History YMMV / DarkSouls

* RonTheDeathEater: Gwyn was definitely an incredibly flawed figure with even the most charitable possible interpretation. He was an abusive father to his children, numbered depraved beings of questionable sanity among his closest allies, [[spoiler: shamefully treated the Pygmies after the war with the Everlasting Dragons despite their being loyal allies in his cause]], and ultimately caused the events of the series through his unwillingness to accept that his Age of Fire must end one day and the Age of Dark take its place. But fans and critics of him take things still further, arguing that he was a tyrannical ruler and Lord-supremacist racist (when evidence actually suggests his own Lordly knights resented how deeply he loved human beings and hoped to protect them from dangerous threats), that he did what he did to remain in power forever (when his plans involved [[spoiler: [[AndIMustScream using himself as fuel for the First Flame to burn in agony for all eternity]]]], something even his most deeply opposed enemy called "a sacrifice" and certainly didn't leave him comfortably calling the shots), and heavily exaggerate his mistreatment of [[spoiler: the Pygmies, whose Ringed City was a GildedCage rather than a HellholePrison, and at least one of whom, Ludleth was convinced enough of the rightness of his cause to become a Lord of Cinder in his own right]]. This also sometimes goes hand-in-hand with the DracoInLeatherPants approach to the Darkwraiths and their patron Kaathe, trying to make the conflict between the Flame and Dark more black-and-white than it actually is in-series.

** The Invasion [[PlayerVersusPlayer PvP]] mechanic is also a common source of contention. It takes a few different forms, but many of them involve other players forcing their way into others' worlds without their consent for the purpose of killing them and hindering their progress. Several game mechanics actively reward this behavior, from offering useful items to advancing in various covenants. There are existing ways to play around it, mostly involving not invoking a powered-up state without which you cannot be invaded or playing offline, but such players cannot then summon either [=NPC=] allies or other players to help them either, and in the latter case don't enjoy messages and encouragement from other players. This is commonly regarded as [[{{Griefer}} actively rewarding griefing]], especially since some forms of it make it very easy for higher-powered players to cheat the system and beat up lower-level players in early areas, running them out of the game. There are even a few people who are aware of this mechanic in Dark Souls and refuse to play the series because of it. Those who do it tend to be very, very defensive, though.

* EnjoyTheStorySkipTheGame: A small but growing portion of the fandom falls into this territory, with quite a few people praising the surprisingly deep and creative story and innovative storytelling techniques but being turned away from actually playing the game by the [[NintendoHard relentlessly brutal and frustrating difficulty]]. In fact, part of the reason why channels like [=VaatiVidya=] are so popular is that they provide a way of experiencing the lore of the series for people who either don't want to or physically cannot adjust to the gameplay.

* TheInverseLawOfFandomLevity: The series is about an incredibly bleak DeathWorld where almost anything is trying to kill you, doomed by an unending cycle that is slowly consuming everything, all in a NintendoHard format of games. Looking past the more rabid hardcore gamers, the fanbase is famous for forming its own collection of [[Memes/DarkSouls silly and goofy jokes and icons]]. The same can be applied to the other [[VideoGame/DemonsSouls So]][[VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}} uls]][[VideoGame/SekiroShadowsDieTwice bor]][[VideoGame/EldenRing ne]] games as well.

* TheInverseLawOfFandomLevity: The series is about an incredibly bleak DeathWorld where almost anything is trying to kill you, doomed by an unending cycle that is slowly consuming everything, all in a NintendoHard format of games. Looking past the more rabid hardcore gamers, the fanbase is famous for forming its own collection of [[Memes/DarkSouls silly and goofy jokes and icons]]. The same can be applied to the other Soulsborne games as well.

* RecurringFanonCharacter: JustForFun/GiantDad is a fan-created "character" meant to poke fun at [=PvP=] builds and the "tryhards" that use them. A version of the Chosen Undead (or any later protagonist) wearing the Mask of the Father and the Giant Armor/Gauntlets/Leggings, Giantdad is portrayed as a MemeticBadass and MemeticTroll that trash-talks his opponents with poorly-spelled InternetJerk rhetoric.

* RecurringFanonCharacter: JustForFun/GiantDad is a fan-created "character" meant to poke fun at [=PvP=] builds and the "tryhards" that use them. A version of the Chosen Undead (or any later protagonist) wearing the Mask of the Father and the Giant Armor/Gauntlets/Leggings, Giantdad is portrayed as a MemeticBadass and MemeticTroll that trash-talks his opponents with poorly-spelled InternetToughGuy rhetoric.

* CharacterPerceptionEvolution: Gwyn, Lord of Sunlight (or more precisely, [[spoiler:Gwyn, Lord of Cinder]]), was originally perceived as a tragic WellIntentionedExtremist who [[HeroicSacrifice condemned himself to an eternity of torment]] because he genuinely believed it was the best thing to do, and [[spoiler:the final boss battle against him at the end of the first game]] was seen as an incredibly sad moment. After ''Dark Souls III'' and specifically ''The Ringed City'' revealed that [[spoiler:Gwyn had placed the Darksign on the Pygmies, who were loyal allies in the war against the dragons, because he feared their power]], a lot of people reassessed him as a paranoid, tyrannical old fool who'd engineered his own destruction and caused inconceivable amounts of suffering because of his unwillingness to risk relinquishing any power. While still considered a TragicVillian for his redeemable aspects, the ''later'' portion of that trope is regarded as his prevailing character.

