OK, the Dark Souls combat system... Whoa, I almost made it a full week into 2020 without writing an article about Dark Souls! You can stop worrying about me now because here it is. The Dark Souls series boasts an amazing combat system which was one of the major factors in creating the Soulsborne genre and there was always a lot to unpack about it. Most importantly, is Dark Souls combat realism a real thing or does it just appear so? As a major fan of the series and a bit of a history buff, I'll try to provide an analysis on the subject today, touching on the combat mechanics themselves, different weapons, and their usage. Let's start over-analyzing!

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Dark Souls combat realism definition is a fickle thing indeed

Here is the thing – realism is always a huge problem in video games. Even though a lot of games like Red Dead Redemption have about a gazillion things in place to make the experience more immersive and realistic there is never such thing as a 100% realistic experience. True realism only exists in real life (surprise, surprise) and can only be transferred to media partially. I'm not just talking about video games. The same goes for movies, books, comics, and everything else. But I do have to admit that I enjoy amazing failures in movie depictions of melee combat.

So when can we say that a video game is realistic, or that Dark Souls combat realism is a real thing and not just a promotion line? It's quite simple actually – we adjust our standards of realism. The best way for that is to take all the factors that go into creating something realistic and then pick out stuff that wouldn't make any sense to put into a video game. Believe me, having to piece together parts of a chainmail by hand in a video game wouldn't be any fun. Neither would having an itch under your plated armor you can't scratch.

Keeping those small adjustments in mind, what can we say about Dark Souls combat realism? Honestly, it's a mixed bag. Some parts of it are definitely realistic, or at least close to it, especially compared to other games. On the other hand, I think we can all agree Smough's Hammer wouldn't serve any purpose other than ornamental.

The tools for making stuff more dead with Dark Souls combat

Weapons are something that will either make or break the realism, depending on how you look at it. There are plenty of weapons in the series, more than a hundred actually, each one with unique look. For the most part, or at least while sticking to swords, spears, and daggers, you'll find them quite realistic when it comes to Dark Souls combat mechanics.

Video games tend to have a problem of making the swords (and other weapons) too large, too thick, or way to heavy. Dark Souls is an exception to that. When looking at weapons that are obviously inspired by real medieval designs you'll find no such mistakes. The rapier, sunlight straight sword, or claymore all look like something you might find in a museum. Even the zweihander (which I started pronouncing in a very wrong way after seeing this video and now can't stop) is a real thing, even though it wasn't used the way you'd swing it in the game. So when considering weapons like that, Dark Souls combat realism is a very real thing.

But then we come to the other weapon designs which are obviously very video-gamey. I don't think I have to tell you why there were no knights sporting a Moonlight Greatsword, Gargoyle Tail Axe (aside from the very disappointing lack of living gargoyles in real life), or Demon's Great Hammer. As cool as that would be to see there is no way it would be practical, let alone useful. If there were a person crazy enough to try and bring one of these weapons into battle they would quickly find themselves very unceremoniously murdered. Which brings us to the next point.

Dark Souls combat realism is about how you use the weapon

Remember what I said about enjoying watching extremely cheesy unrealistic melee battles in movies? Well, that's actually one of the more important points when it comes to Dark Souls realism. In order to better illustrate my point about what is unrealistic (and treat you to a laugh) take a look at this video by Lindybeige where he analyses the fighting techniques against enemy attacks in Helen of Troy. Believe me, you'll love it.

Much like that movie, video games are filled with fighting moves that would never work for real. And I'm not just talking about crazy moves you find in Mortal Kombat. Although, if you give them a try let me know how it works out for you, maybe I'm wrong. While games like Darksiders or Skyrim might have you flailing around and everything around you dropping dead from the sheer force of your weapons proximity, Dark Souls combat realism will step in and stop you from doing that. Actually, it will downright punish you for even trying to pull something like that. No, you will definitely suffer the consequences if you don't employ the right combat strategies in Dark Souls, especially when it comes to multiple enemies!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Dark Souls is a completely realistic sword fighting game, or even that greataxe combat is a good idea. But it does have attack moves that are very real and would be used in much the same way when wielding a real version of the weapon. Once again, I feel like I must add a disclaimer that only applies to weapons that are somewhat realistic, and certainly not the Dragon Tooth greathammer. Instead of making wild leaping strikes, or slashes that have you spin around for 360 degrees, Dark Souls has very precise and calculated strikes going on. The moves might not be those of an expert, but they are still something a novice or an adept would use with some efficiency.

The verdict

All in all, I'd say that for a video game, Dark Souls combat realism is more than great. It is by no means perfect and it has some glaring problems with the flashier weapons. However, the design that more closely follows real life seems to be done quite well. That goes for both weapons and attack moves. It might not have the multi-directional attack and block stances of For Honor, but it still offers a great deal of techniques that could be seen in real combat. Sadly, not an expert-level one. But that doesn't diminish its value, after all, it is a video game. It does get one thing right though. You would probably be killed rather quickly when faced with a scenario you get in Dark Souls combat.

That's all about Dark Souls combat realism for today folks, I'll see you next time!

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