Over the course of this endeavour, they'll interact with eclectic – and often eccentric – NPCs, many of which are involved in their own quests. Like the main story of the game, most of these side-quests and their outcomes are not immediately obvious, and need to be discovered. In fact it could well be the case that anyone playing the game for the first time and without accessing third-party information will not even realise that they are happening, and that their actions might have changed some outcome.

Analysing Dark Souls in comparison with other RPGs, it falls into the category of classless ARPGs with an open story and world structure. While players choose a starting class when creating their character, it only serves to determine their initial stat distribution, as well as starting equipment and spells. Afterwards, every character can freely distribute points to various stats at level-up, and use any given equipment or spell as long as they meet its requirements.

The mechanics of saving and death are quite unique, and linked intrinsically with the game's story. As in Planescape: Torment, you play a character who is essentially immortal. However, unlike that game there is a strict penalty for death, and saving is constant and automatic, meaning you must endure every choice you make. Upon death, the game returns you to the last bonfire (serving as checkpoints) you rested at, and all your Souls (the game's currency, used both to purchase items and to level up) are lost.

You may retrieve them where you died, but dying again while trying to do so will result in them disappearing forever. This rather unforgiving system has earned the game its reputation for difficulty, together with the requirement for careful exploration and concentration in every battle, which we will discuss next.