A New Phase Of all the surviving Old World nations, Carim has seen the most radical change. If Irithyll is the new Anor Londo, then Carim is the new Thorolund. With the sol land’s implicit collapse following Lloyd’s downfall, Carim is now the country of clergymen, and this is reflected in its face option. The […]
After defeating the last Lord of Cinder, we return to Lothric to discover the world experiencing a solar eclipse. Normally, this would be the result of the moon blocking the sun, casting the lunar body’s shadow upon the earth. However, the timing of its appearance and its later reaction to us subverting the First Flame […]
In one of his many excellent videos, illusory wall proposes a “design trick” that the developers at FromSoftware, or at least Game Director Hidetaka Miyazaki, employ for narrative and worldbuilding purposes, albeit rarely. While even he struggles to define it, the basic concept is that certain things, such as items, are actually something other than […]
Preface Rosaria being such a mysterious figure for most is perhaps for the best. The topic is, admittedly, difficult to stomach, even if it isn’t the first time that Dark Souls broached such subject matter. But get past a queasy gut and you are offered one of the series’ most provocative characters. Silent, repulsive, yet […]
Magic Kingdom The Lost Bastille is home to a number of prisoners, but none are more chatty than Straid, a sorcerer from the ruined nation of Olaphis. Although now a “forgotten prison”, (忘却の牢) this facility was once a castle, apparently the seat of government for this land. Based on Straid’s dialogue, this government was the […]
The first scholar of Lothric is mentioned in only one item description, but this one reference is all we need to confirm his identity. Soul Stream is a peculiar sorcery to acquire at the Grand Archives. That is because this “Soul Torrent” (ソウルの奔流) is the same name used for Soul Geyser from Dark Souls II. […]
Preface Despite my public criticism of Dark Souls II in total, I can still recognize that Aldia is one of the best characters introduced into the franchise as a whole. He may not have as creative an appearance or backstory as Seath in the original Dark Souls, (DS1) but he nonetheless stands out among the […]
While we are almost always introduced to the name of each area we enter, the official names for allies and enemies alike are commonly only listed in external sources like official guides or art books. However, characters and areas both typically have their own labels within the actual game files, and these internal names can […]
From the first moment they materialize out of the fog in the original Dark Souls (DS1) opening cinematic, the archtrees have become somewhat iconic. Giant trees towering over all else certainly leaves an impression, and there is a certain mystique to their portrayal across the franchise. But this doesn’t mean that they are anything less […]
The slaves kept by the Kingdom of Lothric are consistently said to be “trifling”, (卑小) a lowly bunch keeping their scrawny forms close to the ground below the notice of their masters; with how they comport themselves, you would be forgiven for thinking them smaller than they actually are, the size of the average man […]
