Poll: Dark Souls ending discussion

[Erttheking]

I think pretty much everyone on the Escapist knows about Dark Souls and there have been a ton of threads about it, but I don't think that we've ever talked about the endings yet. I really like the endings because they are truly morally gray. There are in game characters who give a ton of explanations for each ending, some good some bad. Some people say that Linking the fire will shine light onto the world, destroy the Darksign and restore peace and that the Dark Lord ending will destroy the world. Others say that the Dark Lord ending will break the shackles holding man back and usher in an age of man and that Linking the fire will oppress Humanity. There are a lot of different ways to look at each ending, especially depending on how you view the characters. Personally I went for the Dark Lord ending, mainly because it was obvious that the Gods and black knights were ruling over Humanity and I'm not a fan of that considering that they're responsible for half of the shit that is wrong with the world (such as all the demons) and overall they're just not good caretakers. Also it was a choice between ruling the world for all eternity or burning alive for all eternity. Kind of an easy choice, at least for me.

Well, what about you? What fate did you impose on the world and why?

 

[Rylot]

Wait, there's a story going in that game? Huh, I must be dying too much to notice. Okay in all seriousness I'm still slogging my way through Anor Londo so I haven't made my final decision on that yet but I'll probably side with Frampt just because it's easier (at least that's the impression that I get). But honestly I'm not really getting much of a story at all. Granted I'm not going out of my way to talk to every single NPC but from the few I've talked to I'm not getting a good sense of what's going on or why people are doing what they're doing. I'm also dying too often get much of a cohesive narrative. Still love the game but personally I've got no clue what the fuck is going on.

Captcha: bitter end

 

[Tsmp]

My own choice? I'd go with the dark lord ending. Not because I think it'd be a good thing, mind you. Everything associated with the age of dark (the abyss, the four kings and their darkwraiths, the dark soul, dark hand, the darksign undead, Artorias, etc.) paints a rather unsettling picture of what it entails. Nah, I'd go with the dark lord ending because there's not much point in maintaining the age of fire. In order to link the fire at all you have to kill all the soul lords, and without those bastards what's the age of fire about? The only character left in charge would be Gwyndolin, and I'm sorry but I don't want the b**** king of the world running the show. I think I'd do a better job.

Wait, there's a story going in that game? Huh, I must be dying too much to notice. Okay in all seriousness I'm still slogging my way through Anor Londo so I haven't made my final decision on that yet but I'll probably side with Frampt just because it's easier (at least that's the impression that I get). But honestly I'm not really getting much of a story at all. Granted I'm not going out of my way to talk to every single NPC but from the few I've talked to I'm not getting a good sense of what's going on or why people are doing what they're doing. I'm also dying too often get much of a cohesive narrative. Still love the game but personally I've got no clue what the fuck is going on.

Captcha: bitter end

The story to Dark Souls is 99% backstory. The driving plot is about as barebones as you can get, but the reasons for doing so and character motivations behind all that are freaking fascinating.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

My own choice? I'd go with the dark lord ending. Not because I think it'd be a good thing, mind you. Everything associated with the age of dark (the abyss, the four kings and their darkwraiths, the dark soul, dark hand, the darksign undead, Artorias, etc.) paints a rather unsettling picture of what it entails. Nah, I'd go with the dark lord ending because there's not much point in maintaining the age of fire. In order to link the fire at all you have to kill all the soul lords, and without those bastards what's the age of fire about? The only character left in charge would be Gwyndolin, and I'm sorry but I don't want the b**** king of the world running the show. I think I'd do a better job.

Wait, there's a story going in that game? Huh, I must be dying too much to notice. Okay in all seriousness I'm still slogging my way through Anor Londo so I haven't made my final decision on that yet but I'll probably side with Frampt just because it's easier (at least that's the impression that I get). But honestly I'm not really getting much of a story at all. Granted I'm not going out of my way to talk to every single NPC but from the few I've talked to I'm not getting a good sense of what's going on or why people are doing what they're doing. I'm also dying too often get much of a cohesive narrative. Still love the game but personally I've got no clue what the fuck is going on.

Captcha: bitter end

The story to Dark Souls is 99% backstory. The driving plot is about as barebones as you can get, but the reasons for doing so and character motivations behind all that are freaking fascinating.

There's an explanation for that too.


Remember the Furtive Pygmy?

Well it's hinted that humanity is a product of the Pygmy and that your character is closely related to the Pygmy, making you a Soul Lord.

Notice how everything is huge?

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

Darkstalker Kaathe and Gwendolyn are both likely lying to you or not telling you the whole story to further their own goals. I can't help but feel that my character is a pawn no matter what I do. I linked the fire. Mainly because I don't know what the Age of Dark actually entails. Though, my fanon ending is cooler.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I honestly couldn't make heads or tails out of the ending. All I knew is that I fucking chrushed Gwynn single-handedly. >

I never cared much about the game's narrative, I was more into the atmosphere and the sensation of being alone in this merciless world.

