas require completing certain tasks first to access them.
A key part of the game is the bonfire. Bonfires are placed throughout the world and act as safe spots. When players rest at a bonfire, their character is healed completely, and they can refill their healing items called "Estus Flasks." They can also level up, learn magic, and repair or upgrade their gear. However, resting at a bonfire causes all enemies (except bosses, mini-bosses, and defeated characters) to come back to life again.
Players interact with the game world through combat. Combat includes fighting with swords, using bows, defending with shields, and casting spells. For melee attacks, players can use weapons like swords, spears, maces, and magical items. For ranged attacks, players use bows and crossbows. For defense, players use shields, armor, dodging, and blocking. For magic, players can use spells called sorceries, miracles, and pyromancies. Unlike other games, players do not use a resource like mana. Instead, they gain a set number of spell uses each time they rest at a bonfire. Each combat style has tradeoffs, costs, and can be improved through leveling, crafting, items, rings, or new gear.
Another feature is the "humanity" system. The player can be in two forms: human or undead. If the player dies while in human form, they return to undead form and must use a special item called "humanity" and a command at a bonfire to return to human form. While in human form, players can summon other players or characters to help them, but they may also be attacked by others trying to gain humanity or souls. Humanity can be found in many ways, and players can progress without it. If a player dies, they lose their souls and humanity but revive at the last bonfire. They can return to the spot where they died to recover lost items. If they die before reaching their "bloodstain," they permanently lose their souls and humanity. Carrying humanity gives players bonuses and protection, encouraging them to keep it.
Players can only communicate in limited ways. They can use orange soapstone items to write short messages for others nearby. Players can also join others for teamwork or combat. Many characters appear during the game, adding to the story but not being essential. Some characters can help by joining the player in boss fights when the player is in human form.
The PC version of Dark Souls stopped allowing online multiplayer in February 2022 because of a security issue. In October 2022, the company confirmed that online multiplayer for the "Prepare to Die" version was permanently disabled due to outdated technology, but they are working to restore online features for the Remastered version.
Synopsis
Dark Souls uses simple storytelling to share its story and background. Important events in the game's world are often not clearly explained or left for players to figure out on their own. Most of the story comes from conversations with other characters, text found on items, and the way the game world is designed. How players experience the story can change based on the choices they make.
The beginning of the game shows the main idea. In the past, giant dragons ruled the world during the "Age of Ancients." An ancient fire called the First Flame appeared, creating a difference between life and death, and between light and dark. A character named Gwyn found the First Flame and used its power with his friends to defeat the dragons and take control of the world. Another character, the Furtive Pygmy, was forgotten, and this started the "Age of Fire." Over time, the First Flame began to fade, and humans gained more power. Gwyn gave up his life to keep the Age of Fire going. The main story happens near the end of this second Age of Fire, when humans are cursed with a condition called the undead curse. This curse causes people to keep coming back to life after death until they lose their minds, a process called "hollowing."
The player starts as a cursed undead person trapped in the Northern Undead Asylum. A character named Oscar of Astora throws a key into a corpse, allowing the player to escape and complete a prophecy that says the undead person will leave the asylum and ring the Bells of Awakening. After escaping, the player goes to Lordran to ring the bells at the Undead Church and in Blighttown. This wakes up Kingseeker Frampt, who tells the player to go to Anor Londo, the home of the gods. After fighting through the nearly empty city, the player meets Gwynevere, Gwyn's daughter, who tells them to take the place of Gwyn and finish the prophecy. To do this, the player must collect the souls of Gwyn's ancient allies and return them to the flame to reignite it. At any point, the player might meet Darkstalker Kaathe, who suggests not reigniting the flame but letting it die, which would start the "Age of Dark." After collecting all the required souls, the player goes to the Kiln of the First Flame to fight Gwyn. After defeating Gwyn, the player can choose to reignite the flame to keep the Age of Fire alive or let it die, starting the Age of Dark.
In the Artorias of the Abyss expansion, the Chosen Undead is taken back to the past to the fallen land of Oolacile to save Princess Dusk of Oolacile and find out what happened to her rescuer, Knight Artorias. The player learns that Artorias was defeated by Manus, the Lord of the Abyss, and became corrupted and wild. After reaching the Chasm of the Abyss, the player defeats Manus. However, the player finds Princess Dusk in an unresponsive state.
Development
Dark Souls was created by FromSoftware, with Hidetaka Miyazaki, the series' designer, leading its development and production. The game is inspired by FromSoftware's 2009 title, Demon's Souls, which was published and owned by Sony Computer Entertainment. Bandai Namco Entertainment was selected to publish Dark Souls because they could release it on multiple platforms.
The game's design and development used a method where Miyazaki provided direction but allowed designers to use their creativity. Miyazaki explained that Dark Souls was influenced by earlier fantasy and dark fantasy works, particularly the manga series Berserk. He described the game's main design style as "refinement, elegance, and dignity." He also outlined three main themes: gods and knights linked to the area of Anor Londo, demonic chaos and flames connected to Lost Izalith, and the theme of death tied to Gravelord Nito. These themes were combined with the idea of ancient dragons that existed before all life, forming the foundation of the game. Many locations in the game were inspired by real places, such as the Château de Chambord in France and Milan Cathedral in Italy.
