The Impact Factor

YOU DIED: Ranking the Souls Games

Two-part Article, Day One

Abstract: The Souls video game series (Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, Dark Souls II and Bloodborne) has been a huge part of my gaming life for the past 6 years. I have spent a lot of time playing through each one of these fantastic games, and perhaps even more time thinking about what makes them so great. Souls games are innovative rather than iterative. In this special two-part article, I will rank the Souls games. What will the order be? Stay tuned.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love making ranked lists. I make them for everything. A couple months ago I worked to throw together a list of the top five Christmas movies of all time. A week or two ago, I assembled a list of my top five superhero movies. It’s fun to look at a whole category of things and arrange them in a way meaningful to me. With the recent release of Bloodborne I got to thinking about its place within the Souls series. Now that I have completed the game, and given myself around two weeks to stew in my thoughts about it, I decided it was time to write something. And here we are now, where here on The Impact Factor I am going to rank the four Souls games. But first, a brief introduction and a couple disclaimers.

I covered this briefly in my reivew of Bloodborne, but please let me reiterate here. I am a huge fan of the Souls series—I think it is the best, most innovative video game series in modern gaming. Perhaps of all time. Though I am ranking each title here, I want to be as clear as possible before I begin: each and every one of these games is fantastic. All of Souls games were met with outstanding critical reception, from hardcore fans to games writers. Demon’s Souls was my second favorite game of 2009, Dark Souls was my 2011 game of the year, Dark Souls 2 was my second favorite game of 2014, and Bloodborne is going to be in serious contention for 2015’s game of the year. I have played the hell out of the Souls games, too. For starters, I have beaten each one. All totaled, I probably have logged around 400 hours into the Souls series. I have the platinum trophy for every Souls game except for Demon’s Souls. (For non-PlayStation folks, that means I have beaten the game and completed every developer-designed achievement, such as obtain all spells / miracles, defeat optional bosses, fully upgrade a weapon, etc.). That’s right, even for Bloodborne.

Therefore, in this ranked list, I’ll be getting into the minutia of the individual Souls games. Little things, like healing item systems or small facets of the game world, will be the factors that separate the #1 Souls game from the #4. It’s not, “this game is bad and the game is great,” but more, “this system is less successful than its counterparts in the other Souls games.” And I feel pretty confident in going into the little details, given the time and commitment I have invested into the Souls series.

Now to the disclaimers. (1) I have not played through the three DLC packages that were released for Dark Souls II. Nor have I played the remastered edition of Dark Souls II that just released 4/7/15, subtitled Scholar of the First Sin, in which many elements of the original game were tweaked. To be fair, I have heard the environments and bosses contained within the DLC packages are some of the best in the Souls series, so the placement of Dark Souls II on my ranked list could change after going through this content. For financial and time reasons, I have not been able to complete the DLC prior to writing this piece. (2) Not everything that factors into my ranking is objective. I attempted to be as objective as possible when talking about systems like combat or exploration, but so much of the Souls series is subjective, like the world, characters, and lore. (3) I played through each of the Souls game a solo as possible. Very rarely, if ever, did I summon people to help me with bosses or get through difficult areas. I engaged in a limited amount of PVP in Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls and Dark Souls II, but not enough that it factors into my rankings. (4) There will probably be minor boss / area spoilers.

Rigmarole now done, onto the list!

#4: Dark Souls II

Dark Souls II was exactly the game everyone wanted it to be when it originally released in March 2014—more Dark Souls. From Software partnered with Bandai Namco to release the first direct sequel in the Souls series. Because it was a direct sequel, Dark Souls II is in many ways, the same great game its predecessor was. The same great game each of the Souls games is. Dark Souls II contains the core Souls experience: punishing combat against terrifying foes, a world with a rich history and lore all but lost to time, and a satisfying gameplay loops that lets the player weigh tremendous risks with exhilarating rewards. The three-year span between Dark Souls II and its predecessor gave the developers time to really think about the systems and mechanics of Dark Souls. Not content to rest on their laurels, the team behind Dark Souls II took some pretty substantial risks and introduced a lot of new ideas into the Souls series. In this way, Dark Souls II forges its own identity and is certainly a worthy inclusion into the pantheon of Souls games. Let’s talk about what is different in Dark Souls II.

