There’s a lot to love about Dark Souls, but for most fans, the most memorable parts will always be the boss battles. It’s even spawned an entire sub-genre of similar “Soulsborne” games. Whether it was the deep combat, obtuse storytelling, or the unforgiving difficulty, dozens of other games have taken inspiration from Dark Souls in one way or another over the last 10 years. After battling Knight Artorias, bosses in other games seem thin.It’s easy to call Dark Soulsthe most influential game of the 2010s. When you look at the game as a whole his story is just one thread in a huge tapestry, but it shows how Dark Souls breaks ground and elevates the idea of what a videogame enemy can mean to a player. It’s a testament to Dark Souls’ powerful storytelling that a couple of bosses can invite so much discussion even years after the game’s launch. There are deeper layers to the story that you only find discussed on the most obsessive Dark Souls lore messageboards, suggesting that Artorias was tricked by one of the enigmatic Primordial Serpents plotting to bring down Lord Gwynn. Every fight is part of a grand time loop that allows you to complete your fight against Lord Gwyn and choose whether or not to end the age of fire. In this moment you realise that your fate has been entwined with Artorias and Sif from the start of the game. “It seems that he was defeated, and his honor preserved, by some unsung hero, who is the true victor over the Abyss.” Cost of the questĪs the unsung hero, you manage to complete Artorias’ quest and preserve his legacy. “The Legend that Artorias repelled the Abyss only told half of the story,” says the description. When you defeat Artorias, you collect his soul. But, while the game can feel relentlessly grim at times, there is a glimmer of light in the darkness. The Artorias fight is tragic because you’re witnessing the corruption of a legend. The Sif fight is tragic because you are forced to punish the wolf’s eternal loyalty to their dead companion. Beneath the anger, frustration, fear and satisfaction of navigating combat, the fights with Artorias and Sif are deeply sad. In Dark Souls they are vital story beats that evoke powerful, layered emotions. In most games boss fights are a matter of pacing and challenge. The wolf sniffs, recognises you, bows in sorrow, and then howls at the moon when it realises it has to fight the warrior that once saved them. If you do this the introductory cutscene for Sif changes.
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If you play the expansion before you meet the huge Great Wolf version of Sif, you can find it as a pup in the Abyss, and free it from Artorias’ shield. You can speculate that Sif wasn’t just guarding the memory of Artorias, but trying to prevent future heroes from sharing his fate. When you loot the tombstone you find Artorias’ ring, which grants access to the Abyss. Sif defends its friend’s grave to the end. Rumours suggested that if you took Sif down to a sliver of health it would limp away and survive. The Sif fight is one of the saddest encounters in Dark Souls. You suspect that, without it, a blow could have ruined Artorias’ arm. He sacrificed his greatshield to protect his loyal companion the Great Wolf Sif. By piecing together discrete scraps of lore you know one of his last acts before being consumed by the abyss. Even his broken arm has story significance. Somehow FromSoftware’s animators are able to express Artorias’ torment, even as he’s destroying you with brutal overhead sword strikes. Then a bubbling surge of Abyssal energy consumes him and, with a scream, he throws himself back into the fight. Occasionally he stops and, for a moment, seems deeply, existentially exhausted. He lunges and swipes with sudden movements, leaving trails of black ooze behind him. Somehow FromSoftware’s animators are able to express Artorias’ torment, even as he’s destroying you with brutal overhead sword strikes.Įven weakened, with only one working arm, Artorias is a deadly fighter.
He’s a legend, credited with destroying the corruption that threatened to overcome the land, or so it seems. For Dark Souls players Artorias isn’t just another cool knight. His shattered left arm hangs limply at his side. He hunches over and balances his greatsword across his stooped shoulders. There’s a chance you’ve already seen Artorias in cover art or imagery surrounding Dark Souls.
Dark Souls bosses are a beautiful marriage of fiction and encounter design.
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