Dark Souls
Hacker ApprovedRanked 2 of 14 action role-playing games by recommenders
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.
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.
29 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 23
- criticize it
- 6
- approval share
- 79%
Recommended in 10 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 23 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 3.8 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 10 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Challenging but fair difficulty
“Something like Dark Souls where an enemy is an enemy and it'll smash you if you're underleveled is so much more satisfying”
Comment from 9 Aug 2026 in “Making difficulty curves in games” “Dark Souls made difficulty cool again when everyone else was trying to be "accessible"”
Comment from 7 Nov 2025 in “Game design is simple” “games without a difficulty setting “feel” more like a game to me”
Comment from 9 Aug 2026 in “Making difficulty curves in games” - Comment from 1 Sep 2026 in “Dwarf Fortress' creator says the industry's in shambles over AI”
- Comment from 12 Jun 2026 in “How we made hit video game Prince of Persia”
Long-lasting, returned to for years
“it's a sort of game you could play in decades and it would be as much of a masterpiece then it is today”
Comment from 9 Nov 2025 in “Ask HN: How would you set up a child’s first Linux computer?” “I get that from the Souls games (including Bloodborne and Elden Ring). They are all I can play now.”
Comment from 29 Aug 2026 in “EVE Online moves to Python 3” “Then sometimes a new Dark Souls comes out and I relish every moment, if I've got the time.”
Comment from 5 Jan 2026 in “All AI Videos Are Harmful (2025)” - Comment from 23 Jun 2026 in “The Low-Tech AI of Elden Ring”
Grounded world and lore
“The intentionality of their world still draws people in and gives the world a sense of groundedness that keeps people coming back”
Comment from 17 May 2026 in “SANA-WM, a 2.6B open-source world model for 1-minute 720p video” “this is the sadness of the 'lore,' not an emotion driven by the 'gameplay.'”
Comment from 27 May 2026 in “The Melancholy of Slaying Monsters” “DARK SOULS and the cycle of death being a whole part of the story”
Comment from 15 Apr 2026 in “The Case Against Gameplay Loops” Tight, hand-crafted level design
“the design of the game itself, with its repeated corpse runs to boss arenas”
Comment from 27 May 2026 in “The Melancholy of Slaying Monsters” “I take a hand crafted linear experience over open world any day.”
Comment from 25 Jun 2026 in “GTA 6 will cost $80” “Cutscenes are kept to a minimum and gameplay is is tight AF”
Comment from 7 Nov 2025 in “Game design is simple”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
DRM and disc problems on some platforms
“Microsoft's own DRM prevented the legitimately purchased game from saving on Windows”
Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “Wine 11 rewrites how Linux runs Windows games at kernel with massive speed gains” “I bought Dark Souls on a disc and could not play it on my console.”
Comment from 5 Jul 2026 in “It's not about physical vs. digital games, it's about ownership” Difficulty as masochistic design
“games that deliberately limit your controls as a form of difficulty”
Comment from 1 Nov 2026 in “Show HN: NES Contra (1987) port (ASM –> C and then C –> WebAssembly)” “The other is a masochism simulation.”
Comment from 7 Sep 2026 in “2026 Hugo Awards”
Other action role-playing games people recommend
The four most recommended other action role-playing games, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elden Ring | 25 | 8 | 76% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Dark SoulsThis page | 23 | 6 | 79% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Diablo II: Resurrected | 19 | 3 | 86% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Mass Effect | 19 | 5 | 79% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Path of Exile | 15 | 5 | 75% | 9 | — | Approved |
What people said
27 of the 30 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“games that deliberately limit your controls as a form of difficulty”
“The other is a masochism simulation.”
“Even with that simplistic AI its pretty difficult and enjoyable.”
“I get that from the Souls games (including Bloodborne and Elden Ring). They are all I can play now.”
“games without a difficulty setting “feel” more like a game to me”
“Something like Dark Souls where an enemy is an enemy and it'll smash you if you're underleveled is so much more satisfying”
“it's a classic and arguably the most influential game since its release”
“it makes the whole experience less lonely”
“I bought Dark Souls on a disc and could not play it on my console.”
“games like to ignore submitted value”
“I take a hand crafted linear experience over open world any day.”
“I've been playing these games since DS1”
“it doesn't feel as unfair in those games”
“Dark Souls (another favorite) has as its primary death-consequence an additional gameplay aspect”
“the design of the game itself, with its repeated corpse runs to boss arenas”
“this is the sadness of the 'lore,' not an emotion driven by the 'gameplay.'”
“The intentionality of their world still draws people in and gives the world a sense of groundedness that keeps people coming back”
“DARK SOULS and the cycle of death being a whole part of the story”
“Microsoft's own DRM prevented the legitimately purchased game from saving on Windows”
“All of these games tell a story, each of this game does it in its own, magnificent way.”
“Original, phenomenal games covering damm near every genre”
“Then sometimes a new Dark Souls comes out and I relish every moment, if I've got the time.”
“it is additive. It makes things feel more organic.”
“locked at some low resolution no matter what you did in the settings”
“it's a sort of game you could play in decades and it would be as much of a masterpiece then it is today”
“Dark Souls made difficulty cool again when everyone else was trying to be "accessible"”
“Cutscenes are kept to a minimum and gameplay is is tight AF”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.