First, what works. Dark Souls II’s setting is phenomenal. The approach the developers took was surprising. In Dark Souls you explored Lordran, a kingdom in which the light of the old gods was fading as darkness took hold. Every corner of Lordran, from the NPCS to the areas to the items, contained hints of the long and distant history of the land, keeping the player intrigued with its mysteries. Dark Souls II takes that same idea, but applies it on top of the existing Dark Souls lore. To state it more clearly, the events and characters of Dark Souls are the long forgotten history in Dark Souls II. You can see the echoes of the first game in the second, separated by hundreds or thousands of years. Items hint at the world you once explored. A certain boss acts as a remnant of a time long past. And this all feels so great. To see the effects your actions had while playing Dark Souls so distantly into the future of Lordran was a special treat, and one that had me hooked. More so than any of the other Souls games, I was scouring the far corners of Dark Souls II to see how the world of Lordran had transformed, and hints at connections between the two. In this way, Dark Souls II probably has the more accessible lore and story of any of the Souls games. Granted, this comes at the cost of having played Dark Souls first. Still, I was a nice change to have a real sense of inclusion within the world. I was never confused why I was doing what I was doing, but was still left in the dark about so much that it was fun to try to assemble the puzzle of Dark Souls II’s world.

Dark Souls II did an excellent job of refining the Souls combat system. The game still plays very similarly to Dark Souls, but from a combat perspective, everything just felt a little better. Weapon collision and distance was perfect. As a series first, dual-wielding weapons was viable and gave the player a totally unique attack set. Magic was better balanced, while still powerful, it was nowhere near as effective as either Dark Souls or Demon’s Souls. On that topic, the moment-to-moment balance in Dark Souls II was nearly perfect. Nothing felt cheap or like it gave you free victories. The same kind of exploits players had been using to cheese through areas and bosses are less present here, which is something I really appreciated. Dark Souls II gave players so many different viable combat options, too. Every kind of weapon could be used effectively, whereas previous titles had pretty clear “best” weapons and shields to use as you moved through the game. The addition of new a new spell type (Hexes) and damage scaling (mundane) further allowed players to create specifically tailored builds that suited their playstyle. Dark Souls II allowed players to have the most character specialization of any game. The depth, number, and intricacy of the weapon, magic, and stat systems were superb and unmatched within the Souls games.

Dual-wielding was viable, powerful and fun. Dark Souls II improved upon
an already solid combat foundation.

Dark Souls II also brought a wealth of new ideas to the mix. Many of these ideas were successful. One thing the developers must have noticed is that players would find an easy area to ‘farm souls’. This let players grind as much as they want, and level up as much as they want (to an extent), without making any forward progress. To counter this, the developers stopped enemies from respawning after a certain number of kills. This kept the player moving forward, and was a nice little touch. Dark Souls II also introduced the Bonfire Ascetic system, in which players could use the item at a bonfire to permanently increase the difficulty of that area. This allowed players to increase the challenge as they saw fit, respawn enemies to gain more Souls (but not for free, since now they were far tougher), and bring back bosses players wanted to fight again. The Bonfire Ascetics were another way Dark Souls II gave players flexibility in how they play, and I appreciated it. Another idea that I really enjoyed, and would like to see make a return, is the drastic changes that take place in NG+ mode. After you beat the game, you are placed in NG+: you keep all of your items and level, but start from the beginning of the game. In other Souls titles, the NG+ only changes the world slightly. Bosses and enemies have more health, a couple new items can be found or bought, etc. But NG+ makes Dark Souls II an entirely different game. Enemy positions and numbers are changed. Some boss fights play radically differently. This change was fantastic, and certainly reinvigorated the game enough to warrant a second playthrough.

