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Dark Souls. Par-delà la mort #1
Dark Souls - Beyond the Grave
"VOUS ÊTES MORT"
Joueur chevronné ayant arpenté les contrées de Boletaria, de Lordran ou de Drangleic, vous avez eu maintes occasions déjà de lire ce message.
Demon's Souls, Dark Souls I et II: réputée pour son exigence, la série n'est effectivement pas à mettre entre toutes les mains.
Contrairement aux idées reçues, néanmoins, ce n'est pas la difficulté implacable qui doit repousser les moins courageux: il est vrai que survivre dans ces jeux n'est pas chose aisée; pourtant, n'importe qui, avec persévérance, patience et application, peut y parvenir. En vérité, l'exigence de la série tient plutôt à la confiance qu'elle place dans le joueur. L'ampleur et la beauté de ces jeux, celui-ci ne les découvrira qu'en s'y investissant pleinement, en fonction de sa sensibilité et de ses attentes.
Souvent victimes de malentendus, les Souls offrent en réalité plus qu'une épreuve ardue censément réservée aux plus téméraires. C'est ce qu'entend montrer cet ouvrage à travers la présentation détaillée et l'analyse minutieuse de ces œuvres foisonnantes.
De leur univers si riche à leurs systèmes de jeu d'une grande intelligence, en passant par leur dimension artistique exceptionnelle, les Souls puisent leur excellence dans l'alchimie qui lie ces éléments. Ils rappellent que le jeu vidéo, par le biais de l’interactivité, du dialogue entre jeu et joueur, peut donner à vivres des expériences intenses et mémorables.
Joueur chevronné ayant arpenté les contrées de Boletaria, de Lordran ou de Drangleic, vous avez eu maintes occasions déjà de lire ce message.
Demon's Souls, Dark Souls I et II: réputée pour son exigence, la série n'est effectivement pas à mettre entre toutes les mains.
Contrairement aux idées reçues, néanmoins, ce n'est pas la difficulté implacable qui doit repousser les moins courageux: il est vrai que survivre dans ces jeux n'est pas chose aisée; pourtant, n'importe qui, avec persévérance, patience et application, peut y parvenir. En vérité, l'exigence de la série tient plutôt à la confiance qu'elle place dans le joueur. L'ampleur et la beauté de ces jeux, celui-ci ne les découvrira qu'en s'y investissant pleinement, en fonction de sa sensibilité et de ses attentes.
Souvent victimes de malentendus, les Souls offrent en réalité plus qu'une épreuve ardue censément réservée aux plus téméraires. C'est ce qu'entend montrer cet ouvrage à travers la présentation détaillée et l'analyse minutieuse de ces œuvres foisonnantes.
De leur univers si riche à leurs systèmes de jeu d'une grande intelligence, en passant par leur dimension artistique exceptionnelle, les Souls puisent leur excellence dans l'alchimie qui lie ces éléments. Ils rappellent que le jeu vidéo, par le biais de l’interactivité, du dialogue entre jeu et joueur, peut donner à vivres des expériences intenses et mémorables.
303 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2015
143 people are currently reading
311 people want to read
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June 4, 2023Source of book: KU
Relevant disclaimers: None
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.
And remember: I am not here to judge your drag, I mean your book. Books are art and art is subjective. These are just my personal thoughts. They are not meant to be taken as broader commentary on the general quality of the work. Believe me, I have not enjoyed many an excellent book, and my individual lack of enjoyment has not made any of those books less excellent or (more relevantly) less successful.
Further disclaimer: Readers, please stop accusing me of trying to take down “my competition” because I wrote a review you didn’t like. This is complete nonsense. Firstly, writing isn’t a competitive sport. Secondly, I only publish reviews of books in the subgenre where I’m best known (queer romcom) if I have good things to say. And finally: taking time out of my life to read an entire book and then write a GR review about it would be a profoundly inefficient and ineffective way to damage the careers of other authors. If you can’t credit me with simply being a person who loves books and likes talking about them, at least credit me with enough common sense to be a better villain.
*******************************************
I didn’t think I couldn’t be obsessively interested in Dark Souls and this book really challenged me on the obsessive interest front.
Like it was fine, but it didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know and it’s occasionally just flat out dull. There’s a long, descriptive chapter on game mechanics, for example, when I suspect most people who pick up about a book about Dark Souls have played the game to the point that they know the mechanics better than they know their own partner/children/other thing of supposed value in their life.
