FromSoftware's Souls Games - Starting Point based on Story

[Al3x1s_K0]

Looking all over the internet I cannot find the best starting point.

 

I have only played a bit of Demon's Souls and I really liked it. But I am not sure if it is the best one to start this experience.

 

So, I'm wondering which game has the most engaging story, cause that is something that keeps me in a game the most. 

[Jinkelz]

I guess there are multiple ways to go about it.

 

Demon Souls has a dedicated hub from which you teleport into every other region, this is unique to this game.

All other Dark Souls do have a connected world.

In terms of combat, all the games have significant changes, and playing them by age will be the best experience in terms of "control" in my opinion.

This is refering to how to attack/chargeattack/dual wield/or casting actually works.

 

As for the story, I do always wonder how much people are going to try to figure out the piece of information that are present within the games, this is something I didnt to at all but just enjoyed the looks, arts, bosses and exploration for the first run.

 

Sekiro would be out of the line and the one I consider most difficult simply because you cant totally overpower the enemy, also it is the one where the story is most presented by the game instead of by how the player is taking it in, making it the most interesting in this case.

[MrGorillator]

Bloodborne is a highlight for me in terms of story telling. Other Souls games have a story and lore spread during multiple centuries and putting all the pieces of information together requires big effort. On contrary, Bloodborne describes only a story taking place and time about one century and its easier to track and understand. And if you are lost, there is a totally awesome essay about entire story on Reddit.

 

But in terms of difficulty, go for Elden Ring if you are new to the genre.

[DrBloodmoney]

I think the best way to think about the narrative of From Souls games, is less like other narrative games, and more like "mythos".

 

In the same way that multiple cultures will have their own stories, but there are specific archetypes that permeate all of them - the same basic story, with the same core principles and elements, but told in a different way, with different characters and costumes and background etc.

 

Dark Souls games (and Demon's Souls, and even Bloodborne, to some extent) are a little like that. They aren't necessarily continuations of a multi-part story - it's more like they are retellings of the same core story, but with differing lore elements around it, coming from a different background - like each one is a telling the same core, elemental story, but as seen through the lens of a different culture with a different history.

 

Also, for what it's worth, Souls games are curious, because they are like 98% Lore and World-Building, and only 2% "narrative story".

 

It's perfectly possible to go through a whole Souls game - and enjoy it - without diving deep into the lore, because it isn't presented in narrative fashion - it's presented through discovery of places, item descriptions, artistic design, placement of items etc. The actual lore of the world is there to be interpreted, but isn't ever overtly "discussed" or made obvious in the beat-by-beat narrative.

 

With that in mind - I think a person can reasonably start at pretty much any of them...

...with the only exception being Dark Souls 3. 

 

Dark Souls 3 actually begins to explicitly reference the "same story, over and over" cycle as part of it's design (in neat ways) and so coming to that one first would harm it a little, as the ways it does that would be lost on someone coming in fresh...

...but in terms of Dark Souls, Demon's Souls, Dark Souls II and Bloodborne, I do think that any of them could be a perfectly valid jumping off point.

 

 

Edited February 22 by DrBloodmoney

[ZOLANTON]

Story-wise they are quite the same, but also very different in that the concept is you being a lone soldier starting off weakly and then moving on to become a powerful being in the lore. The story is not connected between games with the exception of the Dark Souls trilogy. There are bits that appear in almost every game (like Patches or the Moonlight Greatsword), but that's mostly an Easter Egg or Fromsoft reusing some of their favorite characters/weapons. The games with the best story in my opinion are in order:

 

1. Elden Ring
2. Dark Souls 3
3. Sekiro
4. Bloodborne
5. Dark Souls
6. Demon's Souls
7. Dark Souls 2

 

But if you are looking for an order to play the games, then I highly recommend this order:

 

1. Demon's Souls
2. Dark Souls + its DLC
3. Dark Souls 2 + its DLCs
4. Dark Souls 3 + its DLCs
5. Bloodborne + its DLC
6. Sekiro
7. Elden Ring

 

The reason is that you want to play the entire DS trilogy together because of the story. Move on to Bloodborne with its amazing Lovecraftian atmosphere and story, then to Sekiro where the combat changes quite a lot and you have an awesome story of revenge. Finish up with Elden Ring to get ready for the upcoming DLC, where the story is centered around the theme of ambition.

Edited February 22 by ZOLANTON

[ZombiJoel_Tlou3]

You dont play these games for the story