25 Things You DIDN'T Know About Dark Souls

25 Things You Didn’t Know About Dark Souls

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today, we’re taking a look at 25 things you may not have known about “Dark Souls”.

The Origins of Firelink Shrine

Across all three games, Firelink Shrine is one of the most morbidly beautiful locations you’ll ever come across in video games. You can just picture the life this place once had despite its decrepit appearance. And we actually almost got that version! During development, Firelink Shrine was thriving with pretty waterfalls, rivers, and ponds throughout. It wasn’t until the theme of fire became more significant in the story when FromSoftware decided to alter course. Firelink Shrine would instead become a dried up ruins, never to hold the essence of life again.

Spitting Images

For as fantastical as they may seem, some of the locations within “Dark Souls” look as if they could actually exist. And in fact, some of them do! Many of the landmarks across all three games are heavily based on real-world locations you can go visit right now. For example, Archdragon Peak is based on the Blue Mosque located in Istanbul. The cemetery within Firelink Shrine bears an eerily similar appearance to the Old Jewish Cemetery of Prague. As for Anor London, you can go to Milan to visit the Il Duomo Cathedral.

The Meaning of the Glow

We’re all familiar with the glow that signifies an item waiting to be picked up. But did you know that you can get an idea of what that item may be before you approach it? FromSoftware programmed certain items to have a more intense glow than others. A small one will usually indicate a somewhat common item, so they may not be worth risking your life over. Items with much larger glows indicate an important item, meaning an Estus flask might be within your reach. So, try not to get too greedy and start picking up every little thing you see.

The Scrapped Desert

As with most video games, not everything thought of during the development of a “Dark Souls” game has made it into the final build. “Dark Souls II”, in particular, had a whole other region planned at one point. In the book “Dark Souls II Design Works”, FromSoftware artist Daisuke Satake mentioned plans for an entire desert setting. In the end, the team felt that it looked too much like the deserts in Egypt and didn’t quite fit in with the fantasy world of “Dark Souls”. Stake further clarifies, “Of course, this also extended to the enemies - Queelag was a spider, and in a desert, well, you have scorpions.”

Even Fire Could Not Save the Totaku

One of the rarest pieces of “Dark Souls” merchandise came from a collectible figurine manufacturer that has since fallen out of prominence. When the company first launched in March 2018, it leaned heavily into popular PlayStation IPs as well as other video game franchises. Among these figures was a lone “Dark Souls” figurine modeled after King Artorias. The figure has rarely been seen since launch as it has likely been discontinued from Totaku’s lineup. Six months after Totaku’s launch, we got a second figure from a more notable brand; an amiibo based on Solaire of Astora, praising the sun.

Going Berserk

Most fans may know this, but have you heard that “Dark Souls” is heavily inspired by a certain manga/anime series? Yes, FromSoftware pulls a ton of inspiration from “Berserk”, a manga created by Kentaro Miura way back in 1989. And if you’re familiar with “Berserk”, many of the references are rather explicit. Weapons like the rapidfire crossbows and the greatswords are straight up ripped from the manga while characters like Dark Sun Gwyndolin and the Darkwraith Knight look like Griffith and Skull Knight respectively. Even the Wheel Skeletons are pulled directly from “Berserk”, and there are plenty more for you to spot on your own.

Freedom of Expression

Though many folks give Miyazaki a lot of credit for “Dark Souls” among the other games he’s directed, he may not be the complete visionary some see him as. That isn’t to call him a fraud or anything, but rather a real team leader. Across several interviews, Miyazaki has explained how development on a game like “Dark Souls” begins. In the book “Dark Souls Design Works”, Miyazaki explains that he gives his team a handful of keywords that he wants the game to reflect. The team then goes off to research, create concept art, etc. before they meet up again. After a series of tweaking and revisions, they get more detailed with what direction to take the game in before finally making assets and building the game. It really is a team effort.

The “Dark Souls” Game No One Talks About

Most players will shun “Dark Souls II” for being difficult to an obnoxious degree. However, there is one “Dark Souls” game few ever dare to mention. In 2016, just two months before the launch of “Dark Souls III”, Bandai Namco Entertainment developed and published an endless runner called “Slashy Souls”. It was super barebones in mechanics and didn’t fare well with critics and players. Even stranger was that GameStop had helped fund the project despite having no real monetary or promotional benefit to its development. Support for the game ceased after April 2016, and the game has long since been delisted.

The Birth of Maneater Mildred

Though we dread having to go through Blighttown every playthrough, there is one particular phantom that always makes our day. Maneater Mildred is one of the goofiest NPCs we’ve ever come across in “Dark Souls”, and her origins are just as goofy. During development, one staff member created a character that only wore a sack on her head and used a butcher knife for a weapon. The staff member made this character as a means to invade the worlds of playtesters, and the rest of the team found it so funny that they made Maneater Mildred a part of the game.

