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Explore“What is bravery, without a dash of recklessness?” – Hawkeye Gough.
Ah, Dark Souls, it’s a household name for every gamer alive. It’s a franchise renowned for its difficulty, gameplay style, and minimalistic plot. What else is there to do on a rainy afternoon other than explore a massive open world, battle monsters, learn from your mistakes, and restore your humanity?
The game has an almost cult-like following mostly due to the fact that much of the plot of Dark Souls is open to interpretation. There are many clues dropped by developers in the form of cut scenes, non-playable characters, monsters, and environments about historic events that have taken place in the Dark Souls universe.
PHOTO: Gaming Symmetry
When Dark Souls first came out, it had a few mixed reviews, but what was undeniable was that the developers had managed to create a beautiful piece of philosophical art about the human existence.
One writer, Michael Thomsen, with Slate magazine summed it up pretty well:
“There is real beauty in Dark Souls. It reveals that life is more suffering than pleasure, more failure than success, and that even the momentary relief of achievement is wiped away by new levels of difficulty. It is also a testament to our persistence in the face of that suffering, and it offers the comfort of a community of other players all stuck in the same hellish quagmire. Those are good qualities. That is art.”
Dark Souls is famous for being frustrating. I know I wasn’t prepared for my first playthrough. I’m not exactly proud to admit that my very first death involved poorly-timed attacks, a misunderstanding of the controls, and the Dark Souls equivalent of a mudcrab or chicken. Oops?
PHOTO: VPDaily.com
But I think we all can agree that there’s something immensely satisfying about mastering the game, taking down the bosses, failing, and learning from your mistakes. Dark Souls, like any good video game, ultimately carries lessons that we can take with us into our daily lives, lessons like persistence, how to respond to failure, and the willingness to explore…even when that might not be the safest option.
Love Dark Souls? We do too. That’s why we’ve compiled all our favorite Dark Souls tees from around the web. So take a look, and if you know of a great Dark Souls tee that you don’t see here, please submit it so we can add it to our collection.
Keep calm and praise the sun!
