Dark Souls

Dark Souls is a 2011 action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware and directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki. It first launched for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in Japan in September 2011, then reached North America and Europe in October. The Windows edition, Prepare to Die Edition, arrived in 2012 and added Artorias of the Abyss content. It followed FromSoftware's 2009 Demon's Souls, while establishing the setting, lore, and systems associated with the Dark Souls series. Players begin as an Undead confined to the Northern Undead Asylum and eventually travel through Lordran. Guided by the prophecy of the Chosen Undead, the player rings the Bells of Awakening, defeats Ornstein and Smough in Anor Londo, and receives the Lordvessel from Gwynevere. The later choice is to link the First Flame in the Kiln of the First Flame or leave, permitting an Age of Dark. Its story connects the fading fire to Gwyn, Lord of Cinder; the Witch of Izalith; Nito, the First of the Dead; and the Furtive Pygmy, who found Lord Souls after the First Flame appeared. Dark Souls uses third-person melee combat built around stamina, shields, dodging, parries, spells, and weapon upgrades. Bonfires function as checkpoints, restore Estus Flasks, and respawn most defeated enemies when used. Death returns the player to the last bonfire and leaves a bloodstain containing collected souls and humanity; recovering it restores those resources. Players can kindle bonfires with humanity to increase Estus uses, and must manage equip load because heavier equipment slows rolling. Online features allow cooperative summoning, invasions, messages, and bloodstains. The world is notably interconnected: shortcuts link areas such as Undead Parish, Firelink Shrine, and Lower Undead Burg without frequent loading screens. The game's original Japanese title is Dark Souls: Dāku Sōru. Bandai Namco Entertainment published it outside Japan, while FromSoftware published it in Japan. Its challenging boss encounters include the Bell Gargoyles, the Capra Demon, Gravelord Nito, Seath the Scaleless, and Gwyn. The Artorias of the Abyss expansion sends players to Oolacile, where they confront Knight Artorias, Manus, Father of the Abyss, and Black Dragon Kalameet. Dark Souls became the first entry in a trilogy, followed by Dark Souls II in 2014 and Dark Souls III in 2016. Miyazaki later directed Dark Souls III, while Tomohiro Shibuya and Yui Tanimura directed Dark Souls II. The first game's remastered version, Dark Souls Remastered, was released for consoles and Windows in 2018. It included its DLC.