Do you understand the story of Dark Souls?

[Deleted member 17402]

I certainly don't. After finishing Dark Souls 2 and now almost 3, as well as watching an hour long video on YouTube that covers the story, I still have only a vague understanding of what the hell is going on.

My rudimentary understanding is that the world was born from darkness as a result of fire and that the fire is always on the verge of extinguishing. Aside from that, I'm lost. There are so many players involved in charge of their own shit who are somehow responsible in their own way for the impending darkness that I have no idea who's who.

Either this is very cryptic to follow or I am an idiot who can't grasp much of anything when it comes to this.

Besides that, Dark Souls 3 plays great! lol

 

[JazzmanZ]

The story is just about some guy killing some has beens as far as I know

 

[collige]

Dark Souls 2 has a plot that is only vaguely related to 1/3 at best and 3 takes place a very long time after 1. I would recommend reading on the plot of 1 first.

 

[Escalario]

Just watch this

 

[Cybersai]

Dark Souls has a story? All I see is some cryptic story messages and some people who sell/make you things, otherwise I just play through the game killing monsters.

 

[Kromeo]

Not at all, all I remember from the first game is something about linking the fire, and even then I have no clue what that was all about

 

[Onebadlion]

I wouldn't even bother trying to make sense of anything after Dark Souls.

 

[Kinsei]

Yeah. The basic story of a world on the brink of destruction just barely being kept alive by the first flame is pretty simple to follow. Now all the backstory lore/ Not really, but that's because I don't really bother reading item descriptions.

 

[Hollywood Duo]

The story was never important. It's a sidequest for the hardcore players to figure out.

 

[Neoleo2143]

The Story as relevant to the player character is always rather simple in Souls. It's the story of the world that's weird really.

 

[Deleted member 17402]

The story was never important. It's a sidequest for the hardcore players to figure out.

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I've seen a lot of discussion from hardcore players across some forums where they think the story iseasy to grasp and that it should be simple to follow...

 

[Deleted member 30077]

My rudimentary understanding is that the world was born from darkness as a result of fire and that the fire is always on the verge of extinguishing. Aside from that, I'm lost. There are so many players involved in charge of their own shit who are somehow responsible in their own way for the impending darkness that I have no idea who's who.

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Did you not see the opening video of Dark Souls 1? Did you even play DS1? Your OP makes it seem you didn't. If you didn't play DS1 then figuring out 2 & 3 is pretty much impossible.

I've seen a lot of discussion from hardcore players across some forums where they think the story iseasy to grasp and that it should be simple to follow...

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The story in the first Dark Souls is easy to follow and grasp. The story in the sequels however is not.

 

[FrostyLemon]

Basically Gwyn killed the ancient dragons so that his time of light could begin and he would rule the land. After years of prosperity his time was also up and the world needed to fade into dark (for humankind to take over). Afraid of this he sacrificed part of his soul to keep the fire burning and in doing so cursed humanity and stopped the prophecy. The fire will always fade eventually, but there will always be a new hero to rekindle it as everyone is mostly afraid of what 'the dark', actually is.

 

[impact]

Some guy (that I created) is like the chosen one, but actually he's not.

I have no clue tbh. Story rarely ever can elevate a game for me. I just like exploring dank areas and fighting stuff.

 

[Charlouie Jonesman]

Demon's Souls had the only story that, while vague, was easy enough to understand and characters had clear motiations and personalities. From Dark Souls on things got too esoteric and cryptic. Not that the story matters very much, but that's how it is.

 

[ViewtifulJux]

No, and they are my favorite games in the past decade. I just don't care. The art design and gameplay carry it for me.

 

[Wagram]

I understand pieces vaguely. Kinda cool with that.

 

[Deleted member 17402]

Did you not see the opening video of Dark Souls 1? Did you even play DS1? Your OP makes it seem you didn't. If you didn't play DS1 then figuring out 2 & 3 is pretty much impossible.



The story in the first Dark Souls is easy to follow and grasp. The story in the sequels however is not.

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Nope, never played the first. The video I saw on YouTube covered a lot of it but even then it still wasn't a good enough foundation for me to understand what happens in the later games, what with the different space-time and dimensions, so it seems.

 

[ArmsofSleep]

I'm not as big of a story/lore guy when it comes to Dark Souls, but I do really enjoy it. The series does reward paying attention and reading between the lines a lot, which is really nice to have after you've pretty much experienced every build and all the secrets of the games.

