# Dark Souls

23 Hacker News commenters recommended Dark Souls and 6 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 10 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Praised for challenging but fair difficulty, a grounded world and gameplay-driven story; critics say the PC port has DRM save problems and a locked resolution.

## Why people recommend it

- Challenging but fair difficulty (5 comments): "Something like Dark Souls where an enemy is an enemy and it'll smash you if you're underleveled is so much more satisfying" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49227258)) "Dark Souls made difficulty cool again when everyone else was trying to be "accessible"" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45845146)) "games without a difficulty setting “feel” more like a game to me" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49227294))
- Long-lasting, returned to for years (4 comments): "it's a sort of game you could play in decades and it would be as much of a masterpiece then it is today" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45868851)) "I get that from the Souls games (including Bloodborne and Elden Ring). They are all I can play now." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49494148)) "Then sometimes a new Dark Souls comes out and I relish every moment, if I've got the time." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46503021))
- Grounded world and lore (3 comments): "The intentionality of their world still draws people in and gives the world a sense of groundedness that keeps people coming back" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48165173)) "this is the sadness of the 'lore,' not an emotion driven by the 'gameplay.'" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48292237)) "DARK SOULS and the cycle of death being a whole part of the story" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47775632))
- Tight, hand-crafted level design (3 comments): "the design of the game itself, with its repeated corpse runs to boss arenas" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48293637)) "I take a hand crafted linear experience over open world any day." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48670049)) "Cutscenes are kept to a minimum and gameplay is is tight AF" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45842574))

## What people warn about

- DRM and disc problems on some platforms (2 comments): "Microsoft's own DRM prevented the legitimately purchased game from saving on Windows" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47512449)) "I bought Dark Souls on a disc and could not play it on my console." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48798883))
- Difficulty as masochistic design (2 comments): "games that deliberately limit your controls as a form of difficulty" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50321539)) "The other is a masochism simulation." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49601441))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Elden Ring](https://hackerapproved.com/p/elden-ring.md): 25 recommend
- [Diablo II: Resurrected](https://hackerapproved.com/p/diablo-2.md): 19 recommend
- [Mass Effect](https://hackerapproved.com/p/mass-effect.md): 19 recommend
- [Path of Exile](https://hackerapproved.com/p/path-of-exile.md): 15 recommend
- [Diablo 4](https://hackerapproved.com/p/diablo-4.md): 10 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Dark Souls", https://hackerapproved.com/p/dark-souls/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).