Abyssal Archive: The Mythology of Dark Souls

by Lokey

In celebration of the 10th anniversary year of Dark Souls, Tune & Fairweather is pleased to announce Abyssal Archive.

Though not an official licensed FromSoftware product, Abyssal Archive features the most comprehensive fan analysis of Dark Souls' mythos ever undertaken. Presented in the most lavish collector's edition we have assembled to date. We set out to pay tribute to Miyazaki's legendary game by crafting something that embodies the same care and attention to detail that makes Dark Souls itself such a peerless work of art.

Includes a fold-out companion map of Lordran by artist Judson Cowan. Bound individually and housed alongside the books, this map rounds out the set, making Abyssal Archive the definitive reference for fans of Miyazaki's gothic masterpiece.

Genres: Fantasy, Audiobook, Fiction, Video Games, Games, Art, Game Design

455 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2023

Reviews

[Nunya · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a glorified Dark Souls wiki lore entry, it's incredibly engaging and well written.
While I've put my own mind toward deciphering the story of Dark Souls, I've never put so much thought into the politics and nature of the world. I particularly enjoyed the chapters focusing on the royal family and the slow dissolution of the society that ruled Lordran, as well as Lokey's understanding of disparity and the causality that rules Miyazaki's world. It might be all speculative, I'm sure I don't agree with every single one of Lokey's theories, but the fun of Dark Souls for me is not about being right, but piecing together the story you wish to see.
In this Lokey has done a tremendous job, and I will continue to enjoy his views of the Souls world as long as he continues to have them.

[mikey · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5


The Silmarillion for Dark Souls. A beautiful and personal examination of the lore and translations for the first of the Dark Souls trilogy, really good stuff.

[Robbie Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A deep dark dive into my favorite game, and for what it is, it is perfect.

Aside from the text itself, I adore the aesthetic. As advertised this thing is gorgeous, I think the main reason I was drawn to it is because of its appearance, and it looks just as good in real life.

This book, which goes so heavily into the lore of a video game which is so deliberately opaque can get quite challenging at times, but the beautiful imagery throughout feels like a moment's rest, much like a bonfire. At its absolute best, it can make the book feel like you are reading something from Lordran. Admittedly later into the book as the chapters shorten, this is less true.

I didn't realize what I was missing before when playing the games. I know I love the challenge, music, world, visuals etc. of the games, but I never really understood the lore. Boy I have missed a lot.
This book breaks down everything, from the owners of the 4 Lord souls to even the most irrelevant characters.

Unlike some reviews, I really like the speculation of the author for some parts. Their reasoning is well argued and paints a more complete picture of their obviously very well researched worldview, some parts are subjective but I appreciate the perspective.

The first 2 thirds of this book paints a vivid and rich picture of how the world works. There is no way I could arrive at anything close to the conclusions made in this book on my own and the written format feels like such an appropriate way to get that understanding. I adored the sections about Seath and Izalith in particular, but I just loved putting all the pieces together as I read forward.

The last 100 or so pages feel as though they are only there for completeness, but even though most of the lore mentioned in these last pages are pretty skin deep, it is still worth having them there.

In conclusion, if you want a love letter to the souls series which serves as more than just a memento, I think this is the exact right choice.

[Thomas Wheeldon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this. Despite knowing a lot, and already having plenty of theories and assumptions about the game's lore, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself shocked at some of the potential links and embarrassed to admit there were some connections I'd never made.

Now I want to dive back into Dark Souls and play it again!

[Eli · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, a caveat: my rating does not at all reflect the production work of Tune & Fairweather. T&F did a great job with this book (with the possible exception of being more thorough with editing the text for usage and clarity), and, considered purely as a physical object, the book is very appealing.

With that said, my major problem with this text is that its author fails to consistently separate fact, speculation, and personal opinion, as other reviewers have also noticed. This, in turn, somewhat damages the credibility of the entire project. Just speaking for myself, I noticed places where Lokey's text was inconsistent with either itself, the real world, or both - and if there were places where I noticed those inconsistencies, then there must also have been places where there were inconsistencies that I didn't notice. How, then, can I trust that this text does the one thing that it's supposed to do, namely, to piece the lore together in a reliable way?

Let me give an example. On page 53 of my version, Lokey writes: "Since souls are homogeneous concentrations of magic, the medials could assign a value to any soul, using the Lord Souls as a barometer. Souls are plentiful, but limited; one can't simply generate more souls to completely destabilize their value. This makes for an ideal currency."

To start with, I have no idea why there would need to be a "barometer" (or, perhaps more accurately, a benchmark) for denominating currency in DS. If the people in DS want to compare soul density (or whatever), they don't need to have a single, unchanging reference value. Just like I can notice that 100 is a better score in bowling than 50 is even if I have no idea that the highest possible score is 300 - and just like a $1 bill is not five times as large as a $5 bill - there are lots of ways to build stable systems of comparison without having to rely on a "barometer." That's simply not how assigning value to things works in real life, and I have no earthly idea why the currency in DS would need to work that way, either.

