Skyrim is one of the most beloved games in the world that has been kept fresh even after a decade thanks to the hundreds of thousands of mods released for it. Even today, players are still discovering content within the game that adds new life to the frigid world of Skyrim Special Edition.
The game offers a balanced experience for its players, and while challenging at times, does not seem unfair to the players. However, some players who wish to test themselves may feel the game to be lacking at times. They may wish to have an unforgiving experience such as the one offered in the Dark Souls series. As the vanilla game may not be challenging enough, these players can download and install some mods that transform Skyrim into a Dark Souls game.
Updated February 11, 2023 by Ritwik Mitra: Dark Souls has become one of the most popular and beloved games out there, signalling a change in the gaming industry and inspiring many other titles to implement the many facets of this game's design into other titles. Skyrim modders love this title to the point where they've added several mods to enhance a player's experience of playing Skyrim. Since the modding community is constantly growing and shifting, here are some more of the best mods players can use to turn this open-world RPG into a lite Dark Souls.
15 Dark Souls Movement And Stamina Regen
Some mods don't really need to be explained in detail. In fact, everything a player needs to know about said mod can be inferred from the title itself. This mod is one of those.
The Dark Souls Movement and Stamina Regen mod does precisely what is stated in the title: changes the player's movement and stamina regen mechanics to match those found in Dark Souls. Players who want to enjoy a Dark Souls-esque combat system in Skyrim should look no further than this mod.
14 Simple LockOn SE - DarkSouls3 Style
Another mod that will help players enjoy the Dark Souls style of combat in Skyrim is this mod. Locking on is one of the most important things in Dark Souls that is required to pay proper attention to an enemy and not strike thin air.
This mod adds this same style of locking on in Skyrim, which makes combat pretty fun. Of course, this works better in third-person, but most players who are looking for a Dark Souls experience anyway won't mind this change.
13 Dark Souls Style Chesko's Campfire Replacer
This mod requires another popular mod called Chesko's Campfire to work properly. The parent mod adds a campfire that can be whipped out to make the act of roaming the wilderness more immersive.
On top of this, players can download a mod that replaces the model of this campfire with the bonfire from Dark Souls. It makes for a great and immersive way for players to feel like they're genuinely roleplaying as one of the characters in Dark Souls.
12 Armor Mods By Azraille
Equipment in Dark Souls is important to minimize damage and get a ton of passive benefits to help the player out in a tight spot. As a result, many of the armor sets in Dark Souls have become iconic for their distinct and eye-catching designs, in addition to their gameplay functions.
So, it's only a given that these armor sets have been modded into Skyrim with great effect too. Some of these armor sets include the Faraam Armor and Elite Knight Armor.
11 Dark Souls Blood Impact Sound
The visceral noise made by players when hitting enemies in Dark Souls is extremely satisfying. After all, landing a single hit in the game can be quite a task, and players are always glad that their combat tactics end up bearing some fruit in this title after struggling so much.
The Dark Souls Blood Impact Sound mod adds this satisfying and crunchy sound into Skyrim whenever players hit enemies. It's one of the many mods that brings this title just a bit closer to becoming an open-world Dark Souls.
10 Ominous ENB And Parallax
The Dark Souls series features an ominous and gloomy atmosphere that matches the theme of the game. To transform Skyrim into something resembling a Dark Souls game, players will need a few graphical mods. They will need to download and install the Ominous ENB by firemanaf that gives the land of Skyrim a somber feel. They need to meet some prerequisites before they can install the ENB, which are listed on the mod page. ENBs in general are resource-intensive mods and players need to ensure that their systems can handle the extra strain.
If players want to make their Skyrim look even better, they can also install the Parallax 2020 by Pfuscher mod, which replaces many of the game world's textures with higher resolution variants. Using just the ENB will be enough to create the required atmosphere; however, using Parallax along with it will make the game look better and aesthetically pleasing overall.
9 Obsidian Weathers
As the name suggests, Obsidian Weathers by Dr Mega Arindel overhauls the weather system for Skyrim, giving it a sharp, ominous, atmospheric feel. The mod also overhauls the vanilla seasons into something more realistic that changes as time passes in-game. Different regions of the landscape will have unique weather patterns that can be configured via an in-game menu.
Obsidian Weathers is best enjoyed paired with an ENB that adds a gloomy atmosphere, as the fog effects enhance the lighting effects true to the Dark Souls essence. Most ENBs will have optional files configured for a particular weather mod, so players only need to download the file made for Obsidian Weathers.
8 Creatures By Mihailmods
Having a wide variety of creatures and monsters to fight against is crucial for the Dark Souls experience. While Skyrim has a respectable number of enemies to fight, they lack the number and challenge that is required. A series of creature mods made by mihailmods adds a number of enemies that players can test their mettle against. Players can browse the author's works at their leisure and download creatures they feel work best.
However, as a bare minimum, they will need to download and install Iron Golems, Ancient Skeletons, and Mimics by mihailmods to add some of the creatures commonly faced in the Dark Souls games. They can also add Gravelords, War Revenants, Crystal Golems, Ancient Nordic Sentinel, and the Bone Colossus to further increase the number of adversaries to face against.
7 True Directional Movement And The Ultimate Dodge Mod
Skyrim's movements in third person mode can be stiff and choppy, a far cry from the fluidity observed in Dark Souls. For that reason, players will need to install the True Directional Movement by Ershin mod that gives players fully unlocked directional movement when in combat. This mod also adds the ability to lock on to a target and focus on one enemy at a time along with giving them floating health bars. The mod pairs best with The Ultimate Dodge Mod by distar66, allowing players to dodge incoming attacks. Players will need to install some prerequisites, however, which are listed on the mod page in the requirements section.
6 Elder Souls, Parry And Backstab
Elder Souls by miken1ke adds over a hundred animations to Skyrim ​​​​​​, overhauling the vanilla animations to resemble the Dark Souls attack movesets. The mod adds unique animations for daggers, swords, maces, axes, and dual-wielded weapons in both one-handed and two-handed variety.
Players will be able to see these animations at work in third person mode as the first person animations are left untouched. This mod will work in conjunction with the Backstab and Parry mod by zxlice. Allowing players to do massive damage to their enemies by performing some well time parries and backstabs as done in Dark Souls.