Pixel Souls: Demastered Mod Turns Dark Souls Retro [IGN]

Dark Souls may have already received an official remaster to spruce up its graphics, but this mod looks to do the opposite by giving the entire game pixel art.

Pixel Souls: Demastered is a Dark Souls mod from thegreatgramcracker on Nexus Mods that adds fresh (but retro) graphics to every level, enemy, and NPC in the game.

“This mod changes all textures, icons, fonts, and visual effects into pixel art based on the original game textures,” its description reads. “Additionally, the music and sound effects have been reduced in quality. Even the enemy and player equipment models have reduced fidelity. This should give the game a fun, somewhat cursed, retro feel.”

You can check out how to install it in the video below.

Screenshots for the mod (below) were shared alongside a trailer. thegreatgramcracker explained they created the mod using a custom image processing algorithm with manual tweaks applied when necessary. No AI was used for the mod, the creator made clear.

Dark Souls and the rest of the FromSoftware library are modding community favourites, with players adding all sorts of wacky new features into the games. One Dark Souls mod makes all the bosses playable, for example, while another gives it a Limbo-style grayscale aesthetic.

While the developer has since released an entire trilogy of Dark Souls games, plus other modern classics like Bloodborne and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, 2022’s Elden Ring has perhaps captured the imagination of the modding community above any other.

Players quickly added the likes of Star Wars, One Piece, Hollow Knight, The Legend of Zelda, and many other franchises into the game, and have also had fun with the games own bosses. One mod turns every enemy into Malenia, Blade of Miquella, who quickly emerged as Elden Ring’s toughest boss, while another pit every big bad in the game against each other in a FromSoftware battle royale.

Image Credit: thegreatgramcracker on Nexus Mods

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.