Nor do currencies have to be materially (or even conceptually) "homogeneous" in order to function as currencies. People and other animals have been used as currency at various points throughout human history, but there's certainly no way to pretend that all members of the same species (let alone different species!) are homogeneous in this way. Indeed, there isn't even a truly objective means by which to measure the worth of one animal against another. (Comparing a goat to a chicken is nothing at all like comparing 1 ounce of gold to 2 ounces of gold.) This objective type of homogeneity happens to exist in DS (...we guess), but so what? It's simply not true to say that homogeneity is what allows people to "assign a value" to currency.

Furthermore, it's both anachronistic and false to bring up the idea that "limited" resources prevent people from "destabilizing" a currency's value. The commodity-vs.-fiat-currency debate is largely an artifact of the 20th century, which is a point in history that's centuries beyond anything we see in DS. There is, therefore, absolutely no way that the people in DS were thinking about issues of money issuance and currency destabilization when they transitioned to a soul-based economy. For the purposes of this book, that whole line of thought is just a total non-sequitur.

Moreover, that line of thought is also, once again, factually wrong. Commodity currencies (like ones based in a gold or silver standard) can *and have historically* been victim to major runs of inflation, often because the supply of the commodity in question is not actually as limited as people thought. And if you look at the value of bitcoin over time, you'll see quite clearly that a "currency" can fluctuate wildly in value even if it really is based in a static, finite amount of its base commodity.

Indeed, we can't even really be sure that it *is* impossible to "generate more souls to destabilize their value," because Lokey says the exact opposite thing several pages earlier. Specifically, they say that sexual reproduction in DS "create[s] an entirely new soul" (36). If this is true, it would be incredibly easy to make your own printing press for souls. All you'd have to do is breed animals in large numbers. Even in DS1, lizards, rats, spiders, and other non-anthropomorphic animals grant souls when they're killed. So, if reproduction really does result in new souls, it would be incredibly easy to set up a system where you just endlessly breed and slaughter, say, rats in order to get rich off of their souls. This is not a new or complex idea. It's just farming.

I won't keep piling on, but please believe me when I say that I could say more. (In particular, price stability is not remotely the only criterion that makes for an "ideal currency." Souls make for a suboptimal currency in a lot of pretty serious ways.) Instead, I want to reiterate why all of this is a problem for me.

In discussing souls as a currency, Lokey manages to invent a weird piece of nonsense about how comparisons work, contradict themselves, lie about the history and nature of money, and, in a very Walter Sobchack-esque kind of way, inject a sweaty modern-day political debate into a story that has nothing whatsoever to do with the debate in question. And this is just in the space of three sentences! Just imagine, then, how much might be wrong with the rest of this book!

This is not to say that lore theorists can't bring their own ideas or opinions into the process. To the contrary, I would have been much happier if Lokey had openly disclosed their own biases, consistently labeled their opinions as opinions, and explicitly differentiated between documented fact, simple logical deduction, and loose speculation, as many other theorists do. I think it's fascinating when people bring their own point of view to these conversations - but not, sadly, when they misrepresent their point of view as an objective, unquestionable fact.

So, look, I think this book is still probably pretty useful. For linguistic reasons alone, Lokey's understanding of the DS lore surely deserves to be heard and recognized. But readers need to be very careful what they take away from this text. It would be mildly unfortunate if people came to this book looking to learn about DS and ended up believing something about the game that wasn't true. But it would be a real tragedy if they came to this book for DS lore and ended up believing utter garbled nonsense about the actual, real world.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

To say that the world of Dark Souls is huge would be a colossal understatement. The amount of depth and lore attributed to this franchise feels almost infinite at times. Like with all FromSoftware titles however, there’s a price to pay to understand the scope of this world and its narrative. The stories behind these games are never told in conventional manner. A key portion of the game’s lore is often hidden beneath item descriptions and ambient dialogue and it’s never presented to the player the clearest format. It’s always been the expectation that to understand the world of Dark Souls, you must be prepared to interpret it and form your own conclusions and that does invite different perspectives depending on who you ask. Lokey is considered one of the Dark Souls community’s most well-regarded lore scholars, with years of self-proclaimed research and examinations published online. I figured it was time to dive deep into the Dark Souls world once again by reading Lokey’s 450-page dissection of the game titled Abyssal Archive.

