The architecture featured in Dark Souls was inspired by real locations and their architectural styles. In the book Dark Souls: Design Works, Miyazaki himself confirmed the link with real-life locations, although Reddit users had already started to find links between real locations and the fictitious locations in the Kingdom of Lothric. One of the places the designers drew their inspiration from is the Cathedral of Milan. In an interview with IGN, designer Masanori Waragai said that he visited the Ambrosian church, adding “I recall looking up at the buttresses and imagining how amazing it would feel to walk on them… it really appeals to your adventurous side”. One balustrade and a rampant arch in particular look identical to a point on the Cathedral.
And the Cathedral is not the only Italian location that inspired the developers. According to a video and the related discussion on Reddit, the Undead Burg was inspired by the ghost town of Craco. Last but not least, Dark Souls wiki states that not only are there elements of the Cathedral of Milan in the architecture of Anor Londo, but there are also two statues located in Piazzale degli Uffizi, those of Antoninus of Florence and Benvenuto Cellini, which can be found on the Fog door of the boss of Anor Londo in Dark Souls III.
The architecture featured in Dark Souls was inspired by real locations and their architectural styles. In the book Dark Souls: Design Works, Miyazaki himself confirmed the link with real-life locations, although Reddit users had already started to find links between real locations and the fictitious locations in the Kingdom of Lothric. One of the places the designers drew their inspiration from is the Cathedral of Milan. In an interview with IGN, designer Masanori Waragai said that he visited the Ambrosian church, adding “I recall looking up at the buttresses and imagining how amazing it would feel to walk on them… it really appeals to your adventurous side”. One balustrade and a rampant arch in particular look identical to a point on the Cathedral.
And the Cathedral is not the only Italian location that inspired the developers. According to a video and the related discussion on Reddit, the Undead Burg was inspired by the ghost town of Craco. Last but not least, Dark Souls wiki states that not only are there elements of the Cathedral of Milan in the architecture of Anor Londo, but there are also two statues located in Piazzale degli Uffizi, those of Antoninus of Florence and Benvenuto Cellini, which can be found on the Fog door of the boss of Anor Londo in Dark Souls III.
Copyright: © Bandai Namco - From Software
View of the city of Anor Londo in Dark Souls
Copyright: © Bandai Namco - From Software
The Undead Burg
Copyright: © Bandai Namco - From Software
Statues of the fog door of Anor Londo in Dark Souls III (above), statues of Antoninus of Florence and Benvenuto Cellini located in Piazzale degli Uffizi
Action / RPG
From Software
The Dark Souls saga, like its predecessor Demon’s Souls and Bloodborne (released in 2015), was highly acclaimed by the public and critics for the charm of the dark settings, and above all for the new fighting mechanisms. Indeed, the player’s survival depends on their ability, as they are thrown into a totally hostile fictitious world, strewn with enemies that come back to life at every ‘checkpoint’, and in which death entails the loss of souls, which are necessary for the player to improve their ability. The player is provided with just a few scraps of the narrative context they have been placed in, they come to understand this world by exploring and reading the descriptions of the items in the game. These characteristics have helped to make Dark Souls and the other games created by Hidetaka Miyazaki cult games among players.
