Most triple A titles these days are pretty predictable.
You have the Hero,
the Villain,
the polite dialog choice,
the rude dialog choice,
the bad guys,
the good guys,
and all the meaningless choices along the way.
If you're watching my videos then you should already know that Dark Souls breaks the mold.
Most games either have a one canon ending,
or allow you to choose from a selection of moral mind filled endings at the end of the game.
Dark Souls is the latter but the endings are ambiguous as hell.
The more you learn about the game the more confusing the endings become.
Most games give you closure but both Dark Souls endings probably leave you wondering;
What would happen next?
What consequence would my choice have in the game world?
The first ending we'll analyse is the 'Link the Fire' ending
You sacrifice your body and soul as fuel for the first Flame,
which keeps the gods in power.
We'll call this the 'Light ending'.
Your other choice is letting the Flame die out, allowing you to become the Dark Lord
and ushering in the Age of Man.
Lets call this the 'Dark ending'.
Now this video assumes you have some idea of what's going on in the Dark Souls universe.
If you don't I have a Dark Souls Lore in a minute video you could watch,
or you can brush up on the fundamentals presented by EpicNameBro.
To properly understand the endings you must understand what makes them significant.
In the beginning the Four Lords Souls were found within the first Flame.
Gywn obtained the Light Soul and ushered in an Age of Fire based around that first Flame.
This Age of Fire meant that the gods and the lords were in control of the world.
Ruling over humanity.
They lit bonfires from the first Flame and shepherded the humans.
But.. where did the humans come from?
Well, it's my theory that humanity is spawned from the fragments of the Dark Soul.
As humanity split and grew and split and grew,
The Dark began to overcome the Light.
This concept of Disparity plays a huge role in the game.
As the first Flame faded the Light faded,
and as the Light faded the power of Gwyn and the Age of Fire faded.
As the gods started to lose their power, they began to recognize the threat that humanity could pose.
It seems the gods couldn't decide what to make of humanity.
In the dialog's of Ciaran and Gough we see some of this uncertainty.
If you aid them, they decide that humans aren't so bad after all.
But if you slight them, then they treat you with that built up resentment.
"Hhgaaa...
So this.. is true human nature."
The Flame continues to fade.
The gods abandon Anor Londo, and the remaining gods use illusions to preserve their power.
Gywn, holder of the Light Soul goes to the Kiln of the first Flame and offers himself as fuel.
He sacrifices himself to let the Flame burn a little longer.
This buys the gods a bit more time to find the solution to their problem.
You are that solution.
By linking the fire, you become the fuel for the first Flame.
With you in Gywn's place, the age of fire can continue.
But what makes you so special?
Well,
the character is a very powerful undead if they can make it all the way to Gywn.
and it follows that the more powerful you are the longer you will burn.
It could be that this is why Frampt is trying to push undead towards Gywn.
He's trying to find the one who will burn the longest.
So by burning in Gywn's place you have to ask yourself what purpose it serves.
You're preserving the reign of the gods and rising to the needs of a dying hierarchy.
It's not even a temporary solution.
Gywn was powerful enough to take out the immortal dragons and even he became a husk by the end.
So while you could see linking the flame as a selfless act,
it's hard to imagine that you're doing it for any greater purpose.
Indeed, if you link the Flame you are rising to the needs of people who could simply be using you.
So, is this the good ending?
At first glance it seems like it.
Most players go through the game only meeting the serpent Frampt,
who promises that linking the flame will undo the curse of the undead.
He talks of fate and gives you purpose.
So at first I thought this was the right thing to do.
I didn't know that Anor Londo and Gwynevere were illusions.
I didn't know I was being used and I thought I was being selfless.
But then I head what Kaathe had to say.
He says that after the advent of fire, the ancient Lords found three souls.
But your progenitor found the Dark Soul and waited for fire to subside.
He says that with the fading Flame comes the age of Man.
He paints Gywn as a god who resisted the course of nature.
And says that you are being manipulated by Frampt to keep Gywn's age of Fire going.
By killing Gwyn and walking away from the first Flame,
Kaathe promises that the Dark will finally come and with it the age of Man will begin.
At first I thought that Kaathe's hidden dialog was the truth.
It makes sense.
When you realize that Frampt is manipulating you,
you feel like you should believe everything Kaathe has to say.
It seems like Kaathe is telling the whole truth.
But, is he telling the whole truth?
Is the darkness really a place where humans can thrive?
Humans are born from the Dark Soul, that much is true.
The black humanity sprite is proof of that.
But when we journey back to see what happened in Oolacile.
We realize how dangerous the Dark is to humans.
Oolacile was once a human city,
overrun by the Dark.
These are it's residence and this is the fate of the humans who come into contact with the Dark.
This is the age of Man that Kaathe promises.
One serpent tells you lies and the other tells you truth.
Both of them are manipulating you.
If you link the Fire,
you are sacrificing yourself so that Frampt and Gwyndolin can rule with the illusion of power in Anor Londo.
If you let the Flame fade, the age of Dark will come.
But is this a place where humans thrive?
No,
Oolacile is proof of that.
In the end it doesn't matter what you do.
If you link the Flame you're just delaying the inevitable.
If you let the Flame fade,
the Darkness comes a little sooner.
With you at the helm.
The one cannon ending to Dark Souls is in the prologue.
One day the Flame will fade,
and only Dark will remain.
So instead of choosing an ending just go and live with Priscilla or something.