The other thing that’s sort of integral to the Dark Souls series is its ambiguities, especially when it comes to The Lore TM. This book’s tone is, in general, authoritative which kind of diminishes what’s intriguing about the setting and the history. It does occasionally discuss fan theories, for example Solaire potentially being the son of Gwyn (something DSIII puts to bed, but the book was written before its release) but only when the author seems to personally find them plausible. There’s very little space left for nuance, for example around characters like Lautrec (the book just assumes he’s evil but … is he? Is he completely? And there’s barely a mention of this goddess he serves so faithfully/obsessively) or Seath the Scaleless (who is condemned as vengeful without sympathy for his plight as an outsider to his own people, not that I think being an outsider is justification for genocide but, y’know, there’s details here). Perhaps wisely it doesn’t touch the clusterfuck that is Gwyndolin’s gender identity but it also just takes it for granted that Gwyndolin’s actions are actually manipulated by Kingseeker Frampt (when personally I always thought Kingseeker Frampt worked for Gwyndolin)
and that their* support of the father who rejected them is evidence of a weak character, rather than a complex one.
(Also I realise what an almighty prat I sound being like “uh, actually, I don’t think this book properly acknowledges the subtleties of Seath the Scaleless” but, like. Come on. If you like Dark Souls this is the sort of arrant nonsense you probably care about).
By the same token, it’s just taken as read that the path of dark is the correct (or at least superior) ending to the game. This is probably true, given that linking the flame is essentially letting yourself be manoeuvred into sacrificing yourself in order to maintain the power structures of a bunch of people who aren’t you. But the fall of Oolacile must surely give one at least some degree of pause for what an age of dark could mean.
It's also kind of evident the book doesn’t see much merit in DSII. Which is, y’know, not a crime or anything. But it does make its analysis of that game even more lacklustre than its analysis of DS1, its thematic resonances and attempts to use the Dark Souls framework to tell a more directly personal story of loss, largely disregarded. There is, I should mention, a whole chapter on ‘themes’ at the end of the book, but they’re mostly just sort of listed out and briefly alluded. When I personally would have preferred something more integrated and comprehensive. But it’s also clear that how I interact with stories, and how this book does, are fundamentally quite different.
So yeah. This was okay. I’m broadly glad I read it, but I’m also glad it was on KU so I didn’t have to, y’know, pay for it directly.
____
*used they/them pronouns for Gwyndolin because I too do not want to the touch the clusterfuck that is their gender identity.
Relevant disclaimers: None
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.
And remember: I am not here to judge your drag, I mean your book. Books are art and art is subjective. These are just my personal thoughts. They are not meant to be taken as broader commentary on the general quality of the work. Believe me, I have not enjoyed many an excellent book, and my individual lack of enjoyment has not made any of those books less excellent or (more relevantly) less successful.
Further disclaimer: Readers, please stop accusing me of trying to take down “my competition” because I wrote a review you didn’t like. This is complete nonsense. Firstly, writing isn’t a competitive sport. Secondly, I only publish reviews of books in the subgenre where I’m best known (queer romcom) if I have good things to say. And finally: taking time out of my life to read an entire book and then write a GR review about it would be a profoundly inefficient and ineffective way to damage the careers of other authors. If you can’t credit me with simply being a person who loves books and likes talking about them, at least credit me with enough common sense to be a better villain.
*******************************************
I didn’t think I couldn’t be obsessively interested in Dark Souls and this book really challenged me on the obsessive interest front.
Like it was fine, but it didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know and it’s occasionally just flat out dull. There’s a long, descriptive chapter on game mechanics, for example, when I suspect most people who pick up about a book about Dark Souls have played the game to the point that they know the mechanics better than they know their own partner/children/other thing of supposed value in their life.
The other thing that’s sort of integral to the Dark Souls series is its ambiguities, especially when it comes to The Lore TM. This book’s tone is, in general, authoritative which kind of diminishes what’s intriguing about the setting and the history. It does occasionally discuss fan theories, for example Solaire potentially being the son of Gwyn (something DSIII puts to bed, but the book was written before its release) but only when the author seems to personally find them plausible. There’s very little space left for nuance, for example around characters like Lautrec (the book just assumes he’s evil but … is he? Is he completely? And there’s barely a mention of this goddess he serves so faithfully/obsessively) or Seath the Scaleless (who is condemned as vengeful without sympathy for his plight as an outsider to his own people, not that I think being an outsider is justification for genocide but, y’know, there’s details here). Perhaps wisely it doesn’t touch the clusterfuck that is Gwyndolin’s gender identity but it also just takes it for granted that Gwyndolin’s actions are actually manipulated by Kingseeker Frampt (when personally I always thought Kingseeker Frampt worked for Gwyndolin)
and that their* support of the father who rejected them is evidence of a weak character, rather than a complex one.
(Also I realise what an almighty prat I sound being like “uh, actually, I don’t think this book properly acknowledges the subtleties of Seath the Scaleless” but, like. Come on. If you like Dark Souls this is the sort of arrant nonsense you probably care about).
