It’s not too great a stretch to say thatDark Soulsis one of the most culturally significant gaming franchises of all time. Aside from proving that there’s still a healthy market for challenging and complex interactive experiences, theDark Soulsgames helped to usher in a new golden eraof third-person action-RPGs, influencing everything fromStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Orderto the newGod of Wargames.
It also helped developer FromSoftware skyrocket in popularity, positioning it as perhaps the most prestigious and consistent game studio working today. Of course, FromSoftware’s reputation reached its apex following the release ofElden Ring, which reached a wider audience than any other release in the company’s history. This spike in visibility converted countless players, starting them on journeys throughBloodborne,Sekiro,Demon’s Souls, and, of course,Dark Souls. But even for those who have already experienced the seminalSoulstrilogy, there’s a lot of value in revisiting it, and 2025 might be the year to do just that.
The Dark Souls Trilogy: Why It Deserves To Be Replayed
Dark Souls Is a Nice Change of Pace from Elden Ring
It’s safe to say that, for most gamers,Elden Ringis probably the most recent FromSoftware game they’ve played. Its sprawling open-world, dizzying build variety, andworld-classShadow of the ErdtreeDLCmight make it seem like the pinnacle of the FromSoftwareSoulsformula, but this is debatable. Indeed, althoughElden Ringis a triumph of game design, there are still things that FromSoftware’s older releases arguably do better.
One of these things is replay value. A standard playthrough of, say,Dark Souls 3, will only take about a third of the time as a standardElden Ringplaythrough, but that’s because it’s denser and more curated. Something thatdetracts fromElden Ring’s replayabilityis its sheer size, alongside the fact that so many of the game’s strengths are only effective once: the endless surprises that come along with exploring The Lands Between can’t hit the same after that initial playthrough.
But tackling theDark Soulsgames again is a markedly different experience. There’s still a sense of familiarity, but this familiarity breeds mastery more than contempt. Repeat playthroughs become an opportunity to hone one’s skills, test different strategies, and more easily overcome challenges that once seemed inpenetrable. But more than anything, repeatDark Soulsplaythroughs allow for deep experimentation with builds.
Elden Ring Nightreignwill featureDark Soulsbosses, which may be another incentive to replayDark Souls: players can reexperience the original encounters before seeing them reprised inNightreign.
Elden Ringmight have greater build variety thanks to its bevy of unique weapon types, butDark Soulsmakes build experimentation much more accessible. There’s the more focused nature of build-crafting inDark Souls, of course—it’s easier to create unique characters when there are fewer variables to juggle—but the aforementioned replayability helps as well. The lack of open-ended exploration in theDark Soulsgames relative toElden Ringmeans that combat is a far greater focus, allowing for more efficient sharpening of a given build and improvement of the player’s skills. Upgrade materials are also much easier to obtain by virtue of this reduced scope.
TheDark Soulsgames might feel a little restrictive after anElden Ringplaythrough, and that’s fair. But for anyone who cares about the history of gaming and the heritage associated with the action-RPG genre, revisiting theDark Soulstrilogy (yes,evenDark Souls 2), can be enlightening and satisfying. Their linearity and tight focus helps them stand out from many releases of today, which continue to double-down on scale over tight design.
Dark Souls 3
WHERE TO PLAY
Winner of Gamescom 2015 ‘Best RPG” and over 35 E3 2015 Awards and Nominations, DARK SOULS™ III continues to push the boundaries with the latest, ambitious chapter in the critically-acclaimed and genre-defining series.As fires fade and the world falls into ruin, journey into a universe filled with more colossal enemies and environments. Players will be immersed into a world of epic atmosphere and darkness through faster gameplay and amplified combat intensity. Fans and newcomers alike will get lost in the game hallmark rewarding gameplay and immersive graphics.Now only embers remain… Prepare yourself once more and Embrace The Darkness!
