An ambitious new mod for Dark Souls 1 has rekindled the game's community after this week's surprise release. And it was built by a single modder.
Dark Souls: Daughters of Ash is Dark Souls 1 reimagined and massively expanded, according to its sole creator.
Redditor Grimrukh said they spent more than 1000 hours in the course of 2017 and 2018 building the mod for Dark Souls: Prepare to die on PC.
"It's my vision of what Dark Souls could have been if FromSoftware had been given an additional six months to develop content for the game," Grimrukh said.
There is new game progression (new world-changing events, key items, and unexpected paths), new bosses and enemies (including enemies restored from cut content), new NPCs and storylines, new weapons, items, and mechanics, increased lore through new item descriptions, and new secrets ("don't expect to uncover all of the game's hidden content in one or two playthroughs").
Daughters of Ash quickly revitalized the Dark Souls 1 community, with many fans of the FromSoftware classic rushing to give it a try. There are teething issues, as you would expect from a human built mod, but Grimrukh has already released a number of updates and said more are coming. Check out the video below from streamer LobosJr to see the mod in action.
“My fondest memories of Dark Souls come from uncovering its secrets, and that heavily influenced my DoA design,” Grimrukh continued.
«Unlike a game company like FromSoft, I have no financial motivation to make all of my new content as obvious as possible. Some bosses aren't just sitting in rooms waiting for the Chosen Undead to come alive. I hope some of you like getting together to figure things out.»
Grimrukh did warn, however, that the mod doesn't have any new gameplay assets, such as character models or dialogue recordings, "but it does accomplish a lot by modifying the game's event scripts, placement data, and entity logic." They also recommended playing offline to avoid invasions, which would lead to broken gameplay.
Dark Souls 1 has seen a surge in Steam gamers and Twitch viewers following the mod's release. Dark Souls 1 came out more than seven years ago, and if this mod proves anything, it's that there is a clear demand for a fresh Dark Souls experience.