By the same token, it’s just taken as read that the path of dark is the correct (or at least superior) ending to the game. This is probably true, given that linking the flame is essentially letting yourself be manoeuvred into sacrificing yourself in order to maintain the power structures of a bunch of people who aren’t you. But the fall of Oolacile must surely give one at least some degree of pause for what an age of dark could mean.
It's also kind of evident the book doesn’t see much merit in DSII. Which is, y’know, not a crime or anything. But it does make its analysis of that game even more lacklustre than its analysis of DS1, its thematic resonances and attempts to use the Dark Souls framework to tell a more directly personal story of loss, largely disregarded. There is, I should mention, a whole chapter on ‘themes’ at the end of the book, but they’re mostly just sort of listed out and briefly alluded. When I personally would have preferred something more integrated and comprehensive. But it’s also clear that how I interact with stories, and how this book does, are fundamentally quite different.
So yeah. This was okay. I’m broadly glad I read it, but I’m also glad it was on KU so I didn’t have to, y’know, pay for it directly.
____
*used they/them pronouns for Gwyndolin because I too do not want to the touch the clusterfuck that is their gender identity.
July 16, 2018
I expected a bit more from the book, than it delivered. Some of the ideas were too vaguely reviewed or discussed, which in overall made this book lacking depth.
A lot of storylines were just abbreviated to few sentences (Lucatiel f.e.). In some places the book went into details to describe what happens in the game, but in other instances it would just skip the information from NPCs quests happening during the game. Which in overall made the book not deep enough, especially if you have dived into the games and storyline a bit more than an average gamer.
Imho, the ambition of the book was greater than its final result.
A lot of storylines were just abbreviated to few sentences (Lucatiel f.e.). In some places the book went into details to describe what happens in the game, but in other instances it would just skip the information from NPCs quests happening during the game. Which in overall made the book not deep enough, especially if you have dived into the games and storyline a bit more than an average gamer.
Imho, the ambition of the book was greater than its final result.
July 27, 2025
"In reality, the game’s entire message rests on the concept of desire and the non-consummation of this desire. It almost acts as a philosophical perspective on this inner sentiment, a look at everything that precedes satisfaction rather than the satisfaction of the desire itself."
The quality of this book is all over the place. Sometimes the writing is engaging, with interesting or insightful things to say. Often it is dull, clumsy, or boring.
Overall it probably could have been a 3, but there were a number of errors and mistakes--ranging from editing/copyediting errors to factually incorrect statements about the subject matter--that brings it down for me.
This book is likely only to appeal to the superfan, but the superfan is the one most likely to notice and be disappointed by what it misses or gets wrong.
The quality of this book is all over the place. Sometimes the writing is engaging, with interesting or insightful things to say. Often it is dull, clumsy, or boring.
Overall it probably could have been a 3, but there were a number of errors and mistakes--ranging from editing/copyediting errors to factually incorrect statements about the subject matter--that brings it down for me.
This book is likely only to appeal to the superfan, but the superfan is the one most likely to notice and be disappointed by what it misses or gets wrong.
February 9, 2022
A bit of background info before reading this review: I've played Dark Souls 1, 2 and 3, but didn't play Demon Souls. I'm also not that interested in lore, more curious about how the game was created and why decisions were made. I also got this book as a gift so went kinda blind into it.
Short review
This is a okay book to read after playing Demon Souls and Dark Souls 1 and 2 if you're really into the lore of it. There is a lot of information about the characters and world which kind of summarises the item descriptions and the cutscenes. But there also might be nothing new to you if you've read lots of ingame information already.
Long review
Prefaces & Souls introduction
It's clear and gives a lot of in-depth information about FromSoft and their decision on making the games. It's written really well.
Chapter 1: The Creative Process
It starts with an interesting background story about Miyazaki but then almost immediately starts about Demon Souls. Understandable, as the book is about Demon Souls, but those chapters really confused me, as I didn't know much about the game. The Dark Souls I/II parts are very clear and understandable and it also tells a lot about the changes made between Demon Souls and Dark Souls.
Chapter 2: Gameplay
Honestly with over 100h of Souls gameplay, I feel like I already know what the gameplay is about. The book explains it over; like someone giving a presentation about the games when knowing nothing about it. This part felt kinda dull after playing the games and unnecessary.
Chapter 3: Universe
This is the largest chapter in the book. Mostly explaining cutscenes and about characters, all lore related. As I said before; I'm not really that interested in lore. Mostly I read some parts about Dark Souls on characters / bosses I was really interested in, but the book didn't really tell me something new apart from the things I've learned in the game.
