The core set forDark Souls: The Board Gametakes players through two mini campaigns featuring enemies and bosses from the originalDark SoulsandDark Souls 3. By purchasing expansions, players can tackleDark Souls 2’s Iron Keep level, the Darkroot Basin from the original game, and a host of new Mega Bosses from across the franchise. While all of this is great at providing players with new and exciting ways to play, the game is currently missing anything from the predecessor toDark Souls,Demon’s Souls.Thanks to the remake by Bluepoint Games, this title has skyrocketed in popularity, making it the perfect time to release a wave of expansions focusing on Boletaria.
For those that aren’t aware,Demon’s Soulsreleasedin 2009, but it never picked up steam likeDark Soulseventually would. As FromSoftware chased the success of its genre definingSoulsgames,Demon’s Soulsseemed to be forgotten by all but the most diehard fans. In 2020, Bluepoint Games changed all of that by remakingDemon’s Soulsfrom the ground up for the PS5. As the first next generation Souls game, it has stunning graphics and clean gameplay, and its story is finally able to shine.Dark Souls: The Board Gameunderstandably doesn’t have anyDemon’s Soulscontent yet, but that could change now.
RELATED:Dark Souls: The Board Game - House Rules to Help Pick Up the Pace
Dark Souls: The Board Game - Types of Expansions
In general, there are three types of expansions forDark Souls: The Board Game, those being content expansions, mega bosses, and mechanic expansions. Content expansions generally add new areas, enemies, and bosses to help players diversify their games. Examples of this include the Darkroot Basin expansion, which adds enemies from that region as well astwo new bosses in the form of Sif and Artorias, or the Explorer’s Expansion, which gives players access to the Pursuer and Old Dragonslayer bosses.
The majority of the expansions available forDark Souls: The Board Gameare mega bosses, though, which add powerful boss fights that are meant to be fought at the end of a grueling campaign. Each of these expansions comes with a new mega boss, a board to fight them on, and all the things needed to bring those bosses to life. Finally, mechanic expansions are things like the Phantoms and Character expansions, and these add new things to the game for players to explore. In the case of Phantoms, players can now summon allies to help them but must deal with deadly invaders. Likewise, theCharacter expansion adds six new playable characters fromDark Soulsto the game.
Dark Souls: The Board Game - Demon’s Souls Content Expansion
Were Steamforged Games to release a new content expansion forDark Souls: the BoardGamefocused onDemon’s Souls, it should adapt the Tower of Latria area, also known as theArchstone of the Tower Queen. Though it may seem like Boletaria would be the obvious choice, that area already shares a lot in common with the Undead Burg and High Wall of Lothric area already included in the base box.
This small campaign would take players through thePrison of Hope (world 3-1), dealing with Mind Flayers and other hazards. At the end of this first area, the players would take on the Fool’s Idol boss fight. Moving on, Upper Latria would introduce new Giant Man Centipedes and Gargoyle enemies with variants for ranged and melee combat, before challenging players with the Maneaters boss fight. This could work similarly to the Gargoyles in the core box’sDark Soulscampaign. Players that are able to clear all of that could head up the Ivory Tower to face the Old Monk, a boss that could change with each fight since it is technically an invader from another world.
RELATED:Dark Souls: The Board Game - What Class Should You Play?
Dark Souls: The Board Game - Demon’s Souls Mega Boss Expansion
Demon’s Soulsis full of amazing bosses, but this makes picking one for a mega boss expansion simultaneously easier and harder. Of all the bosses in the game, it seems as though the Tower Knight would be the best fit for a number of reasons. Not only is his size absolutely immense, butthe Tower Knight also has become something of a mascot for the remake. As an enemy found in Boletaria, it would work well to put him at the end of most campaigns, and he has a lot of unique features that could make for an interesting fight.
Alternatively, Flamelurker would also make for a good Mega Boss, and could fit well into the end of an Iron Keep campaign. This is one of themost notorious bosses inDemon’s Soulsthanks to how difficult it is compared to most others. The Flamelurker is extremely agile, very powerful, and has a unique arena that could make for a great mega boss tile. Realistically any of the bosses inDemon’s Soulscould probably work as mega bosses, but these two seem most fit for the job.
Dark Souls: The Board Game - Demon’s Souls Mechanics Expansion
One thing that becomes exceedingly clear when playing throughDemon’s Soulsis some of its experimental mechanics that ultimately madeDark Soulswhat it is today. World Tendency is one such thing, and even though theDemon’s Soulsremake didn’t to much to modernize World Tendency, it could make for a unique mechanic inDark Souls: The Board Game. One of the biggest issues players have with the rules as written is the way difficulty and earning souls is handled, and this feature could fix that.
InDemon’s Souls, as a player’s World Tendency shifts towards white, the enemies get weaker and the player gets stronger, but in return they award less souls. Conversely, as a player’s World Tendency shifts towards black, the enemies get stronger and it is easier for them to overpower players, but as a reward they are worth more souls. This could be applied as a sort of difficulty setting forDark Souls: The Board Game, perhaps letting players choose what World Tendency they’d like to play on. Neutral World Tendency would be how the game is now, whilePure White World Tendency and Pure Black World Tendencycould function as easy and hard modes, increasing or decreasing enemy strength and soul rewards accordingly.
MORE:The Biggest Difference Between Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls
