Summary
- Dark Souls locations draw inspiration from real-world structures like Vatican City & Angkor Wat.
- Anor Londo & Duke’s Archives resemble Milan Cathedral & George Peabody Library.
- Mexico's Cave of the Crystals served as inspiration for Dark Souls' Crystal Cave.
The Dark Souls series is known for many things, from intense boss battles to pioneering an entire subgenre of action RPG. Part of what makes the games so interesting and well-loved is the attention to detail that goes into every aspect of the world and the environments that players spend their playthrough taking in and marveling at.
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There are so many influences on Dark Souls, from pop culture and the real world, and when it comes to the structures and locations found within the games, the parallels to reality are more than just a coincidence. Some inspirations are quite subtle, while others are direct translations that the developers saw with their own eyes and decided to give them the FromSoftware treatment.
7 Cathedral Of The Deep
St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City
Dark Souls 3
- Released
- March 24, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood Violence
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
The Cathedral of the Deep is one of the more interesting areas in Dark Souls 3, as the build up to actually entering the structure is just as big as the area within. It is a sprawling building full of giants and worshipers of all kinds, and one of its most distinctive features, other than its size, is the number of statues that line the walls, creating a sense that the player is being watched at all times.
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The real-life parallels are quite striking, as the interior design as well as some of the exterior areas are clearly inspired by St. Peter's Basilica and its gargantuan size. The similarities stretch even further, as deep within the walls and into the room of the Deacons, at the center is a large rectangular structure that relates closely to the Kaaba in Mecca. It makes perfect sense as well, as both represent the heart of a religious hub, where many go to pray to their deity, both in the game and the real world.
6 Archdragon Peak
Blue Mosque, Istanbul (Byzantine Architecture)
- Game: Dark Souls 3
Hidden in a faraway land, Archdragon Peak houses two polar opposite boss fights: one genre-defining battle that will test even franchise veterans, and the other an underwhelming gimmick fight that is more of a joke than a battle. Aside from the bosses, the setting is simply gorgeous and heavily influenced by more than a few pieces of architecture.
The biggest characteristic of the structures can be attributed to the Byzantine architecture found in places like Istanbul's Blue Mosque, with large domes and ornate buildings combined to create jaw-dropping facades that can be seen for miles. The same characteristics are seen in the game, with the rounded roofs and many images inside depicting religious scenes in a similar way to the real Mosques.
5 Anor Londo
Milan Cathedral, Italy
Dark Souls
- Released
- September 22, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Soulslike, Adventure
Of all the locations in the Dark Souls trilogy, few are as iconic as Anor Londo. The towering palace that stretches across the landscape represents a turning point in the game, and for many people, it stands as one of their favorite places in the series, continuing to inspire awe all these years later.
Miyazaki himself has talked about visiting the Milan Cathedral, a structure that bears a clear resemblance to the in-game location with its flying buttresses and towering pillars extending as far as the interior staircases that spiral all the way down. Revisiting the location in the series' third installment clearly showed how much of an impact visiting the real-world location had on the game's creators and artists.
4 Lost Izalith
Angkor Wat, Cambodia
- Game: Dark Souls
Lost Izalith is a haunting and gloomy location that many would consider among the worst locations in the entire series. The floors are covered in lava that damages and slows the player, grotesque enemies stalk them everywhere they go, and the boss at the end has caused more than a few frustrations over the years.
In the heart of Cambodia, Angkor Wat rises above the treetops and shows off the craftsmanship and talents of a long-ago civilization. The same towers can be found in Lost Izalith, along with the vines and branches that wrap around the terrain, providing paths for the player to traverse and creating a more chilling environment overall.
3 The Duke’s Archives
George Peabody Library, Baltimore
- Game: Dark Souls
Libraries have become a common staple in most FromSoftware games. They act as a labyrinthine structure with seemingly no end and a haunting location that has been iterated upon countless times, up to and including in Elden Ring. The Duke's Archives is one of the first examples and shows the sheer verticality of the halls and shelves, putting the player's size into perspective in a big way.
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George Peabody Library is located in Baltimore, USA. It houses thousands of texts and books from all genres and ages in a single vast location. The similarities between the library and the Archives are striking, with the tall walls and central hub areas crossing over perfectly, showing how dedicated the development team was to authenticity and honing in on the details.
2 Crystal Cave
Cave Of The Crystals, Mexico
- Game: Dark Souls
The Crystal Cave is a small yet intriguing location that features some incredibly peculiar enemies and stunning visuals that many players consider to be a standout in the first Dark Souls. With its long pillars stretching on for many meters and invisible walkways illuminated only by faint dust specs, it is an unsettling and beautiful place to be and to explore.
However, the location isn't something straight out of fiction. Earth has shown time and time again what it is capable of producing beneath its surface, and in Mexico, there hides a gigantic crystal cavern called the Cave of the Crystals that looks shockingly similar to the one found in Dark Souls. The simplistic design is perfectly complemented by the scale of the structures, and the beauty of nature once again shows its true colors in all their glory.
1 Undead Parish
Nuevo San Juan Parangaricutiro, Mexico
- Game: Dark Souls
For many players, The Undead Parish is a fond memory of a time long ago. With its long corridors full of enemies and iconic mossy textures, this area is where many people were introduced to the Soulslike genre and now exists as a gem in the catalog of excellent level design and perfect world-building.
Yet no matter how hard developers try to push for a fantasy setting, it is hard not to call back to reality, and in Mexico, the village of Nuevo San Juan Parangaricutiro was clearly a big inspiration for both the design of the main turret and also the general aesthetic of the area as a whole. It is cool to see these often overlooked real-world locations be given a second wind in the form of a cherished video game area that has reached far more lives than the location itself.
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