Check out these fan-written 'Dark Souls' books launching this year

Premium softcover editions of two Dark Souls books have been announced, with pre-orders available today by Irish publisher Tune & Fairweather.

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Abyssal Archive: The Mythology of Dark Souls explores the lore and mythos surrounding Dark Souls as a franchise and as a location, with fans working to put together the “most comprehensive fan analysis of the game’s mythos ever undertaken”. The premium softcover edition comes with a fold-out companion map of Lordran, the setting of the game, and retails for £25 ($33).

You Died: The Dark Souls Companion, meanwhile, contains analysis of “what makes Dark Souls so riveting, enduring, and influential”, with interview with creator Hidetaka Miyazaki included throughout the game, taken over the years since the game was launched. The softcover edition of the book retails at £21 ($27).

Both titles are available to pre-order now and are expected to be released in Q3 2024. A £40 ($55) bundle is available that contains both books for megafans of the series.

Late last month, developer FromSoftware revealed the first look at upcoming Elden Ring DLC Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree. The expansion is scheduled for release June 21, and will be “FromSoftware’s largest expansion to date” according to Bandai Namco.

“Players must unravel the hidden mystery of the world from the acclaimed fantasy action RPG,” the publisher stated.

NME reviewed Elden Ring when it first released, with our writer calling the game “Miyazaki’s masterpiece”.

“Elden Ring is a glowing spectacle of achievement. A refined open-world format adds unimagined wonder to the game, while legacy dungeons will likely go down as some of FromSoftware’s best level design,” our reviewer wrote.

In other gaming news, Microsoft has released a limited edition SpongeBob SquarePants Xbox Series X that comes with an exclusive controller and a download code for Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2.