* CharacterPerceptionEvolution: Gwyn, Lord of Sunlight (or more precisely, [[spoiler:Gwyn, Lord of Cinder]]), was originally perceived as a tragic WellIntentionedExtremist who [[HeroicSacrifice condemned himself to an eternity of torment]] because he genuinely believed it was the best thing to do, and [[spoiler:the final boss battle against him at the end of the first game]] was seen as an incredibly sad moment. After ''Dark Souls III'' and specifically ''The Ringed City'' revealed that [[spoiler:Gwyn had placed the Darksign on the Pygmies, who were loyal allies in the war against the dragons, because he feared their power]], a lot of people reassessed him as a paranoid, tyrannical old fool who'd engineered his own destruction and caused inconceivable amounts of suffering because of his unwillingness to risk relinquishing any power, even regarding him as the outright GreaterScopeVillain of the series long after his death.

** In ''[[VideoGame/DarkSoulsI Dark Souls I]]'', the Calamity Ring, obtained from slaying [[BonusBoss Black Dragon Kalameet]], doubles the damage its wearer takes. [[NintendoHard Given the nature of this series]], only the most skilled players would be brave enough to try playing with the Calamity Ring equipped. And on top of all this, while wearing it, the Calamity Ring takes up a ring slot.

** Another meta example is [[https://www.youtube.com/user/VaatiVidya VaatiVidya]], a [=YouTuber=] who does lore summaries on the characters and stories of the games. His videos are usually the average player's first introduction to the deep lore of the series, which has garnered him fame as the prime expert on the subject. Especially since he's able to ramble of the insanely intricate lore at a moment's notice.

* CompleteMonster: ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' is a dark series, but [[YMMV/DarkSoulsI Seath the Scaleless]]; [[YMMV/DarkSoulsII Nashandra]]; [[YMMV/DarkSoulsIII Aldrich & Pontiff Sulyvahn]] manage to outdo any other for sheer horror. See those pages for details.

** The fans are also quite friendly to ''LightNovel/ReZero'', because the anime adaptation of the latter was found as a fairly interesting SpiritualAdaptation of the series with its idea of returning back after death.

*** "Fat Rolling" refers to the instance when the player character is overencumbered after reaching a certain Equipment Load treshold, resulting into shorter and slower dodge rolls than usual.

* FandomVIP: The ''Dark Souls'' community has several: [=VaatiVidya=] and LetsPlay/EpicNameBro are both known for their in-depth, comprehensive analysis of the game series' lore (which is famously vague and complex). [=OnlyAfro=], on the other hand, is a FountainOfMemes who usually posts videos of himself trolling people in [=PvP=] in numerous inventive (and usually hilarious) ways.
** Who could forget the Pretty Princess himself, WebVideo/{{Zerolenny}}? Armed with nothing but a broken sword and a PimpedOutDress, Lenny's challenge runs are required viewing in the Souls community, even if they're not as impressive as a no-hit or Soul level 1 run.

* HypeBacklash:
** Some feel that the series' memetic status as the gold standard for NintendoHard modern video games ("_____ is like ''Dark Souls''!" "The ''Dark Souls'' of _____") has gotten [[DiscreditedMeme worn out]] over time. Most of these complaints come from players who have gotten used to the series' brand of challenge, as well as [[FandomRivalry fans of other challenging games]]. This phrasing has also been used unironically by multiple game reviewers to a great deal of mockery, such as Gamesradar and Eurogamer with ''VideoGame/CrashBandicootNSaneTrilogy'' and ''VideoGame/SpyroReignitedTrilogy'' respectively claiming that the games are "too hard".
** The series has also started to get elements of this on its own merits, especially among those who joined the series after years of the fandom praising it as the pinnacle of action gaming, if not ''gaming as a whole''. Quite a few new players- especially those who try to play in order and thus start with the first game, which lacked many of the AntiFrustrationFeatures of the sequels like bonfire warping- end up walking away feeling that the prototypical "tough but fair" franchise is [[FakeDifficulty significantly less fair]] than fans like to claim, citing issues such as the game's [[GuideDangIt refusal to explain critical mechanics]], copious amounts of CheckpointStarvation, and (in the first game's case) gating off the vast majority of the game's content behind the [[ThatOneBoss Capra]] [[TheScrappy Demon]].

* HypeBacklash: Some feel that the series' memetic status as the gold standard for NintendoHard modern video games ("_____ is like ''Dark Souls''!" "The ''Dark Souls'' of _____") has gotten [[DiscreditedMeme worn out]] over time. Most of these complaints come from players who have gotten used to the series' brand of challenge, as well as [[FandomRivalry fans of other challenging games]]. This phrasing has also been used unironically by multiple game reviewers to a great deal of mockery, such as Gamesradar and Eurogamer with ''VideoGame/CrashBandicootNSaneTrilogy'' and ''VideoGame/SpyroReignitedTrilogy'' respectively claiming that the games are "too hard".

** Another meta example is [[https://www.youtube.com/user/VaatiVidya VaatiVidya]], a youtuber who does lore summaries on the characters and stories of the games. His videos are usually the average player's first introduction to the deep lore of the series, which has garnered him fame as the prime expert on the subject. Especially since he's able to ramble of the insanely intricate lore at a moment's notice.

* MisaimedFandom: No, you're not supposed to have any sympathy for people who invade as a red. Problem is, players who set themselves up with others to "gank" are seen in the wrong.
** Gwyndolin is a popular character among transgender players thanks to said fans sympathising with how he's forced to pretend to be a woman, but a certain aggressive minority of these fans instead read Gwyndolin as being a transwoman, completely disregarding all of the evidence in the game that says otherwise and even verbally attacking fans who refer to him with male pronouns while steadfastly referring to him with female pronouns. In other words, doing the very same things that in the lore of the game made Gwyndolin miserable.