FromSoftware is the most important studio of the last decade

There is a reason why you can compare literally any TPP game to Dark Souls.

[Spurg]

Without a doubt.
Dark souls was the game of the last generation...the rest of the from soft games that came afterward did not achieve the same the of story and design. Sekiro came close but the story was not as well interwoven and complex as Dark souls

[Felix_Argyle_Catbro]

Bloodborne>Dark Souls

[Spurg]

Care to explain why...better story? Better level design? Better content?

[SyntheticForm]

@Spurg

People like the bizarre, darker, lovecraftian world of Bloodborne - it's interesting and it oozes atmosphere. I really enjoyed it as well, and more than any of the DS games.

Bloodborne is just a special game.

[ravinash]

Demon Souls still hold that special place in my heart.

[Spurg]

"Better story yes"
Not even close. The lore and depth of Dark Souls is unmatched. Dark souls does so much with its story and side quest that it leaves a lasting impression and is the reason why there are 3 games in the series. A small quest from Dark souls has a better story than Bloodborne. Bloodborne starts off intriguing but disappoints in the latter half which is old Yarnham and the nightmare, two of the shortest and most boring sections of the game.
Bloodborne doesn't even have half the lore content that dark souls has to tell a compelling story with a satisfying conclusion.

"the level design is around the same quality"

They are not even close to the same in quality. The intricate and innovative level design from Dark souls has not been emulated in the other games, only attempted but not successful.

"better content"
-Pathetic magic
-Less weapons and items which means less lore
-lesser RPG elements
-Less and inferior Bosses
-No boss weapons or armor which also means less lore
-0 giant boss
-Sidequests are not satisfying

"better atmosphere"
Tombs of the giant, ash lake, Sins fortress are each uniquely different in tone but provide jaw-dropping visual and atmosphere.

Bloodborne has does what it does well but the variety in Dark souls trumps Bloodborne. There are moments on Dark souls that are like bloodborne but there aren't any moments in bloodborne that are like Dark souls.

[SPEAKxTHExTRUTH]

I 100% disagree. I think Souls is better than Bloodborne.

[Spurg]

@pwnmaster3000

"I’m pretty sure your just being Bias, because it’s a PS4 exclusive lol."
Nah, it's the other way round. Dark souls is universally adored by fromsoft fans. It only Ps4 fans that take Bloodborne to be the holy gospel by Fromsoft.

"I also agree. I love bloodbornes combat also and the level design."

With no context to back this up.

"Facing against another Hunter like lady Maria is just pure art."
Please.....Ornstein and smough was the epitome of the artform and Artorians was the icing on the cake. And facing other NPC was made by prominent by Demon souls and given depth in Dark souls.

"The last boss in bloodborne is easily in my top 5 favorite boss fight of all time.
Bad ass and beautiful at the same time."

Nothing will ever beat fighting Sif after returning from the ending of the DLC.

"Dark souls was dope and all and I did play all of them but man Bloodbornes smooth combat and just the overall look of the game sucked me in."

The combat is the same - some improved animation only.

"I will say Darksouls 3 online is a lot better.
I hope Bloodborne’s online gets better."

This bring me to another point I miss...Bloodborne's online was none existant. Played the game 3 times in a row and only got invaded once. The whole idea just did not fit in Bloodborne and was riding on the wave set by Dark souls.

[Dragonscale]

@Felix, agreed. Tbh the disagree-ers probably never even played BB.

[The Wood]

Spurg. Have you played bloodborne or demons souls? I think demons souls opened the path for those types of games on modern consoles. Took me back to the days of super ghouls and ghosts for difficulty. . Vexation

[meganick]

Spurg said Dark Souls is the game of last gen. Bloodborne is current gen. Regardless, Dark Souls is the better game. But Bloodborne is also great.

[xTonyMontana]

@Spurg for me, it just felt more imaginative. The art direction was top class.

[Fluttershy77]

Nah, you are just saying that because it is a exclusive. Dark Souls is the one that influenced the most

[goldwyncq]

Bloodborne pre-DLC < Dark Souls

Bloodborne post-DLC > Dark Souls

[Felix_Argyle_Catbro]

Better story yes, the level design is around the same quality, better content, yes, better atmosphere

[_Decadent_Descent]

I wholeheartedly disagree. The story is about the same for either but the level/world design is better in Dark Souls and being that your build variety is much greater and deeper in DS, it's also the one with better content. That said, they're both masterpieces.

[TheOptimist]

As a person who played Dark Souls wayyyy after Bloodborne, I have to say, I was literally awed at Dark Souls. Dark Souls is definitely the better game. Bloodborne is great in iyts own right.

[goldwyncq]

Dark Souls' level design is still the best in the series, though Bloodborne and Sekiro beat it in combat.

[PurpHerbison]

DeS/DS1/BB are the shining stars. DS1 is probably a safe pick since way more people played it and it rocks but Bloodborne is absolutely no slouch and my personal pick for game of the DECADE. The story/lore is the best, hands down.

