We’ve all got a pretty clear picture by now of what a modern FromSoftware game looks like. The model was first developed when the super-developer, once best known for its Armoured Core franchise, suddenly pivoted direction and produced one of the most engaging, new modes of RPG that we’ve ever seen with Demon’s Souls. Since then, we’ve seen a trilogy of Dark Souls games, Bloodborne, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and the 2022 global smash hit Elden Ring, but what if one of those titles was another huge change in momentum? What if one of them was a classically inspired 2D sidescroller with Soulsborne elements? We’ve seen a few indie takes on this idea through their own IP, but as it turns out, we might have been quite close to an official one, a 2D Dark Souls III. So what is it, why did we never hear about it, and why is it only turning up now?

Thomas Feichtmeir, a developer who has been responsible in part of a number of favourite indie titles such as Blasphemous, Songs of Conquest, and The Mummy Demastered took to Twitter recently to share the news that he had been a part of a pitch to Dark Souls III and Elden Ring publisher Bandai Namco, one that dates back six years. The pitch was that of a 2D pixel art Dark Souls title, and from the single screenshot that Feichtmeir shared, it looked to be pretty fantastic!

Along with sharing the screenshot of the game that never was, Feichtmeir outlined some light details pertaining to the game and the reasons why we never heard of the pitch until now,

A Dark Souls 3 – 2D pixelart metroidvania was pitched to Bandai Namco ~6 years ago. This is now finally out of NDA, so enjoy the visuals created back then.