Huge 'Dark Souls 3' overhaul mod gets demo release date

A new demo for Archthrones, a Dark Souls 3 mod that completely overhauls the game to make it more akin to predecessor Demon’s Souls, will be available March 15.

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In a trailer posted to YouTube, the team behind the expansive mod revealed a demo will be available March 15 for PC players. Archthrones turns Dark Souls 3 into a game more akin to Demon’s Souls, the game that birthed the souls genre. Dark Souls 3‘s central hub, Firelink Shrine, is tranformed into a gateway to all the levels Archthrones has to offer.

The mod will tell a “new story set before the events of Dark Souls 3” and will feature “an overhaul for level progression with new bosses, NPCs and a good deal of secrets,” according to its Twitter page. It has now been in development for almost four years.

Firelink Shrine has been renamed the Nexus of Embers, and will give access to five worlds. The demo trailer gives glimpses of these worlds; from snowy castles to rickety bridges and sandy wastes. And, of course, dark, dank sewers. No sight of a poison swamp, though.

The mod has a Patreon page where fans of the series can support the work. Mods of this scale are rare, but do exist for other Souls games; Daughters of Ash is a popular one for Dark Souls Remastered.

As well as this new demo, fans of FromSoftware‘s games can look forward to Elden Ring‘s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, coming June 21. This DLC will take players to the Land of Shadow in what’s being promised as the company’s largest DLC yet. It can be preordered now and will release on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PC.

In other news, Children of the Sun has finally gotten a confirmed PC launch date.