Chapter 4: Themes
Here it gets kinda interesting. It tells about some themes like 'buddhism and rebirth' and how that is connected to the game. It's a lot of guesswork, but still makes you wonder. I really like this chapter even tho it didn't really have to do anything with facts.
Chapter 5: Music
Quite an interesting story about the componist / sound engineers of the game and how certain music or sounds makes the game more immersive. Nothing new, but somehow felt like a refreshing read.
Chapter 6: Decryption
Lots of guesswork on why things were done in a certain way and lots of fallbacks on other chapters. Didn't really add something to the book, felt like a chore to get through this part of the book.
Chapter 7: Legacy
A three page chapter about how the souls series impacted video games in general, felt like a nice read after the decryption chapter.
Overall it was a nice book and I will probably get back to the lore part when I'm replaying Dark Souls 1/2 to get more information on it, when I want to. But overall it's more for real fans than people interested in the Souls series. Some parts of the book felt like they were all over the place but some were really nice structured.
Short review
This is a okay book to read after playing Demon Souls and Dark Souls 1 and 2 if you're really into the lore of it. There is a lot of information about the characters and world which kind of summarises the item descriptions and the cutscenes. But there also might be nothing new to you if you've read lots of ingame information already.
Long review
Prefaces & Souls introduction
It's clear and gives a lot of in-depth information about FromSoft and their decision on making the games. It's written really well.
Chapter 1: The Creative Process
It starts with an interesting background story about Miyazaki but then almost immediately starts about Demon Souls. Understandable, as the book is about Demon Souls, but those chapters really confused me, as I didn't know much about the game. The Dark Souls I/II parts are very clear and understandable and it also tells a lot about the changes made between Demon Souls and Dark Souls.
Chapter 2: Gameplay
Honestly with over 100h of Souls gameplay, I feel like I already know what the gameplay is about. The book explains it over; like someone giving a presentation about the games when knowing nothing about it. This part felt kinda dull after playing the games and unnecessary.
Chapter 3: Universe
This is the largest chapter in the book. Mostly explaining cutscenes and about characters, all lore related. As I said before; I'm not really that interested in lore. Mostly I read some parts about Dark Souls on characters / bosses I was really interested in, but the book didn't really tell me something new apart from the things I've learned in the game.
Chapter 4: Themes
Here it gets kinda interesting. It tells about some themes like 'buddhism and rebirth' and how that is connected to the game. It's a lot of guesswork, but still makes you wonder. I really like this chapter even tho it didn't really have to do anything with facts.
Chapter 5: Music
Quite an interesting story about the componist / sound engineers of the game and how certain music or sounds makes the game more immersive. Nothing new, but somehow felt like a refreshing read.
Chapter 6: Decryption
Lots of guesswork on why things were done in a certain way and lots of fallbacks on other chapters. Didn't really add something to the book, felt like a chore to get through this part of the book.
Chapter 7: Legacy
A three page chapter about how the souls series impacted video games in general, felt like a nice read after the decryption chapter.
Overall it was a nice book and I will probably get back to the lore part when I'm replaying Dark Souls 1/2 to get more information on it, when I want to. But overall it's more for real fans than people interested in the Souls series. Some parts of the book felt like they were all over the place but some were really nice structured.
December 6, 2022
Hab das Buch gekauft, weil ich mir Hintergründe zu den Spielen erhofft habe - und natürlich weil die von Third Editions gecrowdfundeten Übersetzungen aus dem Französischen so hübsch sind. Leider wurde ich von Inhalt vollständig enttäuscht: Im Wesentlichen haben die beiden Autoren die Wikis zu den Spielen abgeschrieben. Zwei Drittel des Buches sind Nacherzählungen der Geschichte und Geschehnisse, teilweise falsch oder durch Fantheorien gestreckt, die zwar nett sind, aber keinen Halt in der Welt an. Auch sprachlich liegt hier einiges im Argen, was natürlich auch an der Übersetzung liegt, der man die französische Grammatik an so mancher Stelle anmerkt.
Die wenigen Hintergrundkapitel zB zu Musik oder Entwicklungsgeschichte sind direkt aus Wikipedia abgeschrieben, weiterführende Infos oder wenigstens Interviews gibt es keine. Das mulmige Gefühl, das man bekommt, wenn man VaatiVidyas enorm kurzes Vorwort liest und merkt, dass nicht mal er, der für die Werbung vorne aufs Buch kommt, etwas Gutes dazu zu sagen hat, bestätigt sich. Man merkt, dass hier begeisterte Serienfans am Werk waren, aber statt darauf aufzubauen, ergehen sich die Autoren in Theorien, die eher auf Reddit gepasst hätten, und werden nicht müde, ihre Enttäuschung über Dark Souls II zu erwähnen, bis man es irgendwann müde wird, selbst wenn man ihnen zustimmen würde. Dieses Buch hat keinen Mehrwert für Fans, keinen für Leute, die die Serie erst noch kennen lernen möchten und erst recht keinen für Forscher*innen. Hübsch isses immerhin.