Not everything was so successful in Dark Souls II, however. I have several minor issues with the game, and two chief complaints. Let’s go into the core issues. First, and chief among the issues, is the healing item system present in Dark Souls II. Back from Dark Souls is the Estus Flask system, but it has been changed. Not only do you have less total chugs from the flask (aka times you can heal), but instead of a fast all-at-once heal, the flask is a slow gradually increasing heal. To fill the place of fast heals are Lifegems, consumable items the player can discover or buy. The Lifegems have instantaneous healing and the amount of health recovered depends on the size / rarity of the gem. The existence of the Lifegems posed a lot of problems. The slow healing from the Estus Flask made it unusable during combat, placing the heavy burden solely upon Lifegems. The gems were extremely effective, though, so much so I used them almost exclusively. As a consumable item Lifegems would run out, and when they did, you had to farm for more. This created tedium: by either killing enemies for their drops, or collecting souls to buy them, you had to slow down your playthrough to pick up more. Lifegems didn’t add anything of value to Dark Souls II, only more grinding.

That's a whole lot of Lifegems you got there. Probably too many.

The second core issue was the bosses. The Souls series is famous for its outstanding bosses—Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls are filled with excellent ones. Dark Souls II does have some standout bosses but when looked at as a whole the bosses are underwhelming. Several of the bosses you face are just bigger versions of normal enemies. Not cool. Dark Soul II boss patterns are probably the most predictable of any Souls game. You could watch a boss for 30 seconds and have a pretty good grasp as to its attack repertoire. In other Souls games, bosses will bring out different moves depending on how low their health is. While there is some of this in Dark Souls II, there certainly is not enough of it. There also is not enough diversity of boss styles in Dark Souls II. There are far too many “dude with a sword” boss fights. The rest of my issues with the boss fights is a little more intangible. Overall the bosses were just more forgettable than other entries of the series. As bosses are usually a clear highlight of the game, Dark Souls II let me down.

The straightforward bosses and quick Lifegems combine to make Dark Souls II the easiest game in the Souls series. (DISCLAIMER: Everything I’ve read says that the Scholar of the First Sin version is Dark Souls II hard mode, but I cannot personally comment on this) The powerful combat options, plentiful souls, and relatively easy bosses make Dark Souls II less imposing than any of its peers. Stocking up on Lifegems can make whole areas a cakewalk, as you’ll have more than enough healing to play fast and loose. More predictable attack patterns mean bosses can be defeated in less attempts. It is still Dark Souls, so the game isn’t easy by conventional standards, but it is (was) certainly easier to power through than the other Souls during its initial release.

This boss might look cool, but his fight was easy and straightforward. And you fought him twice.

Dark Souls II also doesn’t take the same creative leap that Dark Souls did from Demon’s Souls, or Bloodborne does from Dark Souls.  To be fair, though, Dark Souls II is the only direct sequel so I would not expect it to be a vast departure from its predecessor. Still, a little more could have gone a long way. The rest of my complaints are super minor. I wish ragdoll physics had made it into the game. Long dialogue made it frustrating to visit the shop and level-up NPCs. The final boss was anticlimactic. I think Dark Souls II has the weakest soundtrack. Like I said, minor things, but all slightly detracted from the final experience.

Again, Dark Souls II is an excellent game, but major annoyances with the Lifegems and boss design put it in last place on this list.

