Words & Games: Ranking FromSoftware Titles
To commemorate the recent release of Elden Ring, and in-line with the spirit of this blog, I will be ranking my personal favorite FromSoftware titles (of which I’ve played).
For a short introduction: Founded in 1986, Japanese developer FromSoftware - video game development studio and subsidiary of Kadakowa Corporation - has been an awakening of sorts for the 3rd-person, action-RPG sub-genre. Trailblazing the console market with 2009’s cult-classic Demon’s Souls for the Playstation 3, FromSoft has consistently evolved modern ARPG’s with an impressive track record. Though initially developing their sleeper series King’s Field, it wasn’t until Souls creator and director Hidetaka Miyazaki took helm of the-then fledgling studio that it was able to flourish. Now an industry staple and mainstay for the“hardcore” gamer constituency, FromSoftware continues as a monolithic entity known for difficulty and innovation. To say I enjoy these games would be an understatement; 2022’s Elden Ring alone has captured my imagination in a way very few pieces of interactive media have done. If you’re an “old-school” gamer into traditional roleplaying elements, Medieval-fantasy aesthetic and 3rd-person action/adventure-RPG hybridization, then these might be up your alley.
Since I haven’t played every title in their catalogue, this list will be limited to the games I’ve had a genuine, time-engrossing experience. Without further ado:
#1. Elden Ring (2022)
Think: Breath of the Wild meets Dark Souls
The long-awaited collaborative game between Hidetaka Miyazaki and Game of Thrones creator, George R. R. Martin, Elden Ring is a game that has surpassed all of my expectations. You can read my initial impressions of it here, and let me tell you, the experience of enrichment has only increased with every hour further sunk into it. Part adventure, action, role-playing game, exploration, customization, and various other touchstones of modern ARPG’s, Elden Ring feels like a greatest hits of seminal classics Breath of the Wild or Skyrim, with a large helping of its predecessor, Dark Souls. A beautifully constructed world map of The Lands Between only grows in size, its range variant in respective to topography, enemy placement and locales to explore the more hours you sink. At-first the game’s progress can feel a bit throttled, as items and equipment are slowly bread-crumbed till you’re nearing triple digit hours on your file, with your character having amassed a plethora of loot to plunder. There is no doubt for me that Elden Ring will live on as FromSoftware’s crowning-achievement and magnum opus.
#2: Bloodborne (2015)
Think: H.P. Lovecraft meets Castlevania.
My previous favorite FromSoftware title. A complete departure from their now-formulaic cycle of Medieval-themed high fantasy, Bloodborne is both a traditional Dark Souls game, in spirit, as well an Lovecraftian-inspired action-horror. The lore is heady, esoteric, the atmosphere horrific and equally oblique, music a tour de force of orchestral bedlam, and everything else within the creative design of Bloodborne’s world is an impressive display of artful-distillation. Instead of shields we’re treated to flintlocks and a host of Elizabethan-firearms'; D&D-worthy armaments are also exchanged for hunter weapons with unique “trick” forms, each offering a distinct playstyle for whatever build you decide. Chainmail and grieves are trench coats and trousers, knights to fend off instead are replaced by lycanthropes, Eldritch-esque otherworldly beings or other equally immeasurable horror-inspired baddies. Of course, there’s perhaps my favorite introduction to the Souls formula: “Chalice Dungeons.” With sarcophagus-looking ritual materials and using chalices upon an altar in the game’s main hub, players can take the optional route to create miniature and unique dungeons to explore, each one procedurally generated as to offer a different experience with each one (though sadly, the way it was programmed meant that a maximum of roughly 2000-some dungeons were creatable, meaning the implicit endlessness of such tomb-prospecting was be limited, in addition to a certain glitch that further hindered your ability to explore). Bloodborne is a class act, a continuation of niche titles that never quite arose to greatness (i.e. Nightmare Creatures), truly one-of-a-kind.
#3. Dark Souls (2011)
Think: The Legend of Zelda meets King’s Field
FromSoftware’s bread-and-butter, the cream-of-the-crop, the equivalent to LucasFilms’ Star Wars. Even a decade after its initial release (not even counting several re-releases and iterations), Dark Souls remains an integral piece of interactive media, deeply compelling as it is difficult (on first playthrough), its tone unmatched in-terms of atmosphere and design, a benchmark to grade any similar game to come. In-fact, Dark Souls is such a memetic phenomenon in the gaming zeitgeist, that the name itself is colloquially used like a sub-genre of its own (i.e., “Souls-like”, or, “the Dark Souls of [insert genre]”). While not perfect by any stretch of the imagination (Lost Izalith, Bed of Chaos), what Dark Souls gets right outweighs its shortcomings, delivering a robust experience that’s rooted in solid nuts-and-bolts design, ala’ “old-school” type-gaming. Yes, some of your deaths will be cheap, yes, invaders at low-levels will demoralize your resolve to go human and summon cooperators, yes, the latter-half of the game post-Anor Londo doesn’t feel concrete as the half before it, but...Dark Souls introduces so many good ideas – and by that extension, does so many of them well – that it doesn’t matter where it’s rough around the edges. For those who seek experiences of this kind, I believe Dark Souls is akin to a rite-of-passage (no pun intended) for 3rd-person ARPG’s, an everlasting remembrance within interactive media.