Die wenigen Hintergrundkapitel zB zu Musik oder Entwicklungsgeschichte sind direkt aus Wikipedia abgeschrieben, weiterführende Infos oder wenigstens Interviews gibt es keine. Das mulmige Gefühl, das man bekommt, wenn man VaatiVidyas enorm kurzes Vorwort liest und merkt, dass nicht mal er, der für die Werbung vorne aufs Buch kommt, etwas Gutes dazu zu sagen hat, bestätigt sich. Man merkt, dass hier begeisterte Serienfans am Werk waren, aber statt darauf aufzubauen, ergehen sich die Autoren in Theorien, die eher auf Reddit gepasst hätten, und werden nicht müde, ihre Enttäuschung über Dark Souls II zu erwähnen, bis man es irgendwann müde wird, selbst wenn man ihnen zustimmen würde. Dieses Buch hat keinen Mehrwert für Fans, keinen für Leute, die die Serie erst noch kennen lernen möchten und erst recht keinen für Forscher*innen. Hübsch isses immerhin.
September 21, 2023
Внятных книг про историю разработки конкретных игр я пока не встречал, и эта не стала исключением. Зачем-то рассказывают про виды урона в игре, а три главы занимает крайне подробный и запутанный лор игры, что не так интересно, как могла бы быть история создания. Думаю, причина в том, что геймдев-студии очень закрытые клубы, плюс процесс хаотичный и слабодокументированный, отсюда и вынуждены бедные авторы описывать, на какие кнопки надо жать, если решился запустить Dark Souls II, и кто же был сыном Гвина, финального босса из DS.
April 23, 2023
lore chapters were good, the rest was either dull or pointless.
April 1, 2019
This was a pretty thorough overview of the first three Souls games. While some side characters could have used a bit more depth in their histories, there were others I learned quite a lot about, in spite of how much I've played the first two games. And while I've also beaten Dark Souls II (once), I never felt the desire to go back and revisit it as much as the earlier entries. So it's nice to see such an exhaustive write-up of the lore for that one; I feel like I have a much stronger feel for its story now.
It's not only plot/story/mythology synopses that Dark Souls - Beyond the Grave offers, but a look into the development of these titles, and the philosophies held by the teams working on them. All in all, they tried to cover all aspects of the first three Souls titles, from conception, to marketing, to storytelling, to music, and did an admirable job of it.
This book was translated from French, and for the most part, the shift to English went smoothly. There are some instances of spelling/grammatical errors, but they don't detract from the reading experience too much.
Dark Souls is the first book of Third Edition's that I've read, and it's high enough quality that I'm certainly curious to read other gaming histories they've compiled. If you're as interested in gaming history in general (and Dark Souls in particular) as I am, I can easily recommend this book.
It's not only plot/story/mythology synopses that Dark Souls - Beyond the Grave offers, but a look into the development of these titles, and the philosophies held by the teams working on them. All in all, they tried to cover all aspects of the first three Souls titles, from conception, to marketing, to storytelling, to music, and did an admirable job of it.
This book was translated from French, and for the most part, the shift to English went smoothly. There are some instances of spelling/grammatical errors, but they don't detract from the reading experience too much.
Dark Souls is the first book of Third Edition's that I've read, and it's high enough quality that I'm certainly curious to read other gaming histories they've compiled. If you're as interested in gaming history in general (and Dark Souls in particular) as I am, I can easily recommend this book.
April 23, 2020
After playing dark souls 1 and 2 I wanted to know a bit more about the world they are set in. This book provided a lot of information including a lot of details I had missed playing the game. However it also has a lot about various other things related to the game like music, sales and reviews which I wasn't interested in. Still it must have taken a lot of work to put together this book and for anyone who really loves the games its a worthwhile read.
April 24, 2025
I'm a huge Dark Souls fan, and will consume anything lore related to the world therein. So when I first heard about this book, and bought it, I was really excited. I was expecting something akin to a VaatiVidya youtube video in book form, elongated, and with simple, but elegant prose to match.
Then I started reading the reviews, and started to get a little worried. A lot of people read this and were disappointed, so I was afraid I might as well. But after reading it, I actually came away somewhat surprised by the 3 star reviews its been getting. First off, it's not a VaatiVidya video in book form, and if anyone went in expecting that, I understand the disappointment, but what's in here is still pretty solid, although admittedly stripped down and simplified in several areas.