#3 Demon’s Souls

Demon’s Souls is the game that started it all. In so many ways Demon’s Souls broke new ground. It established a foundation upon which one of the best games series’ of all time would be built upon. Demon’s Souls is perhaps one of the most forward thinking games I have ever played. Its brilliant incorporation of online elements into a single player role playing game was unprecedented. Your single player experience was alive with the echoes of others with its thoroughly nonintrusive and seamlessly integrated online features. From the bloodstains that showed you the deaths of other players, to notes scribbled throughout the world by online friend and foe alike, to the smart co-operative and competitive matchmaking—there was really nothing like it. Demon’s Souls also acknowledged what was so compelling about old school gaming and incorporated them in meaningful ways. Miyazaki and the team behind Demon’s Souls realized that the punishing difficulty of NES era games, like Castlevania or Ninja Gaiden, was missing from modern games. Games had gotten accustomed to holding the player’s hand, guiding them every step of the way. Developers were afraid to alienate players by making a game that was too hard or that withheld its secrets from the player. That is certainly not the case for Demon’s Souls. Demon’s Souls offered an unforgiving, but fair, challenge to players set within a mysterious world that begged the player to dig deep into its hidden secrets. Demon’s Souls was a perfect ‘watercooler’ game—as players rushed to forums and wikis to discuss the hidden items, areas, and story elements as they played through the game. Demon’s Souls let the players figure things out for themselves, and build upon each other’s experiences with the game. I could go on and on about the game generally, but let me get into some of the specific things that make Demon’s Souls so great.

Demon’s Souls is a beautiful, terrifying game exploding with creativity. The game is set within the derelict kingdom of Boletaria, isolated from the world by an impenetrable fog, and beset with a demon scourge following the brash actions of a desperate king. Demon’s Souls presents this dark fantasy setting perfectly. The game is a perfect mix of medieval imagery and horrifying demons. In many ways, Demon’s Souls is one of the best horror games I have ever played. The world is so dark and imposing that you are in constant fear of what you might face next. Coupled with the brutal combat that is now characteristic of the Souls series, the player feels a vulnerability that I have only ever felt in some of the greatest survival horror games like Resident Evil or Dead Space. Boletaria is diverse and interesting, as the five separate areas are distinct and memorable. Up until Bloodborne, Demon’s Souls was the only game in the Souls series that captured that sense of horror. As a fan of horror generally, I really appreciated the finesse and subtlety Demon’s Souls demonstrated in creating its monsters and areas.

Demon's Souls let the player explore the beautiful and terrifying world of Boletaria.

Demon’s Souls is a challenging game. If you play through the game without resorting to any cheap strategies or combat exploits (I get to this in a second), Demon’s Souls is probably the most difficult game in the Souls series. For the majority of your playthrough, your character will be at half health. If you die for any reason in Demon’s Souls you lose your human body and become a specter, the penalty for which is halving the player’s total health. You can regain your humanity by consuming items, but they are rare and expensive. Also, it’s often too risking to be human when exploring new areas or facing tough bosses, because any death for any reason will halve your health pool. With such low health, any one attack can kill you, so the player has to be on his or his toes at all times, even more so than in any other Souls game. The game let’s you know it isn’t going to be a joke right from the get go. Although it is technically possible to beat the game’s first boss, you’re designed to lose that fight. Nothing like getting ground into a fine paste from the get go to create realistic player expectations. Demon’s Souls, like all the Souls games after it, uses death as a lesson. Death teaches the player to not make mistakes, how to be better. It’s not a punishment. Progressing through Demon’s Souls feels great, not because the game is getting easier or your character is getting that much stronger, because you are getting better. It’s a feeling that is so rare, but so exceptional.

Be prepared to die. A lot. Every death is a lesson.

