Bandai Namco was pitched a 16-bit Dark Souls, and it looks fantastic
techradar.comIf you ever thought Dark Souls had one too many dimensions, then Thomas Fei has good news for you. The artist has shared an image of a 2D version of Dark Souls 3 that was pitched to publisher Bandai Namco back in 2016.
The Dark Souls 3 artwork, which Fei shared on his Twitter(opens in new tab), shows a player in a SNES-style 16-bit battle with the Dancer of the Boreal Valley boss. Up until now, Fei had been bound by a non-disclosure agreement but, presumably due to time and because the project didn’t go forward, they’re now free to share the image.
Fei’s tweet is the first that fans of FromSoftware’s punishing fantasy trilogy, and Dark Souls 3 in particular, will likely have heard of the potential 2D offering – and, if indeed Bandai Namco isn’t going ahead with the project, I can’t help but think it’s a missed opportunity.
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. pic.twitter.com/Dt5BDasWbUNovember 8, 2022
Since this pitch in 2016, 2D Soulslikes have really flourished. The grueling nature of the combat-heavy genre is not for everyone, but for those who love Dark Souls and want more punishment, many of the most unforgiving games happen to be 2D platformer-style titles.
The combination of nostalgic pixellated graphics and harsh grind of tanky boss battles is nothing new to us these days, with gems like Dead Cells and Hollow Knight proving that you don’t need the advanced realistic graphics of Elden Ring to make a decent Soulslike.
Bandai Namco’s even looked to be teasing fans with a side-scrolling take on the Souls games with a trailer it released back in 2017.
The video appeared to be a black and white game with an
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