It could have been better, and I have no doubt someone will take on the job of translating the whole of Soulsborne lore and encyclopedizing it into a tome the like of which would satisfy even the most hardcore fans. This book, however, serves as a good introduction for newer players or those who haven't delved deep into the community theories. The artwork is beautiful, and certain chapters provide genuine insights that even seasoned lore hunters might appreciate.
What it lacks in exhaustive detail, it makes up for in accessibility. I found myself enjoying it as a coffee table book that I could flip through casually, rather than the definitive lore bible I initially hoped for. If you adjust your expectations accordingly, there's plenty to enjoy here. For the hardcore fans who want more depth, the community videos and discussions will still be your go-to resources, but this makes for a nice physical companion piece to have in your collection.
Then I started reading the reviews, and started to get a little worried. A lot of people read this and were disappointed, so I was afraid I might as well. But after reading it, I actually came away somewhat surprised by the 3 star reviews its been getting. First off, it's not a VaatiVidya video in book form, and if anyone went in expecting that, I understand the disappointment, but what's in here is still pretty solid, although admittedly stripped down and simplified in several areas.
It could have been better, and I have no doubt someone will take on the job of translating the whole of Soulsborne lore and encyclopedizing it into a tome the like of which would satisfy even the most hardcore fans. This book, however, serves as a good introduction for newer players or those who haven't delved deep into the community theories. The artwork is beautiful, and certain chapters provide genuine insights that even seasoned lore hunters might appreciate.
What it lacks in exhaustive detail, it makes up for in accessibility. I found myself enjoying it as a coffee table book that I could flip through casually, rather than the definitive lore bible I initially hoped for. If you adjust your expectations accordingly, there's plenty to enjoy here. For the hardcore fans who want more depth, the community videos and discussions will still be your go-to resources, but this makes for a nice physical companion piece to have in your collection.
April 25, 2022
Читая эту работу я в который раз убедилась в гениальности разработчиков игр. Это невероятные люди с такими же невероятными идеями. Разработчики игр создают искусство, которое ещё не скоро, к глубокому сожалению, будет признано этим словом (увы, но большинство людей все ещё поддерживают стереотип, что игры - это пустая трата времени; пишу я об этом не с бухты Барахты, а из собственного опыта общения на эту тему. Не верьте, но мои знакомы и комиксы-то искусством не считают, что уж говорить об играх?)
Эта книга пропитана любовью к серии Souls. Даже когда речь идёт о чисто технических нюансах - авторы копают глубоко. В этой книге я нашла людей моего мышления, и Иисус, Мария, Иосиф - мне ещё в жизнь не хотелось так сильно пообщаться с человеком вживую (нет, вру: в первую очередь надо встретиться с Ли Бардуго, и поблагодарив её за трилогию Алины, пригрозить напоследок пальцем, чтоб перестала доить Дарклинга).
Если отбросить страсть авторов к игре, то не совсем мне понятно для кого эта книга написана. С одной стороны - однозначно же для фаната! Но уж слишком часто авторы акцентируют внимание на одних и тех же вещах, совершенно банальных и известных любому новичку, чего уж про фанов отъявленных. Им эта штука бесполезной покажется. Для новичков тогда написали? Ну не скажи: местами путанно, явно писалось для знатоков темы. Короче, с этим заминочка, но мне нормально было, все же любопытные факты я отыскала.
Изредка играю в игры, основная причина - железо, которое ну просто не вытягивает большинство новых игр (*плачет из-за Elden Ring*). Из тех, в которые играла - в сердце навечно.
Эта книга пропитана любовью к серии Souls. Даже когда речь идёт о чисто технических нюансах - авторы копают глубоко. В этой книге я нашла людей моего мышления, и Иисус, Мария, Иосиф - мне ещё в жизнь не хотелось так сильно пообщаться с человеком вживую (нет, вру: в первую очередь надо встретиться с Ли Бардуго, и поблагодарив её за трилогию Алины, пригрозить напоследок пальцем, чтоб перестала доить Дарклинга).
Если отбросить страсть авторов к игре, то не совсем мне понятно для кого эта книга написана. С одной стороны - однозначно же для фаната! Но уж слишком часто авторы акцентируют внимание на одних и тех же вещах, совершенно банальных и известных любому новичку, чего уж про фанов отъявленных. Им эта штука бесполезной покажется. Для новичков тогда написали? Ну не скажи: местами путанно, явно писалось для знатоков темы. Короче, с этим заминочка, но мне нормально было, все же любопытные факты я отыскала.
Изредка играю в игры, основная причина - железо, которое ну просто не вытягивает большинство новых игр (*плачет из-за Elden Ring*). Из тех, в которые играла - в сердце навечно.
