Supplementary Souls: The Best Dark Souls Fan Content on the Web
Take a tour of ways to improve your Souls experience with the help of fellow obsessives.
This article first appeared on USgamer, a partner publication of VG247. Some content, such as this article, has been migrated to VG247 for posterity after USgamer's closure - but it has not been edited or further vetted by the VG247 team.
Dark Souls 2 has been out and punishing hardcore RPG fans for just over two months, and in that time, you've likely explored every corner of Drangleic, overcome its many terrifying bosses, and finally did the thing with the... wait-what the hell was this game about, anyway? Even though you might have seen all the content Souls 2 has to offer (no doubt thanks to US Gamer's helpful guide), From's brand of storytelling and design makes for plenty of mysteries long after the credits roll. And because of this, plenty of devoted fans have stepped up in order to make some sense of From's maddening RPG trilogy, all out of the kindness of their hearts-though those YouTube ad dollars certainly pay the bills.
YouTube - EpicNameBro
Marcus Sanders—aka EpicNameBro—made such a splash in the Souls community with his original videos that the publishers of Souls 2's official (and exhaustive) strategy guide recruited him. And if you check out his videos, it's easy to see why. While ENB exudes a laid-back, dudeular persona, he has the fastidiousness it takes to mine the most from Dark Souls' mysteries. He's had the time to be much more thorough with his videos for the original Souls, but his current playthrough of Souls 2 acts as a great way to pick up on anything you might have missed, from items to nuggets of lore.
YouTube - VaatiVidya
Those looking to get the most out of the nuanced, hands-off storytelling of the Souls games should steer their browsers to VaatiVidya's YouTube page. Vaati specializes in delivering bite-sized summaries of certain events and people from the Souls trilogy by piecing together the dribs and drabs of information From Software reluctantly feeds its players. Plenty of other folks have devoted their time to doing this on YouTube, but VaatiVidya's masterful editing skills and stone-cold sober narration make the many tragedies of Souls as impactful as they should be. Check out Vaati's Prepare to Cry series for the best examples of his work-and don't be surprised if you get a little choked up.
YouTube - Lobos Jr
Lobos Jr is kind of the Evel Knievel of the Souls world, as the contents of his YouTube channel offer feats no sane human should attempt. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to kill every Dark Souls 2 boss with the game's joke weapon—an ordinary kitchen ladle? How would you feel about a fists-only (AKA unarmed) playthrough? Or maybe playing through the whole game using only a bow? If you've dreamed of it, Lobos Jr has probably done it... or is planning to at some point in the future. Whatever the case, if you subscribe to his channel, you may feel seriously inadequate about your own Souls skills. (Though you won't really mind.)
YouTube - DaveControlLive
DaveControlLive isn't as well-known as some of the other YouTubers, but his videos run the gamut from stunts to longplays to lore, accented by a goofy sense of humor that really gives his work a sense of identity. That isn't to say his output lacks pathos, though—the handful of lore videos he's put out since the release of Dark Souls 2 hold up even when compared to Vaati's efforts. Still, his normal playthrough videos make for some pretty fun watching, especially since DCL has a knack for editing in music or throwing in a special effect or overlay at the perfect moment. And if you're wondering just what the heck King's Field (From's precursor to the Souls series) is all about, he has full playthroughs of those games as well.
YouTube - RitcheyzLP - Dark Souls Soul Level 1 Playthrough
It's possible to finish all of Dark Souls without gaining a single level, though obviously, it's not recommended. And while RitcheyzLP doesn't exactly specialize in Souls-related content, his soul level one playthrough of the original DS shows that he probably should. While witnessing this nearly impossible feat is entertaining enough, RitcheyzLP adds some unexpected humor to his playthrough by making its protagonist a colossal, baby-faced, green-skinned giant named Solomon who's too dull to be anything but nonplussed by the horrors around him.
Podcast - Bonfireside Chat
A shameful admission on my part: I actually learned about most notable members of the Souls community through the podcast Bonfireside Chat, seeing as most of them have guested on the show at one point or another. But even without the guidance of trusted souls experts, affable hosts Kole Ross and Gary Butterfield provide a well-researched journey through the series, one area at a time. So far, they've covered the first two games and are steadily making their way through Dark Souls 2-but their efforts don't stop at the Souls trilogy. The podcast has also covered King's Field: The Ancient City, and the manga/anime series Berserk, which had a major influence on the tone of the Souls games.
There's a nearly limitless amount of Souls stuff on the web, so it's entirely possible I missed something. Post any notable/entertaining/insane/etc. Souls content in the comments, and they might make it into a second round-up!