Real-life Dark Souls scenery

[Garamoth]

I've been going through this month's National Geographic magazine (do you read it? you really should, you know!) and, as always, the photography is inspired. I've had Darks Souls on my mind, so a lot of photos reminded me of that.

First, here's an article with some actual inspirations:

The Real Dark Souls Starts Here: 13 Real-Life Inspirations for Lordran
- Lost Izalith is totally Angkor Wat... makes sense)
- I don't see the Mont Saint-Michel-New Londo link, though)
- Anor Londo is Il Duomo in Florence (the same as in AssCreed II). The designer dreamt about walking on the buttresses. That explains a certain annoying bit...

And here are this month's National Geographic photos:

Coal Mine in India





Russian Ice Cave




Bosnian Bridge



Do you have any other examples of "real" Dark Souls locales?

If I had to summarize the 'Souls visual ethos, I'd say it is architecture that is both cyclopean in size and claustrophobia-inducing, all to make the individual feel powerless and insignificant.

[Garamoth]

Here are some more, brought to you by clickbait sites:

41 Secretly Incredible Travel Destinations That Most People Don't Know About

Portugese Castle




German Stone Bridge




Alcazar of Segovia in Spain (totally not the Painted World of Ariamis)





33 Unbelievable Places To Visit Before You Die. I Can't Believe These Actually Exist On Earth...

Chinese pillar mountains (apparently filmed in James Cameron's Avatar)




Mexican crystal cave




Appropriately, many of these pictures come from National Geographic. Respect Nat Geo 'dawg!

[Deleted]

I have absolutely nothing to contribute to this thread, but the pictures are AMAZING.

[Garamoth]

Thanks, mate.

For the heck of it, here are a couple of Ta Prohm, that one temple of Angkor they did not repair (I was actually there last year, if I can show off for a second). The first photo is from, well, National Geographic.

Ta Prohm in Cambodia

[Garamoth]

I'm on a roll...

Magical places that actually are real

Derweze the fire pit of hell in Turkmenistan




Berry Head Arch in Canada



Chand Baori in India




Abandoned places worldwide {Part 4}

Château Noisy in Belgium



Abandoned Mill in Sicily



Ok, I'm done for now, I swear!

[Weasel]

If I may post the obligatory "AMAZING IMAGES!!"...

[Deleted]

Just to be clear to Garamoth, I meant it both ways. The pictures themselves are amazing, but also, fuck zzz.

[Garamoth]

Ok thanks. Actually, I had forgotten about those older topics. Oh well.

[Deleted]

Don't take that to mean you should stop! These really do look like they could be in a Souls game.

[Garamoth]

You're good people, man. Here's some more, just for you.

Mesa Verde in the USA





Sigiriya Rock Fortress in Sri Lanka





Alt-Graun Church steeple in Italy




St Nikola church at Mavrovo lake in Macedonia




Ogrodzieniec Castle in Poland




Via ferrata in Italy





Scottish forest

[Dee Liteyears]

That's some frickin impressive scenery here.
Do you know which town this stonebridge is, Garamoth? That one seems at least realistic for me to visit someday.

Also while not Dark Souls, I always had the feeling I grew up in Sonic Triple Trouble's Sunset Park Zone



Steelworks in Ruhrort (even at night the sky was mostly tinted in a faintly glowing orange)

[Garamoth]

According to the website linked above, it's the Bastei Bridge in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, near Dresden.

Hmmm... by the way, the cathedral in Anor Londo is not the one in Florence, it's the one in Milan... I was totally checking if you guys were paying attention!

Duomo di Milano in Italy




On the same note, I'm sure you guys know all about it already, but part of the main palace in Anor Londo is based on a french castle.

Château de Chambord in France

[Deleted]

Somehow it's even cooler that stuff like Anor Londo was inspired by real world locations. The whole place just had such a sense of grandeur about it. It's nice to think one could actually experience that in person in real life.

[Super Orbus]

Here's some images from Space Souls, the upcoming spiritual successor to Dark Souls which I expect a hefty consulting fee from From Software for inventing.

[Dee Liteyears]

The first pic is just a screenshot of Salamander