It’s Good to be King’s Field

Long before the creation of “Dark Souls”, FromSoftware had already delved into the world of medieval fantasy way back in 1994. Merely days after the PS1 launched in Japan, FromSoftware released “King’s Field”, a first-person action RPG that had players exploring five massive dungeons. Reviews were mixed as some critics found the game to be too hard while others sung praise for the combat and environments. This divisiveness meant nothing as the game began to pick up steam through word of mouth, thus making it a commercial success. “King’s Field” would get three more sequels and a couple of PSP spin-offs before FromSoftware moved on from it. The “Dark Souls” games reuse some ideas and even make some references to the series.

No Place Other Than the Battlefield

One FromSoftware series we’d never expect “Dark Souls” to acknowledge is the “Armored Core” series. Really, what does a game about mechs have anything in common with a dark fantasy game? Well, more than you might think. For starters, Patches, the man you meet in the Catacombs, made his first appearance in “Armored Core: For Answer”, and he’s just as cowardly there as he is in “Dark Souls”. Another explicit reference is the Moonlight Greatsword, which has appeared in not just “Armored Core”, but “King’s Field” and every single FromSoftware game to date. And trust us, there are more references hiding.

An Extensive Portfolio

Clare Corbett has frequently worked with FromSoftware across a number of their titles including “Demon’s Souls”, “Elden Ring”, and of course, “Dark Souls”. In addition to merchants and evangelists, Corbett is known to be the voice of Gwynevere and Crossbreed Priscilla. But since the original “Dark Souls”, Corbett has lent her voice to a number of other prominent video games such as “LEGO The Hobbit”, “LittleBIGPlanet 3”, “Xenoblade Chronicles 2”, “It Takes Two”, and even “Lies of P: Overture”. Needless to say, her portfolio is truly remarkable.

Ornstein & Smough 2: Electric Boogaloo

If you thought Ornstein and Smough were difficult, well, FromSoftware almost doubled down on the dual bosses idea for “Dark Souls II”. As we all know, The Duke’s Dear Freja boasts two heads, yet acts as only one unit. According to artist Kota Tonaki in “Dark Souls II Design Works”, the team had planned to have Freja split into two different enemies at some point during the fight. Another idea they had was including a weak point in Freja that would have caused her to split in two. As to why this was never implemented, no reason was given.

Beginning the Painted World

Rewinding back to the original “Dark Souls”, it’s a tad bizarre to find out that a late game world was actually among the first assets ever finished. Yes, when FromSoftware was just starting to build “Dark Souls”, the Painted World of Ariamas was the first region that the staff messed around in. But one problem arose as the game was nearing completion: it didn’t fit with the rest of the game. How could a beautiful and pristine place exist in a dark, dismal, and almost barren wasteland? Well, Miyazaki suggested hiding the world in a place separate from the main one such as…a painting.

A More Noble Conception

While we’re on the subject of the Painted World of Ariamis, one of the denizens in this fantasy realm was actually supposed to have a starring role in “Dark Souls”. Early in development, Crossbreed Priscilla was written to be the main heroine of the game. Though the details are scarce, Miyazaki himself kind of revealed this part of development in an interview conducted by Japanese radio show “Game no Shokutaku”. Said Miyazaki, “The reason Priscilla doesn't have a covenant, well there are many. The inside story is she was initially the heroine.” And that’s all we have as far as those plans go.

Literate Souls

By now, there are a handful of books that go over how the “Dark Souls” games are designed. But in the world of novels based on popular video game IPs, “Dark Souls” seems surprisingly scarce. Well, there are a few works of fiction that add onto the world. In 2014, there was the “Dark Souls II” comic that acts as a prequel to the game. Then, there was the four-issue comic series in 2016, “The Breath of Andolus”, that began right when “Dark Souls III” launched. After that, the other comics are merely short story collections. So if you’ve been looking for more excuses to let “Dark Souls” consume your life, there are plenty of comics to read.

Is This the Stage of History?

I know, the title is a “Soulcalibur” reference, but it was rather fitting for this part in the video. Earlier, we mentioned how “Dark Souls” features a bunch of locations based on real-world landmarks. But did you know that several pieces of armor are also based on knights and soldiers from ancient history? Indeed, much of the armor worn by enemies such as the Winged Knights and the Ruin Sentinels are heavily inspired by various regions of medieval history. Some of the armor sets were either owned or worn by historic rulers like Christian I of Saxony or King Henry VIII.

Imperfect Mimicry

Have you had a hard time discerning mimics from real treasure chests? Hey, they aren’t called mimics because of funny names. They can be a real pain, but there is a way to tell them apart from legitimate chests. Look at the chains at the side of the chest. Real chests will always have their chains pointed away from the direction they’re facing. Mimics will have chains pointed in the same direction they’re facing. Of course, you can always use undead hunter charms to safely loot a mimic without engaging in combat, too.