Do yourself a favor and check out the Bloodborne subreddit with the lore filter on. Dark Souls 1 cannot match the depth. Both great games though.

[Spurg]

If you knew what you were talking about you'll know that Dark Souls has Bloodborne trumped in the story department. Dark souls has more depth than Bloodborne and that is a straight-up fact.

[PurpHerbison]

Not really something I like to admit but I have spent thousands of hours in both Dark Souls 1(360,PS3,PC,PS4) and Bloodborne over the years. I know what I'm talking about.

[LMosche]

Bloodborne is superior thanks to Sony's budget. Bandai Namco destroyed the potential of Dark Souls, on top of being limited by being multiplatform. Elder Ring has potential IF it's next gen, which I doubt knowing Japanese coders. So there's nothing worth looking at until Demon Souls Remake or Bloodborne 2.

[Spurg]

"Bloodborne is superior thanks to Sony's budget."

Sony's budget...WOW.....so enlightening

[Edito]

What are you talking about?

[ShinRon]

if not number one then top 5 at least... there are alot of great devs tho

[Fluttershy77]

It's also the studio that grew the most

[carcarias]

Stop being so reasonable, factual and fair. How are people going to get angry at each other without hyperbolic article titles such as this one? :)

Unfortunately, although gaming sites like to act superior and look down on fano-boys, they do everything they can to make provocative articles to set people on each other to get clicks and comments.

[on_line_forever]

For me FromSoftware is the great studio of the last decade , Iam very excited right now for Elden Ring and the new Dark souls 4 , demon souls 2 , bloodborne 2 in the future and i wish square enix cooperat with them to make vagrant story remake

[CaptainOmega]

Besides DarkSouls 2 FromSoft has been ontop of it.

[LoveSpuds]

That narrative gets old for me, Dark Souls 2 may be the weakest Souls game, but its still a fantastic game in its own right and better than many of the games that came out in 2014.

[Fluttershy77]

yes, but is the weakest

[carcarias]

Yeah, I don't know why people keep banging on about DS2. They neglect the more well-rounded perspective that, like you said, it's a fantastic game in its own right, even if most people preferred the other two more. FromSoft didn't make a mess of it or anything even close.

It's like saying the guy in 3rd place at the World's Strongest Man is the 'weakest' on the winners podium. So? They're still mightily impressive and achieved a great deal to be admired.

[william_cade]

Dark Souls 2 is a place holder and a janky mess. I wouldn't say it's fantastic by any stretch.

[frostypants]

Dark Souls 2 was fine. I don't really understand the hate it gets...I think people just rank it lower because Miyazaki wasn't very involved, but I actually liked it better than Dark Souls 3. DS3 was especially disappointing to me after playing Bloodborne...it seemed like Miyazaki's heart was more in it for Bloodborne. Parts of DS3 felt very uninspired and boring, like a rushed re-hash of DS1, and even visually it got left in the dust by Bloodborne, despite being newer.

[CaptainOmega]

The connection of the world made illogical sense. (Going from a giant windmill (Upwards) to a lava castle. There being more enemies on screen as to have artificial difficulty. Enemies disappearing if you kill them enough. Enemies followed you across the map meaning you can’t just run past them if you want to skip them, you also have to worry about them following you forever. Unoriginal boss fights.. Combat that feels really stiff.. It’s the weakest ’Souls-like’ game from the company and it’s not just because 1 person wasn’t involved.

[goldwyncq]

Dark Souls 2 (the updated version at least) was damn amazing and criminally underrated. The DLCs in particular are some of the best levels FromSoftware has put out.

[roadkillers]

What a stupid article that accomplishes nothing. The Souls franchise is amazing and I hear their new game is just as great. I’m happy for them and enjoy the success they have had by playing their new games.

N4G has so many “argue against this” type articles. Just give me the damn news, sorry but it is News 4 Gamers. Where the fuck is the news...

[Atom666]

In the top right corner, there is a drop down menu that let's you choose just "News" articles instead of all Stories.

[roadkillers]

Thank you. You know Atom666, you are extremely helpful... that’s what I appreciates about you.

[carcarias]

Thanks for the tip. I was just thinking how much I hate these 'let's pit gamers against each other' articles.

This article could be just as much of an interesting conversation starter with the title, 'FromSoft is one of the most important studios last decade.', but oh no, that would be too reasonable.

[Fluttershy77]

Yeah now that Atom666 show you how to do it, I think we won't see you anymore in the comments of articles and opinion pieces, right?

[Toiletsteak]

I'm a newbie to the Souls games, I completed the first game a few weeks ago and it was so damn good, I honestly thought I would get pissed off and not wanna play the game again but it hooks you and makes you determined to beat it. I'm currently playing through 2 now and I didn't like some of the changes to start with but it grew on me. I'm at the Dragon Shrine now but I'm not sure how much is left. I'm shocked at how much fun I've been having with these games.

