12 Souls (series)

Souls is a series of action role-playing games developed by FromSoftware. The series began with the release of Demon's Souls for the PlayStation 3 in 2009, and was followed by Dark Souls and its sequels, Dark Souls II and Dark Souls III, in the 2010s. The series' creator, Hidetaka Miyazaki, served as director for each of them with the exceptions of Dark Souls II and the externally developed Demon's Souls remake.

Anor Londo is a fictional city in the Dark Souls series of action role-playing games. Appearing in both Dark Souls and Dark Souls III, it is the seat of the power of the gods, deities of the Dark Souls world who used the power of the First Flame to destroy the Everlasting Dragons that once controlled it. By the time of Dark Souls, however, it has become an abandoned lost city, as Lord Gwyn had long since sacrificed himself to rekindle the fading First Flame. Anor Londo has been cited by critics for its design as well as the level's high difficulty, including a section guarded by two powerful archers, and the level's final boss duo, Ornstein and Smough.

Dark Souls is a 2011 action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware and published by Namco Bandai Games. A spiritual successor to FromSoftware's Demon's Souls, the game is the second installment in the Souls series. Dark Souls takes place in the kingdom of Lordran, where players assume the role of a cursed undead character who begins a pilgrimage to discover the fate of their kind. A port for Microsoft Windows was released in August 2012, which featured additional content not seen in the original PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions. In October 2012, the new content was released for consoles under the subtitle Artorias of the Abyss.

Dark Souls II is an action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Games. The third game in the Souls series, it was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Dark Souls II: The Lost Crowns is a set of three downloadable content packs for the 2014 video game Dark Souls II. The first of the trio, Crown of the Sunken King was released in July 2014 and was followed by Crown of the Old Iron King in August and Crown of the Ivory King in September. The packs, developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment, were met with positive reception and drew specific praise for returning to the complex interlocking and looping level design of the series' previous games, like Demon's Souls (2009) and Dark Souls (2011).

Dark Souls III is a 2016 action role-playing video game developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows. It is the fourth overall entry of the Souls series and the final installment of the Dark Souls trilogy.

Dark Souls III: The Ringed City is the second of two downloadable content (DLC) packs for the 2016 action role-playing video game Dark Souls III. Released on March 27, 2017, the content pack was developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It drew favorable reception from critics, with several seeing it as a proper end to the Dark Souls series.

Dark Souls: Artorias of the Abyss is a downloadable content pack for the 2011 action role-playing game Dark Souls. Developed by FromSoftware and published by Namco Bandai Games, it released as part of the Prepare to Die Edition version of the game for Windows in August 2012. The pack was later sold separately for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game two months later.

Demon's Souls is an action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware for the PlayStation 3 under the supervision of Japan Studio. It was published in Japan by Sony Computer Entertainment in February 2009, in North America by Atlus USA in October 2009, and in PAL territories by Namco Bandai Games in June 2010. The game is referred to as a spiritual successor to FromSoftware's King's Field series.

Demon's Souls is an action role-playing game developed by Bluepoint Games, with assistance from Japan Studio, and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The game was released as a launch title for the PlayStation 5 in November 2020. It is a remake of Demon's Souls, originally developed by FromSoftware for the PlayStation 3 in 2009.

Ornstein and Smough are a duo of interconnected characters from the action role-playing game Dark Souls. Independently known as Dragon Slayer Ornstein and Executioner Smough, they are mentioned in the lore of every game in the series, but are predominantly known for their appearance in Dark Souls as an asymmetrical boss fight considered one of the game's most difficult. Ornstein being one of the Four Knights of Gwyn who formerly hunted dragons, and Smough an executioner of superhuman size, they were assigned to protect the Lordvessel from intruders and function as the final bosses of the Anor Londo level. The boss battle has been called one of the most memorable fights in gaming by critics, and has also become notorious for the variety of unusual control devices fans have used to beat it, such as voice commands.

Solaire of Astora is a knight from the 2011 action role-playing game Dark Souls. He has received a great deal of popularity amongst fans for his unusually friendly and helpful demeanor, as well as his signature gesture "Praise the Sun", which involves holding up both arms up in a Y-shape with palms facing outward. He is voiced by Daniel Flynn.