Lokey starts the book out by specifically disclaiming how despite being well-versed in the world, a lot of the content behind the book is theory-based but utilizes a lot of key references and citations to back it up. Lokey then follows by discussing the very origins of the world of Dark Souls with the forming of the First Flame and the finding of the four great Lord Souls. Lokey then explores the foundation of Lord Gwyn’s empire and the sacking of the ancient dragons. Soon after he dissects the rise of the Undead Curse and its impact over the race of humanity. As he strolls through the key stages preceding the narrative of the main game and during it, Lokey focuses heavily on character and organization analysis as well. Each key section is also accompanied with beautiful illustrations they help realize key characters throughout the course of the world.

I don’t doubt Lokey is a smart and intelligent fan of this series if Abyssal Archive is anything to go by. His structuring and sectioning of the timeline behind Dark Souls is competently set out to allow the reader to learn about the game’s world through its chronological stages. I also grasp there’s a clear complexity to this world that makes transcribing it difficult even for the most knowledgeable of people. All of that being considered though, I genuinely feel Lokey goes way too far in trying to dissect the lore to a meticulous level. Every page feels like a slow, agonizing crawl as you try to obtain key information about the story while Lokey injects so much needless padding and wording in what I feel is an attempt to indulge his own ego. This book reads less like a fair, comprehensive understanding of the lore for the reader and more so an opportunity for Lokey to show the reader how smart he thinks he is. Don’t get me wrong that’s not to say the book lacks any credible breakdowns and explanations as I did find certain chapters and sections fairly comprehendible for the most part. For every competent example though, I feel there’s an equal number of pages littered with constant and arguably boring analysis that does very little to help me engage with this world.

While the engagement behind the book is inconsistent, I can’t take anything away from the general quality of the product. The mixture of written sections with detailed illustrations helps the reader visualize key elements when and where necessary. I just wish Lokey would have taken into consideration that other people would be reading this book other than him. His in-depth approach to the lore comes off as incredibly self-indulgent and the pacing of the book is excruciatingly slow for a majority of it’s page count. I know it seems like I have more negatives to tout on this book than positives but it just frustrates me how the book aspires to accomplish so much but ultimately does so little. It applies the subtextual format from the game that it derives yet it doesn’t make any effort to translate that complexity for the average reader. If you can deal with Lokey’s clear adoration for his own intelligence, you will be able to obtain some key and useful insight from this book, it’s just a shame it’s made so difficult to do so.

[Guy Pasquill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t impress upon you how much I enjoyed reading this book. The following comments will totally be aimed at avid dark souls enthusiasts and as expected this book probably isn’t for you if you aren’t fascinated by the souls series.

This book starts from the beginning, and the first 100 pages will prove to you that Lokey has clearly spent more hours just thinking about this game than is probably healthy. I’ve never seen a lore video about any game spend multiple hours of text talking about the very existence of the world before the game has come to be. Explaining the narrative of a world of fog and rock, there’s even heavy influences of Buddhism in the beginning chapters scripture. Every detail has been parsed with a fine tooth comb, cross examined with all the other evidence and even then only presented as opinion. Despite this, like I’ve entered lowest rung of a cult I have no qualms about believing every single word of this book as it undertakes the monumental in trying to explain the lore of the dark souls universe and mythology. This book starts from the beginning, it traverses through time, despite time being so terribly convoluted in Lordran, and finishes at the end. Then it delves into every side quest, every character, documenting their journeys and making connections I couldn’t dream of; and supplying us with plenty of evidence.

The magical thing this book did was tell the dark souls story as a book. I could sit here and tell you about how after reading this book I now understand the entire family machinations of the half breed in the painted world of Ariamis, but I’d just be detailing facts to you. Lokey paints pictures with his words, conjuring the degradation of Lordran and Anor Londo with every pen stroke. I was deeply impressed by the prose, the storytelling and the obvious passion that went into the creation of this book, and it’s important to note that I am much better off having experienced it.

I even decided to replay dark souls alongside reading the book, and it really let me hone in on role playing a specific story I thought of in my head, and the experience I had with this play through trumped any other dark souls experience I’ve had. Lokey brought the world to life in this book, and it definitely let me play hands on in the universe, making connections I’d never thought possible, enacting revenge and giving real purpose to the actions my character took.

I deeply loved my experience of this book, and I could not recommend it enough.

[Andy Mangham · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is some great and some not-so-great about this book. What's great is that this is - as advertised - an extremely comprehensive analysis of Dark Souls lore. What I espeically like is that Lokey translates a lot from the game's native Japanese, picking up on a lot of stuff lost in translation.

The critique I have for the book comes from Lokey's scientific process, which sometimes requires rather generous leaps of logic and unsubstantiated assumptions. I find that these assumptions are hidden in Lokey's writing style, which is unnecessarily flowery and full of metaphors and generalizations, which comes off as hand-wavey and undermines their credibility. I certainly will not dispute that Lokey knows Dark Souls lore better than I ever will, but I just don't quite believe the history they present is as iron-clad as they claim it to be.

