Dark Souls it's about a world divided by its own essence. The undead are humans cursed to never really die, but to go hollow. Humans' souls are fragments of the Dark Soul, and are drawn to the bonfires because they are the reminiscent of the First Flame, which gave all the souls to the world. Humans thrive in the Dark, as opposed to the Gods, who live in the Light of the First Flame and they have been around since The Flame gave birth to the world as we know. Hollows are mindless reminiscences of their old selves, without desire, without determination, lost to an extended apathy. The powerful beings are nothing but entities that amassed huge quantities of souls, but, in reality, are as fragile as a hollow. You character, "The Chosen Undead", it's but one of many, attempting to do something that not even they are fully aware of.
Looking back on your actions during the game, you are left with a bitter taste. Your apparent mighty quest to dethrone the Gods once and for all by purging the Age of Fire (and thus, their precious Light) to make room for the Humans, turns out to be a blind coin throw in a fountain with more coins that water. You are just another one. And, even though you made it the farthest, your actions are not those of a hero. The best example that comes to mind is that of Quelaag and her sister. Quelaag is just another powerful being, just another God, just another obstacle in your way, that you don't care about, but, after a while, after you invest yourself, you find out that she has an ill sister that only she takes care of. Why just her? Because they are all alone. Their brother, Ceaseless Discharge, is yet another such sad story.
In Dark Souls, everyone, no matter how powerful and how big, deals with the same problems. Everybody is alone in Dark Souls. Everybody is struggling to reach a better place, a better era for themselves. Very few work in teams or actually care about another, and when it happens, the effect is touching. And only those with the curiosity to find out, to explore, to learn, those with the determination to deal with the world, those with the wits to carry on with their fights, those with hope and faith that their path is not meaningless, those with the mindset that their quest is just and righteous, those are the ones that can survive the world. It's not a question of power, greatness and fame. It's a question of survival, because the world is so harsh that it can best you not long after you get started.
Now compare this with our world.
And the first time I did it, I realized that, unbeknownst to myself, I was already applying what I had learned from Dark Souls. I was pushing forward no matter what, and I still am. I haven't given up on something yet and I don't think it's in my character to do so. I did a bunch of times before playing Dark Souls. I had those moments of insight, when I was driving away while thinking "I can actually do this, why am I giving up? It's there, I can just do it. Why am I not?" and I think most of us experienced this. After contemplating on my experience playing Dark Souls for a while, I came to the conclusion that, fitting my personality, Dark Souls was just the kick in the ass that I needed. I have always been good at spotting traits and defects, as long as they were not mine. Dark Souls was the mirror I needed to realize some of those mistakes and, in some fields, I have experienced an improvement. I am prone to challenges, I love when I overcome one, I hate to leave something unfinished, and that is exactly what Dark Souls goes best with. I recommended this game to a friend, knowing that he was not like me at all, and he, indeed, left it after the tutorial. I am not praising myself, I am simply the most handy example.
I learned that I am a perfectionist, I learned that I love to overcome challenges (and, subsequently, that I love mathematics and physics, just because I can analyze and solve the problems just like in Dark Souls), I learned that I love to use my imagination to unite the dots that are the fragments of lore to come up with a theory (of course, my theories are either next-to-nothing or highly influenced by VaatiVidya). I actually became better at understanding literature, since Dark Souls it's a big metaphor and I was studying symbolism in high school at the time. I learned that the best story is the one that can model itself to fit everyone. I learned that I am a sad nihilist sometimes and when I am not the man that emerged victorious from the Manus fight, I can always go to Firelink Shrine and delve in its amazing atmosphere. I was once listening to this piece of music and my father asked me why am I listening to such sad music. For me, knowing what it represents, it's beautiful, nostalgic and uplifting at the same time. It's soothing and feels like a shoulder to, if not cry, at least rest your head on. It feels like home, it feels like the safe, relieving place everybody that plays this game knows.
For me, Dark Souls it's mainly about the cycle that never ends, about the patterns that repeat themselves, about how we, being so small, are not alone, are not the first to experience this life. We are not unique in the way that we think we are. We are just a small nothing in a world too big and too old to comprehend. But we are unique peer to peer, and we should focus on that instead. On how to coexist and evolve together. It's about how we handle life when we are alone and how we cherish it when together.
The thing is Dark Souls has something for everybody. Its note of vagueness is nothing but its way of embracing as many people as possible. Its note of vagueness its your way of experiencing this game like no one else, your own quest to discover, without knowing where you are going or what everybody else is experiencing. And, given how you understand and experience the game, if you try, it can show you aspects of yourself. The thing is, in Dark Souls' community I found people that I did not expect to find. A wide palette of people sharing theories, stories, sharing the same view over the same things, while possibly different ones over other things. And memes. You will have a love-hate relation with Dark Soul AND GiantDad.
Dark Souls it's there and it's an experience worth all the time, because it will be your own intimate experience. You only have to give it your time and patience, and, when you will emerge victorious, the results may be totally unexpected.
This is ingeniously called "Quiet Resolve".
Thank you for reading
.
.
Disclaimer:
I do not own any of the images or gifs in this two-part post.
I also apologize for my English since it's not my first language.