Snickersnack: They're not comparable. Dark Souls has a lot of backstory but very little in the way of cutscenes or dialogue.

coxdr: Interesting. Is this ways to find this story out in game or is it mostly out of game through wikis and such? Im just interested in how the game tells the story.

tinyE: My brother thought the Matrix Trilogy was just as good as the original Star Wars Trilogy. I say we get together and go kick their asses!

coxdr: So as the title states im a little surprised and confused by my brothers thinking currently. I will admit I have never beat dark souls or even got that far in it (the last thing I remember was fighting some kind of giant moth thing). I was wondering what all you people think. Am I alone in thinking my brother has no idea what he is talking about?

This conversation was brought upon by our debate of dark souls merit as a series. My brother believes dark souls may be one of the greatest video games in the modern era, having everything you can want in a good video game story, action, and difficulty.

I on the other hand find it boring in most regards (though like I said I haven't actually beat it) I even like difficult games (I beat StarCraft brood wars legitimately with a track pad). I just don't see the point to dark souls. It seems more based on cheap kills and frivolous time wasting.

I just curious what all the people of gog think about this as a whole. Which Side would you take in this debate on dark souls.

mystral: The Souls series does have a lot of backstory, mostly told through item descriptions and NPC dialogue, but it's deliberately set up so that you can completely ignore it.
It's also, unlike say the Mass Effect Codex, presented as hearsay and legends instead of facts, so that everyone who's interested can have their own theories about the setting. There's no canon on most of the lore.

Also, personally I have to say I like the combat and exploration in Dark Souls a lot more than the one in Mass Effect, but both series are great games imo.

coxdr: Interesting. Is this ways to find this story out in game or is it mostly out of game through wikis and such? Im just interested in how the game tells the story.

Snickersnack: The story is mainly told through item descriptions, environments, and to lesser extent npcs.


You are a visitor to a fallen land. What exactly happened, is left a mystery. The world is carefully designed and reinforcing, everything you encounter belongs there (not just randomly sprinkled cool stuff). Nothing is ever 100% clear, leaving you to come up with theories and fill in the blanks.

The major bosses and npcs all have links. Game mechanics like the save/ respawn points are integrated into the lore.

The game leaves you thinking about things like Lord Gwyn and his forsaken son, never totally explained. You find clues that color what you think you know about the world as you progress.


You could certainly ignore Dark Souls story/ lore and be left with a wonderful arcade game but I think that would be missing out on a good bit of fun. :)