Souls (series)

The Souls series (ソウルシリーズ, Sōru shirīzu) refers to a series of action role-playing video games created and developed by FromSoftware. The series began with the release of the PlayStation 3 video game Demon's Souls in 2009. Demon's Souls was followed by Dark Souls in 2011, and its sequels, Dark Souls II and Dark Souls III, in 2014 and 2016 respectively.

The Souls games are played in a third-person perspective, and focus on weapons- and magic-based combat with disfigured monsters, and exploration. Players battle bosses, interact with the strange non-playable characters, and journey through the medieval-like, interconnected environments in order to progress through the story. The series is particularly notable for its difficulty.

Setting

The games take place within a medieval fantasy setting, where the player coexists with the likes of knights, dragons, and various monsters. The recurring theme of the games' settings is that of a once powerful and prosperous kingdom which eventually fell into decadence and damnation after a series of unfortunate events. The players' goal varies between installments; the plot of Demon Souls follows an attempt to halt the spread of a demon-infested fog that would eventually shroud the world, while the plot of Dark Souls involved prolonging an age of prosperity and in the sequel finding a cure for the ailment known as "hollowing".

Dark Souls

Dark Souls (ダークソウル, Dāku Sōru) is an action role-playing video game developed by FromSoftware. It was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and published by Namco Bandai Games internationally. A spiritual successor to FromSoftware's Demon's Souls and the second installment of the Souls series, Dark Souls began development under the working title of Project Dark. The game was released in Japan on September 22, 2011, and in North America, Australia, and Europe the following month. On August 24, 2012, the "Prepare to Die" edition of Dark Souls was released for PC, featuring additional content previously unavailable to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 users. On October 23, 2012, the additional content from the PC version was released as downloadable content for consoles under the title Artorias of the Abyss.Dark Souls takes place in the fictional kingdom of Lordran. Players assume the role of a cursed undead character who has been chosen to make a pilgrimage out of the Undead Asylum to discover the fate of the Undead.

Soul

The soul in many religions, philosophical and mythological traditions, is the incorporeal and immortal essence of a living being. According to Abrahamic religions, only human beings have immortal souls. For example, the Catholic theologian Thomas Aquinas attributed "soul" (anima) to all organisms but argued that only human souls are immortal. Other religions (most notably Jainism and Hinduism) teach that all biological organisms have souls, while some teach that even non-biological entities (such as rivers and mountains) possess souls. This latter belief is called animism.

Greek philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle understood that the psyche (ψυχή) must have a logical faculty, the exercise of which was the most divine of human actions. At his defense trial, Socrates even summarized his teaching as nothing other than an exhortation for his fellow Athenians to excel in matters of the psyche since all bodily goods are dependent on such excellence (The Apology 30a–b).

Anima mundi is the concept of a "world soul" connecting all living organisms on the planet.

Series

Series (singular) may refer to anything of a serial form:

Mathematics and science

Media

Music

Other uses

Dark Souls III

Dark Souls III (ダークソウルIII, Dāku Sōru Surī) is an upcoming action role-playing video game being developed by FromSoftware. The fourth entry in the Souls series,Dark Souls III will be released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in Japan in March 2016, and worldwide the following month. A comic is scheduled for release following in April 2016.

Gameplay

Dark Souls III is an action role-playing game set in a third-person perspective, similar to previous games in the series. According to director Hidetaka Miyazaki, the game's gameplay design "follows closely from Dark Souls II". Players are equipped with a variety of weapons including shortbows, explosives like fire bombs, greatswords and dual-wielding swords to fight against enemies, and shields that can be used to deflect an enemies' attack and protect the player from suffering damage. In addition, attacks can be evaded through dodge-rolling. Bonfires, which serve as checkpoints, return from previous installments. Ashes, according to Miyazaki, will play an important role in the game. Magic is featured in the game and the magic meter returned, similar to Demon's Souls. Each attack has two different styles. One of them is standard attack, while another provides power-ups to players, and is slightly more powerful. When performing miracles and spells, the players' magic points are consumed and decreased. In order to refill these points, they need to consume an "Ash Estus Flask". There are two different Estus Flasks in the game. One of them can help refill magic points, while another refills hit points. Combat and movements were made faster and more fluid in Dark Souls III. Several players' movements, such as backstepping and swinging heavy weapons, can be performed more rapidly, allowing players to deal more damage in a short period of time.