 

[Mistilteinn]

For me, I always flip-flop between which is better. On the one hand, Linking the Fire is a surefire way to save everyone from the Darksign, if only temporarily. At some point, another 'Chosen Undead' will come and kill my Hollowed form and face the same choice as I did. Everyone I meet urges me to Link the Fire, and the fact that almost every single one of their questlines ends with them Hollowing (barring Petrus and Patches, the former of which may not even be an Undead) it makes me not want to have their sacrifices and assistance be in vain. And yet at the same time, after learning that all the Gods and Goddesses abandoned Anor Londo, and that Gwyndolin would be 'watching over' the humans, I'm not particularly fond of giving him back his full power.

On the other hand, according to Kaathe, humans are descendants of the Pygmy, who found the Dark Soul. And within each human is a fragment of the Dark Soul--hence why Humanity is black. So by allowing the Fire to die we allow ourselves to become stronger with the coming Age of Darkness. Unfortunately, can we really trust Kaathe? After all, all of the Darkwraiths we encounter in New Londo were his 'failures' that succumbed to their lust for souls and Humanity. How do we know he didn't just spin the same story for them and hope that they would end the Age of Fire (ie. get rid of the Gods)?

Most of the time, I end up choosing the Link the Fire ending. I may not like Gwyndolin, but I most assuredly don't trust that snake Kaathe (no pun intended).

Out of curiosity, have you guys seen EpicNameBro's Dark Souls lore series on youtube? That guy goes into quite a lot of depth in regards to the backstory and characters. There's a fair bit of speculation and interpretation, but he also cites a lot of the information he uses (mostly item descriptions, NPC dialogue, and the occasional developer interview).

 

[hazabaza1]

I think the best option is killing Gywndolin and linking the fire.
It removes the darksign and frees the undead while stopping Gwyndolin from having the manipulative power he so desires.

 

[kyogen]

Most people probably link the fire the first time they reach the ending because they won't necessarily have met Kaathe. I knew about him and chose the Dark Lord ending instead for my first run. After that I chose to link the fire. It's not like I'm playing a game as good as Dark Souls only once, and I like exploring the lore

Out of curiosity, have you guys seen EpicNameBro's Dark Souls lore series on youtube? That guy goes into quite a lot of depth in regards to the backstory and characters. There's a fair bit of speculation and interpretation, but he also cites a lot of the information he uses (mostly item descriptions, NPC dialogue, and the occasional developer interview).

I've seen it. He did a great job. The wikidot wiki is also fantastic, though it's focused more on gameplay than lore.

 

[80Maxwell08]

Wait, there's a story going in that game? Huh, I must be dying too much to notice. Okay in all seriousness I'm still slogging my way through Anor Londo so I haven't made my final decision on that yet but I'll probably side with Frampt just because it's easier (at least that's the impression that I get). But honestly I'm not really getting much of a story at all. Granted I'm not going out of my way to talk to every single NPC but from the few I've talked to I'm not getting a good sense of what's going on or why people are doing what they're doing. I'm also dying too often get much of a cohesive narrative. Still love the game but personally I've got no clue what the fuck is going on.

Captcha: bitter end

Well the story is hidden so you have to piece it together yourself. If you don't feel like doing the work then here's a link to a lore series on youtube. Also for some reason the playlist is reversed right now. It starts at Thorolund then goes up to the answers part.
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4825DBA198EBE9B9&feature=plcp

 

[IFS]

Went with link the fire on my first playthrough because that character never met Kaathe and had no reason to pick Dark Lord. Will probably go with Dark Lord when I get around to beating NG+

 

[burningdragoon]

The first time I linked the fire, because I wasn't aware of the other perspective. I mean, I knew there was one, but since you have to deviate from the normal path to meet Kaathe at all, I didn't know what it was. I also killed Gwyndolin that time too, because... he was a boss. So I really don't know what that ending entails.

As for which ending I think is the "good" ending, I'd probably mostly lean towards the Dark Lord one, despite Kaathe very clearly have some kind of ulterior motive and the dark wraiths and the Four Kings still being creatures with more evil leanings than otherwise. If you believe that Humanity are fragments of the Dark Soul, than really both endings are very dark, sacrifice-heavy outcomes. Just one has certain, but temporary prosperity based on a huge lie and the other has an completely unknown outcome based on a partial truth.

 

[ManOwaRrior]

When I killed Gwyn for the first time, I didn't even know Kaathe existed. (No spoilers until after the first playthrough). However, for some reason I wanted to go back to someplace before linking the fire, and by leaving the room I accidentally triggered the dark lord ending.
In retrospect I think it is the better ending.