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Guides & Lore
Written essays on the FromSoftware games behind the daily puzzles - level design, boss difficulty, questline structure and the lore that holds it all together.
How Soulsdle Clues Work: A Strategy Guide to Every Column
What each Soulsdle clue really compares - game, region, type, weakness, DLC, souls, health - the traps in the data, and a full walkthrough of a solved puzzle.
9 min read · Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, Dark Souls II, Dark Souls III, Bloodborne, Sekiro, Elden Ring, Nightreign
Shadow of the Erdtree Main Bosses, Ranked by Difficulty
Every major Shadow of the Erdtree boss ranked from easiest to hardest, from Metyr to Promised Consort Radahn, and why Scadutree Blessing changes the whole list.
11 min read · Elden Ring
Two Phases, Gank Fights and Gimmicks: How FromSoftware Designs Bosses
The recurring boss patterns across Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro and Elden Ring - phase transitions, group fights, gimmick bosses - and what each is for.
8 min read · Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, Dark Souls II, Dark Souls III, Bloodborne, Sekiro, Elden Ring
Dark Souls II, the Misunderstood Sequel: Drangleic, Majula and Vendrick
Why Dark Souls II is the black sheep of the trilogy, what it got right that the others never tried, and how the story of Vendrick and Drangleic actually fits together.
9 min read · Dark Souls II
Armored Core VI and the Mech Roots of FromSoftware
Before Demon’s Souls, FromSoftware was the Armored Core studio. How the mech series shaped the Souls games, and what Fires of Rubicon took back from them.
8 min read · Demon's Souls, Sekiro, Elden Ring
The Ten Hardest Bosses in Dark Souls III, Ranked
A ranked breakdown of the ten toughest fights in Dark Souls III, why each one breaks players, and what actually changes when you finally beat it.
9 min read · Dark Souls III
Why Ranni's Questline Is the One Elden Ring Story Everyone Remembers
An analysis of why Ranni's questline stays with Elden Ring players long after the credits: what it asks of you, what it hides, and what the Age of Stars means.
9 min read · Elden Ring
Bloodborne Lore, Explained for People Who Finished It and Were Confused
A clear, jargon-free introduction to the story of Bloodborne: the old blood, the Great Ones, the Byrgenwerth scholars, and what the Hunter’s Dream really is.
9 min read · Bloodborne
Why Sekiro Breaks Dark Souls Players, and How Its Combat Actually Works
Sekiro punishes every habit Dark Souls taught you. An explanation of posture over health, why aggression is safety, and why dodging is usually a trap.
9 min read · Sekiro
Why Dark Souls Still Has the Best Level Design FromSoftware Ever Made
Lordran is one continuous space, not a menu of areas. A close look at how the first Dark Souls built its world, and what the sequels traded away for scale.
9 min read · Dark Souls
The Fragility of FromSoftware NPC Questlines
Why FromSoftware quests break so easily, what that fragility does to their stories, and why players stay so attached to characters they mostly failed to save.
9 min read · Dark Souls, Dark Souls III, Bloodborne, Elden Ring
Demon's Souls and the Ideas the Series Left Behind
World Tendency, the Nexus, an archipelago instead of a continent. What the very first Souls game did differently, and why almost none of it truly survived.
9 min read · Demon's Souls