Volume III Special Issue VIII August 2023

Name of Author : Nithin Raj S

Title of the paper : Religion and Society: Depiction of the Divine in Dark souls and Mans Pursuit of Power

Abstract: Dark Souls is a video game by developer FromSoftware, directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki. The Dark Souls trilogy is one of his most famous works, depicting a sombre world with rich, cryptic lore and vague storytelling. The game features challenging gameplay, and a complex storyline open to interpretation, with Gods being physical beings of immense power, and humans being a separate race of a different origin. The nature of these Gods and men are explored deeply throughout the game, and what becomes of humans and their inherent humanity presented as a material object in the game. The huge expanse of areas, characters and stories within the game show incredible attention to detail and depth that can be open interpretation and analysis, along with gameplay that features an unnamed character of no renown nor significant strength, who shall fight through immense adversity that the player can identify himself with, which allows the player to set off on a journey to find their purpose. This paper attempts to explore and analyse the concept of religion and God, and the human psyche behind the ideology of a higher power correlating to the game and concepts like the cosmological argument and nihilism.

Keywords : Human nature, Divine, Transcendentalism, Subservient, Nihilism, Absolutism

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Page Number : 47-50