5 gameplay features that are a mainstay in nearly all FromSoftware games

FromSoftware games have a dedicated fanbase that the Japanese company can rely on to religiously pick up any game it releases. That’s not to say that FromSoftware does not make great games; the original Dark Souls is a masterpiece, and Elden Ring follows up on that trend, delivering the company's iconic feel but in a completely open-world setting.

But fans of these games have a lot more to enjoy other than combat and boss fights. There are certain hidden gems in the gameplay of these installments that are staples of FromSoftware’s artistic touch. These aspects and features exist throughout most of their games in some form or another.

These are the few details that many gamers who adore playing these games enjoy, with little Easter eggs and references existing throughout FromSoft’s gaming universe. Here are 5 such features present in almost all of the Soulsborne games.

Note: This article reflects the writer's opinion.

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5 features that exist in almost all FromSoftware games

1) Moonlight Greatsword

Probably one of the most iconic entries on this list, the Moonlight Greatsword first appeared in FromSoftware’s first game, King’s Field, back in 1994. Since then, it has become a staple of the developer, appearing in each and every game released by them, sometimes used by a boss or NPC, and mostly able to be wielded by the player character.

One notable exception to this is Sekiro, where the sword is not seen in any usable form. This is understandable as this FromSoftware game was the one that stood apart from the rest. However, fans have noticed in their fight with the Divine Dragon that the dragon holds a sword quite similar to Moonlight in its mouth. The dragon uses the sword to launch large shockwaves, similar to how the Moonlight sword works in other games.

This sword has not seen much change in its design for its usable forms. The most distinct change was seen in its Bloodborne incarnation, where it looked more like a longsword in its untransformed mode. In Elden Ring, while it looks more faithful to its original design, it is called the Darkmoon Greatsword.

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2) Patches the Traitor

Patches is an NPC that first appeared in Demon’s Souls, but his legacy starts with a non-FromSoftware game that Hidetaka Miyazaki first worked on before the Souls series. In the video game Armored Core: For Answer, players are challenged to a duel by a mercenary known as Patch the Good Luck. This fight establishes Patches’ personality as he fights in a cowardly manner and begs for forgiveness once he loses enough HP.

Fast forward to the Souls series and Patches has had a few changes and not the best of its kind. In all Souls games, Bloodborne and Elden Ring, Patches gains the players’ trust by telling them of some treasure nearby, but he’s not going to get it. If the players go investigate the area he mentions, a cutscene ensues, which sees him kick the player down a long drop, possibly into an area full of enemies.

While this might have irritated players in the first couple of games, they have since gotten used to the mischievous devil, who makes an appearance in every game. After all, he does ask for forgiveness after the player comes back around a second time. In Dark Souls 3, he does pull the same trick twice, but who’s really counting at this point?

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3) Dragon on a bridge

Veteran players of FromSoftware games know that a lonely bridge is never safe, worse so if it leads to a dead end. They have been trained to expect the most arduous of fights with a potential boss or mini-boss in these areas. So it would have been no surprise to see fans play Elden Ring and cross large bridges, warily looking to the skies hoping that no large dragon comes flying in.

Since Demon’s Souls, through to Elden Ring (barring Sekiro, of course), fighting a dragon on a bridge has become an all too uncomfortable and familiar experience for many players. While Bloodborne's aesthetic couldn’t really include dragons, it used the next best thing by putting the Cleric Beast as an optional boss fight, with the flightless monster even jumping into the scene to evoke the sudden appearance of a dragon.

Elden Ring, however, decided to separate the elements of a dragon swooping in and fighting one on a bridge by having dragons swoop in all the time at the most unlikely places on solid ground. Fighting a dragon on a bridge, on the other hand, required the player to walk up to the creature, which simply sat atop the overpass. That's some way to change it up, FromSoftware!

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4) Poison Swamp

When Soulsborne players hear the name Blighttown, they may go into an unfiltered state of rage. Blighttown is an unfair area in Dark Souls, full of hidden enemies who spit poison darts and weird, fishy-looking people who bite. If that wasn’t enough, at the bottom of this scaffolding nightmare is a poison swamp, which builds up the poison meter as soon as the player steps on it.

While this is not the first poison swamp in Soulsborne history (with the first one being in Demon’s Souls), this one was possibly the most irritating due to where it was situated. These swamps that drain the player’s health no matter what they do are present in nearly all FromSoftware games, even in Sekiro.

Elden Ring, being the large game it is, also received this gift in numerous areas riddled with poison swamps. In fact, creator Hidetaka Miyazaki said before the game’s release that it includes multiple poison swamps because he can’t help himself.

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5) A rolling boulder trap

One of the most well-known running gags in the FromSoftware community is the boulder trap, which is generally encountered early on in the game. Players picking up a new Soulsborne game will constantly be on the lookout for such a place where they might be suddenly ambushed and killed.

This generally occurs alongside a steep set of stairs, which gives little room to maneuver, atop which an enemy will roll a large boulder down to flatten enemies. In Dark Souls and Demon’s Souls, this occurs early on in the same way as mentioned above. Bloodborne changes this to a more elaborate trap by including enemies into the mix with a giant flaming boulder.

Dark Souls 3 takes it a step further with a boulder made of skeletons, which can move up and down a corridor. The Elden Ring starts off with normal giant boulders going down a large staircase but ups the ante with sentient boulders, which can follow the player for quite a distance. Pretty sure in the next game, players will have to deal with flying boulders, which will bring death from above.