Finding Fun #10: Dark Souls
Welcome to Finding Fun #10, where I breakdown how various elements of a game's design make it fun. This time around I'm dissecting Dark Souls, a game renowned for its difficulty and which has spawned an entirely new game genre due to its amazing design and execution.
Core Gameplay Loop in Dark Souls
Dark Souls is built around a challenging loop of exploration, combat, and death within the decaying kingdom of Lordran. The core cycle involves:
- Exploring dangerous, interconnected environments filled with traps and ambushes.
- Engaging in methodical, resource-limited combat against formidable enemies and bosses.
- Finding checkpoints (bonfires) to replenish health/healing items, which also respawns most enemies.
- Dying and losing collected currency/XP (souls), then attempting to retrieve them from the location of death.
What's Fun in Dark Souls?
Immediate Fun in Dark Souls
Creating Your Character Never Gets Old
Even if the starting stats ultimately mean little in the grand scheme, the character creation process is a great way to get exposed to the types of builds you might want to strive for. It also makes it clear that the game isn't going to teach you everything with how little detail you get for things like the stats and the gifts.
It's All You
The tutorial area culminates in a boss fight that's likely to kill new players. This establishes that the game stacks the odds against you and it's also ultimately your fault. While certainly not impossible, success requires significant effort, learning, and perseverance from the player. It sets the tone swiftly: challenge is central and if that isn't fun to you then it probably isn't the game for you.
Dropped into the Middle of the World
Being literally dropped into Firelink Shrine with little direction (Should I try make my way through this cave with respawning skeletons?) immediately sets up a crucial relationship: the game demands player curiosity and courage. You must actively probe the world, test boundaries, take risks, and learn from mistakes to find the way forward.
Long-Term Fun in Dark Souls
VICTORY ACHIEVED
Seeing that iconic notification after finally beating a challenging boss, whether it's the Bell Gargoyles early on or Ornstein and Smough later, is pure elation along with the sound cue. Each boss is a spectacle and a puzzle, expecting you to learn their patterns and devise a strategy. The struggle makes the eventual triumph intensely rewarding.
All Roads Lead Back to Firelink
"Wait, that elevator brought me back to the start?!" Moments like these are core to Dark Souls' long-term appeal. The intricate, vertically layered world design, full of shortcuts and connections, creates a profound sense of familiarity as you explore over the hours. Unlocking a path back to a familiar area after a long, arduous journey is a massive relief and it reinforces your growing relationship with Lordran.
Each Build Makes the Approach to Combat Unique
Uchigatana again, or maybe the Abyss Greatsword this time? Deciding whether to invest in Strength, Dexterity, Faith, Intelligence, or a hybrid build unlocks entirely different arsenals and requires new approaches to combat. The number of weapons and spells offers significant replayability. The inability to easily respec stats also encourages creating multiple characters to fully explore and feel committed to different playstyles.
Unexpected Fun in Dark Souls
Memorable NPCs
It's hard to forget characters like the eternally optimistic Solaire of Astora or the treacherous Patches. These unique NPCs, sprinkled sparsely throughout the world, provide welcome bursts of personality and intrigue in an otherwise bleak and oppressive environment. Their "quests" and dialogue add layers to the lore and make the world feel less empty.
A Living, Asynchronous, Community
"Try jumping." "Try rolling." The Orange Guidance Soapstone is a clever, unobtrusive way to foster a sense of community. Deciphering cryptic messages, laughing at obvious lies ("Illusory wall ahead"), or wondering how someone placed a message in that spot creates a unique shared experience. It's a constant and subtle reminder that you're not alone in this struggle.
PvP is Pure Chaos
Invading another player's world as a Red Phantom or defending your own against one offers a completely different rush than fighting AI enemies. The unpredictability of human opponents leads to tense duels and emergent gameplay. PvP provides higher highs, and even the lower lows—getting utterly stomped in ridiculous ways by a pure pyromancy build—often end up being memorably funny.
Not So Fun in Dark Souls
Underwhelming Bows
If a game offers you a bow, it should feel good to use and be at least somewhat competitive to other weapon choices. This probably irks me more than most players when games don't do this. In Dark Souls, bows are mostly useful for pulling enemies one by one. Making them a truly viable main combat choice requires significant investment and feels less effective than melee or magic alternatives, though the Greatbows can lead to some amusing physics-based kills.
Clunky Co-op
Getting your friend's summoning signs to appear correctly and consistently is a frustrating experience. While password systems somewhat ease this, the implementation feels half-baked and is not a joy to navigate.
Uneven Quality
Blighttown's layout and pacing, the unique 1-shot platforming design of the Bed of Chaos boss fight, the annoyance of certain enemies like the rats... not all areas, enemies, and bosses are created equal. While personal taste varies, these elements feel less polished and inherently less fun than the high standards set by the rest of the game. I know I've read that Miyazaki loves swamp levels, but I'd wager that many people think they're more frustrating than fun.
Stress > Relief > Growth > Progress in Dark Souls
How does Dark Souls balance these fundamental pillars?
Stress:Constant vigilance is required. Every corner could hide an ambush, every enemy can be deadly, and the threat of losing souls upon death creates persistent tension.
Relief:Killing a tough enemy, successfully retrieving lost souls, discovering and lighting a new bonfire, opening a shortcut, or finally defeating a boss provides crucial moments of respite and accomplishment.
Growth:Understanding enemy attack patterns, mastering parrying/dodging, learning level layouts, and successfully navigating areas represents significant player skill growth. Leveling up stats and upgrading equipment provides more direct in-game power increases.
Progress:Defeating major bosses (like ringing the Bells of Awakening or acquiring the Lordvessel) opens new areas and advances the minimal plot, marking clear milestones. Finally being able to equip the item you want that requires more stats also signifies your long-term progress.
Lessons Indie Game Developers can learn from Dark Souls
Dark Souls offers many lessons in game design that even smaller teams can learn from:
Commit to Your Niche: Dark Souls succeeded by unapologetically catering to players seeking a challenge. You don't have to be everything to everyone, but if you aim for a specific audience or experience, fully commit to it. Authenticity in serving a niche can build a dedicated following.
Skill as a Core Pillar: While character stats and gear matter, player skill is paramount in Dark Souls (proven by level 1 runs). Balancing your game around skill allows players to find their own appropriate difficulty level through practice, rather than relying solely on grinding or stats.
Make Every Encounter Meaningful: Every enemy and environmental hazard in Dark Souls poses a genuine threat. This design encourages players to stay fully engaged, making moment-to-moment gameplay consistently tense and rewarding. Avoid filler encounters that disrespect players' time.
Credits
A big thank you to Shirrako on YouTube for their playthrough, from which all images in this post were obtained.
I also want to share appreciation for the YouTube channel Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games. His insights as a game director inspired this Finding Fun series, encouraging a deeper look into the thoughtful craft behind some of the best games I've played. Hopefully you've also gotten value out of these analyses in helping you learn how to design more fun games.