While FromSoftware fans are eagerly anticipating the ground-up remake of Demon's Souls coming to PlayStation 5, the developer gained most of its modern-day notoriety with that title's spiritual successor, Dark Souls. An entire franchise and gaming subgenre has evolved in its wake, and with that kind of fame comes a host of players looking to create mods turning Dark Souls into a roguelike experience or, in this case, adding guns to Dark Souls 3.
The mod, which is playfully titled "Call of Souls: Modern Warfare 3," was created by Forsakensilver and uploaded to Nexus Mods by user asasasasasbc in mid-June, replacing all crossbows in Dark Souls 3 with automatic and semi-automatic weapons such as AK-47s that have faster firing rates, as well as visual and audio overhauls. It was last updated on June 28, and according to Forsakensilver it is "not a balanced mod," it's simply made for fun.
There are seven guns replacing ranged weapons by this mod, and Forsakensilver says players are free to use the content as long as proper credit is given. The idea of using modern weapons in a fantasy setting is not unique to this Dark Souls mod, as a similar venture has been undertaken for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt to allow Geralt of Rivia use of flintlock pistols.
Guns are not an unusual presence in FromSoftware games, as they play a prominent role in the Victorian gothic-themed Bloodborne — though more in-line with single-shot flintlock pistols than the kind of automatic weapons added by this Dark Souls 3 mod. Rumors have suggested Bloodborne may be coming back remastered on PC and PS5, and fans are also hoping for a sequel.
One popular feature in Souls-like games are their high difficulties, and Dark Souls 3 is no exception, even if a mod adding in automatic weapons potentially negates that challenge. An entire culture has sprung up around the idea of playing Dark Souls games with crazy handicaps, such as one player recently beating Dark Souls 3 using bananas.
For more casual players, the sheer amount of options available to build different play styles is another huge appeal of the Souls-like subgenre. Dark Souls 3 already has a lot of cool weapons to choose from, and mods such as these make that range of options even more robust.
Dark Souls 3 is out now for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Source: Nexus Mods