When Blood Led to Fire

Speaking of “Bloodborne”, some may find it odd that a studio would go from working on a global phenomenon like that back to a series that had somewhat recently burned die-hard fans. Really, why go from “Bloodborne” back to “Dark Souls”? Well, the reason for the return to Firelink shrine was more personal than some might assume. In a 2015 interview with GamesMaster magazine, Miyazaki explained that he found “Bloodborne’s” combat to be “limited”, elaborating with “while working on [it] I realised, I want to [create] something which has a wide range of battle styles, or features magic, or those things which allow players to wear awesome armour. Those elements are what actually made me come [back] to the Dark Souls franchise.”

Fighting to Praise the Sun

It’s no secret that the “Praise the Sun” emote has become an iconic part of “Dark Souls”, but there was a turning point where it was almost extinguished from the series. What many folks may forget is that the pose first originated in “Demon’s Souls”, though it was hidden through a more complicated method. Miyazaki wanted to use the pose again for “Dark Souls”, but was opposed by an executive who said the pose “wasn’t cool enough”. Not only did Miyazaki put the pose in the game anyways, he designed Solaire around the post and even took pictures for the artists to use as reference.

Sacred Swords & Sunny Souls

Speaking of noble Solaire, he hides a bit of a connection between “Dark Souls” and PlayStation through his voice actor. Unlike Clare Corbett, Daniel Flynn hasn’t appeared in too many video games. The majority of his portfolio is primarily FromSoftware games as he’s voiced Vileblood Hunter Alfred in “Bloodborne”, Blue Sentinel Targray in “Dark Souls II”, and of course, Solaire of Astora in “Dark Souls”. But before that, Flynn made his debut in video game voice acting with a little known PS3 exclusive titled “Heavenly Sword”. However, his role is merely labeled under “Additional Voices”, meaning he likely voiced an enemy or one of the random NPCs.

Ode to Leo

As if more historical references couldn’t be crammed into “Dark Souls”, one composer has been honored via one of “Dark Souls’s” most notorious bosses. Dragon Slayer Ornstein is a walking reference to Leo Ornstein, the 20th century pianist and musical composer. It’s not just in name, though - Ornstein drops an item named “Leo’s Ring”, thus further cementing the connection between the two. One could also make a symbolic connection between the two as composer Ornstein became known for more dissonant songs, something that could arguably match the mighty swings big boss Ornstein makes with his hammer. Composer Ornstein would live on until 2002, having lived until the age of 106.

The Problem With Preparing to Die

If you’re a hardcore PC gamer or just prefer to play “Dark Souls” on PC, you likely already know about the infamous port of “Dark Souls” from back in 2012. Dubbed “Prepare to Die Edition”, this port of the 2011 original game became one of the most hated PC ports in gaming history due to its technical instability. But what many forget is that a “Dark Souls” PC port was one of the most requested releases despite FromSoftware having no experience, no history in making games for PC let alone porting games to PC. So, this was a serious case of “be careful what you wish for.”

Sony’s Cursed Precursor

The reason why “Dark Souls” even exists is partially because of a massive screw-up from Sony Interactive Entertainment. In 2009, Sony published “Demon’s Souls” as a second-party title. While it was developed by FromSoftware, Sony would own the “Demon’s Souls” IP. But FromSoftware grew some resentment towards Sony from the way “Demon’s Souls” was treated. In a 2025 interview with Colin Moriarty, former SIE president Shuhei Yoshida told about how Sony wasn’t keen on “Demon’s Souls” due to negative feedback during playtesting and review scores. This caused Sony to walk back on their deal with FromSoftware to publish the game globally, instead opting to publish only in Japan. But when the game gained traction, Sony changed their tune and began banging on FromSoftware’s doors. Alas, the studio did not want to work with Sony again. “Dark Souls” would be the start of a close relationship with Bandai Namco Entertainment. FromSoftware wouldn’t work with Sony again until 2015’s “Bloodborne”.

The Legend of Queen Pik-Sen Lim

In June 2025, we lost a legend. That voice we’ve heard across all three “Dark Souls” games, narrating the opening to each installment and setting the mood for our adventures? That voice was none other than Pik-Sen Lim. Prior to “Dark Souls”, Lim was a renowned actress in British television, having performed in shows like “Mind Your Language”, “Spearhead”, and “Doctor Who”. But in the world of video games, the only games she ever did work for were the three main “Dark Souls” games. Lim passed away on June 9, 2025 at the age of 80, and her legacy will continue to live on in the world of ash, phantoms, and fire.

Was there a “Dark Souls” tidbit you didn’t know about? Let us know down in the comments, and don’t forget to subscribe to MojoPlays.