Dark Souls (video game)

For the 2007 video game, see Bleach: Dark Souls.

Dark Souls
Cover art used outside of Japan
Developer(s)FromSoftware[b]
Publisher(s)Namco Bandai Games
  • JP: FromSoftware
Director(s)Hidetaka Miyazaki
Producer(s)
  • Hidetaka Miyazaki
  • Daisuke Uchiyama
  • Kei Hirono
Programmer(s)Jun Ito
Artist(s)Makoto Sato
Writer(s)Hidetaka Miyazaki
Composer(s)Motoi Sakuraba
SeriesDark Souls
Platform(s)
Release
September 22, 2011
  • PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
    • JP: September 22, 2011[a]
    • NA: October 4, 2011
    • AU: October 6, 2011
    • EU: October 7, 2011
    Windows
    • AU: August 23, 2012
    • NA: August 24, 2012
    • EU: August 24, 2012
    • JP: October 25, 2012
  • Remastered
  • PS4, Windows, Xbox One
    • JP: May 24, 2018
    • WW: May 25, 2018
    Nintendo Switch
    • WW: October 19, 2018
Genre(s)Action role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Dark Souls[c] is a 2011 action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware and published by Namco Bandai Games. A spiritual successor to FromSoftware's Demon's Souls, the game is the first in the Dark Souls series. The game takes place in the kingdom of Lordran, where players assume the role of a cursed undead character who begins a pilgrimage to discover the fate of their kind. A port for Windows featuring additional content, known as the Prepare to Die Edition, was released in August 2012. It was also released for consoles under the subtitle Artorias of the Abyss in October 2012.

Dark Souls has been cited as one of the greatest video games ever made. Critics praised the depth of its combat, intricate level design, and use of flavor text. However, they were divided on the game's difficulty for being unforgiving. The original Windows version of the game was less well-received, with criticism directed at several technical issues. By April 2013, the game had sold over two million copies worldwide. Its success led to the development of two sequels—Dark Souls II (2014) and Dark Souls III (2016)—while a remastered version was released in 2018.
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