 

[BadWolf]

The vast majority don't unless they watch lore vids on youtube, which themselves are often filled with speculation.

 

[Deleted member 14002]

From the stuff in game, generally. There was a thing, shit went bad, trying to fix it.

For specifics lore channels.

 

[Deleted member 4552]

There's The Story and then there's "The Story"

The Story is told through architecture, geography, geometry, the visual language of Lordran, the enemies and the items you equip and wear.
It is of Atmosphere, ever present and seeps into you via Osmosis.

"The Story" however is told through the NPC's breadcrumb trails, the Item Descriptions and their uses.

Each contextualizes the other, but most will see on small elements of "the Story" while feeling the general story non verbally, inherently.

 

[Deleted member 17402]

There's The Story and then there's "The Story"

The Story is told through architecture, geography, geometry, the visual language of Lordran, the enemies and the items you equip and wear.
It is of Atmosphere, ever present and seeps into you via Osmosis.

"The Story" however is told through the NPC's breadcrumb trails, the Item Descriptions and their uses.

Each contextualizes the other, but most will see on small elements of "the Story" while feeling the general story non verbally, inherently.

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Okay so you understand the story.

 

[cakely]

I think so, yes. All the details aren't filled in but the story of the curse, the chosen undead, and the choice to rekindle the flame or let it die are easy enough to follow. It's a terrific story.

 

[Deleted member 679]

Yes, it's one of my favorite aspects in the series.

Ignore Dark Souls 2 and 3, to be honest. If you understand the story of the first game, you're good. Everything else will make a lot more sense after that.

Trying to understand Dark Souls 2 and 3 without playing 1 when they rehash so much and rely so heavily on past characters is a fool's errand. To be honest, even knowing 1 very well, they're not really that important. 3 adds quite a bit to the world, but it's still overall something you can ignore. They're not that great at making sequels.

Dark Souls' story is actually pretty simple, but it's sort of hard to figure out due to its nature. It's a conspiracy kind of story, and you being kept from the truth is a major part of it, so you really have to put in some detective work and question even the things you've learned to reach the truth. It's fantastic.

Bloodborne is a lot more complicated, but in turn it's much more straightforward to follow. The difficulty lies in making sense of the things you learn.

 

[SweetBellic]

Not really... all the stuff about Great Lords of Cinder and linking the flames and whatnot always struck me as deliberately cryptic MacGuffins to give the player only a vague sense of purpose/urgency as they go around exploring and slaying monsters. That said, I appreciate the minimalism and mystery of this particular IP, and like to treat the world as though it's some medieval knight's fever dream.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

Gwyn won't let the fire die out so the world dies, but the world moves in cycles and the fire needs to burn out so the world can be born anew. Frampt and the other one (big googly snake things) don't want/want the world to end respectively. I think that's just about the bare bones of it...

 

[ghibli99]

The more granular lore, no, but the overarching story of the first DkS is something that will stay with me for a long time. Thinking about how it ends, what it represents, and how it ties throughout still gives me goosebumps.

 

[cervanky]

Nope, never played the first. The video I saw on YouTube covered a lot of it but even then it still wasn't a good enough foundation for me to understand what happens in the later games, what with the different space-time and dimensions, so it seems.

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Playing 60 hours of the first game would let the story and the world sink in better than a YouTube video. Short infodumps are hard to take in but hours of immersion leads to better retention and understanding.

 

[Casual]

Nope.

I don't try to though, and have never bothered even trying to pay attention to it.

 

[Deleted member 679]

Playing 60 hours of the first game would let the story and the world sink in better than a YouTube video. Short infodumps are hard to take in but hours of immersion leads to better retention and understanding.

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Honestly, I'd even say that's little. It's easy to take for granted all of the knowledge we have now, knowing so many NPC dialogues and item descriptions by heart, but looking back, there were some things in all games that took me at least 2 playthroughs to even notice.

 

[Ralemont]

No, I very much dislike the method of indirect storytelling the series employs, and don't find the lore I do discover interesting enough to delve into it from that angle. This goes for Bloodborne, too.

 

[Knight in Shining Armani]

No. Never thought or cared about it.

 

[Zoid]

Okay so you understand the story.

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You just have to know where to look

Spoiler

Google

 

[Aokiji]

"Somebody didn't die when they were supposed to & now everyone is cursed, pls help." The Game.

