Dark Souls
Vague as the story may be at times, Dark Souls does indeed have a timeline tied to the release order of its games. Fortunately, it’s far from the deciding factor in whether you should play the series out of order.
While it helps to know where certain enemies came from and how they tie into the broader themes of the series, Dark Souls’ gameplay and how much you enjoy it has a far bigger bearing on how much you’ll enjoy the series overall.
As captivating as the lore and characters can be, they won’t be worth much if you spend most of your time getting beaten into a pulp by the same boss over and over again.
Fortunately, this can be addressed by playing the game out of order; specifically, by playing Dark Souls 2 first, followed by Dark Souls and then Dark Souls 3.
By doing this, you’ll get a crash course in the series’ mechanics through a less punishing game in the form of Dark Souls 2.
Afterward, you can dive into the original game’s lore and bosses that the series is best known for, followed by the encapsulating lore and finale-esque elements presented by 3.
