Why do we love Souls games?

You’re walking through a dimly lit dungeon. In the distance chains softly sway into each other, and wails creep through the air. You explore a few empty, decrepit cells and begin to walk through the doorway. As you turn the corner a Jailer bumps into you, farts out a noxious gas that quickly depletes your health bar, and begins to slam you to the ground with his hot brand, repeatedly driving you into the ground with it. You die. This process happens a few times until you finally best your foe once and for all just to turn another corner and have the same thing happen to you all over again. Welcome to Dark Souls.

With Nioh just releasing and a line of other up and coming Souls like games on the horizon I feel its an appropriate time to dissect what makes, the relatively new genre, so damn appealing. The Dark Souls games have been some of the most brutal, unforgiving, and frustrating gaming experiences I have ever had. Countless times have I screamed at my TV, thrown my controller into the couch (you can’t throw them at the wall, those things are expensive man), and stood in front of my mirror telling myself to “Get Gud”. At the same time I have also experienced some of the most rewarding, gratifying, and incredible gameplay ever.

That’s what this new genre is though. It’s a collection of infuriating and rewarding moments all at the same time. Too often will video games hold your hand through 80% of the game, fearing that if it gets too difficult it will turn its fan base away. The Souls franchise has taken the opposite approach. It throws you into a world with no tutorial, punishing enemies, and gives you no idea as to what is going on story wise then says, “Figure it out”. It’s a formula that respects gamers. It tells them, “Hey, we have this game with a beautiful world, deep story and fun combat, BUT we aren’t going to tell you how to get through it. That’s on you.”

Demon Souls and Dark Souls sparked a new wave of video game development. Other studios saw there was something there that could be capitalized on and they ran with it. From CI Games and Deck 13’s Lords of the Fallen to Ska Studios brutal 2D, side scrolling Souls adaptation, Salt and Sanctuary, other companies have emulated the formula and had massive success with it. Team Ninja’s Nioh is the newest addition to the genre, which at points, has been said to “make Dark Souls look like Candy Crush.” So why do these games hold such a special place in our hearts?

For starters, the deep gameplay and strategy involved is fantastic. Running in and mashing buttons will almost certainly get you killed. Instead, you have to analyze your opponent, find the patterns in his move set and strike at the right times, then dodge roll out of there before he can land a hit. Bosses are ruthless and punishing, but if you die its most likely because of a mistake YOU made. Never have I died in a boss fight and blamed the game, because I knew I got too greedy or cocky. These games are fair and expect you will learn to take your time. Get Gud or get out bro.

Exploration is usually the only way to understand what is going on in the game. Sure there are the occasional cut scenes, normally leading into a boss fight, but usually the only way to learn what is happening around your character is to explore. These games generally do a great job of story telling through atmosphere. Just taking a minute to look at your surroundings will give you an idea of what has happened. The environments aren’t just thrown together; everything is placed with a purpose, to help tell a story. Aside from that, EVERY item holds a little piece of lore to give you an even more in depth look into the chaotic world you’ve been thrown into. These games generally leave the player to draw their own conclusions rather than saying “this is what happened.”

Player freedom doesn’t end there though. Being able to play your own way is another huge draw to these games. For example, I prefer Dexterity Builds. Being able to run in and get some fast attacks in, while possibly causing some bleed damage as well is very appealing to me. The character build system runs deep with these games. Leveling up and putting that one, hard earned ability point into a focus of your choice is nerve racking at times. Sometimes you spend minutes just staring at the screen weighing your options. Do you add it to dex to scale your dual katanas or do you put it into endurance so you can get another attack in? Crap, maybe you should put it into vigor so you can have more health going into this next boss fight. No, actually, throw that point into luck so you can get more bleed damage… Although you did just get that new piece of armor, if you put that point into vitality you’ll be able to carry enough so you can equip it. You get the idea, but again, this ability to choose leads to almost endless ways to play.

These factors culminate into an insanely high replay value, which is hard to find in games lately. With these games you’ll most likely want to try a new build, which leads to starting a new game. While going through that second play through you discover a new area that leads to new loot. This new item gives you a better chance of beating that enemy you had such a hard time with during your first play through, AND it gives you more insight into the story. This beautiful domino effect makes these games feel like a new game more than once and make you want to go back to learn more and get better.

Whether its finally slaying that boss you died ten times to already, finding new weapons or armor that you might have missed before, or discovering new places and lore you never even knew were there. The Souls series and the multiple “Souls-like” games that have come after, or have yet to come out, have proved that there is in fact a huge market for these games. As long as developers continue to deliver punishing, rewarding games like these, gamers will continue to buy them. Ready to be killed over and over again, only to get back up and say, “Please sir, may I have another?!”