We Love It's Guide to…
Explore Lordran's linked dark-fantasy ruins, mastering deliberate combat, adaptable RPG builds, and bonfire checkpoints.
Released 24 Aug 2012
Explore Interconnected Lordran
Learn Enemy Patterns
Rest as Foes Return
Dark Souls will be the most deeply challenging game you play this year. Can you live through a million deaths and earn your legacy?
Developed by FromSoftware, Inc. · Published by Bandai Namco Entertainment









You travel through Lordran, a dark fantasy world of ruins and dangerous creatures, facing hostile enemies and powerful bosses while uncovering a mysterious story.
Combat rewards careful timing and observation: attacks, blocks, dodges, and spells must suit the opening you see. Develop your character by choosing attributes, weapons, armor, and magic to shape a preferred fighting style.
Explore a vertically layered world whose areas connect through routes and shortcuts. Bonfires serve as checkpoints and restore health and magic, but resting brings defeated enemies back. This edition also adds a chapter set in Lordran's past, with new locations, foes, bosses, characters, weapons, and armor.
Players often praise the connected world and the surprise of discovering how its areas link together, alongside its dark atmosphere and distinctive environments. Many also enjoy the deliberate combat and the satisfaction of improving through repeated attempts. Some reviews, however, describe the PC version as technically rough and its controls or progression as frustrating.
| Platforms | Windows |
|---|---|
| Achievements | 41 |
| Age ratings |
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| Players | 1–4 |
| Play modes |
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| Other modes |
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| Multiplayer | The game supports asynchronous online interactions, online co-op summoning, and online PvP invasions. The provided text explicitly states PvP arena matchmaking for 1vs1, 2vs2, and 4-player battle royale, and says players can summon others to co-op adventure or invade for PvP. Reviews also describe messages, ghosts, and peer-to-peer world interactions. |
| Multiplayer & mods | Reviews state mods such as DSCM, Wulf's Dark Souls Connectivity Mod, PvP Watchdog, and DSFix were commonly used to improve matchmaking, connectivity, anti-cheat, and general online usability. Reviews also state official online support was unreliable or later unavailable, and some players used mods or alternative server workarounds to continue online play. |
| Controller support | Xbox |
| Controller required | No |
| Content notices |
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| Metacritic | 85/100 View on Metacritic |
| Website | Official website |
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