So back when I was talking about Bloodborne on this list, I mentioned how there was one game by FromSoftware that just couldn’t beat this one, and unless you’ve been living under a rock for the passed ten years, then you will know that game is Dark Souls, the first one, of course.
Dark Souls is set in the medieval kingdom of Lordran, and you play as the Chosen Undead, one of the many who have been sent to this dying land in a world where people cannot die. Your goal is to collect the souls of the four ancient lords who ruled this land and use them to either rekindle the First Flame and keep the Age of Fire going or let it die and allow the Age of Dark to come and give power to mankind. The world of Dark Souls was the first to usher in what I have been seeing a lot in medieval fantasy games nowadays, that being that they are darker and more gritty. Sure, Dark Souls was inspired by Berserk, but everything is inspired by something, isn’t it? Everything from the destroyed town of the Undead Burg to the creepy atmosphere of the Duke’s Archives to the walking skeletons found in the Tomb of the Giants. And that’s just a few examples. A lot of places in this game feel like they were once grand locations to explore, but have now fallen to ruin due to the end of the world coming to this kingdom. It’s fascinating to read up on the lore of these places and the enemies and characters within them. Like how the magic users in the Duke’s Archives are actually kidnappers that steal maidens for Seath’s experiments or how the demons of this game all originate from one level thanks to one boss birthing them out. And the bosses in this game are incredible. Sure, not all of them are amazing, like Bed of Driving Me Fucking Mad, but for the most part, bosses like the massive Iron Golem, the giant wolf Sif, and the brilliant fight between Ornstein and Smough, these all are grand fights, leaving you at the mercy of these hulking foes, all of them once something amazing, now fallen to either madness and the desire to kill, or protecting something from you so that you don’t do something reckless in their eyes. And I should mention that this game is in fact hard for newcomers. It was advertised that you will die a lot in this game, and they were right about that. But when you learn what to do, it becomes easier. And it’s reward to learn the mechanics of this game, from item usage, to timing when to attack, dodge, or block in a boss fight. The game rewards perfect playing and doing so will save your ass on several occasions. And the score of this game is amazing. Not on the level of Dark Souls III grand soundtrack, but there are moments where this game amazes me. From your first time entering the kingdom of Anor Londo, to the time you enter Ash Lake and hear that ominous choir. And the final boss theme is so… not amazing, and I mean that in a good way. It’s slow, and kind of sad. And I love it so much.
Dark Souls was the kind of game I needed. In a decade where I was so bored with modern games, even ready to give up on modern games entirely, Dark Souls came to peak my interest in video games again and to get me excited to try out new games. Dark Souls does not hold your hand. It’ll beat you again and again. But like a girl in a Tyler Perry movie, no matter how many times Dark Souls kicks my ass, I’ll always come back for more. Only Dark Souls beats me out of love. And I’m kind of a masochist, so that’s just a turn on to me anyway