Dark Souls: Archthrones Reaffirms Modding Is The Best Thing To Happen To Games

Technology has come a long way since the inception of video games, and it’s evident if you study the history of their evolution. From pixel art and pre-rendered backgrounds to photorealistic real-time backgrounds and animations, the stuff we see today wasn’t even in our wildest dreams back then. Moreover, there’s another thing that’s only possible now: modding.

I used to look at games with absolute wonder back then. Although there was stuff I wanted to be done differently, I always considered games to be an unalterable product. However, fast forward a few years, and modding became a reality. Do you want to make game characters look utterly ridiculous? It’s not just a funny little thought anymore.

Dark Souls: Archthrones Is A Modding Marvel

You must be wondering, what sparked this discussion about mods? Recently, I’ve come across a Dark Souls 3 mod called Dark Souls: Archthrones, and I was blown away by just how much of a feat it was. If you didn’t know, Archthrones is a mod on a massive scale that essentially re-works the world of Dark Souls 3 with brand-new stories, bosses, areas, quests, and many more. The demo is now available

Demo Launch Trailer – Dark Souls: Archthrones
byu/AnchovyKing inGames

Modding initially started with little tweaks like modifying character models, changing color palettes, giving easy access to certain loopholes, and more stuff like that. However, Dark Souls: Archthrones is a mod of an unbelievable scale, and is a testament to the evolution of modding alongside video games.

As soon as you boot up the mod, you’ll see the Dark Souls: Archthrones logo, and if you’re a FromSoftware buff, you’ll immediately see the resemblance. Yes, the mod takes a lot of stuff from Demon Souls, including the logo design. That’s not all, stuff from almost every Souls game can be found here..

The brilliant team behind the mod has added new weaponry for you to try, alongside fixing some animation issues and adding mechanics like guard cancel and powerstancing not present in Dark Souls 3. It features a non-linear design characteristic of Dark Souls; tackle any particular boss’ region you wish to first. New bosses and NPCs make their entries, and you have unique new areas to explore.

Archthrones is an overhaul mod for Dark Souls 3 on a scale never seen before.

It has been in development for almost 2 years now, but there is still much more for us to do.

(1/4) pic.twitter.com/HQURX6n4GG

— Dark Souls: Archthrones (@Archthrones) April 1, 2022

It’s Essentially A New Game, Made Alive By Modding

So what exactly is my purpose in discussing Dark Souls: Archthrones? Well, half of it is just gushing over this brilliant mod being a hardcore Souls fan, but the other half is to shed light on just how much good modding can accomplish. 

FromSoftware games have always been brilliant, as the company is sort of an outlier in all these constricting times. However, the same can’t be said for many other titles out there. A victim of strict checks and balances, and the over restriction alongside the need to stick closely to a set of rules has all but drained the industry of creative freedom and imagination.

I’m upgrading every texture in the game (works with the insanely awesome ds2lightingengine mod)
byu/Snazzy3DPrints inDarkSouls2

In times like this, modders are doing brilliant work by fixing many of the issues that come with a game. From game-improvement mods like performance fixes, graphical improvements, and controller compatibility, to creative additions like quest overhaul, skipping suffocating restrictions, fixing world design issues, and adding more meaningful stuff to a game, modding has been our savior countless times now.

Just take a look at Dark Souls: Archthrones. The original Dark Souls 3 was a near-perfect game, but the modding community has taken that template to create something distinct and unique. If you play through it, you’ll see that it’s like playing a new game, one with FromSoftware’s finesse still present.

Archthrones never aims to replace the core game, but provides a standalone experience different from what you’re used to, all the while paying homage to FromSoftware and its brilliant creations.

I want patient gamers opinion on modding… I think once you get the hang of it, there is no going back.
byu/Monirul-Haque inpatientgamers

Today, Many Games Are Hollow Without Mods 

To further cement mods as a creative necessity of today, just take a look at how many games mods have helped perfect. Modding ensures you can play a game forever without worrying about repetition and monotony. Bored of one mod? Just download another one to get a brand new experience and once again go wild with the new features.

This is precisely the reason why Skyrim is such a popular and widely played game, even now. Much like Dark Souls: Archthrones, Skyrim has massive, game-changing mods that completely overhaul it from the ground up. Because of its consistent modding and fresh additions every once in a while, Skyrim never loses its value of playability.

Most Realistic Dodge Roll Mod
byu/Salmagros inskyrim

I’ve gotten so engrossed in modded Skyrim that I can never go back to the vanilla version now. And this is true for a lot of Bethesda games, because let’s be honest, they’re a buggy mess you can’t fix without mods. Games like Fallout and the Elder Scrolls practically owe their popularity to mods. In the base version, they become nigh unplayable when you have witnessed the superiority of the modded one.

This was just one example, there are many more. No matter how splendid a game is, the fact remains it doesn’t let you do crazy and ridiculous things normally. Sometimes, a little creative fun mixed in a game is all I want. I genuinely enjoy Sekiro’s combat, but if I’m playing as CJ, that added hilarity will always amuse me more. This is something games themselves can rarely do, and thus mods are a great thing to let our imaginations run wild.

Totally Normal Gameplay
byu/thebleachboysshow inSekiro

Creative Modding Like Dark Souls: Archthrones Needs Encouragement

Sometimes, games do try to give you as much creative freedom as you wish. Dragon’s Dogma 2 and Tekken 8 from recent times are a great example. In these games, you can do the stuff only possible by mods before, and honestly, that’s the perfect direction the industry is moving in. Giving people creative freedom never hurts the game itself, it only elevates it.

This concludes my discussion regarding the importance of mods for today’s games. Not only can they fix many of the issues, but they add an extra layer of enjoyment. Be it ridiculous little things like bizarre characters in bizarre places, or magnificent, game-changing projects like Dark Souls: Archthrones, modding is an imaginative freedom that should never cease.