The characters and world of Dark Souls include similarities to Greek mythology, Japanese mythology, French existentialist ideas, and the work of philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. The game's depiction of natural cycles and character designs reflect ideas from Japanese and Greek myths. The game's portrayal of a world where a flame eventually burns out and individuals face tragic fates mirrors philosophical ideas about existentialism, absurdity, meaninglessness, and the end of the universe.
Marketing and release
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. After the game became popular, many people hoped for a version that could be played on a computer. In early 2012, fans started a petition asking for a PC version, and more than 93,000 people signed it. In April 2012, a PC version was confirmed by a German magazine called PC Action. During development, the company FromSoftware faced challenges because they had little experience making games for computers and focused more on adding new content than improving performance. The PC version was later called the Prepare To Die Edition and released in August 2012. It included new content, such as bosses, enemies, equipment, and characters. This new content, named Artorias of the Abyss, was also added to consoles as downloadable content (DLC) in October 2012. Soon after, it was announced that the PC version would use Games for Windows – Live for online play and digital rights management (DRM), which caused some fans to be upset.
The PC version was released on August 23, 2012. Shortly after, a user-created mod called "DSFix" was made to fix a limit on screen resolution. Later, "DSFix" became a patch that also improved graphics, increased the frame rate limit to 60, and allowed custom texture changes. On December 15, 2014, Games for Windows – Live was removed from the Steam version and replaced with Steamworks, which allowed players to transfer achievements and save data. In April 2016, the game became available on Xbox One through backward compatibility.
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. The remaster was developed by the Polish studio QLOC, while the Switch version was developed by the Singaporean studio Virtuos. The game runs at a native 60 frames per second on all platforms except the Nintendo Switch and supports 4K resolution on PlayStation 4 Pro, Xbox One X, and Windows. Changes to online multiplayer included adding dedicated servers, increasing the maximum number of online players from four to six, and adding password matchmaking.
Reception
Dark Souls received good reviews from critics when it was first released. One reviewer called it "a very hard dark-fantasy role-playing game" that focuses on role-playing. They said the large maps and strong enemies make players feel both excited and nervous. Another reviewer said the happiness from overcoming difficult challenges after many failures is hard to describe.
GameSpot praised the online features and the joy of beating bosses after many failed attempts. They said casual gamers might find the game too hard, but fans of role-playing games would enjoy the challenge. IGN complimented the level design, variety of content, online features, dark tone, and deep gameplay. They said the game is very hard but not unfair. Eurogamer also praised the level design and atmosphere but noted that casual gamers might not like the difficulty.
Edge later gave the game a perfect score of 10 out of 10 in their 2013 issue, saying the game’s design quality was better than complaints about its difficulty.
Game Informer’s Phil Kollar said the game’s difficulty feels frustrating because modern games often teach players step-by-step. He praised the challenge but said the game lacked clear directions.
In a review, Connor Gormley said the game has many fun moments, from serious and atmospheric scenes to silly ones, like fighting a giant mushroom man. He said the game’s story is best discovered by players themselves.
Namco Bandai’s financial report said the game sold 1,190,000 copies in the U.S. and Europe by March 2012. FromSoftware said it sold 2,370,000 copies worldwide by April 2013.
Erik Wolpaw, a writer who supported the Souls series since 2009, called Dark Souls his favorite game of 2011.
GameSpy said the original PC version had poor performance, like 30 frames per second and bad controls, but praised the added content. Eurogamer said the PC version lacked technical options because it was based on a console game. A producer of Dark Souls II, Takeshi Miyazoe, responded to criticism about the PC version.
Dark Souls: Remastered received mostly positive reviews. Critics liked the better graphics and performance but criticized the lack of an anti-cheat system and the high price for few changes. It sold 71,739 copies in Japan during its release week, making it the top-selling game there.
Game Revolution named Dark Souls the Community Choice Game of the Year. IncGamers also called it "Game of the Year." Dylan Cuthbert of Q-Games and Brad Muir of Double Fine Productions chose it as Game of the Year. Eric L. Patterson of Electronic Gaming Monthly and others also gave it top awards.
The Daily Telegraph praised Dark Souls for its online features and nominated it for awards in categories like "Best Director" and "Game of the Year." TeamXbox called it a runner-up for "Best RPG." 1UP.com said it was the "Most Rewarding Game." Game Informer named the boss fight with Sif the "Best Boss Fight." GameSpot and others also gave it awards for boss fights. Famitsu gave it an Award of Excellence in 2012.
In 2013, Digital Spy called Dark Souls the best game of the seventh console generation. In 2014, Edge magazine named it the best game of that generation, saying persistence can turn players from uninterested to deeply engaged. In 2015, it topped Edge’s list of the 100 greatest video games and GamesRadar+’s list of the best games ever. It also ranked first on USgamer’s list of the best games since 2000 and was called the "Best RPG on PC" by Rock, Paper, Shotgun. In 2016, it placed fifth on PC Gamer’s list of the best RPGs of all time. In 2021, it was voted the "Ultimate Game of All Time" at the Golden Joystick Awards.
Dark Souls is often called one of the greatest video games ever made. It is seen as an important example of video games as an art form and one of the most influential games of its generation. It won the "Ultimate Game of All Time" award at the 2021 Golden Joystick Awards.
Many games, including Destiny, Lords of the Fallen, The Surge, and God of War, were influenced by Dark Souls. Features from Dark Souls also inspired the PlayStation 4 console. The TV show Stranger Things was also inspired by the game.