Summary
For many years, Japanese developerFromSoftwarehas frustrated and satisfied players with its hardcore fantasy action-RPGs. Starting withDemon’s Soulsin 2009, the fantasy side of its output transitioned into its Soulslike form, carrying on the spirit of earlier projects while establishing a more rigid third-person formula. Thanks to these games,FromSoftwarehas continually topped itself with new levels of success, all while upholding the traditions that have guided its hands since the beginning.
While those traditions have contributed much to the distinct design, tone, and quality of FromSoftware’s work, not all of them are equally well-received. FromSoftware’s vague storytelling is a common target of criticism, and so is itsSoulsborne games’ obtuse quest designand general lack of signposting. These aren’t universal complaints, but everySoulsplayer can agree that each title’s poison swamp is consistently a terror. Frequent Soulsborne director Hidetaka Miyazaki has professed a fondness for this type of area, and similar places appear throughout FromSoftware’s catalog. Poison swamps are some of the most grueling parts of FromSoftware’s games, but that doesn’t mean it should ditch them.
Poison Swamps’ Place In FromSoftware’s Ecosystem
Forced-damage traps have a legacy dating back to roleplaying games’ tabletop roots, and the image of treacherous, plague-ridden bogs has existed even longer. Uniting them results in some of themost hated areas RPGs can offer, although their implementation varies. Lava tiles in classicDragon Questare arguably a branch of the same concept, and swamps infested with poison-bearing enemies, likeFinal Fantasy’s Marsh Cave, are another common take. FromSoftware uses all of these and more, with its current streak of large, movement-inhibiting pools that fill status bars still being an improvement over entire maps covered by gas in its older games, evenArmored Core.
FromSoftware Goes The Extra Mile When Building Its Swamps
There’s no debating the storied history behind FromSoftware’s poison swamps, but one must look deeper to see their value. FromSoftware’s swamplands play host to great artwork, sporting distorted terrain and inhabitants that only such hostile ground could house. Attention is also paid to differentiating normal swamps from their poisonous counterparts.
Despite being right next to each other,Dark Souls 3’s Road of Sacrifices and Farron Keep look and feel different, with the latter exploiting and subtly accommodating players’ slow movement through its poison gunk. EvenDemon’s Souls’ Valley of Defilement andits even worseDS1successor Blighttownemploy different designs across their multiple segments, though never without opportunities for counterplay.
Players Learn To Respect FromSoftware’s Poison Swamps Eventually
A poison swamp is the kind of prolonged challenge that demands careful planning to overcome. It interrupts the regular flow of gameplay, with even the player’s build needing to take a backseat if status-resistant gear or faster movement is available. In this way, FromSoftware’s poison swamps exhibit a subtle genius in forcing every player to slow down and think through one giant environmental puzzle, often providing higher vantage points to help. Crossing a swamp is also one of the rare prompts forSoulsplayers to cut loose with consumable items, with their instant results being vital for completing a memorable trek across FromSoftware’s latest swamp.
Memorability May Be A Poison Swamp’s Best Feature
Players discuss poison swamps more than most regions common throughout FromSoftware’s games, proving infamy is still a kind of publicity. Even if the memories are mostly unpleasant, overcoming their trials and growing wise to their tricks have enshrined these plague-ridden pits in public Soulslike perception. Owing to their reputation, encountering grandiose poison swamps can hit even harder, with many players remembering what it felt like to firstdiscoverElden Ring’s Caelid or Lake of Rot. With Hidetaka Miyazaki confirming at least one poison swamp inElden Ring’s DLC, it seemsFromSoftwareis far from done with them, and its fans still have plenty of swamp-bound tales left to tell.
