If, like me, you only need the slightest excuse to dive back into Dark Souls and its bleak yet beautiful world of Lordran, I’m here to tell you now is a perfect time. The FromSoftware smash hit, and its follow-ups, have always taken a unique swing at the multiplayer game genre. Players are flooding back to the original Dark Souls for a limited time in an effort to repopulate the unique messaging system, PvP, and co-op mechanics as though the game was at the height of its popularity.
With the Dark Souls Remastered PC servers back up and running, there’s no better time to jump back into the RPG game than the current “Return to Lordran event.” An annual celebration of FromSoftware’s smash hit, this event aims to repopulate servers with messages, player fights, and summon signs (move over Solaire). There are even a few events on too, but the main goal is to generally bump up the number of players in the world of Dark Souls.
Return to Lordran is for all platforms including PC and runs from January 6-20, and you’re encouraged to create a new character and play through Dark Souls from the beginning. That’s it, there are some activities taking place, but you don’t actually need to do anything else.
If you do want to get involved further, however, there are some events. Hall of the Chosen awards gift cards for those that have done the most multiplayer activity like helping fellow players with requests or trades. There’s even a duos fashion contest, where teams of two need to show off their Dark Souls drip for a chance to win. No Ornstein and Smough though, before you ask.
You’re actively encouraged to not play with online passwords during the Dark Souls event, unless you need to so you can find specific players, as the idea is to boost the general community activity in the game during your next playthrough. You should also play on Dark Souls Remastered, as that’s the version encouraged for the event across the board.
Even if the FromSoftware series seems omnipresent it does in fact lose a lot of its player base over time, so this Dark Souls event is the perfect excuse to jump back in and help repopulate the game at the same time. The community behind the game does often organise annual events for other FromSoftware games, too, in case you want to jump back into the likes of Dark Souls 2, Dark Souls 3, or even Bloodborne. Elden Ring may even get a similar event a few years down the line as well.
You can learn all about the event and which online communities to join to get the most out of your Dark Souls revisit from the Return to Lordran Reddit post.
If you’ve caught the FromSoftware and Dark Souls brainworm again don’t worry, as a fan-made prequel to Dark Souls 3, called Dark Souls Archthrones, recently had a whopping 15 minutes of new gameplay which showed off completely original areas and enemies pulled from the likes of Bloodborne and Sekiro.
Perhaps you want some Dark Souls adjacent experiences after diving back into FromSoftware’s excellent RPG? If so we’ve already put together some lists of the best open-world games and best fantasy games, both of which should scratch your itch.
