It’s not every day that one of the most influential games of all time crosses the decade anniversary mark, but today is one of those rare occasions. The first Dark Souls game was released 10 years ago today, and fans are taking to the internet to celebrate its birthday. Tributes have ranged from memory-sharing to fan art, with just about everything in between marking the event.

While Demon’s Souls gets credit for laying the groundwork that would go on to make FromSoftware such a notable studio, Dark Souls marks an entirely new era for its games and reputation. Dark Souls was – and is – brutally difficult, full of challenges that defined the retro-era challenges of games like Contra. Dark Souls was so difficult, in fact, that even today the question of whether or not games in the franchise should offer an “easy” mode is hotly debated.

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Not only was Dark Souls a mechanical wonder, though, it also featured a radically different form of video game storytelling in an era where games were increasingly focused on blockbuster narratives. Dark Souls delegated a lot of its narrative to flavor text and environmental storytelling, a bold decision but one that has become a defining trait of the series.

It would be a crime to say that Dark Souls’ influence ended there, though. The game has spawned its own genre full of triple-a knock-offs and indie darlings. Some of those indie darlings, namely Hollow Knight, are even starting to inspire their own similar games, continuing a chain of evolution that the Souls games are an essential part of. The cycle seems likely to continue too, as the genre gets even more firmly rooted in the games industry.

For all its fame though, there’s no currently announced new Dark Souls game for fans to look forward to, at least not in name. FromSoftware’s next game, Elden Ring, is open world and looks like it will expand on the foundation that the Dark Souls games have put down. FromSoftware’s subfranchises, which often wear their Dark Souls influences on their sleeve, have managed to find dedicated audiences, and Elden Ring will likely repeat that story.

While the Dark Souls games aren’t for everyone, their influence continues to shape how difficult games are handled. With 10 years being such a massive milestone, it’s easy to forget how far the games have come, and how they’ve impacted players’ lives in the time since.

Dark Souls is available now on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.

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