May 2, 2022
I thought this did an excellent job of collecting surrounding information regarding the games and diving deep into the lore. While many social media platforms (i.e. YouTube and reddit) are the epitome of lore research within these games, I found myself learning even more from reading this book and, even better, making more concrete connections between the characters, the environments, and the relationships of the former category to the latter (and vice-versa). I will definitely be revisiting this book (and its sequel) for times to come because, as one might suspect, there is so much to cover.
Furthermore, since it is pretty much a given that no ONE interpretation can account for the entirety of the worlds, characters, and developments within these games, I want to point out that this book does exactly what every type of research of its kind needs to: admit that there is room for error. "Dark Souls: Beyond the Grave - Volume 1" does an excellent job of trying to delineate what is concrete, what is here say, and what is theory. And THAT, I believe, is the true test of a reliable Soulsborne lore source. If anyone tells you they know everything about the games and have it all figured out, they are either delusional, lying, or can't distinguish the difference between the two.
Furthermore, since it is pretty much a given that no ONE interpretation can account for the entirety of the worlds, characters, and developments within these games, I want to point out that this book does exactly what every type of research of its kind needs to: admit that there is room for error. "Dark Souls: Beyond the Grave - Volume 1" does an excellent job of trying to delineate what is concrete, what is here say, and what is theory. And THAT, I believe, is the true test of a reliable Soulsborne lore source. If anyone tells you they know everything about the games and have it all figured out, they are either delusional, lying, or can't distinguish the difference between the two.
August 22, 2024
I read up to the chapter on Dark Souls 2 since I haven't played that game, and after hearing about Demon's Souls and Dark Souls, I realized the book wasn't going to dive deep into the lore. Many of the claims presented as truth have been debunked, and some theories are outright incorrect, leaving me wondering, 'How did they come up with that?' Furthermore, much of the content lacks solid evidence, which, as a fan deeply invested in FromSoftware lore, made it difficult to read.
Considering the book was released in 2015, it feels quite outdated in 2024. You're better off reading Lokey's The Abyssal Archive or researching the lore on your own—there are excellent theories on YouTube that provide a solid foundation.
In summary, this book hasn’t aged well in terms of accuracy. If you're looking for precise lore details, this isn't the place. However, if you're interested in sparking your imagination or adding some unique touches to your own theories, it might still be worth a look.
Sadly, I won’t be bothering with the second volume from the same authors. Released in 2018, it also seems like a rushed project, and after my experience with the first book, I’m not inclined to give it a try.
Considering the book was released in 2015, it feels quite outdated in 2024. You're better off reading Lokey's The Abyssal Archive or researching the lore on your own—there are excellent theories on YouTube that provide a solid foundation.
In summary, this book hasn’t aged well in terms of accuracy. If you're looking for precise lore details, this isn't the place. However, if you're interested in sparking your imagination or adding some unique touches to your own theories, it might still be worth a look.
Sadly, I won’t be bothering with the second volume from the same authors. Released in 2018, it also seems like a rushed project, and after my experience with the first book, I’m not inclined to give it a try.
April 28, 2025
A insightful look into three software titles that could of gone deeper
To be clear I'm a dark souls enthusiast and thus I am well read up on the lore of the games. Unfortunately for this book it doesn't really reveal anything I didn't know already apart from a few insightful chapters on the makings of and themes of the games. Also in chapter three which was about the lore of the games, did not go into enough detail about certain characters and story elements, as particular sections seemed glossed over or briefly mentioned when any dark souls enthusiast would easily of known a lot more.
However I must stress this book was still a pretty good read, it was really well laid out with its objectives and intentions and was clearly well researched with its vast wealth of references. Also it was very well presented as each chapter has beautiful black and white illustrations by an artist called Alexandre Dainche that were excellent tone setters for the book.
Overall any fan of Daemon souls/dark souls/2 may find some interesting information here, however hardcore enthusiasts will find only small nuggets at best.
To be clear I'm a dark souls enthusiast and thus I am well read up on the lore of the games. Unfortunately for this book it doesn't really reveal anything I didn't know already apart from a few insightful chapters on the makings of and themes of the games. Also in chapter three which was about the lore of the games, did not go into enough detail about certain characters and story elements, as particular sections seemed glossed over or briefly mentioned when any dark souls enthusiast would easily of known a lot more.
However I must stress this book was still a pretty good read, it was really well laid out with its objectives and intentions and was clearly well researched with its vast wealth of references. Also it was very well presented as each chapter has beautiful black and white illustrations by an artist called Alexandre Dainche that were excellent tone setters for the book.
Overall any fan of Daemon souls/dark souls/2 may find some interesting information here, however hardcore enthusiasts will find only small nuggets at best.
