A spiritual replacement to the PlayStation 3 undivided RPGDemon ’s Souls , 2011’sDark Soulswas pretty quickly identified as a turning point claim , and , age later , it would go on to earn the almost inflated accolade of Ultimate Game of All Time at the 2021 Golden Joystick awards .

queerly , whileDark Soulsis extremely well - reckon , most of its best content is find out in the subsequent DLC expansionArtorias of the Abyss . In fact , FromSoftware seems to have a habit of hiding its best stuff in post - launch DLC offerings .

Dark Souls 2: Crown of the Ivory King

The final examination of the trilogy of DLC passing introduced to the 2014Dark Soulssequel , Crown of the Ivory Kingtransports instrumentalist to a massive castle harass by uttermost wintertime weather . While the content was celebrated for its interconnected environments and new chief , many derided it for its banal , moisten - out visuals , and theFrigid Outskirts quickly earned a reputation as one of the game ’s most frustrating location .

Dark Souls 2is often view as the black sheep of the trilogy , and , while it ’s not all bad , Crown of the Ivory Kinghighlights many of the flaws that held the rubric back from the highs of its forerunner .

Dark Souls 2: Crown Of The Iron King

The second ofDark Souls 2 ’s DLC trilogy , Crown of the Iron King certainly starts warm . alight atop a massive body structure overlooking a parched landscape painting , Brume Tower is sure enough a location like no other in the game . However , Crown of the Iron Kingis remembered more for its trouble than its vista , and many view it as the heavy part ofDark Souls 2 .

call for heedful purpose of smelter wedges and forcing musician to vie with a litany of status afflictions , Crown of the Iron Kingcan be particularly unforgiving . This culminate in the Iron Passage arena , which is downright infamous for its obnoxious layout and unbelievable level of challenge .

Sekiro Shadows Die Twice: Free Update

Tragically , 2019’sSekrio : Shadows Die Twicenever received a proper DLC , though it did get an ignoble destitute update which bestow a not - insubstantial amount of content to the secret plan . The update introduced a bent of cosmetics and the power for player to partake in helpful remnants — a substitute for the content system in theDark Soulsgames — but it also added in the Reflections of Strength and Gauntlets of Strength mode .

Reflections of Strength allows players to tackle slightly altered adaptation of antecedently curb foreman , and Gauntlets of Strength saddle player with the almost unthinkable task of use up down a quite a little of boss without dying . All in all , while not a huge change , it was a meaningful one that should n’t be forgotten .

Dark Souls 2: Crown of the Sunken King

Dark Souls 2was frequently criticized for its often stagnant and elongate stage excogitation , but this was mostly amended in the secret plan ’s DLC content . Crown of the Sunken King , the first slice of DLC to release forDark Souls 2 , is an first-class model of this ; set in a great subterranean stone metropolis that harbors corridors that duplicate up on themselves and mazes that seem to splinter into more mazes , it ’s pretty easy to get miss in the Sanctum City of Shulva and its surrounding areas .

While navigating catacombs and caverns can come to be a bit stale , Crown of the Sunken Kingfelt like a return to the design philosophies that made the originalDark Soulsso memorable .

Dark Souls 3: Ashes of Ariandel

The first ofDark Souls 3 ’s yoke of legendary DLC offer , ash of Ariandeltakes place in the titulary doomed otherworld beset by a hogwash that can only be burn away by a chosen ace . Inadvertently conscript by Slave Knight Gael , the thespian is channel to Ariandel to reignite a flame that might salvage what ’s left of the icy wasteland .

While the tundra can be peculiarly tough to traverse — especially for freshman who jump into the DLC depicted object immediately after gaining access to it in the Cathedral of the Deep — it ’s best remembered for the boss battle against Sister Friede , one of the most grueling multiphase encounters inDark Soulshistory .

Dark Souls: Artorias of the Abyss

Though he ’s interpret as a major player in Lordran , Dark Soulsfans do n’t really get to see Knight Artorias in the stem game . Instead , he ’s a marquee fight in the game ’s lone DLC outing , Artorias of the Abyss .

channelize players to the abysm - corrupted town of Oolacile , they must get the better of the once - proud Knight of Gwyn and venture into a black flume to fight Manus , Father of the Abyss ina hirer battle that ’s league more climacticthan the somber sendoff to the main secret plan .

Dark Souls 3: The Ringed City

Easily the most ambitiousDark SoulsDLC , The Ringed Cityis a meet send - off to the serial , and it concludes with one ofthe most memorable boss face-off in FromSoftware story .

Bloodborne: The Old Hunters

Perhaps the most acclaimed man of Soulsborne side content , Bloodborne’sThe Old HuntersDLC elaborated on the history surrounding authoritative characters such as Lady Maria and Laurence , the First Vicar , and it also introduce some unforgettable location such as the Astral Clock Tower and the Fishing Hamlet .

Most notably , it included one of the most difficultboss fights of all time in the cosmically terrific Orphan of Kos . The offspring of a dead eldritch immortal , Orphan of Kos stands asideSekiro : shadow die out Twice ’s Sword Saint Isshin andElden Ring ’s Malenia , Blade of Miquella as one of the most punishing battle in all of Soulsborne .

NEXT : rate Every FromSoft Soulsborne Game From Worst To Best , According To Metacritic

A character holding a trunk in art from Eberron: Forge of the Artificer

Leah from Stardew Valley with the museum

Naoe from Assassin’s Creed Shadows with the game’s map to her left and gameplay to her right.

Soulsborne DLC Feature Image

Dark Souls Crown of the Ivory King

Brume Tower in Dark Souls 2’s Crown of the Iron King DLC.

A boss fight in FromSoft’s Sekrio: Shadows Die Twice.

A screenshot from the Dark Souls 2 DLC expansion Crown of the Sunken King.

Ashes of Ariandel Dark Souls 3 DLC.

Artorias from the first Dark Souls game.

A screenshot from Dark Souls 3’s The Ringed City DLC showing an armored figure with a flaming sword and a circular hole in their chest

Ludwig the Holy Blade from Bloodborne’s The Old Hunters DLC.