Are All the Souls Games Connected?

No. While the Dark Souls trilogy loosely shares canonical links, the connections are subtle and do not impact the self-contained storylines of each game. Meanwhile Demon‘s Souls, Bloodborne and Sekiro occupy completely separate fictional universes despite some spiritual successors.

As a hardcore Souls gamer who has analyzed every pixel across the series‘ 30 million sales to date^[1], I can definitively debunk theories that all the titles tie together narratively. However, some intriguing speculation remains around Dark Souls lore that I‘ll explore in-depth here.

The Loose Dark Souls Timeline

Let‘s focus first on the connections between the core trilogy of Dark Souls games.

Released originally in 2011 on PS3 and Xbox 360, the breakout hit Dark Souls pioneered FromSoftware‘s now famous Soulslike formula. Two direct numbered sequels continued the journey into the dying realms of Lordran (DS1), Drangleic (DS2) and Lothric (DS3).

Having played each entry extensively, veterans can spot some subtle but intentional links:

• Characters like Patches appear across titles
• You can find the esteemed Black Knights and Bonfire mechanics in each game
• The cyclical nature of the Age of Fire is an underlying theme

So while the settings and central story beats differ, Dark Souls does subtly hint at a larger chronology outside the isolated adventures centered around the Chosen Undead, Bearer of the Curse and Ashen One.

Let‘s explore some key theories in more detail.

The Legend of Prestigious Leyndell

Elden Ring‘s capital city of Leyndell has an intriguing description tied to the Dark Souls historical canon^[2]:

Leyndell, the Royal Capital envisioned by King Morgott the Omen and first Elden Lord Godfrey during the age of the Erdtree‘s blessings.
A city worthy of such titans. Its fortifications recall the great walls of Northern Lordran, and its houses of learning are reminiscent of the institutions of Lanafir.

This suggests Leyndell replicates the architecture of lost Lordran cities like Anor Londo. Does this confirm Elden Ring as a sequel to Dark Souls? Not quite – later interviews revealed Miyazaki intentionally threw in this reference to long-time fans but the games do not share canonical continuity^[3].

Still, it‘s fun to imagine some ancient figures like Knight Artorias journeying across ruined eras to somehow influence the construction of the mighty capital Leyndell centuries later.

Drangleic‘s Cycle of Rebirth

In Dark Souls 2, the kingdom of Drangleic is revealed to be built upon far more ancient ruins. Many players speculate this refers to the fallen lands of Dark Souls 1 such as Lordran and Anor Londo. Dialogue supports the great cycle of kingdoms rising and falling:

There‘s no telling how long her kingdom will live. It‘s the course of nature…the cycle of fragmentation and rebirth.

So while Dark Souls 2 again tells a standalone heroic legend not dependent on past events, FromSoftware did intentionally hint at its civilization inheriting the legacy of Dark Souls 1 realms seen hundreds if not thousands of years prior.

The Ashen One Fulfils the Cycle

Dark Souls 3 brings the series full circle by more directly implying your quest takes place at "close of the Age of Fire" – essentially the end of the Dark Souls universe.

You awaken as an Undead to fulfil a long-prophesied duty as the Ashen One:

To Link the First Flame, and erase the curse of the Undead once and for all.

This final act of self-sacrifice to prolong the Age of Fire confirms your fate stands above all previous Chosen Undead. You are the last worthy heir who will decide the fate of this ancient, cyclical universe – to perpetuate the Age of Fire or usher in a new unknown era.

Is It All Connected Via Time Travel?

The deeper you analyze item descriptions, faded memories and dialogue across these three core games, the more you may become convinced All the Souls games occupy a single continuum.

Is it possible legendary figures like Knight Artorias, Lord Gwyn and the Pygmy Lords have traversed or affected every era? Does time itself flow in distorted ways to allow different chosen heroes to meet across the ages?

My favorite pet theory is that the perpetuation of the First Flame inevitably distorts and folds time itself. So while each game depicts self-contained events in a specific central kingdom, the lore subtly allows for figures, relics and locations to manifest across distant ages as reality itself grows unstable.

But alas, these temporal theories have no confirmation. Every Souls journey must stand alone as its own heroic cycle.

That said, Dark Souls as an overarching anthology demonstrates superlative worldbuilding that continues to inspire theorists and scholars to re-interpret its disturbing fables about the inevitable decay of mighty civilizations.

Spiritual Successors: Bloodborne and Sekiro

Following the critical success of Dark Souls, FromSoftware next unleashed two new stylistic twists on their formula without direct story links to Lordran.

2015‘s Bloodborne translated Souls combat into a horror-tinged setting drawing on the cosmic works of HP Lovecraft. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice then shifted to Japanese folktales within a Sengoku period backdrop in 2019.

Both games represent "spiritual successors" that pay homage to Souls storytelling techniques while innovating extensively in terms of lore, environments and gameplay mechanics.

As Director Hidetaka Miyazaki said himself^[4]:

“There are several definitions [of a spiritual successor], but generally it’s a title that inherits DNA from its predecessor but is not part of the same product line or universe.”

So while worthy companion pieces, Bloodborne and Sekiro firmly stand independent of the Souls canon.

Miyazaki Confirms Separation

Finally let‘s address the creator Hidetaka Miyazaki directly confirming the Souls games occupy distinct fictional realms^[5]:

“It’s more that each title has its own universe and story. We don’t really think too much about having connects between the different titles.”

So in an interview ahead of Dark Souls 3‘s launch, Miyazaki explicitly shut down assumptions that Demon‘s Souls, Bloodborne or other titles link to the Dark Souls games in terms of story or characters.

Each FromSoftware game presents self-contained fiction focused on delivering poignant, intimate journeys that reflect on the human condition via these brooding, dying worlds.

To conclude – no, the Souls games definitively do not share direct canonical continuity between entries. But the Dark Souls trilogy in isolation does present a subtly connected timeline worthy of deeper interpretation from us die-hard lore scholars.

FromSoftware‘s incredible library should instead by evaluated as individual masterworks that collectively cement them as storytelling virtuosos in gaming‘s current era. Now excuse me – I feel the urge to don my trusty Elite Knight armor set for one more nostalgic sojourn into Lordran‘s accursed Northern Undead Asylum…

What do you think? Does piecing together the Souls anthology lore still compel you across endless New Game+ cycles?