Fighting enemies isn’t perfect in Demon’s Souls, however, and the game had some serious balance issues. For starters, magic is completely overpowered in Demon’s Souls. Magic attacks, with minimal stat investment, do insane damage. Bosses can be killed in just a couple of hits. Unlike later games in the series that limit the number of times you can cast a spell, Demon’s Souls uses a magic bar (similar to your health and stamina bars) that can be refilled with consumable items. That meant that, if you had the right setup, you could perform as many magic attacks as you wanted. Enemies and bosses alike would melt before you, allowing for a much easier time through the game. I don’t think it is bad to use magic in Demon’s Souls, you need to take advantage of everything in your arsenal to get through this tough game, but it’s power level certainly seems unintentional. The other major issue with the combat is the various exploits that are possible. Cheap tactics can be used to defeat a number of bosses in Demon’s Souls. For example, for one boss if you stay sufficiently far away you can (very) slowly kill him with arrows without provoking a single attack. For two others, you can hide behind a nook in a wall or within a large skeletonized ribcage to be immune to most of the respective bosses’ attacks. Again, I don’t think less of anyone using these tactics (I sure did!) but they can cheapen the excellent combat design. For the most part, every Souls game after Demon’s Souls removed these kinds of exploits. And, with all that said, the bosses in Demon’s Souls are terrific. They are challenging, diverse, terrifying, and perfectly thematic. The bosses all play very differently from one another and test unique player skillsets. Plus, they all look and sound so formidable and intimidating. Nothing feels quite so great as to take down a challenging Souls boss, and Demon’s Souls gives the player a number of these triumphant endorphin rushes.

Magic was way too powerful. Even the starting spell, Soul Arrow, dealt massive damage.
You would be silly not to use it. 

Demon’s Souls is the Souls game that takes the most design risks. If any game in the Souls series is going to alienate a player, it will be this one. But I love it; I love that Miyazaki and team tried so many different innovative elements. Demon’s Souls invented the Souls style of world building. Expository cutscenes are kept to a bare minimum, allowing the world, the creatures, and the items to tell you the story of what transpired. It works so well and really keeps the player engaged. Demon’s Souls loved to teach the player through actions, not words. For instance, several NPCs are hostile, but many won’t reveal their true intentions until they have already taken something precious from you. You get such a rush playing that guessing game—who is friend, who is foe, and what everything means. Demon’s Souls took so many risks with their online features too, some of which I already touched on. A single player game that simultaneously is connected online? I had never played anything like it. These aren’t minor elements, either. One boss you face on your way towards completing the game is not a boss at all, but rather, a force that summons another player to fight you. That’s right: one of the bosses you need to beat to complete Demon’s Souls is another player. That kind of innovation still blows my mind, as there never has been anything quite like it. Some ideas are less successful in their execution, like the confusing world tendency system, but I appreciate Miyazaki and team working so hard to have so many intricacies in the game.

As seems to be a trend now with this ranking list, the healing items are an issue in Demon’s Souls as well. To heal, the player consumes Moon Grass items that, similar to the Lifegems in Dark Souls II, can be collected from fallen enemies or purchased with souls. Moon Grass was certainly plentiful in Demon’s Souls, but you could still run out of them. Again, this required backtracking and grinding to get more Moon Grass before you could proceed with the game. It is not terrible, but added unnecessary repetition to a game that already demands a high tolerance for repeating parts of the game. Similar to the situation in Dark Souls II, you could also accumulate a massive stockpile of the Moon Grass item, which helped the player to get through long stretches of enemies. The Moon Grass healing system is perfectly functional, but not ideal especially compared with the healing systems in the next two games on this list.

Demon’s Souls, few faults aside, is a thoroughly cohesive, expertly designed game. I give it so much credit because it invented the foundation upon which every Souls game to following would use and build upon. When it first came out, Demon’s Souls had no peers—nothing to compare it to. It was bigger, bolder, and more innovative than nearly any game I had ever played. I love that Miyazaki took so many risks and fit so many bold ideas into Demon’s Souls, and shocked at how successfully everything was accomplished. Demon’s Souls is a masterpiece.

Oh, one last thing. I couldn’t find anywhere else to fit this in, but Demon’s Souls probably has my favorite soundtrack in the Souls series. Every song is creepy and memorable, and I still hum the title theme to myself from time to time.

I played Demon's Souls five years ago, and I still can't get this tune out of my head.

Stay tuned tomorrow to see which Souls game claimed the top spot! Will it be Bloodborne or Dark Souls?