[pwnmaster3000]

I recommend also checking out Bloodborne if you have a PS4. That game is also a masterpiece.

If you enjoy 1 & 2, you will love Darksouls 3.

[LoveSpuds]

I second this, Bloodborne is even better than Dark Souls in my opinion.

[Toiletsteak]

Oh I definitely will be checking that out, I already have a copy for when I beat DS 3. I've always heard fantastic things about it.

[Dragonscale]

The Dragon Shrine is quite a way in but you've still go a fair way to go. Just wait till you get to Shrine of Amana, that place is real fun lol.

[VerminSC]

DS2 is MASSIVE

[william_cade]

Good article. I enjoyed it, but the writer missed Bloodborne.

[LoveSpuds]

The article headline seems hyperbolic initially, but the more I think about it, the harder it becomes to argue against From Software. My personal favourite outfit is still Naughty Dog I think, but it's close.

[harmny]

Cdprojekt

[goldwyncq]

Putting out one good open world game doesn't make a studio the most important in the decade.

[TheColbertinator]

Demon's Souls was a real gem. I miss playing it

[Shadow Man]

Man I can’t freaking beat Dark Souls 3! Dance of the Boreal is a pain in the neck, but still love the dark souls franchise.

[william_cade]

Dancer is a pain. I would use a fully upgraded long sword that way you can get more hits in before you have to roll.

[Mooncake]

"Souls like" has become such a lazy and broad descriptor for anything challenging. Can't deny their influence.

[Mooncake]

Just to be clear; that wasn't a criticism of From Software.

[william_cade]

Yeah, because using terms that condense ideas is useless...

[Mooncake]

When you hear about the "dark souls of racing games" then yes. Quite useless.

[Asuka]

I want a new Armored Core...

[ANIALATOR136]

I would say Media Molecule is

[Teflon02]

Ppl won't agree, but Mm started a whole new genre that turned into them creating a game engine consumers can use and create games with. Mm's work has already flooded into games like ModNation, Mario Maker etc. Leading to endless content and possibilities for players. You actually get your money's worth. When you really think about it. Them making LBP, especially 2 where they expanded to a genre of games you can do and not just side scrollers. They really changed everything.

[Jsm89k]

I disagree, FS came at a time where devs were trying to please the casual audience by hand holding you through their games. Demons souls said the hell with that and gave something to the more hardcore audience even if it was accidental. I blame the wii for casual pleasing, lbp was important also but I feel the impact of the souls series was far more important.

[Jsm89k]

Idk what I would do if bloodborne didn't exist.

[sampsonon]

most important? no. one of? perhaps.

[3-4-5]

No it's not...

[froy402]

Bloodborne 2 for ps5, with minimal loading on respawn time thanks to ssd. Make it happen please

[bamillington]

Bloodborne was very good game far better than my gaming skills

[sdplisken]

From is phenomenal imo
I'm playing sekiro and cant stop

[GameStallion]

From a gameplay/ play control perspective, yes. I also loved their handling of lore with weapons/ items & unique storytelling. Don’t know if you can say any one studio is “most important,” but I have probably played their games more than any others in the last 10 years between DS1, 2, 3, Sekiro & Bloodborne.

[Drithe]

Bring back King's Field!!!

[BQ32]

Umm no.

[CrimsonWing69]

Man, I like the Soulsbourne series, but their track record, aside from those games, isn’t exactly stellar. I would not say they’re the most important Studio of the decade, but they have one hell of a talented team working on specific titles. I might chock that up to Miyazaki as a game director.

[carcarias]

Jesus. These click-bait, 'let's get people angry' articles have been around for years and, sadly, they're here to stay it seems. Can't they just sod off?

What would be wrong about the title simply being, 'FromSoftware was one of the most important studios of the last decade'?

Gaming sites waffle on about how they look down on fan-boys and console wars but do everything they can to get people at each others throats. As if people who love CDPR or Naughty Dog (pick your fav dev) are gonna let an article like this stand.

[AK91]

As overrated as I think the Dark Souls trilogy and Sekiro are (sorry people just an opinion) both Demon Souls and Bloodborne are two of my fav games from this gen and the last one.

[BrainSyphoned]

From Software and Larian Studios for me.

[l33t_haxx0r]

agreed

[esherwood]

I was in love with dark souls one but the third one I got about halfway and just lost interest. Honestly think it’s just to damn hard

[ScootaKuH]

Nah

[silenthillstrangler]

bloodborne blew me away and im not a "souls" fan, i cant wait to see what elden ring is like on ps5.

[silenthillstrangler]

bloodborne was phenomenal! i was never a souls fan but bloodborne was busting at the seams with atmosphere and lore, i couldn't get enough. i am waiting with in excruciating anticipation to see what they have been doing with elder ring on ps5.

[bluefox755]

Wouldn't go that far, but they're up there.