There are numerous Dark Souls mods out there, whether you're looking for a curated new world, randomized encounters and loot drops that could have you facing off with multiple end-game bosses in just a few minutes, and more. Yesterday, Grimrukh and Meomaritus released a 18-minute preview of the upcoming Dark Souls: Nightfall, which you can watch below. In a nutshell, this mod includes new story, new combat system, new world, and a lot more.
As is the case with most projects like this, there is no affiliation with Bandai Namco or From Software. You can see significant shifts from the standard Dark Souls opener in just moments of this demo, which offers quite a bit of insight into how things could end up coming together.
Click here to watch embedded mediaWatching fans tear apart and put Souls games together is always fascinated and has created many interesting projects over the years, including Cinders and one of Grimrukh's previous projects, Daughters of Ash. The demo is worth a watch, featuring new voice acting, start of a new storyline, and a new boss as some of the key highlights. A day/night cycle is also being worked on that may or may not have important implications.
Preview of Dark Souls: Nightfall is finally landing this weekend! It's a video of me playing through the game up to the first boss.
— Grimrukh (@grimrukh) February 19, 2021
Until then, here's a separate demo of the time-of-day system I've been working on. Watch the sun set (and unset) over Lordran in real time! pic.twitter.com/wPgpPebfQ2
The Dark Souls series has led to its own subgenre coming into force over the last few years, tasking designers to come up with elaborate worlds, haunting environments, and fearsome fights that challenge players to overcome the impossible. "Seven years later, the influence of From Software’s Dark Souls on the games industry is impossible to ignore," I said in my Game Informer review of Dark Souls Remastered a few years back. "A challenging atmospheric experience through classic fantasy tropes with a grim tint, Dark Souls spurred an entire genre of souls-like titles, and provided a haven for those who love exploration, larger-than-life boss battles, and a world drenched with mystery. Dark Souls Remastered is the way to play the game today if you’re on console, though PC players may have experienced many of the same improvements via Durante’s famous DSFix mod."
Now, not everyone is into modding. You could always get some time in with Nioh 2 if you can't wait for Elden Ring!