Dark Souls 4 leaves fans heartbroken, and we can see why

Dark Souls fans are heartbroken, as it becomes increasingly apparent that a fourth entry probably won’t happen.

The three Dark Souls games are often cited as some of the most influential games of all time, and they’ve certainly racked up a massively passionate fan base.

Although we haven’t seen a new Dark Souls game since 2016, its legacy lives on with newer FromSoftware games such as Elden Ring and The Duskbloods.

However, FromSoftware fans are hopeful that one day Hidetaka Miyazaki may one day return to the series. There’s a reason it’s so popular, after all.

A big theme of the series, and particularly Dark Souls 3, is the idea of things eventually coming to an end. It feels like this theme goes metatextual too, and is Miyazaki’s way of saying the series is over.

With FromSoftware finding great success with Elden Ring, it’s unlikely the developer will go back to Dark Souls for the time being.

One user asked on the Dark Souls Reddit page: “I know the lore implications, the world is basically at its end, yada yada everything is dead, yada yada Miyazaki doesn't want to continue Dark Souls. But is there a chance to continue the game in the painted world? The one made using a Dark Soul?”

“Would be cool to see the world post age of fire but chances are probably slim to none,” wrote another user in response. “Shame too I way prefer DKS to Elden Ring.”

“I think the way Dark Souls III can close the series off is good enough for there to be no need for DS4. We ought to move on -- let's have the next greatest series, instead,” another reply reads.

“Dark Souls 4 is likely From's ‘break glass in case of emergency’ backup,” another wrote. “Considering they made big bucks from Elden Ring and want to focus on smaller projects for a while I don't think we'll be seeing a DS4 any time soon.”

Personally, I’m happy to see where Miyazaki and FromSoftware goes next. I liked that Elden Ring wasn’t just another Dark Souls without the name attached, even if some themes and gameplay systems felt similar.

It should mean that each new game from the developer is radically different from the last, and that can be pretty exciting.