 

[Red Liquorice]

OP - play the first game! Not for the story, but just play it! :p

 

[Deleted member 17402]

"Somebody didn't die when they were supposed to & now everyone is cursed, pls help." The Game.

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I actually think the alternate timelines hinted at in Dark Souls 3 is extremely interesting, but the concept of alternate timelines can really be confusing itself, so when coupled with Dark Souls, it just cranks up the incoherence to 11.

OP - play the first game! Not for the story, but just play it! :p

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I wish it was out for PS4. I have a 980 card but I don't like to play on my PC. lol

 

[Steel]

Dark souls 1 was pretty straightforward. The age of dark is how the world started, a world ruled by dragons. Bunch of badasses take down dragons with super powers they got from their respective flames. They basically become gods, but as their fires die out undead start popping up, and the gods themselves go mad. In order to continue the age of fire(even as everything is falling apart) Gwyn locks himself in the Kiln to maintain what's left of the fire as he goes mad and makes it so that only someone who gets the souls of the original fire holders, someone with a particularly powerful soul, can get to him. Since he's gone mad he attacks the person who just so happened to make it to Gwyn, the "chosen" undead, on sight and you kill him, then relight the fire. Or don't and someone else will come along and do it instead in another reality while you have a jolly old time bringing in an age of dark with the dark wraiths.

Between the serpents in Dark Souls 1 you pretty much have the entire story spelled out.

2 and 3's story was just "... And the cycle continues." Though 3 kinda hints at the cycle ending.

 

[Jawmuncher]

Nope. Don't care to either. Story of tortured soul fighting bad guys to make some good in the world works for me.

 

[Elshoelace]

Gwyn doesn't want the fire to fade and the era of darkness to begin. He links the fire with his soul to prolong the era of flame, you kill all the lords and get their Souls to either link or let the fire fade. Lots of cool lore and other things you can delve deeper into.

Bloodborne follows similar story telling but is a Lovecraftian story, which the overall story is somewhat straightforward, but lots of story bits you really need to read item descriptions and piece things together.

Now I want to replay BB, thanks.

 

[Bhonar]

not really lol

although I will say when I played through DS3, it was pretty interesting to talk to the chars and the conversations

 

[Panther2103]

It's convoluted but it's interesting. I don't really fully understand it but I also haven't ever been able to finish one of the games yet so that could really benefit my understanding if I do that at some point.

 

[Slythe]

Demon's Souls had the only story that, while vague, was easy enough to understand and characters had clear motiations and personalities. From Dark Souls on things got too esoteric and cryptic. Not that the story matters very much, but that's how it is.

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This is my take as well.

 

[Aokiji]

I actually think the alternate timelines hinted at in Dark Souls 3 is extremely interesting, but the concept of alternate timelines can really be confusing itself, so when coupled with Dark Souls, it just cranks up the incoherence to 11.


I wish it was out for PS4. I have a 980 card but I don't like to play on my PC. lol

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I recently beat DS3 myself & the options that each ending gives you certainly makes it seem like there are different instances of this turmoil that world is in.

Also, totally hoping for that DS1 remake/remaster rumor. Cause I also wish to play it & actually finish it.

 

[Onebadlion]

The story of the first game is pretty simple and the intro cinematic explains what you are there for pretty clearly. The second game completely muddled things, and the third game had no chance of making sense of the mess left by number two, so is a bit of a mess too.

 

[Z-Beat]

Dark Souls' summary is keep this big bonfire going. That's about it.


Bloodborne's is lovecraft aliens showed up and did weird shit

 

[Defuser]

Dark Souls 1 story is very detailed, rich and makes sense. Dark Souls 2 story is a self contained, semi unrelated to DS1, involves cycles of fire and darkness . DS3 story follows up on DS1 but got confusing along the way.

 

[Steel]

Dark Souls' summary is keep this big bonfire going. That's about it.


Bloodborne's is lovecraft aliens showed up and did weird shit

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That's actually pretty accurate.

 

[playXray]

To be honest, even when I read/watch stuff that explains the overall story, it's still pretty much garbage. However, the real pull for me is in the characters and their individual backgrounds and arcs - they're fascinating, and a bit part of what I love about the Souls games.

 

[Deleted member 17402]

If the world was first darkness, why are they so afraid to return to it?