Recently, it was the fifth anniversary of the Japanese release of Dark Souls, one of the most well-known titles in the video game world. Within this five year span, it's easy to see why the first game in the trilogy is considered groundbreaking, with many other companies attempting to replicate the strenuous formula of the game. It paved new ground for the video game community by showing that difficult games can be huge hits, taking away game developers' fears that if a game isn't relatively-easy for everyone to get a grasp on, it might not sell. To celebrate my favorite video game of all time, I've compiled a list of some hard-earned lessons I learned while exploring what the world of Lordran has to offer.
Never Give Up
Man-eating treasure chests. Arrows the size of spears. Pure dark environments where only the eyes of your enemies help light the way. A boss battle against two golden bastards that's the definition of patience. Anyone who's a Souls veteran or knows of one knows what I'm talking about when I say that Dark Souls is a game of perseverance.
Lesson: Look for that chain curl, or you'll be eaten.
Right from the beginning, you learn that this is a game you take seriously from start to finish. Unlike other games, where expendable grunts and somewhat-difficult bosses make you feel like an invincible badass, Dark Souls demands that you respect each enemy because anything can kill you. It's refreshing, making each endeavor, big or small, feel worth it.
Many expect death to be a frequent occurrence during this game, which can be a turnoff for many. But that's where the reward is, whether it's in Dark Souls or in real life: when it comes to anything difficult that you have to try at over and over again, the moment you're finally able to achieve your goal, the satisfaction of overcoming it is unparalleled. Whether it's trying something new or taking a break and coming back later, you will eventually beat it, and you'll be happy you didn't quit. Anor Londo is the best example of this.
Albeit not as iconic as Skyrim's opening theme, this scene is one of gaming's most memorable.
Above is one of many rewards you're given as you progress through the game. After braving a trap-filled fortress and a giant (as in a few-stories-high) suit of armor, hairless gargoyles grab you and fly you over the castle walls to this City of Giants. �The moment the camera slips over the edge of the wall, you're treated to a gorgeous mix of heavy choir and strings. With the brilliant sunlight shining down at the halfway point in the game, Anor Londo is one of many moments that reassures your efforts haven't been in vain.
Stop to Appreciate Your Surroundings
Besides its incredibly difficulty, the Souls series is well-known for having some of the most beautiful open-world locations that a fantasy video game can offer. Even now that Dark Souls III is out now, I still think that the first game has the best world of the trilogy.
I can easily say that I was happiest when I finally got to a new area in the game. Not only did it mean that I'd completed some huge task, but it also meant that it was time to explore a new world. This can be argued as a feeling most games give you, but Dark Souls comes out on top because each area is the perfect mix of puzzle and artwork. Without these locations, Dark Souls is half complete. What makes each enemy last in one's memory is the atmosphere they inhabit.
You step toward an Imax-sized painting with an abandoned doll in toll...
...and enter Ariamis, an eerie world that regularly ranks as one of the most serene in all of gaming.
But there's also a therapy in stopping to admire your surroundings. Sure, the ultimate goal of the game is to reach the end, but Dark Souls is crafted to offer more than that.
Places, such as Anor Londo and the Painted World of Ariamis, are easily recognizable among Dark Souls fans because of their impeccable beauty. Even if the enemies didn't populate these lush areas, I can guarantee many players would still want to venture through and explore every crack and crevice. Years later, in Dark Souls III, the aforementioned two locations were brought back with a few twists, much to many fans' delight.
Taking a break to observe the beauty around you allows for you to see how far you've come. Because of Lordran's layout, you can see areas you've completed before. This format has been attempted before in other games, and even in Souls sequels, but no game does it better than the original Dark Souls.
You've Always Got a Friend
I think what Dark Souls does most beautifully are its PvP (Player versus Player) and Co-Op (Cooperative) systems. Most other MMORPGs (i.e. World of Warcraft, TERA Online, Eve Online) have their own unique ways of handling this, but each has a multiplayer system that almost feels forced on you (if you want to do well, you pretty much have to band together).
With Dark Souls, it never felt forced. But it was creative in its way of encouraging it. I may be wrong in saying this, but Dark Souls is more than likely the first game that allows a player somewhere from across the world to enter your game and attack you. The result is a hair-raising experience that no horror game/movie has ever been able to match for me.
But there's hope. If the game ever gets overwhelming, either from a specific area in the game, invaders from halfway across the globe, or both, you can always summon in other players who are willing to help you out, thus creating one of the best cooperative experiences in any video game I know.
More times than not, I've traveled through an area with a complete stranger and, like many adventure movies, developed a bond through fighting together. By the time this random person had to go, I felt like I was losing a close friend. There's something very raw in that kind of unscripted companionship, and it's led to many things out-of-game, ranging from a code of honor for proper dueling etiquette in the Souls games to explosive memes like the "Sunbros."
Solaire, the man that inspired millions around the world to "Praise the Sun."
Dark Souls has had an incredible impact on the gaming world, and sadly, it seems as though the franchise is at a close. This doesn't mean that the first game's creator, Hidetaka Miyazaki, won't be making other games of the same nature, but the branching worlds in the Dark Souls trilogy won't likely be revisited. Hopefully, as From Software (the games' development company) moves forward from the success of Dark Souls III, there will be projects, such as Bloodborne, that are able to capitalize on the successes of past titles and reinvigorate them in different settings.
But until then, Dark Souls III has a new DLC coming out soon: a new look at the first Dark Souls' Painted World of Ariamis. Taking a step back into the first Dark Souls to visit the original Painted World, I can't help but anticipate what changes and secrets lie in wait when it comes out October 25, 2016.
