I don't want to debate the merits or detractions of difficulty here, that's another article written countless times already.
Meanwhile, almost every 'Soulslike', whether it's the Surge or Mortal Shell or Nioh, identifies that element of Dark Souls' design as its primary focus. Go to Steam and look all the RPGs, platformers, roguelikes etc that all come bundled with brutal, punishing combat, or some variation of those words. But that's the phrase the industry appears to have latched onto. I can already hear the collective intake of breath from Souls fans as they prepare to cry "That's not what Dark Souls is about!" And they're right. It's enormous, far-reaching and, I believe, not entirely what From Software would have wanted.Ī large portion of Dark Souls' legacy can be summed up in three words "brutal, punishing combat". Instead, I want to talk about Dark Souls' legacy, the cultural footprint it has left in the decade since its release. If there's one thing the world isn't short of, it's fantastic critical analysis on From Software's games.
Heck, go pick up You Died, the last word on everything Dark Souls. If you just want to read great words exploring a great game, then go and read Rich Stanton's article on becoming the Dark Soul, or Andreas Inderwaldi's essay on Dark Souls' doomed heroes. I don't think I can tell you anything new about Dark Souls, not that hasn't been said better by other people. But in terms of how both designers and critics think about game design, I don't think any other game has caused such a cascade effect on the idea of what the artform can be. Has there been a more influential game over the last ten years than From Software's masterpiece? Minecraft and Fortnite have bigger footprints, I suppose, and one could perhaps make a case for Skyrim's effect on the proliferation of open world games.
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