Dark Souls 1 is a masterpiece. I went into this expecting an outdated jankfest but instead got a well-crafted and sadistically challenging experience that tested me and my sanity in ways most modern Soulslikes haven’t—even those made by FromSoft.

My first few sessions all ended in rage quits, and I don't recall having said this many gamer words ever since I quit League of Legends almost a decade ago.

---

Dark Souls 1 has been referred to by many as “easy”—especially compared to something like Sekiro—with the implication that with difficulty comes quality. After having experienced this masterpiece, I can confidently say that this notion of Dark Souls 1 being easy comes from a fundamental misunderstanding of difficulty.

What is difficulty? What decides whether something is a challenge or a cakewalk? I’d suggest it to be the amount of effort and thinking a player has to put in to overcome the challenges set forth by the developers. Part of the draw of games with high difficulty is that, the greater the challenge faced, the greater the satisfaction received when we finally overcome it.

And when we talk about “difficulty” in Soulslikes, the conversation seems to be focused solely on how hard the bosses are. It’s always Malenia this, Malenia that, Waterfowl this, Waterfowl that.

However, a large part of the difficulty in Dark Souls 1 is focused on the maps themselves: the valleys, forests, caves, catacombs, and dungeons you’d have to work through to finally arrive at the boss at the end.

You are presented with numerous challenges that you can’t solve with a simple well-timed dodge roll—challenges that are less about trying to figure out how to dodge Waterfowl Dance and more about keeping your wits about you as you explore this vast and beautiful world.

The map design in Dark Souls 1 is a work of art. Unlike in more modern Soulslikes, the way forward isn’t always clear—you are forced to trawl through the unknown until you finally happen upon your destination.

You have classic ganks, ambushes behind corners, and archers shooting at you from seemingly unreachable places. However, accompanying them is a deluge of sadistic map design choices seemingly intended to engender a rage-filled, “ARE YOU ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ SERIOUS?!” every time you encounter one.

Later game areas also often feature certain cancerous mechanics that would probably have driven me insane had I not acclimated to and embraced the BS with a simple, “Oh, so we’re doing this now? Ahaha, okay, let’s go.”

What’s more, hidden paths flanked by perilous drops that would lead to secret areas in other games are, in fact, often the intended path in Dark Souls 1. As someone who always takes the time to clear the entire area of enemies before exploring every inch of the map, I adore this map design.

It is often unclear whether the path I’m taking would lead to yet another secret area or the boss, and this sense of uncertainty is so much more mysterious and fun than when the Site of Grace is literally pointing to the next one. It’s also really nice how the fog gates here don’t always lead to bosses, which makes the surprise when you finally find a boss even greater.

NPCs
Some NPCs give you major hints about how to proceed or how your actions would influence the world, which is really cool. I had to retrain myself to actually pay attention to NPCs again due to how often modern games’ NPCs just spew pointless nonsense.

However, certain NPCs should really, REALLY repeat their vitally important hints, because they are the ONLY indicators for how to proceed. If any hint was needed for this game, it would be to listen very carefully to what the first NPC you meet at the hub tells you. Write it down or screenshot it if you have to.

Rewards
What about your reward for finally overcoming these challenges? In other games, your reward for clearing some dumb puzzle is usually a useless ring the devs placed there for the sole sake of being a “reward”.

In Dark Souls 1, you get anything from the emotional release of finally clearing the area, to secret paths leading to Bonfires and NPCs, to even one where you’re able to (moderate early-game spoilers) kill some bastard who would otherwise shoot at you with magic for 80% of the entire boss arena. This is the most fun I’ve had with exploration in a very long time.

Now, this is not always perfect—I personally hate illusory walls because the ways to discover them are either a) unreasonably long periods of rolling into and hitting walls or b) using guides, both of which are extremely anti-fun. While this game hints at some of them, many are insanely hidden and often lead to extremely important NPCs and areas.

Do Not Use Guides
The last thing I will say about this topic is to never look up anything unless you’re absolutely, definitely, 100% stuck. And unless you want this game to become a boring cakewalk, do not look up an area or progression guide. A lot of the difficulty in this game is about exploring the unknown and figuring out how best to proceed. You can face that challenge head on—or you can Fextralife the fun out of the game.

You are ultimately free to do whatever you want, but I will tell you that using a guide for this masterpiece of a game is like flipping on a switch for Elden Ring that will summon a Mimic Tear +10 at the start of every major fight—a switch you can never turn off.

Embrace the unknown. Get lost, get mad, and git gud.

Compared to more modern Soulslikes, the difficulty in many boss fights comes less from the bosses’ movesets themselves and more from the arenas in which said fights take place.

I won’t spoil anything, but I will stress that instead of solely testing your reaction speed and the dexterity of your fingers to dodge through attacks, the test of skill here is often about forcing the player to figure out ways to mitigate the sadistic and annoying cancer present in many of the boss fights.

The collection of bosses in Dark Souls 1 is such a perfect blend of testing your brain along with your skill. While I definitely enjoy my Waterfowl Dancing amputees and old men armed with katana, spear, and Glock, this style of difficulty is so much more varied and enjoyable, even if the fights themselves are indeed easier from a skill-based perspective.

Runbacks
While the runbacks here are definitely longer than those in modern Soulslikes, I didn’t feel as annoyed for some reason.

Since the difficulty in modern Soulslikes is concentrated almost solely in the bosses, runbacks in those games feel like a nuisance. In contrast, since the difficulty in Dark Souls 1 seems more puzzle-focused, doing the runbacks quickly, safely, and efficiently felt like simply yet another puzzle to be solved.

Or maybe I’m just glazing because I still can’t believe how good this game is.

If you love Soulslikes, you owe it to yourself to try this game. Take a couple of hours to get used to the jank, turn off the Google Search, and give yourself over to the cancerous, sadistic masterpiece awaiting you.