#4. Demon’s Souls (2009/2020)
Think: Dungeons & Dragons meets Kid Icarus
I’m combining both the original and the Playstation 5-exclusive remaster for this entry, as-in my opinion, the Bluepoint Studios’ reimagining is so mechanically close that the gameplay is more or less equivalent (though the remaster’s revamped aesthetics are truly a sight to behold). Frustrating, obtuse and atmospherically stoic, Demon’s Souls feels like a rough-cut of Dark Souls, a corollary to indie film Evil Dead and its bigger-production counterpart, Evil Dead II. Absent from the formula afterwards, “World Tendency” and “Player Tendency” were cause-and-effect changes to your world and NPC’s directly attributed to how well you did (or didn’t) complete tasks, including dying in human-form, fulfilling tasks based upon quixotic clues, or engaging in competitive multiplayer. Back in 2009, Demon’s Souls engaged Playstation 3 owners as the forerunner to FromSoft’s now tried-and-true design of innovation intermixed with difficulty, single-handedly making the term, “difficult but fair.” Having the recent chance to experience the remaster (with what can only be described as nothing short of a miracle: securing a Playstation 5 at MSRP), I can tell you my rose-colored nostalgia quickly became dispelled after a few hours of reentry. Enemy A.I. remains grossly-exploitable, the arcade-y level design leaves much to be desired for repeated playthroughs, cooperative multiplayer consists of benefitting newer, inexperienced players, and the rest of its online activity dwindles to the hardcore, player-versus-player crowd. With all that being said, what does remain is a fascinating risk taken by Miyazaki and his team; Demon’s Souls is perhaps the only entry to truly nail atmosphere, second only to Bloodborne (although Elden Ring is making me question that, too).
#5. Dark Souls III (2016)
Think: Dark Souls meets…Bloodborne
Souls, Souls, Souls. The series’ 3rd-entry reintroduces concepts from its predecessors, building upon certain ideas while eliminating others. Now gone are armor upgrades, a sprawling, semi-open sandbox to explore, sedentary Estus, instant backstabs, poise and other gameplay aspects, but Dark Souls III brings back checkpoint warping from the get-go, a main world hub serving as a conduit for connecting each zone, and fanservice for players of the original. I think what makes Dark Souls III good, but not necessarily great, is the fact that it doesn’t really go out of its way to do anything contextually unique or differing (some attribute the “sameness” of this game due to series creator Miyazaki being busy with other projects, him in a producer role). Dark Souls III plays it safe, and while some of its quality-of-life additions are much appreciated (instant warping, generous bonfires, item management, etc.), what it leaves is a sense of longing. Exploration is gone, linear and on-par to Demon’s Souls, the glitches are galore, player-versus-player is frustratingly difficult-but for all the wrong reasons (competitive play boils down to watching 2 people circle with regen-activated, trying to tag each other with PKCS’s), there’s no update for next-gen consoles (no, in my opinion the Playstation 4 Pro enhancement doesn’t count and yes, I know, Bloodborne has needed one since forever ago, but still), the story seemingly decides Dark Souls II’s story should be left in vague nods, and well...there’s just something about it I can’t quite put my finger on. While still an amazing game on its own, Dark Souls III feels like a dually inspired yet retreading over the same ground.
#6. Dark Souls II (2012)
Think: Baldur’s Gate meets Dragon’s Dogma
The proverbial misfit of the lot, Dark Souls II could epitomize the term, “hit or miss.” There’s so much different about Dark Souls II in-relation to the entire series, that to this day it continues to stand on its own from the pack. “Soul Memory” - a divisive mechanic introduced to “remember” accumulated player souls - was loved by some and loathed many, serving as an effective deterrence for low-lever griefers but as a result, also collectively punished the rest of the player base by needlessly complicating the multiplayer process. Dark Souls II’s engine itself too, was so radically “off” from its predecessor, that it felt as if a completely different team had developed it altogether (legend says the game’s development was cursed, going through multiple prototypes and directors until completion). Unfortunately, despite the game selling well, what divisions remnant in Dark Souls II led to much of its innovation being left behind. Bonfire ascetics, minor summoning signs, the ability to be invaded post-boss, powerstancing, the over-abundant options for build variety to weapon selection and even the story seems to be a forgotten memory. The later Scholar of the First Sin reiteration curated all of the downloadable content into a cohesive bundle, delivering with it a crisp 60 frames-per-second to console and effectively becoming the definitive edition. While not for everybody and despite being the series’ wildcard, I cherish my time with this game as well as all of the options it introduced, even if remaining un-continued to present-day.
#7. King’s Field (1995)
Think: Daggerfall meets A Link to the Past
Akin to a proof-of-concept for what would become the Souls series, King’s Field (technically it was King’s Field II to be localized outside Japan as the first) differentiates itself by being entirely in 1st-person. Though its graphics and gameplay are outdated due to the hardware’s age (1990’s Playstation, 32-bit CD-ROM), there’s something entrancing with this game. Darkness pervades the periphery in lieu of loadable assets, the narrative direction is barebones at-best, enemies either cower under repeated attacks or completely 1-shot you without nigh-a-notice, and the game runs through molasses for barometric pressure. Despite being relegated to obsolescence despite its own ingenuity, King’s Field supplants itself as an interesting tenure of gameplay design and philosophy: explore without any hand-holding in a semi-open world, then piece together the clues yourself. Miyazaki’s penchant for difficulty remains apparent here, though I’d argue some of the blockades you hit with enemy encounters spike all-too frequently. Coming back to this title now requires extreme patience to rouse yourself after an umpteenth death, convincing yourself you can kill random pixelated flower with just the right precision, then only to start back at an earlier point is punishing. There’s references (or some would argue, direct ties) to this game in Dark Souls, from the series’ iconic Moonlight Greatsword to Seathe the Scaleless, so in that sense, King’s Field is a fun – albeit trying – descent into the originations of greatness, though you’ll need a lot of imagination going back.