September 26, 2023
I think reviewing books about something I love is hard, because I'll unavoidably enjoy them unless they're really terrible. So, this book could be better, at times I felt it was a bit rushed and just browsed superficially about some subjects I think were more relevant, but I understand otherwise it might be too long, since it's quite extensive already. Also, it's an old book, before even the release of Bloodborne, and I read the second part before (which is better), so there's a lot of predictions and uncertainty, specially in regards to Fromsoft, which is interesting to see nowadays. Finally, the author is not a fan of DS2 and doesn't hide it, as it is a game I really love, the parts related to it felt unfair sometimes and lacked more depth.
Overall, it's a really interesting book about Demon's souls, Dark Souls and Dark Souls 2, which examines the themes of the games, characters, the development process, music, reception and so on. It doesn't analyze any of these subjects too deeply, but it's captivating and I'm sure any Fromsoft fan might enjoy it.
Overall, it's a really interesting book about Demon's souls, Dark Souls and Dark Souls 2, which examines the themes of the games, characters, the development process, music, reception and so on. It doesn't analyze any of these subjects too deeply, but it's captivating and I'm sure any Fromsoft fan might enjoy it.
March 10, 2022
An absolute MUST READ for any Souls fans.
Though there are a few typos and the there's a bit of Dark Souls 2 hate. DS2 did do some new things with the gameplay and with the lore, which were never addressed again after that in DS3. However, is that really DS2's fault?
Though there are a few typos and the there's a bit of Dark Souls 2 hate. DS2 did do some new things with the gameplay and with the lore, which were never addressed again after that in DS3. However, is that really DS2's fault?
January 28, 2024
A very well documented work on souls games, undeniably written by passionate players.
Very interesting for whoever is interested in this specific niche.
On the (not too) negative side : sometimes the English translation is not excellent.
Very interesting for whoever is interested in this specific niche.
On the (not too) negative side : sometimes the English translation is not excellent.
August 19, 2024
Theories presented herein are nice but hardly an exhaustive analysis. The copy is often a bit laboured and It's a relaxing and attractive tome which will tickle fans, but for really stimulating analysis and conjecture the conversations on forums or wikis might taste a bit richer.
December 18, 2020
So much added to the games with this. The story is really amazing
June 7, 2025
A nice and simple breakdown. The explanatory footnotes were pretty unnecessary.
Would've gone so hard if I were ten years younger.
Would've gone so hard if I were ten years younger.
June 19, 2024
A cheap cash-grab capitalising on the popularity of the Dark Souls games.
Marketed in Russia as "Dark Souls: The [history of] creation of the series", it delivered exactly zero of said history, inundating the reader with the endless descriptions of the game events instead. It goes as far as to describe each and every location of the game (in excruciating detail, no less) AND even the gameplay itself, meaning paragraphs of "what button to press to perform X action" and "how the poison scale works". Like... wow. Seriously? Why would I want to read that, having played the series?!
Honestly, I can't imagine the audience for this book. Someone who didn't play DS but who wants to read about it? Well... Why wouldn't they just play it instead then?
0/10, useless waste of paper.
Marketed in Russia as "Dark Souls: The [history of] creation of the series", it delivered exactly zero of said history, inundating the reader with the endless descriptions of the game events instead. It goes as far as to describe each and every location of the game (in excruciating detail, no less) AND even the gameplay itself, meaning paragraphs of "what button to press to perform X action" and "how the poison scale works". Like... wow. Seriously? Why would I want to read that, having played the series?!
Honestly, I can't imagine the audience for this book. Someone who didn't play DS but who wants to read about it? Well... Why wouldn't they just play it instead then?
0/10, useless waste of paper.
September 16, 2020
This book might be stranger than the game. Tells a good history of the game from its creation to its internal lore. It's kind of all over the place in it's structure.
January 5, 2024
Сейчас термин «souls-like» уже устоявшийся в индустрии видеоигр, игроки сразу понимают, что ожидать от игры подобного жанра — тебе будет очень тяжело, ты будешь много раз умирать, возрождаться, пробовать снова и снова, изучая своих противников и тем самым оттачивая мастерство.
Но всего 15 лет назад это бы никому и ничего не сказало. Что это за «похожий на души» такой? Какие вообще души (на английском «souls» значит «души»).
Далее: https://knari.by/2024/01/05/dark-soul...
Но всего 15 лет назад это бы никому и ничего не сказало. Что это за «похожий на души» такой? Какие вообще души (на английском «souls» значит «души»).
Далее: https://knari.by/2024/01/05/dark-soul...
August 14, 2022
Plongée dans le lore de Dark Souls et ses secrets de fabrication. Merci pour ce chouette livre ! <3
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