Dark Souls 2 Mod Lets You Die In First-Person View

Here’s some good news for folks who play a game like Dark Souls II and think to themselves, “Gosh, it sure would be neat if I could die over and over again from a first-person perspective.” A crafty modder has now patched that very point of view into the PC version of the game, making it easier than ever to come face to face with the terrors of Drangleic.

The Souls series has earned quite a reputation for itself as being a bit on the tough side. It’s not exactly a roguelike, but dying within the game comes with more steep penalties than modern gamers are traditionally used to. That fact is made exponentially more punishing by how frequently one can die in the game. From traps to hidden monsters, tough bosses to treacherous terrain, there are thousands of ways to end your life within this particular virtual world.

You might say that there is something of an art to playing Dark Souls II. If you run and gun, you’ll be punished mercilessly. Even playing carefully can result in unexpected deaths, leaving you to retrace your steps, fight enemies again and hope to reclaim your lost goods before meeting another early death, resulting in the loss off all dropped experience. In other words, you need to be aware of your surroundings at all times, and keep an eye on how close you are to your enemies.

It seems odd, then, that anyone would want to play this game from a first-person view, but it turns out that that particular breed of masochist is out there. Skyrim and more recent Fallout games offer players the ability to play from the first or third-person perspective, but those games are nowhere near as demanding as a game like Dark Souls II. Combat usually boils down to a bit of sword swinging and blocking, with the occasional spell thrown in for good measure. Enemies are also typically less numerous and methodical in their methods of introducing new holes to your body.

But, if you want to make an already difficult game a bit more challenging, then Eurogamer is reporting that you can now do exactly that. The mod comes from a YouTube ser by the name of Benzoin-Gum, and his video showing off the first-person view in Dark Souls II for PC can be found at the top of this article. The mod isn’t perfect, as cutscenes and certain items will kick you back out to the third-person perspective, but Mr. Gum explains that returning to the up close and personal view is only a few mouse clicks away.