Dark Souls Game Design Analysis

The end of an era.

With the release of the Dark Souls III game of the year edition, adequately titled "The Fire Fades", April 20th marks the end of Dark Souls. Who would have thought that a relatively unknown game development company like From Software would create a series under the guidance of Hidetaka Miyazaki that would forever change the game industry? Dark Souls has undoubtedly become one of the most successful and critically-acclaimed video game titles of all time.

Dark Souls did not have high-end graphics, a bloated marketing budget or even the acknowledgment of the games media in its early days. What it did have was extraordinary game design. If Super Mario 64 was the first entry in a 3D environment with complex level design, Dark Souls perfected the craft with a convoluted and deadly world that is never unfair but always ruthless to the non-observant.

Telling a story without words

Like its creator, the Dark Souls series is enigmatic. To this day there is no clearly explained story to make sense of the different worlds, decisions, and endings that are experienced throughout the series. Dark Souls is a game that doesn't hold your hand: it never explains anything, but rather shows you through its design what to do. It promotes exploration by giving you different paths you can take. Along the way you'll encounter NPCs, but they are vague at best, never telling you the whole story and being cryptic when giving information. You are best off trusting no one and digging deeper into the world on your own. By exploring and observing the world you will learn more and more about the game, but you should be careful not to lose your way.

Difficulty is dependent on your play-style

Dark Souls is known for being one of the hardest games you can play, but that doesn't mean that it is impossible. The levels, the enemies, and environment all have a purpose, and if you tread cautiously, you will rarely be surprised or find yourself in an unfair situation. Sure, even if you are careful, you will die at times, but usually, you can learn from those experiences and escape death the next time. If, on the other hand, you rush into a room, don't manage your stamina or simply are not resourceful, you will die many times.

Even some of the boss battles can end up feeling easy, and many of them can be won on the first try. And should you struggle with a particular fight, you can summon a friend or NPC to help you. Some gamers might frown on this, but it is a feature of the game nonetheless, and it makes most boss battles a lot easier.

This is actually where the meme "git gud" came from. Players who had bested the game would give advice to struggling and complaining players by saying "You just have to git gud ;-)". Although the statement seems like it's just teasing, the message behind it is real. If you want to survive, you have to learn, change your play-style and adapt quickly. I also found that, the more Souls-like games you play, the better you will know how to get through. For example, after finishing Bloodborne (another game by From Software much like Dark Souls), basically everything Dark Souls 3 threw at me was not that challenging.

It's about community

Another thing that makes this game special is the community behind it. Especially the YouTubers that theorize and discuss the game's lore. These discussions brought the community together and gave us something to talk about during the time between released when we we all waiting. My favorites among them are VaatiVidya, DaveControl, TerraMantis and Silver Mont who go deep into the lore of the game, discussing everything from background story and item descriptions to characters and bosses using clues they've found throughout the game. I've never watched so many videos about a game when I've had the chance to play it myself. With Dark Souls, I found myself returning regularly after extended sessions in the game to learn more about the parts I'd just gone through. If you are a Souls fan, look up some of these content-creators and check out their Dark Souls videos — you won't regret it.

The undead curse has befallen the game industry

After Dark Souls' success many development studios have tried to imitate its obviously successful formula. This includes a number of worthy entries like the recent Nioh or Salt and Sanctuary and a few more controversial titles as well like Lords of the Fallen or For Honor. That Dark Souls has had such an impact on an entire industry in such a short time is fascinating. Dark Souls' influence can even be seen in Breath of the Wild, as Nintendo has made the most recent Zelda game far more challenging and, moreover, they skipped a wordy intro and simply threw you in an open-world, letting you figure things out mostly for yourself.

Dark Souls came at a time when casual gaming was at its pinnacle. It gave more experienced gamers something to cherish, and to this day continues to do so. It may be officially over, but it's started a chain reaction in the game industry that's ever expanding. More and more Dark Souls-esque games are being released…

Where to start?

The last thing I'd like to do is recommend to you what you can do if you have never played a Dark Souls game. The series can be intimidating to new players, and many don't even give it a chance.

The best starting point, in my opinion, would be Bloodborne. I know that it is a PS4 exclusive, but it is the game that will be the easiest to get into. It's the most straight forward game by From Software and possibly easiest to learn. The setting, design and gameplay are much darker and faster than Dark Souls. And if you are like me, the fast gameplay feels a lot more natural than the slower Dark Souls games, which demand patient and calculated play. In that same vein, you should check out Nioh, as well. Nioh is much more structured, such that you won't feel lost all the time as you inevitably will in Dark Souls. And lastly, if you would like to start with Dark Souls directly, I recommend Dark Souls III; it is easily the most beginner friendly title of the bunch.

I could write for hours and hours about Dark Souls but I want to stop here. I'm curious to hear about your experiences with the game! Be sure to leave us a comment on Twitter and follow us if you like what you've just read.

Thanks for reading!

– Sebastian

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Images courtesy of From Software.

Sebastian

Staff Writer

Guitarist, singer, console gamer, general nerd, marketer, writer @obiliskgames
What I usually play on: PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One S, PS Vita, Nintendo New 3DS.