Why 'Dark Souls' Has One of the Most Immersive Worlds in Gaming

Open worlds are glorious things. They enable the player to explore an expansive landscape that stretches out as far as the eye can see. It's an empowering thought to think that the entire world is open to the player and that there are no loading screens or restrictions of any kind. Of course, series such as Grand Theft Auto, Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, Just Cause and Saints Row are almost synonymous with the term 'open world,' but there's one series that is somewhat brushed to the side when it comes to the open world genre. In acknowledgement to the upcoming remaster, this article is going to talk about the first Dark Souls and why Lordran (the world it's set in) aids in making it one of the most immersive experiences in gaming.

Dark Souls is synonymous with being "one of the hardest games ever," and while that's hard to argue with, this accolade has caused gamers to neglect its immersive world. Firstly, Dark Souls is dense as hell. There are little to no areas that seem empty. Almost every area features either a multitude of tough enemies or winding paths that can lead you to rewards or disaster. Each area is vastly different from the one that precedes it and the game transitions nicely from one to another. The remains of a dark and derelict town can transform into a hellish, flaming cavern in just a few minutes of walking. Or, choose another path and you can climb up out onto the side of a lush, green valley. Those descriptions don't really do the game justice but almost every area has something different to offer to the point of feeling like you are transcending worlds rather than a simple walk into a new area.

Dark Souls' level of design differs from its successors with the fact that Dark Souls II & III's worlds were designed like a giant tree, with one central hub area and a myriad of different paths that led the player to different areas until a dead end was reached. The first Dark Souls world is designed in a way that it is stacked vertically on itself. While Lordran isn't very wide as a whole, each area is either a climb into the upper classes or a descent into a forgotten world that once was. And the best part is that you can see almost any area you've been to or will go to just by looking into the distance; if you can see it, you can probably go to it. This gives a massive sense of achievement when you've spent hours traversing through several areas and bosses and then you look down to see that where you started is far below and you're standing on top of a tower that seemed like an impossible feat a few hours prior.

Another thing that adds to Dark Souls' immersion is with its checkpoint system. I'm sure that even the most casual of gamers who've heard of the series knows that the checkpoints are in the form of bonfires that the player lights along the way. You can rest at the bonfires, replenishing your health and healing items, you can also level up different your character's stats such as strength, endurance and vitality. While the bonfires are prevalent in every Dark Souls entry, the original game goes about them differently. The most obvious difference is the fast travel feature. In Dark Souls II & III, the player is free to fast travel to any bonfire that they've lit in the past, essentially making the game a treasure hunt for a bonfire before fast travelling back to the main hub area to level up. However, in the original Dark Souls, the fast travel feature is only unlocked about half way into the game. Up until the player unlocks it, it's a case of walking everywhere. While this sounds like it could be a tedious process (and in some cases it is), it forces the player to learn the world layout and gives them more incentive to explore, finding new routes and useful items along the way.

After bonfires, the most important things to search for are shortcuts. The shortcuts in Dark Souls are incredibly placed, making the world feel interconnected and tightly packed, offering a huge sense of accomplishment when you've been walking around, lost for hours, then to find a door that leads you back to a bonfire. It feels like a reward for getting through the area. The shortcuts are godsends when it comes to fighting bosses and can shave off a lot of time, turning an unbearable run to a boss into an easy slide through some intricately placed doors and ladders with minimal resistance. Granted, some of the shortcuts are very out of the way with some hiding behind illusory walls or tucked away behind barrels or other seemingly impassable objects.

The thing that makes Dark Souls a unique experience when compared to other open world titles isn't just its difficulty but the fact that it truly invites you to explore its dense world with atmosphere dripping from every area. The open world may not boast a landscape the size of a small country, but it is way more compact and full of personality than many of its contemporaries, making for one of the most immersive and fulfilling experiences in gaming.