All in all I think this is a great project and I've walked away with my understanding of Dark Souls greatly expanded, though I would've preferred Lokey to be a little more conservative with their analysis and make more of an effort to reference the source material.

[Rebeca F. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and enjoyed so much reading it, I'm really heartbroken I finished it already. It was such a nice dive through the Dark Souls universe, which is always a fascinating experience filled with nostalgia and amazement.
It's pretty extensive, two volumes that follow the game's mythology, with chapters dedicated to every area and society (even those not really present in the game such as Astora or Carim), characters, groups, etc.
It's well written and nicely in depth, and it looks gorgeous. I always love Tune & Fairweather, because their books are stunning, but also truly interesting, they care about the form but also the content.
A must for any Dark Souls fan.

[Christian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fantastic, offering deep insights into the mysteries of a game I played every day for a year as a kid. I approached it as someone else's interpretation of the Dark Souls universe, and I didn’t need everything to be 100% accurate to enjoy the story. It’s a compelling take on a world I love, and I highly recommend it to anyone who has played the game. Even if you haven’t, you can still be inspired by the rich storytelling. I know I'll revisit this book in the future, which is something I can't say for every book I read.

[Guina Guina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Abyssal Archive is as-advertised: a deep dive into Dark Souls and everything that makes its story work. Reading this made me feel (a little) like I was in college again, reading well-researched treatises on this or that. The academic tone and attention to detail made reading it a treat.

That said, Lokey does take some liberties with gaps in the knowledge. His leaps are well-informed, to be sure, but they are leaps, nonetheless.

I need to replay Dark Souls and see if it makes more sense this go around.

[Blaze · Rating 4 out of 5]

Abyssal Archive is as-advertised: a deep dive into Dark Souls and everything that makes its story work. Reading this made me feel (a little) like I was in college again, reading well-researched treatises on this or that. The academic tone and attention to detail made reading it a treat.

That said, Lokey does take some liberties with gaps in the knowledge. His leaps are well-informed, to be sure, but they are leaps, nonetheless.

I need to replay Dark Souls and see if it makes more sense this go around.

[F · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a longtime fan of Soulsborne lore, I have always appreciated Lokey's contributions to the community: providing translation clarifications to other community members and writing their own analyses on their website. This compendium is certainly the most comprehensive dive into the lore of the first Dark Souls game yet produced. Though this is obviously an extremely niche product, it fills that niche wonderfully. I highly recommend it to anyone obsessed with the Soulsborne lore.

[Alec Burgess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Abyssal Archive dives deeper into the lore of a fantastic universe than 99% of people will ever care to dive into. The attention to detail from the creators, and the willingness to piece together this puzzle by the fans, is a testament to Dark Souls' legacy.

This isn't even taking into account the quality of the physical hardback copies, which are works of art in their own right (huge shout-out to T&F).

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lokey has created an incredible compendium of Dark Souls lore and mythology to rival that of other ancient and famous pieces of mythos. Abyssal Archives's only real flaw might be its density and low level of accessibility, but this is only a testament to the sheer amount of work that went into cultivating this educational, and seemingly boundless collection of information on a game described as inscrutable. Clearly, with effort, its contents are ripe for the taking.

[Dylan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ive played every FromSoft game at least twice, and Dark Souls 1 itself at least five times. In that time I knew the games community had built up and deep dived the sparse lore but I never paid it any mind.

And I think that was the right decision. So much of whats claimed in this book is centered around substantial logical leaps that leaves me feeling like I read someone's fanfic instead of gaining Insight into the games world.

[Andrew Kurt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to it on audible, VaatiVidya has the most soothing voice in the world. I was listening to it while i got my various tattoos this year, didn’t even know when the needle was in my skin I was so invested in the book. 11/10

[Willem · Rating 5 out of 5]

A deep delve into the mythology of Dark souls. Be prepared to have every possible npc and boss taken under examination. I only wish it would cover events of the game two sequels as well but still an amazing read.

[Nicolas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me think a lot about the world of dark souls but also our world in general and the nature of mankind. also the drawing are sick

[Hugh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Audiobook. Amazing narrator.

[ali ♥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

vaati could narrate my grocery list and I would listen to it for 19 hours

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need time to write this up in full. Great book, not entirely correct, but massively revealing and persuasive.

[Sumu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful!! Gave me a whole new appreciation for one of the best games of the 21st century

[Jack Barnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insanely in depth coverage of the game and its lore. Loved it.

[David Faulkner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good insight to the world of Dark Souls I and offers some interesting lore perspectives that make sense in hindsight, but are oft missed in the game.

[Clout Syder]

just realised I don't really care about dark souls lore

DNF

[Trace Wiley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderfully written and comprehensive explanation of the mythology of dark souls. Also read by the very talented VaatiVidya.

I'm definitely picking up the print copy soon.