The Dark Souls , Bloodborne (and more) __ fan art kickstarter was fully funded in just one hour. The Irish small press, Tune & Fairweather, partnered with the kickstarter to create the physical deluxe-edition, large-format art book, Soul Arts . Tune & Fairweather previously published the acclaimed Dark Souls book You Died , a companion book to the Dark Souls video game. The final product of Soul Arts contains 256 pages of full-color illustrations, a foreword, and detailed descriptions of the game concepts and art. Within the Soul Arts book, the passion, adoration, and innovation of FromSoftware fans is on full disp

One outlier hasn’t been fully explained, as her origin is still shrouded in mystery. Melina, the woman who acts as the player’s Finger Maiden and guide throughout the game, says that her purpose had been given to her by her mother inside the Erdtree. This is an apparent reference to Queen Marika, but further detail isn’t provided. Perhaps any future **Elden Ring ** DLC could clear up this myst

When used, the dung pies inflict the Toxic status on the enemy, but also on the player. This makes using them a dangerous double-edged sword. While it's tough, it is possible to beat the game while using the Dung Pies almost exclusively. This is one stinky weapon that cannot be taken seriously in and out of the ga

Miquella was cursed with eternal youth. Despite many attempts, Miquella could not reverse his or his sister’s curses. This led him to abandon the Golden Order and the Erdtree. As an alternative, he planted and grew the Haligtree, possibly Elden Ring’s true parasite , in which he embedded himself in an effort to finally grow into adulthood and eventually cure Malenia’s Scarlet Rot. This plan was cut short when his step-brother Mohg abducted him from the Haligtree shortly after the Shattering be

After Lord Rykard claimed his Elden Ring shard , he vowed to overthrow the Golden Order and oppose the Greater Will. This act awarded him the title of Lord of Blasphemy, but many still chose to join his cause. One of the Shattering’s most horrific battles was fought just outside his stronghold of Volcano Manor, and, like many battles in the war, no clear victor emerged. As a result, Rykard sought to augment his power in a despicable

Rykard fed himself to the Elder Serpent that lived inside the volcanic Mt. Gelmir. This allowed them to merge into one being, with Rykard’s face embedded in the giant snake’s body . This act set him on a downward spiral. He began calling on his best warriors so that he could devour them and also join in merging with the serpent. Many of his soldiers were troubled by Rykard’s growing dishonor and sought to use the Serpent-Hunter weapon to eliminate their former master, but all failed. The Tarnished must step in and defeat Rykard before he can devour the very g

Given the scales of each of these games' respective worlds, the checkpoint systems function differently. They're almost non-existent in Demon's Souls , so players will get sent as far back as the beginning of the level if they're not careful. It's an exciting challenge to an extent, as it emphasizes the tense atmosphere and encourages players to explore the environment to unlock hidden shortc

Afterward, in a move that confounded many in the Lands Between, Marika took Radagon, one of the Golden Order’s loyal soldiers, as her consort. The big story twist in Elden Ring helps to explain this decision: Marika and Radagon are the same person. The specifics of this are unclear, and its implications are far-reaching. This would seem to indicate that Radagon’s marriage to the Carian Queen Rennala is, by extension, Marika’s relationship as w

Ten years later, Dark Souls is still important as one of the most groundbreaking and influential video games in history. Soul Arts featured some of the best concept artworks focused on the unseen lands mentioned, but never visited within the lore and gameplay of Dark Souls . Artist Brent Lecluyse’s two conceptual artworks of the land of Carim, a land praying for the end of the Undead Curse, as undeath is treated quite harshly in the city. Throughout the gameplay of Dark Souls , one can encounter quite a few characters of Carim, yet never visit nor learn much more about the land for themselves. Brent Lecluyse’s imaginative rendering of what Carim could have been within Dark Souls is a powerful reminder of all the lore and secrets still kept within the three Dark Souls ga

The swan song of the King's Field franchise, King's Field IV —known as King's Field: The Ancient City in North America—takes place in Heladin, a kingdom cursed by an artifact known as The Idol of Sorrow. Players embark on a quest to rescue the kingdom by returning the idol to its original resting place, though that's, of course, much easier said than d

Earlier this year, Elden Ring tips Ring was released, which was the latest game by FromSoftware , a developer known for their Dark Souls series of action-adventure games. These games had a brutal difficulty and style all their own, which lead to the creation of the "Soulsborne" term to describe them. FromSoftware itself has made seven titles that can be classified this way, all known for being hard to compl